Florida Legal Issues | InjuryBoard Orlando

A man from the Miami-Dade area was convicted and another was arrested this week in connection with PIP fraud perpetrated on insurance companies in South Florida resulting from fake automobile accidents. Alex Sink, Florida's Chief Financial Officer, said this was the fourth and final arrest made by the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud's (DIF) investigation into an insurance fraud ring based...

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An interesting question has been posed in anticipation of the Supreme Court deciding on whether or not to hear a case regarding fantasy baseball. The issue in the case is as to who owns the statistics for baseball players. Is it Major League Baseball, or are they owned by nobody and therefore, free to the world. It is known that Justices Alito and Stevens are big baseball fans, but do they...

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The National Transportation Safety Board's Chairman has issued a statement reminding drivers how dangerous fatigue can be on the road. In the midst of National Sleep Awareness Week, officials would like to remind drivers that many times being tired and fatigued on the road can be the equivalent of, if not worse than, being intoxicated when driving. Fatigue has been found as one of the most...

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A test used by insurance companies to determine if plaintiffs are "malingerers" or lying has come under scrutiny recently because of its lack of reliability. Under the Fake Bad Scare virtually everyone can be a liar, say experts. For example, The test asks a person to answer true or false to 43 statements, such as "My sleep is fitful and disturbed" and "I have nightmares every few nights."...

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The parents of Jessica Lunsford, the 9 year old girl who was killed by her neighbor John Couey who also was a sex offender, are suing the Citrus County Sheriff's Department for negligence. Mark Lunsford and his attorneys recently appeared on The O'Reilly Factor and said that Sheriff's investigators went to Couey's trailer 4 times but did not search inside. They claim that had the investigators...

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The Orlando Sentinel reported on Sunday that State Farm will cease writing new policies for homes in Florida. State Farm is Florida's largest private insurer. The article reports that the reason for the decision by State Farm is a result of recent Florida legislation passed last year to reduce property insurance rates AND to protect the insurers reserves to pay claims brought by existing...

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Last week, ABC News reported that a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine is shaking up the world of spinal health and medicine. The study says that surgery is a better and more effective treatment for spinal stenosis - more so than conservative therapy and pain medications. Spinal stenosis is a common back condition causing pain and limitations in function as a result of...

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A California Court has renewed a $33.5 million civil judgment awarded against O.J. Simpson for a civil finding that he was guilty of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Simpson tried to claim that a California Court could not reinstate the award because he now lives in Florida. The argument was rejected by the California Appeals Court. If not reinstated the verdict (now grown...

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A "high-low" agreement is an agreement entered in to prior to a trial by the parties in a case. It is an agreement that assures the injured party in a lawsuit that they will receive a recovery, regardless of the jury's verdict, but these agreements actually give a level of protection to both sides in the litigation. The agreement can be made at any time during the course of the litigation,...

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Local Billionaire David Siegel has been found liable in a sexual harassment lawsuit and the victim has been awarded over five million dollars in damages. Allegations in the lawsuit included that the Plaintiff, Georgette Myers, was forced to work in a hostile environment and that she suffered a battery when Siegel allegedly pressed her up against a wall and touched her. In a scene straight...

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In a trend that is steadily getting worse, employers and insurance companies are attacking settlements and taking all of the funds that injured parties get in a settlement or verdict. Many times the victims are then left on welfare or medicaid with, yes us, the taxpayers footing the bill for future care. Sadly, many Courts are upholding these greedy practices. Take the case of Deborah Shank...

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Every driver has complained about speed limits at one time or another. But who determines those speed limits and how? Speed limits are determined by using the "85 percentile" method. In this method, traffic engineers set the speed limit based on the speed that 85% of drivers would travel at when there is no speed limit. For example, if 85% of vehicles on a residential road with no current...

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"1-800-Ask-Gary." "Ask-Dave." "Ask-Kobe." It seems that more and more TV commercials for these lawyer referral services are becoming commonplace. But, who is behind these services? Dave, Gary, and Kobe do not appear in their own commercials. Usually, the commercials are composed of testimonials given by people who claim to have been injured, and then called these numbers, and everything was...

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On the heels of suspending AllState from writing new automobile policies, Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarthy has expanded the order and suspended AllState from writing new policies in all its lines of business. That means there will be no new life, homeowners, auto, renters, etc. insurance. This will remain in effect until AllState complies with subpoenas served on October 16, 2007. Those...

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The Florida No Fault Law is set to return on January 1st, 2008. The law requires drivers to carry mandatory $10,000 PIP coverage. The $10,000 is used to cover 80% of medical bills and 60% of lost wages up till that amount. Drivers should make sure they speak with their insurance agent to make sure they have PIP coverage. Although many insurance companies are automatically adding it back,...

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