Orlando Personal Injury Lawyer - Florida Legal Issues

Fraudulent Accident Ring-leader Admits Guilt

Sandy Grinnell — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 05:15:56 GMT

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 in South Florida.

The 57 year-old man convicted of insurance fraud who it was thought was the ringleader will serve 54 months in prison and will pay restitution in the amount of $329,366 to several insurance companies. DIF estimated that the gang of ciminals with as many as 24 members may have created up to 80 fake crashes.

"Insurance fraud costs us all more, and we will aggressively investigate anyone suspected of defrauding others," CFO Sink said. "I commend our investigators for their work on this case and encourage their continued pursuit of criminals who take advantage of others by committing insurance fraud."

If you suspect someone has staged an accident for the sole purpose of submitting a fraudulent claim, you are encouraged to contact the Division of Insurance Fraud at 1-800-378-0445 or on the web at www.MyFloridaCFO.com/fraud. They are serious about catching and convicting these criminals and will reward you up to $25,000 for information that leads to a conviction.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Sandy Grinnell

Will Justices Recuse Themselves Because They Are Baseball Fans?

Diego Madrigal — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:05:44 GMT

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 also participate in fantasy baseball? If they do, it would be interesting to see if they recuse themselves because the league they play in would be affected by the decision. If the Court finds for MLB, then others who provide fantasy leagues (such as Yahoo, ESPN, CNNSI) would either have to pay for the statistics or would be forced to no longer host these leagues. If they pay for the statistics then users will likely have to pay for leagues that are now free. Users will also likely have to pay in MLB is the exclusive provider of these leagues. So, it would appear that the Justices have a rooting interest in the outcome and may have to recuse themselves, similar to what they do when they have stock ownership in a company that argues before them.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Diego Madrigal

Fatigue on Road Could be Deadly

Diego Madrigal — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:25:00 GMT

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 wanted safety improvements since a list was started in 1990. When you are on the road, especially when making long trips that may put you on the road late at night or very early in the morning, make sure that you have gotten plenty of sleep and rest. It may save your life.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Diego Madrigal

Test Can Wrongly Accuse Victims of Being Liars

Diego Madrigal — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:52:28 GMT

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." Someone who suffers from, say, post-traumatic stress disorder might legitimately answer "true" to these questions. But doing so would earn the test-taker two points toward the total of 23 or so that marks a person as a possible malingerer.
Other test statements are "I have very few headaches" and "I have few or no pains." These are false, someone who has chronic headaches would say. Again, those replies would incur two more points toward a possible assessment as a malingerer.

Although all those involved in the justice system want to eliminate false claims, I think it is safe to say that a test that gives points toward lying when they are indeed telling the truth is not the best way to accomplish this. Thankfully, Florida courts have not allowed the test used because of the dispute over its validity.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Diego Madrigal

Lunsford Parents to Sue Sheriff's Office

Diego Madrigal — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 09:25:12 GMT

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 been more assertive in their search, the death could have been avoided. A report of suspicious activity at Couey's residence by another neighbor was also ignored. In Florida, there exists a limit on the amount of money someone can recover when suing a governmental entity. The amount recovered can exceed that cap only by act of the legislature. It will be interesting to see how this case will play out.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Diego Madrigal

State Farm: No New Property Policies in Florida

Mike Damaso — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 05:18:37 GMT

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 policy holders.

This move by State Farm is not expected to affect the company's one million current policyholders.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Damaso

New Study: Surgery More Effective for Spinal Stenosis

Mike Damaso — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 11:39:29 GMT

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 the narrowing of the spinal canal. This narrowing gradually impinges on nerves making it painful to engage in activities such as walking and standing.

The ABC article states that spinal stenosis is the most common cause of lumbar surgery in people 65 years of age and older.

The study concluded that

patients who underwent surgery showed significantly more improvement in all primary outcomes than did patients who were treated nonsurgically.

It seems that people are not getting as much relief from popular spine treatments despite the $86 billion in annual spending on these treatments. Most patients who had surgery fared better in all measures 2 years after surgery- less pain, more function, and less disability - when compared to patients who chose non-surgical more conservative treatments.

The ABC Article notes that the most important result from the study is that patients with back issues can make more informed decisions as to which treatment option they choose.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Damaso

Simpson Civil Judgment Renewed By Judge

Ed Normand — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:50:56 GMT

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 to $40 million with interest) would have expired on March 10. The civil award was a wrongful death action intended to compensate the victims' families and to punish Simpson.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

High-Low Agreements In Lawsuits Are Becoming More Common

Bruce Gibson — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 07:59:44 GMT

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, even up to the point before a jury renders its verdict. The high-low agreement sets a limit on the amount the injured plaintiff can recover from the party at fault, regardless what the jury might ultimately award. However, the agreement also caps, or limits, the amount the defendant would have to pay, regardless of the jury's verdict.

For example, assume the plaintiff and defendant have entered into an agreement with a low figure of $100,000 and a high figure of $300,000. Thereafter, if the jury's verdict is for an amount between the agreed-upon low figure and high figure, i.e. $250,000, the injured plaintiff would get the actual amount ($250,000) awarded by the jury. However, if the jury awards less than $100,000, the plaintiff would get at least that amount. At the same time, if the jury awards more than the high figure in the agreement, i.e. $400,000, the defendant would ultimately pay no more than the high figure ($300,000). The jury is not permitted to know of the existence of such an agreement.

The theory behind these agreements is that the plaintiff and the defendant insure the other against an excessive verdict. These agreements are not always appropriate but when used, essentially protect each party against their worst-case scenario.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bruce Gibson

Local 5 Million Dollar Sex Harrassment Award

Ed Normand — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:03:24 GMT

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 out of a movie, the Plaintiff also alleged that Siegel offered her a million dollars for sex. Apparently, the jury accepted the proof of at least some of the allegations as true. Siegel denies the charges claiming it is because of his money and he plans to appeal.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand