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The parents of a toddler who drowned in a retention pond earlier this year have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the owner of the property, alleging negligence for failure to install a fence that would have protected their son and prevented his drowning.wrongful death Fort Lauderdale

A Fort Lauderdale wrongful death attorney can explain that these types of cases are what we refer to as premises liability claims. They posit that a property owner owed a duty of care to those who entered that site, failed in that duty and injury or wrongful death ensued.

Normally, this duty of care extends only to lawful guests, which means if someone trespasses on a property, they aren’t owed much of anything (except that the property owner not actively try to hurt them by setting traps, etc.). But this type of case involves a special kind of premises liability claim under what’s known as the attractive nuisance doctrine.

Essentially, F.S. 768.075 holds that landowners generally owe no duty to trespassers under most conditions. One exception is where it pertains to young children if there is a feature on the property likely to attract children, such as a swimming pool or pond. F.S. 823.08 also outlines a number of potential attractive nuisances, such as abandoned iceboxes, clothes dryers and other similar airtight objects in which children might want to play, but would be extremely dangerous. Continue reading

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State lawmakers are weighing a bill that would reimpose caps on non-economic damages in all Florida injury lawsuit and damage claims, limiting plaintiffs to $1 million for damages like pain and suffering and loss of consortium. Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers know such caps were already struck down as unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court, but legislators are reportedly banking on the fact that more newly-appointed conservative justices will take a different view. personal injury lawyer Fort Lauderdale

Florida State House Bill 17 is slated for consideration by the House Judiciary Committee, after already moving through the Commerce Committee and the Civil Justice Committee. It prevailed, though votes were split along party lines.

The question is whether the new state supreme court will adhere to the constitutionality precedent set by the previous justices. In the 2014 Florida Supreme Court ruling of McCall v. U.S., the court rejected lawmaker-initiated non-economic damage caps in wrongful death lawsuits, finding them to be a constitutional violation on the equal protection clause. Continue reading

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Numerous studies have established that bicyclists who wear a helmet are less likely to suffer serious head trauma. However, this is in comparison to those who wear no helmets. Truth is, you can sustain a traumatic brain injury if you’re involved in a crash while wearing one. bicycle accident lawyer

Recently, a group of four bicyclists traveling together in Port St. Richey were seriously injured when the wheelchair lift gate of a mobile PET scan vehicle somehow became dislodged and struck the riders one-by-one, FOX 13 News. Two of the bicyclists had to undergo emergency surgery.

Although the particular circumstances of this bicycle accident are somewhat unusual, trucks pose a serious threat to bicyclists, and so do cars, vans and sport utility vehicles. In many of these instances, especially if the vehicle is traveling fast, a helmet may help reduce the risk of serious injury, but it doesn’t eliminate it. Even the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute notes there is “no such thing as a concussion-proof helmet.” Roughly three-fourths of all fatal bicycle accidents involve a head injury. Although very few bicyclists who wear helmets die in crashes, nearly 15 percent of those who suffer serious injury were wearing one. Continue reading

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Sometimes family relationships don’t always go the way we hoped. Although the emotional fallout of this can be messy enough, Fort Lauderdale estate lawyers know it can get even dicier when it comes to the question of inheritance – or disinheritance. Fort Lauderdale disinheritance lawyer

The fact of a biological tie is not necessarily a guarantee that one will be entitled to an inheritance in Florida. The first question will be whether the decedent had a will.

As noted in Part 1 of Chapter 732 of Florida Statutes on Wills and Succession, if a person dies intestate (with no will), biological children are among the first in line to collect an inheritance, aside from one’s surviving spouse.

Florida Inheritance Rights of a Biological/Adopted Child: Limited

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What happens if someone dies in Florida without a will? Fort Lauderdale probate litigation lawyer

A recent survey by the AARP revealed 60 percent of American adults do not have a will and are not planning for the end of their lives. Some of this is dictated by age. For instance, among those between ages 53 and 71, roughly 58 percent do have estate-planning documents. Among those older than 72, more than 80 percent have a will. Although most Americans live past the age of 40, there is never a guarantee.

That’s why our Fort Lauderdale probate attorneys want to stress the importance of a will for everyone over the age of 18 – even if you don’t think it’s not necessary because you’re married and assume all of it will go automatically to either your spouse or children.

The process of probate itself can consume a portion of those assets, and disputes that arise between potential heirs certainly will too. Continue reading

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In a case likely to be closely-watched both for the high-profile nature of the underlying incident and the precedent it’s likely to set for victim compensation claims against school districts and other Florida government agencies deemed liable in mass casualty incidents.  the Florida Supreme Court has accepted review of a lawsuit against the Broward County School Board for failure to protect children from the mass shooting incident at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Broward injury lawyer blog

When oral arguments are held in late August, justices will be analyzing whether damage caps applied to government liability claims should be adjusted when multiple people are harmed or killed. The court scheduled for the same day a similar case against the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Florida Sovereign Immunity Law Caps Damages for School Liability

Broward wrongful death lawyers can explain the key issue will be an interpretation of Florida’s sovereign immunity law, F.S. 768.28. If you sue a state government agency – whether it’s a police department, city government, school district or larger state agencies – those damages are capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident. The question is whether these deaths all occurred as a part of one incident, and thus all parents are required to split the $300,000, or whether each shot fired was a separate incident, and thus entitling each individual claimant to $200,000. Continue reading

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Distracted driving continues to be a major problem in Florida – one a Palm Beach County lawsuit alleges has been compounded by the “inherently dangerous” technology employed by one of South Florida’s popular rideshare companies.Palm Beach Car accident lawyer

Plaintiff was a pedestrian who sustained serious, life-long injuries in a crash several months ago. The driver who struck her had himself been struck seconds earlier by a Lyft Inc. driver. Plaintiff alleges the Lyft driver was distracted by the company’s digital app, which requires the independent contractors to check their phones constantly behind the wheel.

Are Rideshare Apps Unreasonably Dangerous?

Although this isn’t the first time rideshare drivers and even other technology companies have been accused of liability in distracted driving cases, this matter is a bit different than many of the others our Palm Beach County car accident attorneys have seen. In addition to asserting Lyft’s negligence, plaintiff also raises the issue of product liability. The technology is unreasonably dangerous as designed, according to the complaint. Continue reading

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When it comes to the Florida probate litigation statute of limitations, one might generally presume reading F.S. Ch. 95 that they have about four years to file a case. However, as our Fort Lauderdale probate litigation attorneys can explain, trust cases in particular almost always follow something called equitable law.undue influence probate litigation

Equitable strives for equal, but in the case of some breach of trust cases, our Fort Lauderdale probate litigation attorneys have seen this mean as little as 6 months… Or it could mean you have as many as 40 years.

In the case of undue influence, however (which is the most common grounds for a Florida will contest), your limitations period again is usually four years. At most, however, it can be up to 12 years. This is thanks to something called the “delayed discovery doctrine.” Continue reading

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Fort Lauderdale car accident attorneys can tell you there is no such thing as a “safe” car crash. Anytime a large mass of hot, moving metal collides with anything, there is the potential for serious injury or even death. Still, there are undoubtedly some types of collisions statistically known to be worse than others. Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyer

These include:

  • Pileup car accidents
  • Rollover crashes
  • T-bone collisions
  • Head-on collisions

The National Safety Council reported that last year, more than 40,000 people were killed in U.S. car accidents – the third straight year in a row they were that high after decades of declines. Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyers know this doesn’t even encompass everyone affected, as there are hundreds of thousands who suffer severe injuries. Motor vehicle collisions are one of the No. 1 causes of death in the U.S., as well as a leading cause of unintentional injury and property damage.

Although every crash is unique, the reality is there are certain kinds that tend to result in substantial medical expenses, lost wages, extended recovery time and pain and suffering.

When it comes to compensation for these losses, Fort Lauderdale car accident attorneys typically first help you start with claims to your own auto insurer through personal injury protection (PIP) benefits. Depending on the circumstances, you may be entitled to a maximum $10,000 (80 percent of your medical losses and a portion of your lost wages). Florida is a no-fault state for auto insurance claims, but you can step outside that system and pursue bodily injury liability coverage from the insurers of those at-fault if your injuries are considered serious, disabling and/or permanent. Continue reading

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In most cases, you have up to four years in which to file a Florida personal injury lawsuit. There is rarely a good reason to wait that long, but for some circumstances, the longer statute of limitations per F.S. 95.11(3) is advantageous. As for how long a Fort Lauderdale injury lawsuit will take to resolve once it is filed, the answer depends on many variables.injury lawyer Fort Lauderdale

Whether we’re talking about a boating accident or a dog bite or a slip-and-fall injury or even a car crash, key questions to be resolved include:

  • Who was at fault?
  • To what extent were those persons at fault?
  • What injuries resulted from the wrongdoing?
  • How will those injuries impact a plaintiff, survivors, etc.?

That is a very broad oversimplification of the legal questions that arise, but the difficulty in answering them can shed some light on how long a claim may take to resolve.

For instance, as your Fort Lauderdale injury attorney sets about answering the question of “who is at fault?” we may discover there is more than one defendant with some responsibility. That could complicate the claims resolution process. Continue reading

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Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308
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West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
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