Broward Injury Lawyer Blog

June 10, 2015

Child Playground Injuries a Risk Through Summer

A family in Tennessee is seeking to recover damages after their little girl suffered injuries while playing on a defective swing set at school – a swing set that had been recalled in 2009 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Despite the recall, the swing set remained in use on school grounds. The district contends it did not receive notice of the recall. Nearly six years after that recall was initiated, the injury occurred. The swing set broke while the girl was playing on it, causing her to come crashing to the ground. She sustained bruises to her left side, and her parents say the injuries have been ongoing. She’s racked up nearly $5,000 in medical bills and has also incurred pain and suffering.

The district offered to settle for $5,000, but the family is seeking $10,000. The personal injury attorney has indicated she is prepared to take the case to trial, though is hopeful a settlement will be reached prior to that point.
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June 7, 2015

Double Fatal Florida Accident Kills Two Amid 100 “Deadliest Days” of Summer

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

The entire South Florida community is mourning the loss of life of two young people with bright futures who were killed in a chain collision accident on I-75.

One was a 17-year-old recent high school graduate. The other was a 29-year-old third-year medical student about to begin clinical rotations. Their lives ended when a tractor trailer, hauling concrete barriers, exited a construction area and attempted to merge onto the highway. Instead, the truck was struck by the 29-year-old driver. The impact of that collision sent the car and truck about a quarter mile down the highway – completely sheering off the top of the car’s roof.

In the midst of this, another vehicle, driven by the 17-year-old, struck the rear of the truck, causing a number of the concrete barriers to fly out of the back of the truck bed and onto her car. Seconds later, a second tractor-trailer slammed into the concrete barriers in the roadway and then slammed into the other truck.
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June 2, 2015

CPSC: Civil Fine Against Store for Failure to Report Dangerous Chair Defect

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a $3.4 million fine against an officer store retailer that intentionally failed to report a number of reports of injury allegedly caused by two different models of defective office chairs.

According to a news release from the CPSC, the problem was the seat backs of two different chair models failed. As a result, numerous customers suffered injuries to their backs and elsewhere on their body.

The chairs were manufactured and sold by the office chain store, which is headquartered in Boca Raton, FL.
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May 30, 2015

Coba v. Tricam Indus., Inc. – Defective Ladder Lawsuit Before Florida Supreme Court

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

As consumers, we trust the products we buy and use are safe as designed and manufactured. Unfortunately, this is too often not the case. From baby cribs to automobiles to construction equipment to medical devices, thousands of people are hurt every year as a result of defective products.

Those injured by dangerous and defective products may explore the possibility of a product liability lawsuit against the entity that designed the product, the manufacturer, the distributor or the maintenance company. Relevant defendants in a case will depend heavily on the underlying facts.

In the recent Florida Supreme Court case of Coba v. Tricam Indus., Inc., the allegedly defective product was a ladder, on which decedent fell, resulting in his death.
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May 28, 2015

Gonzalez v. Ramirez – Truck Accident Liability

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

In a motor vehicle accident involving a commercial truck, it may be clear the trucker was at fault and caused the crash. What is less clear is who is legally liable.

Employers are usually responsible for wrongful acts of an employee or agents, provided those acts were not intentional and were committed in the scope of employment. The legal principle upon which this falls is that of respondeat superior, which is Latin for “let the superior make answer.”

But the reason this may not always be applicable is because truck drivers are often not employed by the company that owns the truck. Rather, they are an independent contractor. Additionally, there may be a separate company that owns the trailer and yet another company whose goods are being hauled. Each of these entities contract with each other to make deliveries – and make for a complicated web of potential liability.
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May 24, 2015

NHTSA: Florida Now More Dangerous For Cyclists

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

Florida has become a more dangerous place for cyclists, according to the most recent data released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The latest Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, which reflects final numbers from 2013 indicate bicycle fatalities in Florida rose from 122 to 133 – an increase of 9 percent.

Nationally, the number of bicycle fatalities has been on the rise as well. In 2010, there were 618 bicyclists killed in crashes. In 2011, there were 677 bicyclists killed. The following year, that figure climbed to 726. And then in 2013, it increased again to 743. That is a staggering 20 percent increase from 2010 to 2013.
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May 22, 2015

Bennett v. Highland Park Apartments – Landlord Liability for Crime-Related Injuries

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

In any premises liability claim, success often hinges on whether the property owner or operator had actual or constructive knowledge of a dangerous condition.

So in the case of a slippery floor, we have to determine whether a property or business owner knew the floor was wet or slippery.

However, it gets a little more complicated in claims alleging liability due to inadequate security or negligent security following a third-party crime. After all, it almost never happens that the property or business owner had actual knowledge of a crime before it takes place.
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May 15, 2015

McDermott v. State – Construction Site Accident Kills Passerby

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

Most construction accident lawsuits stem from injuries sustained by on-site workers.

However, if a construction, demolition or renovation site is not properly secured or if outsiders aren’t given proper warning to keep a certain distance, the public in general may be put at risk of serious injury or even death.

That’s what is alleged to have occurred in the case of McDermott v. State, recently weighed by the Connecticut Supreme Court.
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May 12, 2015

Siruta v. Siruta – Husband Sues Wife for Child Car Accident Death

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

It is not highly unusual for passengers in a crash or their survivors to sue drivers following an accident, even when they are family members or close friends. The goal is not malice, but rather compensation for medical bills, lost wages and other costs, which are often paid by insurance companies rather than the individual directly.

Also, in order to collect any uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage the passenger may have had, it’s imperative to exhaust all other legal remedies for compensation, and so claims against a negligent driver are necessary.

But the case of Siruta v. Siruta, in which a passenger in a wreck sued the driver for the wrongful death of his son, also a passenger, is unusual for a number of reasons. The legally perplexing case was recently before the Kansas Supreme Court.
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May 2, 2015

Florida Lawmakers to Approve $700k Claim for Bicycle Accident

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

Lawmakers are expected to approve a $700,000 claims bill to compensate an engineering professor at Florida State University who suffered serious injury after he was struck by a garbage truck while riding a bicycle five years ago.

It may seem an odd step in the civil litigation process, but the reason the case took this route is because in Florida, claims against the government are capped at $200,000 – no matter what the circumstances or expenses incurred. The legal doctrine of sovereign immunity prevents people from bringing claims against the government unless the government approves. Capping damages is one of our state’s limitations on civil claims. Even when the court finds or the government concedes liability for a higher sum, the additional amount must get a final approval stamp from the state legislature in the form of a bill.

In this case, the city of Tallahassee, where this accident occurred, conceded liability and agreed to pay the cyclist $900,000. It gave him the $200,000 it was allowed to give by law, but in order to fulfill the rest of the out-of-court settlement obligation, the case had to go before state lawmakers.
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