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October 20, 2016

Finch v. Thurston County – Dog Bite Injury Strict Liability Exceptions

Dog bite injuries in Florida are handled under a legal theory known as “strict liability.” What this means is, according to F.S.767.04, a dog owner may be liable if his or her dog bites someone – even if that dog had no history of any vicious behavior and even if owner had no prior warning or knowledge the dog might bite. The injured person does not have to prove the owner’s failure to use reasonable care played any sort of role in causing the bite. Rather, they must show the defendant owned/ controlled the dog, the dog bit the victim, that bite caused injury to victim.

There are, however, a few exceptions to the rule. Those include:

The person who was bitten was not lawfully in the place where the bite occurred. (In other words, he/she was trespassing.)
Comparative negligence. This asserts the dog bite victim’s own negligence was partially to blame for causing the bite. This generally doesn’t apply to children under the age of 6.

September 29, 2016

Student Injured in Musical at High School Suing

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

A woman is seeking $50,000 in damages on behalf of her daughter, who was injured while watching a musical production of, “Aladdin” at a local high school in Illinois.

The girl, a minor, was reportedly hit on the head with a light fixture during the production. The girl’s mother alleges the youth theater company as well as the school district are liable to pay damages for the resulting injuries – specifically, medical bills, pain and suffering and the mother’s lost wages.

According to The Chicago Tribune, the girl was participating in the production for school credit in one of her classes. According to the lawsuit, her role in the production was to pick up confetti that had been fired out of a cannon at the end of Act I and then to leave through the back curtains. Behind that curtain was an adjustable stage light that was on a pole. The complaint asserts that an employee of the company adjusted the light to be about five feet off the ground. However, complainant student is 5 feet 8 inches tall. The girl reportedly was picking up the confetti and then stood up, striking her head on the light as she did so. Continue reading

July 6, 2016

Horrific Alligator Attack – But Is Disney Responsible?

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

The alligator attack death of a 2-year-old boy at a Disney resort recently was met with horror, grief and questions about whether the theme park may be liable for what occurred.

The toddler, Lane Graves, was snatched by an alligator as he was splashing in about six-to-twelve inches of water, about one foot in at the bank of a man-made, freshwater pond, his father just footsteps away. His father wrestled with the alligator to try to free his son, but tragically, he did not succeed. The boy’s body was found intact after an exhaustive 16-hour search.

Soon after word of this nightmare emerged, it was revealed that there were “No Swimming” signs posted nearby. However, there was no mention of alligators or any other wild animal. Of course, those of us who live in Florida are familiar with the fact that any freshwater body – and even some saltwater – is a potential habitat for gators. But this was a resort and it was known many people would be staying from out-of-town. This family was no exception, as they’d been visiting from Nebraska.

But could Disney be liable for wrongful death in this case?

Based one what we know of the case, it seems plausible. Continue reading

June 17, 2016

Baby in Miramar DUI Hit-and-Run Dies, More Charges Filed

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

A 39-year-old woman who was reportedly drunk when she ran into a 37-year-old pregnant woman and her two children, ages and 3 and 5, on South University Road in Miramar, now faces charges of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident involving death.

The new charges were filed after the victim’s baby, whom doctors were forced to deliver, died.

Court records show the mother had been nearly six months pregnant with the child and the baby died within just days of the May 7 car accident. Continue reading

May 22, 2016

Grimes v. Family Dollar Stores of Florida – Parking Lot Trip-and-Fall

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

Generally, if you trip-and-fall in a landscaped area that obviously isn’t intended for foot traffic, the property owner isn’t going to be responsible to compensate you for any resulting injuries.

However, as the recent case of Grimes v. Family Dollar Stores of Florida reveals, when those landscaped areas have well-worn pedestrian tracks indicating it is regularly used as a shortcut, the potentially for liability is increased.

That’s according to Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal. The court conceded there were a number of prior cases (on which defendants relied) that established property owners/ controllers aren’t responsible when pedestrians/ shoppers take a shortcut through landscaped features that aren’t designed for or used by pedestrians. (Specifically, the court relied on Wolf v. Sam’s East, Inc.) Continue reading

January 14, 2016

Two FPL Friends, Colleagues Killed in High Fog Truck Crash

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

The Sun-Sentinel described the cloudy conditions that hung over the road a “pea-soup fog.” It was there that two Florida Power & Light linemen, colleagues and also best friends, were driving.

They were there to pick up some overtime, and the chance to work together made it not feel so much like work. Both men were saving up for family vacations to Europe, so they had been together a lot lately on those extra shifts.

But something happened. Investigators are still trying to piece together exactly what it was, but they do know it was about 8:15 a.m. and it was extremely foggy. The pair were on a dirt road near U.S. 27. The vehicle overturned. The truck rolled into a nearby canal. It was nearly an hour before rescue crews responded to the scene, where someone had called to report a vehicle upside down in the canal. The men were both pulled from the truck, where they were pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading

December 24, 2015

Holiday Home Fires Are Rising Concern for Florida Fire Officials

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

The quintessential winter holiday is all about family, elaborate home-cooked meals, hot cocoa, a white wonderland of snow outside and a toasty fire inside. But there are many dangers associated with all that cooking, Christmas lighting, dried pine needles, candles and more. Here in South Florida, we may still have the central air blasting in late December, but that doesn’t mean we’re free of holiday fire hazard risks.

The American Red Cross reports some 47,000 fires occur during winter holidays nationally, causing some 500 deaths, 2,200 injuries and costing nearly $555 million in property damage. Some fast facts:

On average, 1 in every 22 home fires started by a Christmas tree end in death;
An average of 40 fires daily during the holidays are caused by children playing;
Fires started by candles are four times more likely to occur in winter than during any other season.

A number of fire departments across Florida have been working to drive home the importance of Christmas tree protection, candle safety, working smoke detection systems and how important it is to keep matches and lighters out of reach of children on long holiday breaks. Continue reading

December 2, 2015

Gemmink v. Jay Peak Inc. – Negligent Maintenance of Property

By Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys

Property owners have a duty to take reasonable steps to make sure their property is safe. That includes addressing slippery conditions, longstanding walkway defects or security issues. This is especially true for property owners who host risky and potentially dangerous activities on site, regardless of whether participants sign waivers.

That said, plaintiffs still have a heavy proof burden in showing a causal link between a property owner’s negligent maintenance of property and alleged injuries.

This was seen in the recent case of Gemmink v. Jay Peak Inc., recently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Continue reading