This is often a critical first step because actuaries, who are experts in mathematics, statistics, and financial theory, can help us get a better sense of the actual economic loss involved in a case. That reduces the uncertainty when it comes to personal injury settlement negotiations.

The vast majority of Fort Lauderdale personal injury cases are resolved through negotiation with insurers and defendants (as opposed to a trial or even litigation). Before we issue a demand letter or even consider a settlement offer from the other side, we need to know the full extent of your losses.

That might seem simple. As your attorney, we may have a pretty accurate ballpark estimate just from our years of experience in practicing personal injury law. But we’re not just tallying the actual wages you’ve already lost and bills you already owe. We want to know how this incident is going to continue to impact you professionally, financially, physically, mentally, and emotionally – for years to come. Only then can we confidently request or accept a settlement offer.

A common method to determine these kind of damages is called the “multiplier-multiplicand method” or the “courts method.” Basically, we’re looking at the amount of estimated annual loss, multiplied by the number of years that loss is expected to continue. Accuracy is important in these calculations, but without guidance from someone with expertise in finance and risk assessment, these kinds of forecasts can be somewhat subjective and even inaccurate. This is especially true in cases with complex, serious injuries.

This is where actuaries come in. Actuaries analyze the financial costs of risk and uncertainty. They’re usually employed by the insurance companies, but their services can be valuable in Fort Lauderdale personal injury cases as well.

As noted in an academic analysis published in the Vance Journal, actuaries increasingly serve as consultants in a personal injury case, and can actually be called upon as expert witnesses. In this role, they provide information that helps quantify the monetary damages in personal injury cases. They factor not just the actual bills, but incorporate occupation-specific factors, education achievements, age, region, and the impact of one’s disability on their daily life.

Hiring an actuary early on also demonstrates to the defense that you are acting in good faith during the negotiation process. Actuaries have their own professional standards and ethics, and their conclusions about claim valuations are going to be well-supported with strong data. A compelling actuary report also shows the insurers/defense that you have a strong case that could be won in court – if they refuse to pay what you are reasonably owed during the settlement negotiation process. Also, when attorneys

So while hiring an actuary for a Fort Lauderdale personal injury case is certainly an expense, it’s one that yields substantial returns because their research can often facilitate faster, fairer resolution.

Actuaries may not be required for every case, but they’re often beneficial in serious injury cases stemming from car accidents, dangerous property, dangerous products, and medical malpractice. If you are injured in Fort Lauderdale, our dedicated personal injury lawyers provide free initial consultations.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward County.

Additional Resources:

SETTLEMENT OFFERS AND PERSONAL INJURY: IDENTIFYING THE BREAK-EVEN OFFER, Feb. 2000, By jerry Reiss and Richard Ryles, Florida Bar Journal

More Blog Entries:

“Can I File a Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawsuit Even If It Was Partly My Fault?”, May 6, 2024, Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

The legal process is vexing for most people. A Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawsuit is no different – especially because you’re navigating it all after just emerging from a traumatic incident such as a car accident, medical malpractice, or hazardous conditions/violence on someone else’s property.

Most people aren’t experts on insurance coverage, liability, and the rules of litigation. And hopefully, this is the only time you’ll ever have to go through it. But knowing the steps of how the Florida personal injury claims process works can help ease some anxiety about what to expect. Your personal injury lawyer – who is not paid upfront, or at all unless you win – can break it down even more clearly based on the facts of your case.

If you’re asking, “What are the steps of a Florida personal injury lawsuit?” We have answers.

“It Depends”

Everyone hates this lawyerly answer.

But we must start with it as a caveat because the steps of your Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawsuit depend on a few factors. A Broward medical malpractice injury lawsuit is going to be much more involved and have many more steps compared to a Broward car accident lawsuit.

What we can say is that regardless of the type of injury claim you’re filing, it can be settled at any time (as opposed to going to court). In some cases, it’s not even necessary to file a lawsuit to get a fair settlement. Defendants that recognize their wrongdoing right out of the gate may be eager to put it behind them. And insurers also have a duty to act in good faith, meaning there is some incentive to settle solid claims quickly and fairly. Working with a skilled personal injury lawyer is the best way to facilitate a fast and fair Florida personal injury settlement.

Basic Steps of a Florida Injury Lawsuit

While the steps may vary slightly depending on the specifics of your case, claimants in Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawsuits can generally expect the following:

• Investigation
• Pre-suit demand and settlement negotiation
• Filing the lawsuit
• Discovery
• Trial
• Appeal/post-trial motions

Settlements, which is how 95% of injury claims are resolved, are often ideal because they minimize litigation (lawsuit) costs. Again, a claim can be settled at any point. We could be in the middle of trial, and the claim could be settled.

The key is to ensure the claim is reasonable. Accept a low-ball offer, and you’ll be stuck with it – even if your actual losses end up being much higher. Reject a fair offer, and you could end up reducing your payout if the verdict at trial ends up being within 25% of that offer. A Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer can help you figure out what’s fair and what isn’t.

Investigation

The first step in any Florida injury case is investigation.

After the consultation and agreement to accept your case, your injury lawyer will want to review your medical records, witness statements, accident/incident reports, insurance policies, surveillance footage, etc. (If you can bring this to your first meeting with your attorney, even better. Reduces your overall attorney fees.)

Investigation allows us to assess liability (who was at fault), damages (how much you should be paid), and insurance (who is going to pay).

Pre-Suit Demand and Settlement Negotiation

Once we’ve gathered and reviewed all relevant information, we’ll bring our recommendation to the client about whether we should advance with a claim and if so, for how much. Once the client agrees, we submit these demands to relevant insurers or other parties. They have a certain amount of time to respond. The insurer may counter our offer. They may reject it outright. Or they may pay it.

If they reject or counter the offer, this kicks off the settlement negotiation phase.

Filing the Lawsuit

If the claim isn’t resolved in a timely and fair manner through this negotiation, then we file a lawsuit.

Discovery

Discovery is an initial phase of litigation (the process of a court handling your case). Lawyers from both sides get to review all the records, request the other side produce whatever evidence it has, question witnesses, discuss the case with experts, request independent medical exams, etc.

This gives everyone involved a clearer picture of what’s going to be presented at trial. That can compel the other side to settle – or gear up for a fight in court.

Mediation may be done after discovery/before trial – with the goal of hopefully reaching a settlement without the need for trial.

Trial.

It’s rare a case actually goes to trial. However, sometimes we have no choice if the defendant/their insurer refuses a reasonable settlement.

Cases get presented to a jury, witnesses are called to testify, evidence is presented, and the judge oversees the proceedings and makes sure the law is followed. The jury has the last word.

Appeal/Post-Trial Motions.

About that last word – it might not actually be the last word. Because there’s still a chance for post-trial motions and appeals. If one side thinks the procedure was unfair or the law wasn’t followed as it should have been, they can ask the trial court to reconsider in a post-trial motion. If that fails, they can proceed with an appeal.

Call a Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyer

Note that this step-by-step plan is just a guide. Your circumstances may mean things go a bit differently. Working with an experienced personal injury attorney helps ensure you are informed every step of the way.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

F.S. 627.736

Personal Injury – The Florida Bar

More Blog Entries:

3 Ways Florida Child Injury Lawsuits Are Different From Adult Filings, March 4, 2024, Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

As our Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers can explain, tort reform proponents (mostly lobbyists for large corporations and insurers) have for years painted Florida as a “judicial hellhole” and decried how easy it was for plaintiffs to win big payouts for things like car accidents, premises liability, boating accidents, medical malpractice, etc.

The reality is: It’s not easy to win Florida personal injury cases, and never has been. Now it’s about to be even harder, and accountability for insurance companies has been weakened. Having a dedicated, experienced personal injury lawyer advocating on your behalf has always been an imperative to success in these cases, but now more than ever.

Among the changes now in effect thanks to HB 873: more

• No more pure comparative fault standard. Previously, Florida subscribed to a pure comparative fault standard with respect to personal injury cases. What that meant was that parties were only financially responsible for the percentage of harm they were found to have caused – even if that was as little as 1 percent. If you were hurt in a Florida car accident for which you were 99 percent at-fault and the other driver was 1 percent at-fault, the other driver would still be compelled to pay for 1 percent of the damages. Now, that’s not an ideal outcome because it means someone who incurred $100,000 in damage would only collect $1,000 – not enough for most personal injury lawyers working on a contingency fee basis to even take the case. But the point is everyone was responsible for their own share of the blame. This new law erases that. Instead, we will now have a modified comparative fault standard with a 51 percent bar. What that means is the same principle applies – everyone is financially liable for their own share of fault for what happened – unless the plaintiff is more than 50 percent at-fault. If the plaintiff is found to be 51 percent or more responsible, they will collect nothing. The other driver who was 49 percent at-fault? They will pay nothing. Similar standards will apply for lawsuits pertaining to things like dangerous conditions on properties (including slip-and-falls and criminal attacks made possible because of negligent security), bicycle accidents, boating accidents, motorcycle accidents, etc.
• Shorter statute of limitations for personal injury cases. Prior to this new law, the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit was 4 years. It’s now been halved – down to 2 years. We understand 4 years might sound like a lot of time, but keep in mind: Complex personal injury claims can take a lot of time to thoroughly investigate. The benefit of a longer statute of limitations was not that we could dredge up years-old claims and try to make quick cash. It was because settlement negotiations – how 95 percent of Florida personal injury cases are resolved – can be extensive in more serious, complex cases. Not every claim necessitated a lawsuit, so long as they could be resolved within that 4 year time frame. Now with less time, there will be increased pressure to pursue resolution through the already overburdened Florida courts. They’ll be compelled to hurry up and preserve their right to file a lawsuit before that window closes.
• Reduction in damages for negligence security. Property owners and businesses that welcome guests on site for their own financial gain have a responsibility to ensure those places are reasonably safe – given the type of business, the vulnerability of the guests, the surrounding neighborhood, a history of problems, etc. When they fail to do so and someone is victimized by a criminal act as a result, those property owners can be held liable for negligent security. For the most part, direct civil claims against the attacker themselves are rare because those acts aren’t covered by insurance and the perpetrator usually can’t pay out-of-pocket. And anyway, the claim is not about the attack itself; it’s about the lax security that made the unsuspecting guest/student/patron/customer highly vulnerable to attack. But this new measure will allow defendants in these cases to argue that the assailants – whether named as a defendant or not – should be apportioned some of the financial responsibility. (Bear in mind, there are already mechanisms for this, and the criminal justice system can order restitution by the attacker as well.) But by allowing property owner defendants in negligent security cases to assert this, they can wiggle out of full financial responsibility for the damages. If the assailant is named as a defendant and apportioned part of the blame, chances are they won’t be able to pay it. And if the assailant is not a named defendant and apportioned part of the blame, the victim can’t collect their percentage of the damages. Either way: The property owners, corporations, and insurers win.
• Modified attorney’s fees for bad faith claims. Bad faith insurance claims are filed when an insurance company fails to treat claimants fairly and in accordance with the contract they have with their insured. It can result in triple damages for plaintiffs if they win (though winning isn’t easy without strong evidence). It used to be that attorney’s fees in these cases were automatic if the claimant prevailed. In other words, if the insurer acted in bad faith, they’d have to pay the legal bill of the person who was forced to take the action to court in order to get a fair shake. No more. Plaintiff attorneys’ fees – even if they’re successful – will have to come out of the damages that plaintiffs collect. Less money for those harmed, more money in the pockets of insurers. Also, there is now a “safe harbor” provision saying that so long as the insurer tenders the policy limits or amount demanded within 90 days “of being provided sufficient information,” they won’t be subject to bad faith claims. Also, the court can now consider “comparative fault” with respect to the plaintiffs in these cases as well. That is, the insureds and people injured, despite having far less power in these situations compared to insurers, now owe the insurance companies a reciprocal duty to act in good faith. This was not an actual issue for insurers, mind you. It’s just another method for them to retain as much money as possible.

While these changes are disheartening, they don’t necessarily mean your Florida injury claim is a foregone conclusion. It does mean that we’ll have to fight harder than ever to ensure your rights and best interests are protected. We are committed to doing just that for our clients.

Additional Resources:

LEGISLATURE PASSES COMPREHENSIVE TORT LEGISLATION, March 24, 2023, By Mark D. Killian, Florida Bar Journal

More Blog Entries:

How Likely is a Default Judgment in My Broward Personal Injury Claim? March 10, 2023, Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Fort Lauderdale injury attorneys will examine your premises liability claim to determine whether it’s viable and identify all potential defendants. Some of the most common hotel injury claims include:

• Parking lot injuries;
• Swimming pool accidents/drowning;
• Slip-and-fall injuries;
• Trip-and-fall injuries;
• Falls from heights;
• Food poisoning;
• Burns from fires, hot water, food or drinks;
• Elevator/escalator injuries;
• Animal attack;
• Injury caused by broken/defective furniture;
• Bed bugs/unsanitary conditions;
• Exposure to toxic chemicals;
• Playground injuries;
• Assault/battery.

Any one of these incidents can cause serious and lasting injuries and trauma. If there is evidence the hotel staff knew or should have known about the risk and failed to fix it or provide guests warning, there is a good chance a personal injury claim could be successfully made.

Defendant hotels will often argue comparative negligence (i.e., the person injured shared some or all of the blame, proportionately reducing damages) or that the claimant wasn’t as seriously injured as they said. Having an experienced personal injury attorney will be imperative.

Falls, Fires and Fights – Hotel Injuries Run the Gamut

Recently in Orange County, an 8-year-old child was rushed to the hospital after falling three stories at a hotel where the family had stopped before they planned to make their way to Disney World. The child, visiting from the United Kingdom reportedly fell out of a window and into some hedges and trees, ultimately suffering a knee injury.

The sheriff’s office stayed to investigate, and it’s not clear yet whether the family will file a claim against the hotel. It’s likely if an injury lawyer is consulted, he or she will look carefully at applicable Florida building codes for guardrails, handrails and windows in multi-unit dwellings to determine whether all statutory rules were followed.

Other recent Florida hotel injuries have included:

• A lawsuit filed by multiple guests at a Disney hotel who alleged they became ill and required multiple trips to the emergency room after they were served lettuce wraps that allegedly contained live insects. They were subsequently diagnosed with food poisoning and other injuries that “do not occur absent negligence,” according to the lawsuit. Disney denies the allegations.
• A federal lawsuit filed in Orlando, Starstone Nat’l Ins. Co.v.Polynesian Inn, LLC, one man who was seriously injured and the estate of another who was killed at a hotel sought damages from the hotel’s general liability insurer, asserting negligent security after a woman attacked them at the door of their hotel room. Although the motive isn’t fully known, the woman did take cash and other personal items from the men as she fled.
• A Central Florida woman staying at an amusement park resort was allegedly attacked by a wild bird while on a dock owned by the resort. She reportedly suffered serious injuries, including traumatic brain injury. She claims the resort was aware these birds were a threat to visitors, and failed to warn them. The hotel is fighting the claim.

In another case out of Tampa, hundreds of guests had to be evacuated due to a fire that broke out in a hotel room where a guest’s straightening iron was accidentally left on. No one was hurt.

Hotels in other states have faced lawsuits recently for a range of offenses, including inadequate security for failing to verify that a man was allowed to enter the room of a female guest (he was the guest’s estranged, abusive husband) and unsanitary conditions leading to an outbreak of Legionnaire’s Disease.

If you are injured at a Florida hotel, our personal injury lawyers in Southeast Florida will assess the circumstances to determine whether you have grounds to pursue a claim.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Officials: 8-year-old falls three stories at hotel, escapes with knee injury, Aug. 1, 2019, WFTV-9

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.

Three years later, in North Broward Hospital District v. Kalitan, the state high court held non-economic damage caps in medical malpractice personal injury lawsuits were also unconstitutional. This reversed the caps imposed three years earlier by Gov. Jeb Bush in 2003. Once again, the court cited the equal protection clause. Justices further noted that not only were legislators’ cited reasons for initiating the caps bogus (an alleged “medical malpractice crisis” of high medical malpractice insurance rates resulting in a physician shortage), but it didn’t have the promised effect of lowering insurance rates.

Effectively, what both of those previous injury and wrongful death caps did was lower arbitrarily reduce compensation for those who suffered the worst injuries as a result of someone else’s negligence.

The Republican sponsor and supporters of the bill say the state high court’s rulings in both cases were “wrong,” and the “activist” justices overstepped their bounds by effectively legislating from the bench, violating the state’s constitutional rules on separation of powers among the three government branches.

Three new appointments to the Florida Supreme Court by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis makes the court the most conservative the state has had in decades. Although partisanship is not supposed to play a role in how judges interpret the law, our Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers know that sometimes it does.

On top of capping pain and suffering damage awards in civil injury lawsuits, the bill originally would have protected businesses in the state from certain product liability claims. However, that provision was later removed for fear it might interfere with the state’s pending lawsuit against makers of opioid drugs.

Florida has been characterized as a “judicial hellhole” by tort reform advocates, but this is in fact another way of saying that legislators and state courts by-and-large recognize the need for strong consumer and individual protections when it comes to negligence.

Regardless of what happens with this bill, having an experienced injury attorney or wrongful death lawyer at your side to fight for your right to full and fair compensation is essential. Even if liability is established, the issue of damages is often a contentious one in Florida injury lawsuits.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Conservative hopes for new Florida Supreme Court fading in Senate, April 28, 2019, Daytona News-Journal

More Blog Entries:

How Long Will My Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawsuit Take to Resolve?, March 13, 2019, Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

According to the Greenwich Time, the settlement was reached between the chef and the remodeling company, which allegedly laid down a dangerous plastic runner on a set of stairs in the rear of the kitchen. The remodeling firm was contracting with the homeowner to carry out a series of residential renovations.

This settlement was important for the worker because in Connecticut, similar to in Florida, homeowner do not have to purchase workers’ compensation coverage for domestic workers they hire. The exemption laid out in F.S. 440.02(15)(c)1 specifies that domestic servants in private homes are exempt from the definition of “employment.” But homeowners who choose not to buy workers’ compensation insurance for housekeepers, personal chefs, nannies and others may find they are personally liable for injuries suffered by these workers on their properties. Granted, the worker would have to prove negligence on the part of the homeowner (something they don’t have to do in typical workers’ compensation claims), but if that worker prevails, he or she will be able to collect all of their lost wages (as opposed to just a portion), all medical bills and compensation for pain and suffering, emotional distress and loss of consortium. These payouts would most likely be made through the homeowner’s insurance policy.

But whether the worker receives workers’ compensation coverage or not, they may still have the option of pursuing a third-party liability claim for personal injury, say against a contractor or some other third party. That was the case with this personal chef.

According to news reports of the case, the incident happened in the spring of 2014. Plaintiff was coming out of a rear stairwell of the kitchen when he tripped on a plastic runner that had been wrongly installed. As a result of the trip, he fell – head and shoulders first – into a wall located at the bottom of the stairs. The fall caused him to suffer a concussion, a torn rotator cuff and herniated discs. He had no choice but to undergo a series of surgeries for these conditions, which resulted in him being out of work for some time.

In fact, he has not been able to return to his previous job as a personal chef as a result of these injuries. According to one expert witness who was slated to testify at the upcoming trial, plaintiff is no longer able to carry boxes of food and other necessary supplies to and from the kitchen – an integral part of the job.

As plaintiff’s attorney pointed out, this was the result of negligence and carelessness by defendant, who used a material for a runner that was lacked sufficient treading and was dangerous the way it was installed. The runner created an unsafe condition that put anyone going up or down the stairs at risk for falling. Defendant failed to put up a sign warning of the possible danger and didn’t take any steps to cordon off the area so that unsuspecting visitors or workers would use special caution.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Fallen chef wins $1.5M settlement from Stamford contractor, Feb. 6, 2017, By Daniel Tepfer, Greenwich Time

More Blog Entries:

$38 Million Verdict to Bicyclist Injured by Valet, Feb. 8, 2017, Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

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.

Plaintiff alleges as a result of the incident, she suffered serious personal injuries, disabilities, mental anguish, pain and suffering and disfigurement that are both severe and permanent. She further seeks to collect damages not just for previous medical bills, but also for future medical bills and potential wage losses as she becomes an adult.

In addition to naming the the theater company as a defendant, plaintiff seeks to compel information from the school district, specifically about whether there are additional defendants who might be named in the action.

The theater company is a non-profit art education group that serves as a host to programs in several northern states.

Although there are no national statistics on how many students are injured while participating in school plays, we know there is a lot that can go wrong. Take for example the recent Utah Supreme Court case of Benda v. Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City. In that case, a student in a high school drama class almost died and suffered severe and permanent injuries while using a lift to replace light bulbs in the auditorium. The teacher had instructed him to climb the lift to change the bulb and then negligently instructed the other students to push it from one fixture to another with him still on top. A jury found the school liable and held that loss of consortium damages could be paid to parents for the loss of their son’s affection.

A recent report by BBC detailed a list of on-set risks that actors and crew members face in putting forth a production:

• Knives. Retractable blades are banned in many theaters because they don’t always retract in time, but there continue to be reports of actors being hurt with knives. Take for example the New Zealand high school students injured when their necks were cut by a prop razor during a performance of, “Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”
• Hanging. Most hanging scenes use a breakaway noose that is extremely loose and where the actor is actually suspended on a harness. But all of this needs to be carefully supervised. Actor Raphael Schumacher died at a theater in Italy earlier this year after an accidental hanging during a performance.
• Fight/ flight scenes. Each of these scenes need to be carefully choreographed and practiced to prevent injuries and falls.

There have been other reports of stage mishaps and disasters that range from falls to problems with trap doors to costumes getting caught.

When those injured are students, liability issues may be different from those of professional theater actors. Our Fort Lauderdale injury attorneys are dedicated to fighting for just compensation for those affected.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Lawsuit alleges negligence led to injury in Batavia ‘Aladdin’ production, Sept. 14, 2016, By Hannah Leone, The Beacon News

More Blog Entries:

Johnson v. Colorado – Restitution From Criminal Case May Not Cover All Your Personal Injury Damages, Sept. 16, 2016, Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Attorney Blog

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.)more

In Wolf, plaintiff tripped over a tree root as he took a short cut through a parking lot landscaped feature. The court ruled that when a person walks into a landscaping area that contains trees, grass, mulch and other features that make it clear that area isn’t supposed to be used for walking, pedestrians assume the risk in doing so – especially when there are concrete walkways that are available for their use.

But Wolf wasn’t applicable here, the 3rd DCA ruled.

According to court records in the trip-and-fall lawsuit of Grimes, plaintiff was making her way through a parking lot to a store located in a shopping plaza. She walked across one of the landscaped areas directly across from the store. This area was well-worn from use by other walkers. While crossing this feature, she tripped over a piece of re-bar that was sticking out of the ground. As a result of her fall, she suffered injuries to her knee.

She later sued the store (commercial tenant), property owner and the landscaping company that was responsible for maintenance.

Defendants responded with the ruling established in Wolf. Trial court granted defense motion for summary judgment on these grounds.

On appeal, the 3rd DCA reversed with regard to the property owner and landscaping company. (As far as the commercial tenant, the court ruled that company didn’t have any control over the landscaped area in a parking lot shared by several other commercial tenants.)

Generally, property owners have a duty to business invitees to:

• Keep the property in reasonably safe condition;
• To warn of latent or concealed dangers about which the property owners knows or should have discovered through the exercise of due care (and which are not known or obvious to the invitee).

The court wrote that if the parties responsible for parking lot maintenance may have had a duty to anticipate harm in that footpath because, as the well-worn area suggests, people had been using it as a walkway for some time.

What’s more, the hazard in this case was not a natural one (i.e., a tree root), but rather a not-so-obvious, man-made length of re-bar sticking just a few inches off the ground.

The court did not make a decision on whether the defendants were negligent, but rather determined there were triable issues of material fact for which they could be found liable, and the case should proceed to trial in order for those facts to be established.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Grimes v. Family Dollar Stores of Florida, May 4, 2016, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal

More Blog Entries:

Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawsuit Filed After Bounce House Blows Away From Beach, May 10, 2016, Fort Lauderdale Trip and Fall Accident Lawyer Blog

Now, they’re in the running to work alongside software engineers with MIT to improve their app before it goes on the market. They’ll also receive $20,000 from the Verizon Foundation. It was one of 1,200 submissions nationally, and this was one of eight teams chosen to compete.

The goal of the app is to slash the number of student concussions and prevent traumatic brain injuries among young athletes. It’s an issue close to home for these Fort Lauderdale students, where just last year, 1 in 5 junior and varsity football team players – 10 out of 48 – suffered a concussion-related injury.more

It would work like this: A device would be placed into each player’s helmet. When the player is struck, a message would be sent to the coach’s mobile device (smartphone, iPad, laptop, etc.). That message would inform the coach of how hard the player was hit, and provide other statistics on the level of force.

In turn, this would give the coach critical information about how best to address the situation. So even if a player initially seemed fine, the coach’s would be able to better judge how best to address the player’s medical needs.

From a personal injury lawyer standpoint, this information could also be beneficial if the coach did not take appropriate action. For example, if the force data indicated the player should be taken out of the game and examined by a health care professional – and the coach fails to do this – it could be used as concrete evidence of liability.

The hope, though, is that these sorts of missteps will be avoided entirely. We know coaches want to do right by their players. The idea is to give them the right tools to make those judgment calls easier and more precise.

Concussions are mild traumatic brain injuries that often result from having one’s head and upper body shaken violently. There is a misconception that these injuries are somehow unique or uncommon. Not so.

It’s estimated more than 50 percent of high school athletes have sustained a sports-related concussion before they even enter high school. Nearly 40 percent of college athletes have a history of multiple concussions.

Worse, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports nearly 70 percent of students with concussion symptoms don’t report it. A mobile app like this would make it harder to hide it.

Why is all of this so scary? First of all, the frontal cortex of the brain doesn’t fully develop until age 25. Damage to the brain at such a young age can be greatly detrimental to one’s development.

Post-concussion syndrome is a complex health condition that involves symptoms that last for weeks, months or even more than a year after concussion. It involves problems with dizziness, fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, irritability, headaches and emotional changes.

The Pine Crest student app could potentially help to identify these problems before they develop into something more serious. Once it’s finished, rights to the app would be fully retained by the students and available for download in Google Play.

If your child has suffered significantly as a result of a concussion or other sports-related head injury, call our Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers today.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Fort Lauderdale students win $20k grant toward concussion app, Feb. 2, 2016, By Carlos Suarez, ABC Local 10

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Uber Lawsuit Filed As Miami Considers Driver Screenings, Feb. 2, 2016, Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Blog