Many of these incidents occur when there are many people around, such as family gatherings or holiday celebrations. Often it comes down to a miscommunication between adults who are supposed to be supervising the child. Property owners can be held accountable in some cases on the theory of premises liability or negligent supervision. However, it will come down to the individual facts of the case. If there is no defect in the pool, it often comes down to negligent supervision. If a homeowner assumes responsibility for supervision of young swimmers and then breaches that duty, he or she may be held liable. However, if another guest steps in an assumes that responsibility, the homeowner may no longer have a duty of care to supervise.

This was the case recently in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the father of a young boy who drowned in a backyard pool at a family gathering.more

According to court records, the 5-year-old child had come to the party with his mother, and neither he nor his mother knew how to swim, though she did not bring a flotation device with her. When the child and his mother first arrived, one of the homeowners agreed to watch the child as he splashed around in the wading area of the pool, which was separated from the main pool by a nine-inch rock wall. When the child’s grandfather – a city fire department captain – arrived at the gathering, he told the homeowner he would take over watching the child. He later testified he never turned that responsibility over to anyone else.

When the boy’s mother saw the homeowner whom she had entrusted to watch the child in the house, she did not ask who was watching her son because she assumed another adult had taken over. The boy’s grandfather allowed him to play in the shallow end of the pool. At some point, the grandfather lost sight of the boy. An older girl reportedly held the boy and played in the deep end – with the approval of his grandfather – but it’s not clear at what point she and his grandfather lost sight of them. Suddenly, someone spotted the boy being in face down at the bottom of the pool. Adults pulled him out, but resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful and the boy died.

In plaintiff’s lawsuit, it was alleged defendant homeowners made modifications to the pool that turned the color of the water dark, thus making it difficult to see under the surface. Further, plaintiff alleged no flotation devices were provided to guests.

Trial court granted summary judgment to defendant, finding homeowners owed no duty of care because decedent’s grandfather had specifically overtaken supervisory duties for the child, and there was no evidence that any condition of the pool was dangerous or that these conditions caused the boy’s death.

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

Additional Resources:

Taylor v. Trimble, July 27, 2017, California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Four

More Blog Entries:

Fair Injury Risk Underscored by Fatal Accident During Peak Fair Season, Aug. 2, 2017, Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Lawyer Blog

There, at the state fair, an 18-year-old U.S. Marine recruit lost his life when the ride he was on malfunctioned and he fell from his seat. Seven others, ages 14 to 42, were seriously injured. Investigation into the accident is ongoing, and fairs across the country have taken similar rides out of commission while they conduct more thorough inspections. The ride involved in the fatal accident had been inspected several times as it was being erected, and was permitted by an inspector the day of the accident.

Part of the problem, engineering experts and inspectors told USA Today, is that there are too few inspectors and a patchwork of safety regulations that are decided on a state-by-state basis. Congress relinquished control of fair safety oversight to the states back in the 1980s, so there are no concrete, uniform standards for fair and ride safety and inspections.

Take, for example, Ohio, where there are 3,700 permits issued for rides annually in the state, and just eight total inspectors. While the number of permits has increased by 23 percent in the state over the last seven years, the number of inspectors has remained exactly the same. This is despite a spate of amusement ride accidents that have resulted in serious personal injury or death.

Here in Florida, a maintenance worker was killed last year while conducting a routine inspection of the Hurricane ride at the Miami-Dade County Fair, just a few minutes before the park was set to open. In 2004, a South Florida fair ride caught fire after a leak in the hydraulic system, resulting in three injuries. Earlier this year, a man from New York was electrocuted at the South Florida Fair after a steal beam he was holding came in contact with a power line while he was setting up a ride called the “Dutch Wheel,” a type of Ferris Wheel.

In Florida, the safety standards of amusement rides are set forth in F.S. 616.242, which gives the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services the authority to inspect amusement park rides and to shut down rides that fail to adhere to certain standards and pose a risk of serious injury or death to the public. The department also is in charge of inspecting go-kart tracks, water-related amusement rides and zipline courses. Additionally, it is the agency in charge of investigating accidents involving amusement rides.

There are two basic types of amusement rides:

• Temporary – Must be inspected every time it is set up or moved.
• Permanent – Must be inspected at least twice a year.

Owners who wish to operate an amusement ride in Florida must have a certificate of insurance for at least $1 million per occurrence and $1 million in aggregate.

If you are injured on a Florida amusement park ride, you likely have several options for compensation. Our attorneys can help.

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

Additional Resources:

We’re heading into peak state fair season. How safe is your ride? July 29, 2017, By James Pilcher, The Cincinnati Enquirer

More Blog Entries:

Impact of South Florida Motorcycle Accidents Lessened with Helmets, July 30, 2017, Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Lawyer Blog

Although the trial court decided the case in plaintiff’s favor, finding the hotel 15 percent at fault, the appellate court reversed, finding the trial court should have issued a directed verdict on the issue of negligence and also addressed a number of impermissible comments made by plaintiff’s attorney during both opening and closing arguments.

Though the outcome is disappointing for plaintiff, it’s important to highlight why the court decided the way it did, as it’s likely to affect future cases. While this case began with the irrefutable negligence of the drunk driver, this claim at its heart was one of premises liability. The assertion was there was a dangerous condition on the property, defendant hotel knew or should have known about it and yet failed to address it or warn patrons of it.

According to court records, plaintiff introduced evidence that included aerial photographs revealing that the road near the hotel curves, with motor vehicles traveling straight toward the cabana before the road curves right. Plaintiff alleged this created a foreseeable zone of risk, and an expert testified that placing palm trees as a barrier in front of the cabana would have averted the danger, and likely prevented this death. Plaintiff also presented evidence indicating drivers routinely sped on that road.

Defense, meanwhile, argued the crash of this nature was not reasonably foreseeable, and that the cabana complied with building codes and zoning regulations. Further, while there was evidence of speeding on that road, previous municipal studies indicated the threat was primarily to those who were crossing the road, rather than those who were in the cabana. Finally, in the nearly five decades that the road had been there, there had never before been an off-road traffic accident.

The driver in the case had a blood-alcohol concentration that was three times the legal limit. She was later sentenced to 15 years in prison and our Fort Lauderdale wrongful death attorneys understand she reached an undisclosed civil settlement with plaintiff.

The hotel did later erect a barrier to prevent similar accidents, but the appellate court said plaintiff’s argument failed firstly on the issue of “duty,” which is an essential component in any negligence case. Plaintiff had to establish that hotel had a duty of care to protect its patrons from a dangerous condition that it knew or should have known on its premises. The appellate court ruled that this curve on this particular road with a 25-mph speed limit was not a dangerous condition giving rise to duty with respect to those inside the cabana. Further, the lack of accident history at the site bolstered the defense claim that there did not exist a dangerous condition.

The court cited the 1987 decision in Florida Power & Light v. Macias, wherein the 3rd District Court of Appeals held some accidents are too unusual or extraordinary to be reasonably foreseeable, and determined this incident fell into that category.

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

Additional Resources:

Las Olas Holding Co. v. Demella, July 19, 2017, Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal

More Blog Entries:

Dangerous Property in Florida Garners Lawmaker Attention, July 17, 2017, Wrongful Death Lawyer Blog

It’s a major problem in the Sunshine State, where more than 99,000 hit-and-run accidents were reported just last year. That is fully one quarter of the total number of crashes, law enforcement officials say. Yet it only accounted for 15,900 of the charges filed last year. Mostly, that’s because the at-fault driver(s) took off and were never found.

In Broward County alone, the Sun Sentinel reports, 14 people were killed and 119 injured in the approximately 12,000 hit-and-run crashes in 2016. Palm Beach County officials, meanwhile, logged 8,000 hit-and-run crashes there resulting in a dozen deaths and 102 injuries. In Miami-Dade County, it was reported there were 19,000 hit-and-run crashes resulting in 20 deaths and nearly 150 injuries.

FHP officials call these figures, “alarming.” Still, there is no statewide database on these crashes. The FHP is setting out to change that, with the hope that unifying all existing databases will help authorities better track these incidents, which could help to solve them and ultimately serve as a deterrent to would-be offenders.

Authorities say at this point, drivers face little or no consequence if they don’t remain on scene, so they have incentive to take off. It is the case, however, that if a driver flees a fatal hit-and-run, they will serve a minimum mandatory four years in prison – the same as one would serve for DUI manslaughter. That law was changed only a couple years ago to strip away the incentive for drunk drivers to flee the scene of serious crashes. The crime is a first-degree felony, and can be punished by up to 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Clearly, though, it remains a major problem.

Recently in Davie, an 80-year-old woman and her dog were killed and another woman, 61, was injured by an alleged hit-and-run driver struck them on South Pine Island Road as they stood in the bike lane with a dog on a leash in their 55-and-over. The driver of the vehicle never stopped. The woman who survived suffered two broken bones in her spine. Witnesses say the driver appeared to have been a white male in his 50s wearing glasses and accompanied by a female passenger.

In another case, the parents of a 6-year-old killed in Miramar four years ago are still seeking answers after he died in a hit-and-run crash. He had just gotten a Happy Meal from a local McDonald’s and was following a relative across a street when the driver struck him. The child landed on the roof of the car before it sped away. Numerous people called 911, but the driver was never found.

Our Broward car accident injury lawyers know these cases leave families reeling, and often unsure of their next legal step. In many cases, filing a claim for uninsured motorist coverage is the best way to help recover financially for medical bills, lost wages and wrongful death. UM is auto insurance coverage that covers the victim in the event of a crash with a driver who is either:

• Not identified.
• Has no insurance.
• Lacks enough insurance to cover the damages.

Hit-and-run crashes would be included in applicable scenarios.

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

Additional Resources:

FHP launching programs to solve hit-run cases, Feb. 3, 2017, By Wayne K. Roustan, Sun Sentinel

More Blog Entries:

Florida Pedestrian Accident Deaths an Urgent Concern, March 23, 2017, Wrongful Death Lawyer Blog

Now, following a jury trial that named the girl’s parents, the tour bus company and the driver, his parents have been awarded $26 million in damages. It’s believed to be the largest amount ever awarded in California for the wrongful death of a minor. The bus company was assigned 70 percent of the blame. The girl’s parents shouldered 25 percent of the blame. Zisette, meanwhile, was just 5 percent negligent for his own death.

His parents say the money is not going to bring their son back. However, they intend to use it to help press for legislation that will help change the laws and improve bus safety, which the parents say his sorely lacking. They don’t want another child to suffer the same kind of wrongful death as their beloved son, whom they called “exuberant” and “full of joy.” more

According to The Daily Breeze, the open-air bus was traveling along the highway when the teen struck his head on the pedestrian bridge. His mother pointed out how unsafe it was, even to an untrained onlooker. “It was a bunch of teens standing up, flying down the freeway,” she said.

Plaintiffs alleged their son’s wrongful death was the fault of the adults on board – the bus driver, a tour guide and the girl’s parents. They alleged those individuals failed to take safety precautions to protect the 35 teens on board. No one told them to sit down. No one told them to wear their seat belts. Meanwhile, the girl’s parents provided the teens with vodka. Bus employees allowed the teens top drink and dance on the upper deck of the bus, even as it was moving down the freeway.

Defendants, meanwhile, tried to foist the blame onto the underage victim. They alleged he drank three beers before he ever boarded the bus, and then brought with him a bottle of vodka and a bottle of whiskey. They further alleged he stood high on an 18-inch riser on the bus.

Prior to the party, the teens were texting back and forth about all the alcohol they were going to bring to drink during the five-hour trip.

The victim’s mother said she knew the teens were taking a tour of Hollywood on the bus, but had no other information. The girl’s parents, meanwhile, had reportedly purchased six flasks of vodka and gave them to their daughter, instructing her to share.

None of the teens aboard testified to having seen decedent drinking, but he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.118, which is higher than the legal limit of intoxication of 0.08. For a minor who was just 16, his blood-alcohol concentration should have been zero.

At the time of the incident, the girl’s parents, the driver and the tour guide were all on the lower level of the bus. The bus stood 13.3 feet tall. The overpass was 15.1 inches. Decedent stood 5 feet, 11 inches, and he was standing on an 18-inch riser. The bus could technically move under overpasses, but the clearance was close. On the first overpass, everyone ducked and said, “Whoa.” But as decedent stood up, just seven seconds later, as he faced the rear of the bus, his head hit the concrete overpass of the next bridge. He died two days later.

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

Additional Resources:

Jury assigns blame, awards $26 million in fatal injury of Manhattan Beach teen on tour bus, Dec. 4, 2016, By Larry Altman, The Daily Breeze

More Blog Entries:

West v. United Services Auto Ass’n – Asserting Bad Faith Insurance, Nov. 21, 2016, Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Lawyer Blog

The ruling was not wholly unexpected. Stahl was essentially an indictment of the entire workers’ compensation system in Florida. The case stems back to 2003, when plaintiff began working as a nurse at a mid-sized hospital and he suffered a work-related back injury. This occurred just a few months after state legislators had enacted a series of changes to the state’s workers’ compensation program. Two years after his injury, his physician determined that he had reached maximum medical improvement. Unfortunately, that rating – and his injury – was essentially career-ending because, being unable to lift above a certain weight, he could no longer be a nurse. He was then awarded just 12 weeks of impairment benefit income and $5,472 – for an injury that permanently locked him out of his field. Later, the workers’ compensation board determined plaintiff didn’t meet the definition for permanent total disability and his claim for those benefits were denied.

What he argued in his case was that this award of just $5,472 was not adequate for the injury he sustained. Therefore, it could not be the exclusive remedy plaintiff had as recourse. Florida, like so many other states, recognizes an exclusive remedy provision that prohibits injured workers from suing their employer for negligence in exchange for a system of no-fault benefits. However, those benefits are supposed to fairly compensate workers for their losses. It was supposed to be part of a “grand bargain,” but as workers’ compensation protections are being steadily whittled away, it’s more of a bargain for companies and more of a raw deal for workers.

Plaintiff’s attorney said he recognized the petition to the supreme court was “a long shot” because it would have required the court to examine the entire constitutionality of the state’s workers’ compensation system, which undoubtedly would have an effect on the workers’ compensation system in the country at-large. As the court is only working with eight justices at the moment, it has been conservative about the cases it takes on.

Defendants in the case say that eliminating workers’ compensation as an entire system would have done much more harm to workers than good.

But our work injury lawyers in Fort Lauderdale know there has been some good news this year in workers’ compensation cases. In April, there was the case of Castellanos v. Next Door Company. Here, the Florida Supreme Court held that the mandatory attorney fee schedule – which in some cases worked out to plaintiff lawyers receiving just a few dollars an hour – was unconstitutional because it violated workers’ due process rights under the state and federal constitution.

Then in June, the state supreme court took on the case of Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg. In that case, the court ruled that the 104-week limitation on temporary total disability benefits is not constitutional because it resulted in workers having limited access to the courts. The court ruled the previous 260-week limit in place prior to the 1994 change in the law should be reinstated.

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

Additional Resources:

U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Review Challenge to Florida Workers’ Comp System, Nov. 10, 2016, By Amy O’Connor, Insurance Journal

More Blog Entries:

Motorcycle Riders in Construction Zones Face Hazards, Nov. 11, 2016, Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer Blog

Last year, according to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) there were 737 reported boating accidents, resulting in 55 deaths and 438 injuries. Miami-Dade County had the highest number of accidents and injuries (96 total accidents and 74 injuries and 3 fatalities), while May was the month with the most accidents overall (92). Alcohol or drug use was reported to have played a role in 19 percent of all fatal Florida boating accidents.

A pair of bills proposed during the 2015 state legislative session would have aligned BUI (boating under the influence) with those of DUI (driving under the influence). As it now stands, both first- and second-time offenders of both crimes face the same amount in fines and jail time. However, DUI repercussions are lot more severe than those received for BUI. For example, BUI does not affect a person’s driving record. What’s more, BUI convictions are not considered to be “prior convictions” in future DUI cases. Additionally, BUI convictions aren’t reported to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. To treat these two offenses the same, said state Rep. Gayle Harrell, sponsor of one measure, “just made a lot of sense.” more

Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to sell her colleagues on it and the bills died out in committee. The opposition feared that such legislation could open the doors for boaters to be required to obtain boating licenses, a constitutional issue that bill sponsors say was not a valid concern. No new proposal has been made. Our Fort Lauderdale boat injury lawyers believe it may be time to revisit this.

The Palm Beach Post recently delved into this very issue, spotlighting a pervasive problem in Florida, which has more boating accident injuries and fatalities than any other state. Reporters cited one case of a man who drank too many Long Island Iced Teas and then piloted his yacht, perhaps aptly named, “Time Out” onto a beach – yards from multi-million dollar homes. He was later cited for BUI when his breath-alcohol limit was measured at 0.164 – more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.

Although that seems like a clear-cut case, enforcement of BUI in Florida can be tricky and raise a number of complex legal issues. For instance, unlike trucks and cars, boats don’t have airbags, seat belts, brakes or other safety restraints. Neither do they travel on defined pathways. They are often susceptible to the waves and currents. There is no defined street and there often isn’t adequate lighting. There is also no certification needed for driving a boat the way there is for a motor vehicle – even though the consequences for inexperience are much the same. Boaters in Florida are supposed to complete a course and get a boating education card. Yet the number of boating safety ID cards numbered fewer than half the number of registered recreational vessels last year.

Florida’s 737 boating accidents last year is a significant spike from the 634 reported a year earlier, but right on par with the 736 reported in 2013. The number of registered vessels, meanwhile, shot up from 897,000 in 2013 to 915,000 in 2015.

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

Additional Resources:

Should boating under the influence be treated the same as DUI? Sept. 30, 2016, By Kristina Webb, Palm Beach Post

More Blog Entries:

$7M Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit Filed by Widow Against Driver, Car Owner, Bar, Oct. 23, 2016, Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Lawyer Blog

Officials told The Washington Post that the bus collided with a tractor-trailer truck that was traveling on the interstate going approximately 5 mph. The bus, which was going much, much faster, slammed into the rear of the truck with such force that the entire front of the bus became enmeshed in the trailer of the truck – a full 15 feet into the back of the rig. Authorities report a total of 13 people were killed and another 31 were seriously injured and taken to area hospitals – all adults with injuries ranging from minor to critical. Of those 13 who lost their lives, 10 were women. One of the three men killed was the driver of the bus.

Now, The Los Angeles Times reports so far two of those families have filed wrongful death lawsuits against the bus company that was chartered to bring them safely home from an L.A. casino. Plaintiffs allege the bus company, USA Holiday, and the driver personally failed to:

• Travel at a safe speed;
• Brake to avoid a crash;
• Properly maintain the bus.

more

The driver of the bus reportedly owned the company, which was operated out of his personal dwelling – which is somewhat unusual for charter bus companies.

Preliminary results of an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) indicate the bus failed to comply with vehicle safety standards, with two of its eight tires not having sufficient tire tread to be considered safe. The federal investigation of the collision continues. Simultaneously, wrongful death lawyers are conducting their own independent investigations of the incident and have been querying witnesses about what exactly occurred in an effort to gather information pertinent to current or future claims.

Some of the attorneys spoke to the Times, indicating the early results of the investigation suggest what we already had a strong inkling of before: The commercial bus industry is poorly regulated. Consumers purchase a bus ticket with the assumption that there is sufficient oversight of carriers, vehicles and drivers. Too often, we’re finding out that simply isn’t true.

These charter buses, often referred to as motorcoaches, are overseen by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The most recent Motorcoach Safety Action Plan reveals approximately 750 million passenger trips are made in these vehicles annually. From 2001 to 2010, motorcoach crashes resulted in approximately 17 deaths annually. The most common causes of these bus accidents, as reported by federal officials, are:

• Driver fatigue;
• Driver behavior (specifically distraction with cell phones);
• Lack of operator oversight (specifically not properly vetting drivers, failing to ensure drivers are well-rested)
• Failing to properly maintain vehicles.

In 2014, the FMCSA reported there were nearly 4,000 large trucks and buses involved in fatal crashes.

In clearing the wreckage of this latest tragedy, officials say most of the bodies were recovered in their seats, suggesting passengers had been properly seated at the time of the crash. In fact, many had been asleep. Officials are examining the “black box” data recorder that would provide clues as to what exactly occurred in the moments before the collision.

The bus had reportedly last been inspected in April and been deemed roadworthy.

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

Additional Resources:

‘I was awakened by the sounds of people screaming’: Bus crash near Palm Springs kills 13, Oct. 24, 2016, By Amy B. Wang, The Washington Post

More Blog Entries:

$8M Verdict Awarded for Wrongful Death of Disabled Group Home Resident, Oct. 28, 2016, Florida Wrongful Death Lawyer Blog

Trucking carriers are required to carry insurance by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and they don’t follow the same rules as those required for passenger vehicles. In general, policies that cover semi trucks are much larger than those that cover passenger vehicles, primarily because it’s well-established that these vehicles tend to cause far more damage when involved in an accident. Typically, you don’t want to settle a truck accident claim too quickly because it’s important to have a good idea to have a better handle on the type and scope of injuries, the necessary treatments involved and the impact it will have on one’s work and home life.

Because it’s not uncommon in these cases for victims to be dealing with more than one commercial insurance company, it’s imperative to seek the assistance of an experienced truck accident lawyer.more

Let’s look, for example, at the recent truck accident wrongful death case of Great West Cas. Co. v. Robbins, recently weighed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The matter before the court did not have to do with liability for the crash. Rather, the action was to ascertain whether a commercial insurer had an obligation to indemnify defendant truck driver and his employer. The insurer argued it shouldn’t have to, but the defendants and a second commercial insurer argued it should.

For plaintiff, of course, indemnification by this insurer would mean the potential for additional damages, which were extensive given that this was a wrongful death lawsuit.

According to court records, the crash happened in January 2011 when a tractor-trailer driven by defendant Philips struck a vehicle operated by decedent Robbins on a highway in Indiana. Robbins died from his injuries. At the time, Philips was an employee of Hoker Trucking, LLC and was driving the tractor-trailer in the course and scope of her employment. That company is based in Iowa and owned the tractor driven by Philips. However, the trailer that was being hauled was on loan from a company called Lakeville Motor Express Inc., based in Minnesota. However, Lakeville wasn’t even the actual owner of that trailer. The owner was a company called Wren Equipment, LLC, also based in Minnesota. Wren had leased the trailer involved in the crash on a five-year basis to Lakeville for $22,600 per month and provided insurance on those trailers. After the five years were up in 2006, the lease converted to a month-to-month, though at the time of the crash, Lakeville had signed on a 1-year lease extension. At that point, Lakeville agreed to provide at least $1 million in insurance coverage. The trailer continued to be leased until 2013.

To satisfy the lease agreement, Lake purchased a $5 million commercial insurance policy from Great West Casualty Co., and Wren was added on as an additional insured policy. Neither Philips nor Hoker were named as insured parties on that policy. Meanwhile, Hoker was insured by Northland Insurance Company, which provided $1 million primary coverage at the time of the crash.

Plaintiff, decedent’s widow, filed a lawsuit in state court against the trucking company, its driver and the company that leased the trailer, alleging negligence. The company that leased the trailer was later dismissed form the action.

Subsequently, Great West filed a request seeking declaratory judgment stating it was not liable to defend or indemnify the trucking company or its driver for the crash. Trial court ruled the Great West policy unambiguously excluded Hoker and Phillips as insured parties under the policy, which meant plaintiff would not be entitled to collect on that $5 million policy. The 7th Circuit affirmed, finding that because the trailer was being driven in furtherance of Hoker’s business – not Lakeville’s – the policy unambiguously excluded coverage.

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

Additional Resources:

Great West Cas. Co. v. Robbins, Aug. 16, 2016, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

More Blog Entries:

Road Debris Causes Thousands of Florida Car Accidents Annually, Aug. 15, 2016, Fort Lauderdale Truck Accident Attorney Blog

The study involved culling information on more than 2,000 nursing home patients. Findings were that more than 400 of them had been involved at least once in some type of abuse involving another resident over the course of the four-week study.

Accounting for 45 percent of those cases were verbal taunts. But physical assaults too made up 26 percent of incidents. Plus, it’s worth noting that verbal taunting can often be a precursor to a physical attack, including a possible sexual assault.

Nursing home staff and administrators have a duty to protect patients from aggression from other patients. Many of these incidents are foreseeable and preventable with proper planning, training, supervision and security. As researchers noted, many of these incidents of interpersonal aggression results from the fact that you have dozens if not hundreds of people living together in close quarters for the first time in decades – perhaps ever. Many of them are suffering from dementia or other diseases that affect cognitive function, which are also marked by behavioral problems. In fact, it is often a behavioral issue that results in a person being placed in the facility in the first place. Many caregivers aren’t equipped to handle such aggression in their homes, so they entrust nursing homes with the responsibility. They trust that there will be enough staffers to not only keep their loved one safe from themselves, but also to prevent harm to others.

Unfortunately, as this study shows, nursing home staff and administrators are failing on this level.

Study authors noted the findings of this research likely understated the problem to a significant degree. The data was based on self-reported information from the patients, and also, where patients had language barriers or health issues that prevented or made participation difficult, family members and legal guardians were interviewed. But of course, that meant not all incidents of abuse would be recorded, even when done so anonymously. Relatives and legal guardians might not always know what goes on behind closed doors and residents may not be fully capable of reporting it.

Plus, researchers were forced to rely in part on reports from staff or other residents in order to verify these incidents.

“It’s possible the abuse is much more prevalent,” the study author noted.

Approximately 3 percent of all reported cases involved some form of sexual abuse by another resident.

Where the abuse involved physical aggression, the most common type of incident involved hitting or pushing. Invasion of privacy was also another common complaint, resulting in 20 percent of all reports. These mostly involved entering one’s room without permission or taking or touching one’s property without asking.

On average, residents in the study were in their mid-80s and two-thirds were women. Approximately 16 percent were living in units designed for patients with dementia.

In cases where nursing home abuse occurs, whether by a staffer or another resident, victims and/ or their families should thoroughly explore their legal options.

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

Additional Resources:

One in five nursing home residents abused by other residents, June 14, 2016, Reuters

More Blog Entries:

Report: Bus Company Flouts Its Own Driver Fatigue Safety Rules, June 2, 2016, Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer Blog

Soon after, there was a rush to file wrongful death lawsuits (five in all) because, as is usually the case, the defendant only has a finite amount of insurance and assets that could cover such claims. But given the large number of deaths, there was a dispute over which family should be the first in line for the payout, if the landlord was indeed found liable for the deaths. (Meanwhile, the landlord faced criminal manslaughter charges.)

Recently, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court settled the issue in Estate of Summers v. Nisbet, closing a legal gap that had existed in the state up to that point.

Court records and news reports show the first to file was the family of Steven Summers, just 29-years-old at the time of his death. However, plaintiffs filed this claim through a process known as ex parte attachment, which means it’s not made public until after the defendant (here, the landlord) goes through the process of challenging the allegations. These filings are secretive because they have the intention of locking a defendant’s assets without any warning so that the defendant won’t try to hide money or property.

But in this case, the landlord never challenged the attachment in court, so the filing was not made public. When the other families filed their ex parte attachments months later, they had no idea this first one was still pending. If they had, they argued, they would have filed a challenge themselves so that the court could prioritize the victim’s claims, rather than locking them all up for one claimant. Further, the families argued the first plaintiff should have never filed one an ex parte claim to start because there was no indication the landlord would try to hide assets.

The trial court decided to toss the ex parte attachment and also removed Summers from the front of the payout line.

Plaintiffs then appealed that decision all the way up to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court (the highest court in the land).

There, one justice noted that it was never anticipated by lawmakers or judges that a defendant wouldn’t challenge one of these attachments, so it became an issue of first impression. The question was whether these secret claims could become invalidated just because no one showed up to challenge it and make it public.

The court ruled it was not. The original claim is no less valid, the court ruled, just because it was filed in secret. And with that, the state high court vacated the lower court’s ruling and put Summers back to the front of the line for claims.

This case shows the importance – particularly in a personal injury case where there may be multiple claimants – of filing the claim early on. This requires reaching out to an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible.

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

Additional Resources:

Estate of Summers v. Nisbet, June 7, 2016, Maine Supreme Judicial Court

More Blog Entries:

Report: Bus Company Flouts Its Own Driver Fatigue Safety Rules, June 2, 2016, Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Lawyer Blog