How Florida’s Birth Injury Compensation Plan Works for Ft Lauderdale Families Key Takeaways: A Florida NICA birth injury claim seeks compensation through the Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan, a no-fault program covering certain severe brain or spinal cord injuries caused by oxygen deprivation or mechanical injury during labor, delivery, or immediate resuscitation in a…
Signing a Car Accident Release in Florida Can End Your Claim for Good Key Takeaways: When you sign a Florida car accident release, you usually give up your right to seek more money from the releasee, which means the at-fault driver or insurer you are releasing, even if your injuries later turn out to be…
When Dizziness Is Really a Stroke: Your Rights After an ER Error Key Takeaways: Yes, you may be able to sue a Miami ER for misdiagnosing a stroke as vertigo, but Florida law makes these claims harder than many other malpractice cases. A misdiagnosis alone is not malpractice, so you generally must prove duty, breach…
How Miami-Dade Labels a Dog "Dangerous" and Why It Matters to Bite Victims Key Takeaways: In Miami-Dade County, a dangerous dog classification is a formal finding by animal control that a dog meets the definition in Fla. Stat. § 767.11. A dog qualifies if it aggressively bit, attacked, or endangered a person, or severely injured…
When a Family Needs One Voice in Court Key Takeaways: In Florida, generally only the decedent’s court-appointed personal representative can file a wrongful death lawsuit, seeking damages for all survivors and the estate under § 768.20. A person may serve if legally competent and a Florida resident at the time of death. They generally cannot…
When a Fall Makes an Old Injury Worse in Miami Key Takeaways: Yes, you may be able to recover damages if a Miami slip and fall worsened an old injury. Recovery is generally limited to the extra harm the fall caused, not the pre-existing condition itself. If the jury cannot separate the two, Florida’s standard…
How Florida Law Applies to Each Light on a HAWK Crossing Key Takeaways: Each light on a pedestrian hybrid beacon (HAWK signal) tells drivers something different. A dark beacon is inactive. Flashing yellow means proceed with caution. Steady yellow means get ready to stop. Steady red means stop and stay stopped. Alternating flashing red means…
Florida’s Boating Accident Reporting Rules After a Crash on the Water Key Takeaways: In Florida, you generally have to send the FWC a written boating accident report if the accident causes a death, a person’s disappearance, an injury that needs more than first aid, or damage to vessels or other property totaling at least $2,000….
Understanding Landlord Responsibility After a Fall at Your Apartment Key Takeaways: A landlord may be liable when a tenant slips and falls in a Ft Lauderdale apartment if the fall came from a hazard the landlord had a legal duty to fix or prevent, such as broken stairs, damaged floors, or unsafe common areas. Under…
What Florida Law Says About Your Comp Carrier’s Share of a Settlement Key Takeaways: Under Florida Statute 440.39, a workers’ comp carrier that paid benefits generally gets a lien on an injured worker’s third party settlement. The lien is not simply everything the carrier paid. Florida law generally uses a three-step approach. First, the lien…
Drug and Alcohol Testing After a Truck Crash in Fort Lauderdale Key Takeaways: Under federal law, a truck driver in Florida generally must take a post-accident drug and alcohol test after any crash that kills someone, whether or not the driver was at fault. Testing is also generally required after crashes where someone needs medical…
Foreign Flags and Florida Courts: What Injured Cruise Passengers Should Know Key Takeaways: Yes, you can often sue in Florida even if your cruise ship is registered in another country, because a ship’s flag alone does not decide which court can hear your case. Federal admiralty law, Florida’s long-arm statute (Fla. Stat. § 48.193), and…
Florida’s Outer Deadline for Medical Malpractice Claims Key Takeaways: Florida’s medical malpractice statute of repose, found in Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(c), generally bars a lawsuit filed more than four years after the incident, even if the patient has not yet discovered the injury. This runs alongside a separate two-year statute of limitations, which starts when…
Your Medical History Can Strengthen Your Crash Claim Key Takeaways: A pre-existing condition doesn’t have to sink a Fort Lauderdale crash claim, because records from before and after the crash can show how much the collision made your injury worse. Once you file a PIP claim, Florida law generally lets auto insurers request your past…
Falling From a Scaffold in Miami: What Federal Safety Law Requires Key Takeaways: OSHA’s 10-foot scaffold rule, 29 CFR 1926.451(g)(1), requires employers to protect employees working more than 10 feet above a lower level, typically through guardrail systems, personal fall arrest systems, or both, depending on scaffold type. Because Florida has no OSHA-approved state plan,…
How Shared Fault Can Change the Value of Your Miami Car Accident Claim Key Takeaways: Florida’s 51 percent comparative negligence bar, found in Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6), generally prevents an injured person from recovering damages if they are found more than 50 percent at fault. At exactly 50 percent or less, recovery may still be…
What Happens After You Send a Malpractice Notice in Florida Key Takeaways: After a Notice of Intent to Initiate Litigation is served on each prospective defendant, Florida law generally imposes a 90-day presuit screening period under Fla. Stat. § 766.106(3)(a) during which a lawsuit generally may not be filed. The provider or its insurer must…
What Cruise Passengers Should Know Before a Venue Fight Begins Key Takeaways: A cruise ticket’s forum selection clause is generally enforceable, but the fundamental fairness test from Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute may let a passenger challenge it by showing fraud, overreaching, inadequate notice, or a forum that leaves no realistic remedy. The burden…
The Hidden Harm Behind the Belt That Saved Your Life Key Takeaways: Seat belt syndrome is a recognized pattern of injuries caused when a restraint holds the body during a sudden, violent deceleration, typically marked by a band of abdominal or chest bruising known as the "seat belt sign." That visible mark can signal hidden…
Waking Up During Surgery: What Florida Patients Need to Know Key Takeaways: Anesthesia awareness occurs when a patient regains consciousness during a procedure meant to render them unconscious, sometimes perceiving sound, pressure, or pain while unable to signal for help, and the psychological aftermath can be lasting. In Florida, this may amount to malpractice only…
