Miami Personal Injury Attorney Blog

CONFESSIONS OF AN INSURANCE DEFENSE TRIAL ATTORNEY

December 16, 2015 | Wolfson & Leon

“Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.” Sun Tzu

We represent people who were injured or killed due to the negligence of another person or company. Often times, fighting for justice involves going to trial. That is why it is important to know how to represent injured people, but to also know thy enemy – the defense attorney. That is why we bring to you the “Confessions of an Insurance Defense Trial Attorney”. The following actually took place in a South Florida courtroom and provides a unique insight into the mind of a defense attorney who chooses to remain anonymous.

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The first trial witness was the plaintiff’s treating physician. He was a young orthopedic surgeon who was educated at Harvard and never missed an opportunity to let everyone know. His self-confidence knew no bounds. It wasn’t hard to imagine his mom always telling him, since birth, that he was the smartest and the best. Although he was about six feet tall, he looked like he never missed a meal and as a result, he couldn’t button his white lab coat if he wanted to.

DOES THE DEFENDANT HAVE INSURANCE?

December 16, 2015 | Wolfson & Leon

In a Miami-Dade jury trial, the jury will very likely want to know the answer to the following question: “Does this defendant have insurance and if so, how much?” The answer is that most defendants in personal injury trials have insurance. But that will never be disclosed in trial because of Florida law. Now, is that entirely fair? We don’t think so. And the law used to be different. But it changed as we discuss below.

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In products liability cases, defendants usually include retailers and manufacturers. Those defendants usually have insurance. In medical malpractice cases, the defendant doctors and hospital either have insurance or are self-insured. In premises liability cases, the defendant property owner is almost always have some type of insurance. But the law does not allow for the insurance company to be mentioned in trial.

There is an even more practical reason why it is safe to assume that the defendant in a personal injury trial has insurance. Personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee meaning they do not get paid a fee unless their client recovers. There can be no recovery unless the defendant has insurance or assets. Most people do not have assets and those who do often hide or transfer those assets so that they are “judgment proof” in the event the jury decides against them. So as a practical matter, it is safe to assume that an overwhelming number of defendants in personal injury trials do in fact have insurance.

“HOW TO GET OUT OF JURY DUTY IN MIAMI?”

December 16, 2015 | Wolfson & Leon

jury You just got your summons for jury duty and your first thought might be “How do I get out of jury duty in Miami?” But if you really think about it, is that the right thing to do? What if you had a personal injury case that needed to be tried before a jury and no one showed up? What if you were the victim of a crime and were relying upon good intelligent jurors to weigh the evidence in your case against the Defendant? Or, even worse, what if you were a wrongly accused Defendant and you were innocent and needed smart jurors to see that?

Trial by jury is the cornerstone of our judicial system. We here at Wolfson & Leon are trial lawyers who represent people who suffered personal injuries due to the negligence of others. We consistently rely on the good citizens of Miami-Dade County to serve as jurors. We always encourage our clients, employees and attorneys to serve when called.

We also believe that everyone who is eligible should serve as a juror because we all count on each other to get through this life. One day you might be a juror. The next time you might be a plaintiff or a defendant and you will be counting on a jury to deliver justice. We all need each other and our system of justice counts on all of us.

YOUR PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER DISCUSSES THE DUI INJURIES IN MIAMI

December 16, 2015 | Wolfson & Leon

The “DUI Season” starts the day before Thanksgiving and ends after New Year’s weekend. Unfortunately, good people get injured and even killed by individuals who drive while impaired by drugs and/or alcohol. If you are injured by a DUI driver, your personal injury lawyer has some facts you should know.

Thanksgiving Eve is known as “Black Wednesday” and is one of the busiest bar nights of the entire year. It even rivals St. Patrick’s Day and New Year’s Eve. It is also one of the single busiest nights for DUI related injuries and wrongful deaths. Thanksgiving weekend is the busiest travel period of the year and a majority of people travel by car. Driving Under the Influence is not solely restricted to alcohol but includes legal and illegal drugs. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that in 2012 more than 10,000 people died in impaired driving crashes. That averages out to one death every 51 minutes.

Florida has Zero Tolerance for drivers under 21 who drive impaired. This means that any driver under 21 who has a blood alcohol level of .02 or higher will automatically have their driver’s license suspended for 6 months. The .02 limit is in place so that drivers under the legal drinking age cannot have a single drink and drive. And that’s the idea. The legal limit for drivers over the age of 21 is .08. Florida penalties for first conviction of DUI include:

Personal Injury Claims for Immigrants: What You Need to Know If You’ve Been Injured in Miami

December 3, 2015 | Wolfson & Leon

If you’ve been injured in Miami and you are an immigrant, your rights, responsibilities, and protections may be different than those afforded to citizens. While most people who have been injured seek recovery through personal injury claims, immigrants may have many factors to consider before they make the decision to pursue a lawsuit.

According to the Legal Intelligencer as many as 8 million illegal immigrants may be part of the labor force. These individuals often perform hard labor in dangerous industries, including agriculture, manufacturing, and construction. Because many workers in these industries fear deportation, they may not seek legal remedies when they are injured on the job. Immigrants who have been injured while driving also face similar challenges as they may fear taking their case to the civil court system. After all, what happens if they are asked about their legal status during a trial? Could they face deportation?

The issue is somewhat complex. In many cases, individuals who face deportation may be able to apply for parole or a stay of removal using recently-passed immigration protections. However, not all people qualify for these protections. Personal injury lawyers in Miami who are handling these individuals’ cases may sometimes refer these clients to immigration lawyers to ensure that they are protected. Attorney client confidentiality protects individuals who inform their attorney about their immigration status. Questions about immigrations status are best answered by immigration and naturalization attorneys. So, individuals who have suffered a personal injury either on the job or while driving may be wise to speak first to an immigration lawyer before they speak to a personal injury lawyer about receiving compensation for their injuries.

M.I.S.T – MINOR INJURY SOFT TISSUE CLAIMS

November 23, 2015 | Wolfson & Leon

Insurance companies classify injury claims for evaluation and efficiency. One of the main categories are MIST (Minor Impact Soft Injury) or LIST (Low Impact Soft Tissue) claims. Once a claim is designated as a MIST claim, the insurance company will set a value based on other MIST claims and rarely increase the offer unless there is a significant and serious change in the facts of the claim.

M.I.S.T – MINOR INJURY SOFT TISSUE CLAIMS Jonah Wolfson Miami

One of the goals of an insurance company is efficiency. It is how they maximize their profits. Think about how insurance companies encourage or reward you for going online to self-service your policy and premiums. Every time you handle your insurance issues online, you are not costing the company any employee time – and time is money.

By classifying cases insurance companies, reduce your claim to simple numbers. There is no consideration of the shock, pain or emotional toll caused by the accident as it is irrelevant to the insurance company. They can give a young claim representative hundreds of MIST claims with talking points and marching orders to handle all of the claims the same way.

YOUR PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER DISCUSSES BUS ACCIDENTS

November 23, 2015 | Wolfson & Leon

Many South Floridians rely on buses and public transportation on a daily basis. But how safe is it for you and your family? What happens if you get injured because of the negligence of a bus driver?

Broward County paid over $6.5 million dollars to settle claims caused by bus drivers from 2008 to 2013. There have been a number of news articles on the safety records of bus drivers in Miami and Broward County. The Sun Sentinel published an expose called “Bad bus drivers stay behind wheel despite many accidents – LENIENT POLICIES AND SLOPPY ENFORCEMENT AT BROWARD COUNTY TRANSIT TO BLAME”. With more than 4,500 bus stops and 125,000 daily passengers, Broward County Transit drivers deal with everything from crime to accidents. There is even a database with the incident and accident reports filed with Broward County Transit. The Miami Herald regularly reports on bus accidents causing injuries and sometimes fatalities.

If you or a loved one are injured on a bus it is important to seek the advice of a personal injury attorney. The attorney can first investigate whether the bus was privately or publically owned. This will make a big difference on how your claim moves forward. If it is a public bus, like Broward Transit or Miami-Dade Transit, then your personal injury attorney will send a formal notice as required by law. This notice will begin a six month waiting period while the public agency investigates your claim. If your claim is not resolved in those six months, then you can file a lawsuit. If you do not send the notice, your case can be dismissed until you comply with the statutory notice requirement.

WHY DO I HAVE TO SIGN A RELEASE?

November 16, 2015 | Wolfson & Leon

If you settle your personal injury claim, you will need to sign a release to get the money. A release basically means that you are releasing, or letting go, your claims against the responsible party. In a car accident, that usually means the owner and operator of the other vehicle as well as their insurance company. In a slip and fall injury, it would be the property owner. In a medical malpractice case, the doctor and possibly the hospital would want a release in exchange for a settlement.

Releases are covered by basic contract law. There is an offer to settle and, if agreed, an acceptance of that offer. But there must be what is called a “meeting of the minds” which means that the terms of the offer and acceptance must be agreed to by both parties. If the acceptance does not match or “mirror” the offer, then there is no agreement.

In a recent Florida case, the importance of having a “meeting of the minds” was clearly demonstrated. After a car accident, the injured party offered to settle her claim against the other driver for his policy limits with USAA Insurance Company. In addition, she offered to release her claims against the other driver. However, her attorney specifically advised USAA that she would not sign a release containing a hold harmless agreement nor an indemnity agreement. The attorney also warned USAA that any attempt to release anyone other than the other driver would act as a rejection of her good faith offer to settle.

RECOVERING FUTURE MEDICAL EXPENSES AND LOST EARNING CAPACITY – ONLY IF YOU CAN PROVE IT

November 16, 2015 | Wolfson & Leon

If you are injured in a car accident, you may be entitled to damages which can include future medical expenses and loss of earning capacity. However, Florida law requires that you must present sufficient evidence that a jury could, with reasonable certainty, determine the amounts of future damages. Florida courts will not allow speculative future damages that are unsupported by the evidence – no matter how seriously a person is injured.

Consider the case of Erin Joynt who was severely injured when she was run over by a Volusia County Beach Patrol truck while sunbathing at the beach. She was vacationing with her husband and children from Kansas when a lifeguard ran over her head and body. Ms. Joynt suffered a fractured skull, memory loss, broken ribs, and a collapsed lung. She continued to have a lingering paralysis on the left side of her face. Her story received international attention.

Joynt filed a negligence suit against the County, seeking damages for the injuries she suffered. After a four-day trial, the jury awarded $2.6 million in compensatory damages, broken down as follows: $2 million for past and future pain and suffering; $500,000 for diminished earning capacity, and $100,000 for future medical expenses.

Personal Injury Lawyer in Miami Considers Whether Bike Helmet Safety Claims Overstate Protections

November 13, 2015 | Wolfson & Leon

According to the Miami New Times, Miami-Dade is the top county in Florida for fatal bike accidents. Every year we hear tragic stories of bikers who have died as a result of a driver’s careless distraction, neglect, speed, or recklessness. When bicyclists are hit, they face more serious injuries. Without the protective chassis of a car, bikers are more likely to suffer serious head injuries. Sadly, in car accidents involving bicyclists, drivers are more likely to walk away, while bikers are more likely to face life-altering injuries. Personal injury attorneys in Miami can assist bikers who have been hit or injured.

Yet, the onus is often on bikers to keep themselves safe. Bikers are constantly reminded that they must follow the same laws as automobiles. Likewise, bicyclists are encouraged to wear helmets to help prevent head injuries. Yet, recent studies indicate that helmets may not keep bikers as safe as all the publicity for helmet use indicates.

According to Bicycling magazine, helmets were designed to prevent wearers from catastrophic skull-shattering or cracking injuries, but they are not designed to prevent bikers from concussions. The reality is that concussions can be far more dangerous injuries because they may not be immediately diagnosed on the scene of the accident. Furthermore, an untreated concussion can lead to brain damage or even death.