Miami Personal Injury Attorney Blog

A non-party to a suit that funds a party’s defense cannot be added as a judgment debtor once judgment has already been entered

July 21, 2014 | Wolfson & Leon

Law and public policy are often used simultaneously in determining case law. When it comes to judgments and collecting them, the law has now been made even clearer. In Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of South Florida v. Bermudez, 39 Fla. L. Weekly D1395b, the 3d DCA ultimately sided with a strong public policy argument in the wrongful death case, reversing the trial court’s judgment that allowed the plaintiff to add the Miccosukee Tribe as a judgment debtor, and allowed the plaintiff to collect the amount of the complete previous judgment plus interest from the tribe.

The fine balance between law and public policy is loudly illustrated in this case where two members of the tribe caused the accident, which led to the death of the plaintiff’s wife, and the injury to his child and to himself. While it is blatantly obvious that the plaintiff deserves compensation resulting from the court’s final judgment, the two members of the tribe assert that they have no assets. The Plaintiff recently appeared in front of the tribunal for the tenth time. And the 3d DCA decided that the plaintiff had no adequate legal basis to add the Miccosukee Tribe as a judgment debtor thereby reversing the trial court.

In ruling this way, the Third DCA relied upon three lines of authority in attempting to add the tribe as a judgment debtor, however the strongest of the three, which holds that a nonparty to litigation that funds and controls vexatious litigation can be added as a party for purposes of paying costs and attorney’s fees, was readily distinguishable from the fact pattern in Bermudez.

Winning and Losing your Miami Florida Slip and Fall Case

July 21, 2014 | Wolfson & Leon

Young woman falling on wet floor

Ever wonder how to win your Miami slip and fall injury case?

The law in years past has vacillated in slip and fall cases in business establishments involving water or other similar transitory substances. For the past several years, actual or constructive notice has been the requirement. And, in a recent case, the Third District Court of Appeals dismissed a Plaintiff’s claim because, as they said, the “record here is devoid of any evidence suggesting that the Appellees had any notice—either actual or constructive—of the water on the floor.”

Defendant didn’t file Evidence that Plaintiff was “undiscovered trespasser” – Summary Judgment gets reversed

July 21, 2014 | Wolfson & Leon

Slip and fall cases are hard. And, summary judgment is very difficult at times to avoid. This is due to the relatively new statutes. But if the Court lets defendant’s argue evidence that was not filed, well that makes it even more difficult. Recently, the Fourth DCA corrected a trial court that allowed evidence to be presented during a Summary Judgment Motion that was not filed in accordance with the rule. In fact, that evidence was relied upon in the trial court’s ruling on the slip and fall case. The ruling, actually, dismissed the case because the Plaintiff was found to be an undiscovered trespasser.

The Fourth District Court of Appeals recently reversed a trial court’s ruling granting summary judgment for the defendant in a slip-and-fall case when it came to the issue of allowing deposition testimony that was not attached to the motion, pretrial filings, or the record of appeal. In Denniser v. Columbia Hospital Corporation of South Broward d/b/a Westside Medical Center, 39 Fla. L. Weekly D990a, the appeals court would not conclude that Denniser was an “undiscovered trespasser” in the hospital pantry because the only evidence Columbia brought and relied on was deposition testimony where Denniser said she did not see anybody before she fell, which was not attached or admitted into evidence.

In doing so, the 4^th DCA cited Servedio v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n, 46 So. 3d 1105, 1107 (Fla 4th DCA 2010) to assert that “a trial court’s order for summary judgment must be reversed when there is no sworn evidence, in the record, to support that motion.” So although there is relevant testimony to support Columbia Hospital’s motion for summary judgment, procedural and evidentiary rules preclude admissibility of the statement and left a gaping genuine issue of material fact to be resolved by a jury.

Accident Lawyer News: 2 Reckless Drivers Crash Into Buildings

July 16, 2014 | Wolfson & Leon

Different age groups tend to have their own set of problems when it comes to negligent driving. For instance, statistics show that teens are prone to texting behind the wheel. It seems that many elderly accidents have a common theme as well: mistaking the gas pedal for the brake pedal.

The latter often happens in parking lots, leading to many collisions with pedestrians and businesses. Earlier this year, Florida experienced a particularly tragic example of this type of accident when an elderly woman accidentally reversed into a group of churchgoers and killed three people. During the past month, we’ve had two similar accidents in Miami.

WSVN News reports that the first incident occurred early in the morning when a man accidentally accelerated through a parking spot and into a barber shop. Fortunately, an astute barber saw the car coming and warned customers. No one suffered any injuries in that auto accident, but victims of a different collision weren’t so lucky.

Accident-Lawyer News: Distracted Driving Roundup for July 2014

July 7, 2014 | Wolfson & Leon

Distracted driving causes many of the preventable car accidents in the United States, and state governments across the country are looking for ways to curb the behavior. Most believe that texting while driving is only an epidemic because drivers aren’t educated about the dangers associated with distracted driving, but a new poll proves that isn’t the case.

The Car Connection reports that a new Harris poll demonstrates that U.S. drivers know texting is dangerous yet choose to do it anyway. According to the research, 94 percent of drivers agree that sending text messages can cause an accident. When those same drivers were asked if they send texts, 37 percent admit to texting while driving.

The statistics for reading text messages tell a similar story. Harris reports that 91 percent of adult drivers say that reading a text message while driving is dangerous, but 45 percent admit to doing it.

Accident-Lawyer News: Driver Flees After Killing Two People in Crash

July 2, 2014 | Wolfson & Leon

Hit-and-runs are terrifying trends in the United States, especially because many victims may not have died if the driver had remained to provide aid or call for help. However, most drivers are prompted to leave the scene, either because they are breaking a law by driving without insurance or they are driving without a license.

Nowadays, it’s difficult to imagine that many of these drivers actually get away with killing another person and just leaving them after a car accident. The sad truth is, many hit-and-run drivers do escape justice. Statistics for these sorts of trends are scarce, but the Chron reports that in at least one area of the country, approximately 50 percent of hit-and-run drivers are never found.

Florida police are avidly trying to find a driver after a particularly violent hit-and-run crash last week. WTSP News reports that the accident occurred at 3 a.m. and left two young women dead and third in the hospital.

Medical Malpractice Surgery Video Admissible

July 1, 2014 | Wolfson & Leon

The Second District Court of Appeals recently affirmed a trial court when it came to the issue of letting a jury see video of a surgery. In Allstate v. Isensee, 39 Fla L. Weekly D1221, the court upheld a ruling from trial court Judge Linda Babb that let the jury see video of a surgery. In doing so, the 2nd DCA cited Pope v. State, 679 So.2d 710, 713 (Fla. 1996) and noted that “the test for admissibility of photographic evidence is relevancy rather than necessity”. However, it noted that “relevant evidence is inadmissible if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of issues, misleading the jury, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence”. See Section 90.403, Fla. Stat. (2011). So, if you are a Plaintiff Lawyer and are trying a case, roll tape.

Twist in Miami Medical-Malpractice Case, and More Personal-Injury Lawyer News

July 1, 2014 | Wolfson & Leon

Medical malpractice is a tough issue that patients all across the country face. In Florida, malpractice rates are slightly higher than those in other states. According to the National Practitioner Data Bank, Florida had the fifth-highest number of malpractice payouts in 2012. Nationwide, there were 12,142 total payouts that year.

Four years ago, a Miami patient died due to Dr. Peter V. Choy’s negligence. Teresita Garrido first visited Dr. Choy in 2008, complaining of pelvic pain. He ordered a CT scan that revealed a pancreatic mass.

Choy failed to inform Garrido of the mass, and he continued to keep her in the dark for several years, until she visited him in 2010, complaining of a more acute pain. Choy ordered another CT scan, and he eventually informed Garrido of the mass.

Car Drives Into Restaurant, and Other Personal-Injury Lawyer News

June 19, 2014 | Wolfson & Leon

Negligent driving takes many forms. Distracted driving is the most recognizable form today, because of the media attention it receives, but there are other types that are just as deadly. Reckless driving, which includes speeding, can also lead to serious accidents.

Oftentimes, it’s apparent that negligence played a role in an accident, but it’s unclear exactly what type of negligence contributed. These cases lead to lengthy police investigations to determine what caused the crash.

This may be the case in a recent accident in Fort Lauderdale. WSVN News reports that the driver of a Honda Accord lost control of his vehicle and crashed through the front wall of a sushi restaurant.

Police Arrest Truck Driver After Crash, and Other Accident-Lawyer News

June 12, 2014 | Wolfson & Leon

In the world of car accidents, tractor-trailer accidents are the most destructive. These large trucks can legally weigh up to 80,000 pounds. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average weight of a car is 4,079 pounds.

The disparity between these two numbers should give you some idea of the destruction that occurs in a tractor-trailer collision. In many cases, these accidents resemble crashes between cars and trains more than the typical traffic accident.

Oftentimes, the accidents occur because of negligent driving. Tractor-trailer drivers are usually on very tight schedules, requiring them to drive for long hours at a time. It’s not unusual for drivers to exceed the federal rest guidelines in order to make a delivery on time.