Miami Personal Injury Attorney Blog

Should I Buy Rental Car Insurance?

December 14, 2012 | Wolfson & Leon

MIAMI BEACH – One of the more confusing moments in renting a car is the moment in time when the rental agent tries to sell you insurance on the rental. What should you do?

If you have insurance on your personal car and it provides rental coverage, usually the answer is “no” because it would be a waste of money. That doesn’t mean that you will be covered for everything that happnes. But, chances are that if you have your own coverage, buying additional coverage sold by the rental comapny is a waste. But read below to make sure.

The rental agencies will try to sell you two things. The first is loss damage waiver. And the second is liability insurance. There are other coverages that they may try to sell. But these two are the basics and this article is limited to discussing the pros and cons of purchasing them depending on what coverage you have.

Fatal Car Accident on Turnpike – Preserving Black Box Evidence

December 14, 2012 | Wolfson & Leon

WEST PALM BEACH – Tragically, a woman died on the Florida Turnpike Friday, December 14, 2012 near the Okeechobee Boulevard exit in Palm Beach. It happened at 5 a.m. The associated press reports that the Florida Highway Patrol said that she tried to avoid a crash in front of her but was struck by a vehicle behind her. The accident caused the southbound lanes to close.

And, The Palm Beach Post reports that a pickup truck driver hit the median concrete wall in the center of the highway. He spun and ended stopped in the road. The woman who unfortunately died was driving a Mazda and may have hit that truck or stopped just before hitting it. Then, unfortunately, another pickup truck slammed into her, in what appears to be the accident that caused her to pass away. She expired at the hospital. The first driver was also taken to the hospital. The police, Florida Highway Patrol, will continue to investigate.

We are Miami Beach and Miami personal injury lawyers and handle cases throughout South Florida. Thirty percent or more of our cases are filed outside of Miami-Dade County and we have extensive experience litigating in Palm Beach County, Broward County, and throughout the state west to Collier County and as far north as Jacksonville.

Lower Car Insurance Premiums for Personal Injury Protection

December 13, 2012 | Wolfson & Leon

MIAMI BEACH – The cost of car or automobile insurance in the urban Miami Beach and Miami markets is high and not looking to go down. You buy insurance for those times when luck isn’t with you and someone else ino tap paying attention. Automobile coverage and specifically Personal Injury Protection, is a no-fault automobile insurance coverage. It covers your medical bills up to $10,000.00. And, Personal Injury Protection covers out of pocket expenses and lost earnings.

Recently, the State Legislature passed a law reducing benefits for victims of automobile crashes. The benefits that were reduced were for payments to massage therapists and acupuncturists. One would think that this would reduce premiums for people. But it hasn’t. Insurance rates have not dropped. And, recently, Jeff Atwater called for the companies to realize the savings and reduce premiums.

The average payments for acupuncture were $4,400.00 and the average payments for massage therapy were $3,700.00. With this kind of savings, the insurance companies should be able to pass on savings. But they haven’t and on November 29, 2012 Jeff Atwater called for some savings.

Drunk Drivers & Wrong Way Collision – NTSB Calls for Ignition Interlock on All Convictions

December 11, 2012 | Wolfson & Leon

MIAMI BEACH – Today, the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) has called for every state to enact laws that would require an ignition interlock device for anyone who has been convicted of a drunk driving offense. This would include first time offenders. The device prevents the person from starting a car’s engin if their breath tests positive for alcohol.

The device prevents a person from starting a car if the alcohol reading is too high. The NTSB says that it is the best way of preventing further crashes. If the blood alcohol concentration is .02 percent or .04 percent, depending on the device, the car won’t start. The breathalyzer is mounted on the car’s dashboard.

The device is currently required for convicted drunken drivers in 17 states. According the the NTSB, drunk drivers account for more than a third of the nations 32,000 traffic deaths a year.

School Injured and Killed Children – Campus Burials and Lost Bodies

December 11, 2012 | Wolfson & Leon

MARIANNA – As Miami Beach and Miami Personal injury inwyers, we have represented numerous children, parents, and other individuals who were the victim of a public or private schools negligence or outright intentional wrongdoing. Recently, numerous newspaper outlets, online news organizations, and television stations reported on a tragedy to our youth that spanned almost 100 years.

On December 10, 2012, the University of South Florida reported that nearly 100 boys had died between 1900 and 1970 at the Dozier School for Boys. According to a Miami Herald report, this was detailed in a 114 page report following a University of South Florida anthropological and historical study. The Dozier School for Boys was a Juvenile Justice school for troubled youth who had criminal or other behavioral concerns. The boys, apparently, were killed trying to escape the premises. There was suggestion in the article that, at some point, this was a legal practice.

The School opened in 1900 as the Florida State Reform School and was shut down on June 30, 2011. After controversy over abuse that was both physical and sexual, the state Department of Juvenile Justice shut the school down. The report indicated that there were burial sites on grounds and that bodies were unaccounted for. Disturbingly, the deaths were apparently unreported by the headmaster of the school to the legislature. Between 1925 and 1926, a boy by the name of Thomas Curry died and his information was not passed along to the legislature.

Tip Two – What to do At the Slip or Trip and Fall Scene

December 10, 2012 | Wolfson & Leon

MIAMI BEACH – In our first “what to do after an accident” tip, we discussed what to do at the scene of an accident after the accident. The sum of it was to be consistent and complete.

Now, in this tip, we will discuss what to do at the scene of a trip or slip and fall accident. We are Miami Beach and Miami personal injury attorneys and have represented thousands of people in auto accident cases. Jerome H. Wolfson, Esq. has been practicing for over 50 years.

At a trip and fall or slip and fall, many times you won’t fully recognize how serious your injuries might be. Therefore, if a store employee or manager asks if you want them to call Fire Rescue or an Ambulance, it is best to be on the safe side and say yes if common sense and your body is telling you the same.

Tip One – What to do at the Automobile Accident Scene

December 6, 2012 | Wolfson & Leon

MIAMI BEACH – First, you should almost always get checked out at the scene by Fire Rescue if you’ve been injured even slightly. And always be complete and consistent with the medical providers at the scene. Even if you have medical training, it is exceedingly difficult to assess your own medical condition. Thus, strongly consider any offer from a fire rescue personnel on the scene to go in the ambulance to the hospital.

We are Miami Beach and Miami personal injury attorneys and have represented thousands of people in auto accident cases. Jerome H. Wolfson, Esq. has been practicing for over 50 years.

First responders like EMT (emergency medical technicians) know best when people need to go to the hospital. Listen to them. When they come to the scene, do what they tell you. If they say don’t move, don’t move. And do not forget to tell the EMT or Emergency Medical Technician on the scene every physical complaint that is bothering you after the accident. The reason this is important is because the insurance company or defendant will make a big deal out of anything that you may have forgotten to tell the Fire Rescue personnel. In fact, if you testify during your case that you had pain at the scene and you forgot to tell the EMT Fire Rescue person, the Defendant or Insurance Company may try to make it seem as though you are lying about your injuries.

You Can You Sue the Person You Rear-Ended – Sudden Stops, Short Stops, and Sudden Lane Changes

November 26, 2012 | Wolfson & Leon

MIAMI BEACH -　 On November 21, 2012, in Cevallos v. Rideout, 37 Fla. L. Weekly S739a, Case No. SX09-2238 (Fla. 2012), the Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s decision that the presumption that the accident was the rear drivers fault could not be rebutted.　 So, yes, you can sue the person that you rear ended. But let’s use some common sense. The accident has to be his or her fault, at least partially. As long as the person in front of you that you rear-ended did something wrong that rebuts the legal presumption that the accident was your fault, you should be able to recover.　 But your recovery is limited to the percentage of the accident that was not your fault.

So, if you were injured in a rear-end accident in Miami or Miami Beach, our attoneys may be able to recover for you even if you did the rear-ending.　　

The most common thing that a front driver does wrong to cause someone else to rear-end them is to make a sudden stop in an area where such a sudden stop wouldn’t be expected.　　　

Miami Beach Slip and Fall Accidents – Lawyers Must Show Notice

November 23, 2012 | Wolfson & Leon

We are Miami Beach Personal Injury Lawyers and handle slip and fall or trip and fall cases against local businesses. A slip and fall negligence case against a property owner is a “premises liabilty” case. In such a case, the owner’s liabilty stems from his, her, or its ownership of the “premises” and the negligence that caused an injury to a prospective Plaintiff. Essentially, the landowner or renter is being held responsible for something wrong they did in maintaining a property which caused an injury to someone.

Slip and falls commonly happen in supermarkets, stores, businesses, offices, and other places. People injured in slip and fall accidents complain about back, knee, shoulder, wrist, and other injuries that range from ligament and tendon tears to fractures and broken bones.

But to be held liable, one must first show that the person, company, or business that was in possession of the property had a duty toward the injured Plaintiff. This “duty” means a requirement on the part of the premises owner / possessor to do something or refrain from and not do something.

Who Pays Costs in Personal Injury Rear-end Automobile and Fall Down Cases?

June 28, 2012 | Wolfson & Leon

(In Miami Beach, Miami, Aventura, Coral Gables, Wynwood and Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach Counties.)

Whether we undertake representation of an individual in a fall down, rear end collision, or any other negligence case, it is usual for us to expend costs on behalf of the client.

The contingency contract of Wolfson & Leon of Miami, Florida includes a precise agreement as to the percentage of the potential gross recovery that is agreed to as the attorney fee. We can send you a copy of the agreement to review. And we forward and pay any expenses that may arise before a lawsuit is filed. Any such expenses that we pay on behalf of an injured client is repaid to the law firm from the gross recovery. But this is ONLY if we recover money for you. If we don’t get you any money, we will not request a penny from you for any attorney fee or cost we expended. So, we forward all of the costs of pre-suit preparation or litigation and do not get reimbursed if there is not a recovery. You only pay if you get paid and get money from a settlement or verdict.