Florida Personal Injury Blog - Miscellaneous

Taking Time to Care About Others

John Hopkins — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 09:11:00 GMT

Scrooge sits in his darkened office counting his gold, while poor Bob Cratchett sits freezing without coat and without heat. This is the image often conjured up about banks and bankers.

Times are tough for everyone. Charitable donations are down and the ability for donors to give is limited and getting tighter.

In Palm Beach County, the Big Brothers – Big Sisters program recently announced it will have to close its operations because they simply do not have enough contributions to cover their overhead. This extinguished a worthy program with demonstrated success in guiding some of our most vulnerable kids.

With this bleak back drop, I was happy to see a major banking power who has not forgotten about the need to reinvest in communities. Wells Fargo is based in San Francisco and yesterday they had invited several nonprofit groups to a “thank you” breakfast.

As it turned out, Wells Fargo demonstrated there are corporate citizens who still understand that, while it is still about profits; investing in communities does give you a return that often translates goodwill to long term profits. My mortgage is with Wells Fargo and I can tell you that simply based on this news article I would be hard pressed to leave them.

Yesterday Wells Fargo gave away $6 million in surprise donations to San Francisco area non-profits. In addition, Kendall Alley, Wells Fargo president in the Charlotte, NC region asked for money to donate to Charlotte area organizations and Wells Fargo found another $4.6 million.

I often criticize the greed and avarice demonstrated by Big Corporations in America. Although I am still of the opinion that Big Corporations who care only about profits are in the majority, perhaps this is a small light in that darkness.

When you see corporate responsibility demonstrated by a company like Wells Fargo, it deserves recognition. Perhaps Wells Fargo should be an inspiration for all of us.

Thank you Wells Fargo.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Hopkins

Chamber of Commerce Uses Scare Tactics

Robert Blanchard — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:00:47 GMT

The title of a recent US Chamber of Commerce spam email says it all, "Terror by Trial Lawyer." Not only do they denigrate a profession with a long noble history that goes to the core of what it means to be American, the Chamber also feels it necessary to out and out lie. "LIARS at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce" should be the title. Their spam email is an attempt to undermine legislation, introduced by a Republican, that is designed to restore Notice Pleading in our federal courts after recent rulings left attorney and judges uncertain on the rule of law. The big companies profiteering do not like it (KBR, Blackwater, Halliburton) so the Chamber lies for them and tell you the legislation will allow terrorists to sue our Nave SEALS. This total fabrication assumes you are ignorant and that you do not want to know the true content or purpose of the legislation.

Don't let them get away with it. Go read the bill (the Notice Pleading Restoration Act of 2009) and then write your elected officials to denounce these scare tactics.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Robert Blanchard

Bad Faith Claims Tell the True Story About Insurers

K.C. Bouchillon — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:27:27 GMT

Ever wonder if your insurance company is really as good as they claim? Are you really in good hands? Is your insurance company really like a good neighbor?

There's a way you can find out. Click on the link below:

apps.fldfs.com/civilremedy/SearchFiling.aspx

Then go down to the "Violations" subheading and find your insurance company on the dropdown menu for "Authorized Insurer." Hit search and you will see every bad faith claim filed with the State of Florida against your insurer.

Check out other insurers while you're at it. Some are actually pretty good. Others are horrendous. Get past the slick advertising and find out from the insurance company's own clients how they were treated when it really counted.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by K.C. Bouchillon

Loser Pays -- Tort Reform Hypocrisy

Patrick Quinlan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:06:08 GMT

I just read another anti-lawyer diatribe by John Stossel. Mr. Stossel is one of the great many Tort Reform Hypocrites: people who scream in public about evil trial lawyers filing frivolous lawsuits for pain and suffering damages, but then run to a trial lawyer the moment that they feel that their rights have been violated. Mr. Stossel has said:

“We all have pain and suffering in our lives. And if each time we hang onto it until we get some kind of compensation, society can’t work.”

Yet when a pro wrestler slapped him in 1986, what did Mr. Stossel do? He sued for -- you guessed it -- pain and suffering damages.

Mr. Stossel ends his latest attack on plaintiffs’ lawyers with this suggestion:

"America needs “loser pays." Lawyers marginalize "loser pays" by calling it “the English Rule," as if it’s some peculiar British rule. But it’s not. "Loser pays" is the "Rest-of-the-World Rule."

To Mr. Stossel and all of his tort reform warriors, I say “be careful what you wish for.” By no means do plaintiffs’ lawyers win every lawsuit. But, according to a Bureau of Justice Statistics report, plaintiffs won 59% of state court civil trials in 2005. Interestingly, that number is up from 55% in 2001, and plaintiffs won a higher percentage of bench trials than jury trials, but those are both subjects for another day. Moreover, the 59% figure does not account for the great many valid claims that get settled before trial. Suffice it to say that every plaintiffs’ lawyer I know would be thrilled to see a prevailing party fee provision (or, as Mr. Stossel puts it, “loser pays”) become the law of the land.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Patrick Quinlan

The Substance of Water

Jack Scarola — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:42:19 GMT

There have been a lot of heated debates surrounding the creation of a state water commission that could route water from North Florida to the overpopulated and overdeveloped South Florida region. Poor developmental planning and a lack of sensitivity to our valuable land and water resources are to blame. We now have to consider routing water to areas that developers have recently built with no concern to the environmental impact it would have on our resources.

In 2003, at the height of the land boom, Florida business leaders came up with a plan to create a state water commission to route water to newly built developments in South Florida. Developers continued to build home and business with no foresight for the repercussions of that growth on our environment and resources. Now it is the taxpayers who are dealing with the implications of their actions.

As a society, we give little thought to where our water resources come from. We turn on the sink, and water comes out. We turn on our sprinklers and water is available. We never give a second thought to where this valuable resource comes from or how it gets there. Now is the time to focus on the conversation of water and planning on how to use less, rather than how we can use more.

The Florida Hometown Democracy Land Use Initiative, or amendment 4, will be brought to the voters on November 2, 2010. This amendment gives voters more say over development, and if passed, any land-use decisions will require voter approval for all changes to local comprehensive land-use plans. In 2008, a lack of signatures kept the initiative off the ballot, but this year it has enough supporters to win a chance to be approved by Florida voters.

Supporter and Florida Hometown Democracy Land Use president Lesley Blackner says “Mismanaged growth destroys communities.” Amendment 4 has gained support from groups such as Clean Water Action Network of Florida, Alliance to Protect Water Resources, the Audubon Society, Save Our Wetlands Coalition, the Sierra Club, and hundreds of other environmental groups throughout Florida.

Those opposing Amendment 4, such as The Florida Chamber of Commerce and other industry groups, say they “strongly oppose” the initiative and argue that the bill would “put us in a permanent recession for Florida’s economy.”

Bottom line is this: we either conserve our natural resources, or we will run out. We can make efforts to pull water from other areas in Florida to accommodate our thirst for water in overdeveloped areas, but ultimately, that will also run out; not to mention the millions of dollars it will take to build the infrastructure for it. Our best bet is to truly make an effort to conserve our natural resources and become forward-thinking in our planning for land and development. We have overindulged for too long and developers have overbuilt and sucked the water dry. Now we must live with the consequences.

Can we afford NOT to do something to try and correct past poor judgment?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jack Scarola

Orlando/Kissimmee Tops List of Deadliest Metro Areas for Pedestrians

Sandy Grinnell — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:04:44 GMT

According to the Transportation for America (TFA) latest report, Central Florida has the worst ranking in the number of pedestrian deaths for 2007 and 2008 among metro areas that have a million plus residents. 16.9% of all our traffic fatalities involved a pedestrian.

For every 100,000 residents in the Orlando/Kissimmee area, there was an average of 2.86 pedestrians killed on our streets in 2007 and 2008 putting us at the top of the list. However, Orlando was not the only Florida city to rate poorly for the safety of pedestrians. The next top three spots went to Tampa/St.Pete/Clearwater, Miami/Ft.Lauderdale/Pompano Beach and then Jacksonville.

The TFA report was aptly named Dangerous by Design as the report attributes these preventable deaths to very roads that most commuters have begged for to make their drive to work more bearable. It's the thoroughfares, or "arterial roads", like Semoran Blvd, Colonial Ave and Silver Star Road that have been widened to six lanes with a turn lane in the middle that are the most dangerous for pedestrians as they seldom come with pedestrian crosswalks.

The TFA also cites a lack of funding as a contributing factor in the high number of pedestrian deaths. The report states that although 11.8% of all traffic fatalities involve pedestrians, only 1.5% of transportation funds are aimed at improving the safety conditions for pedestrians.

These deaths are preventable and the officials at Transportation for America are asking for your help in making our streets safer for those who walk, try to cross or bike on our city streets. Let your voices be heard in Washington by contacting Transportation Secretary LaHood and requesting that pedestrian safety become a national transportation priority.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Sandy Grinnell

Hurricane Ida - does central Florida need to worry?

Bob Grode — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:52:10 GMT

Is it still hurricane season? We have been blessed with a very mild hurricane season but Ida is making her way across the Gulf of Mexico headed towards the panhandle. What does this mean for central Florida? Mostly it means taking stock of your insurance policies and making sure you have the right coverages. Nothing can be done about those policies when the storm is bearing down, but we in central Florida appear to be looking at maybe some rain and a little wind. So take the time to review your insurance policies and speak to your agent to make sure all is in order. After the storm takes your roof off is not the time to realize your policy is not providing the coverage you need.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bob Grode

Orlando, Florida Theme Park Injury Reports

Ed Normand — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:55:02 GMT

For the second consecutive quarter, Disney World was the only major theme park in Florida to report any guest injuries. None of the other major theme parks - including Universal Studios, Sea World, Wet ‘n Wild, or Busch Gardens in Tampa, reported a single guest being injured in that time period. Disney World reported eight injuries occurring during the third quarter. Neither the Federal Government nor the State of Florida regulate the big theme parks and they are under a Florida based voluntary reporting system that has many loopholes. The lack of reported injuries for the last 6 months at all of the theme parks except Disney shows that the voluntary reporting system is not working and injuries are happening that are not being reported. This is clear from an examination of lawsuits filed against the theme parks. The lawsuits consistently relate to injuries at the parks that the parks never report to the State of Florida or anywhere else.

The injuries at Disney during the third quarter of 2009 include the following:
A 31-year-old woman had a seizure after riding the Rock ‘n Roller Coaster, and a 50-year-old woman experienced chest pains and shortness of breath after riding the same ride. A 54-year-old man had a seizure riding Star Tours, a full-motion flight simulator based on the Star Wars films. A 40-year-old man fell and broke his right wrist while getting off of Test Track, a simulated excursion through the rigorous testing procedures that GM uses to evaluate its cars, culminating in a high-speed drive around the exterior of the attraction. A 52-year-old woman complained of dizziness and memory loss after riding Mission: Space, which boasts that it realistically simulates an astronaut’s trip to Mars. A 66-year-old man felt sick after riding Expedition Everest, a high-altitude, high-speed roller coaster train ride to the “Roof of the World.” A 74-year-old woman lost her balance getting off of Peter Pan’s Flight, fell, and hit her head and broke her wrist. Finally, a 57-year-old woman passed out after riding Splash Mountain, and fractured her skull after collapsing on a concrete floor.

State regulators rely on the big theme parks to voluntarily report any significant injuries to guests. It is clear that many injuries are not being reported. According to these records, Disney is now falling far behind the other big theme parks’s safety records for the second straight quarter. With the lack of regulation it is not clear if this is a sign of safety issues at Disney or, more likely, that other parks are not reporting all the injuries at the parks. It is time that state regulators need to step in. Government oversight is needed as self-policing is clearly not working. For my previous blog on the injuries at the big theme parks for the second quarter of 2009, please check our prior blogs on Disney Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Tort Reform, Lies, and Lady Justice

John Hopkins — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:37:17 GMT

It is all about reforming our tort system, right? I mean fixing the health insurance problem for millions of uninsured people is all about preventing the filing of lawsuits against negligent doctors and hospitals, right? We need to limit or eliminate the constitutional right to jury try for a certain class of citizen to provide health insurance for our citizens, right? We need to provide special immunities to certain professionals to fix the health insurance problem?

Who has a “problem” that any of this fixes? One class of “people” has a problem that this will fix: insurance companies. The insurance industry wants tort reform so the insurance industry can increase profits. It is, in fact, that simple.

No one has ever been able to provide me with objective evidence that contradicts any of the following:

There are not an abundance of frivolous malpractice suits being filed now and there has not been in recent memory.
Malpractice claims do not, watch my lips, do not drive up insurance costs. In fact, under oath, many insurance executives have repeatedly testified as such.
Doctors are not fleeing states because of malpractice claims. In fact it is the very, very small minority of doctors who are sued for malpractice.
Malpractice claims do not drive up insurance premiums across the whole population of physicians. Empirical evidence demonstrates that little correlation exists between malpractice claims and increased premiums. Insurance executives have, under oath, also testified to that fact.
Tort reform will never lower insurance costs. The insurance industry simply does not have a track record for doing that.

All of this is a distraction from accomplishing a solution to the real problem. How do we provide health insurance to millions of citizens who are without it? Legislators indebted to the insurance industry need to throw up road blocks and provide distraction they can trump up to be popular with many people in this country.

When 98,000 people die every year and many more are injured from medical malpractice. I must wonder if the tort reformers would be making statements they know are not true if medical negligence killed their wife, their husband, their mother, or their child. Of course they would not. In the height of absolute indifference to the suffering of victims, tort reformers fabricate, invent, and misrepresent; all to benefit an industry who is dumping big dollars into their pockets.

So, if they are successful with roadblocks and propaganda campaigns, the victim will include justice herself.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by John Hopkins

What Should Be Done to Curb Jaywalking?

Sandy Grinnell — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:12:31 GMT

When police try to enforce jaywalking laws, it's often a cause for a lot of verbal bashing by the anti-government, anti-establishment types and even some city officials. See what happened last July when police officials in the City of Savannah tried to make their city safer for pedestrians by issuing jaywalking tickets. Now their fines were out of line, but some complained just about the enforcement.

But what should be done? Just last night on my way home I had a man cross against the light with his two young children running along behind him. Now we had the green light but traffic had to wait for them to all get across. Then at the next light, another man ran into traffic - crossing on the green light and again cars had to screech to a halt to miss him. You also see a lot of folks step out between parked cars to cross the street, practically scaring the living daylights out of the drivers who pass them. Then yesterday an elderly woman in South Daytona tried to cross the street in her motorized wheelchair, not at a crosswalk, and unfortunately was struck and killed by a passing vehicle.

Now if a pedestrian, or individual in a wheelchair, is hit and found to be at fault, of course the driver would not be cited. The pedestrian would cited if they lived through accident. But who wants to go through life knowing you killed someone with your car - even if it wasn't your fault? I can imagine you would still have nightmares.

Apparently walking to the corner to cross and then waiting for the light is just too much trouble. So what's the solution? Do we need more education? More enforcement? I don't have an answer - but I do know that I stay vigilant watching for jaywalkers just waiting to step in front of my car.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Sandy Grinnell