Posts tagged legal

• Florida Now Requires Carbon Monoxide Detectors

  Bruce Gibson | September 14, 2007 6:52 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL Category: Miscellaneous
  

  With the hurricane season well underway, the new law took effect July 1st, although there is a one-year grace period to incorporate the new standard into the state building code. The law was enacted primarily as the result of families who lost loved ones as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning due to generators being operated inside garages, or even the home itself. Public housing, new homes...

• Is Your Attorney Board Certified?

  Patricia Doherty | September 05, 2007 11:41 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL Category: Miscellaneous
  

  The Florida Supreme Court established Board Certification in 1982 to help the public identify attorneys who are specialists in various legal areas. It is The Florida Bar's highest level of recognition of the experience and competency of lawyers in legal areas approved for certification. Board Certified attorneys are the only lawyers permitted to identify themselves as "Florida Bar Board...

• Parental Release for Child's Injury May Be Invalid

  Ed Normand | August 28, 2007 2:59 PM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL Category: Miscellaneous
  

  Those forms with lots of legalese that a parent must sign if their child wants to do an activity may not be worth the paper they are printed on. The form releases that parents are asked to sign to release others from liability for injuries to their children when engaged in activities are being used more and more in increasingly mundane activities. A recent court decision (which is subject to...

• Florida's Response System to Injury Claims Needs Fixing

  Patricia Doherty | August 22, 2007 7:28 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL Category: Miscellaneous
  

  It's been eight years since a Florida Judge was the vicitm of medical malpractice wnen he underwent back surgery at Tampa General Hospital (a state university hospital) and the state still has not paid his claim. When the judge awoke from the surgery he discovered he had lost his eyesight. Since the surgery was performed at a state university hospital, the state's sovereign immunity laws...

• Government Agencies Liability Limited

  Patricia Doherty | July 31, 2007 11:45 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL Category: Miscellaneous
  

  Did you know that under the Florida Statutes a recovery for personal injuries is limited against a government agency? Under Florida's sovereign immunity statute the most a government agency will have to pay is $100,000.00 per an individual's claim. If a jury awards more than the cap on damages the injured party must petition the Legistlature to collect the rest of the award. Situations where...

• Florida Workers Comp Rates To Fall 50%

  Ed Normand | July 08, 2007 10:18 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL Category: Miscellaneous
  

  We hear a lot about tort reform and the supposed high cost of compensation for the injured but what we don't hear is that insurance rates are actually going down for accident related injuries. Alex Sink, Florida's Chief Financial Officer just ordered a 50 percent reduction in the Workers' Compensation Administration Trust Fund assessment rate. Since 2003 the rates have dropped about forty...

• Property Insurance Rates to Rise Again

  Ed Normand | July 06, 2007 8:52 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL Category: Miscellaneous
  

  Remember the much ballyhooed special legislative session to lower insurance premiums for homeowners? Well it looks like the reduction will be short lived. Five insurance companies last week submitted requests to state insurance officials for premium increases from a statewide average of 14.9 percent to 41.9 percent. Now as I recall we did not get hit with any major storm in Florida last year....

• Tort Reform Antics in Tallahassee

  Joe Saunders | January 31, 2006 8:52 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL Category: Miscellaneous
  

  The Daytona Beach News-Journal published an insightful editorial about joint and several liability. In part the opinion piece states, "Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would reduce plaintiffs' ability to recover damages after a successful lawsuit. When multiple defendants are involved, juries are asked to assign degrees of fault to each, making each defendant...

• Tort Reform and You

  Joe Saunders | January 27, 2006 10:03 AM | 0 CommentsOrlando, FL Category: Miscellaneous
  

  Check out Bob Carroll's excellent post on tort reform at tampabay.injuryboard.com. This type of so-called reform is actually anti-consumer and drastically restricts your rights to justice and access to the courts.