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Fort Myers injury lawyer golf cart accidentGolf cart owners in Florida, listen up! You could be held legally responsible if someone is hurt in a golf cart accident involving your golf cart, even if you weren’t the one operating it. As a Fort Myers injury lawyer can explain, you have a duty as the owner of that golf cart to avoid handing over the keys to someone who is careless. That could include someone you know if they drive recklessly, has a history of drunk driving or a teenager without much driving experience; this same law applies even if the person who you loan the cart to has a good driving record and has no history of driving issues. This is especially true if the golf cart is going to be operated on a public road with cars.

Golf carts were designated as “dangerous instrumentalities” – the same as motor vehicles – in the 1984 Florida Supreme Court case of Meister v. Fisher. Because a dangerous instrumentality is deemed inherently dangerous, their owners can be found directly and/or vicariously liable when someone is hurt while operating it negligently. It doesn’t matter if the owner wasn’t the operator, so long as the operator had the owner’s permission.

That point was underscored in a recent Florida injury lawsuit that resulted in a multi-million dollar damage award.

The case in question was out of Miami-Dade County, where a 12-year-old boy suffered catastrophic and permanent injuries in a golf cart accident in 2016. A motor vehicle struck a golf cart full of minors at an intersection – but only after the golf cart operator, 16-years-old, blew past a stop sign. The golf cart flipped and the occupants – all under 18 – were ejected. Two were left in critical condition, including the plaintiff in this case.

Golf Cart Owner Ordered to Pay $50 Million for Florida Golf Cart Accident

The owner of the golf cart was the 16-year-old’s step-uncle. A trial court determined the golf cart owner authorized the teen to drive the golf cart around the neighborhood with the golf cart owner’s son and three other friends. One of those was the plaintiff.

After the accident, the boy’s parents sued both the operator of the golf cart and the owner in the case of Gonzalez v. Chiong. (The driver of the car was not negligent in this case, and therefore was not named as a defendant.)

Before trial, the driver of the golf cart/his parents entered into a consent judgement with the injured boy’s parents for $18 million. Attorneys for the golf cart driver asserted his operation of the golf cart was covered under his parents’ auto insurance policy, as it was a “non-owned auto.” The insurance company, of course, pushed back, arguing that the policy didn’t cover golf cart accidents because a golf cart “doesn’t meet the definition of a private passenger auto.” The trial court agreed with the insurer, granting them summary judgment, but that was later reversed by the 11th Judicial Circuit Court, which ruled the golf cart was covered under the auto insurance policy.

Trial proceeded against the owner of the golf cart proceeded, with plaintiffs arguing he owed the young passenger and his parents a duty of care, negligently breached that duty by entrusting the golf cart, and therefore should be liable for his injuries. The trial court sided with plaintiffs, ordering the golf cart owner to pay a total of $46 million in past and future economic and non-economic damages, and another $4 million to his parents for loss of consortium.

It’s important to note that while the court in this case found the golf cart owner directly negligent for entrusting the golf cart to his 16-year-old step-nephew, other courts have applied the dangerous instrumentality doctrine in Florida golf cart accident cases and found the golf cart owners vicariously liable. That means the court wouldn’t even need to find that the owner was negligent in handing over the keys to another. It would be sufficient to show they gave the operator permission, and that operator subsequently acted without care and caused someone else to get hurt. Continue reading

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injuries in schools Fort Myers injury lawyerSchool is back in session in South Florida! We all are hoping for a happy, healthy, productive school year. Of course, it seems inevitable that there will be at least some injuries in schools.

If your child is injured at school, it may be possible to take legal action, but a lot of it depends on the severity of the injury and how it all went down. As a parent, you understand there are occasional playground accidents or gym class mishaps. If it’s just a bump or a scratch, there may not be much you can do about that. But if your child was seriously injured, violently assaulted or required hospitalization or surgery as a result of their injuries, you should really get a Fort Myers injury lawyer on the phone to talk through your options.

As government agencies, many schools are protected by state sovereign immunity laws. But that doesn’t mean they’re absolved of legal responsibility to keep kids safe. They can still be held accountable when they breach their duty of care and someone gets seriously hurt as a result.

Was the School Negligent?

The school district, employees and even some school contractors owe a duty to use reasonable care to make sure your child isn’t at an unreasonable risk of harm. Teachers, counselors, coaches, administrators – they must provide a safe environment and do what’s reasonably necessary to keep them safe.

If the school breaches the duty to keep your child safe and your child is injured as a result to the point of sustaining damages (financial impacts), the school may be found negligent – and thus liable to provide compensation.

It’s a good idea to talk with an experienced attorney about whether you’ve got a case before making any big decisions. Remember that injury lawyers are paid on a contingency fee basis, meaning that we offer free initial consultations and you pay nothing unless/until you win your case. So there’s no risk in reaching out to a local lawyer just to ask whether you have grounds to take further legal action.

Accountability for Injuries in Schoolinjuries in school Fort Myers

Examples of injuries in schools that might warrant a civil claim for damages:

  • Accidents involving school property. Examples of dangerous school property could include rusted playground equipment, faulty gym equipment, dangerous science experiments, uneven flooring, etc.
  • Negligent supervision. If students aren’t reasonably supervised, they could be injured by another student, teacher or staff member. They might also just get themselves into an unsafe situation. This applies in the classroom, in specials, in the hallway, during pickup/drop-off and even on the bus. This claim can arise too when teachers or other school employees fail IEP guidelines intended to keep students safe.
  • Sports injuries. PE and school-sanctioned sporting events are a common source of school injury lawsuits.
  • Transportation accidents. School bus accidents and injuries, school bus stop injuries, chaotic pickup and drop off lines that lead to kids getting struck in the school parking lot – any of these could result in school district liability for child injuries.
  • Medical malpractice. It doesn’t happen often, but if the school nurse fails to follow the applicable standard of care for their professional medical position, the school may be sued for medical malpractice.
  • Assault, battery, bullying, etc. When incidents of violence happen on school grounds, schools may be held liable if the harm was foreseeable and they failed to stop it. Bullying typically escalates over time, giving school officials opportunities to become aware and intervene.
  • Sexual abuse/molestation. If a child is sexually assaulted or attacked at school or by a school employee, parents can pursue civil liability separate from and in addition to criminal charges.

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Fort Myers personal injury lawyer doctor examines broken legIn Fort Myers personal injury cases, proving proximate is key.

Causation generally is a key element in any personal injury claim. Injury cases mostly stem from allegations of negligence. To prove general negligence, we have to show the defendant owed our client a duty of care, they failed to use reasonable care, and that failure caused our client’s injuries. Causation is the crux of what connects the conduct of the defendant to the injuries of the plaintiff.

If the defense can prove something else was a greater factor in causing the plaintiff’s injuries, they’ll likely win the case – no matter how egregious their fault or how serious a plaintiff’s injuries. To prove causation, we have to show that but for the defendant’s actions, the harm would not have occurred.

Definition of Proximate Cause

So what is proximate cause?

Fort Myers personal injury lawyers use this term to assert that the defendant is legally responsible for our client’s injuries because their actions were either a substantial factor causing the harm AND/OR, the harm caused was a natural and foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s actions.

That doesn’t mean the defendant’s actions were the sole cause. Sometimes injuries have multiple causes. But the proximate cause is the one that we aim to prove when we’re pursuing a case for legal (financial) responsibility for the resulting harm. Continue reading

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Cape Coral personal injury lawyerIt’s reasonable that anyone considering any type of service would first inquire how much it’s going to cost. Hiring a Cape Coral personal injury lawyer is no different in that regard. But it’s important to understand that there are some key differences in how, when, how much, and even if you pay a Florida injury lawyer – compared to other service providers, but even compared to lawyers in other practice areas.

Personal injury lawyers practice a type of law called “torts.” A tort is some act or failure to act that causes harm to someone else and rises to the level of a civil wrong (as opposed to criminal) for which the court can impose liability. The most common torts arise from personal injuries stemming from negligence, the failure to use reasonable care when one had a responsibility to do so. Typical tort cases are motor vehicle accidents (motorcycle accidents, car accidents, bicycle accidents, truck accidents, etc.), medical malpractice, and premises liability/dangerous property cases.

How Attorneys Determine Fees

How much a Cape Coral personal injury lawyer charges for taking on a case will depend on several factors, including:

  • The attorney’s experience, reputation, and ability.
  • The fee customarily charged in that area for similar legal services.
  • The time and labor required, the difficulty of the question involved, and the skill required to handle the case successfully.
  • The potential value of the case, and the results obtained. (Generally cases involving serious injuries, multiple insurance policies, and clear fault/injury cause are going to have a higher overall value – though this can be offset by elements like complexity, numerous injured parties, etc.)

Understanding Contingency Fees

You do not pay upfront attorney’s fees for the services of a Cape Coral personal injury lawyer. Injury lawyers typically assess the value – and viability – of your injury claim upfront for no cost. They’ll tell you if they think you can win, and whether they can help. If they agree to take you on as a client, you still don’t pay attorney’s fees upfront. Those are only paid at the end of the case, and only as a percentage of what you win. This is referred to as a contingency fee structure. Continue reading

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Fort Myers car accidentFlip-flops and bare feet are quite common footwear given the warm and sunny weather of South Florida. But just because it’s common doesn’t mean it’s without consequence. If you’re in a Fort Myers car accident while wearing loose shoes (like flip-flops) or none at all, that could be a real issue as discussed below.

Is It Legal in Florida to Drive in Flip-Flops or Barefoot?

As Fort Myers car accident lawyers can explain, there’s nothing in Florida statute that expressly prohibits drivers from donning floppy footwear – or foregoing it altogether.

That doesn’t mean you’ll get off scot-free if law enforcement finds failure to wear proper shoes was a factor in the crash. In fact, it could result in a ticket for reckless driving or distracted driving.

For Florida injury attorneys, flimsy footwear can factor two-fold in crash cases:

  • It could be part of what caused the accident.
  • It could be cited in comparative fault claims for having made the plaintiff’s injuries worse than they would have been otherwise.

Risks of Flimsy Footwear in Fort Myers Car Accident

It’s not that sandals or other loose shoes are inherently dangerous for vehicle occupants, but they aren’t exactly safe either – especially for drivers.Fort Myers car accident flip flops

One study found that flip-flops are more dangerous to drive in than heels, often making it difficult to brake safely. Flip-flops reportedly double the amount of time it can take for a foot to move from the break to the accelerator. Among flip-flop-wearing drivers surveyed, 27% said it caused some kind of problem while driving and 1 in 10 said their shoe got caught underneath the pedal while driving.

Shoes that provide support and stability are essential for safe driving. Open-heeled shoes like flip-flops have a tendency to slide over the pedal (especially if they’re wet). This could cause a risky delay in acceleration or braking if the shoe gets even momentarily stuck under the pedal. Also, if you take your shoes off while driving and keep them near the pedals, they easily get stuck underneath that way as well.

As for driving barefoot, you might be at slightly less risk of your foot slipping than if you’re wearing flip-flops or wedges. The human foot has a surprisingly natural grip – except when it’s wet.  Also, barefoot drivers have to apply a greater amount of pressure to brake and accelerate.

Without shoes, you may also be more vulnerable to serious leg and foot injuries in a Fort Myers car accident. Continue reading

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Naples personal injury lawyerWhether we’re talking about a motor vehicle accident, medical mistake, or slip-and-fall, one of the surest paths to unfair financial compensation is signing off on the insurance company’s initial settlement offer without first running it by a Naples personal injury lawyer.

This might be OK if the only losses you’ve suffered are property damage and some minor injuries. But if you were hospitalized, had bones broken, had to take off work for a while, etc., it’s important to avoid signing away your rights to pursue full and fair damages by agreeing to the first settlement offer insurers put in front of you without having a lawyer look at it.

Insurance companies commonly try to take advantage of the fact that you are in shock, traumatized, concerned about money, and don’t realize your case may be worth a lot more. If you sign off on the first settlement agreement they thrust in front of you, you could well be signing away your right to a great deal more money.

At the very least, having a Naples personal injury lawyer review it will give you peace of mind that the deal you’re inking isn’t going to be to your detriment down the road. Settling an injury case too quickly means you might not have a complete sense of the full scope of your losses – in which case a settlement can mean you’ll be losing money.

It’s not about being greedy. It’s about making sure you don’t end up paying out of your own pocket for an injury caused by someone else’s carelessness.

Most Naples Personal Injury Cases Are Resolved Via Settlement

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Fort Myers car accident lawyerRecent changes to Florida’s tort laws have made it a bit tougher to successfully sue for crash-related injuries if you were partly at-fault. That said, you shouldn’t presume it’s pointless until you talk to a Fort Myers car accident lawyer – especially if your injuries were serious enough to require hospitalization or time off work.  While the new comparative fault law certainly creates legal challenges, rarely are matters of personal injury entirely black-and-white.

The vast majority of Florida car accidents are caused by human error. Common causes include inattention, speeding, failure to yield, intoxication, etc. However, there’s a tendency to think of fault in car accident cases as a binary: One person was at-fault, another was hurt because of it. And sometimes that’s true. But it’s also frequently true that more than one person’s actions contributed either to the cause of the crash or the severity of injuries. One driver may have been speeding, but the other wasn’t paying attention. One person ran a red light, but the other wasn’t wearing a seat belt. So then the question for insurers (and possibly the courts) becomes, “To what extent is each person at-fault – for the crash and resulting injuries?”

As a Fort Myers car accident lawyer, I can tell you the answers aren’t always perfectly obvious. In fact, they can often be a bit subjective. Even if you know you made some missteps, an experienced injury attorney will know what evidence is needed to make a compelling case that you are still entitled to compensation. Continue reading

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Fort Myers slip and fall lawyerWitnesses can play a pivotal role in any Florida personal injury case – and that includes Fort Myers slip-and-fall lawsuits (also known as Premises Liability lawsuits). Sometimes with the ubiquitous presence of security and cell phone cameras, it’s easy to forget that the firsthand accounts of other people can be invaluable in helping us reconstruct what happened and who was at-fault.

Even with video evidence, some of the strategic reasons Fort Myers slip-and-fall injury attorneys will present witness testimony of an incident:

  • Corroboration. A witness – particularly one that has no connection to the plaintiff/injured person – can back up the plaintiff’s story. This not only bolsters the plaintiff’s credibility, but also strengthens their case by providing additional evidence of the defendant’s negligence. Judges and jurors are going to be more convinced of the testimony you’re providing if multiple other witnesses are consistently saying the same thing.
  • Observations you may have missed. When a person is seriously injured, their focus in that moment can sometimes narrow to the pain point. This might cause them to miss key bits of information that might prove crucial to the case. Witnesses can help fill in the blanks.
  • Establishing actual or constructive knowledge. Florida slip-and-fall claims aren’t easy to win. F.S. 768.0755, Florida’s slip-and-fall statute, requires evidence that the defendant/property owner had actual or constructive knowledge of a dangerous condition on site and failed to take action to remedy it. It should noted that this statute affects only cases when a transitory foreign substance is involved- The witnesses are sometimes even employees of the defendant – sometimes provide this evidence by detailing their actual knowledge of the hazard (ex: “I saw the spill and told my manager, but nothing was done to fix it or warn customers”) or testimony that the condition had existed for some time or occurred with regularity (thereby establishing constructive knowledge).

To be useful in a Fort Myers slip-and-fall case, eyewitness testimony needs to come from a person with firsthand knowledge of relevant events, a good memory, a consistent story and decent credibility. They must also be willing to testify in court. While written statements can be helpful to your lawyer’s investigation, they may be considered inadmissible in court as hearsay without the witness’s willingness to swear to it under oath.

Recent Florida Slip-and-Fall Case Underscores Importance of Witness Testimony

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woman driving a car in Florida auto insurance breakdown from Cape Coral injury lawyersCar insurance is more expensive in Florida than any other state. Insurance Business Magazine reports the average annual auto insurance premium in Florida is $2,560 – which is 52% (or nearly $1,000) higher than the national average. (And that is based on rates for a hypothetical 40-year-old male driver with a good driving record. Rates can get much higher for teens or those with a poor driving record.) Such significant costs have some motorists wondering whether there’s certain coverage they can forego. Here, our Southwest Florida injury lawyers provide a Florida auto insurance breakdown from a civil claims perspective.

Why is Car Insurance So Much Pricier in Florida?

Although one could reasonably argue that insurance companies have never needed a good reason to impose sky-high rates on customers, there are a few factors that result in Florida car insurance being so much higher than the national average.

A couple of these reasons include:

  • Florida is prone to more extreme weather. Hurricanes, tropical storms, flooding, tornadoes, lightning, brush fires, heavy fog – all of these things can increase the risk of vehicles being damaged, either directly or in a related crash.
  • Florida’s high number of uninsured drivers. In Florida, 1 in 5 drivers does not have the required auto insurance. This makes the claims process tough, and lawsuits tend to be more likely. With two insured drivers, a lawsuit may be wholly unnecessary, as Cape Coral Car Accident lawyers can often simply negotiate fair terms directly with insurers. But if the other party had no insurance, you’re usually left with pursuing a claim against that individual personally, filing third-party liability claims, or seeking uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) claims from your own insurer. And if you’re the driver who is not insured, it doesn’t mean you can’t recover damages from the other at-fault party, but you will lose out on the claims for personal injury protection (PIP) as well as UM/UIM.

You might also expect to pay more if you:

  • Have poor credit. Florida does not prohibit use of this factor in premium rates the way some other states do.
  • Are male. Florida does not prohibit the use of this factor in premium rates the way some other states do.
  • Live in an urban area. Cities are packed with tight streets, loads of traffic, and a higher concentration of pedestrians, bicyclists, and large vehicles. The risk of vehicle damage is much higher.
  • Live in an area with high crime rates. The heightened risk of theft and vandalism will hike up rates.
  • Have an expensive or highly desirable car. Vehicles that are more costly to repair or particularly prone to theft will be pricier to insure.

What Coverage is Required for Florida Drivers

As longtime injury lawyers in Southwest Florida, we’ve seen a lot of crash victims put at a significant disadvantage because of lacking car insurance coverage. While it’s true that this is a no-fault state for crash claims, meaning your own insurer will cover damages regardless of fault, you must keep in mind that this coverage (PIP) only goes so far – $10,000, to be exact. And even then, it only covers PART of your losses – 80 percent of medical bills and 60 percent of lost wages.

If you’re seriously hurt and the other driver was at-fault, you’ll need to step outside the no-fault system to pursue a claim against that driver, your Underinsured Motorist Carrier (or other liable third parties).

But let’s start with what is required minimum car insurance coverage for registered vehicles Florida: Continue reading

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Fort Myers personal injury lawyerOne of the first questions a lot of people ask when they’re first considering filing a Fort Myers personal injury lawsuit is, “What is my case worth?”

In legal terms, we would phrase “the amount owed” as “damages.”

To answer this question, your Fort Myers personal injury lawyer would certainly start by examining the type of injury, who was at fault, how much you’ve racked up in medical bills, and the wages you’ve lost while you’ve had to take off work to recover. Determining the full scope of damages can quickly get complicated.

That’s partially because not every loss is tangible. You may be entitled to compensation for your physical pain and suffering or even for the emotional anguish you went through as a result of the incident. Those things aren’t easily measurable in dollars and cents (even if that’s how they’re ultimately paid).

Other factors that must be considered:

The type and severity of injury.

Minor injuries shouldn’t be dismissed, of course. But the reality is that unless your injury landed you in the hospital, resulted in a permanent injury, significant loss of function, permanent scarring, and/or forced time away from work, it’s unlikely to result in a significant settlement without the hiring of a skilled personal injury attorney.

If you are in a car accident in Florida, you actually can’t step outside the no-fault system to pursue damages against the at-fault driver unless the extent of your injuries meets or exceeds the serious injury threshold, as outlined in F.S. 627.737. This requires evidence that your injury consisted of a significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, or death.

However, this same rule won’t apply to motorcycle injury victims because they do not carry the no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. So again, the type of injury can impact how your case proceeds and how much it’s worth.

It’s also worth pointing out that certain types of cases may be more difficult/complicated to successfully pursue. For instance, a case of medical malpractice or product liability is going to require more resources, expertise, expert witnesses, attorney time, etc. They may also yield higher damage awards as there will likely be more recoverable assets/insurance coverage, but all of this will be weighed in determining the value of a case. Continue reading

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Contact Information
Main Office
4280 S Cleveland Ave
Fort Myers, FL 33901
Phone: 239.277.0005 Fax: 239.277.0004 Toll Free: 800.977.7017
Naples Office
2671 Airport Pulling Rd S
#302
Naples, FL 34112
Phone: 239.267.5657 Fax: 239.277.0004
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317 Whitehead St
Key West, FL 33040
Phone: 305.791.6555
We serve clients throughout Southwest Florida including those in the following localities: Lee County including Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Estero, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Lehigh Acres, and North Fort Myers; Collier County including Golden Gate, Immokalee, Marco Island, and Naples; and Monroe County including Key Largo, Key West, and Marathon.

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