Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Blog

Two deaths were reported following a major accident at the intersection of US17 and Ernest M. Smith Blvd. in Bartow, Florida.  The accident happened at approximately 9:25 a.m. on November 26, 2016 when a four door Cadillac sedan going northbound on US17 attempted to make a left...

Kyle Bradley Conord Roberts (31 years old) died as a result of a motorcycle accident in front of Dunkin Donuts on South Florida Avenue in Lakeland, Florida.  The accident happened at approximately 9:05 p.m. on November 24, 2016 (Thanksgiving) when Sarah Parades was making a...

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on November 2, 2016 that 74,027 vehicles manufactured by Volvo are recalled due to a faulty seat belt that might loosen during a crash.  In particular, the front passenger seat belt affixed by a stud may...

Steven Neill died as a result of a motorcycle accident in Lake Wales.  He was turning into the Polk County Health Department when he was struck by a vehicle driven by Andrew Palmer.  At the time of the collision, Palmer was making a left hand turn from the westbound lane....

In the case of Godwin v. University of South Florida Board of Trustees, et. al., 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 12729; 41 Fla. L. Weekly D 1949 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016), the plaintiff alleged the wrongful death of his wife was due to medical malpractice at Tampa General Hospital following a severe...

Kristen Pierre, 22-years-old, died as a result of an accident with an RV at the intersection of CR557 in Lake Alfred, Florida.  The accident happened as Richard Cummings was driving his 1988 Cobra recreational vehicle with a trailer going northbound on CR557 when he attempted...

An ATV accident occurred in north Lakeland resulting in the death of a 5-year-old child.  Joshua Heard was operating an all-terrain-vehicle near 3705 West Socrum Loop Road when the passenger side tie rod end broke.  The accident that followed caused the vehicle to roll over...

Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center had the second highest number of emergency room visits in the nation for 2015 according to Becker’s Hospital Review. Lakeland Regional was second only to Florida Hospital. The top 50 hospitals in the country were ranked for...

Amendment 7 of the Florida Constitution was held to be pre-empted by the federal Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (PSQIA) in Southern Baptist Hospital of Florida, Inc. v. Charles, 178 So. 3d 102 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015). This case started out as a medical malpractice...

In the case of Dockswell v. Bethesda Memorial Hospital, Inc., 177 So. 3d 270 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015), the patient sued the hospital because a piece of post-surgical drainage tubing broke off inside him and was not discovered for several months. The claimant alleged, in addition to...

Florida ranks fifth among states in the total amount paid for medical malpractice claims in 2012. The total payouts for the top five states are listed below: New York $763,088,250 Pennsylvania $316,167,500 California $222,926,200 New Jersey $206,668,250 Florida $203,671,100 Most...

Peloton announced that it is beta testing semi-autonomous tractor-trailer technology. This technology allows a caravan of semi-trucks to travel in close proximity to one another and to function like a single vehicle as it moves down the highway. For instance, when the lead vehicle...

In the case of Welford v. Liberty Insurance Corporation, No.: 3:15-cv-333/RV-CJK, 2016 WL 3360431 (N.D. Fla. June 2, 2016), the court considered the issue of whether an insurance company has an obligation to initiate settlement discussions or negotiations. In this case, a driver hit...

In Sorenson v. Professional Compounding Pharmacists of Western Pennsylvania, Inc., 41 FLW D1119 (Fla. 2D DCA 5-11-2016)(Case Number 2D15-441), the patient died after taking a prescribed concentration of hydromorphone that was fatal. Prior to his death, Sorenson was an Ohio resident...

National and insurance industry surveys often rank Florida as having a lot of bad drivers based upon statistics of the number of accidents involving fatalities and property damage. Some surveys use individuals’ responses to questions about driving habits while others use...

In the case of Morejon v. Mariners Hospital, Inc., 41 FLW D1359 (Fla. 3rd DCA 6-8-2016)(Case Number 3D15-1711), the court held that section 395.1041, Florida Statutes (the so-called “anti-dumping statute” only requires that a hospital provide treatment regardless of the...

In the case of Chiarino v. United States, 2016 WL 3083379 (Southern District of Florida 5-31-2016)(Case No.15-cv-80465-MIDDLEBROOKS), the patient was awarded $500,000 for pain and suffering in compensation for the time between the patient’s cancer should have been diagnosed...

In 2015, a total of 35,092 people lost their lives in traffic accidents. On August 29, 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made a press release calling for action to decrease the number of deaths on U.S. Highways. In...

A Sikorski S-61 helicopter crashed in Brevard County, Florida near Freeburg Avenue SW in the area of Sapodilla Road SW and Wingham Drive SW in Palm Bay. A Sikorsky S-61 is a old military style aircraft that is no longer in service. Witnesses say that the helicopter was flying low...

Wilbert Henry Moten died as a result of cardiovascular disease with diabetes and environmental exposure as a contributing factor according to the medical examiner’s report. He was 65 years old at the time of his death. A investigation by police found that Moten’s death...