Florida Insurance Claims Lawyer Blog

The legal profession is one of the most closely guarded professions in the United States. Before being permitted to practice law in most states, including Florida, lawyers are required to attend an accredited law school and earn a Juris Doctor degree. Typically, this involves a minimum of three years of law school, in addition to a four-year degree from a college or university. After completing law school, Florida attorneys must then sit through a grueling two-day examination and pass a character and fitness review before they can be admitted to the state bar and be legally allowed to practice law. In addition, some attorneys take the added time to go through the intense testing and examination process of earning an extra accreditation within a specific area of the law. For example, our Palm Beach attorney has been Board Certified in Civil Trial law for nearly two decades.

The reason that the practice of law is so carefully controlled is because of its great importance to Florida citizens. Lawyers have an abundance of knowledge on complicated questions of law, including estate planning issues, tax liability questions, contract disputes, lawsuit filings and defenses, and much more. Most laypersons are unable to effectively manage their own legal affairs because they simply have not received the necessary training to do so. Therefore, they often must rely on lawyers to handle important matters in their lives.

Most attorneys handle the cases that come before them honestly, fairly, and competently. However, like with any other profession, there are always a few bad apples in the mix. When lawyers are dishonest or incompetent, the results for their clients can be devastating. In area criminal cases, Florida legal malpractice can lead to wrongful convictions, and in child custody cases, it can lead to arrangements that are not in the best interests of the children involved. In addition to incompetency, lawyers can also harm their clients in other ways, such as by stealing client funds or falsifying billing records.

When dishonest or incompetent attorneys hurt their clients' interests, a Florida legal malpractice attorney can help recover funds lost and damages incurred as a result of the attorneys' actions. Many times, lawyers who commit one act of malpractice either have or will commit more in the future. Therefore, it is helpful to know whether your lawyer can really be trusted, which is the purpose behind a newly launched website called PunishedFloridaLawyers.com. As the website address suggests, this website is dedicated to providing information about which Florida lawyers have either been disciplined by the Florida Supreme Court or been made to pay out $10,000 or more in damages as a result of a Florida lawyer malpractice suit. The website, launched just a few days ago and provides a fee-based attorney conduct reporting service for use by clients and attorneys alike.

If you suspect that your attorney has taken actions that are unethical or detrimental to your interests, do not be afraid to step up. Talk to a lawyer who has expertise on attorney malpractice in Florida, and find out what your rights are. Chances are, you are not the first victim, nor will you be the last.

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Summer is a time of fun and relaxation for many here in Florida. But as our Florida personal injury attorney knows, entertainment can turn dangerous all too quickly. Though the picnics and parades that were part of July 4th celebrations are just a distant memory now, the fireworks used to celebrate our independence are coming back to haunt some.

Recently a Florida woman was hospitalized after she was injured by fireworks. The morning started innocently enough. While her boyfriend was still sleeping, she discovered fireworks left over from the Fourth of July. As reported in the Miami Herald, the woman was attempting to dispose of the fireworks her boyfriend had purchased several months earlier when they unintentionally ignited. The woman was rushed to the hospital but doctors were unable to save her thumb and two fingers.

This tragedy reminds us that taking some basic steps can help prevent a Florida fireworks injury. It is always good practice to buy only legal fireworks, closely supervise children, keep water handy and move to a safe distance once the fuse is lit. While everyone using fireworks should take precautionary steps to limit the potential for danger, sometimes those steps are not enough. The sale of fireworks is illegal in many states, yet even with knowledge of the law, some unscrupulous businesses sell the inherently dangerous products. No one should ever be injured by an item they are attempting to throw out.

If you are injured by fireworks in our areas, it is always a good idea to contact a Palm Beach injury attorney. Many injuries are due to negligence on the part of the manufacturer or seller and are not the fault of the injured party. Because the makers and sellers of fireworks are often not held financially responsible for the damage they cause, there is little incentive for them to make fireworks safer for users. And many users of fireworks do not realize that they are entitled to safer products. Local residents who are hurt in these situations can often get help with the financial burdens associated with a serious injury by filing a Palm Beach injury lawsuit or seeking out an attorney to help negotiate with involved parties. Medical bills can be expensive, not to mention lost wages when work is impossible because of the resulting medical problems.

Another important reason to seek to hold those accountable is to create awareness of a problem. Many users of fireworks think if they are careful, they will not get hurt. But this Florida victim who was recently injured was not trying to light the fireworks when she lost three fingers; she was trying to dispose of them. The fireworks in question were not especially old, as they had only been purchased a few months earlier. When manufacturers and sellers of fireworks face the potential of paying for injuries caused faulty fireworks, they are more likely to make safer products. Safer fireworks are better for everyone. Using the legal system to obtain a monetary remedy for personal injuries, like those caused by poorly made fireworks, is more than just a financial gain for the injured party, it helps make everyone in society a little bit safer.

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Our Palm Beach injury attorney understands that a crucial component of the job of a lawyer is to understand all the ways that a client may recover for their losses. This often requires keeping up to date with all relevant legal decisions that may have ramifications for injury victims in our area. Most of the time this means that the lawyer needs to understand precedents in a given area of the law. These include previous cases and ruling on particular issues such as when a lawsuit must be filed, who can be sued, and other issues. In the vast majority of cases a court is bound by that precedent and must apply the rule decided in a previous case. However, in rare instances, an attorney is called upon to argue on behalf of a client in an area in which no previous rule has been created.

For example, one high profile case recently decided by the Florida Supreme Court explains how a Florida injury lawyer may be used to advance a novel position that either challenges a previous precedent or decides and rule that has yet to be commented upon. Because of the severe damages caused to those who are exposed to asbestos, Florida personal injury attorneys have used the courts to protect the legal rights of victims.

Last month, the Supreme Court of Florida decided the case American Optical v. Spiewak that will affect the ability of asbestos victims to recover in Florida courts. The case was about the validity of the Asbestos and Silica Compensation Fairness Act [the Act], passed in 2005 by the Florida legislature. The Act made it more difficult for victims of asbestos exposure to make a claim in court, because it added an additional fact that must be proven before a Florida court can award damages. Victims now are required to show that they not only have a lung disease resulting from exposure to asbestos, but also that they have a "malignancy" or "actual physical impairment" that the asbestos exposure caused.

The Act also requires that the asbestos exposure be a "substantial contributing factor" to the victim's injuries. While this sounds great on paper, in reality this makes it much more difficult for victims to recover on an asbestos-related claim. Under the Act, even a finding by a doctor that a victim's illness is "consistent with" asbestos exposure is not enough. This high degree of proof imposes a significant burden on victims attempting to recover in Florida courts with the assistance of personal injury attorneys.

The personal injury plaintiffs in American Optical v. Spiewak filed their lawsuits before the Act was passed in 2005. The plaintiffs understandably felt that they should not be required to prove the additional facts required by the Act, since they filed suit before the Act went into law. Recognizing the unfairness of depriving the victims a recovery for their asbestos-related injuries, a Florida court ruled that the Act would not apply to the plaintiffs. Therefore, the plaintiffs were not required to prove that they had suffered a malignancy or actual physical impairment that was substantially related to asbestos exposure. Other Florida courts had ruled differently on this issue, so the Florida Supreme Court decided to clear the air.

The Supreme Court sided with the plaintiffs and ruled that the Act could not retroactively prevent the victims from recovering for their injuries. The Court correctly said that a cause of action, or the legal basis of a lawsuit, is a property right that can only be interfered with by the legislature under limited circumstances. The Court concluded that the Act retroactively impaired the vested rights of the victims in their cause of action for recovery of damages. This was a violation of the Florida Constitution's Due Process clause.

American Optical v. Spiewak highlights the way in which all legal advocates, including our Palm Beach injury attorney is capable of using the legal system in a variety of ways to zealously advocate on behalf of clients. Our Florida personal injury law firm is similarly committed to pursuing all available avenues to help victims of a wide-range of injuries receive compensation for their losses caused by others.

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Our Palm Beach food poisoning lawyer closely follows all reported instances of possible food contamination in our area. Dangerous bacteria often use food as a breeding ground. When that food is not properly prepared by manufacturers, restaurant owners, and other businesses that handle the product, then consumers are at risk of suffering serious illness. Improperly prepared food can cause a wide range of problems, from nausea and vomiting to paralysis and death. Millions of people are affected by food-borne bacteria each year.

The Sun Sentinel recently reported on the latest Florida food poisoning scare involving contaminated ground turkey. The problem has affected residents throughout the country over the past few months. Officials from the United States Department of Agriculture are still working to understand the outbreak and determine the best way to keep consumers safe. Investigators currently believe the problem can be traced to a manufacturer from Kansas known as Cargill Meat. The company apparently sold 36 million pounds of turkey to Walmart and Aldi supermarkets that may have become contaminated with a fatal strain of salmonella. Tests at the manufacturing site indicated the presence of a strain of the bacteria known as salmonella Heidelburg--known to be resistant to antibiotics. The contaminated turkey was produced over a five and a half month period in the first half of 2011.

The report indicates that several Florida Walmart stores received the contaminated meat and local residents may have unsuspectingly purchased the dangerous products. Since learning of the problems all Walmart and Aldi stores have apparently emptied their shelves of the ground turkey. However, many residents may have purchased the product unsuspectingly before the recall was enacted. As a result, it is important for area residents to take special care with their consumption of ground turkey so that they do not fall victim to the Palm Beach turkey contamination. Fortunately there have been no Florida victims publicly identified yet. However, at least one person has died and over 75 illnesses have been reported in nearby states because of the salmonella strain.

Our Florida injury attorney has worked with many victims who have fallen ill because of bacteria-laden food. We understand the responsibility incumbent upon all food manufacturers to keep their products safe. Many residents may be unfamiliar with the way that lawsuits work in these situations. It is important to know that these businesses still maintain responsibility for the consequences of the contamination even after a recall is issued. When many people are harmed by an outbreak it is often treated as a "class action" lawsuit. A class action lawsuit is a legal action that combines many individuals harmed into a single case for efficiency reasons. This helps save resources by allowing a judge or jury to hear how a single case of contamination had wide-ranging consequences and affected dozens of people. Our Palm Beach food poisoning law firm has been involved in several class action lawsuits related to restaurants that have served contaminated food.

If you or someone you know may have been harmed by this salmonella outbreak or any other food poisoning be sure to seek medical help, preserve the dangerous food, and seek legal assistance to ensure your rights are protected.

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