Archive for June, 2011
June 29, 2011
In a recent post, our law office recommended that everyone watch the HBO documentary “Hot Coffee,” in order to gain important insight into the infamous McDonald’s coffee spill case. That blog can be see on our website at aronberglaw.com/blog.
This post is also encouraging you to become educated, and I will outline a few ways in which you can make a difference in order to preserve justice in our legal system.
The easiest thing to do is pass the word along to friends and family to watch the documentary. Discuss it, ask each other questions, and really immerse yourself in the understanding that there is a way for you to make an impact.
The main issue at hand is in the form of “caps” or “tort reform.” These two things limit the amount of damages that you can recover in the case of an accident. It is unfair, unjust, and un-American for you to not have the ability to recover damages that will cover your medical expenses and lost wages. By contacting your elected representatives, you can encourage them to oppose laws that inflict these caps or reforms on personal injury lawsuits.
There is no reason that you should not be able to ensure that you are compensated for your injuries to the full extent. You need to be comfortable and confident with your legal pursuit of recovery in the event of an accident, not scared and concerned that you may have to empty your bank account to pay for medical bills for an accident you are not responsible for.
The best way that we can ensure that these caps and reforms do not vitally impact us into the future is truly by education. Spread the word, comment on blogs, write a letter to a newspaper, or just bringing this issue up in intelligent conversation helps to inform people of the currently volatile state of our civil justice system.
We encourage you to be informed, and we encourage you to STAY informed. Checking out these important organizations can keep you educated on our quest to defend our civil justice system: The Center for Justice and Democracy is the only national consumer organization in the country exclusively dedicated to protecting our civil justice system. It contains numerous fact sheets on caps, mandatory arbitration, and other civil justice issues.
The Alliance for Justice is a national association of more than 100 organizations dedicated to advancing justice and democracy. The Consumer Watchdog is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing an effective voice for taxpayers and consumers in an era when special interests dominate public discourse, government and politics.
These are just a few of the various organizations that exist in order to preserve the interest of our citizens. By being proactive and staying up to date and educated on these vital matters, we may be able to make some headway in raising issues that need to be discussed.
Caps on damages only hurt injured parties, as they are often times left with thousands of dollars in debt because their damages award was capped by law. Then, we, as taxpayers have to pay for their medical bills through State or Federal assistance programs. Doesnt it make more sense for the negligent corporation or person who caused the injury to pay for those damages?
If you get hurt, can’t work, and need to do physical therapy every day, how are you going to pay for it? We need to do whatever we can to make sure that you are not put in that situation. With that, we can not allow certain limits or caps in monetary damages that may not even be close to covering your costs in the event of an injury caused by a third party.
If you have any questions or comments please call our office at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com
June 28, 2011
The evolution of the internet has provided us with the ability to obtain the answer to any and all relevant, or even irrelevant questions that we may have. If you want to know something, you can find out using a verb that didn’t exist a decade ago. You say, “‘I’ll Google it.” Arguments based on fact can be solved in a matter of seconds by just typing your inquiry into the revolutionary search engine that is Google.com.
Google searches and indexes billions of Web pages, making it almost a certainty that it will capture the information that its users desire. It displays those results quickly, concisely, and in order of relevance with regards to the exact search that you input.
Mostly everyone uses Google, but rarely anyone uses Google correctly, or I should say, to its full capacity. By following certain tricks that I will outline below, your search can yield even better results that are exactly tailored to your particular query.
Using specific phrases indicated with quotation marks can be very beneficial in your search. For example. by writing “personal injury law,” your search will be confined only to websites or indexes containing that exact phrase, nothing in between.
A little more complex but equally as effective is searching through specific websites for certain terms or phrases. For example, if you are on the Aronberg Law website and you want to find out how to contact us, you could “Google,” “contact site www.aronberglaw.com” and Google will display any page at our site that contains the searched word, “contact.” You can do this with any website that you are looking for certain information on and want to eliminate the task of rifling through a webpage to find a tiny piece of information.
If you are really wondering about the definition of a word and don’t want to mine through a Google search to find a real dictionary definition, you can simply type “define:” and then the word you want the definition of. So if you want to know what ” medical malpractice” means, Google will return only the sites that include the definition of the word or words you entered.
There are so many tricks in order to improve your Google searches. I have outlined a few above, but, appropriately, you can Google more ways to simplify your searches!
Google is extremely relevant to the world of personal injury law. In order to effectively and efficiently run our office, we need to be able to access pertinent information via the internet and making more specific search queries makes obtaining the information we need that much easier.
If you have any questions or comments, please call our office at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
June 27, 2011
Although there have been a tremendous amount of personal injury suits in the past few decades, one case seems to stick out in everyone’s mind and is described as a “landmark case,” because of its media popularity and the current and future legal implications that the case holds.
The infamous 1992 Liebeck vs McDonald’s case in which 79 year-old Stella Liebeck spilled a cup of scolding hot McDonald’s coffee in her lap and subsequently sued McDonald’s for product liability in relation to the burns she suffered from the hot coffee. The lawsuit provided that the coffee at McDonald’s was “unreasonably hot and dangerous,” and that Ms. Liebeck’s injuries were a direct result of the unreasonably hot condition of the coffee.
HBO will premier the documentary “Hot Coffee,” tonight, June 27 at 9:00 PM. The Law Offices of Aronberg and Aronberg encourages everyone to watch this documentary in order to get an understanding and more complex education on the world of personal injury law.
The documentary will examine issues including tort reform, damages, and liability while divulging all of the details of the famous case that you may not know.
The reason we are strongly recommend that you watch this documentary is because it is very important in examining the future of the civil justice system. It will clarify legal misconceptions, offer new and insightful education about person injury, and probably most importantly, entertain you on a Monday night.
So everyone cook up your popcorn because tonight, you should sit back, relax, and let your legal horizons develop and broaden while tuning into “Hot Coffee,” on HBO at 9:00.
If you have any questions or comments, please call our office at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
June 24, 2011
By legal definition, a wrongful death claim states that the victim has died due to the negligence of anoher and that the victim’s surviving family are entitled to monetary damages to compensate for the improper conduct or negligence that led to the death.
Understandably, when tragedy strikes and a family member dies, it is impossible to think of getting a monetary reward for a death. Florida statutes are also cognizant of this notion, and therefore have imposed a statute of limitation of two years for a wrongful death claim. In other words, if you believe a family member has died due to the negligence of someone else, you have two years to file a lawsuit in regards to that matter.
A wrongful death claim generally consists of four elements: (1) the death was caused, in whole or part, by the conduct of the defendant; (2) the defendant was negligent or strictly liable for the victim’s death; (3) there is a surviving spouse, children, beneficiaries or dependents; and (4) monetary damages have resulted from the victim’s death.
In order to sue for wrongful death, it must be proven that the acts or omissions of the defendant were the proximate cause of the decedent’s injuries and death. This means that the defendant’s wrongful conduct must have created a natural, direct series of events that led to the injury.
There is certainly no price to be put on a loved one’s life. Juries have awarded anywhere from a few thousand dollars, to millions of dollars to a family that has had to experience the tragedy of a wrongful death of a family member. People that sue in a wrongful death claim may recover medical and funeral expenses in addition to the amount of economic support they could have received if the decedent had lived and, in some instances, a sum of money to compensate for grief or loss of services or companionship.
Obviously, pursuing a wrongful death claim is inherently emotionally strenuous. However, if someone else caused the death of a loved one, there is no reason not to pursue legal recourse against that person.
If you have a possible wrongful death claim, do not hesitate to call our office. We are here to help and provide you with the legal advice and representation that may assist you and your family.
If you have any questions or comments, please call our office at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
June 23, 2011
Insurance companies owe a duty of good faith and fair treatment to all persons insured by their company. What this means is that the insurance company is required by law to act in your best interest as a client. This includes performing proper investigations regarding your claim and doing their general due diligence on your behalf.
For example, if someone files a lawsuit against you and a judgment is rendered in their favor, your insurance company is required to pay the judgment up to the limit of your coverage.
Bad faith can cover a vast array of topics. Examples of bad faith include undue delay in handling claims, inadequate investigation, refusal to defend a lawsuit, threats against an insured, refusing to make a reasonable settlement offer, or making unreasonable interpretations of an insurance policy.
When you purchase an insurance policy, whether for life insurance, disability insurance, homeowners insurance or any other type of policy, you are entitled to the full benefits of the policy if you have a covered claim. If the insurance company refuses to pay or if it delays your payment, you may have a bad faith insurance claim.
Some states, including Florida, even allow clients that were subject to bad faith by an insurance company to sue the company for punitive damages that can exceed their policy limits. This serves mainly to deter insurance companies from engaging in future bad faith behaviors.
A famous example is State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Co. v. Campbell, in which the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a jury verdict of $145 million in punitive damages against State Farm Insurance. Although the verdict was overturned, this represents the immense amount of financial recourse that can be awarded in a bad faith lawsuit.
Insurance companies are required to act in the best interests of their policy holders. Insurance companies also understand the serious implications that a bad faith claim can cause. Therefore, they must be very careful as to handling every claim professionally and thoroughly.
Inherently, insurance companies have a self-interest to attempt to pay as little as possible, or attempt to relinquish liability in its entirety regarding claims against its policy holders.
If an insurance company refuses to pay your claim, denies payment or offers an insufficient amount, it would be wise to hire a lawyer to enforce the insurance company’s obligations.
Call our office for a FREE consultation. In most cases, it is a good idea to obtain legal advice when you are unsure of whether or not you have a case.
If you have any questions or comments, please call our office at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
June 21, 2011
A lot of people are under the impression that lending your car to someone else, letting someone drive your car, or putting your name on the title for a car for someone else somehow relinquishes you from liability in the event of an accident.
You may ask, “If I wasn’t physically driving the car, how could it be my fault?” You may think, “I just bought the car for a person in my family, it’s completely his/her responsibility.” In Florida, the law is that the owner of a vehicle can be held liable for damages in the event of an accident, even if that owner had nothing to do with the accident other then lend the driver the car.
The state of Florida has what is called the dangerous instrumentality doctrine, which imposes strict vicarious liability upon the owner of the car – if you lend your car, or let someone drive your car and they hurt someone else while driving, YOU and the driver will be liable for that accident.
In determining who is vicariously liable under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine, the Florida Supreme Court “repeatedly has required that the person held vicariously liable has an identifiable property interest in the vehicle, such as ownership, rental, or lease of a vehicle.”
So, if you have a property interest in a vehicle, you need to exhibit extreme caution on who you allow to drive your vehicle. In no way is your responsibility as the owner of the vehicle relinquished in regards to liability just because you are not the one physically behind the wheel of the car.
Similarly, if you are injured in an accident, it is important that you find out the relevant information about the vehicle that you were injured by. If you find that the person driving was not the person who owns the vehicle, you will have an opportunity to obtain damages from both the person driving and the owner of the vehicle.
The dangerous instrumentality doctrine is intended to hold owner’s liable for their vehicle’s misuse. As a car owner, you are responsible for making sure that the vehicle is only being used by people with permission, and that those people are driving your vehicle in a safe and prudent manner.
The common misconception that if someone else is driving, they are the only person responsible for an accident can be financially crippling. It is vital to stay informed and educated on Florida law to protect yourself in the event of an accident.
If you have been injured in an automobile accident, do not hesitate to call our office for a FREE consultation. We will do all the leg work as to finding out who can be held responsible for your injuries.
If you have any questions or comments, please call our office at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
June 17, 2011
By definition, the statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated. In more simple terminology, you have a certain amount of time to file a lawsuit after an accident occurs. Essentially, you can’t decide that you want to pursue legal recourse for an accident that happened ten years ago.
Every state has different statutes of limitation for different forms of accident liability. Specifically, the state of Florida has a 4 year limit on negligence/personal injury claims including products liability. Florida imposes a 2 year limitation for wrongful death, medical malpractice suits, and other forms of professional malpractice.
It is important to note these statutes of limitation. Plenty of people are denied being made whole from their accidents because they just wait too long to consult an attorney. Often times, it takes several months to get all proper documentation to file a lawsuit. So, if your statute of limitation is approaching, you need to act sooner rather than later.
A detailed list of all of the statutes of limitations in Florida can be found here: http://www.statuteoflimitations.net/florida_statute_of_limitations.htm
So, if an accident occurs, be proactive. Don’t let the timing for a lawsuit to be filed creep up on you and challenge your ability to receive damages because of an accident.
As stated above, every state has different statutes of limitation. You must be cognizant of the statutes in order to ensure that your attorney can file suit in a timley fashion.
Do not hesitate to call our office for a FREE consultation. It’s always the prudent thing to do to obtain legal advice if you are unsure about whether or not you have a case. We are here to help!
If you have any questions or comments, please call our office at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
June 16, 2011
Expanding on our previous post on Apps for Lawyers which can be seen here http://aronberglaw.com/apps-for-lawyers , turning your legal practice into a mobile office is a growing phenomenon.
After doing some more research on the matter, there are several more Apps available that are definitely worth mentioning that can make the hectic life of a lawyer a little bit easier.
“DropBox,” a recently released and free App is a fantastic way of organizing and storing files online. Plus, you can share the folders with your staff to create a central place from which to access files. Conveniently, with this App, you can upload your files and access them on the go and send important documents to colleagues without being in the office.
JotNot’s Scanner Pro is a $0.99 App that turns your phone or iPad’s camera into a scanner. This very simple App allows you to take a picture of any document that you need scanned or faxed. The App amazingly turns the document into an electronic copy instantly. You can receive a document, scan it onto your phone or mobile device, and send it out to all of the necessary parties, without ever touching a scanner or computer! The technology really is astonishing, and the increased trend towards mobile technology is growing by the day. Lawyers can now be productive anywhere.
Another notable App, perhaps the most useful is the Black’s Law Dictionary, 9th Edition. The App goes for $54.99, but is probably the most useful App that a lawyer can own. The dictionary includes more than 45,000 terms, alternate spellings and expressions. Essentially, this App becomes your “back pocket legal assistant” which you can use to ensure you never miss a legal beat. The days of flipping through pages to find pertinent legal defintions are numbered.
The topic of Apps for Lawyers will be relevant for years to come. Soon, mobile technology will trump the use of desktop computers. The Aronberg & Aronberg legal blog will continue to update you on the most relevant Apps for lawyers as we attempt to take advantage of the plethora of resources made available in the App store.
If you have any questions or comments, please call our office at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
June 14, 2011
Motorcyle riding, for many, is an adventure, a thrill, and an incredible way to release your thoughts and just go. Actually, it’s downright American. However, the dangers associated with riding without a helmet and not being properly insured are too important to be ignored.
Some states require that motorcycle riders wear a helmet while riding. Florida law, however, does not. The law is in Florida is as follows:
A person over 21 years of age may operate or ride upon a motorcycle without wearing protective headgear securely fastened upon his or her head.
Obviously, riding without a helmet leaves motorcycle owners at a much higher risk for a severe accident. You need to protect yourself with insurance if an accident were to occur. 286 fatalities were reported in the first nine months of 2010 related to motorcycle accidents. The National Highway Traffic Administration estimates that helmets saved 1,829 motorcyclists’ lives in 2008 and that an additional 823 could have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn helmets.
Most motorcycle owners believe that they will be covered by their automobile insurance or by the adverse driver’s insurance if they are involved in a crash. However, they are sorely mistaken. In Florida, insurance is not required for motorcycles. Additionally, the PIP coverage of your auto insurance will NOT cover the owner if injured on a motorcycle. PIP benefits, or Personal Injury Protection, gives an individual reimbursement of 80% of medical bills and 60% of lost wages as the result of an accident up to $10,000.
Motorcycle PIP is not required by Florida law, but is essential for you to have in the event of an accident. As a motorcycle rider, you do not want to be left with thousands of dollars in medical bills because you were not fully educated on the benefits of your insurance. PIP coverage should be carried by everyone who owns and operates a motorcycle.
Additionally, property damage liability coverage protects you if you damage someone else’s property with your motorcycle by driving negligently. It does not protect you for any bodily injury the other person sustains due to your negligence.
Lastly, and just as important is uninsured motorist coverage, or UM. In an accident, the other person’s BI, or bodily injury protection, will normally cover your medical expenses and lost wages expenses. What if the person doesn’t have BI coverage? What if their coverage doesn’t cover the amount of your expenses? You need to protect yourself with UM. So, if you are a car or a motorcycle owner, you should obtain UM coverage.
As we’ve previously discussed, understanding your auto insurance is vital to making educated decisions on what type of insurance to obtain. Motorcycle operators need to know that they are not covered for PIP or UM under their auto insurance plan, and need to separately obtain coverage on their motorcycle. Therefore, it is with good reason that EVERYONE who rides a motorcycle should make sure that they have separate UM coverage and separate PIP for their bikes.
If you have any questions or comments, please call our office at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
June 13, 2011
There have been several recent cases in the news that are both interesting and related to our law office’s craft, personal injury.
Just yesterday, a circus performer for Ringling Bros. was released from a Colorado hospital after suffering hip and wrist injuries after a 20 foot fall in front of a Colorado Springs crowd. The performer was carted out of the World Arena during an intermission at the circus Saturday. The performer was outside of a wheel that rotates on an axis preparing for an act when he plunged onto what circus-goer John Flores described as a thin piece of padding. No wheel act will be in Sunday’s performances. The cause of the fall is under investigation.
In other personal injury news, the family of a four year old boy who died after falling from a mall escalator has filed a suit for wrongful death. Mark DiBona of Dudley died March 12 after falling from a second-floor escalator in a Sears store at the Auburn Mall. Authorities have said he fell after slipping through a gap between the escalator and a barrier. The suit filed last Wednesday in Worcester Superior Court names Sears, mall owner Simon Property Group Inc., the escalator’s manufacturer and a construction company as defendants.
Also in the news, General Motors is recalling more than 47,000 Cadillac SRX crossover vehicles because of a problem with the side air bags.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says on its website that the head protection air bag on the passenger side won’t inflate in a crash if no one is in the front seat. The agency also says that a right-side passenger in the back seat may not be protected and could get hurt in a frontal or side crash. Dealers will reprogram the air bag sensors to fix the problem free of charge. Obviously, General Motors is hoping to diminish the chance of a personal injury suit in the event of an accident in one of these defective vehicles because of the faulty airbags. A product recall is an appropriate measure of limiting liability if a personal injury suit were to arise.
Of course, the circumstances mentioned above may not be identical (or even close) to your possible personal injury claims. However, it is important to note that every day, people are made whole by filing suit and recovering damages in cases that their injuries were caused at least in part by a third party.
Do not hesitate to call us for a FREE consultation about your potential personal injury claim.
If you have any questions or comments, please call our office at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
