- Florida Leads Nation in Boating Accident Deaths
Posted May 9, 2008, 4:32 am by Joseph I. Lipsky
Not surprisingly, given our location and the number of boaters in Florida, we again lead the nation in the number of boating accident fatalities. Unfortunately, Miami-Dade County has the dubious distinction of leading the State, having had 13 such wrongful deaths last year. The findings, reported by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, revealed that 77 people suffered wrongful deaths on Florida waters in 2007. Apparently the vast majority of all boating accidents occurred with...
- Florida Wrongful Death - Children Can Recover Damages for Loss of a Parent under Florida's Wrongful Death Act
Posted May 9, 2008, 4:00 am by David A. Wolf
A Florida child can recover for the loss of parental support and companionship when a parent dies as a result of the negligence of another person, business, or the government. Negligence can present itself in a Jacksonville Florida automobile accident, trucking accident, slip and fall, medical malpractice, and other types of cases. Section 768.21 (3), Florida Statutes states: (3) Minor children of the decedent, and all children of the decedent if there is no surviving spouse, may also recover...
- Miami Pharmacy Owner of Convicted of Medicare Fraud, Co-defendant Acquitted
Posted May 8, 2008, 9:01 pm by Robert David Malove
After a six day trial in Miami, a federal jury in Miami convicted Gustavo Smith, 43, the owner of a Miami pharmacy for his role in a $3 million Medicare fraud scheme and for money laundering of all 17 counts charged against him in the September 2007 Indictment. The charges included: conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, to commit health care fraud, and to submit false claims to the Medicare program; seven counts of health care fraud; seven counts of submitting false claims to the Medicare...
- CLINTON'S NUMBERS
Posted May 8, 2008, 5:34 pm
Before we get to the topic today, once again those wild and crazy lawyers North Of The Border intrude upon our thoughts. Just when you were sure things could not get any crazier in "fun city" comes this little gem: Criminal Defense attorney Gary Ostrow flew to Tallahassee on May 2 to file papers to challenge incumbant Public Defender Howard Finklestein. But before he could get out of town, Ostrow managed to get himself ARRESTED FOR POSSESSION OF COCAINE. That's right- The Clerk's office before...
- Florida DUI Ignition Interlock Device Law
Posted May 8, 2008, 1:55 pm by Shorstein & Lasnetski
Drunk driving in Jacksonville may now result in a relatively new device being installed in your car to detect your breath alcohol content before your car will start. If you have been arrested and then convicted for driving under the influence (DUI) in Jacksonville or anywhere else in Florida, you may be required to have an Ignition Interlock Device installed in your vehicle. An Ignition Interlock Device will prevent the vehicle from starting if the driver provides a breath sample with an...
- Avoiding Copyright Infringement
Posted May 8, 2008, 1:07 pm by Shorstein & Lasnetski
US-Cert and the United States Copyright Office have published information about the crime of copyright infringement and how to avoid committing and being prosecuted for that crime. The article can be located here. Downloading music or movies without authorization and stealing software are obvious examples of copyright infringement crimes. However, this article along with the www.SecureFlorida.org website can help people identify and avoid other less obvious instances of copyright infringement.
- Anticipating the Audit Call: Thinking About Controversy at the Planning Stage
Posted May 8, 2008, 11:33 am
John W. Porter and Stephanie Loomis-Price of Baker Botts LLP in Texas and Charles E. Hodges II of Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin in Georgia published a useful article entitled: Anticipating the Audit Call: Thinking About Controversy at the Planning Stage, Prob. & Prop., Jan./Feb. 2008, at 20. The article does a good job of explaining why every email, letter, memo and draft document you prepare as an estate planner should be written under the assumption that one day the...
- Watch Those General Releases When Settling a WC Claim
Posted May 8, 2008, 8:54 am
When settling a workers' compensation claim with an employee, most Florida employers - particularly if they're self-insured - want the employee to settle not only his rights under the Florida Workers' Compensation Law, but any other kind of employment-related claim which the employee may have as well. As Manzini & Associates, P.A. v. Broward Sheriff's Office indicates, however, all parties should take care in entering into such agreements. The plaintiff/claimant in the case was pursuing...
- Uma
Posted May 8, 2008, 7:23 am by David Oscar Markus
I'm always fascinated by reports on deliberations. In the recent high-profile trial of the Uma Thurman stalker, a Wall Street Journal reporter was on the jury. Here is her description of the trial and deliberations. In local news, Jose Padilla co-defendant isn't happy with the jail he's been assigned to. From Curt Anderson's article: A man convicted along with one-time "dirty bomb" suspect Jose Padilla of supporting al-Qaida wants a federal judge to block the government from sending him to a...
- Fiery Nassau County Florida Crash Kills Thomas Hooke of Yulee
Posted May 8, 2008, 6:00 am by David A. Wolf
Two people were killed and four others were taken to Shands Jacksonville after Fernandina Beach Florida catastrophic car crash on South Eight Street and Sadler Road in Fernandina Beach, Florida. Donald Harrison was driving a Chevrolet Pick Up truck that crossed over a median and into the other lane of traffic. This resulted in a head on collision with Thomas Hooke of Yulee. Both Harrison and Hooke died as a result of the accident. Investigators will study the scene photographs and evidence as...
- "Dual Persona" Doctrine Does Not Permit Third Party's Contribution Claim Against Employer
Posted May 8, 2008, 5:24 am
The "dual persona" doctrine, discussed only sparingly in Florida judicial decisions, is an exception to the "exclusive remedy" provision which bars most tort claims by an employee against his employer. The doctrine permits an employee to pursue a tort claim against his employer where the corporate employer merges with a corporate third-party tortfeasor after the accident which caused the employee's injuries. For example, in Percy v. Falcon Fabricators, Inc., 584 So.2d 17 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991), one...
- Florida Children Are Safer in the Back Seat - Safety Tips
Posted May 8, 2008, 5:00 am by David A. Wolf
Florida children are clearly safer as passenger in the back seat of vehicles. I represent Florida adults and children who are injured in automobile accidents, trucking accidents, pedestrian accidents, and bicycle accidents. I also use my knowledge and experience both to help the injured and to help others avoid similar fates The National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration notes the following: Air bags are hazardous to infants and children 12 and under; Infants should ride in a car...
- WISE WORDS
Posted May 8, 2008, 12:15 am by Rumpole
(David Ranck Update below) "Do we have the right here in the United States to say that we're going to kill tens of thousands, and make millions of peoples, as we have, refugees, kill women and children as we have...I very seriously question whether we have that right...when we use bombs, when a village is destroyed and civilians are killed...this is a moral obligation and moral responsibility for us here in the United States." Who said that? Not Barak Obama. Not Hillary Clinton. Not John...
- CITY OF DELRAY BEACH TO PETITION THE FLORIDA DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION FOR FUNDS AIMED AT STRENGTHING DUI ENFORCEMENT.
Posted May 7, 2008, 2:12 pm
The City of Delray Beach has set its sights on obtaining money that would finance an officer whose duties would primarily include analyzing ways to fight DUI offenders. The City of Delray Beach also hopes to use this grant money to finance a vehicle outfitted to further this endeavor. The application seeks over $100,000 which the City claims is justified due to the increased number of bars on Atlantic Avenue. Very little statistical information is available which would tend to prove that the...
- Settlement Agreement Included Too Many Parties
Posted May 7, 2008, 6:10 am by Christopher HOPKINS
The opinion in Patrick Flynt v. Progressive Consumers Insurance Company et al. probably should have included more facts -- if not a little "color" -- since we do not fully get the picture as to how one defendant settled and somehow convinced plaintiff and counsel to include the other defendant on the release. Relying upon the de novo standard for summary judgment, the appellate court put a roadblock in the path of enforcing this agreement but it is not for certain that summary judgment could...
- Res Judicata Does Not Bar Second Claim for PTD Benefits
Posted May 7, 2008, 5:41 am
Res judicata (literally, "a thing decided") is an equitable doctrine which bars the re-litigation of claims and issues that have already been determined in an earlier judicial proceeding. Does that doctrine bar a claim for permanent total disability benefits where the JCC has previously considered and denied such a claim? Not necessariliy, said the First DCA in Myers v. Hillsborough County School Board, decided on 4/23/2008. Myers had filed a claim for an award of PTD benefits commencing in...
- Standards for Post-10/1/2003 PTD Claims - Another Decision
Posted May 7, 2008, 5:16 am
I wrote here about Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Thompson, where the First DCA strongly implied that the pre-1994 standards governing the quality of proof needed to support an award of permanent total disability benefits apply to post-10/1/2003 claims. In Ferrell Gas v. Childers, decided on 4/7/2008, the court was more direct. Upholding the JCC's award of PTD benefits in which he considered the claimant's vocational abilities as well as his physical limitations, the court specifically compared the...
- Florida Slip and Fall - Can I Get the Incident Report?
Posted May 7, 2008, 5:00 am by David A. Wolf
I often get calls from Jacksonville Florida people who have been injured at a business like Wal Mart, Target, Publix, and Winn Dixie. One of the first questions from the prospective Jacksonville client regarding a personal injury matter concerns the incident report. "I fell at the store and the manager refused to give me the incident report." Typically, a business will not release the incident report regarding the slip and fall or other injury. In Florida, a business or any other person for...
- Costs Awardable Against Non-Prevailing Claimant Even Where JCC Fails to Reserve Jurisdiction
Posted May 7, 2008, 4:52 am
As I discussed here, one of the legislative changes enacted in 2003 concerns the issue of costs in workers' compensation litigation. Formerly, ยง440.34(3) authorized an award of costs only in favor of a prevailing claimant in a workers' compensation proceeding. The 2003 amendment to the statute, however, authorizes an award of costs in favor of the prevailing party. Construing this amendment in Guckenberger v. Seminole County, decided on 4/23/2008, the First DCA held that the JCC could award...
- "If there is a verdict for her and she is ordered to be released, how can the verdict be changed so suddenly!!!!!!!!!"
Posted May 7, 2008, 2:39 am by David Oscar Markus
That was the defendant's mom after Judge Cohn sentenced Shahrazad Mir Gholikhan to 29 months a week after sentencing her to credit time served. I've tried not to blog about the case because I was involved for a brief time early on in the litigation. Here is the intro from Vanessa Blum's article: Shahrazad Mir Gholikhan, an Iranian woman accused of trying to export night vision goggles, thought her guilty plea last month would be her ticket back to her family.The federal prosecutor had...