Florida Personal Injury Lawsuits and Bankruptcy

Our Fort Lauderdalepersonal injury clients frequently have questions regarding how a potential bankruptcy filing could affect their motor vehicle, slip-and-fall, or medical malpractice lawsuit. The answer to these types of questions will depend upon a number of factors, including the type of bankruptcy protection a client is seeking from the bankruptcy courts. Typically, most clients file as consumers who request protection from the court by filing a Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy petition. Basically, consumers seek to liquidate their debts under Chapter 7 because they have no assets for the trustee to distribute to creditors, as compared to a Chapter 13. Under a Chapter 13, a payment plan is filed in the case in order to pay off creditors.

You will need to consult with your Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers about your concerns of an unresolved lawsuit and how a bankruptcy filing will affect your suit. Also, your attorney is likely to refer you to an attorney who practices bankruptcy law to represent you in your bankruptcy case. These matters can become very complicated because once a petition is filed, a bankruptcy trustee is appointed to administer your estate and you are required to list all property and assets you own.  And for bankruptcy purposes, any pending civil suits are considered as assets in which you own and must be listed in the bankruptcy schedules. Failing to disclose this information in your bankruptcy petition could result in a dismissal of your civil lawsuit to recover damages. Further, the trustee will determine whether or not the value of your pending lawsuit has a value which is worth administering. If the trustee determines that your pending claim has substantial value, then he or she will more than likely want to administer the personal injury case as an asset of the bankruptcy case.

But, before the trustee makes a decision to abandon its interest in a potential FortLauderdale personal injury suit, he or she will also consider any exemptions in which you are legally entitled to claim. Since bankruptcy is controlled by federal law, there are various federal exemptions in which you may claim to keep your property out of the hands of the bankruptcy trustee. For example, under Section 522 (d) (11) (b) of 11 U.S.C., a debtor (in this case, the plaintiff with a pending personal injury lawsuit) is allowed to exempt a payment on account of the wrongful death of an individual of whom the debtor was a dependent, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any dependent of the debtor.  Also, there may be state exemptions under Florida law which will allow you to keep your property.

It is always best to speak with your Fort Lauderdale motor vehicle accident attorneys about any bankruptcy filing you may be contemplating once you have filed a cause of action based upon negligence, or any other areas of torts law. We know that when you or a loved one is seriously injured in a motor vehicle crash, a slip and fall accident, or harmed as a result of medical malpractice, you may face financial difficulties which arise as a result of the injury you sustained, and become unable to work. Consulting with an attorney can advise you of your legal rights and how to best handle your financial hardship.

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Florida Woman Arrested For Prostitution While Knowingly HIV Infected

On Wednesday night, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office arrested a woman who informed officers that she was infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV and has been working as a prostitute while knowingly having this deadly disease. Michelle Weissman was busted during a prostitution sting and said that she contracted the HIV disease three years ago, according to The Palm Beach Post News. In 2009, the latest available statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were an estimated 6,120 persons in the state of Florida with a diagnosis of the HIV infection, regardless of the stage of the disease at diagnosis. HIV is deadly virus that causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Sadly, many people living with a Fort Lauderdale HIV infection will face humility and discrimination when they disclose to others their medical conditions. But, the state of Florida makes it illegal to knowingly transmit this virus to a sexual partner without disclosing to them about the HIV status, and without out a sexual partner’s consent to engage in sexual activities with an infected partner. Further, under Florida law, a person who commits or offers an act of prostitution while infected with the HIV disease and fails to notify a sexual partner could be convicted of criminal transmission of HIV.  Also, across the nation, many states not only have criminal HIV transmission laws, but in some jurisdictions a person who becomes infected without their consent could also have a legal claim by filing a personal injury lawsuit.

Our Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers recognize that the spread of HIV epidemic is a prevailing problem in Florida. In 2009, Broward County ranked number two in the nation, the 2^ND highest in the number of new AIDS cases per capita diagnosed in that year. Additionally, approximately 125,000 people, or an estimated 11.7 percent of the national total, people with the HIV disease lived in Florida. Nonetheless, the Florida Supreme Court has held that a person infected with HIV can sue to recover damages in a civil suit when their HIV status is wrongfully disclosed. This means that if a medical provider, employees of a health care facility, insurance company, another person or an entity which has a need to know, discloses a person’s HIV status without their consent, they could be held liable and have to pay the infected person damages for the harm resulting from the wrongful disclosure. Specifically, the Supreme Court in Florida Department of Corrections v. Abril (2007) held, "an entity that negligently and unlawfully violates a patient's right of confidentiality and privacy disclosing the results of HIV testing of the patient may be held responsible in a civil action for damages caused to the patient by unlawful disclosure" [Florida Department of Corrections v. Abril, 969 So. 2d 201, 206 (Fla. 2007).

But on the other hand,  since there are a myriad of legal issues involved, including possible negligence,  when one has been exposed to the HIV disease, for example while in a healthcare or hospital setting, and are injured as a result, then a FortLauderdale medical malpractice attorney could become involved in your case. You should contact an attorney immediately after you have become aware of an exposure, and especially if you have signs and symptoms of an incurable disease such as HIV because there have been a number of cases in which a person or a family member has become seriously ill or event worst, died as a result of someone’s negligence.

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Retailers Remove Enfamil Newborn Formula As a Result of a Missouri's Infant Death

Last week, our Fort Lauderdale personal injury law firm received information that national retailer, Wal-Mart,  removed the Enfamil Newborn formula product from more than 3,000 of its nationwide stores. The decision to pull the formula from the shelves, which is packaged in the 12.5 ounce cans with the lot number ZP1K7G, was the result of a report suspecting that a 10-day-old Missouri infant had died after consuming the milk and who subsequently developed a bacterial infection. According to the Orlando Sentinel, a spokesperson for Wal-Mart say that the decision to pull the product from the stores was done until further information is learned and that it could be returned to the shelves. Apparently, the infant died from the bacterium, Cronobacter sakazakii.

Also, health officials are investigating another infant’s death which occurred in the state of Illinois. Since the announcement of the Missouri infant's death, investigators are looking into the cause of death of the four week premature infant who died on Wednesday, December 21, 2011. An autopsy report did not indicate that an infection or disease was a factor in the Illinois infant’s death, but blood tests have been ordered due to the reports of possible powdered milk contamination. However, a third infant, also from Illinois, became ill after powdered formula consumption, but later recovered in a Missouri hospital. Thus far, the government has not issued a recall, however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials have began conducting their own independent tests from samples of the same batch of formula to determine whether or not the Enfamil product is contaminated.The CDC and FDA claim that it could be several days before the results of the tests are known.

On Sunday, December 25, Mead Johnson Nutrition, the manufacturer, announced that its own testing from samples of the suspected contaminated batch shows that the product is free from the Cronobacter sakazakii bacterium and that its product is safe for consumer use.  Cronobacter sakazakii, formerly Enterbacter sakazakii, is a rare bacterium that causes infection that can lead to death and serious illnesses in infants. According to the CDC, Cronobacter “have been frequently isolated from the environment, plant material (wheat, rice, herb and spices) and various food products including powdered infant formula (PIF)”.  Also, the CDC reports that even though the infection can affect across all age groups, neonates born with low birth weights or premature are highly susceptible to severe injuries or death because the infection can cause neonatal meningitis, sepsis, necrotizing entercolitis and neurological impairments.

Common symptoms of a cronobacter sakazakii infection include seizures, vomiting, irritability, jaundice, instability of body temperature, brain abscess, and fever. Florida parents can review all other symptoms associated with this devastating disease by visiting the  CDC’s website or by contacting their pediatrician or medical provider. If you believe that your child suffers from any of these symptoms, you should contact a physician immediately because this disease can cause fatality. To prevent or reduce the occurrences of Cronobacter sakazakii infection, parents are advised to use PIF according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Our Fort Lauderdale childhood injury lawyers are also here to answer any legal questions you have may if you suspect your child has been infected with Cronobacter sakazakii. Also, it has been reported that other retailers, including Walgreen, Kroger Co., Safeway, and Supervalue, Inc. have also removed the product from its shelves.

As Fort Lauderdale product liability attorneys we recognize that parents have different feeding options for their infants, however when the choice is made to use PIFs, these products should be free from any contaminated materials prior to being sold on the market.  If you believed that your child became seriously ill or suffered death due to Cronobacter sakazakii, or from contaminated powdered infant formula, you should contact an attorney to discuss what legal options are available to you.

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No Reasonable Expectation of Facebook Privacy, Says New York Supreme Court

More and more each day, a substantial number of people around the world are users of social media networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. These sites have allowed users to interact with one another through email, instant messaging, and to build or maintain business and social relationships. On these sites, users can share pictures, videos and status updates (posts) via a public or private account setting. Generally, a public setting occurs by default when the user establishes an account, but this setting can be changed to a private profile. When a user make use of the privacy settings function, he or she is expecting that the information in which they are sharing will only be viewable to those whom which they have authorized. In other words, they believe that due to this restriction setting, unauthorized people cannot view or obtain access to the information which they have chosen to post or share. However, given the considerable amount of users of social media channels, information shared, and communication which users are supplying on these sites, there has been and will continue to be legal matters affecting civil and criminal lawsuits in this country, including Fort Lauderdale personal injury cases.

A recent decision issued in a personal injury lawsuit demonstrates how social media have impacted civil litigation and will have an affect on Fort Lauderdale personal injury suits, as well as other personal injury cases throughout the country. In Romano v. Steelcase, Inc., 2010 NY Slip Op 20388 [30 Misc 3d 426], 2010 N.Y. Misc. Lexis 4538 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Sept. 21, 2010), the state's Supreme Court granted the defendant’s motion to access the plaintiff’s current and historical Facebook and Myspace pages and contents (including postings and pictures), as well as her deleted pages and content. The plaintiff Kathleen Romano sued the defendant, Steelcase, Inc., a Michigan furniture company in a personal injury suit. Plaintiff claimed that she had suffered severe injuries to her back and neck as a result of a fall from a collapsing chair manufactured by the defendant. Plaintiff sought damages and asserted that she had lost an enjoyment of life; and could no longer participate in certain activities. However, the defendant reviewed the public contents posted on the plaintiff’s Facebook and MySpace pages, and contended that the material contradicted her asserted injuries and claims because she had traveled to Florida and Pennsylvania during the time period she alleged her injuries prohibited such activities.

During her deposition, defendant sought questions from plaintiff about her social networking accounts (Facebook and MySpace), but to no avail and subsequently served plaintiff notice for discovery. Plaintiff refused to provide the requested authorization to obtain access and copies, including current and historical information on her social networking accounts. The Court granted defendant’s motion and plaintiff was ordered to provide defendant within 30 days the consent and authorization to access her Facebook and MySpace accounts information.

The court’s decision has an important bearing upon the discovery phase in civil litigation and Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawsuits. Discovery is a pre-trial fact finding phase in which the parties exchange evidence and information between one another by a variety of means including depositions, answer to interrogatories, and requests for production of documents. In this case, the plaintiff attempted to invoke her Fourth Amendment right of expectation of privacy. The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, guarantees the people the right to be secured in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, unless there has been a Warrant issued based upon probable cause to search and seize. However, the court rejected her argument and found that neither Facebook or MySpace guarantees complete privacy. Using Facebook’s privacy policy as one of its basis, the court reasoned that when plaintiff created these social networking accounts, she consented to the fact that her personal information could be shared with others and “given the million of users, in this environment, privacy is no longer grounded in reasonable expectations, but rather in some theoretical protocol better known as wishful thinking.”

If you are currently thinking about hiring a Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney to represent you in a personal injury case, you should consult with him or her about any social network content you have posted which may be relevant to your case and to get legal advice about your rights.

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Robbers Assault Elderly Woman With Soda Can

Robbers Assault Elderly Woman With Soda Can

Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury attorneys are always disturbed when hearing about physical attacks and injuries inflicted upon the elderly. On Saturday, a 70-year-old woman was injured when two unknown culprits struck her on the left side of her head with a soda can during a robbery attempt. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the woman was walking near an apartment complex in Orlando when the two attackers jumped her from behind in an attempt to rob her, struck her and then fled away after discovering she did not possess any money. The Orlando woman has not been able to provide police with a physical description of the guilty parties because she could not see them well enough.

Hopefully, someone observed this assault and will soon provide the police with information that will lead to their arrests. According to The National Center For Victims of Crime, eleven percent of the elderly are likely to suffer from physical abuse. Additionally, 67% of older woman are more likely than men (32%) to suffer from any abuse, and our Fort Lauderdale civil assault lawyers represent elderly sufferers who have been injured in an assault incident.

Many people are of the belief that a perpetrator of a physical assault can only be punished through the criminal justice system. However, in our American civil jurisprudence, a battery is an area of tort law which was established under the common law legal system to hold those accountable who impose an intentional offensive or uninvited physical touching upon another. However, there are circumstances when the wrongdoer does not inflict any physical contact, but uses words of threats to cause an apprehension of imminent harm upon a person. In so doing, his or her conduct is considered an assault. However, under Florida law, the torts of assault and battery are usually combined in a civil lawsuit to hold an individual liable for the injuries and damages another has sustained during an unpleasant incident.

Generally, the elements of battery require that a person prove that the wrongdoer committed a touching which was offensive and did not have consent. Further, the offensive or harmful touching must have caused a person to sustain injuries. It is important to point out that not all touching are considered a battery. There are situations in which a person implies consent to physical contact, such as in the sport of football. Since football is a contact sport, players understand that physical contact is part of the game, however, it is when one exceeds the scope of the contact consented to, he or she may be liable for the tort of battery.

It is always prudent to seek the advice of a Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney when you or a loved one has been injured as a result of an assault and battery occurrence. And particularly when an incident involves the elderly. Such persons usually incur significant medical costs, pain and suffering; and income loss when someone has caused them injury. And, there may be monetary damages a tortfeasor will have to pay as a result of their conduct.

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School Bus Crashes into a Wall at Houston Tavern

Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorneys expect that investigators are probably exploring what caused a First Student school bus operator to run off the roadway and crash into a tavern on Thursday, December 8, 2011. According to a recent Chronicle story, law enforcement said that a school bus ran off a roadway and subsequently hit a north wall of a tavern. One of the 37 student passengers on the bus was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment, but was later released. The female bus driver sustained some personal injuries and was unable to respond to emergency personnel.

Fortunately, there were no fatal injuries involved in this school bus accident. However, it is worth mentioning the heroic leadership of the two KIPP 3-D eighth grade students who calmed and evacuated the other elementary students on the bus; and even assisted the driver from her seat before paramedics arrived. First Student has not released the driver’s name, age or medical condition.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports there are several causes of school bus accidents including:

Driver negligence,

Defective equipment,

Dangerous roadways,

Poor weather conditions,

Improper maintenance

Also, according to 2009 data from the NHTSA, since 2000, the number of people who have died in school transportation related activities is 1,386. Of these, 8 percent of the fatalities were occupants of school transportation vehicles, and a shocking 72 percent were occupants of other vehicles involved in the crash. Besides death, other common injuries involved are head and lower-extremity injuries, cuts, fractures, broken bones, facial scars, disfigurements, sprains and strains. Further, frequently children are severely injured when involved in a school bus crash and often have to obtain therapy and rehabilitation treatment for their injuries.

As Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers we are concerned about the safety of Florida children when riding a school bus, and have been involved in a similar related accident in Florida. When your child has been hurt as a result of a school bus driver’s negligence or due to defective equipment; or improper maintenance, a personal injury attorney that handles these types of cases can identify the blameworthy party, including the bus company.

If your child has been injured in a bus accident, you should seek medical attention immediately. Since soft tissue injuries are common among children hurt in a Florida bus accident and these types of injuries poses other serious problems if your child is involved in sports. Soft tissue injuries are those which damage muscles, tendons or ligaments. Additionally, it has reported that types of injuries cause serious pain and dysfunctions in the human body.

Moreover, the NHTSA study has revealed that since 2000, 130 school-age pedestrians, younger than 19, have died in school transportation-related crashes. Of these, 67 percent were struck by school buses, and 43 percent school-age pedestrians were killed in school-transportation-related crashes and were between the ages of 5 and 7.

Our Fort Lauderdale bus accident lawyers can help protect you and your child’s interest; and can consult with you regarding the specific circumstances of your potential claim.

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Personal Injury to Florida Woman During Surgical Procedure

A 29-year-old Florida woman is recovering from burns to her face she received during surgery to remove three cysts from her head. According to the Miami Herald, Kim Grice underwent surgery last week at the Crestview Surgery Center in North Florida, when a “flash fire” broke out and spread to her face. She was wearing an oxygen mask and the surgeon was using a cauterization tool to stop bleeding when the fire broke out. Our thoughts go out to Ms. Grice and hope that she has a successful recovery. Events such as this typically are not natural occurrences when one undergoes a surgical procedure. At this time, not many facts have been given that explain the cause of this bizarre Florida personal injury, but what is known is that Ms. Grice has suffered a serious personal injury.

Our Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorneys represent those who have been injured or harmed as a result of another’s negligence, or willful misconduct. There are many circumstances that may give rise to a negligence cause of action, including medical malpractice and errors, defective products and malfunctions. One of the first steps a personal injury will do on the behalf of their client is to investigate the facts to identify the person or entity that is responsible for a person’s injuries. As we have mentioned in our prior blogs, in order to prove negligence, a plaintiff victim must prove four elements to hold a defendant liable: duty, breach, causation, and damages.

During a Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer investigation, there are two types of evidence which may be discovered and produced to the court in order to prove a defendant is liable for damages. Direct evidence may include, witness statements, damaged instruments, video recording and photographs. On the other hand, when direct evidence is lacking, circumstantial evidence permits a Trier of fact to draw an inference based upon the evidence produce. For example, a dent on a defendant’s vehicle could be used to prove that it was his or her vehicle that struck a plaintiff’s vehicle.

Under some circumstances, a plaintiff may rely upon the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur, this is a Latin phrase which means, “The thing speaks for itself”. In other words, due to the fact that a person has sustained harm, the fact finder may infer or presume that a defendant is liable without any proof of unreasonable misconduct. The leading case of this doctrine is Byrne v. Boadle, 159 Eng. Rep 299 (1863). In this case, the plaintiff Byrne was struck by a barrel falling from a window as he walked past the defendant Boadle’s flour shop.  Despite there being a witness which testified that he saw the barrel fall from the window of Boadle’s flour shop, he could not explain the cause. The court held that a defendant could be held liable for negligence based upon the occurrence of what happened without proof of direct evidence of negligence. However, there are three elements of res ipsa loquitur which must be establish in order for a plaintiff to invoke:

1. The accident must be of the kind which normally does not occur in the absence of someone’s negligence.

2. The negligence can be attributable to the defendant; in other words, the defendant must have control over the source of harm.

3. Neither the plaintiff nor any third person contributed to or cause the plaintiff’s injuries.

If you or a loved one has been injured during a peculiar Fort Lauderdale personal injury situation, contact a personal injury attorney today to discuss your unique circumstances and to get advice on what your legal options are.

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