Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a test that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to make pictures of organs and structures inside the body. In many cases MRI gives different information about structures in the body than can be seen with an X-ray, ultrasound, or computed…
The subject of this blog dovetails nicely with the current Wall Street protests over corporate greed. It was recently learned that State Farm Insurance raised between $2.4 and $4 million for the 2004 election campaign of an Illinois judge. It was the most expensive race in U.S. judicial history. The…
Follow this link, Ros-Lehtinen rethinks, to read my letter to the editor published by the Miami Herald on September 29, 2011. I wrote the letter in response to an article published by The Herald on September 25, complimenting Rep. Ros-Lehtinen for co-sponsoring the Respect of Marriage Act, a law designed…
The legal principle which binds a litigant to the path chosen to right a wrong is known as election of remedies. The principle should not be confused with the procedure of seeking alternative remedies within the same forum, best illustrated by a multi-count complaint asserting various legal theories of recovery.…
Injured Florida workers who seek workers’ compensation medical or indemnity (wage loss) benefits will see and be required to complete a variety of forms. It is important for Claimants to understand and complete the forms properly. Being wrong can lead to serious consequences including the denial of benefits and criminal…
Not satisfied with the existing arbitrary damage caps on non-economic damages (e.g., pain & suffering) contained in Fla. Stat. 766.118 – presently under challenge in Estate of Michelle Evette McCall v. United States of America* as violating the Florida Constitution – Florida’s 2010 Republican-controlled legislature created additional barriers to the…
Typically, Florida automobile insurance policies recognize two classes of insureds. Mullis v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 252 So. 2d 229, 238. (Fla. 1971). Class I insureds are named insureds, usually the owner of the vehicle, and their resident relatives. Travelers Ins. Co. v. Warren, 678 So. 2d 324,…
Injured seamen are entitled to maintenance, cure, and unearned wage benefits regardless of fault. Moreover, as long as the injury or illness occurs while the seaman remains obligated to return to the vessel if called, such as when on shore leave, the benefits should be available, and because close calls…
Owners of motor vehicles registered and operated in Florida are vicariously liable for damages caused by their vehicles while operated by a consensual driver. Car rental companies are exempt from this rule. This form of strict liability is derived from Florida’s Dangerous Instrumentality Doctrine, adopted in Southern Cotton Oil Co.…
Under traditional maritime law, a seaman had no cause of action against his employer for injuries caused by the negligence of a fellow seaman. The Osceola, 189 U.W. 158 (1903). This harsh rule changed in 1920, when Congress passed the Jones Act, 46 USC App. Section 688, creating a negligence…