The Florida Legislature finally recognized the problem of clinics and doctors performing Brazilian butt lifts without liability insurance. This meant that as a practical matter, it would be nearly impossible to collect for damages in the event of injuries resulting from substandard treatment.
Now, going forward, doctors performing this procedure must carry professional liability coverage of at least $250,000.00 per claim and at least $750,000 annually.
Office surgery centers in which one or more physicians perform the procedure must maintain the same level of coverage. This way, the surgery center can’t avoid liability by blaming the doctor as an independent contractor for whose actions the surgery center is not responsible.
This is good news as it stands to create financial responsibility on the part of surgery centers and doctors who perform these procedures. But it is doubtful that these good reforms will eliminate the many unlicensed, uninsured, substandard unregistered operators performing butt lifts on the cheap. Their presence on the landscape continues to make Miami a medical tourist destination for bargain hunting women willing to sacrifice quality for economy. And when they wind up scarred for life, the best lawyer in town can’t help them because the other side is uncollectible.
The catastrophes are well covered: The obese teenager falling hundreds of feet to his death. A 6-year old dies after being thrown from a roller coaster in Kissimmee.
But really, how safe are you, or aren’t you, when you go to an amusement park in Florida?
Truthfully, it’s hard to tell. There are no reliable statistics. The only reporting is self reporting by the amusement park rider operators themselves. And if they don’t report it, there’s no way to know.
And Florida law just made it harder to find out. The Legislature and Governor passed a new law exempting from the public records act the records of state investigations of accidents on amusement park riders until the state finishes its investigation. Very pro industry.
Except for Disney and Universal, (parks with more than 1,000 employees and full time inspectors on staff), amusement park ride operators in Florida are regulated by the FDACS—the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The Department is responsible for enforcing the safety standards which are set by statute for amusement park rides. That’s Florida Statute 616.242 to be precise. Among other things, the safety standards require:
– For permanent rides, annual inspection by a qualified inspector – For a ride installed at a temporary location, inspection by a qualified inspector each time the ride is relocated – Defects affecting patron safety must be reported in 8 hours (but only if it results in the ride being close) – $1-million insurance – Employee training records must be maintained – The owner or his employees must inspect daily, and maintain daily inspection reports for 14 days – Any modification to the ride equipment or machinery must be reported to the department – Patrons requiring transport to a hospital must be reported by telephone within 4 hours, with a written report within 24 hours
The Department even maintains a 24-hour hotline for reporting accidents on fair rides. 1-800-663-3542.
The problem with all this is that to a great extent, it depends on the honor system–self regulation by those being regulated. Self policing by those being policed. If the rider owner or manager doesn’t report it, or doesn’t fix it, who’s to know? Until it’s too late.
Amusement parks are rife with conditions conducive to accidental injuries. The attractions and installations are designed to catch your eye, amuse and thrill you. But the installations can also result in slip, trip and fall injuries–many minor but some far more serious with fractures or concussions. Roller coasters can aggravate neck and back injuries, and rides that jolt the rider can, in the extreme, cause traumatic brain injury.
You assume some risk when you go to an amusement park. But the risk you assume is the risk inherent in the safe operation of the ride. You do not assume the risk of careless maintenance, or the risk of a preventable malfunction or the risk of operator error by an operator who was careless or untrained or drunk or all three.
If you fall because of some spilled material on the floor, how do you prove the property owner–condo, restaurant, store, etc. –was aware of the spilled material? Because if you want to make a recovery, it is necessary to prove that the property owner knew the spilled material was there, and didn’t clean it up.
These are cases involving “foreign transitory substances,” and they can be very difficult to win. Florida law books are full of cases where it was clear that:
– the injured party fell, – clear that he or she sustained a serious injury, and clear that – it happened on the defendant’s property.
But even with all that, such cases are routinely thrown out of court, because the injured party couldn’t show that the defendant knew or should have known that there was spilled material on the floor.
These “spilled material” cases are different from cases where the fall resulted from some construction defect–like change in level, inadequate lighting, faulty stairs and so forth. Where such defects exists and a fall results, the question becomes did the property owner/operator create the defect, or know about the defect and fail to repair it.
But those cases differ from when you have to show that the business knew about spilled material on the floor and didn’t clean it up. This can be difficult to do.
For one thing, to prove notice, you can show that it was in plain view of the business’s employees. But here, the court’s have held, you must show that the employee was in immediate presence of the spill.
When you don’t have direct evidence showing that the business knew of the spill, you can use circumstantial evidence to show that it should have known of the spill. For instance, when a visitor to the condo’s storage facility slipped and fell on liquid on the facility’s floor, the injured party was able to show:
– foot prints and smudge marks – the size of the puddle – the dried condition of the puddle – liquid dripping slowly from storage locker – daily visits to the storage facility by the condo’s security and janitorial services
With this proof in hand, a Florida appellate court reversed a trial court’s ruling for the defense, and ruled that the plaintiff was entitled to his day in court, and that it should be left to a jury to decide.
After a fall, it is wise:
– to report the occurrence, and – to take pictures if possible – don’t decline first aid if you might be hurt – identify by name and number any possible eyewitnesses – have your attorney notify the business to secure any video that may show the fall, or the conditions at the time.
In my practice, I always visit the scene of the fall with my client, because there’s no substitute for a scene visit to reconstruct what happened, and to prepare a winning case.
News that the parents of a school shooter were themselves convicted in connection with the incident raises the question: Under what circumstances, if any, can a parent be held civilly liable for damages and injuries caused by their child?
A finger on the hand of Miami Beach hotel clerk was severed when an eight-year old girl forcefully slammed a door on it. That was in 1955 and when the injured clerk sued the parents, the case went to the Florida Supreme Court, which ruled a parent is not liable for the torts of a minor child merely because of paternity. That’s the general rule to this day. But as in most things legal, there are exceptions to the rule:
1. When the parent entrusts an instrumentality to a child that could cause a danger. Examples: a two-wheel bicycle without training wheels entrusted to a five-year old child; a baby stroller entrusted to a five-year old in a busy department store, and a loaded pistol left within reach of children.
2. When the child is acting as the servant or agent of its parents.
3.When the parent directs or sanctions the wrongdoing; and
Case in point: Mother of a 16-year old not liable to son’s friend who died after falling off a ATV being driven by her son. Case in point: Two teenagers playing with croquet mallets and one strikes the other on the head. Held: Parents not liable. Every case is different, and each turns on its own factually specific circumstances. But Florida law requires a showing of one of the exceptions listed above to hold a parent liable for damages caused by their child.
The catastrophes are well covered: The obese teenager falling hundreds of feet to his death. A 6-year old dies after being thrown from a roller coaster in Kissimmee.
But really, how safe are you, or aren’t you, when you go to an amusement park in Florida?
Truthfully, it’s hard to tell. There are no reliable statistics. The only reporting is self reporting by the amusement park rider operators themselves. And if they don’t report it, there’s no way to know.
And Florida law just made it harder to find out. The Legislature and Governor passed a new law exempting from the public records act the records of state investigations of accidents on amusement park riders until the state finishes its investigation. Very pro industry.
Except for Disney and Universal, (parks with more than 1,000 employees and full time inspectors on staff), amusement park ride operators in Florida are regulated by the FDACS—the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The Department is responsible for enforcing the safety standards which are set by statute for amusement park rides. That’s Florida Statute 616.242 to be precise. Among other things, the safety standards require:
– For permanent rides, annual inspection by a qualified inspector – For a ride installed at a temporary location, inspection by a qualified inspector each time the ride is relocated – Defects affecting patron safety must be reported in 8 hours (but only if it results in the ride being close) – $1-million insurance – Employee training records must be maintained – The owner or his employees must inspect daily, and maintain daily inspection reports for 14 days – Any modification to the ride equipment or machinery must be reported to the department – Patrons requiring transport to a hospital must be reported by telephone within 4 hours, with a written report within 24 hours
The Department even maintains a 24-hour hotline for reporting accidents on fair rides. 1-800-663-3542.
The problem with all this is that to a great extent, it depends on the honor system–self regulation by those being regulated. Self policing by those being policed. If the rider owner or manager doesn’t report it, or doesn’t fix it, who’s to know? Until it’s too late.
Case in point: That is exactly what happened to Tyre Sampson, the obese teenager who fell 400 feet to his death in Orlando on a ride to which the operator had modified the sensors and seats but never reported the modifications as required by law.
Amusement parks are rife with conditions conducive to accidental injuries. The attractions and installations are designed to catch your eye, amuse and thrill you. But the installations can also result in slip, trip and fall injuries–many minor but some far more serious with fractures or concussions. Roller coasters can aggravate neck and back injuries, and rides that jolt the rider can, in the extreme, cause traumatic brain injury.
You assume some risk when you go to an amusement park. But the risk you assume is the risk inherent in the safe operation of the ride. You do not assume the risk of careless maintenance, or the risk of a preventable malfunction or the risk of operator error by an operator who was careless or untrained or drunk or all three.
Personal Injury Attorney Mark Wolin proudly serves Florida and South Florida communities in Miami-Dade County, Monroe County and Broward County including Aventura, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Biscayne Gardens, Biscayne Park, Davis Harbor, El Portal, Hallandale, Hallandale Beach, Hialeah, Hollywood, Hollywood Beach, Liberty City, Little Haiti, Little River, Miami, Miami’s Upper East Side, Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, Miami Shores, North Bay Village, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Opa Locka, Pembroke Pines, Pembroke Park, Sunny Isles Beach and Surfside, Florida. View our privacy policy here.
