It started as a small cut. But the client was elderly, in her 80’s, and had pre-existing blood circulation problems. With the passage of time, the opening in the skin grew larger, and larger. And treating and dressing the wound became more and more difficult. The poor woman wound up with a 6-inch long and several inches wide opening in the flesh covering the top of her foot. The condition persisted and defied treatment for months, requiring highly specialized care.
An apparently minor accident on the job developed into a serious chronic injury for my client, who ultimately went on to recover–following a period of utter misery. Photos of the condition–which we will NOT publish here–provided compelling evidence which supported a confidential settlement with a major national supermarket chain, and the gratitude of a much relieved client.
Not far from my home in North Miami Beach, a shrine marks the spot where a 10-year old boy named Anthony Reznik was struck and killed in the crosswalk by a driver who blew a red light.
No such shrine marks the spot just a few blocks from my office in North Miami where three teenage boys en-route to a soccer tournament were mowed down on the sidewalk by a drunk driver. But the loss of life is certainly no less tragic.
These incidents comprise examples of a disturbing truth: Florida has the greatest number of pedestrian fatalities in the United States–people killed while on foot by careless, or reckless and wanton drivers. And the numbers are still going up, 899 pedestrian deaths last year–a 31 percent increase over the year before. A profile of such cases:
The most likely victims are children or elderly. Most occur in the evening or at night The most likely offenders are drivers under the influence or distracted with cell use, or those rolling a stop sign. The most likely places are intersections, roadsides or shoulders and parking areas Many are hit-and-run
Obtaining justice for many of these tragic losses can be highly problematical. The at fault driver cannot be identified, or they are not insured, and in many cases, they cannot be prosecuted criminally for lack of evidence showing criminality as opposed to simple carelessness.
Counsel’s best advice is not much different from what your mother would say: You need to be aware of where you are, and what’s going on around you all the time, and if you let your guard down, catastrophe can occur. And even then, it may not be enough.
The answer is yes, but with certain restrictions. Florida law recognizes a right to privacy, and courts are supposed to weigh and balance the competing interests in protecting personal information with the need to discover relevant evidence–evidence that could be critical in determining fault.
In one leading case, the court permitted an expert to inspect the cell phone of a driver killed in a crash with a truck for the nine-hour period immediately surrounding the accident.
Distractions from cell phone use and texting are said to be responsible for as many as one out of every four crashes. Call Detail Records (CDR) can reveal:
– The precise time when a call is placed – The number placing the call – The number receiving the call and – The length of the call
It can also show timestamps on text messages and data reflecting GPS use like google maps or Waze.
Some phone companies will honor a subpoena; others require a court order. A competent attorney should be able to obtain either of these. However, time is of the essence. Federal regulations require the phone companies to maintain the call detail records for 180 days (six months). But upon request, phone companies are required to maintain the data for an additional 90 days. So if cell phone use or text messages appear to be an issue, the request for records should be made as soon as possible.
If you’re a patient at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital, it could have made a big difference whether your physician is acting on behalf of the University or on behalf of the Hospital.
The University is a privately-owned, deep pocket institution, fully collectible, and entitled to no special treatment under law. Whereas Jackson Memorial is a county Hospital, a public institution, covered by Florida sovereign immunity law, which carries all kinds of restrictions and limitations on recovery.
Legally, the question has now been put to rest. If you’re treated by a University of Miami doctor while at Jackson Memorial Hospital, by law, that doctor is deemed to be an agent of the Hospital, not an agent of the University.
A 2011 amendment to Florida’s sovereign immunity law specifically states that physicians from a medical school are agents of the state and entitled to sovereign immunity when the medical school contracts to provide medical care in a teaching Hospital. In accord with that change, Jackson and the University have re-written their long-standing operating agreement to provide that all UM faculty members are covered by sovereign immunity, even when caring for private paying patients, not just indigents.
As a result, the University is “immune” from getting sued because by law, its doctors are legally deemed agents of the public hospital with sovereign immunity. This arrangement has gone far in discouraging malpractice claims at Jackson–to the benefit of the Hospital and University, but also to the detriment of those patients who may have experienced the consequences of malpractice.
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.
