Accident and Injury Law Blog

A Florida teenager and his family were awarded $30 million after a five week trial yesterday by a Broward County jury in a medical malpractice lawsuit against Westside Regional Medical Center in Plantation against the OB/GYN who delivered him 17 years ago. The family's medical malpractice lawyer had requested $24 million in damages. Underscoring the jury’s view of the case, they awarded $6 million more than the lawyer requested. Its decision was unanimous. The award is reportedly the largest medical malpractice award in Broward County.

The first line of the Miami Herald article on the case says that the plaintiff was happily posing for the camera and showing off the same leg braces that subjects him to “constant teasing and prodding” from other teens at his high school. This young man suffers from cerebral palsy and has the classic symptomtology of cerebral palsy - spastic legs at the level of a child years younger than his is. So this line really tugs at your heartstrings for sure. But I the cynic in me – and the optimist – wonders whether the boy told the Miami Herald exactly this. Teenagers can be cruel for sure but rarely do they pick on people who are suffering from cerebral palsy. I don’t remember anyone in my public high school picking on a boy like this plaintiff who has cerebral palsy.

In any event, while I’m sure the Plaintiff would rather be 100% healthy, this was certainly a good day for help and helps him lead a life where he finds himself frequently overcoming obstacles.

Posted by Ronald V. Miller, Jr. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Florida , Medical Malpractice

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Broward County, Florida Judge Jay Spechler abruptly resigned Monday after the chief judge barred him from the courthouse. Chief Judge Victor Tobin had reassigned Judge Spechler last week to traffic and parking matters at satellite courthouses until his resignation Monday.

Judge Spechler was in a war with United Auto who sought to disqualify him from cases involving the Florida-based carrier because the judge had a “pre-disposition, prejudice and bias” against its auto accident lawyers who were defending no fault (PIP) cases in Florida. Judge Spechler estimated that two thirds of his cases are PIP disputes with this insurance company. State Auto is the market share leader in car insurance in Florida. When you put two and two together, you get a lot of acrimony.

Apparently, Judge Spechler made more enemies that just State Auto. Courthouse sources said County Court Judge Jay Spechler’s reassignment came after he got into a verbal altercation with fellow Florida County Court, making comments about the judge’s sexual orientation. The impression I get is that new Chief Judge Tobin was no fan of Judge Spechler, who was closely aligned with former Chief Judge Dale Ross, who resigned last May.

Judge Spechler is apparently going to a mediation firm. Let me make a guess: he won't be handling a lot of State Auto mediations.

Posted by Ronald V. Miller, Jr. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents , Florida

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The Orlando Sentinel has an editorial today decrying frivolous lawsuits in Florida. The editorial provides a class example of frivolous lawsuits filed by Florida personal injury lawyers that are destroying Florida:

“For example, last year a law-enforcement officer in Central Florida was among those who responded to a 911 call when a 1-year-old fell into a swimming pool. The officer injured her knee when she slipped on a puddle of water left when the child was removed from the pool. The child survived but was brain-damaged. The officer, however, sued the child's family, even though all her bills were covered by the city. Thankfully, the officer's frivolous slip-and-fall lawsuit received so much negative attention that she withdrew it.”

This example supports even more tort reform in Florida? Of course, people are going to bring frivolous complaints under any system. If the goal is zero tolerance for complaints that turn out to have little merit in our legal system, we are going to have to make a lot of changes. The reality is police are going to bring charges against people that are later show to be innocent, the government is going to go after pharmaceutical companies and later find they committed no violations, and you are going to accuse your spouse/friend/child of a “crime” they did not commit. Hopefully, these errors/mistakes/misunderstanding are caught before too much harm is done.

In this case, the system worked. A claim without merit was brought and the claimant – presumably with help from his personal injury lawyer or the system – realized the claim was without foundation.

Posted by Ronald V. Miller, Jr. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Florida

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The Orlando Sentinel reports that Florida Medical Association is asking is asking the Florida legislature to increase what doctors may charge for to obtain copies of medical records. Currently, Florida doctors can charge $1 per page for the first 25 pages and 25 thereafter.

Believe me, I realize the retrieval costs are such that doctors are not making money producing medical records at this price. But should they be? Patients are entitled to their medical records. Personal injury lawyers in Florida have characterized the Florida doctors’ request as a backdoor strategy to avoid medical malpractice claims. I’m not sure that an increase in the cost of medical records is going to do that. But I also don’t see why the current prices don’t adequately give reimburse doctors for their costs of producing medical records.

Posted by Ronald V. Miller, Jr. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Florida

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Posted by Ronald V. Miller, Jr. | Permalink | Email This Post

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