Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer Blawg

A woman in Harris County, Texas is suing Kroger Co., a retail food chain, as a result of her slip and fall injury. To help those individuals like the team at The Schulman Law Group who have been living in South Florida for decades, Kroger is a chain of supermarkets much like Publix. The woman, Sandra Atha, alleged that Kroger failed to warn its customers about a slick floor, which led to her slip and fall injury. Hypothetically, if this were to happen in a South Florida Publix, Walmart, Whole Foods, or any other local store, as a Plantation slip and fall lawyer I would seek to prove that the store was negligent in maintaining its floor in reasonable condition.

The woman is seeking damages for her injuries, alleging that the store was in a dangerous condition because there was a substance on the floor that created a slick surface. According to her slip and fall attorney, Ms. Atha was "seriously injured" as a result of her fall. We have all seen the wet floor caution signs in stores, yet if the store fails to properly warn its customers about potential hazards, then the store is negligent and liable for the victim's injuries.

For example, imagine a scenario in which the floor in a Plantation supermarket was wet, but the store failed to alert customers of the slick surface, either verbally or by putting out a wet floor sign. If a woman were to fall as result of the wet surface and injure herself, then she could consult with a Plantation slip and fall lawyer about seeking compensation for her injuries, provided that the store was negligent and at cause for her fall.

Continue reading "Are Wet Floor Signs Enough Warning to Prevent A Plantation or Fort Lauderdale Slip and Fall Lawsuit?" »

This past week, the famous TV personality, Dr. Phil McGraw and his wife Robin, were sued for gross negligence after their dog viciously bit someone. I'm sure that many people in the South Florida and Fort Lauderdale area recognize Dr. Phil's celebrity, so hopefully they can take his case as a cautionary tale. Janet Harris, a former friend of the couple, was bitten on the arm and hand by their dog, Maggie. The lawsuit alleges that the dog attacked Ms. Harris "with no warning or provocation causing profuse bleeding, deep puncture wounds, and cuts and abrasions on her arm and hand."

Ms. Harris' injuries as a result of the bite required her to have extended home care while she was on IV treatment, steroids, and antibiotics. The dog, Maggie, is a Korean Jindo, a rare breed type of spitz hunting dog. The dogs are known to be extremely protective of their families and are often indifferent or event sometimes violent towards strangers.

Ms. Harris' lawsuit contends that the McGraws "were aware that Maggie had an unpredictable temperament, had a propensity to bite and has in fact previously bitten other persons and that the family cat, a pet rabbit and various skunks had been found dead on the premises after Maggie was acquired by the McGraws."

Dog bites are an unfortunate reality that many people in Davie, Pembroke Pines, Sunrise, Plantation, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida must face. As close as we may feel towards our dogs, it is dog bite cases like this one that remind us of the need for caution.

Continue reading "Pemborke Pines Dog Attack/Bite Lawsuits - Are We At Risk?" »

The Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer quite often fields inquiries from individuals who have fallen while receiving alleged care or treatment from a healthcare facility and have been injured, as a result thereof. Part of the analysis of whether the healthcare provider is liable not only involves and analysis of causation, and proximate cause, but also whether the potential lawsuit must be brought under Florida's strict Medical Malpractice Statues, or is the fall a result of simple negligence.

Recently Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeals held that a negligence claim arising from patient's fall off stretcher at hospital is subject to medical malpractice pre-suit requirements. The case was styled, Indian River Memorial Hospital vs. Browne, cited at 44 So. 3d 237 (Fla. 4th DCA 9/29/2010).

The facts revealed that an emergency room patient fell of a stretcher and injured his head, leading to his death. The patient's estate filed a negligence claim against the hospital, alleging that the hospital violated a duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent a fall given its knowledge of the patient's disoriented state. The hospital moved to dismiss the negligence claim for failure to comply with the medical malpractice pre-suit requirements contained in Chapter 766, Florida Statutes. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss, but the Fourth District reversed on appeal.

The Fourth DCA explained that the Chapter 766 presuit requirements apply to medical malpractice claims, which are those claims "arising out of the rendering of, or the failure to render, medical care or services." The Court stated that definition applied here, since the standard of care for the hospital's treatment of the patient was based in part on the hospital's staff's evaluation of his medical condition, and in part on the prevailing professional standard for supervising emergency room patients.

Continue reading "Patient Falls While In Hospital or Under Doctors' Care in Florida!" »

Injured persons and their families who intend to present a claim for bodily personal injuries as a result of slipping and falling on another's premises and have been seriously injured often ask us whether evidence of prior falls would be helpful to demonstrating the defendant's negligence in support of their claim. Many times our client's ask us if there is a resource that we can go to determine if there have been similar accidents at the defendant's property and what can we do to gather this information to prove fault in this case.

To the contrary, in the case of Lewis vs. Sun Time Corp., So. 3d 35 FLW D 2316 (Fla. 3d DCA 10/20/2010) reiterated that "(i)t is well recognized that a no-accident history of the location of a premises liability case may be admitted into evidence for a variety of purposes, including the central one of showing that the area was not in fact dangerous or defective. In the instant case the trial court allowed the defendant to introduce evidence that there had been no falls since the building was constructed and opened in 1937. In the instant case, the court found that "the record shows that while there were (as there had to be) variations in the circumstances surrounding the steps and their use, their basic dimensions, configuration, and composition - and their dangerous character, or lack of same - remain constant for the 70 plus years they were in use... The significant of that stark fact was properly for the jury to consider."

The question then remains whether the plaintiff can introduce evidence that of prior incidents at the location of their particular fallen injury.

Continue reading "Pembroke Pines, Weston Florida Slip and Fall Lawsuit Considerations!" »

Recently in the case of Greenberg vs. Schindler Elevator Corp., So. 3d, 35 FLWD 2396 (Fla. 3d DCA 10/27/2010), it was ruled that the Trial Court erred in excluding the Plaintiff's evidence of prior problems with an escalator on which the Plaintiff alleged she had been injured and then allowed the defendant to argue in closing argument that there was no evidence of prior problems with the escalator. Furthermore, even after the jury returned a verdict for the Plaintiff, the court found that there was insufficient evidence of negligence on the defendant's part and still directed a verdict for the benefit of the defendants. When the Third District Court of Appeals issued its ruling returning the case to be retried at the trial level, the Appellate Court stated:

"Here, (plaintiff) presented evidence showing that "(defendants) were notified that the subject escalator stopped running earlier on the day of (plaintiff's) fall. There was no evidence that any work was performed on the escalator. From this, the jury could reasonably infer that (defendants) negligently failed to examine the escalator to determine what was causing it to stop running, and to correct the problem. Plaintiff's fall was a direct result of the escalator's sudden stop. Thus, since (plaintiff) presented evidence of negligence, the trial court erred in entering a directed verdict in favor of (defendants)."

The Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyers have quite a deal of experience and are currently representing clients who have been injured as a result of having fallen due to the carelessness of a property owner who had the duty to safely operate and maintained the escalator on its property, and neglected to do so. Often the property owner denies that the escalator was ever reported as having malfunctioned. The Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyers are particularly knowledgeable and skilled in uncovering the truth behind these serous accidents.

Continue reading "South Florida Escalator Personal Injury Claims - What Evidence is Admissible at Trial?" »

Florida common law and now Florida Statue Section 768.O755 have essentially copied the Restatement of Torts II Definition of Constructive Notice.

The issue for the Fort Lauderdale trier of fact in court is essentially whether the property owner/supermarket should have known that the dangerous element existed on its flooring, circumstantially.

Fort Lauderdale injury lawyers have the task of demonstrating and proving constructive notice in order to prove that a property owner that is allege to have caused a Fort Lauderdale slip and fall injury will be liable for the slip and fall injury accident victim's damages. There are many ways of attempting to establish a property owner's constructive notice.

Florida courts, and therefore our common law, have generally held property owners to a duty of conducting reasonable inspections during reasonable intervals of time in order to detect cleanup or repair and thereby prevent slip and fall accidents. Florida courts have generally adhered in the past to a 15 minute existence standard before charging a commercial property owner with having had constructive notice or knowledge of a foreign substance on their premises. So in other words, if a Fort Lauderdale injury lawyer representing a slip and fall injury accident victim can establish (in pre-suit or at trial) that the property owner allowed the foreign substance to remain on its flooring for more than 15 minutes the courts would have generally instructed the jury to find that defendant guilty of negligence. So then comes the task of how do you date the proverbial banana peel that is somehow brought into evidence sometimes 3-4 years after the date of the Fort Lauderdale slip and fall accident to have been 3 years and the necessary notice period of 15 minutes old.

The more common manner of proof is by demonstrating that the property owner neglected to inspect each area of the store on the quarter of the hour and I submit to you that that type of reasonable inspection is rarely carried out.

Most of the time it is very difficult for a Fort Lauderdale, Florida food or convenience store to have actual knowledge of the existence of a foreign substance on its floors.

The effort and expense to insure perfection for actual notice would render such an objective overwhelmingly expensive and therefore by definitions an "unreasonable duty of care." Considering the vast number of shoppers that enter a grocery store or supermarket such as Florida's Publix or Winn Dixie or Albertsons or Sedanos or Whole Foods Market, would almost require hiring an employee or safety investigator to follow each and every shopper throughout the store and virtually throw themselves upon the first sign of something being dropped on the floor to insure and avoid all slip and fall injuries.

In addition, even if the task was assigned to video surveillance there could be a delay from the moment the incident occurs where the food or liquid or detergent hits the ground - and clean up occurs, that still would not prevent a slip and fall accident from occurring. And based upon surveillance videos that we have reviewed and what the risk managers from these various supermarkets tell us, the video quality is too poor to actually detect whether something is suddenly appearing on the ground.

Therefore, it only made sense that the law would assign the reasonable duty to all property owners to conduct reasonable inspections and to either have actual knowledge or notice such as if another patron reports something on the floor or as what it is referred to in the law as "constructive notice."

One of the difficulties most retail establishments have in maintaining their premises reasonably safe is being on actual notice of something on the floor that could cause an unsuspecting patron to slip and fall. In most situations businesses would like to trust that their employees would act quickly once they actually observe a foreign object on its floors and either immediately remove the dangerous element or place appropriate warnings such as a warning cone in close proximity to the foreign substance on the floor to alert an unsuspecting shopper of the danger lying ahead.

This law firm currently represents a victim of a slip and fall accident who fell in a local chain grocery store which we allege could have been prevented had the store employees acted more swiftly to remove the foreign substance from the ground. In our clients factual situation, she was walking down the aisle of a West Broward County, Florida grocery store and suddenly slid; due to a substance which was allowed to remain on the floor even after a store employee was allegedly aware of it and that the spill was allegedly captured on video tape. The Fort Lauderdale grocery store employee admitted to our client that she had seen the slippery substance on the ground and was able to identify it before our client slid and suffered serious injury. This is an example of having actual notice of a dangerous condition.

In fact, even after the fall occurred the negligent grocery store employee still neglected to place a warning cone or stand guard at the site of the spill until it was cleaned up; which could have caused another unsuspecting store patron to slip and fall.

Continue reading "Preventable Fort Lauderdale Slip and Fall Accidents" »

(Continuation from last article) We do this subconsciously, but it is a very precise calculation that our mind performs. We have determined over time that if there is even the slightest deviation in the height of one step from another while we're descending a staircase our conscious awareness is surprised, which causes many people to lose their balance, stumble, and fall. The most common injury that results from a deviation in the height of steps is a fractured ankle, likely to produce a bi- or tri-malleolar. Of course, if someone continues down the staircase there can be additional injuries to any part of the body and could include a brain injury that could even result in death. 3) Recently mopped floors that are left wet, but are allowed to be walked over without appropriate barricading or warning signs, or when food or store products are allowed to fall on the floor in grocery or retail stores. 4) Handicap ramps which are in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 5) Building codes and good construction practices demand that a flooring maintain a reasonable degree of friction so as to prevent a person from slipping. One would ordinarily expect to immediately slip if standing on ice, but if a floor was polished or manufactured with a finish similar to that a fall would be almost certain to occur. There are devices that measure the co-efficiency of friction on a surface and standards are likewise maintained within the building and flooring industry to prevent someone from walking over an overly slippery surface. 6) A depression in a grassed area can catch a pedestrian unsuspecting while walking through a parking lot grass median, commercial lawn, or playing field. 7) A past client fell backwards and broke her wrists while an overly exuberant and inattentive personal trainer had pushed her too far in an unfamiliar repetitive stepping exercise. 8) Hiking and running can be inherently dangerous and prone to cause falls.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Slip and Fall Injury Accidents Part II" »

Victims of Fort Lauderdale slip and fall injury accidents are all too familiar with how seriously one can be injured.

People can trip due to a variety of conditions and circumstances, such as: 1) deviations in the elevation of the flooring; 2) due to differentiations in the height of a series of steps; 3) due to foreign substances on the flooring or staircase; 4) due to inappropriate elevations in ramps; 5) due to the surface of the flooring being inherently slippery or lacking the appropriate co-efficiency of friction; 6) due to hidden or trap-like conditions such as a inconspicuous depression in a grassy area; 7) while performing exercise routines such as by falling while using a treadmill or attempting to complete continuous steps onto a platform; 8) while participating in sporting activities; 9) or for simply no good cause.

Examples of each of the above are as follows: 1) a fall caused by an inordinately raised paver in a walkway created from concrete sand based pavers or stones; 2) most municipalities and counties throughout South Florida, and in particular Fort Lauderdale, Miami-Dade, Broward County, Weston, Tamarac, Sunrise, just to name a few, have specific building codes, which require the height of each step in a staircase or stairway or movie theater or in most buildings and homes to be the same height as the preceding or following step. The purpose for this is that when we are negotiating a staircase our mind automatically anticipates the following step to be precisely at the same height as the one we just left. (To be continued)

Continue reading "Victims of Fort Lauderdale slip and fall injury accidents Part I" »

A Hollywood, Florida man was recently caused to trip and fall at the inside entrance of a Pembroke Pines, Florida check cashing store; suffering an extraordinary injury to his upper arm. The investigation revealed that the victim was injured as a result of the interior door mat being bunched up and catching the victim's foot as he immediately entered the store, violently propelling him face forward onto his shoulder.

As is common in many secured lobby retail establishments, employees are generally kept behind a safety panel - whether it be Plexiglas or metal bars. Often times, this safety barrier also acts as a visual block or partial blindfold preventing the stores' employees view of the floor way at the interior entrance to see if the mat is lying flat or bunched up and therefore potentially dangerous for customers.

One could also surmise that the employees may have seen a defective condition in the flooring mat and still chose not to come out and fix it; either so as not to expose themselves to their own personal risk or simply for lack of care.

The victim was still six weeks post surgery for a repair to his upper arm which required the surgical insertion of plates and screws. The fall caused the victims arm to fracture below the plates resulting in a horrific deformity.

Continue reading "Pembroke Pines, Florida Victim of Slip and Fall Severely Injured at Check Cashing Store!" »

On March 16, 2009, a female Minor, E.H., was viciously attacked while she had stopped to purchase gasoline at a Shell gas station. The Minor was a model teenager student and athlete, and had just left a dance practice. The brunt of this trauma could and should have been avoided by the employee of this gas station - instead it is alleged that he had done just the opposite. While she was attempting to pump gas into her car, she was approached by her dangerous assailants who began a verbal altercation with her. The gas station's employee witnessed this problem unfolding. The Minor attempted to seek the safety inside the store to the Shell station, but the store's employee allegedly locked the door, entrapping her within the grasps of her assailants and preventing her from escaping the brutal beating that ensued.

The Florida Injury attorneys for the Minor have alleged that the gas station's act of preventing the Minor from seeking safe haven inside the store at this Shell gas station was tantamount to a false imprisonment - as well as practically willing the savage beating upon this innocent victim. Amazingly, the gas station's insurance carrier is taking an apparent cavalier attitude towards this tragic matter, looking to avoid it's obvious responsibility and liabilities.

In the State of Florida a property owner, i.e., the Shell gas station, also has a duty to provide a safe environment for its invited customers. What is inconceivable is that one of its employees, who was acting in the course and scope of his employment, deliberately took action to further endanger this Minor, by intentionally locking the door, and the Minor out of safety. This act of gross negligence by one of its employees, should be acknowledged by the store and its insurance company and they should take the appropriate responsibility for this unforgivable act of indifference to our client's life and safety.

Continue reading "False Imprisonment - Florida female teenager locked out of gas station during brutal attack by employee! " »