Florida Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Published on: August 25, 2010

Texting and Driving, Still Legal in Florida

During the 2010 Florida Legislative Session, no less than 17 bills were introduced relating to distracted-driving.

Perusing some of these bills, there’s a sad irony in their fates: All were pronounced dead – like many drivers who took their hands off the wheel and eyes off the road.

This despite the number of organizations supporting bans on texting while driving, from the American Medical Association, Florida Justice Association and chat-show queen Oprah Winfrey to, astonishingly, AT&T. And, of course, the Federal Government.

Published on: August 11, 2010

Florida reinstates parental waivers, but are children protected?

by Leland Garvin

Back in 2008, the Florida Supreme Court ruled against parent liability waivers for a minor participating in activities at a commercial venue.

The wrongful-death case, Scott Corey Kirton v. Jordan Fields, involved 14-year-old Christopher Jones, killed in 2003 while riding an all-terrain vehicle at Thunder Cross Motor Sports Park in Okeechobee. His father had signed a risk and liability waiver as the facility required.

The high court’s ruling said the state had no statute supporting the waivers – and that wider public concerns cannot allow parents to waive the rights of minors to legal recourse when injury occurs. The releases served commercial interests more than the child, the court ruled, and the boy’s family was allowed to sue the track despite his father having signed the waiver.

Published on: July 27, 2010

Florida’s New ‘Bong Bill’ Becomes Law, But Will it Have Any Effect?

by Leland Garvin

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, say victorious supporters of Florida House Bill 187, the so-called “Bong Bill.” Their theory: fewer available smoking implements mean less firing up.

The new law, which passed the state Senate (SB 366) and House in April during the 2010 Legislative Session, went into effect July 1 and bans the sale of most “smoking devices” by businesses that don’t derive at least 75 percent of their income from tobacco sales, or make more than 25 percent from selling the prohibited items. Violators could be sentenced to a year in jail.

Fort Lauderdale Marijuana Defense Lawyer Speaks on Florida's New Bong Law The second time was the charm for main bill sponsor Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, who also brought up the proposal in the House last year. Rouson said he championed the bill, which will also raise the tax on pipes and other paraphernalia, as a means of curbing drug use.

Published on: June 25, 2010

Leland E. Garvin Named to Florida Super Lawyers Rising Stars

by Leland Garvin

Top Young Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale The Garvin Injury Law in proud to announce that Leland E. Garvin has recently been named by Florida Super Lawyers magazine as one of the Top Young Lawyers in Florida for 2010. Only2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by Super Lawyers for this list.

Each year lawyers are asked to nominate the best attorneys who are 40 or under, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less. They are instructed to nominate lawyers they have personally observed in action — whether as opposing counsel or co-counsel, or through other firsthand courtroom observation.

After these nominations are submitted, the research team at Super Lawyers undertakes an independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff along with a good-standing and disciplinary check with the Florida Bar.

Published on: June 11, 2010

Come See Our New Fort Lauderdale Law Office

by Leland Garvin

The Fort Lauderdale office of the Garvin Injury Law is pleased to announce the successful transition to our new location: 642 Northeast 3rd avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304.

Our new office is conveniently located in downtown Ft. Lauderdale, just north of the Federal Courthouse on 3rd Avenue.

Prior to the renovation, this building was occupied by the City of Fort Lauderdale Police Department Internal Affairs. Our new office building allows us to better serve our clients as it is not only more accessible and spacious, is also outfitted with the latest advances in legal technology.

Published on: February 4, 2010

A Crash Course in Car Insurance – Lessons Learned in Litigation

by Leland Garvin

According to a recent study performed by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, 73% of Americans talk on the telephone while driving. The Insurance Industry for Traffic Safety found that almost 6000 deaths were caused by distracted drivers in 2008. The numbers for teens are particularly striking. 21% of fatal car crashes involved cell phone usage and at least 50% of Florida teens admit to texting while driving.

Fort Myers Auto Accident Lawyers In Florida these numbers have particular significance because of our existing insurance laws and the number of uninsured drivers on our highways. Unlike many states, Florida does not require its drivers to have liability insurance conditioned to pay someone else harmed by a negligent or reckless driver. The only required insurance is PIP insurance which provides just $10,000 worth of no-fault medical or lost wage coverage. Very few hospital stays cost less than $10,000 so rarely is there any money for lost wages. Surprisingly, there is no requirement that Florida drivers carry insurance to pay the people they injure. Even more troubling is the fact that Florida, while having only minimal insurance requirements still has the 5th highest rate of uninsured drivers in the entire country. According to a recent study by the Insurance Research Council, a full 23% of Florida drivers had no insurance of any nature. Regrettably, those who do have liability insurance often have limits of only $10,000. All of which increases the likelihood that if you are seriously injured on the highway you may well have no one to look to reimburse you for your medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering. So, how can you protect yourself?

First and foremost, make sure to buy liability insurance that also includes uninsured motorist coverage. Unless you reject it in writing, your insurance company is required to sell you uninsured motorist coverage in limits equal to your liability coverage. For example, if you have $300,000 worth of liability coverage, unless you have rejected it you will also have $300,000 worth of uninsured motorist coverage. This coverage will insure you not only against people who hurt you who have no insurance but also drivers who have some insurance but who don’t have enough insurance to compensate you for your losses.

Published on: December 22, 2009

Florida Supreme Court Rules no Shackles for Juvenile Delinquents

by Leland Garvin

In courtrooms around the state, it has long been the practice that juveniles were to be shackled by the wrists and ankles with belly chains, chained to furniture or chained to each other when they were brought to appear before a judge.

In this 6-1 opinion, The Florida Court stated, that this process was “repugnant, degrading, humiliating and contrary to the primary purposes of the juvenile justice system.”

One of the primary goals o Fort Lauderdale Juvenile Defense Lawyer f the juvenile justice system is rehabilitation and many have argued that this process actually harms the child and can have long lasting psychological consequences.

Published on: December 2, 2009

Tiger Woods and the Importance of the 5th & 6th Amendments

by Leland Garvin

I received a call the other day from a friend who told me that I should write a blog post about the recent Tiger Woods auto accident issue. I was trying to think of what to write and figured that the issue may be a little overexposed, when it came to me. Tiger’s recent “run in” with law gives me the perfect opportunity to point out the importance of the Fifth and even more important Sixth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

The Fifth Amendment reads in part that no person “shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself”. In layman’s terms means that you don’t have to talk to law enforcement if the answers to the questions could incriminate you. In Tiger’s case he didn’t make any statements and further he was a no-show at the FHP station (a few times) when he was asked to come in for a physical examination and questioning. Clearly, the Florida Highway Patrol didn’t have much in the way of incriminating evidence (other than for a traffic ticket); but were hoping that Tiger would come in and give them their case on a silver platter. Also, the police wanted to see his injuries and determine if they were “Serious Bodily Injuries” and would thus warrant greater punishment in the State of Florida.

While Tiger’s no-show at the FHP station might have been rude, it just might have saved him his driver’s license or better yet, his clean criminal record. In Florida if a driver is found to be at-fault for causing an auto accident and the injuries are determined to be “Serious”; he or she is at risk of losing their license for a period of 1 year.

Published on: October 8, 2009

Medical Malpractice Recovery Rights for U.S. Soldiers?

by Leland Garvin

The United States House of Representatives yesterday (10/7/09) took action that will hopefully lead to the end of discriminatory treatment of soldiers injured by medical malpractice.

Since the Feres decision by the United States Supreme Court in 1950, soldiers have not been able to bring actions for medical malpractice against the government; this is true irrespective of the level of disregard for their well being. Since the 1950’s untold numbers of soldiers after serving acting duty have been subjected to substandard treatment in military medical facilities. The House Judiciary Committee has now approved the Military Medical Accountability Act which would allow soldiers the same rights as private citizens injured by medical malpractice.

The bill named after Marine Sgt. Carmelo Rodriguez, who served his country with honor for nearly a decade, including a tour of duty in Iraq, and died as a result of preventable medical negligence. A blotch on his buttock went untreated and misdiagnosed multiple times by military doctors. By the time Sgt. Rodriguez learned it was a cancerous melanoma the damage was done. Sgt. Rodriguez, the father of a 7 year old son passed away shortly after a proper diagnosis.

Published on: August 24, 2009

Broward County Judge Throws out DUI Test Results

by Leland Garvin

Last week Broward County Court Judge Lee Jay Seidman concluded a four-day hearing by ruling that the accuracy of many breath tests using the Intoxilyzer 8000 has been “fatally compromised.”

The Intoxilyzer 8000 is the most recent version of a device that is designed to detect the percentage of alcohol in the breath of a suspect who has been arrested upon suspicion of drunk driving; this device is commonly referred to as a breathalyzer. Pursuant to Florida law these machines must be periodically inspected and certified for accuracy by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Previous to this ruling F.D.L.E. inspector, Sandra Vegia, testified that during her inspections of the Intoxilyzer she would commonly cut off the power to the device if it did not meet specifications and then conduct the inspection a second time with the hopes of receiving a passing score.

Florida Personal Injury Law Blog