$60 Million Sexual Abuse Victim

$37.5 Million Product Liability

$12.5 Million Wrongful Death

$10.5 Million Crime Victim

$2.8 Million Jury Verdict Car Accident/Dram Shop

$2.5 Million Truck Accident

$2.4 Million Truck Accident

$2.2 Million Car Accident

$2 Million Premises Liability

$1 Million Medical Malpractice

$1 Million Inadequate Security

$900,000 Inadequate Security

$800,000 Workplace Accident

$800,000 Slip and Fall

$700,000 Cruise Ship Case

$500,000 Rape Sexual Assault

$500,000 Car Accident

$500,000 Slip and Fall

(Confidential) Cruise Ship Case

Miami Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Types of Injuries in a T-Bone Crash in Florida

Published on: March 15, 2024 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Car accidents can occur for a wide variety of reasons and under many different circumstances, but a common type of crash is a T-bone. Named for the impact point where two vehicles collide and form a “T,” these collisions happen frequently on Florida roads. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), side impacts comprise about 32% of all vehicle crashes. In Florida, that means around 126,125 car accidents are T-bones out of a total of more than 394,000 traffic collisions annually.

The exact angle of the vehicles in a T-bone crash will be around 90 degrees, and the impact tends to be at the horizontal center point of passenger cars. As a result, there are certain types of injuries that victims often suffer, and they cause significant losses. You should consult with a Miami car accident attorney if you suffered any of the top injuries in T-bone collisions.

Trauma to the Head and Neck

How Can I Recover Lost Wages Under Florida Maritime Laws?

Published on: March 8, 2024 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Miami is a major cruise port, and one of the busiest cargo ports in the world, and businesses that support these industries employ thousands of dedicated maritime workers. Unfortunately, this sector is also one where injuries and accidents are common. Employees working on vessels, docks, and wharves are at risk, and the threat of injuries also affects many workers who support the maritime industry. If you were injured or lost a loved one because of an accident, it is a relief to know that you have legal remedies.

However, with maritime accidents, there are multiple laws that provide remedies for injured workers to recover lost wages. The details vary according to your position, as well as the circumstances surrounding your employment. It is wise to retain a Miami maritime injuries attorney for assistance with your case, but some general background is also informative.

Jones Act

Potential Parties a Florida Crime Victim Can Pursue for Damages

Published on: March 1, 2024 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Florida is the third largest state in the US by population, so it stands to reason that crime rates are rather high in both urban and rural areas. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), more than 124,600 people are arrested for violent crimes every year. This data covers such offenses as simple and aggravated assault, murder, and rape, as well as violent theft offenses like burglary and robbery. For victims injured in these crimes, the losses can be considerable.

Fortunately, Florida law allows you to seek compensation from the parties at fault for your injuries. There are multiple individuals and entities that may be liable, so you cover all your bases by pursuing as many as possible. It is important to rely on a Miami crime victims lawyer for assistance when you attempt to recover monetary damages from:

Criminal Offender

Biggest Safety Risks for Teen Drivers in Florida

Published on: February 23, 2024 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Teen drivers may not make up the largest age group of motorists involved in car accidents, but they do have an impact on the statistics. According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), there are 140 fatalities every year among motorists aged 20 years and younger. Plus, another 14,070 teen motorists suffer varying degrees of injuries, from incapacitating to minor. Considering their young age compared to others on the road, you can guess that there are unique risk factors with teen drivers.

It is useful to know these risks as the parent of a young driver, as you can use your authority to reinforce important safety rules. You can also benefit as a motorist who shares the road with teens. You should discuss legal options with a Miami car accident lawyer if you were hurt, and read on for some helpful details about the risks.

Teens and Inexperience

Garbage Truck Accidents

Published on: February 16, 2024 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

What are the most dangerous vehicles on the road? Most people would choose 18-wheeler trucks since they are notorious for causing multi-vehicle pile-ups that close down long stretches of I-95 for hours on end. Others would choose motorcycles since they go so fast, playing into their riders’ cravings for adventure, and because, when a motorcycle crashes, there is very little between you and the road.

Most people do not think of garbage trucks as especially dangerous. Sure, they are annoying, lumbering down your street as the sun is rising on days when you would sleep late if it were up to you. Garbage trucks stop so frequently that they do not have time to build up much speed, and while that means that they are unlikely to cause the kind of devastation you would expect from a truck barreling down the highway at 70 miles per hour, it also means that their movements are harder to predict, even when you can clearly see which garbage cans they still have to empty. If you have been injured in a garbage truck accident, contact a Miami truck accident lawyer.

A Garbage Truck in Traffic is Just as Dangerous as Any Other Truck

Slip and Fall Accidents Can Cause Serious Injury

Published on: February 9, 2024 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Slip and fall accidents are a ubiquitous part of childhood, but when was the last time you suffered an accidental fall as an adult? People tend to think that anyone between the ages of 13 and 65 who gets injured in an accidental fall must be unusually careless or unlucky. In the silent film era, Buster Keaton made a career of the unexpectedness of seeing adults fall down.

When an apparently healthy adult suffers an accidental fall at a place of business, the cynical voices of the blogosphere and the social media platform formerly known as Twitter will start to speculate that the person is faking it and is just trying to cash in on a premises liability claim. Consider Slippin’ Jimmy from Better Call Saul.

Unfortunately, businesses, which are legally responsible for preventable accidental injuries that occur on their premises, are all too willing to capitalize on the lack of public sympathy for victims of accidental falls and to use this to bully you into accepting a premises liability settlement that does not cover the full cost of your accident-related medical bills. For help getting a sufficient settlement amount for your premises liability claim, contact a Miami premises liability lawyer.

The Florida Tort Reform Act of 2023

Published on: February 2, 2024 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Blaming all of your problems on lawyers has been a popular recreational activity in Florida, and lawmakers finally found a way to capitalize on this sentiment in order to get votes. The Tort Reform Act of 2023 places new restrictions on the situations in which injured people may sue the parties legally responsible for their injuries, the amounts of money plaintiffs can recover in personal injury lawsuits, and the deadlines for initiating such lawsuits.

The ostensible purpose of the law is to reduce liability insurance costs for business owners, who are defendants in the majority of personal injury lawsuits with large damages awards. Injured people still have the right to receive compensation from the parties that caused their injuries or which failed to prevent the injuries when they had a responsibility to do so; it only means that plaintiffs and their lawyers must work more quickly and more thoroughly to build an airtight case. All of this means that if you have suffered a preventable injury, it is not too soon to contact a Miami personal injury lawyer.

The Deadline to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit Is Two Years After the Date of the Injury

Car Accidents Can Cause Hormonal Imbalances

Published on: January 26, 2024 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Sometimes, people go to the doctor about nonspecific symptoms such as weight gain or lack of energy and find out that a hormonal imbalance is causing the problem. A common cause of these hormonal imbalances is a benign tumor on the pituitary gland; approximately one in six adults will develop a pituitary tumor between age 30 and age 50, although some of these cause few or no symptoms.

A less common cause of pituitary gland dysfunction is a traumatic injury to the head; in other words, a deficiency of pituitary hormones can be a complication of concussion or traumatic brain injury (TBI). If you have received a diagnosis of hypopituitarism related to a head injury you sustained in a car accident, contact a Miami car accident lawyer.

Symptoms of Hypopituitarism Related to a Traumatic Injury

How Do Seat Belts Save Lives?

Published on: January 19, 2024 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

If you have ever walked down the halls of an elementary school in Florida, you have probably seen student-drawn posters with slogans like “seatbelts save lives” and “buckle up for safety.” The seatbelt has become a byword for safety and caution. Many of the drivers on the road today would never dream of shifting the transmission into drive without first buckling their seatbelts, and if they tried, their cars would make annoying sounds to nag them about it until they buckled up; the others account for a disproportionate share of traffic fatalities.

Despite all the research that goes into developing car safety features, motor vehicle safety engineers have yet to design a safety feature safer than the humble seatbelt. The good news is that if you wear a seatbelt and get into a car accident, your injuries will be less severe than they would be without the seatbelt. The bad news is that if you do not wear a seatbelt and you get into an accident, your injuries will be worse than they would have been if you had buckled up, and insurance companies know this. A Miami car accident lawyer can help you get a fair insurance settlement after a car accident, even if the insurance companies assigned part of the fault to you because you were not wearing a seatbelt.

Not Your Grandpa’s Seatbelt

New Florida Bill Aims to Cap Damages for Medical Malpractice Cases

Published on: January 12, 2024 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Statutory caps on monetary damages in medical malpractice cases carry some controversy because they attempt to limit what an injured patient can recover. On the one hand, these restrictions help attract the best physicians to Florida without the fear of massive lawsuits. However, caps on damages also result in many victims not being able to recoup their losses after suffering harm at the hands of a healthcare provider. The Florida Senate has recently taken action on the issue by moving a bill out of committee for full voting.

The proposed legislation would reinstate statutory caps for medical malpractice cases, putting injured patients at a severe disadvantage. It may be some time before the bill becomes law, but it is a consideration for many people seeking compensation for their losses. A Miami medical malpractice lawyer can assist with your claim if you suffered harm, but some information about the proposed statutory cap is useful.

Overview of Proposal to Cap Med Mal Damages