As many already know, motorcycles are amongst the smallest vehicles on all roadways throughout the United States. While they offer the comfort and freedom of being exposed to the outdoors while commuting to various places, these vehicles provide little to no coverage to riders. For this reason, when a motorcyclist is involved in a vehicle collision, they, more than likely, sustain serious injuries and in the worst cases, fatal injuries.
At The Florida Law Group, our Tampa motorcycle accident lawyers do our best to provide helpful information and tips to keep the Florida highways and roadways as safe as possible. To help protect motorcyclists, we have listed 4 tips motorcycle riders should consider before getting on the road:
Tip 1: Never Split Lanes
Although it is illegal to split lanes in Florida, many motorcyclists do so in order to pass slower vehicles. Unfortunately, this type of driving maneuver is extremely dangerous because motorcyclists move into narrower parts of the road in order to pass other vehicles. In addition, if a car moves into the lane without seeing the motorcyclist, the motorcyclist may be hit by the merging vehicle.
Tip 2: Refrain From Riding in the Blind Spots of Other Motorists
Oftentimes, motorcyclists and other motorists will ride in the blind spots of other vehicles without ever noticing. However, because motorcycles are much smaller and lighter vehicles than other passenger vehicles, it is important motorcyclists remain easily visible to other drivers. To be safe, motorcyclists should pass cars quickly and remain in visible sections of the lane.
Tip 3: Never Assume Another Driver Sees You
One of the most common mistakes motorcyclists make is assuming that drivers of other vehicles see them. This can happen when a motorcyclist makes a left-hand turn in an intersection with two left-hand turn lanes or when a motorcyclist makes a right-hand turn while other cars are making left-hand turns in the same direction. To be extra safe, motorcyclists should make eye contact with other drivers before making abrupt driving maneuvers.
Tip 4: Maintain All Parts of Your Motorcycle
It is important that motorcyclists maintain all parts of their bikes, including brakes, head lights, tail lamps, tires, mirrors, and windshields. Failure to maintain a part of the vehicle can result in serious and preventable accidents.
Have You Been Involved in a Motorcycle Accident?
Contact Our Legal Team
If you or someone you love was harmed in a motorcycle accident and you believe another driver or entity should be held responsible for your injuries or loss, we encourage you to get in touch with our Tampa motorcycle accident attorneys right away.
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
PROVING LIABILITY AFTER AN AUTO ACCIDENT
In order to make a claim for compensation after an auto accident, the first thing you will need to do is prove whose negligence caused the accident. In other words, you to prove that the other party made a mistake and that that mistake is what led to the collision. Even if it seems obvious who was at fault for an accident, an insurance company will want evidence before they’ll be willing to pay.
The following evidence can be used to establish liability for an auto accident:
Police reports. A police report can be one of the most important pieces of evidence about an accident. These reports include the officer’s observations about how the accident occurred, including evidence that a driver may have been speeding, whether any tickets were issued at the scene of the accident, and more.
Photos or videos. After an accident, the injured person should take photos or videos of any visible injuries, damage to their vehicle, and the area surrounding the accident scene. Not only is this proof that you suffered damages, but it may provide visual clues as to how the accident may have occurred and whose fault it was.
Witness testimony. The injured person should take the name and contact information of any passerby who witnessed the accident. This testimony can shed light on the circumstances of the collision.
The more documentation and evidence you have, the stronger your personal injury claim will be, and the more likely you may be to receive a fair payout. An experienced auto accident lawyer can investigate your accident and gather the necessary evidence to build a strong claim in pursuit of the compensation you deserve. Even if you were partially at fault for the accident, you may still be eligible to collect compensation based on Florida’s pure comparative negligence standard.
Examples of Liable Parties
Depending on the circumstances, the following entities may be held liable in an auto collision:
The at-fault driver for operating their vehicle in a negligent manner
The city for failing to maintain roads
The auto part or tire manufacturer for creating a defective product
A third party who caused you to get into the accident
Speak with a Tampa Auto Accident Lawyer About Your Case
If you’ve been hurt in an accident that wasn’t your fault, it is critical that you work with an attorney who can help establish liability for the accident so that you can pursue full compensation in a timely manner. At The Florida Law Group, we have handled countless car accident, truck accident, and motorcycle accident cases and recovered millions of dollars in compensation on behalf of our clients. With a reputation for success, we have become known for our trusted legal advice and extensive experience in personal injury law.
Schedule a free consultation with a Tampa car accident lawyer.
The following evidence can be used to establish liability for an auto accident:
Police reports. A police report can be one of the most important pieces of evidence about an accident. These reports include the officer’s observations about how the accident occurred, including evidence that a driver may have been speeding, whether any tickets were issued at the scene of the accident, and more.
Photos or videos. After an accident, the injured person should take photos or videos of any visible injuries, damage to their vehicle, and the area surrounding the accident scene. Not only is this proof that you suffered damages, but it may provide visual clues as to how the accident may have occurred and whose fault it was.
Witness testimony. The injured person should take the name and contact information of any passerby who witnessed the accident. This testimony can shed light on the circumstances of the collision.
The more documentation and evidence you have, the stronger your personal injury claim will be, and the more likely you may be to receive a fair payout. An experienced auto accident lawyer can investigate your accident and gather the necessary evidence to build a strong claim in pursuit of the compensation you deserve. Even if you were partially at fault for the accident, you may still be eligible to collect compensation based on Florida’s pure comparative negligence standard.
Examples of Liable Parties
Depending on the circumstances, the following entities may be held liable in an auto collision:
The at-fault driver for operating their vehicle in a negligent manner
The city for failing to maintain roads
The auto part or tire manufacturer for creating a defective product
A third party who caused you to get into the accident
Speak with a Tampa Auto Accident Lawyer About Your Case
If you’ve been hurt in an accident that wasn’t your fault, it is critical that you work with an attorney who can help establish liability for the accident so that you can pursue full compensation in a timely manner. At The Florida Law Group, we have handled countless car accident, truck accident, and motorcycle accident cases and recovered millions of dollars in compensation on behalf of our clients. With a reputation for success, we have become known for our trusted legal advice and extensive experience in personal injury law.
Schedule a free consultation with a Tampa car accident lawyer.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
NURSING HOME ABUSE: BEDSORES & NEGLECT
Bed sores, which are also known as pressure sores or pressure ulcers, can develop when a bed-ridden or wheelchair-bound nursing home resident is neglected by their caretaker. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one out of every ten nursing home residents in the U.S. suffers from bed sores. That being said, it is safe to say that a significant number of caretaking facilities have failed to provide their patients with the level of care that they deserve.
If you or your loved one has been placed in such a situation, you should not hesitate to call attention to the issue by retaining the help of our Tampa nursing home abuse attorneys at The Florida Law Group. In doing so, you can rest easier knowing that you will have a skilled legal team on your side that is led by a Board Certified Civil Trial Specialist by The National Board of Trial Advocacy.
Understanding How Pressure Sores Develop
When laying in a sedentary position, it is important for an elderly person to exercise frequent mobility. If they are incapable of doing so themselves, it is the responsibility of their caretakers to assist them in relieving this pressure-which can be done by changing positions every 2 hours, if in a bed, or every 15 minutes if in a wheelchair. Another preventative measure that can be taken is to maintain a healthy diet, as malnutrition can also increase one's risk of developing bed sores.
Sores can develop when pressure builds up in the skin near areas that are close to the bone, such as:
Hips
Back
Ankles
Elbows
Heels
Million-Dollar Results Backed By More Than 100 Years of Collective Experience
If a nursing home facility or in-home caretaker has failed to provide you or your loved one with the level of attention that you need to maintain a healthy and reasonably active lifestyle, it is important for you to bring this to our firm's attention. This could be an indication of nursing home abuse, which means that you may be entitled to compensation for the harm that you have suffered. Our firm has recovered millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements during our more than 100 years of combined experience. We will make this right for you.
If you or your loved one has been placed in such a situation, you should not hesitate to call attention to the issue by retaining the help of our Tampa nursing home abuse attorneys at The Florida Law Group. In doing so, you can rest easier knowing that you will have a skilled legal team on your side that is led by a Board Certified Civil Trial Specialist by The National Board of Trial Advocacy.
Understanding How Pressure Sores Develop
When laying in a sedentary position, it is important for an elderly person to exercise frequent mobility. If they are incapable of doing so themselves, it is the responsibility of their caretakers to assist them in relieving this pressure-which can be done by changing positions every 2 hours, if in a bed, or every 15 minutes if in a wheelchair. Another preventative measure that can be taken is to maintain a healthy diet, as malnutrition can also increase one's risk of developing bed sores.
Sores can develop when pressure builds up in the skin near areas that are close to the bone, such as:
Hips
Back
Ankles
Elbows
Heels
Million-Dollar Results Backed By More Than 100 Years of Collective Experience
If a nursing home facility or in-home caretaker has failed to provide you or your loved one with the level of attention that you need to maintain a healthy and reasonably active lifestyle, it is important for you to bring this to our firm's attention. This could be an indication of nursing home abuse, which means that you may be entitled to compensation for the harm that you have suffered. Our firm has recovered millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements during our more than 100 years of combined experience. We will make this right for you.
Saturday, November 26, 2016
FIND THE RIGHT DOCTOR FOR YOUR INJURY
Most people are traumatized in the aftermath of an accident or injury. In fact, an auto accident victim may not even know that they are injured: adrenaline runs high and can mask pain, especially when there is damage to ligaments and tendons in the neck or back. It’s not uncommon for a person who thinks they are okay to wake up the next morning in a surprising amount of pain.
If you are ever the victim of an accident involving a vehicle, you should notify law enforcement immediately so that they can document relevant details at the scene. In the case of an accident, a slip and fall, or other type of injury, it’s important to seek medical attention as soon as possible, for several reasons:
Even in the event that you feel fine, there may be damage that only an X-ray or MRI will detect. If symptoms emerge at a later date, you will already have the necessary documentation.
By undergoing a medical exam or treatment as soon as you’re able, you can prevent additional damage for which you may not realize you are at risk. This is especially true of spinal injuries, which can be exacerbated even during sleep.
Seeking immediate care also protects you if your injury leads to litigation. Although you have up to 14 days to get treatment for an auto injury in Florida, the longer you wait, the harder it can be to connect your injury with the incident.
How to (And How Not to) Choose a Doctor
When seeking medical attention after an accident or injury, everyone wants the best. However, the best may not always be your first option: if an incident requires urgent care, the first caregiver you see might be the first available physician’s assistant in the emergency room. While ER providers are generally fine caregivers, the one you see may not be the type of specialist you require.
Whether you need an internal medicine doctor for injuries to organs or an orthopedic physician or chiropractor for injuries to joints or ligaments, you should ultimately seek the best physician you can.
Unfortunately, the “review culture” of the Internet makes it nearly impossible to find a service provider or product with nothing but 5-star reviews. Look up your favorite fine dining establishment on Yelp, and you may find that someone has given it a 1-star rating because the napkins weren’t his favorite color; Google your beloved family physician, and you might be shocked to see a review condemning the entire practice – all because of an impolite front desk employee.
So whether you’re choosing a new physician, an attorney, or a plumber, it’s best to take negative online reviews with a large grain of salt, especially if most of the other reviews are positive.
Word of mouth isn’t a bad place to start, but keep in mind that not everyone has the same criteria for what constitutes appropriate medical care. After an auto accident, some patients insist on seeing an orthopedist, while others prefer to consult their chiropractic physician or family doctor first.
You can find good sources of information about physicians on a variety of websites. When seeking a medical doctor, board certification is typically the minimal requirement that patients will desire. Updated information on board certifications is available from the American Board of Medical Specialties at http://www.abms.org or http://www.certificationmatters.org. Although these sites are updated frequently, it’s often helpful to do some cross-checking.
Consulting an Attorney
The decision of whether to consult a personal injury attorney can be as intensely personal as the selection of a physician for medical treatment. In many cases, the choice isn’t made in the initial aftermath of an injury – it may be that the idea of consulting an attorney only occurs after difficulties with the insurance company representing the negligent party.
While The Florida Law Group can offer suggestions on general types of treatment to seek – for example, your back injury should be evaluated by an orthopedic specialist or chiropractor – our primary considerations are protecting your legal rights and getting you the greatest possible compensation for your injuries.
For more information, contact us at (813) 463-8880.
If you are ever the victim of an accident involving a vehicle, you should notify law enforcement immediately so that they can document relevant details at the scene. In the case of an accident, a slip and fall, or other type of injury, it’s important to seek medical attention as soon as possible, for several reasons:
Even in the event that you feel fine, there may be damage that only an X-ray or MRI will detect. If symptoms emerge at a later date, you will already have the necessary documentation.
By undergoing a medical exam or treatment as soon as you’re able, you can prevent additional damage for which you may not realize you are at risk. This is especially true of spinal injuries, which can be exacerbated even during sleep.
Seeking immediate care also protects you if your injury leads to litigation. Although you have up to 14 days to get treatment for an auto injury in Florida, the longer you wait, the harder it can be to connect your injury with the incident.
How to (And How Not to) Choose a Doctor
When seeking medical attention after an accident or injury, everyone wants the best. However, the best may not always be your first option: if an incident requires urgent care, the first caregiver you see might be the first available physician’s assistant in the emergency room. While ER providers are generally fine caregivers, the one you see may not be the type of specialist you require.
Whether you need an internal medicine doctor for injuries to organs or an orthopedic physician or chiropractor for injuries to joints or ligaments, you should ultimately seek the best physician you can.
Unfortunately, the “review culture” of the Internet makes it nearly impossible to find a service provider or product with nothing but 5-star reviews. Look up your favorite fine dining establishment on Yelp, and you may find that someone has given it a 1-star rating because the napkins weren’t his favorite color; Google your beloved family physician, and you might be shocked to see a review condemning the entire practice – all because of an impolite front desk employee.
So whether you’re choosing a new physician, an attorney, or a plumber, it’s best to take negative online reviews with a large grain of salt, especially if most of the other reviews are positive.
Word of mouth isn’t a bad place to start, but keep in mind that not everyone has the same criteria for what constitutes appropriate medical care. After an auto accident, some patients insist on seeing an orthopedist, while others prefer to consult their chiropractic physician or family doctor first.
You can find good sources of information about physicians on a variety of websites. When seeking a medical doctor, board certification is typically the minimal requirement that patients will desire. Updated information on board certifications is available from the American Board of Medical Specialties at http://www.abms.org or http://www.certificationmatters.org. Although these sites are updated frequently, it’s often helpful to do some cross-checking.
Consulting an Attorney
The decision of whether to consult a personal injury attorney can be as intensely personal as the selection of a physician for medical treatment. In many cases, the choice isn’t made in the initial aftermath of an injury – it may be that the idea of consulting an attorney only occurs after difficulties with the insurance company representing the negligent party.
While The Florida Law Group can offer suggestions on general types of treatment to seek – for example, your back injury should be evaluated by an orthopedic specialist or chiropractor – our primary considerations are protecting your legal rights and getting you the greatest possible compensation for your injuries.
For more information, contact us at (813) 463-8880.
Friday, November 25, 2016
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: ANESTHESIA ERRORS
When doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, they promise to work hard to protect the health of their patients. Unfortunately, doctors are only human, and sometimes they make mistakes. One of the most serious mistakes they can make involves the administration of anesthesia. Anesthesia errors, which may involve local anesthesia, general anesthesia, spinal anesthesia, epidural anesthesia, regional anesthesia, and dissociative anesthesia, are among the most common forms of medical negligence in the United States.
Anesthesia errors include:
Administering too little of a drug (anesthetic awareness)
Administering too much of a drug (anesthetic overdose)
Anesthetic equipment malfunction or failure
Injecting anesthesia at the wrong rate
Delayed delivery of anesthesia
Delivering the wrong anesthetic drug
Failing to properly monitor the patient
Improper reversal of the anesthetic state
Anesthesiologists have an extremely important job – to calculate the correct amount of an anesthetic drug based on a person’s weight, overall health, and the type of procedure they will undergo, and to administer the drug accordingly. Because there are so many factors that an anesthesiologist must consider, it is no surprise that there is so much room for error. When a medical error arises from negligence and results in serious injury or death to a patient, the patient and/or his or her family may have a medical malpractice claim.
Potential complications of anesthesia error include:
Heart attack
Nerve injury
Blood clots/embolism
Brain damage
Hyperthermia
Pneumonia
Jaundice
Cardiovascular collapse
Respiratory difficulty
Allergic reaction
Damage to larynx
Nausea and vomiting
Anesthesia awareness (in which the patient is conscious but unable to move or communicate during their surgery)
Stroke (potentially leading to lasting brain damage)
Death
Determining Liability in Anesthesia Error Cases
In order to prove medical negligence, it must be shown that the doctor performed an act or omission that deviates from the accepted standard of medical care – in other words, the doctor acted in a manner inconsistent with how another doctor reasonably would have acted in the same situation. Proving this usually requires the testimony of an expert medical witness.
If the anesthesiologist is employed by the hospital, the hospital can be held liable for any negligence committed by their employee. Similarly, if the anesthesiologist was an independent contractor, the hospital may still be liable for negligent hiring and supervision of the doctor. In cases involving an equipment failure, the hospital may be held responsible for failing to properly maintain and repair its equipment.
Anesthesia errors include:
Administering too little of a drug (anesthetic awareness)
Administering too much of a drug (anesthetic overdose)
Anesthetic equipment malfunction or failure
Injecting anesthesia at the wrong rate
Delayed delivery of anesthesia
Delivering the wrong anesthetic drug
Failing to properly monitor the patient
Improper reversal of the anesthetic state
Anesthesiologists have an extremely important job – to calculate the correct amount of an anesthetic drug based on a person’s weight, overall health, and the type of procedure they will undergo, and to administer the drug accordingly. Because there are so many factors that an anesthesiologist must consider, it is no surprise that there is so much room for error. When a medical error arises from negligence and results in serious injury or death to a patient, the patient and/or his or her family may have a medical malpractice claim.
Potential complications of anesthesia error include:
Heart attack
Nerve injury
Blood clots/embolism
Brain damage
Hyperthermia
Pneumonia
Jaundice
Cardiovascular collapse
Respiratory difficulty
Allergic reaction
Damage to larynx
Nausea and vomiting
Anesthesia awareness (in which the patient is conscious but unable to move or communicate during their surgery)
Stroke (potentially leading to lasting brain damage)
Death
Determining Liability in Anesthesia Error Cases
In order to prove medical negligence, it must be shown that the doctor performed an act or omission that deviates from the accepted standard of medical care – in other words, the doctor acted in a manner inconsistent with how another doctor reasonably would have acted in the same situation. Proving this usually requires the testimony of an expert medical witness.
If the anesthesiologist is employed by the hospital, the hospital can be held liable for any negligence committed by their employee. Similarly, if the anesthesiologist was an independent contractor, the hospital may still be liable for negligent hiring and supervision of the doctor. In cases involving an equipment failure, the hospital may be held responsible for failing to properly maintain and repair its equipment.
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