Gainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach Personal Injury Lawyer - Miscellaneous

Controlled Burn Causes Pile Up

Craig Cannon — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:26:26 GMT

A controlled burn in Lakeland caused a massive car and truck accident in Polk County on Tuesday. Apparently a controlled burn got out of control and caused smoke to mix with fog which created extremely limited visibilty along I-4.

"Firefighters on Tuesday had battled a controlled burn that got out of control and charred 250 acres, producing smoke that combined with the fog to cut visibility Wednesday morning." The accident scene is still under investigation and many details are not yet known. According to reports, at least 3 people have died and many others were injured as a result of the accident.

The Florida Diviision of Forestry regulates controlled burns under Â§ 590.125, Florida Statutes. Those persons responsible for the controlled burn may be held responsible or liable for any damages that are caused by the controlled burn pursuant to Â§ 590.130, Florida Statutes.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

Curent Status of PIP Car Insurance

Craig Cannon — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:56:16 GMT

An excellent summary of the current status of PIP insurance in Florida can be found in the Ocala Star Banner. Essentially PIP expired on October 1, 2007. The Florida Legislature did not attempt to renew the law before it expired, choosing to address the issue this week in a special session.

There are currently two different bills being floated in the legislature. One is supported by the Senate and one is supported by the House. The House, lead by Mark Rubio, has so far aligned itself more closely with the Big Insurance Companies, while the Senate has sided more closely on the side of consumers. Which version, if either, emerges from the legislature is yet to be seen.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

PIP Car Insurance

Craig Cannon — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 08:04:26 GMT

I have written several times now on the state of PIP Insurance in Florida. In my opinion if PIP is allowed to sunset on October 1, 2007, automobile drivers in Florida will be allowed to drive without any insurance coverage whatsoever. This would be a disaster.

It finally appears as if Governor Crist and the Florida CFO, Alex Sink, agree with me. Apparently the CFO has been looking at the PIP issue since the recent legislative session ended. According to an article in the Miami Herald , the CFO is almost ready to present a proposed bill to Governor Crist that would reinstate PIP coverage with some changes.

One of the changes anticipated is stronger fraud provisions. According to the insurance industry, there is widespread fraud under PIP and that is one of the main reasons they want to see it sunset. While fraud may be an issue, specific legislation designed to imnplement stricter enforcement and penalties should solve that problem.

Another apparent change would be to implement fee schedules for the physicians submitting biills for payment under PIP. While there may be some opposition to this change from the medical community, as long as the fee schedule is reasonable (200% of Medicare is what is usually discussed) this change would be preferable to no PIP at all.

One final change that is contemplated is a limit on attorney fees when disputing an insurance company's refusal to pay car accident related medical expenses. Since this is an area of law in which I practice, I am opposed to any limit on attorney's fees. I believe that we (attorneys) and the threat to an insurance company of having to pay attorney's fees in addtion to the benefits owed, is the primary enforcement mechanism to keep the insurance companies acting in a fair and reasonable manner toward their insureds.

While there are certainly fraudulent medical providers and fraudulent claimants out there, there are also fraudulent insurance companies who will do whatever they can to limit or eliminate their responsibility to pay legitimate PIP claims. Without the threat of legal action, for which they are responsible for payment of the attorney's fees, there is little to stop the insurance companies from behaving in unfair and unreasonable ways. This is clearly evident in what has happened to the Worker's Compensation system in Florida (another story for another day). However, as with the medical fee schedules, as long as the attorney fee provision in the PIP legislation is fair and reasonable, it is better to have PIP than not.

Another change that I would impose, not seemingly contemplated by the CFO and Governor Crist, would be to require, in addition to PIP and property damage coverage, a mandatory bodily injury liability coverage.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

Nine People Sue TB Infected Lawyer

Jenny Albano — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 10:00:08 GMT

Nine people have filed a $1.3 million lawsuit against Andrew Speaker, who may have infected them with tuberculosis when he took a commercial flight from Prague to Montreal.

Of those who are suing Speaker, eight people were passengers on the flight and the ninth is a brother and roommate to one of the passengers.

Andrew Speaker, an Atlanta personal injury attorney, caused an international health crisis, when he disregarded doctors' advice and left the country to attend his Greece wedding. When in Europe he learned that he had an extremely drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis called XDR-TB, which could have exposed hundreds of passengers to the disease.

Health officials now say Speaker's strain of TB is not the extremely drug resistant kind but a more treatable, multi-drug-resistant form of the disease.

Anlac Nguyen, lawyer to the plaintiffs, states that his clients may not have TB now, but years from now they may contract the disease. He says, "...so the pain and suffering that the people have gone through are real. They continue to suffer now because of the uncertainty."

One plaintiff, Nassim Tabri, sat one row in front of Speaker on the plane ride. He is seeking $134,900, which is the highest amount sought by all the plaintiffs.

Another plaintiff who is 72 years old, tested positive for TB in a skin test, further testing is now required. This man has to reside in different room from his wife in case he is infected.

Speaker states that he has not hired an attorney yet, and as of now he is just concerned with his treatment and returning home. He hopes that no one has become infected with TB.

Public Health Agency of Canada spokesman Alain Desroches said "at this point there is no evidence that any one on the flight contracted TB from Andrew Speaker." Health officials say tests so far indicate Speaker's risk of spreading the infection are low.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

No Car Insurance?

Craig Cannon — Tue, 22 May 2007 08:23:41 GMT

After Oct. 1, 2007 Florida car drivers will no longer be required to carry PIP (No-Fault) car insurance and possibly no insurance at all. That's the consequence of lawmakers' inaction during the regular legislative session that ended two weeks ago. Can you imagine being able to drive a car in the state of Florida without any - zero - insurance coverage. It's crazy and ridiculous. The Florida legislature should be ashamed of itself for being duped once again by BIG INSURANCE!

Florida's no-fault car insurance law, currently requires drivers to buy a minimum of $10,000 in personal injury protection, or PIP, and $10,000 in property damage liability. If there is a car accident now, the law provides $10,000 in medical expenses and lost wages. PIP pays for 80 percent of medical bills up to $10,000 per driver and each passenger in a car involved in an accident. The PIP coverage also provides lost wages and death benefits. Property damage insurance covers damage to another person's home, car, or other property because of an accident. However, the law requiring PIP coverage in Florida is going to expire because lawmakers failed to extend it or replace it with another insurance requirement. Beacuse of how the property damage liability coverage is joined with PIP in Section 627.7275, Florida Statutes, it is also possible that the property damage requirement will expire as well.

Everyone in the auto insurance market right now is trying to figure out the impact on drivers, agents and insurers after no-fault expires. Many fear that because it won't be required drivers simply won't purchase any insurance coverage. Insurance companies like State Farm and Allstate, have lobbied hard to convince lawmakers that PIP is expensive and unneeded coverage. But responsible drivers who will buy the coverage anyway will end up paying far more for auto insurance as they add more coverage to protect themselves against uninsured drivers.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

Save PIP

Craig Cannon — Tue, 15 May 2007 08:21:58 GMT

The Florida Legislature adjourned last month without resolving the problem of mandatory personal injury insurance for motorists--PIP. For people injured in car crashes who do not have health insurance, PIP is the only source of money to compensate emergency rooms and doctors for the care they must provide. Florida's 35-year-old PIP statute is set to expire in October unless something is done in the special session to begin in June.

PIP has some problems. Although insurance companies argue it is full of fraud, the alternative without PIP is worse. Those problems with fraud can be fixed without doing away with PIP. Driving is dangerous and sends injured people to medical providers for treatment. If PIP is allowed to expire, medical providers stand to lose $350 million in insurance to pay for necessary medical treatment.

Allowing PIP to expire will only shift the risk of paying for medical treatment from the insurance companies to others: state and federal government programs, private health insurance and the injured person. This comes at a time when state and federal government aid programs are being cut or eliminated and where many drivers do not have any other health insurance.

We should urge our leaders in Tallahassee to save PIP by:

1. Put PIP on the agenda of the special session next month and simply extend the program as is for another year.
2. Create a PIP reform task force--including legislative leaders--that will be required to propose fixes for the no-fault system, fixes the leadership will be committed to. Then, maybe next year, the momentum will be there to salvage this valuable system, or some reasonable alternative to it

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

Tort Reform Hurts Injured

Craig Cannon — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 08:24:19 GMT

Tort reform hurts everyone - not just the injured. Just because you have not been injured in a car accident or at work does not mean that you never will be. If you are injured do you want your ability to be compensated for that injury to be significantly limited? Well, Tort Reform does.

Under the direction of former Governor Jeb Bush, the Florida legislature implemented a widespread attack on trial lawyers and those people injured in car accidents, at work, by negligent doctors, by nursing home neglect and abuse and by any other injuring causing event that might be called a tort. The argument is always that they, the legislature, are trying to save business and individuals' money on their insurance premiums. According to the tort reformers, because the tort system is full of fraud everyone is paying higher than necessary insurance premiums. By limiting an injured person's right to be compensated for their injuries, the legislature is reducing fraud which will save business and consumers money. In reality, the reforms are always promoted by the big business insurance companies to save them from paying claims.

A recent article by Tom Blackburn at the Palm Beach post recognizes that tort reform has more to do with limiting an injured person's right to be compensated for their injuries than it does saving anyone, other than the insurance companies, money. The overall goal of tort reformers is to "starve out" lawyers who represent injured clients on a contingency fee basis. As Mr. Blackburn recognizes, this is particularly true in the area of Worker's Compensation claims. While the number of injured workers has not decreased, the average compensation paid to an injured worker has. This change is due, at least in part, to the decreased ability of an injured worker, because of recent changes in the law under the guise of tort reform, to get legal representation to help them recover the full amount of compensation to which they are entitled.

Under our new Governor it is possible that the Workers Compensation law will be re-visited and rewritten to be more fair to injured workers. Hopefully tort reform will be revealed for what it is and the injured will be allowed to obtain the compensation they deserve for their injuries.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

Two Injured in Crash

Craig Cannon — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:05:52 GMT

Two men were seriously injured after a head-on collision on County Road 484 in Marion County. Both men were taken by ambulance to Shands Hospital in Gainesville for treatment. The crash happened near Marion Oaks on County Road 484. Traffic was blocked for two hours while rescue workers cleaned debris off the road.

Jonathan Jones, of Dunnellon, was traveling west in a red GMC Sonoma pickup truck when he swerved over the double yellow line and struck a Honda Civic heading east, according to a report. The impact caused the pickup truck to flip over several times, landing on its roof and facing east.

As a result of the crash the silver Honda landed on the south shoulder of the road. The car was crushed to the point that rescue workers had to cut the roof off to get to the occupant. Jones suffered critical injuries as a result of the collision.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon

Dog and Cat Food Recalled

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 14:54:48 GMT

Menu Foods, a pet food manufacturer based in Canada has announced a recall of 60 million cans and foil pouches of dog and cat food. The food may cause kidney failure and even death in cats and dogs.

A spokeswoman for the Allegany County Animal Shelter in Cumberland said that while she has not seen any animals displaying symptoms of kidney failure, she has received numerous inquires about the recalled brands. Any recalled canned foods at the shelter have been discarded.
Menu Foods, an Ontario, Canada-based company, an-nounced the recall Saturday, and Nestle Purina PetCare Co. and Hill's Pet Nutrition also voluntarily recalled some products made by Menu Foods as a precaution.

Symptoms of kidney failure include increased drinking of water, loss of appetite, vomitting, and lethargy. If you pet is exhibiting any of these signs and you believe they ate the recalled food, you should contact your veterinarian immediately. Contact your retailer to see if your pet food is on the list of recalled food.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Car Insurance for Accidents

Craig Cannon — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:43:14 GMT

PIP car insurance coverage usually provides up to $10,000 to cover medical costs, lost wages and death benefits for individuals injured or killed in car accidents. Enacted in 1971, PIP is due to end this fall unless the Florida Legislature acts to renew the law.

Auto insurance companies say they want PIP to end so they reduce car insurance premiums in Florida. However, PIP's end would shift the cost of dealing with auto accident injuries onto hospital emergency rooms and the government. Health insurance companies, knowing they might end up having to pay for injuries from car accidents, could raise their premiums. This would still cost consumers and provide no savings

The Legislature has to save PIP this year, but it must rescue it in a way that makes PIP worth saving.

Call or write your local legislator today to tell them to renew the PIP law in Florida

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Craig Cannon