Personal Injury Law Blogs

Protect Student Athletes from Serious Brain Injury

The danger of repeat concussions has been moved to the forefront of discussion involving athletes and injuries and while more schools across the United States are taking a stance against play after concussion students are always removed from the game.

In April of 2013 47 states had enacted youth concussion laws that generally require students suspected of sustaining a concussion to be removed from play until the injury has been ruled out or a medical professional has cleared the student to return to play.

There isn’t a punishment in place for coaches or officials who fail to follow youth concussion laws, and it’s really based on an honor system.

Youth concussion laws aren’t foolproof

There are a number of reasons some students continue to play even after having sustained a head injury or concussion. Sometimes parents can be a huge barrier to removing students from the game—especially when a potential scholarship hinges on play. Parents have balked at their child being removed saying the student needs to play for the scouts or visiting coaches.

Educating parents and student athletes on the very real dangers associated with continued play with a concussion has been extremely instrumental in getting parents, the player and coaches on the same page.

Some students who have remained in play after an initial concussion have received a second injury and in some cases the second impact has resulted in brain damage or even death.

Although students and coaches have been instructed on how to identify a head injury by its symptoms students also know if they want to they can lie to a coach or duck questions about how they feel if they want to remain in play.

If a coach sees a student hit their head, but doesn’t notice visible signs of a concussion they may ask a question like, “are you okay?” The student is then the one who determines whether they will stay in play or not based on their response.

Increasingly coaches aren’t taking any chances

Despite the increased knowledge and education on head injuries, many athletes still believe it’s safe for them to return to play even if they’re experiencing symptoms from a concussion.

In football especially awareness is on the rise, but in other sports, like women’s soccer ongoing education is still essential.

Without physical signs of a concussion it can be difficult for a coach to determine if a head injury was sustained, but more frequently coaches are pulling player they suspect of receiving an injury just to be safe.

Recent headlines have shown taking a risk and allowing a student to play and not notifying parents can result in tremendous damages.

A California school is being sued for general negligence, personal injury and property damage stemming from a 2011 injury because parents weren’t informed of their child’s concussion.

A second California school is also facing a lawsuit after a water polo coach failed to remove a student from practice after she was hit in the head, became unconscious and even slipped under the water for a moment before resurfacing.

Although tremendous steps have been taken in the past few years to protect athletes, many kids are still slipping through the cracks. Risking a brain injury for the sake of a team, season or scholarship isn’t worth it for the student and risking a lawsuit isn’t worth the risk for schools and coaches. If you suspect your school isn’t being diligent in protecting student athletes don’t hesitate to speak to a lawyer to protect the youth in your community.

 

Author’s bio: Michelle Lee is a student intern working with Maggiano Law. Michelle, a New Jersey native plans to become an attorney. In her free time Michelle volunteers for a local animal shelter and indulges in her guilty pleasure–James Patterson novels.

 

Winter Holidays – Planning for Personal Injury Claims Abroad

In January many of us start to really think about planning a trip abroad – about 900,000 people in the UK love to ski and may have already planned their special ski holiday. It has to be acknowledged that all types of ski holidays will be expensive no matter where you go so it is crucial to take time and pick the right holiday deal for you.

The first thing the ski enthusiast considers when booking a trip is obviously the snow! Will there be definitely plenty of snow and will the slopes suit you and perhaps your family’s skills and ability? – This is the key consideration and will greatly influence the resort booking choice. The cost of the holiday is also of great importance but for an adventure holiday like this there is no way to cut corners and think solely about expense. You need to plan for every eventuality and this means double checking safety standards at your resort and making sure your insurance cover is adequate.

We sometimes just consider that personal injuries may occur whilst actually skiing on the slopes but in fact travelling to and from either your accommodation using resort facilities e.g. Ski lifts, can also present a danger, in February 2013 the BBC reported on an accident which happened when a ski-lift derailed and 5 children were injured.

Good insurance cover is a must for all holidays but especially important for a ski holiday whether abroad or in Britain. Personal injury claim procedures in the UK which cover accidents occurring here have been changed drastically over the past 12 months and everyone needs to be aware of this before making a claim. In April 2013 a major Civil Justice reform was passed affecting all personal injury claims and there is now a cap on compensation payments. Legal advice is now recommended before making any claim.

Regarding your skiing holiday it is important to note that ‘normal’ insurance will NOT cover you whilst you are out on the slopes! The cover will also not extend if you plan to go off-piste. So the absolute most important item on your holiday booking check list has to be the consideration of personal injury or accident cover. Research thoroughly to get a good but affordable cover for you and your family, read the small print and remember to check that the policy you have chosen will pay for emergency helicopter transport from the ski slopes to a hospital.

Conclusively it is recommended that you should take legal advice on personal injury cover from an expert. They will help you make the correct decision and take out the most safe policy for booking a skiing holiday…..before you sign on the dotted line or press that ‘confirm’ button online!

Owning a horse – three different types of compensation claim

I have had an accident whilst riding can I claim compensation?

If you have experienced a horse riding accident, which was caused by someone else’s negligence, then you may be entitled to claim compensation for your injuries. In order to establish a 3rd party’s negligence you must show that the 3rd party owed you a duty of care, which they breached, thus causing you an injury.

In England and Wales there is a standard limit of three years in which a personal injury claim must be made. If legal proceedings are not started within these three years then you become unable to do so as the case is ‘barred’.

In order to bring an accident compensation claim you should seek the services of a personal injury solicitor, experienced in equine injuries, as soon as possible. Many accident Claire cases are now taken on as no win no fee cases. This means that the solicitor will only take on your case if they feel there is a high chance of success. No win no fee essentially means that the solicitor will not charge you for his/her legal fees if you lose the claim. If you win, the fees will either be deducted from your compensation award or more likely will be claimed from the other side.

A rider has had an accident during a lesson at my riding school, could I be liable for compensation?

As the owner of a riding school you are under a duty of care to those who pay you for lessons or hacks. Your duty of care towards them includes things such as ensuring that the horses you provide are suitable for the level of experience the rider has, and that riders are accompanied by teachers or guides at all times.

However, in order for a successful accident compensation claim to be brought against you, the victim must show that you have breached your duty of care, and that this failure caused their injury. If the accident occurred due to reasons completely out of your control, then it is possible that you may not be liable. Other aspects such as contributory negligence[ i.e. the extent to which the injured party was responsible for their own accident] will also be considered.

As an owner of a riding school you should be in possession of insurance, which should cover you for damages if someone has suffered an injury whilst using your riding school You must be aware however that if your insurance company feels that the incident was caused purely by accident and you were not negligent, they may refuse to pay out.

I believe my vet mistreated my horse – can I claim for compensation for its hurt and suffering?

A vet is under a duty of care to treat animals with the level of reasonable care and skill as would be expected from another member of the same profession. Therefore if you feel that your vet has given your horse sub-standard treatment, you may have a grounds for a claim for veterinary negligence.

In order to show veterinary negligence you must be able to prove that your vet breached his duty of care and because of this breach your horse suffered unnecessary pain and suffering. It may also be the case that in addition to the horse’s suffering you have experienced financial loss, which may include the cost of medical treatment, as a direct result of this breach.

Before commencing proceedings against your vet, you should always seek special legal advice to ensure that you have a case that is worth pursuing.

Tim Bishop is senior partner of Salisbury Solicitors, Bonallack and Bishop, specialists in medical negligence and accident compensation claims. Contact them on 01722 422300 or click here to visit their website.

 

The dangers of DePuy ASR all-metal hip implants

The DePuy ASR hip replacement recall scandal has focused around two main risks to the health of the implant recipient. Loosening of the implant itself and the risk of subsequent metal poisoning – a condition often referred to as metallosis.

Hip replacement surgery requires an artificial device to be attached securely to both the pelvis and the femur. In order to do this, surgeons will press fit or cement the joint in place. The metal-on-metal DePuy ASR hip device has a metal cup and ball system. The cup affixes to the pelvic bone and the stability of the hip device is dependant upon the security of this cup.

DePuy ASR metal hip implants-  the 2010 recall

The DePuy ASR was subject to a global recall in 2010 because of high failure rates, often related to the loosening or dislocation of the device from the pelvis. This loosening is usually caused by the hip bone not growing and attaching to the cup.

Failure of the ASR devices is also often attributed to friction between the metal components of the hip device, which in turn releases metal fragments into the tissue around the joint. This can lead to poisoning of the blood, bone loss, swelling and infection. These problems can create weakness around the joint which makes it more likely to fail. With time this can lead to the components of the joint slipping out of alignment.

All artificial hip joints will loosen as the years go by, however the DePuy ASR joints are loosening alarmingly early on. Joint registries reported failure rates as high as 40% after 5 years and many patients require revision surgeries within just two years of implantation.

Many recipients of DePuy’s defective all-metal ASR hip implants have been affected by metallosis which is though to be caused by the metallic ball and cup components of the device striking each other. As this happens, metallic debris flecks off into the bloodstream leading to pain and inflammation.

Metallosis can lead to a range of further problems. The resulting inflammation can cause the hip joint to dislocate which is extremely painful and uncomfortable. With so many health problems now associated with the ASR devices, it is unsurprising that such a high number of compensation claims have been made against DePuy in the months following the 2010 recall of 93,000 of the devices worldwide.

Although some of the complications with ASR hip implants can be treated with a course of anti-inflammatory drugs, others may require ‘revision surgeries’; follow up procedures which replace the malfunctioning hip device. These procedures can result in damage to the nerves and blood vessels, or to infection.

However, some patients with metallosis will not even be able to have revision surgeries. This is because the presence of chromium and cobalt in their blood could make the procedure too dangerous.

DePuy ASR metal hips – the dangers of further surgery

Not only is the cost of full hip replacement surgery very high but like all surgery, it carries many risks including:

• Bleeding

• Complication with anaesthetics

• Pulmonary embolisms

• Slow healing

• Lengthy rehabilitation

If your hip implant fails prematurely leading to health problems, extra surgery or significant financial loss, you may be entitled to claim for medical negligence compensation in respect of their pain and suffering.

Tim Bishop is senior partner of Bonallack and Bishop – Solicitors with a team of medical negligence experts. For more information about how to claim compensation, visit their website at http://www.themedicalnegligencesolicitor.co.uk or phone their medical negligence solicitors directly on 01722 422300.

Horse Riding Accident Compensation Claims

Horse riding has become a growth area in the UK leisure sector over the last few years, with up to four million people annually enjoying the activity and around a million children regularly attending riding schools or stables. With those numbers participating in a hobby that involves extended close contact with a large, heavy, and powerful and to some extent unpredictable animal in a variety of environments from public roads to indoor arenas, there are unfortunately going to be accidents resulting.

Whilst some accidents will be the fault of the rider, other accidents will be the fault, fully or partially of other parties in which case it might be possible to make a horse riding accident claim. Examples of where such accidents occur include

• those that happen on a public road as a result of the actions of another road user

• accidents at competitions due to avoidable hazards in the competition environment or the actions of a spectator

• a rider being miss-matched with a mount they haven’t the experience to ride or control

• avoidable accidents whilst working or volunteering at a stables or riding school

• accidents surrounding inadequately maintained tack or safety equipment

• a failure to adequately control or contain horses resulting in people being bitten or kicked.

The injuries resulting from horse riding accidents can range from minor bruising and abrasions to serious and complex multiple fractures and life threatening spinal or head injuries. If it can be proved that the accident that caused the injury was the result of the negligence or recklessness of a third party, such a motor vehicle driver failing to give a horse sufficient clearance when overtaking or a stables owner failing to ensure that their workers were warned about a horse known to bite or the general risk of being kicked due to approaching a horse from the rear, a solicitor would be able to assess the details of the accident and advise on whether a compensation claim would be viable.

Some experienced personal injury solicitors specialise in cases involving horse riding accident claims. They are aware of how complex and serious some horse riding injuries and circumstances surrounding them are and come equipped to deal with any resultant claims for compensation with substantial background knowledge and experience of the equine business and leisure sectors and the experiences and issues faced by horse riders today.

Whilst an accident victim is struggling to cope with the trauma of the accident and concerns about their injuries and or their horse’s injuries, an experienced compensation claim solicitor will be ensuring that every detail pertinent to victim’s riding accident claim is assembled, assessed to ensure that represents an arguable case, and progressed as rapidly as possible through what can appear to anyone who isn’t a legal professional a sometimes long, complex process. If someone’s negligent or reckless actions have ruined another’s love of their equine hobby, initiating a riding accident claim, can not only be the right thing to do, it can also have a very positive psychological effect on the victim.

Tim Bishop is senior partner of specialist compensation solicitors, Bonallack and Bishop. For help with any medical negligence or personal injury compensation claim, call them on 01722 422300.  Alternatively to ask a question about claiming compensation for free, simply visit their specialist website at http://www.how-to-claim-compensation.co.uk.

The consequences of injuries sustained whilst working with dangerous chemicals

The medical consequences of being injured by a dangerous chemical can be extremely serious. The hazard a chemical presents depends on its properties; if it is flammable or corrosive, contact could be result in burns injuries, explosive chemicals could cause injury and damage over a considerable area, whilst poisonous or radio-active chemicals might cause local or systemic injury to people, with the risk that the hazard could spread into the wider environment if not contained. Certain chemicals toxins can spread throughout the body via the bloodstream and some possess a propensity to target certain internal organs or are specifically reproductive toxins or human carcinogens.

The seriousness of any injuries sustained as a result of contact with a dangerous chemical is usually determined by the toxicity of the chemical, the level and duration of exposure and the effectiveness of medical assistance received by the victim. The injuries themselves range all the way from minor skin irritation through to life threatening burns, respiratory system damage or systemic poisoning causing the failure of one or more major internal organs. Needless to say, the victims of more serious workplace chemical injuries can, in extreme cases, die as a result or suffer life-long devastating disabilities.

No one would suggest that all dangerous chemical related accidents resulting in injuries to workers are due to employers being negligent in carrying out their legal duties to maintain a safe workplace and ensure as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of their employees – but a surprisingly large number are. In these cases a consequence of such injuries can be the injured employer taking legal advice from a specialist work accident lawyer and bringing a claim for compensation, get on of the ones suggested in the post
– a fair and reasonable step to take when an employee’s life has been turned upside down through no fault of their own.

In addition to having to defend any personal injury claims and accept higher insurance premiums when compensation is awarded, an employer will also be acutely reminded of the power of negative publicity when it comes to projecting a positive image to customers and the wider community and the direct effect this might have on sales, recruitment and the morale of existing employees. The employer will also be compelled by the Health and Safety Executive or other health and safety authority to take the necessary steps to ensure that a similar dangerous chemical related accident can’t occur again by installing the previously missing risk management measures. In this way the pain, suffering and trauma suffered by the accident victim won’t have been in vain.

If you have been injured by chemicals following an accident at work, and you think you are entitled to compensation, make sure that you instruct a personal injury lawyer who specializes in work related accidents, who will be best placed to assess your case, gather medical and other evidence and claim compensation of your behalf.

Tim Bishop is the senior partner of Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset based Bonallack and Bishop – specialist work accident solicitors. For more information about claiming compensation for a work related accident, phone one of their workplace accident solicitors on 01722 422300 or visit their specialist website at http://www.workaccidentsolicitors.co.uk.

Premises Liability: Determining Who Assumes Risk

Personal Injury Attorney

Premises liability cases often seem fairly clear-cut.

If a landlord fails to fix a loose handrail in one of their homes and a tenant falls after leaning on the rail, the landlord assumes the risk because it was his or her responsibility to maintain the safety of the house. If a holiday shopper is injured on a mall escalator that is malfunctioning because it is past its inspection due date, the building owner must assume responsibility and compensate the injured party for things like medical bills and loss of income.

However, there are some situations when it is not always immediately clear who should assume the risk.One prime example of this is a recent ski resort liability case.

Risk on the Slopes

Idaho’s Snow Flake resort recently faced a premises liability lawsuit for negligence after a skier broke his leg on one of their slopes. One of the main questions that this lawsuit brought up was who should assume the risk at a place like a ski resort, where people are knowingly choosing to participate in a physical activity that could potentially result in an injury.

In Idaho, skiers typically assume the risk and legal responsibility for injuries that result from skiing—but that doesn’t necessarily mean that resorts are always free of fault.

There is evidence that the man filing the lawsuit against the Snow Flake resort was skiing out of control at the time that he fell and broke his leg, which might suggest that the accident was his fault. However, that’s not the end of the story. The man fell on a bare spot of the slope, and there is evidence that the resort knew about this bare spot,but that they failed to mark it. Ski resorts are legally responsible for maintaining their runs and clearly marking any potential hazards.

Businesses have a duty to keep their premises in a “reasonably safe” condition, and Snow Flake failed to do that because they did not mark or block off a dangerous area on a slope where they knew that people would be skiing.

We should not always assume that someone injured at a recreational site brought that injury upon themselves by participating in a risky activity. The owners of that recreational site need to be held to a set safety standard to ensure that the people at that site aren’t unknowingly put in danger.

Businesses Have a Duty to Warn Us about Potential Hazards

Injury Lawyer

It’s important that businesses regularly inspect their premises and identify any potential hazards. Business and building owners should not just assume that visitors to their premises are going to be able to identify potential risks, especially when those potential hazards are not clearly visible.

This is also the issue that has come up in a recent premises liability case in Madison County, Illinois. Patricia Fuentes is currently suing a realty and management group for negligence after she broke her ankle on a vacant property. Fuentes claims that she was driving through town when she noticed that a house that had been vacant for two years had a “For Sale” sign in front of it, leading her to investigate.

There were no signs warning prospective buyers not to walk around the property, so Fuentes says she walked over to the patio at the rear of the house. Unfortunately, the patio contained a cellar door that was the same color as andlevel with the ground, and when Fuentes accidentally stepped on it, the door gave way and she fell about six feet into the cellar.

This case is somewhat unusual because Fuentes was not a resident of the property or a visitor to a typical business site. However, because the house was currently owned by an asset management group and had a “For Sale” sign, it can be considered as a building that potential buyers had a right to visit. If the asset management group and the realty company they were working with were putting the house up for sale, it was their responsibility to make sure that the house was safe for visitors. Or they should at least have put up warning signs about potential risks until they could address the problem.

Due to the lack of any warning and the instability of the cellar door, Fuentes should not be held at fault for the accident.

Knowing When a Business Is at Fault for an Accident

Auto Accident

Some people who are injured on a business premise might blame themselves for not taking more care, or might even think that the accident was something that could not have been prevented. However, it’s important to look closely at the circumstances of the incident to determine whether a business may be partially or fully at fault. If the accident were caused by negligence, businesses need to be held responsible so that the same kind of accident doesn’t happen to anyone else again in the future.

In my home state of Florida, businesses are legally responsible for accidents on their property if they “had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition and should have taken immediate action to remedy it”. “Constructive knowledge” can also mean that the dangerous condition existed for a long enough amount of time that a responsible business owner should have known about it, or that the situation had occurred before and was foreseeable.

Everyone should be aware of their own rights and the responsibilities of property owners—and should seek out the advice of a legal authority like a personal injury attorney if they are unsure of who should assume responsibility in any type of accident. Premises liability and other areas of personal injury law can get complex, but we need to work to determine who assumes therisk in order to keep other people out of dangerous situations.Sometimes you may be too close to the situation to objectively assess whether or not someone else was at fault. Taking steps to seek help isn’t just about justice for you; it’s also about keeping others safe.

About the Author:
Andrew Winston is a partner at the personal injury law firm of Lawlor Winston White & Murphy. He has been recognized for excellence in the representation of injured clients by admission to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, is AV Rated by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, and was recently voted by his peers as a Florida “SuperLawyer”—an honor reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in the state—and to Florida Trend’s “Legal Elite.”

Medical Evidence for Work Accidents Claims

When you get injured at work and make a work accident claim, it will be necessary to collate various elements of medical evidence. This is nothing for you to worry about: it is an important part of the claims process and is there to help prove the extent of your injuries.

Why is Medical Evidence Necessary?

In order for a work accident claim to succeed, you must be able to establish that:-

1. Someone breached their duty of care towards you. For example, your employer failed to enforce a safe system of work, or your co-worker failed to carry out their role competently;

2. This breach caused you to suffer injury, physically and/or psychologically.

It is the second point – known as causation – that will require the use of medical evidence. Not only will this verify the presence of your injury, it will also support the claim that your injury was caused as a direct result of your work accident.

How is Medical Evidence Obtained?

The first step your solicitor will take when collecting medical evidence is to obtain your medical records – both from your GP and from any hospitals you have visited in the course of your treatment. These will then be sent to a medical expert for review.

Your solicitor will take care when choosing which expert to instruct, and will only select someone who is able to comment on your injury. For example, if you have suffered a musculo-skeletal problem, an orthopaedic surgeon will be contacted. This means your expert many not live locally. In more complex cases, it may also necessary to instruct more than one medical expert.

Once your records have been reviewed, it is highly likely that the expert will want to assess you in person. Your solicitor will arrange an appointment on your behalf, taking into consideration a suitable time and place. After your injuries have been examined, the expert will be in a position to write a report. This will be entirely impartial; it is not intended to benefit either claimant or defendant. Rather, it is an objective opinion as to:-

• The cause of your injuries;

• The extent of your pain and suffering;

• Prognosis – ie. the extent of future pain and suffering;

• How your injuries have effected your life, both now and in the future.

What if the Medical Report is not favourable?

If the medical report is not favourable, in that it does not support your claim, your solicitor will discuss with you what action to take next. This may involve instructing another medical expert, or trying to settle the claim with a lower compensation settlement.

On the other hand, if the report is supportive, your solicitor will use the medical expert’s opinion to help value your claim. This is known as quantum. When a suitable sum has been calculated, the figure will be proposed to the other side and negotiations will ensue. If a settlement can be reached in this way, your case will have to go to court. You will receive your compensation in full soon afterwards.

Work accident claims involve highly complex legal work but your solicitor must also have a firm grasp of medical concepts. So make sure that when instructing your solicitor, they are a work accident specialist.

Tim Bishop is the senior partner of Bonallack and Bishop – Solicitors with specialist teams of work accident and medical negligence experts acting for clients nationwide. For more information about claiming compensation, visit their specialist websites at http://www.workaccidentsolicitors.co.uk or http://www.themedicalnegligencesolicitor.co.uk, or alternatively give their claim team a call on 01722 422300.

Whiplash claimants may have to produce more supporting evidence after an increase in fraudulent claims

Ministers should consider reducing the limitation period for road accident insurance claims, and require whiplash claimants to produce more supporting evidence. However, genuine claimants should not be demonised.  These were some of the key findings in a report published last summer by the Transport Select Committee. The Committee Chair Louise Ellman MP, said at the launch of the report:

“Whiplash injuries can have debilitating consequences for those who suffer them. However, some of the increase in whiplash claims will have been due to fraud or exaggeration. To help bring insurance premiums down the Government must tighten up the requirements for motor insurance claims and ensure that insurers honour their commitment to reduce premiums.”

The report states that the Government should consider requiring claimants to provide proof that they have either been seen by a doctor or attended Accident and Emergency soon after the accident. There should be a presumption against accepting claims where adequate proof of injury is not provided.

The Committee was surprised to hear that insurers sometimes make offers to personal injury claimants before a medical report has been received. The report warns that insurers must end practices which encourage fraud. If they do not, the Government must take steps to protect motorists.  In theory, motor insurers have committed to passing any reduction in costs that arise from legal reforms onto the consumer in the form of lower premiums.  The report recommends that the Government explains how it will monitor that this particular commitment is being honoured in practice.

The number of fraudulent and exaggerated whiplash claims has contributed to the increase in motor insurance premiums in recent years. Estimates of the percentage of fraudulent claims ranged widely from 0.1% to over 60%, according to the report. These estimates were based on firms’ caseloads, statistical extrapolation and survey data.  The types of fraudulent activity mentioned by witnesses included:

  • ‘cash-for-crash’, where crashes were deliberately caused in order to generate a claim;
  • claims relating to non-existent passengers;
  • fabricated or exaggerated symptoms; and
  • exaggeration of the impact of a genuine injury.

There is an unfortunate absence of detailed statistics about road traffic accidents. This means that it is impossible to relate the increasing number of personal injury claims in recent years to the number of accidents.  According to the MPS, the Government needs to improve the collection of data about road accidents as well as improve the detection of fraudulent personal injury claims

The report points out that there are many factors which contribute to the increasing cost of motor insurance including the activities of claims management companies, the poor safety record of young drivers and competition issues, something which is now under investigation by the Competition Commission.

Louise Ellman MP, concluded by saying that many claims are genuine and relate to real injuries which affect people for months or years. In the debate about how to reduce fraud and exaggeration, genuine claimants should not be demonised simply because their condition cannot be picked up on a scan.

Whiplash is a term that refers specifically to neck trauma caused by the head unexpectedly and unnaturally jolting in any direction and damaging tissue in the neck.  If, after a motor accident, a person experiences any of the following symptoms, they may have cause to make a whiplash accident claim:

  • Constant discomfort or pain in the neck area
  • Painful twitches or twinges in the shoulders
  • Difficulty moving the neck due to pain or stiff muscles
  • Light-headedness, uneasy balance and/or slight tinnitus
  • Headaches

Sometimes it can take up to 24 hours for symptoms to develop after an accident. Usually, the discomfort and pain are temporary but some injuries can last for months and, in some cases, years or even permanently. Victims of whiplash can struggle to drive, exercise or carry out any manual labour.  They may even have to stop work.

Compensation for whiplash is critical when it comes to getting a genuine victim back on his or her feet. The financial support provided by a successful claim can help pay for rehabilitation and cover loss of income if necessary.

To pursue a whiplash injury claim the first thing to do is contact a solicitor specialising in this area. Close Thornton Solicitors is a long established firm and has a team of lawyers specialising in personal injury claims. For further information, please contact Shaun Burke on 01325 466461 or email shaun.burke@close-thornton.co.uk.

Florida Supreme Court Leaves Questions for Medical Malpractice Law

On December 12, 2013, the Florida Supreme Court issued an opinion expressing its disapproval of a 2011 Florida law that placed restrictions on the ability of expert witnesses to testify in medical malpractice cases. The law allows Florida-licensed medical professionals to present expert testimony in medical malpractice cases, but requires out-of-state medical professionals to get an expert witness certificate before being permitted to testify.

In 2013, the Legislature further approved a measure that restricts who may even testify as a witness in a medical malpractice case, requiring that expert witnesses who are called to testify either for or against a defendant be licensed in the identical, not just similar, medical specialty as that defendant. These limitations, according to the medical malpractice lawyer, would have “a chilling effect on the ability to obtain expert witnesses.” Certainly, the pool of experts qualified to testify would be restricted by the law’s requirements.

[Editor’s note – see also our guide to some of the best Florida mesothelioma lawyers here]

How Might the Law Affect a Malpractice Case?

According to a medical malpractice attorney a Texas resident, wishes to file suit against her podiatric surgeon for malpractice because he operated on the wrong foot while she was in Florida specifically for her surgery. Her attorneys wish to call one of the most renowned surgeons in the United States, Dr. John Doe of Houston, Texas, to testify against the defendant surgeon.

Based on the Florida law, before Dr. Doe would be allowed to testify, he would have to obtain an expert witness certificate. Otherwise, the plaintiff would be forced to find a Florida doctor to testify against another Florida doctor, and many in-state doctors refuse to testify against other doctors in the same state. Additionally, Dr. Doe would not be able to testify unless he was licensed in the exact same medical specialty (in this case, podiatry) as the defendant surgeon. Even if Dr. Doe would make the best expert witness possible for the plaintiff’s case and is her absolute first choice, if he was not licensed in podiatric surgery, he would be unable to testify.

Essentially, the plaintiff’s right to call witnesses and present her best evidence to a court has been severely limited by the application of the Florida law. According to a medical malpractice lawyer this deals a harsh blow to justice, particularly since the burden of proof falls upon the plaintiff to prove malpractice. In a medical malpractice case where expert testimony can be a critical factor in the outcome, one could argue that any barrier to obtaining an expert could be deemed unconstitutional.

Editor’s note – See also this guide to some of Jacksonville’s Best Accident Injury Lawyers in Florida for more information on relevant attorneys you may want to consider.

Who Determines Who May Testify in a Lawsuit?

Some critics of the Florida law have raised a “separation of powers” argument, indicating that the Legislature exceeded its constitutional authority when it crafted a law telling the court who may and may not testify in a lawsuit. The issue of whether the Florida law presents a substantive versus a procedural rule may be a determining factor in whether the Legislature infringed on the court’s authority. Where substantive rules create and define a particular right, procedural rules regulate the methods for enforcing those rights. Procedural rules involve those rules that control how legal disputes are resolved.  In a separation of powers argument, procedural rules fall under the domain of the courts. The Florida Supreme Court’s ruling did not make a ruling on the constitutionality of the law; instead, it only decided that it would not approve the procedural rule.

A ruling on the constitutionality of Florida’s expert witness law in medical malpractice cases seems almost inevitable.

About the Author

Steve Williams is a legal blog writer for Hoffman, Larin and Agnetti PA, South Florida’s premier medical malpractice attorneys.  The medical malpractice attorneys at Hoffman, Larin and Agnetti, PA offer a free consultation so that you can learn your legal rights. We have offices throughout south Florida in Dade, Broward and Monroe Counties for your convenience.