An 83-year-old woman arrived at her local hospital in Rochester, NY to undergo a surgical cancer treatment. It was early in the morning, so it was dark and the overhead lighting in the parking garage was poor. She parked in the handicapped spot and then helped her daughter, seated in…
In most trip-and-fall or slip-and-fall lawsuits, injured persons hoping to prevail have to prove actual or constructive knowledge. That is, they have to show the property owner/ manager knew or should have known about the hazard, either because: They created it; They were informed of it; It existed for such…
Government agencies owe a duty to ensure public walkways and thoroughfares are correctly designed and adequately maintained to minimize the risk of danger to pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists. When a dangerous condition results in an unreasonable risk of injury to members of the public, the agency may be liable to…
Proving liability in a Florida slip-and-fall case can sometimes be an uphill battle. That has largely to do with F.S. 768.0755, which requires plaintiffs who fell on transitory foreign substances to show defendant had actual or constructive knowledge of that the substance was there. Absent a written memo or audio…
Fort Lauderdale’s city manager has proposed shelling out $2.1 million in risk insurance funds to cover the cost of sidewalk repairs, following a new report indicating more than 100 miles of it in the city are unsafe. That will only begin to cover the costs of fixing the walkways, though.…
In 2014, Florida broke the record for the most tourists ever – more than 97 million for the year. Many hotels reported that for the first time in a long time (and for some, ever), occupancy rates exceeded 70 percent on a steady basis. Some 1.15 million Floridians are employed…
When someone takes to the dance floor, they may want to “get down,” but they usually don’t actually mean “on the ground.” Unfortunately, when bars, nightclubs and other entertainment establishments allow drinks – alcoholic or otherwise – on the dance floor, patrons are at-risk for a slip-and-fall injury. What started…
In some personal injury actions, parties involved may come to find certain pieces of key evidence were destroyed, altered or simply lost. This is referred to as “spoliation of evidence,” and because it can have such a profound impact on one side’s ability to prove its case, courts tend to…
Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals is allowing a slip-and-fall lawsuit to move forward against a South Florida hospital, but it simultaneously undercut the ability for the plaintiff to make a strong argument for damages. West Palm Beach injury attorneys recognize that slip-and-fall lawsuits have become tougher to win in…
Accidents can strike at any moment — event in your own home. To help to prevent some of the top causes of unintentional injury and fatality, officials with the National Safety Council (NSC) are pushing a new campaign — “Preventing Slips, Trips and Falls.” It’s all a part of National…