When someone files a personal injury claim in Florida, one of the first questions on their mind is this: how much is my case worth? Less common but more important is the question: what should I do (or not do) in order to increase the value of my case? As a personal injury plaintiff, there are three actions that are guaranteed to reduce the amount of damages you’re entitled to receive. Contribute To The Cause Of The Accident In Florida, the law of pure comparative negligence applies, which means that as a plaintiff, your role in the incident which caused your injuries will impact the amount of damages to which you’re entitled. In a pure comparative negligence system, you will be compensated for your damages only to the extent that you were not responsible for them. For example, if you are deemed to have been 60 percent at fault for the auto accident which left you with a broken leg, then the defendant would only be responsible for paying 40 percent of your damages—the percentage of fault attributed to them. Fail To Mitigate Your Damages One of the worst things you…Read More
Insurance companies are mainly interested in protecting their own vested interests and bottom lines, and paying out any claim in full is detrimental to their profits. So when dealing with insurance companies, it is important to understand how they work, so you can get the settlement you deserve. Simply stated, insurers make money in part by denying you benefits, so the insurance adjustor is not necessarily your friend – his primary role is to keep the insurance company’s payment as low as possible. He may try to discourage you from seeking medical treatment (especially from chiropractors), or he may tell you that rental car coverage is limited to a set number of days. In most cases, this is not true, and if you are not at fault, you are entitled to have all of your reasonable damages and expenses covered. You are also not required to give an adjustor a recorded statement or a medical authorization. If you have been involved in an accident and feel that you are not being treated fairly by your insurance company, contact Fenstersheib Law Group, P.A., toll-free, at 1-800-TellRobert. We…Read More
South Florida is literally overrun with lawyer ads, billboards, bus ads, and lawyer referral services, so finding the right personal injury lawyer in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach counties can prove daunting and confusing. If you or a loved one have suffered a personal injury due to the negligence of others, you need a lawyer with a practice concentration in personal injury claims who knows the rules, how to negotiate, and is able to put up a good fight with insurance adjusters. Since insurance companies are not easy to deal with, the best way to get the compensation you deserve for your pain and suffering is to hire an experienced South Florida personal injury lawyer. The dedicated attorneys at Fenstersheib Law Group, P.A., understand the devastating impact that personal injuries can have on you and your family. When medical bills are piling up, and insurance companies are not responding promptly, the stress can become unbearable. Our experienced lawyers have successfully handled thousands of accident claims and helped countless families recover their damages. Our personal injury lawyers will always take the time to review your case…Read More
Learning the Don’ts, So You Simply Don’t Do Them 1. Waiting To Call The Police. Under Florida law, you have an obligation to report any accident that involves property damage or bodily injury. The police report made by the responding officer(s) could prove vital to your claim, as it should establish the facts of the accident itself (e.g., location, date, time), the names and contact information of all parties involved, including witnesses, statements provided by the other parties and/or witnesses, the conditions at the scene of the accident, and the officer’s impression of what occurred and/or which party was at fault. 2. Apologizing To The Other Driver(S) Involved, Or Admitting Wrongdoing. A seemingly benign statement such as, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you,” can be used against you, as it could indicate fault on some level. The key is to limit what you say to the other parties involved, and to the authorities. This means that you should not make assumptions about what happened, or give a drawn-out story of what was happening in the moments before the accident. The more unnecessary information you…Read More
Have You Suffered Due To A Collision With A Truck? Cars usually get the worst end of the bargain when involved in a crash with a truck. A loaded large truck takes up to 20-50% more road space to stop when compared to cars, and this percentage is even higher on wet or slippery roads. In addition, if the brakes of the truck are poorly maintained, things get even worse. Available statistics show that trucks, 18-wheelers, tractor-trailers and similar large vehicles cause auto accidents resulting in a very large number of fatalities and severe injuries. While the bigger vehicle offers more protection to its driver, an automobile driver has a much bigger chance of being severely injured or even killed in such accidents. If you or a loved one has sustained injuries in a truck accident, you might be eligible to recover your damages. An experienced truck accident attorney will sort out the exact nature of the crash, and who the responsible parties are. With over three decades of experience, the Truck Accidents Lawyers at Fenstersheib Law Group, P.A., have successfully helped many people get…Read More
According to the Orlando Sentinel, on February 22, 2021By Lisa J. Huriash, David Schultz and Aric ChokeySouth Florida Sun Sentinel! Florida will receive 414,430 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines from the federal government this week, with the largest share going to Publix stores, according to documents released by the state. The largest allocation in South Florida will go to distribution sites at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami-Dade County. In Broward, the drive-through site at Markham Park will receive 9,120 Pfizer doses and in Palm Beach County, the Department of Health will receive 4,500 Moderna doses to distribute. Under threat of a lawsuit from the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the state released a breakdown of all sites that will receive Pfizer and Moderna vaccines this week. Publix will receive 70,000 doses from the state, which does not specify how many doses each store will get. The list also does not include additional doses the federal government will distribute directly to Publix, Walmart and Winn-Dixie. Florida will send 7,340 vaccine doses to Palm Beach County, 29,480 to Browardn County and 46,090 to Miami-Dade. Broward and Miami-Dade will…Read More
COVID-19 UPDATES – Sixth Vaccination Site Opens. From: BROWARD COUNTY – COVID-19 UPDATE 1/11/21 KEY TAKEAWAYS According to Department of Health’s Florida Shots database, as of January 9: there are 39,717 individuals that have received a first dose of vaccine; 6,480 have received two (complete) dose series. That is up from 33,080 first doses and 4,061 two (complete) dose vaccinations as of January 7. The Florida Department of Health in Broward (DOH-Broward) has opened a sixth new vaccination site at Coral Square Mall in Coral Springs, for individuals age 65+ with confirmed appointments only. All testing and vaccination sites will be open on The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, Monday, January 18, 2021. The Broward County COVID-19 Hotline and Business Complaint Line is introducing new operating hours effective Tuesday, January 12. New hours are 8AM to 6PM Monday through Friday, and 8AM to Noon on Saturday and Sunday. The hotline will be open normal business hours on January 18 (MLK Holiday). Service is available 24/7 online at MyBroward.Broward.org. HOW YOU CAN GET VACCINATED Delivery of the vaccine will be “start-and-stop” until additional supplies are…Read More
Throughout the United States, someone is hurt every two minutes – and someone dies every half hour – as a result of an alcohol-related accident. During the Holiday Season, the odds for drinking and driving accidents increase exponentially. The concept that just a couple of drinks are not a big deal is a myth: according to a University of California San Diego research study, people driving even with a blood level alcohol as little as 0.01% in their system are at risk of being involved in accidents that may cause injuries which are much more severe than in those accidents where alcohol is not involved. This lead the researchers to conclude that there is no level of alcohol that can be considered safe for driving a motor vehicle. So do yourself (and your loved ones) a favor this Holiday Season – if you drink, don’t drive. That advice is good not just for this holiday season, but for the entire year! If you suffer injuries in an accident due to a negligent driver’s drinking and driving, call Fenstersheib Law Group, P.A., Your Accident Experts at…Read More
In a study conducted by researchers at the University of Alberta, Canada, found that motorists who talk on cell phones while driving made more driving errors compared to drivers who were not engaged in phone conversations. The study revealed that these motorists were found to be much more likely to make common driving errors, including improper lane changes, driving at excessive speeds and suddenly crossing center lines. The researchers found that, even if a person is using a hands-free cell phone, there’s still an increase in brain activity and a jump in cardiac rate. Even if the conversation was not emotional in nature, the study revealed that there were definitely changes in the person’s emotional reaction to the conversation, resulting in an increase in the number of driving errors made – almost all of the participants in the test groups made some sort of driving error as a result of the conversation. If you have been involved in an automobile accident as a result of someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to money damages. Fenstersheib Law Group, P.A., has over three decades of experience…Read More
It can happen when you’re taking a walk around the neighborhood, shopping the aisles in your local grocery store, or socializing with friends and family at a backyard barbecue: slipping, falling, and getting injured. Each year, over one million people require medical treatment due to a slip-and-fall incident, and roughly 30 percent of those people sustain severe injuries. This can lead to the need for surgeries, lost wages from time off work, growing medical bills, and in some cases, permanent injury. If you’ve been injured in a slip-and-fall accident in Florida, your first step should be to contact a Florida slip-and-fall accident attorney who can carefully evaluate your case and strategize the best means for maximizing your recovery. This will involve determining how the fall occurred, what sort of injury you’ve sustained, what type of short and long-term medical treatment or therapy you’ll need, and the degree of negligence attributable to the at-fault party. Your attorney should start with the basics: what caused you to fall? The following are the top six most common causes: Slippery floors A drop of oil, a recently-mopped floor, a…Read More
