Miami Resort Injury Lawyer Blog

The Florida Legislature passed two significant pieces of legislation that will have a dramatic, and favorable, impact on the rights of individuals that are injured as a result of negligence committed by the government, as well as injuries sustained by children in the State of Florida at amusement parks.

Parental Waiver

A significant piece of Florida legislation was passed involving the rights of parents to waive claims on behalf of their children when certain waivers are signed. This bill is aimed at correcting a Florida Supreme Court case that effectively barred all waivers in the State of Florida.

Back in 2008, the Florida Supreme Court effectively barred the waivers. That ruling stemmed from a lawsuit that was filed by the mother of a deceased child.

It turns out that the child had died in an all-terrain vehicle accident after the father had signed a waiver on the child's behalf, but the mother had not. The mother then sued the business because the track owner did not have someone with a flag directing traffic. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that parents could not waive their children's right to sue - but added that the lawmakers could pass such a law.

And during the current legislative session, Florida's legislature did in fact pass such a law that balances the rights of the injured parties with the interests of many tourist attractions.

As reported in the Orlando Sentinel, Florida's new law only authorizes waivers that shield businesses from claims arising when someone is injured because of the "inherent risk" of an activity. The releases would not protect against suits claiming negligence.

Therefore, theme parks, go-cart tracks and other businesses that offer potentially hazardous fun would be shielded from liability for acts that are "inherently dangerous", but not from their acts of negligence. This new standard is to be applied on a case by case basis.

Sovereign Immunity

Florida's outdated sovereign immunity has also been amended favorably. For the past thirty years, the immunity/waiver amounts have been set at $100,000 for an individual, and $200,000 per claim. However, Florida's legislatures passed a piece of legislation raising the waiver amounts from the present limits to $200,000/$300,000 in October of 2011. This is the first increase of the of these caps in thirty years.

Continue reading "Victories for Victims of Government Negligence and Florida's Children" »

A 10 year old boy was killed in a violent bus accident. This comes only days after another Disney Bus Driver was involved in a violent auto accident that injured many on board.

And just six months ago, a four year old girl was killed in the Fort Wilderness area where the 10 year old was recently killed.

It appears as though Walt Disney is having its share of safety issues. It is still unknown if there is any connection between the two deaths at the Fort Wilderness area in Walt Disney, but investigations continue.

Continue reading "Boy Killed in Disney Bus Accident in Florida " »

Eight people were injured in an accident at Walt Disney World in Florida when a Disney Transportation bus struck a parked bus near the Epcot Center parking lot.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol report, a bus was parked in the right thru lane approaching Epcot Center. For some unknown reason, the Disney transportation bus failed to stop and violently rear ended the stopped bus in the Epcot Center parking lot.

The driver of the Disney transportation bus was air lifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center and his injuries were listed as "severe." Several other passengers on the Disney passenger bus were also transported to various local hospitals for medical care and attention.

Often times many resorts fail to perform the necessary background checks to ensure that their drivers are properly trained, and properly licensed. Such a simple check could often times avoid these types of accidents when visiting resorts here in Florida.

Please contact our office today if you, or a loved one, have been injured while visiting a Florida resort.

"Don't let the bedbugs bite"-- it's a common refrain most of us don't think twice about anymore. But according to a recent Dateline NBC report, even the cleanest places can have a problem with bedbugs.

Consequently, bed bugs are becoming an all too common occurrence in hotels and resorts throughout the country, and especially here in South Florida.

Bed bugs are wingless creatures that are quite small, but still visible to the naked ye. The most distinguishing parts is their red brown color and their flatness. Also, they like to eat blood, just like ticks. But after they eat blood they are bright red.

Bed bugs are nocturnal. If you get bit, you will most likely be bit on the upper body. A truly disturbing fact is that bed bugs can live up to one year without feeding. So left on their own through abandoned hotel suites, or summer homes, they will still be alive and well and ready to feed when they find an animal or human.

A bed bug bite looks like a small welt, and it burns and/or itches. Red bumps that sting and/or itch like crazy, would be how bed bug bite victims describe it. You can't feel a bed bug bite while it happens (they take about five minutes to feed).

You can arm yourself against the bed bug attacks by inspecting the premises and bedding.

Please contact our office if you, or a loved one, have been bitten by bed bugs while staying in a South Florida resort or hotel.

South Florida recently basked in the glow of the positive limelight flowing from hosting both the NFL Pro Bowl and Super Bowl. The country bore witness to swaying palm trees, beautiful beaches, and a plethora of activities for everyone to engage in. That type of positive exposure will only serve to aid the healthy resurgence to South Florida's tourism industry for months to come.

On the other hand, while the economy is slowly working its way out of the doldrums, many local, and national, tourist attractions are still not hiring. This trend is even more troublesome in South Florida because the unemployment rate in South Florida is higher than the national unemployment rate.

Therefore, the possibility exists that many airports, resorts, hotels, convention centers and other tourist destinations are trying to do more with less. Many workers are beginning to feel overworked and may not be as careful as possible. This will lead to careless acts of negligence and clear omissions of duties. This will result in injuries.

Therefore, if you, or a loved one, have been injured while staying or visiting South Florida, or even if you are a South Florida native, due to the careless acts and omissions of a resort, hotel, airport, convention center, or other tourist destination, then please contact us immediately to discuss your case further.