Linda Porter’s son, Pete Thomas, died 12 years ago in a New Port Richey hospital. Now Porter goes to rock concerts and imagines her long-haired guitarist son with her in the audience. This April, Pete would have been 50 years old. In October 2014, the 38-year-old was admitted to the…
A Florida appellate court recently reversed a lower court’s ruling that when the amount of the judgment in a tort case is modified on appeal, post-trial interest must accrue from the date of the verdict rather than from the date of the original judgment. The court reasoned that the earlier accrual…
In Soto v. McCulley Marine Services, Inc., a man tragically drowned near Longboat Pass on July 4, 2009 when he fell from a jet ski and was sucked underneath a moored barge while wearing a life preserver. At the time of the unfortunate drowning, a nearby dock was being used…
In Geico General Ins. Co. v. Lepine, a Florida man was unfortunately killed in a motor vehicle collision. Following the accident, the man’s wife filed a lawsuit on behalf of herself and her husband’s estate against the driver who was allegedly responsible for the fatal traffic wreck and his automobile…
In Bryant v. Windhaven Ins. Co., a Florida man purchased a personal automobile liability policy from an insurance company. After securing the policy, the man operated a van in the course of his employment with a daycare center. As part of his job duties, the man picked up children and…
In Morales v. Zenith Ins. Co., a Florida man was tragically killed in a workplace accident. Following the fatal incident, the decedent’s wife agreed to a workers’ compensation settlement with the man’s employer and the employer’s insurance company. The wife also signed a release stating the settlement was the sole…
In Thompson v. Estate of Maurice, a young man was unfortunately killed while riding as a passenger in an automobile. Following the collision, the decedent’s parents demanded payment from the liability insurance company that provided coverage for the vehicle. The letter included a settlement offer that expired in one month.…
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida has overturned a jury’s award of approximately $15.8 million in non-economic damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. In Wisekal v. Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings, a laboratory processed two cancer screening tests for a Wellington woman over the course…
Florida’s First District Court of Appeals has affirmed a wrongful death judgment entered against two tobacco companies. In Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Buchanan, the personal representative of a deceased man sued both Philip Morris and the Liggett Group over her husband’s wrongful death. After jurors entered judgment against the…
In a recent case, a healthcare and rehabilitation center appealed a trial court’s order denying its motion to dismiss and compel arbitration. The case arose out of a case in which a wife admitted her husband to the rehabilitation center’s nursing facility in accord with a durable power of attorney…