Worker's Compensation

Published on: June 18, 2018

Royal Caribbean’s $20 Million Mistake

You’re finally going on the family vacation of your dreams, a 7-night cruise throughout the Bahamas, but the excitement is cut short when a family member slips and falls while onboard.

So, what exactly can you do?

In 2016, the United States cruise industry had a $126 billion worldwide economic impact. The Cruise Lines International Association reports that 24.7 million passengers sailed the seas in 2016, and an estimated 27.2 million are expected to cruise before the end of 2018. While cruising provides a unique opportunity to see more than one geographical location within a short period of time, this luxury does not come without risk. Amidst the glamour and festivities is a masked truth that all passengers are still aboard a moving vessel weighing hundred of thousands of tons. Passengers, however, are not the only class of persons who may receive monetary damages from a cruise line if injured on board.

Published on: August 25, 2017

Construction Site Accidents.

by Friedland | Carmona

If you are a South Florida resident, particularly of Miami, you are well aware of the city’s on-going, and seemingly never-ending, construction. In fact, construction all over the United States has been booming for the past several years, and 2017 is no exception. While cities like New York and Chicago have maintained their long-standing reputation as construction capitals, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle, are just recently joining the ranks. Although the increase in construction across the U.S. means more jobs and well-developed cityscapes, unfortunately it also means a higher chance of construction-related accidents and injuries.

Common construction-related accidents involve falls, being struck by an object, electrocutions, and being caught in between equipment. The construction industry experienced its biggest loss in 2015 as fatal construction injuries rose by 2 % since 2008. The number continues to rise each year.

Earlier this year, in May, a construction worker was hospitalized after falling three to four floors down a building shaft in Downtown Miami. Before that, one construction worker was killed and another injured after being hit by a Metromover car while on the job. Then, on June 1, three construction workers in northwest Miami-Dade were seriously injured after two crane lifts fell. The specific cause of injury in all three incidents was undetermined.

Published on: February 10, 2017

Workplace Injuries and Deaths

by Friedland | Carmona

Miami-Dade County has been rated one of the fastest growing markets for construction for several years now, largely due to the building boom in Downtown Miami and Brickell. While this is great for the local economy there are also some risks. Recently an elevated construction boom struck a Metromover rail car in Downtown Miami, killing a construction worker and injuring another. Luckily, no passengers were on the Metromover at the time because it was late and the car was doing a maintenance run.

While that fatal collision was preventable it is unfortunately not uncommon, particularly in cities with a lot of ongoing construction. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that there are over 4500 workplace fatalities each year; nearly all of them preventable. In fact, OSHA estimates about 150 worker deaths per day, meaning by the time you finish reading this article, someone will have lost their life at work. An even greater number of people are seriously injured at work, resulting in over a million incidents every year serious enough to require time away from work to recover.

Published on: October 12, 2016

Deadly Dressers

by Friedland | Carmona

Dressers leading to the death of small children sounds like a bad horror film. However, this unfortunate series of events has been a reality for at least three families so far. Sold in several small pieces requiring extensive instruction and a bit of time are the typical furnishings purchased from the Swedish company, IKEA.

IKEA is a leading furniture seller across the world and valued itself at over 11 billion dollars in 2012.¹ IKEA has been aware of the danger posed by the dressers and made a first attempt to remedy the defect by providing kits to every purchaser of the dressers with instructions to secure the dressers to the walls where they will stand. Unfortunately, this did not solve the problem and another infant death followed. After tragedy struck again IKEA made the decision to recall the dressers. The IKEA website describes the recall as follows.

The recall affects children’s chests and dressers taller than 23.5 inches and adult chests and dressers taller than 29.5 inches … manufactured and sold through June 2016 and include the 3-drawer, 4-drawer, 5-drawer and 6-drawer models. Other IKEA chests and dressers in this recall were sold at various times through June 2016.”

Published on: August 27, 2016

Do I Still Have a Claim or Am I Out of Time?

by Friedland | Carmona

Someone rear ends you or hits you as your driving down the street. At the moment you don’t notice any pain or obvious injuries but as the weeks go on you notice discomfort in your neck, back, knees or other parts of your body. A common misconception among those injured in auto accidents in Miami is if they do not make the claim for injuries immediately after reporting the accident they are barred from recovery for injuries developed or intensifying in the future. Or you notice that the auto shop you took your car to for repairs did not adequately or completely make the fixes to your vehicle. These situations are common in the Miami- Dade, Coral Gables and all other surrounding areas in South Florida.

Every state has a statute of limitations that dictates how long a party has to bring a claim against those that injured them or breached the contract or duty owed to them. In Florida the statute of limitations includes but is not limited to the following:

Injury to Person	4 yrs. §95.11(3)(o)
Libel/Slander	2 yrs. §95.11(4)(g)
Fraud	4 yrs. §95.11(3)(j)
Injury to Personal Property	4 yrs. §95.11(3)(h)
Professional Malpractice	2 yrs.; Medical: 2-4 yrs. §95.11(4)(a) and (b)
Trespass	4 yrs. §95.11(3)(g)
Contracts	Written: 5 yrs. §95.11(2)(b), 1 yr. specific performance§95.11(5)(a)Oral: 4 yrs. §95.11(3)(k)
Judgments	20 yrs. domestic §95.11(1); 5 yrs. foreign judgment §95.11(2)(a)

From: http://statelaws.findlaw.com/florida-law/florida-civil-statute-of-limitations-laws.html

For a more complete list of the applicable statute of limitations in Florida see Florida Statute 95.11

Statutes of limitations involve many exceptions and cross reference with other applicable Florida laws. To assist in what can be a difficult area to understand and navigate the Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers at Friedland | Carmona are ready and eager to assist you immediately. Having a lawyer familiar with this area of law and experienced in handling all types of cases can make all the difference in the outcome of your claim.

The South Florida personal injury attorneys at the Friedland | Carmona handle all types of negligence, product liability, personal injury, negligent security, slip/trip and fall, and car accident cases throughout the state of Florida, including Boca Raton, Homestead, North Miami, South Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Pembroke Pines, Hialeah, Kendall, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach. The Friedland | Carmona handles all types of personal injury cases, including dog bites, wrongful death, defective products, medical malpractice, slip and falls, negligent and reckless drivers, and automobile and motorcycle accidents. Call the Miami personal injury attorneys today and let our family take care of your family.

Published on: August 21, 2016

Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer?

by Friedland | Carmona

Personal injury law is utilized when someone causes physical harm to another and the injured wants to be made whole or compensated for that injury. The experienced attorneys at Friedland | Carmona provide free consultations to those who believe they may have a case and are seeking more information on the options available to them. Examples of situations when people normally seek personal injury lawyers in Miami, Coral Gables, and the surrounding areas include but are not limited to:

Auto accidents,

Trip and falls/slip and fall: There are many dangerous conditions like torn carpeting, changes in flooring, poor lighting, narrow stairs, or a wet floor can cause someone to slip and be injured. Same goes if someone trips on a broken or cracked public sidewalks, or falls down a flight of stairs. In addition, a slip and fall case might arise when someone slips or falls outdoors because of rain, ice, snow or a hidden hazard, such as a pothole in the ground. In any event, the plaintiff must have sustained some kind of injury, however minor, in order to collect, http://injury.findlaw.com/torts-and-personal-injuries/slip-and-fall-accidents-overview.html

Published on: March 16, 2013

Scissor Lift Topples in Port Everglades, Two Dead, One in Critical Condition

by Friedland | Carmona

Two Broward County Public Works employees were killed Friday morning at busy Port Everglades when a platform scaffold toppled over. A third worker was transported to Broward Health Medical Center in critical condition. The scissor lift fell on its side around 11 a.m., causing the workers atop of it to go flying through the air and come crashing several stories down to the pavement. The workers were performing routine maintenance on a moveable passenger bridge that allows cruise ship passengers to descend from the ship at the port. There were no passengers on the bridge at the time of the collapse.

Shortly after the lift fell, Broward Fire-Rescue was called to the scene at 1801 SE 18th Street in Fort Lauderdale, just before the Intercoastal’s barrier wall. Occupational Safe and Health Administration (OSHA) officials are expected to investigate the scene. OSHA regulations require particular fall protection equipment, such as guardrails or harnesses, when a fall of six or more feet is possible at a construction site.

The scissor lifts are made up of scissor-like joints that are positioned on a wheeled machine that makes a work platform move up and down. Accidents often occur on scissor lifts when the load is too heavy for the lift, the operator moves the lift while the platform is extending, causing an imbalance, or when the operator has not been properly trained. Port Everglades is the largest port in Florida and the second busiest cruise port in the world. Unfortunately, the port has experienced its fair share of accidents. Just a week ago, on March 6, a ninety-one-foot barge was offloaded after it accidently dumped twenty-two containers at sea. Two years ago, a man was killed after being hit by a tractor-trailer.

Two dead in platform topple at Port Everglades, www.miamiherald.com March 15, 2013

Published on: November 13, 2012

Miami Metrorail Worker Killed By Train While Walking On Tracks

by Friedland | Carmona

George Andrews was killed Monday while working for Miami-Dade Transit. Andrews parked his train on a sidetrack near the Earlington Heights station because his train had been malfunctioning. He was walking back to the station on the tracks and was about thirty yards from the Earlington Heights station when a moving train struck him.

While the case is still under police investigation, a spokesman for the Transport Workers Union Local 291 reported “walking on the track after parking a disabled train is normal procedure for MDT.” Police are still trying to figure out why and how the train hit Andrews as he was walking in the pocket area where he parked his train. Protocol requires that a train operator that parks his train on a side track must inform central control of his position and central control technicians will warn all other trains. “The problem is that the trains are not like cars. The operator of the train that hit him may have seen him on the track and may have applied the brake immediately, but the train does not stop immediately,” stated the spokesman.

Andrews, 47, was a valued member of the MDT family and “this is a tragedy to the transit family and we are in mourning,” one operator stated. Andrews had been a bus operator in 1987 and became a Metrorail operator in 2003.

Transit worker who was killed was walking on Metrorail tracks from disabled train, www.miamiherald.com November 13, 2012.