Wrongful Death

Published on: August 9, 2018

The (Un)happiest Place on Earth?

The Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Orlando location had more than 55 million visitors to “The Happiest Place on Earth” in 2017 alone. Formally known as Walt Disney World, the theme park has branded itself as the picture perfect getaway destination for children and families alike. Many South Florida residents consider Disney World an ideal weekend escape thanks to its proximity, yet few know of the dangers that can arise on Disney’s various properties.

The entertainment and media super-conglomerate is no stranger to personal injury claims, as Disney has negotiated settlement agreements with guests when it knew or should have known of the dangerous condition that caused a guest’s injuries. Following the horrific wrongful death of a two-year-old boy at Disney’s Seven Seas Lagoon in June of 2016, two additional lawsuits alleging Disney’s negligence were filed in Orange County Circuit Court last month.

On July 25th, a Palm Beach County resident filed a complaint against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts US Inc. The complaint alleges that Disney negligently failed to act with reasonable care for the guest’s safety. The man in question was injured in the stairwell of Disney’s All-Star Music Resort, after he slipped and fell on a wet substance.

Published on: April 4, 2017

Distracted Behind the Wheel

by Friedland | Carmona

Traffic deaths are on the rise and for the first time in a decade, car accident fatalities in the United States have exceeded 40,000 in a year. The most obvious culprits are drivers who are text while behind the wheel, and according to the Federal Communications Commission at any given point during daylight hours around 660,000 drivers are using their cell phones. In 2014 alone, 3,179 people in the United States were killed in an crash that involved a distracted driver and nearly about 431,000 were injured, making up nearly 20% of all crashes that year.

The increased use of cellphones has contributed to the increase in distracted driving collisions and lawmakers around the country have responded with various bans and restrictions. There are 14 states that currently ban handheld cellular devices, 37 states that ban cell phone use for teen and novice drivers, and 46 states ban text messaging for drivers. Continue reading

Published on: February 15, 2017

How safe is that ride?

by Friedland | Carmona

Many of us have great memories of amusement parks from our childhood. Family trips to amusement and water parks are a favorite American summer past time. The rides and attractions provide thrilling experiences that we can share with friends and family. Most of us will never have the chance to live out the adventures amusement rides and attractions offer us like enter a cartoon universe, fly to the moon, drive a race car, explore a haunted mansion, experience zero-gravity or spin around in teacups.

Unfortunately, while we trust amusement park operators to create these experiences for us in a safe environment , sometimes they fail.

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 28, 2016

Bicycles, Beaches and Busy Streets

by Friedland | Carmona

Miami and the surrounding areas are known as very active flourishing communities in many ways. One thing all of these areas have in common are avid bike riders. Many members of the community choose biking as their favorite past time, a more efficient form of transportation, or a way to preserve the environment. This all sounds like a great trait for a community until you look at the number of bicycle riders injured or killed yearly in the Miami-Dade and surrounding areas due to negligent drivers.

It is important to note that bicyclist have many responsibilities when riding on public roads, however if you are injured in a bicycle accident or hit by a motorist your injuries you may have a claim for damages from the party that injured you. These tragic accidents can result in a daily struggle to recover. Sadly, many times these accidents are fatal and the families of the riders must move forward without their loved one and manage the loss of income, support, and services the family member was previously capable of providing to the household.

If you or a loved one is involved in an accident involving a bicycle it is important to contact an experienced bicycle injury attorney as soon as possible. Your attorney will be able to evaluate the liability among all of the parties and guide you to the solution that will result in the greatest remedy for your situation. A family member that becomes disabled or injured will never be replaced with any monetary award however, these remedies will help in the transition for the rest of the family in managing their new daily way of living.

Published on: October 24, 2016

Need a Lyft or an Uber?

by Friedland | Carmona

Uber and Lyft have increasingly become a streamlined part of everyday life for a majority of people looking for an inexpensive and convenient way to get around. Uber has over 15.6 million users a month in the United States and is a prominent transportation option for most of us who live in the Miami-Dade, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale and other surrounding areas.Uber and Lyft are helpful and convenient but what happens when your ride doesn’t go as smoothly as planned? Both ridesharing companies employee the general public to use their own vehicles in conjunction with the Uber or Lyft platform to transport passengers and make a little extra money. Uber and Lyft operate a service that puts every customer in the car of someone they do not know. So, when there is a car accident and an Uber or Lyft customer is in the car during the accident what can they do?
Many people are surprised to hear that Uber and Lyft both provide additional insurance to their drivers. The companies require their drivers to carry specific insurance based on the type and frequency of services they plan to provide and based on the car they own. Additionally Uber provides $1 million of liability coverage per incident, $1 million of uninsured/underinsured insurance, comprehensive and collision insurance, no-fault coverage is provided in some states and coverage for bodily injury up to $50,000/individual/accident with a total of $100,000/accident and up to $25,000 for property damage.
It is very important to understand the urgency in reporting and filing your claim because there are limitations on how much time you have to take action before the opportunity expires. Contact the auto accident and personal injury attorneys at the Friedland | Carmona today to ensure you are properly cared for and potentially compensated for your accident.

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: September 9, 2016

Advocating for Your Injured Child

by Friedland | Carmona

Sometimes a very unfortunate event affects those who cannot advocate for themselves because they are under the age of 18. If your child is injured on a playground, in a car accident, in a bicycle accident, at a store or in any way that results in a physical injury to your child and is someone else’s fault, you as their parent have the ability to bring a lawsuit on their behalf.

Children have the same access to remedies for harm to them as adults do and as their parents, you also have a right to recover medical expenses you incur while tending to the needs of your injured child.

Children have special rules in court. Some of these exceptions are:

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