Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Increase in Personal Injury Lawsuits Against Cruise Lines
Some major cruise lines have seen an increase in personal injury lawsuits filed against them in the last two years. According to Bloomberg Law, there were 164 federal injury suits filed against cruise lines in 2016, and 188 filed in 2017. Eighty-three cases were filed In the first three months of 2018. The three… Read More »
Parental Responsibility and Florida Negligence Laws
In 2017, two 13-year-old boys were riding a dirt bike alongside a canal in Palm Beach County when a terrible accident happened. The young driver missed a sharp turn and the bike flipped down an embankment. Both boys were thrown from the bike, but the driver’s friend, hit his head, badly breaking his jaw… Read More »
Determining Who Is at Fault in KinderCare Case
It’s not always easy to prove what actually caused someone’s personal injury or wrongful death. And sometimes an accident seems straightforward, but then it turns out that the real story is much more complicated. The KinderCare Tragedy For example, a 4-year-old girl was killed in April 2014, and two 3-year-olds were severely injured, when… Read More »
Understanding Vicarious Employer Liability
In some cases, personal injury plaintiffs can hold a third party responsible for their damages. For example, there’s a legal principle called respondeat superior that says employers are also responsible for the actions of negligent employees. The phrase “respondeat superior” literally means “let the master answer,” and it is a type of vicarious liability… Read More »
Company Vs. Company under Florida Negligence Law
Typically when you think of a negligence lawsuit, you think of a person suing another person or a person suing a company. But companies can also be victims of negligence, often because of a defective product or a contractor or supplier’s shoddy work performance. Here are a few recent examples. Real-Life Case Examples Geico… Read More »
Evacuation Drills in Public Places
Schools and private businesses aren’t the only facilities that hold drills to prepare for active shooter situations. But at schools and some businesses, such drills are expected, and often even announced beforehand. What happens, though, when you’re out and about in a public place and not somewhere you’d expect to encounter an active shooter/evacuation… Read More »
Filing a Lawsuit Under the Federal Tort Claims Act
In September 2003, a Florida woman named delivered her son via C-section at Naval Hospital Jacksonville. She says she noticed a shooting pain immediately after delivery. “It feels like fire, like a poker next to my tailbone. On occasion, it shoots down the left side of my leg on my calf, and then down… Read More »
Understanding the Concurring Cause Doctrine
To win your negligence lawsuit, you must prove that your injury was actually caused by the defendant’s negligence. The injury must be the foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s conduct and something that wouldn’t have happened but for that conduct. However, the defendant’s negligence doesn’t have to be the only cause of your injury (even… Read More »
Negligent Gun Owners and Gun Safety
In April 2018, a man was shopping for ammunition at a gun store in Cape Coral when he accidentally discharged his semiautomatic handgun. While no one was injured in the incident, he did leave a bullet hole in the floor. Accidentally discharging your firearm isn’t a crime in Florida, but you can be held… Read More »
Understanding Proximate Cause
Imagine that your neighbor’s house catches on fire because she left the oven on, and the fire spreads to your house and injures your child. Or that you visit a restaurant and slip on a giant puddle of water. Or that your neighbor invites you over for dinner but when you walk up the… Read More »
