Negligence

March 15, 2018

Florida International Bridge Collapses Injuring Dozens and Causing Multiple Fatalities

A pedestrian bridge located at Florida International University suddenly collapsed on vehicles below injuring dozens and causing several fatalities. The bridge was recently constructed and was just opened to the public this past Saturday on FIU’s campus. Little information is known about the root cause at this time. Witnesses reported that dozens of vehicles may still be alive or trapped beneath the rubble. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue along with first responders were still trying to get beneath the 950 plus tons of concrete wreckage. A witness to the accident contacted our law firm and sent us this photograph seconds after the bridge crumbled.

Construction sites, accidents, rules and regulations are governed by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). OSHA is the primary federal agency assigned with promulgating rules and safety enforcement regulations in the workplace. In this case, when a bridge and construction accident occurs, OSHA conducts a comprehensive investigation. This usually takes many months to complete but eventually will reveal how this tragic event occurred, how it could have been prevented, and what specific violations of OSHA’s regulations may have been violated. OSHA’s duties, include protecting workers as well as enforcing safety laws for the benefit of the general public. Companies who violate OSHA safety regulations may expose themselves to legal liability, which can include civil and criminal penalties. Miami, Florida has been subject to many construction site accidents but this one is by far the most serious and tragic construction accident event in recent memory.

While it is too early to know how or why this specific tragedy occurred, the mere fact that this bridge collapsed is a prime example of the legal doctrine known as as “Res Ipsa Loquitur”, which means “the negligence speaks for itself”. Bridges simply do not collapse in the absence of some sort of negligence. The personal injury law offices of Gerson and Schwartz, PA specialize representing serious injury and wrongful death victims due to construction defects and industrial accident related tragedies. Our construction accident attorneys in Miami are familiar with OSHA rules and regulations and how to prove negligence in industrial and construction accident cases. If you or a loved one were the victim of the FIU bridge collapse or another type of construction accident case, then contact our Miami law offices today for a free consultation. Call us today at (877) 475-2905 or email us at info@gslawusa.com for help. Walk in clients are also accepted. Our personal injury offices are located at 1980 Coral Way in Miami, Florida. You may also visit our website at www.injuryattorneyfla.com. Se Habla Espanol.

April 14, 2017

Slip and Falls on Cruise Ships

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Did You Fall on Your Cruise?

Imagine one minute you are enjoying a show on your relaxing cruise vacation. The next, you are exiting the theater and suddenly you are lying on the ground in serious pain. This is the experience of one Carnival Cruise passenger who slipped and fell on a wet tile floor just outside a carpeted theater on the ship. Like many cruise ship accidents, this happened when it was least expected.

Slip and falls can cause surprisingly serious injuries. In some cases, you may simply walk away with a bump or bruise. However, many slip and fall accidents can cause the following injuries, among others:

February 27, 2017

Three Signs Your Miami Slip and Fall was the Result of Negligence

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Three Signs Your Miami Slip and Fall was the Result of Negligence

Slip and fall accidents are consistently among the most common causes of accidental injury in the Miami area. They can occur anywhere, including schools, malls, grocery stores, gas stations, and even on the sidewalk. While many people believe that slips, trips, or falls are usually minor accidents, these accidents can actually cause extremely serious injuries, broken bones, soft tissue injuries, and even traumatic brain injuries,spinal cord injuries. The National Floor Safety Institute indicates that slip and fall accidents are responsible for more than 1 million emergency department visits each year.

If you have been hurt in a slip and fall accident that occurred on someone else’s property, we have some good news: if you can show that your accident was the result of negligence, you may be able to recover compensation for your losses so contacting a Miami slip and fall lawyer is a good idea. Such losses include your medical bills, lost income, loss of quality of life, and physical and emotional pain and suffering.

February 3, 2017

Be on The Lookout for Drunk Drivers on Super Bowl Sunday

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

This Sunday, millions of Americans will watch the New England Patriots take on the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI in Houston, Texas. For many football fans, Super Bowl Sunday has become an unofficial holiday, full of friends, food, and, sometimes, the over consumption of beer, wine, or liquor.

Unfortunately, drunk driving accidents tend to spike around events that involve the consumption of alcohol, and Super Bowl Sunday is no exception. In fact, an article published in Forbes calls Super Bowl Sunday one of the “biggest drinking days of the year.” As a result, if you plan to be out and about this Sunday, you should take certain steps to protect yourself from involvement with a drunk driving accident, including the following: Our Miami Car Accident lawyers have some advice.

Make Sure You are Alert and Aware – if you are looking to avoid an accident with a drunk driver, one of the easiest steps you can take is to abstain from alcohol yourself. Recent research has indicated that even blood alcohol content levels under the legal limit of .08 percent can have an impact on your reaction time and have a sedative effect.

February 2, 2017

TIMELINE IN A PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

If you have been injured, you are likely wondering what you should do next? Should you speak with an attorney now or later? Should you try and handle the claim on your own? Should you focus on healing and not worry about trying to bring a legal claim in court or at all? You may wonder, how will I pay for medical bills, property damage, lost wages, out of pocket expenses or recover money for pain and suffering after a serious injury? Miami personal injury attorneys help injury victims through injury claims. No matter how you were injured—whether it was in a motor vehicle accident, a slip and fall, or in some other type of incident personal injury claims take time to resolve. Many injury victims don’t understand that amount of information that needs to be processed. From the minute you walk into the law firm office information needs to be gathered. Case facts need to be analyzed. Injuries also can take time to heal and in some cases the long term consequences are not recognized until well after an accident. As personal injury lawyers, our job is to not only understand how an accident occurs, but also how understand how it will affect our clients long term. Is future medical care needed? Are the injuries going to heal on their own? Is the defendant financially viable? There are many in variables to consider after serious accident, injury or death claim.

WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT TO HAPPEN FIRST AFTER AN ACCIDENT

If you have not hired a lawyer yet, you will probably receive calls from insurance companies, investigators or insurance adjusters. These insurance companies will likely try to settle the claim for as little money as possible. If you were in a car accident, the at-fault driver’s insurance company may contact you. If you slipped and fell in a store, the store’s insurance company representative may call you too. As a rule of thumb, if you are injured in Miami, Florida then you should not speak to these insurance companies without the advice or guidance of an reputable accident attorney.

December 6, 2016

Miami Construction Accident Attorneys Discuss Scaffold Safety

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

A recent deadly scaffold collapse in Miami reminds construction companies to use caution when erecting and utilizing scaffolding on construction sites. Construction companies use scaffolding frequently. The apparatus is more stable than a ladder and allows workers to move about more freely without worrying too much about losing their balance. However, scaffolding can create a false sense of security on behalf of those employees using it. Considerable attention must be paid to the safety requirements of scaffolds. Failure to do so can result in serious injury and death from collapsing equipment. A construction company may be held liable for the injuries suffered by workers from scaffolding failures. Miami construction accident attorneys with decades of experience will fight to hold construction companies responsible for your injuries or your loved one’s death caused by scaffold collapses.

The recent deadly collapse occurred in Miami in mid-October of 2016. Construction workers set up scaffolding on the outside of a high-rise building. Without warning, the scaffolding failed. The collapsing scaffold cast debris in all directions injuring workers and passers-by alike. The person killed as a result of the collapse died from a heart attack as a result of fleeing from the falling structure. The debris crashed down on a worker’s head who, despite wearing a helmet, suffered a severe laceration to his head. The cause of the accident remains under investigation by the Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

OSHA’s primary function is to protect workers from unsafe or unhealthy working conditions. Accordingly, OSHA issued safety standards for scaffolding use. The safety standards impose an obligation on employer and employee alike to make sure that they are using scaffolding appropriately and safely while on the job. The security requirements may seem so obvious that they need not be stated. Notwithstanding, scrupulous adherence to the rules can save lives and prevent injuries.

October 10, 2016

Plastic Surgery Medical Malpractice in Florid

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Florida has some of the highest plastic surgery rates in the country. One survey showed that Miami alone has 10 plastic surgeons per 100,000 residents. Thousands of cosmetic procedures are performed in Miami and the rest of Florida every year. In some cases, surgeons make errors that cause severe injuries to their patients. Sadly, many patients die due to the injuries they sustained during or after a plastic surgery procedure.

Medical malpractice cases are among the most complex civil actions that attorneys file. Pursuing them requires an in depth understanding of not only personal injury laws, but also the anatomy and physiology of the human body. To successfully pursue such a claim, a victim should seek a Miami personal injury lawyer with years of experience in these cases.

In a medical malpractice case, the patient must demonstrate three things: that the medical professional had a duty to the patient; that this duty was breached when the medical professional acted negligently; and that, due to this negligence, the patient suffered harm. Establishing the duty is usually straightforward—when a patient consents to a procedure, the doctor-patient relationship is established. To demonstrate negligence, a medical expert will need to testify and explain what the standard course of conduct is for the procedure in question and how the medical professional deviated from that standard.

September 9, 2016

Legal Duties of Property Owners to Avoid Balcony Collapse Accidents

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Miami Balcony Collapse Attorneys Discuss Legal Duties of Property Owners

Many people were shocked last year when six people died, and seven more suffered serious injury after a fourth-floor balcony collapsed during a party at an apartment building near the University of California at Berkeley. While the incident was tragic, it was far from unprecedented. 57 people suffered injury, and 13 people died when a third-floor porch collapsed in Chicago in 2003. These are just two of many such incidents that have caused injuries and fatalities over the years. In this blog, our Miami premises liability attorneys discuss the types of negligent conduct by property owners that contribute to balcony collapse accidents.

In Florida, owners of commercial and residential property have a legal duty to maintain their property in a way that minimizes the risk of injury to visitors. When the owner of a business or residence fails to pay attention to the number of people or weight load on a deck or balcony, the consequences can be broken bones, catastrophic injuries, paralysis, traumatic brain injuries, and fatalities. If you have been injured in a patio, balcony, or deck collapse, you should speak with a Miami personal injury law attorney with experience handling premises liability and balcony collapse claims who can protect your interests and pursue the fullest financial recovery.

May 27, 2016

Fatal DUI Accidents and Wrongful Death in Florida

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Per Florida statute, a person shall be charged with driving under the influence if he or she has a “breath-alcohol level of 0.08 or more grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath.” In Florida, as in other states, DUIs are a daily threat to public safety. As a matter of fact, per Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (“MADD”), 27.5% of all traffic fatalities in Florida involve drunk drivers. In the 2014 alone, there were 40,677 DUI arrests.

A doctor, 61-year-old Eric Martin Spivack, living in South Florida, was arrested for the crash that killed a pedestrian in North Miami Beach. Spivack faces a DUI manslaughter charge. Spivack, a cardiologist, was driving when he fatally struck Yakov Duboschinskiy, 77 years of age. Duboshinskiy was crossing the street when he was hit. When police arrived at the scene, they noted that Spivack smelled of alcohol. A toxicology test would later reveal that Spivack had a blood-alcohol level of .087. This is above the legal limit of .08. Spivack also had traces of codeine in his system.

If you or a loved one are a victim of a crime, it is imperative you hire an experienced attorney. The Miami crime victim lawyers at Gerson & Schwartz, PA provide high quality legal representation. For more information call us toll free at (877) 475-2905 or contact us online to set up a FREE initial consultation.

May 13, 2016

Injuries at the Gym

by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Gym memberships have significantly increased in number over the years. In the United States, there are currently 50 million individuals with gym memberships. With the steady increase in the amounts of people flocking to the gym over the years comes the increased risk of gym related injuries. Sometimes the injury is the fault of the gym owner, manager, or even a personal trainer.

If you or a loved one sustains an injury at the fault of another person, it is imperative to retain an experienced attorney. The Miami personal injury lawyers at Gerson & Schwartz, PA are here to help. Our attorneys represent accident victims and their families throughout Miami Dade, Miami Beach, The Florida Keys, Fort Lauderdale, Broward, and West Palm Beach.

The Inherent Risk of Injury and Related Laws