Palm Coast Injury Law Blog : Florida Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Philip J. Chanfrau

If I were in a serious accident in Flagler county, which ER  would I go to for treatment?  Halifax Hospital without a doubt.  Residents in Orlando, Gainesville, and Jacksonville have access to state certified  Level One trauma centers.  As good as Halifax Hospital in Daytona is, it is classified as a Level II trauma center.  There are only 7 Level I trauma centers in Florida, and 2 of them are in Gainesville. There is no Level II trauma center in Flagler County.

There is a difference between care at a Level I and II.  In  Level I a General Surgeon is always present to help immediately  plus comprehensive long term care being available in the Level I  hospital.  Plus, if  you or a loved one is involved in a serious trauma, jeopardizing your spinal cord for example, the quicker care might mean the difference between being able to use your arms and legs again, or being a paraplegic or quadriplegic for the rest of your life. In terms of care, Level I trauma centers offer quicker and more comprehensive care because they have qualified expert staffing "On Call and immediately available at all times."  Level I Trauma centers must have burn units or transfer agreements with burn units set up.

The Trauma website says that Level II centers don't have the comprehensive ability for long term care and many of their patients end up being transferred. A recent study of Traumatic Spinal Cord Injuries (TSCI) concluded that :

"Trauma center care is associated with reduced paralysis after TSCI, possibly because of greater use of spinal surgery. National guidelines to triage all such patients to trauma centers are followed little more than half the time."

In Florida in 2002 more than 29,000 patients were treated at Florida trauma centers.

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I got a call this week from a mother who was so grief stricken about the death of her only son that she could not bear to discuss it for more than a year.  Turns out her son died of a drug overdose in July 2009 and was 32 years old, single and without kids.  She claimed his doctor, a pain specialist in Orlando, was an enabler, and  knew he had a problem handling drugs, but continued to give him prescriptions for oxycontin.  When he died she found lots of prescription bottles around his apartment.

She asked me: "Can you go after his doctor?"  No, I answered.  You see under Florida law,  a doctor cannot be sued for medical malpractice when the decedent (her son) was over the age of 25 (he was 32) and the decedent had no surviving spouse (he was single) and had no children.  

Everyone knows that a parents love for a child never ends, even when they grow up and establish their own families.  In today's world lots of kids are coming back home after college and moving in again with Mom and Dad.  Makes no difference.  If the child is over 25 there is no grief claim against the doctor for his/her medical negligence.  Strangely, if the doctor ran a red light and killed her son, she would have a claim for wrongful death due to the car accident.

This law has been on the books for over 10 years and is a perfect example of a querky law favoring a highly paid special group of people who have convinced the Florida legislature they need protection from frivolous lawsuits when parents sue doctors who kill their kids.  Bottom line, I had to tell her there was no basis for a claim.  

The story of Michael Jackson's death is very reminiscent of this local small time tragedy. Politics is a dirty business, and this law is a good example of special interest politics at its worst.

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 I was asked by a client about a letter he got in the mail from Florida Department of HIghway Safety and Motor vehicles.  DMV is the official agency in charge of driver's licenses and driving tests. He was in a minor car accident nearly a year ago.  No one was injured, and the other driver caused the accident.   The letter politely says he "needs to take the test(s) at the driver's license office listed below..."  If he flunks,  his license will have to be given up.  If he refuses to get tested he loses his license. Can this really be the law?

I looked into this situation to see if I could be of any help.  My client is an older gentleman and is very concerned about the loss of his driver's license.  He needs it to maintain his independence.  Here is what I found in the Florida statues:

• If DMV has "good cause" to believe a licensed driver is incompetent to drive it may on at least 5 day's notice require any driver to submit to an examination.  "Good cause" includes a bad driving record or a report under FS 322.126
• Under  FS 322.126 anyone "having knowledge of any licensed driver's mental or physical disability to drive can report such knowledge" to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles;
• The reports are confidential, and are not subject to Florida's Public records laws, so they cannot be obtained.  This makes the names of those reporting and the contents immune from a subpoena.
• Any doctor,  law enforcement agent, or other person who turns in a person suspected of being unable to safely drive a car is immune from a lawsuit.

Interestingly, according to DMV's published statistics more than 10% of all driver's in Florida are over the age of 70.  Most accidents are caused by teenagers, however, and they represent only 5% of the driving population. 

I suppose this law is necessary to encourage people, especially family members and treating physicians, to turn in drivers who they suspect are driving hazards either to themselves or to others.  In a perfect world there would be no accidents, and incompetent drivers would voluntarily surrender their licenses.  But we don't live in that world, so laws like this are unfortunately needed.  I am not aware of any abuse of reports, and hope they are few and far between.

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 The start of a new school year means the start of football season, and a whole myriad of other school sponsored interscholastic sports for both boys and girls, including baseball, cheerleading, Lacrosse, soccer, tennis, swimming and diving, weightlifting and golf. All of these activities are subject to various risks and it is a privilege to participate in them. 

To gain the right to play in such activities the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) has a Consent and Release from Liability Certificate which must be signed by both the student and his or her parent or guardian. The Release is in my opinion “Bullet Proof” meaning that it is valid and will bar a suit by the child or his parent for injuries and any medical bills sustained during a sponsored event. The form even bars suit if death occurs so it is a very serious thing which needs to be planned and discussed. Too many parental choices come up without adequate time to think and plan ahead. The release does not bar a products liability suit for defective and unsafe equipment (like a football helmet which enhances injury).

Courts condone the use of Releases especially for school and church related functions, known in the legal business as Exculpatory Releases. This means that if you sign the FHSAA Consent and Release form and your child is injured neither the school, its officials or other schools will have any liability for injuries, accidental or otherwise.

Heatstroke is a major issue in August football sessions as the kids start training again. Heatstroke is the third leading cause of death among athletes in the United States. Thirty-nine football players -- 29 in high school -- have died from heat stroke since 1995, according to data compiled by the National Center for Catastrophic Injury Research at the University of North Carolina.  New technology which monitors the body during exercise may be helpful in stopping heatstrokes. The fact of the matter is that a good trainer will know the early signs of heatstroke and take steps necessary to protect the athlete. If he does not have the necessary knowledge serious injury or death can occur and there will be no right to sue for the trainer’s or coaches’ negligence.

The FHSAA Consent and Release form does not require that there is insurance but asks politely if  there is some insurance plan available. Given the fact that medical and hospital bills are so costly, I recommend parents make sure their kids have insurance for injuries during school sponsored events.   

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