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

There is a story in the news about  Joan Holzschuh, a woman from Palm Coast, Florida who was killed in a crash when the tour bus she was riding in crashed into the back of a stopped vehicle on the side of the road in Egypt.   She went to Bethlehem for Christmas.   News stories on the TV discussed the facts and seem to indicate the accident happened before dawn while the Bus was on the way to a popular tourist attraction.  Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Was the driver of the Bus at fault?  How about the driver of the parked vehicle who stopped on the side of the road?  Do they have to carry insurance?  Does Egypt have laws which make the Tour Operator liable for the negligence of its Drivers? If she bought her ticket in the State of Florida does Contract law in Florida apply?  

The decedent was from Palm Coast, and the accident happened in Egypt.  Does the law of Florida, or the law of Egypt apply?  There is an arcane little known field of law called "Conflicts of Laws." This specialty is designed to answer questions exactly like the ones in this case.

 I represented the mother of a young sailor who was killed when he was a passenger of  a car which went  over a cliff  near Naples, Italy.  I filed suit in Volusia County, Florida and was able to get a nice settlement for the mother of the young Navy sailor who was killed.

Knowing "Conflict of Law" rules helped me avoid Italian rules and regulations and get  a good result. When a complicated accident case involving foreign laws is being considered, its good to get someone who has experience in Conflicts of Law cases.

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This important question is at the top of every client's list.  News  of multi-million dollar verdicts offer little or no explanation of how the jury was able to come up with huge amounts.  People watching or reading get the impression that juries are out of control, and that plaintiffs are getting rich on flimsy cases.  People think their insurance premiums are skyrocketing based on ridiculous juries and their greedy trial lawyers, or lazy judges.  There is a legal system and Courts all over the land know there are maximum amounts of damages which juries can award.  Too bad the Media doesn't know.

It will come as a surprise that the Code of Hammurabi, an ancient Code from Babylon, set the first limits on retribution.    At Code section 196 we find the famous "eye for an eye" quote. "If a man put out the eye of another, his eye shall be put out."   From that time on damages had to be equal to what was taken away: an eye for an eye.  The injured person gets back what was taken away.  Since the award is for a whole lifetime of problems he gets compensated for those problems now instead of coming back every couple of years for more.

The Florida  Model Verdict form defines the 3 types of damages you can get into 1) past and future medical bills, 2) past and future lost income or wages, and 3) quality of life losses for the past and future.  For example if a person has been injured and can't work, has to have surgery, and will never be able to use their right arm again for the next 30 years, all of the fact are given to a jury and the jury literally fills in the blanks of a Verdict form.

If the Verdict form is filled in wrong, with too little or too much money, the Lawyers get to argue to the Judge why it needs to be fixed, and the Court has the discretion to adjust the award up or down. If not done correctly there can be an appeal.

So the next time you hear about a large damages award, you will know the Jury and the Court were just filling in the blanks and doing their  duty.  Shame on the media for not telling you the back story.

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 I got a call this week from a woman who had been in a car accident two years ago.  She just started seeing a doctor for her injuries, and wanted to know if it was too late to do anything.  This was a good question.  I see people who for some reason or another  wait for a long time to see a doctor and a lawyer.

First, let me tell you the good news.   Florida has a 4 year statute of limitations for negligence cases which applies in motor vehicle accidents.  Different states have shorter statutes so if the accident happened out of Florida it may be a good idea to check with a lawyer from that state.  The statute of limitations means the Complaint  must be officially filed with the Clerk of Court before the 4th anniversary of the accident or it will be barred.  All potential defendants must be named at that time or they will be off the legal hook. There is a 2 year period for negligence claims against doctors and other professionals.

Now the bad news.  By waiting to start medical treatment and report her claim via a Personal Injury lawyer, the injured person creates a defense: the defendant will probably defend on the basis that some other incident is the true, likely cause of the injury.  This is called Proximate Cause.  It is the legal link between the accident and the damages.  This concept means the Plaintiff must show the cause and effect tie between the accident and the injuries.  Medical records can help supply the documentation for an injury.  Like Emergency Room records, like the doctors'  office notes, and pharmacy records.  

If the case involves a phantom driver who caused the accident and then disappeared, most UM (uninsured motorists) insurance policies require their insured to report the claim within 30 days.

I have experience handling these types of cases.  I strongly recommend that you protect your legal rights by seeing a doctor and a Personal Injury attorney soon after the accident.  

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Florida is only one of two states with no fault and PIP Benefits.  Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits are there for you if  you have been injured in a car accident even if it was your fault or someone else's fault.  Getting PIP benefits is easy.  Just call your insurance company, report the car accident, and a new claim will be opened.  A few days later you will get an Application for PIP benefits in the mail.  Fill out the blanks and return it.  It will ask you some really simple questions about the accident, like were you hurt?  What part of your body was hurt?  Will you be losing any wages due to the wreck?  

A claim number will be given to you and you can then give it to your medical providers, hospital, pharmacy, and they can (but do not have to) bill your PIP carrier for any accident related expenses. If they agree to bill your PIP carrier make sure they send their bills in right away.  If they don't your benefits will be lost.  If the bills are not sent to your PIP carrier within 30 days after the service is rendered, they become "stale" and the PIP carrier can refuse to pay them.  This gotcha will deprive you of your PIP  insurance benefits. You will then have to pay the doctors who failed to send in their bills out of your own pocket and this will aggravate you and your doctor.  So my recommendation is to make sure the bills are being sent to your PIP carrier promptly or you will lose benefits and a good doctor!

Why do PIP benefits go stale?  Because PIP carrier believe doctors will hoard bills until they are finished treating, sometimes for months, and then submit them all at once, thereby PIP carriers will lose out on the chance to dispute and deny improper care.  PIP carriers believe there is a lot of PIP Fraud going on.  The typical PIP Fraud case involves a staged accident with the doctor getting $10,000 in PIP benefits for treatments after a fake accident.  

So, bottom line, to avoid losing your valuable PIP benefits make sure the medical bills are sent in by your doctor within 30 days of the service date, and keep a record! Most doctors know this already but it would be smart to check with them just in case.

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