David M. Benenfeld Blog

Teen Drivers May Have To Put Those Cell Phones Away

Teenagers lack the experience that older drivers have obtained over the years.  When you couple this inexperience with a distraction, such as a cell phone, the teen driver has the potential of causing a serious auto accident.  There is Florida legislation being reviewed that would ban teens from talking on cell phones while they drive.  Would this law be overstepping the boundaries of Florida citizens?  Some critics would argue yes, but proponents of this bill strongly disagree.

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Reviewing Your Florida Disability

Did you know that if you receive Social Security disability benefits – your medical condition will be reviewed on a regular basis?  The frequency of review depends on your specific disability.  For example, if your medical condition was expected to improve, your first review will take place anywhere from 6 to 18 months after the date you became disabled.

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Personal Injury Settlements and Insurance Companies

The Daily Report posted a recent article about a study involving settlements with insurance companies.  The study was published this month by the Columbia Business Law Review and the findings basically show that insurance companies would rather spend the extra money to go to court than offer a settlement before trial.  The study was written by Jeffrey O’ Connell of the University of Virginia School of Law and Patricia Born of California State University in Northridge and it analyzed settlements for personal injury and product injury cases in Florida and Texas from 1988 to 2004.

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Throwing Your Grad a Party? Read This First!

If you're thinking about hosting a grad party for your son or daughter this year and planning on serving alcohol at the party, Florida can hold you criminally liable.

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Toyota Recalling Highlanders for Child Safety Reasons

Toyota has issued a recall for more than 90,000 Highlander and Highlander hybrid models equipped with three rows of passenger seating.  Apparently, the seat belts in the third row do not properly secure child restraint systems.

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Sleep Apnea Testing for Truckers

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Medical Review Board is recommending that commercial driver's license holders with a body mass index of 30 or greater undergo sleep apnea testing.  Sleep apnea is a disorder that interrupts your breathing cycle during sleep.  Untreated, this can cause those that suffer from the disorder to stop breathing a number of times throughout the night - causing sleeplessness.

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Judge Orders $600 Million Distributed to Smokers

A Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge ruled on Friday that the $600 million trust fund set up to compensate Florida smokers and their survivors should be distributed.  The fund was established to compensate smokers for their illnesses following the landmark 2000 trial.  Judge David Miller ruled that the distribution should be pro rata, instead of based on an individualized determination of injury severity.  Individual trials to determine extent of harm would take too long, said Judge Miller.

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Florida May Allow Cities to Ban Dog Breeds

One bill being considered by the Florida State Legislature this term would all cities to ban any breed of dog they deem dangerous to their communities.  The bill, which is sponsored by Perry Thurston, D-Plantation, would allow cities to ban certain breeds of dogs which have been responsible for large numbers of attacks. 

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Study: Car Crash Pain Lasts Longer Than Expected

A study in the March 2008 issue of the medical journal, the Archives of Surgery, provides medical proof for something that plaintiff's lawyers have known for years: the traumatic injury caused by events like car crashes stays with most people for longer than a year. 

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Miami Heart Surgeon Who Lied in Court to Surrender License

Almost every case involving a personal injury requires the testimony of an expert witness to establish the extent of the injury.  Typically, the defense's expert and the plaintiff's expert will disagree over the extent of the injury and the amount of damage caused by the defendant's negligence.  This is referred to as "the battle of the experts."

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State Farm Sued Over Sham Medical Exams

State Farm is being sued in New York for conspiring with medical practitioners to produce fraudulent medical reports.  Apparently, State Farm has been instructing doctors who review medical claims for insurance purposes to systematically deny claims.  In insurance practice, doctors who review these claims ultimately report back to the insurance company about whether or not they should pay for your medical bills.

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Allstate in On-Going Florida Court Battle

We previously reported here, that Allstate is refusing to comply with discover requests despite a $25,000 a day fine related to litigation in Missouri.  Well, Kevin McCarty Florida’s Insurance Commissioner used the power of the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) to bar the company from writing any new policies in the state of Florida.

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FDA Issues Warning for the "Bed-Wetting Drug"

After two patients who had been taking the drug desmopressin died, the FDA has issued a warning that the drug may put children at risk for seizures and death.  In addition to the two deaths, the FDA has received 61 post-market reports of seizures in desmopressin patients.

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Painkiller Patch Killing Patients

The FDA has issued its second warning in as many years about the powerful painkiller fentanyl.  The warning states that fentanyl should not be prescribed to anyone new to “opiods,” or narcotic based drugs.  The FDA is citing problems with doctors who are not trained in pain management prescribing the drug.

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Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Upholds 11 Hour Driving Limits

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced that they will continue to allow truck drivers to operate their vehicles for up to 11 straight hours.  Citing a record low fatality rate per vehicle miles travelled and an estimate that only 7% of all large truck accidents are fatigue related, the FMCSA snubbed a Court of Appeals decision.

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