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Author : Mark Hickey

Nursing Home Abuse

Identifying Nursing Home Abuse – And What to Do About It

Mark Hickey
It’s been a few months since your grandmother moved into a long-term facility.  At first, everything was fine, but you’ve noticed some changes recently.  Your grandmother is unusually quiet and, while she claims her bruised arm was caused by bumping into a table, something seems wrong. No one wants to think about a loved one being abused in a nursing home but, tragically, it occurs. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), as many as...
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Medical Malpractice

Is It Malpractice or Simply a Bad Result? Questions to Ask When Considering a Medical Negligence Claim

Mark Hickey
Medical professionals serve an important function in society: to heal the injured and care for the sick.  We place our trust in doctors, nurses and hospitals and, in return we expect quality care.  When this trust is violated, the results can be catastrophic. Inattention, understaffing and carelessness often result in medical errors — with the patient paying the price.  In fact, a study in The Journal of Health Affairs found that nearly a third of all hospital...
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Personal Injury

Understand Florida’s Personal Injury Laws — Before You Get Hurt

Mark Hickey
Under Florida law, vehicle owners must carry personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. If you’re injured in a car accident, your PIP coverage is designed to pay up to $10,000 of your medical expenses and/or lost wages, depending upon the extent of your injuries. In January 2013, however, the Florida Legislature placed restrictions on PIP claims. If you don’t understand these changes — and don’t follow the new rules — your car accident could be painful in more...
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Auto Accidents

Florida Texting Ban Takes Effect

Mark Hickey
Starting October 1, 2013, Florida will join 40 other states to ban texting while driving.  However, unlike a majority of the states, violation of this new law will only be a secondary office.  That means a law enforcement official will have to witness another offense like swerving or running a stop sign, in order to legally stop a texting driver. Another loophole in Florida’s texting law is that it does not apply to drivers in stopped...
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Firm News

The Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys Sponsors Tampa Bay Trial Lawyers Association’s Legislative Update

Mark Hickey
Today attorneys Frank Fernandez and Jennifer Fernandez sponsored the 2013 Legislative Update presented by the Florida Justice Association in conjunction with the Tampa Bay Trial Lawyer Association.  The annual event outlined various Florida House and Senate Bills proposed by the insurance industry and specifically designed to attack consumer rights laws.  Among the issues of concern was Senate Bill 7030 which would allow insurance industry attorneys to consult in private with an injured patient’s treating medical...
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Personal Injury

Mandatory Bodily Injury & PIP Repeal Proposed in Florida Senate

Mark Hickey
The Florida Senate Banking & Insurance Committee yesterday released Proposed Senate Bill, SPB 7152, to be heard and voted on in that committee next Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. The bill repeals PIP effective January 1, 2014, and replaces it with Mandatory Bodily Injury Liability insurance (MBI) with limits of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per incident (25/50).
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Results

$200,000 Tampa Car Accident Settlement

Mark Hickey
13-year-old Austin had just started his sophomore year in high school when a negligent, uninsured driver ran a red light and forever changed his life.  Austin’s parents — small business owners who had wisely purchased “uninsured motorist” (UM) coverage to protect their family in this situation — made a claim under their UM coverage.  Soon thereafter, in addition to getting treatment for their son’s devastating head and neck injuries, Austin’s parents found themselves facing another...
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Results

$300,000 Plant City Slip & Fall Settlement

Mark Hickey
Tampa injury lawyer Frank Fernandez recovered $300,000 settlement for a 59-year-old woman tripped and fell over a jagged asphalt edge of a walkway leading to her retirement community’s mailboxes.  As a result of her fall, the Plaintiff dislocated her elbow and fractured her right arm requiring multiple painful surgical procedures.  Prior to hiring the Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys, her previous attorney was reluctant to file a lawsuit or go to trial offering to settle...
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Results

Confidential Settlement – Sexual Assault/Negligent Employee Retention

Mark Hickey
Tampa injury lawyer Jennifer Gentry Fernandez obtained a confidential settlement for a female client who was raped in her home by a former co-worker. Months before the horrific sexual battery, the 51-year-old factory worker had complained to her employer about a male co-worker’s increasingly bizarre behavior.  The man, a long-term employee of the Polk County factory, was temporarily suspended, with pay, while the employer investigated, ultimately determining the woman’s complaints to be unsubstantiated. The assailant...
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