South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Medical Release for the Other Insurance Company

Published on: September 8, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

If you’ve been involved in any kind of accident in Florida, whether it was a car accident or other vehicular accident, a slip and fall, or any other accidental injury caused by someone else’s negligence, your insurance company and the other party’s insurance company will try to get your medical records. Do not sign a medical release form without first talking to our team, or you may be signing away your chances for a fair settlement.

Insurers may try to say that such medical release forms are routine. They may be routine for them, but they can be extremely detrimental to the injured party. Why? Because a medical release form will give the insurance company access to all your medical records, which they can and will use against you to limit or completely annihilate your claim.

How does that work?

Airbag Recalls: Toyota, Lexus, and More

Published on: August 25, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Airbags are a tremendous development in automobile safety, saving untold lives every year. But when they don’t work properly, the passengers and drivers are not protected, and the defective airbags themselves can, in fact, cause harm. It’s important to check your manufacturer’s recalls to determine if your car is safe. If you have already been injured by faulty airbags and you are a resident of Florida, I may be able to help you receive the compensation you deserve for their negligence.

2023 Toyota and Lexus airbag recall

The most recent recall, July 2023, is the recall of over 110,000 Toyota and Lexus vehicles to repair faulty wiring in the steering column. Apparently, an electrical connection was not welded properly at the factory. The cable within the column could detach, disabling the driver-side airbag and causing the airbag light to be illumined.

When Doctors Don’t Listen: Medical Gaslighting

Published on: August 15, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Medical gaslighting can be the cause of medical malpractice when it causes harm to a patient. The term “gaslight” is based on the 1944 film noir of the same name. In Gaslight, a husband with sights on his wife’s fortune began to convince her that she was going crazy by turning down the gaslight (among other things) and denying it had happened. “Gaslighting” came to refer to the deliberate attempt to influence another’s perception of reality, deny the person’s experiences, and convince the victim that everything is the victim’s own fault or all in his or her head.

The use of the term has since broadened to refer to unintentional, dismissive, or arrogant behavior that has the same effect, leaving the victim confused, distressed, and filled with self-doubt. In the case of medical gaslighting, it can also leave the victim with a serious medical condition that worsens because of being dismissed by a medical professional.

Most of us defer to the perceived superior knowledge of a healthcare professional and can easily be convinced that what we feel is normal, or that we are exaggerating our symptoms. The doctor doesn’t necessarily have to say this; a careless attitude when the patient explains his symptoms can cause the patient to think it’s not really a big deal, even though it really feels like a big deal to the patient.

What Is Medical Negligence?

Published on: July 25, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Medical negligence and medical malpractice have different definitions, but both can lead to injuries that may alter your life. If you have experienced an injury caused by a medical provider, a medical procedure, or a medical device in Florida, contact an experienced Florida personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.

Medical malpractice includes injuries and further illness caused by the failure to diagnose and incorrect diagnosis as well as medical professionals failing to follow standards of care.

As a Florida personal injury lawyer, I am committed to helping Florida residents throughout the state receive just and fair compensation to help them cope with the injuries they have sustained through someone else’s negligence.

AI in Medical Decisions – Is It All Safe?

Published on: July 9, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is used in more and more applications, including medicine. Hospitals around the country, including in Florida, are using AI in many diagnostic tools. But while the expectation is that AI can speed up diagnosis and delivery of care, a number of studies have recently demonstrated that AI can in fact worsen bias, miss serious illness, and deny care to those in need. If your doctor or medical system used AI to make diagnosis decisions and you were hurt, do you have a medical malpractice case? We can help determine your options.

What we call AI is really a complex mathematical instruction called an algorithm that tells the computer what to do. This allows for high-speed automation of actions that would take a human much longer to complete. AI is said to “learn” by being fed a great deal of data from which it recognizes patterns for completing its task. In the case of medical diagnostic tools, AI is fed massive amounts of data and draws conclusions from that.

However, as the old saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out.” If the AI is fed poor data, it will draw poor conclusions. If the algorithm itself is faulty, it will draw incorrect conclusions.

Do Doctors Make Money Off Improper Treatment?

Published on: June 22, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

If you have been injured by a doctor or the care you have received doesn’t feel appropriate, your medical team may have made a mistake. There is no doubt that the vast majority of doctors have the best interests of their patients at the forefront of their minds. That said, there are many people decrying the current condition of our American medical system and medical financial incentives because Americans spend more money on healthcare than the residents of any other country and yet we have worsening health.

Americans are estimated to spend over $200 billion on unnecessary medications, medical tests, therapies, and medical procedures. Much of this medical waste is due to over-prescribing pharmaceuticals or not choosing the least expensive, least invasive treatment option. Other medical waste is due to improper treatment, mistakes, or even flat-out fraud. Regardless of the reason, many of these events could be considered medical malpractice.

Improper treatment: medical mistakes and excessive medical care

Car Accident: When the Other Driver Goes Silent after an Accident

Published on: June 11, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

A car accident, whether minor or serious, can damage your physical and emotional health, as well as damage your vehicle. Unfortunately, Florida has one of the highest auto accident rates in the United States, due in large part to the many visitors to our Sunshine State who don’t know the area and may be distracted as they look for their destination. It’s important to know what to do in the case of an accident and when to reach out for legal help.

What to do after a car accident

Be prepared to take these important steps if you’re ever involved in a vehicular accident in Florida:

When Your Landlord Won’t Fix an Issue

Published on: May 31, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Florida is the happy home of so many native Floridians as well as the destination state of so many new residents. We have a variety of living options, including many rental properties that are well-maintained and comfortable. But what happens when your rental unit or the associated public spaces need important repairs and your landlord refuses to make them? You may need to take legal action.

You pay rent to your landlord in exchange for a safe and healthy environment. You have a right to demand that from your landlord. Naturally, things can be damaged by the actions of the tenants, such as holes in the wall or clogged toilets from too much paper put in them. It’s reasonable in situations like this for the landlord to expect the tenant to be responsible for the costs of repairs. This is usually stipulated in the rental contract. But general repairs and safety issues and damage caused by another tenant that affects you are the responsibility of the landlord. He or she may not blame you for these issues nor put off repairs indefinitely.

Types of issues

Are Meal Kit Services and Grocery Delivery Safe?

Published on: May 16, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Having your groceries delivered can be a major time-saver, and meal kit services provide you with all the ingredients for a gourmet meal at home without having to shop for everything. But there are health risks associated with these services, which wise consumers can mitigate by taking certain precautions.

Major problems with delivered food

The biggest concern with food delivery and meal kit services is the risk of bacterial growth. Perishable food can become a breeding ground for harmful bacteria when the product is not kept cold. At 40oF, it takes only two hours for microbes to begin to colonize; at 90oF, it takes only one hour. Here in Florida, with temperate weather even in the winter and very high heat and humidity the rest of the year, keeping food cool can be a challenge, especially when it is being transported.

Camp LeJeune Bill – Can You Get Compensation?

Published on: April 18, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

We have many military personnel and retirees living here in Florida. If you ingested water from Camp Lejeune, it is important you understand the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA). Enacted in August 2022, the CLJA gives injured parties a two-year window to sue the federal government for injuries sustained due to the water contamination at Camp Lejeune between the years of 1953 and 1987.

Camp Lejeune was one of the worst water contamination disasters in U.S. history. Wells contained trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), benzene, vinyl chloride, and other volatile organic compounds (VOC). One major contamination source was underground storage tanks that leaked 1,500 gallons of fuel every month into the surrounding soil. This was known for years and the problem was hidden, ignored, or downplayed. Another source was a dry cleaner outside the base, which opened in 1953 and dumped wastewater laced with PCE, a known carcinogen. PCE is also used in other solvents that may have been used on the base.

Significant negligence and intentional deception and concealment allowed this toxic environment to continue long after the problems were discovered, leading to a great outcry for justice. Generally, service members cannot sue the federal government for injuries sustained while in military service, but the CLJA allows the victims of Camp Lejeune to sue the government for this gross negligence.