FLORIDA PLAINTIFF

Gatlin, USA sweep World at Penn Relays

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 07:42:04 -0500

Zarzaur Law congratulates Justin. London 2012 we will be there.

Some great shots for website and social media taken by trista...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 22:22:17 -0500

Some great shots for website and social media taken by trista blouin. Check her stuff out at www.lookwhojustblouin.com. Thanks Trista.

Legal Graffiti makes front page for 6th consecutive gallery...

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 09:14:06 -0500

Legal Graffiti makes front page for 6th consecutive gallery night. Now pnj considers it a “staple” special thanks to zarzaur law staff for making legal graffiti so colorful. Thanks to all that support the wall and the donations for northwest florida legal aid.

Legal Graffiti tonight at Gallery Night

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 06:52:47 -0500

Come by Zarzaur Law tonight and help give color to our wall. We will have our typical graffiti area plus a new feature that will allow everyone to help give color to a specially created design. See you there.

First DCA affirms our client's multi million dollar verdict

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:51:39 -0500

Zarzaur Law, P.A. is happy to announce that our client Paul McGowan had his jury verdict against Ethicon Endo Surgery affirmed today. The appellate court took only 48 hours to render this decision and they did so without seeing the need to write a formal opinion. Ethicon never entertained the idea of settling this case even after the jury returned a 9.3 million dollar verdict finding a defect in their manufacturing process. This is justice for the worthiest of clients and the most culpable of defendants. Thanks to Phil Hall for his stellar appellate work.

Congratulations to Paul and his family.

Approval of Florida Settlements Involving Children

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 10:23:03 -0500

Florida has a fairly complicated procedure for approval of civil claims that involve children. It is extremely important that the guardian of a minor child involved in any personal injury case consult with a lawyer who has experience in these particular matters since the rules must be followed to secure a settlement or jury verdict that withstand the scrutiny of the court.

First, all settlements where the gross amount is less than $15,000.00 do not require court approval unless a lawsuit has been filed. Florida Statutes section 744.301(2) and 744.387(3)(a). Child settlements where the gross amount exceeds $15,000.00 but is less than $50,000.00 it requires court approval and it requires a legal guardian for the property if the net amount to the child is greater than $15,000.00. Florida Statutes Section 744.387(2). If the amount of the gross settlement is greater than $15,000.00 but less than $50,000.00 then the court has discretion to appoint a guardian ad litem but it is not required. Florida Statute Section 744.3025.

If the gross settlement amount for the child or minor exceeds $50,000.00 then court approval is required (Florida Statute Section 744.387(3)(a). A legal guardian for the property is required if the NET settlement exceeds $15,000.00 (Florida Statutes Section 744.387(2) and a guardian ad litem is required for these cases (Florida Statues Section 744.3025.

Issues arise many times in determining what is a “NET” settlement. For example, if the minor is electing a structured settlement that will not disburse more than $15,000.00 prior to the age of majority then a majority of judges will use their discretion and not require a guardian or the the property (keeping in mind that this is different than a guardian ad litem).

Please contact me if you have any further questions as we handle many types of injury and death cases which tragically involve minor children.

House bill would give Rick Scott more power to pick judges - Tampa Bay Times

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:49:07 -0600

House bill would give Rick Scott more power to pick judges - Tampa Bay Times:

As a member of the First District Judicial Nominating Commission, I feel the need to respond to this bill seeking to provide the executive branch of our state government more control over our judiciary. Since most politicians and lawyers are not familiar with Florida’s Judicial Nominating process, I should address how our judicial nominating system currently functions on the state level. Florida’s court system is made up of several levels. First, there are county court judges who handle less serious criminal and civil matters under $15,000.00 in value. Then there are circuit judges who serve as general jurisdiction judges that handle all felony criminal cases and civil cases that exceed $15,000.00 in value. Both Circuit and County judges are elected initially and then every 6 years they are placed on the ballot and voters have the option to vote against their retention. If they are retained then the judge’s term is renewed. However, in many instances, circuit and county judges decide for various reasons to leave the bench. When they do so, a judicial appointment is required. The Florida Constitution requires that a local judicial nominating commission (JNC) start the appointment process ultimately providing a list of at least three candidates from which the sitting governor selects a new judge. This appointment fills the empty spot on the court until the end of that particular judge’s term. At that time the appointed judge, if challenged, would have to run for the spot.

Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties are in the First District JNC and commissioners (usually 9 members made up of at least 6 lawyers and 3 non lawyers) also reside and work in the district. This is a volunteer public service and is one that typically requires approximately 7 days per year at various times whenever there is a vacancy on the bench.

Currently, JNC members are selected by the Florida Bar but a majority of each JNC is selected by the Governor. Appointed commissioners serve 4 year terms and in many instances these terms extend beyond the term of their appointing governor. For example, a person could be placed on the JNC by a Democratic governor and serve most of her term under a republican governor. The role of these JNC’s is to advertise the vacancy, review the applications of those that show interest and then interview the applicants. The JNC provides a list of at least three candidates to the governor’s office from which the governor selects a judge. Each member of the JNC does is charged with assisting in providing a list of candidates that will be fair, impartial guardians of our legal system. Those person, regardless of political affiliation, can apply the law as it stands without attention to, and many times ignoring, their person beliefs. The idea that a governor can select a majority of the JNC members is tantamount to the executive office selecting judges without any check and balance from the local community. The fact that some JNC members are appointed by different governors provides some level of oversight into a system that can become overrun by political ideology. Our JNC system works. Appointments to our local bench have provided our legal community with many fine judges and the current JNC process gives plenty of authority to the state executive.

If your more interested in having this bill defeated please email me and I can provide you with the necessary contact information for your representative and senator.

.3% of cases get to jury trial, not good for country

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:31:39 -0600

A recent report released by the Florida Bar found that an astounding .3 of 1% of civil cases are resolved by actually going to trial. This means that if you have a civil lawsuit then your case has a 99.7% chance of resolving short of trial. This report found this percentage an all time low and noted that this decrease as mostly related to alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) processes like mediation and arbitration. ADR is now ordered in most civil cases and many judges require litigants to go through some form of ADR prior to going to trial.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of this report was the section revealing that americans participation in jury trials actually has a direct relationship to the amount of confidence the public has in our system of justice. Fewer jurors means less public participation in our justice system which in turn erodes public trust in our system.

This is problematic for a number of reasons. First, for our system to work the public must have full confidence that justice is done in a large majority of instances. Second, the less confidence the public has in our system the more venerable we are to those who would like to see the system set aside as a whole. Insurance and some corporate interests have spent millions spreading propaganda that our justice system is broken. These interests would love nothing more than to eliminate the potential that citizens like us would be able to hold them accountable for anything.

For purposes of selecting a lawyer this report is important since it reveals how few jury trials are actually conducted. The import of fewer trials obviously means that fewer lawyers are trying cases. Insurance companies value cases, in part, based upon the risk associated with having to try the case. If the lawyer in your case is one the insurance company knows will and has tried cases with success then the company will pay attention to that detail and will likely increase the value of the case.

If you called to jury duty please serve remembering that, next to serving our country in the military, it is the only duty our constitution asks of us.

Jury trials decreasing in Florida and United States

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:50:25 -0600

A recently released study by the Florida Bar reveals that jury trials are decreasing both within the State and nationally. Contrary to what most client’s think only a small percent of cases actually end up in a trial. What’s shocking is that the small percent has been growing smaller and smaller each year. The study concluded that only 0.3% of civil cases end up in a jury trial. The reasons for this are that things like mediation and arbitration have helping resolve many more cases than in the past.

The study points out that the harmful effect of less and less jury trials is the public’s confidence in our system is decreased. Jury trials necessitate the public’s participation in our justice system and allows them to dispense justice from the jury box. This first hand exposure to our constitutional judicial process restores confidence in our system. The fewer citizens participating in our justice system the less exposure and faith in our system its citizens will have.

READ THIS BEFORE YOUR NEXT DOCTOR VISIT

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:06:41 -0600

Let me start by saying that my father is a physician as are three first cousins. I was practically raised in a hospital and spent the better part of my tender years waiting in nurses stations as my dad put eyeballs together after traumatic events like “eye v. BB gun” or “eye v. bottle rocket”. So, I am not one of those myopic (pardon the reference) “trial lawyers” spouting off about how horrible doctors are in our society. In fact, it is my feeling that the overwhelming majority of doctors are good, decent and caring professionals. Most are professionals who are in the business of healing because it brings them a sense of joy to assist in easing the suffering in the world. Like every profession, however, there are a select minority of doctors that are not in this business primarily to help others. Further, their practices have become more and more of a factory due to the horrible way that insurance companies decide to reimburse them. Some begin to see their patient list as a widget list each representing a dollar figure for reimbursement purposes.

Your basic and fundamental right to bring to justice any person that wrongs you or a member of your family is one of the most vital things provided by any civilized society. Since the first days of our republic, our constitution has provided a way for US citizens to resolve their civil disputes. The manner provided was such resolution was provided for in the 7th Amendment. That amendment reads in relevant part as follows: ” … the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of common law.” Meaning that all disputes shall be tried by a jury and the only review of that jury’s decision is under the strict constraints of the legal system. In other words, high priority was and is given to the decision maker being a jury made up of regular citizens. The decisions made by these regular citizens is given a large amount of deference. This was an important characteristic for the founding fathers since they were fleeing a nation which had been subject to a ruling family. A ruling family or aristocracy in which the common man had little control over anything substantial in their government. Our founding fathers wanted common citizens to dispense justice. Such power given to the regular people would insure that proper checks were placed on those in positions of power and would also empower even the lowest of the lower class with the power of a king. What a large responsibility jury service is in our country!

Our jury system is not perfect but no system is. Our justice system, however, is the best in the world when it comes to dispensing justice and providing a check and balance on the other two branches of government. There are certainly anomaly cases which pundits use to illustrate how “broken” our justice system is but pundits will be pundits with any issue. For those of you that still think our jury system is flawed, I challenge you to watch a movie titled “Hot Coffee” and then respond to this post. I look forward to that debate.

This brings me to the topic at hand. Last week a Florida Appellate Court, which oversees cases in the panhandle of Florida including Pensacola, held that a doctor’s office can include in it’s paperwork a form known as an “Arbitration Agreement”. This agreement appears to be innocuous but it has horrible effects. The Court held that it was ok for a doctor’s office to include this form in the many forms that you are required to fill out when registering or updating records at a doctor’s office. The import of this “Arbitration Agreement” is that once signed you are waiving your right to a trial by jury. Waiving your right to redress any wrong committed by the doctor who would normally have to answer for his/her negligence in a court of law. More and more doctors will start including these forms and will expect you to sign them.

I have just three words of advice DO NOT SIGN. You are not required to sign this document and if a doctor decides that he/she is not going to treat you unless you waive your right to a trial then maybe you should take that as a sign to find another doctor. They may say that this is their way of getting insurance coverage or that this will save in healthcare costs. Car dealers got together and did this a long time ago and have completely stopped lawsuits against them. Imagine if your car salesman had the ability to make decisions which resulted in the death or disability of your child or parent. How would you feel about waiving your right to have a fair and impartial jury decide your case? Doctors are paid as well as they are in our society since they are entrusted with humungous responsibility. We entrust our lives and the lives of our children to their judgment. They enjoy a lifestyle and income that is commiserate with such status and standing. It is not a stretch to require them to perform their jobs in a reasonable fashion. Those small fraction of doctors that put themselves first and their patients second should not be able to practice medicine as freely as a used car salesman puffs about the condition of a car.

DO NOT SIGN THESE FORMS. If the assistant at the desk says you have to sign, politely inform him/her that you will not sign it and if the doctor wants you and your money to hit the road then you will be happy to do so. If any doctor takes this position it is my guess that he/she has a record at the courthouse and is trying their best to control there insurance premiums just like a young driver with two wrecks and a ticket trying to keep their auto premiums down. We would not lend our cars to that reckless kid and then pledge never to hold them accountable. Do not lend your family members to the care of equally irresponsible and dangerous doctors.

So in sum, if your doctor is asking you to waive your constitutional rights, look elsewhere for healthcare. Our jury system is in place to make the highest of the high accountable to even the lowest of the low. Since most of us are in the middle, we have lots more to lose without our justice system. Please post a reply or email me if you feel the need. If any doctor takes this position with you please let me know as I will make sure to publicize these facts and also provide you with any information at the courthouse on any of your doctors.

Back to work in the best justice system the world has to offer.

VID00011.MP4 (by ZarzaurLawPA) Last night there were more...

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 11:45:10 -0600

VID00011.MP4 (by ZarzaurLawPA) Last night there were more expressions made in words than in shapes. Glad to have them all.

November 18, 2011 Gallery Night was a great time. Thanks to all...

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:25:01 -0600

November 18, 2011 Gallery Night was a great time. Thanks to all of our participants. See you next Gallery Night.

Zarzaur Law, P.A. settles case involving company use of hair dye instead of "Henna" tattoo ink

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:22:25 -0600

Yesterday, Zarzaur Law, P.A. was able to settle a claim for a child who was the victim of a company that chose to illegally use hair dye instead of organic Henna ink for temporary tattoos.

The child was on vacation with her family when she went to a beach gift shop to get a temporary tattoo. The store of advertising “Henna” Tattoos but instead of using Henna ink they were using hair dye that contained the dangerous chemical commonly known as PPD. The PPD in the ink caused a chemical burn and left a scar on my client. She also developed a permanent allergy to most type of inks and dyes which causes frequent and severe skin breakouts.

For more information on child injuries related to “Henna” Tattoos please feel free to contact our firm at www.zarzaurlaw.com. Parent please confirm that any temporary tattoos for your children are being applied using only genuine and unadulterated Henna ink.

Photo

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 23:33:57 -0500

Legal Graffiti in Full Color

Legal Graffiti in Full Color

Legal Graffiti with some color

Legal Graffiti at Zarzaur Law, P.A.

Legal Graffiti Before

Lawsuit claims bar is responsible for Navarre man's death | claims, employees, bar - Northwest Florida Daily News

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 07:26:28 -0500

Lawsuit claims bar is responsible for Navarre man's death | claims, employees, bar - Northwest Florida Daily News

SEA TURTLE TRIATHLON Zarzaur Law, P.A. was one of many proud...

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:42:00 -0500

SEA TURTLE TRIATHLON

Zarzaur Law, P.A. was one of many proud sponsors of the Sea Turtle Triathlon yesterday. This triathlon was limited to children between the ages of 7 and 14. 150 young athletes from all over the gulf coast competed. These kids braved a chilly open water swim in Santa Rosa Sound then a windy bike course followed by a brisk run. We salute all participants for even showing up since even the idea of competing in such an event would mentally defeat most adults three times their ages. Congratulations to Mark Sortino and John Murray for putting on another first class event. Keep up the training kids.

Facebook is not private-Courts require disclosure

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 22:11:53 -0500

THIS DOCUMENT IS A RESPONSE FROM FACEBOOK TO A SUBPOENA FOR A MEMBER’S PAGE. JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT LAWYERS HAVE BEEN CONVINCING JUDGES TO REQUIRE PARTIES TO PROVIDE THEIR USER NAME AND PASSWORD. INFORMATION PLACED ON FACEBOOK IS NOT PRIVATE IN ANY WAY. I TELL MY CLIENTS IT’S LIKE COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR FRIENDS BY GOING TO THE TOWN SQUARE AND WRITING ON A POSTER BOARD AND HANGING IT ON THE COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD. IF YOU EVERY FIND YOURSELF IN A LEGAL SITUATION (INJURY. DIVORCE . CRIMINAL) DO NOT COMMUNICATE VIA FACEBOOK.

Lawyers putting business first and clients second

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 08:49:20 -0500

As a prospective injured client of a law firm your usually going through the worst time in your life. You have either been the victim of a serious injury or even worse have lost a family member that was the result of someone else’s negligence. Many times you have lost your job as the result of this injury and your creditors now include all of the medical providers that have been added to your life by the choices that someone else made. The very last thing you need at this vulnerable time is a lawyer that is looking out for his/her bottom line first.

Your lawyer should be interested first in your well being. He/She should be offering to do everything in their power to make sure your creditors know about your injury and financial situation. They should be making sure that you get to medical professionals that have your health interest first. Many times a small but substantial minority of health professionals are looking at accident victims as dollar signs. Many Floridians do not know that as soon as you are in a wreck there is $10,000.00 in medical benefits that become immediately available to every person involved in the wreck even the person at fault. This coverage is called “Personal Injury Protection” and has become, on many occasions, a medical bounty on the head of victims. This has created an industry for many health professionals who take full advantage of these benefits mo matter what is in the best interest of the patient.

The same law that created this $10,000.00 in automatic “no fault” benefits also required that an accident victim must show that they have a permanent injury before he/she can recover anything more than the $10,000.00. (A little simpler explanation than contained in the statute but accurate enough for this discussion). So, now the doctor can help the patient and the lawyer if they find a permanent injury. Most of the time when a doctor diagnoses a permanent injury the patient truly has such a condition. There are, however, a good piece of this process that has grown corrupt so that some doctors assign this serious label as a matter of course with little objective medical evidence. Obviously, this is a disgraceful and

For purposes of this post, prospective injury clients should be looking for the following things when you first interview the lawyers for your case: (1) Your lawyer should be more interested in you getting the correct diagnosis even if that diagnosis does not assist the value of your case. The idea that some quack doctor thinks you have a permanent injury simply because he wants to please a lawyer ignores that the fact that the client is being used to increase the profits for both the doctor and the lawyer. Perhaps, the more disturbing issue is that clients are being stamped with a diagnosis of a permanent injury when, in reality, they have no such injury. (2) Is this lawyer pressuring you in any way to sign his/her contract? If she is then this is a good sign that their more interested in the fee on your case than they are in your best interest. (3) Is the lawyer qualified in the area of personal injury? Ask her if she is Board Certified since only about 1% of Florida lawyers have this distinction. Ask her how many trials they have participated in during the last year. Lawyers that are qualified will generally not put any pressure on you to sign their contract. The Florida Bar’s website has a way to search for Board Certified lawyers in your particular city or county. www.floridabar.org

Most importantly, if you get the feeling that the lawyer is interested more in creating a profitable lawsuit than she is in making sure you, as a client, is well represented then you have the wrong lawyer. For example, many times the best thing I can advise a client is that they do not need a lawyer. If their injury is not as serious as once thought or if they have made a recovery that was not expected, many times the best thing I can do for the client is advise them to not hire me. This permits them to settle with the insurance company and not pay an attorney fee. It also permits them to get on with their lives without having to deal with lawyers, quack doctors and insurance company lawyers.

So, as I have said on previous occasions….INTERVIEW SEVERAL LAWYERS FIRST BEFORE HIRING. REMEMBER YOU ARE HIRING THE LAWYER TO SERVE YOUR BEST INTEREST NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

Thanks to tri gulf coast for doing a wonderful job with this...

Fri, 27 May 2011 07:22:29 -0500

Thanks to tri gulf coast for doing a wonderful job with this year’s race kits. Zarzaur Law is happy to help sponsor a group promoting a healthy lifestyle.

A Gold Mine For Scammers

Tue, 10 May 2011 17:09:56 -0500

A Gold Mine For Scammers:

This in depth investigative article, written by Dan Browning, prominently features a current Northern District of Florida federal case filed by Zarzaur Law, PA on behalf of our client Dean Dellinger. The article ran on the front page of the Star Tribune for two consecutive days.