Legal Insights

The highest crash risk for teen drivers comes during the first several months after they begin driving without adult supervision. Inexperience is the main reason, but the danger rises sharply when a new driver is also driving at night, carrying teenage passengers, speeding, or using a phone.

There is no point in a Florida workers’ compensation claim when the insurance carrier is automatically required to make you a settlement offer. Settlement is voluntary. An offer might come while you are still treating, after you reach Maximum Medical Improvement, during mediation, or after the parties have spent months disputing benefits.

You should replace a child’s car seat after any moderate or severe crash. After a minor crash, replacement may not be necessary, but only when all five conditions in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s minor-crash test are satisfied and the manufacturer does not require replacement after every collision.

Yes. A slip and fall can cause a herniated disc when the impact, sudden twisting, or forceful bending of the spine damages one of the discs between the vertebrae. A fall may also aggravate a disc that was already weakened by age or degeneration, turning a previously manageable or symptom-free condition into a painful injury.

No. Driving laws are not the same throughout the United States. Although drivers encounter many familiar rules wherever they travel, such as stopping at red lights, yielding to pedestrians, obeying speed limits, and avoiding impaired driving, each state creates and enforces its own motor vehicle laws.

In Florida, the workers’ compensation insurance carrier generally must pay your first disability benefit installment, or deny the claim, no later than the 14th calendar day after your employer receives notice of the injury, provided your disability is immediate and continues for at least eight calendar days. Florida has a seven-day waiting period, so your first payment usually covers lost wages beginning on the eighth day you are unable to work. If your disability lasts more than 21 days, you may also receive retroactive benefits for the first seven days. Paper checks can take additional time to arrive by mail, and payment may be delayed if the insurer is missing medical documentation or disputes your eligibility for benefits.