Legal Insights Blog | Rader Law Group

My Child Was Injured At The Pool. What Are My Rights?

June 10, 2022

Summer’s here! Nothing beats an afternoon splashing in the pool. Sadly though, every single day in the U.S., 33 people have a tragic ending to this activity; 11 die by drowning and another 22 experience a nonfatal drowning, which can lead to life-altering consequences . Here in South Florida, where water activities make up a significant portion of our leisure time, we are at an especially high risk. According to Florida Health, Florida had the highest unintentional drowning rate among children ages 0-9 in the US.

Pool injuries and drownings have a myriad of causes. Some of the most common ones are:

Slip and fall accidents: If the pool deck is slippery or has debris on it, a child could injure themselves on it or slip into the pool and drown or injure themselves there.
Inadequate supervision: If the pool does not have lifeguards, does not have enough lifeguards, or if the lifeguards are not enforcing the pool rules, someone could drown.
Inadequate maintenance: If the pool lacks adequate maintenance, such as incorrect chemical levels or an improperly maintained diving board, a swimmer could injure themselves or develop an infection.
Lack of anti-entrapment devices: A lack of anti-entrapment devices could cause drowning and severe bodily injury if a child’s limb or hair becomes entangled in it.

A non-fatal pool drowning can cause severe cognitive and cardiovascular defects that last a lifetime. Other catastrophic pool injuries can cause back, neck and spinal cord injuries, concussions, traumatic brain injuries, infections, and broken bones. Your child may need years of medical treatment and rehabilitation, robbing them of their childhood, and depending on the severity of the injuries, their future. Their long-term career prospects may be dimmed. Moreover, you may have lost wages due to taking your child to their medical appointments. On top of all of this is the psychological and emotional toll that these injuries will take on your family.

If your child was injured at a pool at an HOA, hotel, amusement park, or other facility, you may be able to recover damages for their injuries. Under Florida’s premises liability laws, if you are a patron of these facilities, the owner has a duty of care towards you. If the pool owner either knew about the hazardous condition that caused your injury or should have known about it and failed to fix it or warn you about it, they are liable for your child’s injuries.

If your child was seriously injured or drowned at a pool, contact Rader Law Group for a free consultation to discuss your case. We are not only attorneys, but moms and dads as well, and we will fight for your child to receive justice as hard as we would fight for our own.

Rader Law Group, LLC

With decades and decades combined experience, the attorneys at Rader Law Group understand the meaning of Justice. Our one and only mission is to get each client the justice he or she deserves; our team of attorneys never back down when we know our client is right.
We offer our clients the compassion and guidance they need as they work through trying times in their lives. The balance of working relentlessly for our clients combined with our caring approach has helped us achieve a fantastic record of success with our clients. We get our clients the justice they deserve.

At Rader Law Group, You matter. Your justice matters. Your Justice Starts Here. 954-913-2273.

References Used:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drowning Facts | Drowning Prevention | CDC. Accessed May 10, 2022.
Florida Health. Drowning Prevention | Florida Department of Health (floridahealth.gov). Accessed May 10, 2022.

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Case Verdict – Commercial Litigation Settlement

May 24, 2022

Rader Law Group commercial litigation attorney Howard Weitzner recently obtained a verdict for his corporate client on an unpaid invoice case. After the buyer defaulted upon a $32,000 invoice, Mr. Weitzner filed suit and obtained a judgment in the full amount, plus interest, costs and attorney’s fees, which were recoverable under the terms of the contract between the parties. Soon after he was able to secure the verdict, Mr. Weitzner was able to collect the full amount from the party who had defaulted on payment. Our client was able recover the full amount they were owed, plus interest, without having to pay anything out of their pocket.

Rader Law Group, LLC

At Rader Law Group, You matter. Your justice matters. Your Justice Starts Here. 954-913-2273

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My Teen Was In An Accident. Am I Liable?

May 23, 2022

Having a new driver’s license is every teenager’s dream and every parent’s nightmare. Teenagers aged 16-19 have the highest crash risk of all drivers on the road . The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that in 2019, 2,400 teens aged 13-19 died in car accidents and another 258,000 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for crash-related injuries. The top three risk factors for a teen driver becoming involved in an accident are:

Being male. Males have double the risk of a fatal accident as females.
Driving with passengers who are also teens.
Being newly-licensed. The risk of a car crash is highest the first few months after a crash.

Two of these risks are completely unpreventable. Many parents who have experienced the misfortune of having their teen involved in an accident have asked us if they are liable for damages. The answer is yes. Back when you signed the form at the DMV allowing your child to obtain a driver’s license, you agreed to be financially responsible for any accidents that they cause. This form remains in effect until the child reaches 18, the parent revokes the form, or the child is married.

A teen driver is held to the same level of responsibility as an adult in an accident. This means that if the teen’s negligence is the cause of the accident, and the accident causes more than $10,000 worth of medical bills and/or lost wages for the opposing party, the opposing party can make a claim for you to pay for their medical bills, medications, therapies or rehabilitation, lost wages, and depending on the severity of the injuries, pain and suffering.

If you added your teen to your insurance policy when they received their and you have bodily injury liability coverage, the likelihood is that the opposing party will come to a settlement with your insurance company rather than suing you. If your teen is not insured or if you do not have bodily injury liability coverage, contact a personal injury attorney to seek advice on how to handle this situation.

Even for the most cautious drivers, teen-aged or any-aged, sometimes accidents are unavoidable. If your teen was involved in an accident, and you feel that they have been unjustly found at-fault and you are concerned about your liability, call the Boca Raton car accident experts – Rader Law Group. We will investigate the details of the situation and advise of the best course of action to protect yourself.

Rader Law Group, LLC

At Rader Law Group, You matter. Your justice matters. Your Justice Starts Here. 954-913-2273.

References Used:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Teen Drivers: Get the Facts | Motor Vehicle Safety | CDC Injury Center. Accessed April 7, 2022.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Teen Drivers: Get the Facts | Motor Vehicle Safety | CDC Injury Center. Accessed April 7, 2022.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Teen Drivers: Get the Facts | Motor Vehicle Safety | CDC Injury Center. Accessed April 7, 2022.

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Car Safety for Teens

May 9, 2022

Your “baby” has just turned 15 and is learning to drive. Few situations in life are more terrifying to parents than envisioning their child behind the wheel of a car. While most teenagers do their best to be responsible drivers, the fact remains that they are highly inexperienced and may not always make the right choices. The attorneys at Rader Law Group have developed the following tips to help your teens minimize their risk of being involved in a car crash:

Obey posted speed limits. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), speeding was a factor in 27% of fatal accidents with a teen driver in 2019 . Teenagers, like many adults, may be tempted to drive faster than the posted speed limit, especially if they see their parent engaging in this behavior. Talk to your teen about obeying the speed limit and model this behavior for them as well.
Avoid distracted driving. The NHTSA reports that “dialing a phone number while driving increases your teen’s risk of crashing by six times, and texting while driving increases the risk by 23 times” . Teens should avoid using a cellphone at all – even if it is hands-free. Another risky activity that can cause distractions is driving with passengers other than a parent. Florida is one of only five states that allow newly-licensed drivers to transport passengers. Other distracting activities that should be avoided are switching radio stations and eating or drinking.
Only drive during optimal conditions. Driving at night, especially late at night, can raise the risk of an accident – visibility is lower, there are more impaired drivers on the road, and your teen could be drowsy. Similarly, driving during inclement weather also raises accident risks; roads could be slippery from the rain or there could be low visibility due to a storm or fog.
Wear a seatbelt. Chances are that your child has grown up wearing one. However, many teens make the poor choice to stop wearing one when they are driving. The NHTSA found that 45% of teen drivers who died in a car crash in 2019 were unbuckled . Make sure your teens understand that wearing a seat belt is the law, but even more important, it can save their lives.

Watching your teen drive on their own can be nerve-wracking. But by taking the time to have ongoing conversations about car safety, you can help your child to remain safe while behind the wheel.

Rader Law Group, LLC

At Rader Law Group, You matter. Your justice matters. Your Justice Starts Here. 954-913-2273.

References Used:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Teen Safe Driving: How Teens Can Be Safer Drivers | NHTSA. Accessed April 4, 2022.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Teen Safe Driving: How Teens Can Be Safer Drivers | NHTSA. Accessed April 4, 2022.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Teen Safe Driving: How Teens Can Be Safer Drivers | NHTSA. Accessed April 4, 2022.

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Case Verdict – High-Speed Impact T-Bone Crash

May 2, 2022

Rader Law Group attorney Howard Weitzner obtained a policy limits tender of $300,000.00 for our client who was seriously injured a high-impact T-bone crash. The at-fault driver, who was uninsured, hired her attorney and argued that our client was at-fault. Mr. Weitzner, with the help of his paralegal, Rachael Miller, quickly defeated this claim by obtaining video from inside our client’s vehicle, which showed a full minute leading up to and including the devastating crash, as well as body cam footage from the investigating police officers. Our client suffered a severely broken ankle, which required surgery and extensive rehabilitation, as well as a broken wrist. Our client is doing much better now and was thrilled with the outcome, which Mr. Weitzner was able to obtain just two months after being retained a few short days after the crash.

Rader Law Group, LLC

At Rader Law Group, You matter. Your justice matters. Your Justice Starts Here. 954-913-2273

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What You Should Know About Filing a Wrongful Death Claim in Florida

April 23, 2022

Few situations in life are more devastating than a wrongful death. One minute you are going about your daily activities, and the next minute, everything has changed and you are left with a gaping void in your world. In addition to the sadness, emptiness, anger and a host of other emotions you are feeling from the loss of a loved one, there are growing financial fears that you will need to face head on. Our system of justice of course cannot replace the joy your loved one brought into your life. However, we can help ease the financial burden that you are now facing, hold the at fault party responsible for the damage they have caused and get you the justice you deserve.

In most cases, a wrongful death is a death unintentionally caused by someone else’s negligence. Common causes of wrongful deaths include car crashes, pedestrian or bike accidents, medical malpractice, workplace accidents, construction accidents, or defective products. A wrongful death case is a lawsuit brought in the civil courts to provide financial restitution to the family of the person who died. The desired outcome is that the person who caused the wrongful death provides compensation to make your life as financially whole as possible. This is different from a criminal case or murder case, which is handled by the state attorney’s office and local authorities, where the outcome is that someone goes to jail as punishment for a crime.

Not everyone can file a lawsuit after losing a loved one due to the negligence of another, as Florida has a statute that outlines who may bring a claim for wrongful death. People eligible to bring a wrongful death lawsuit include a surviving spouse, children, and other relatives who were dependent on the family member who died. A long-time boyfriend cannot sue for the loss of his girlfriend in a car crash, no matter how painful it may be for him.

The personal representative of the estate must initiate the case within two years of the date of death, otherwise, the claim will be forever barred, and they forfeit all rights to do so. This may feel like plenty of time, but wrongful death cases are extremely complex, so it is in your best interest to contact an experienced personal injury attorney familiar with handling wrongful death claims, like Rader Law Group, as soon as possible. Even if you are not sure you want to pursue a wrongful death claim, you should meet with an attorney as soon as possible to understand and protect your rights. If you decide to pursue a claim, following are the steps that we will take:

Investigate the details surrounding the death gather evidence essential to proving the other party was negligent and this negligence caused your loved one’s death.
Develop a thorough accounting of how your loved one financially supported each of your family members. By spending time with the surviving family members, we can learn how integral a part of their lives the deceased was, and estimate the value of non-economic losses, such as loss of companionship and loss of parental instruction.
Attempt to negotiate the highest possible settlement with the at-fault party or their insurance company. If that is unsuccessful, we will file a lawsuit and litigate in court. Many wrongful death claims can be settled out-of-court, but our attorneys are skilled litigators who will take the case to trial and obtain a verdict from a jury when necessary.

Our goal is for you to receive financial justice for your loss. Contact us today so you can learn how you can receive compensation to make up for the financial losses you are incurring due to the wrongful death of your loved one.