Legal Insights Blog | Rader Law Group

Filing a Personal Injury Claim When Injured on Vacation in Florida

May 18, 2021

When planning a Florida vacation, many tourists will research which restaurants have the highest ratings, where to rent water sports equipment, or which theme parks have the shortest lines. Conspicuously absent from most lists is which hospitals to visit and which personal injury attorneys to contact. While nobody likes to think about it, accidents can happen while on vacation.

Types of Accidents

There are numerous kinds of accidents that can happen to someone while vacationing. Some of these include:

Car accident in a rental car or your own car
Food poisoning from a restaurant that mishandled your food
Equipment, such as jet skis or an ATV, that are not properly maintained and cause you to sustain an injury
Slip and fall accidents in a hotel, theme park, or any other location
Amusement park rides that malfunction

What to Do If You Are Injured

Take Notes at the Scene

If you are physically able, take notes and photos at the scene of the injury. This could include taking down the names and contact information for any witnesses, noting the time the incident occurred, drawing a diagram of the scene, and writing down any details about what happened. It’s important to do this while all the details are still fresh in your mind. Make sure to also take pictures of the scene of the incident – pictures of the cars involved, uneven pavement, faulty equipment, etc.

Obtain Medical Care Right Away

Depending on the severity of your injuries, visit an urgent care clinic or a hospital in Florida as soon as you can after the incident. Waiting until after your vacation to seek medical care at home can weaken a personal injury claim; the opposing side can claim that your injuries occurred after the incident.

Follow All Medical Guidance

Follow the treatment plan prescribed by your healthcare professional. If you file a personal injury claim, it will be important to show that you did everything you could to help your injuries heal.

Contact a Florida-Based Personal Injury Attorney

You do not have to be a Florida resident to file a personal injury case in Florida. Each state has different personal injury laws, though, so it’s important that you hire an attorney who specializes in personal injury law in Florida. The attorneys at Rader Law Group have the knowledge and experience to represent out-of-state tourists who have been injured on vacation in Florida. Contact us while you are still in Florida so we can start the process of recovering the justice that you deserve for your injuries. Or, if you have already returned home, our knowledgeable and compassionate attorneys are only a phone call away and can advise you on how to proceed with your claim.

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.

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Most Common Wrongful Death Claims

May 5, 2021

Wrongful death occurs when someone dies due to someone else’s negligence or misconduct. When someone dies in a wrongful death, Florida law allows certain family members to recover damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. The family members that can file a claim are the “decedent’s spouse, children, parents, and, when partly or wholly dependent on the decedent for support or services, any blood relatives and adoptive brothers and sisters.”

Family members are able to recover damages for:

Loss of companionship and protection
Mental pain and suffering
Loss of parental companionship, instruction and guidance (children under 25 only)
Medical or funeral expenses for the decedent
Loss of earnings for the decedent

There are many potential causes of wrongful death. Three of the most common ones are:

Motor Vehicle Accidents

A distracted motorist does not see a child playing on a side street and hits him. A tractor-trailer driver loses control on a slick patch and crashes into a small sedan. A drunk driver swerves over the yellow lines and hits another car head on. Sadly, all of these examples can lead to a wrongful death. In Florida, there were 3,086 fatal crashes in 2020, resulting in 3,328 fatalities.

Medical Malpractice

A surgeon performs a procedure and leaves a tool inside the patient’s body. A doctor misdiagnoses a patient, resulting in cancer spreading throughout his body. A doctor miscalculates how much anesthesia a patient needs, resulting in his death. These scenarios sound like the beginning of a prime-time drama show, but events such as these happen at doctors’ offices and hospitals more often than we may realize.

Each year, there are between 25,000-120,000 deaths due to medical malpractice, according to the Civil Justice Resource Group, a project of the Center for Justice and Democracy at New York Law School.

We must add, however, that medical malpractice wrongful death cases usually cannot be brought unless the decedent had a living spouse or a child under 25 years of age. Additionally, medical malpractice cases are treated differently than other wrongful death cases. It’s best to consult promptly with a reputable personal injury attorney if you are in this type of situation.

Workplace Accidents

Every morning, millions of Americans leave their homes, perform their jobs, and return home. In 2019, 5,333 employees never made it home from work . Of those, 306 were living in Florida . The primary cause of fatal workplace injuries in Florida is transportation incidents, followed by falls/slips/trips, exposure to harmful substances or environments, and violence or other injuries by people or animals.

If your family member has been a victim of a wrongful death for any reason, contact the experienced attorneys at Rader Law Group to discuss your situation and learn how we can recover the damages that you deserve.

Rader Law Group, LLC

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

References Used:
The 2020 Florida Statue: 768.18 Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine (state.fl.us). Accessed April 1, 2021.
The 2020 Florida Statue: 768.21. Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine (state.fl.us)Accessed April 1, 2021.
Florida Dept of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Crash Dashboard – Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (flhsmv.gov). Accessed April 11, 2021.
Civil Justice Resource Group. Civil Justice Resource Group (centerjd.org). Accessed April 1, 2021.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fatal Occupational Injuries in Florida — 2019 : Southeast Information Office : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov). Accessed April 1, 2021.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fatal Occupational Injuries in Florida — 2019 : Southeast Information Office : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov). Accessed April 1, 2021.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fatal Occupational Injuries in Florida — 2019 : Southeast Information Office : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov). Accessed April 1, 2021.

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Case Verdict – Things Aren’t Always As The Police Report States

April 27, 2021

Rader Law Group, LLC Has A Proven Track Record Of Successful Settlements For Our Clients

Below is a successful case study we are highlighting to show that not all cases are as they initially appear. To see more successful cases by Rader Law Group, LLC please click here

Our client, a 58-year-old woman, was knocked unconscious when she crashed into the passenger side of a trailer being towed by a landscaping truck. She was rushed to the hospital where it was determined that she had suffered brain and orthopedic trauma. Once she had recovered enough to go home, she learned that she had been cited by the police for causing the crash and given a ticket. According to the police accident report our client had wrongly attempted to pass the truck on the right shoulder. For her part, our client recalled that the truck did not signal a turn but veered left (as though it was making a left turn) and that she was heading straight.

When she came to our office looking for guidance, our client was facing mounting bills and continued medical expenses, not to mention the pain and suffering caused by her injuries. Several attorneys had already rejected her case after looking at the police report because the collision was obviously her fault. At first, we too thought our client was in the wrong and that we could not help her. The police report can be a good indicator of fault, but not always. To truly understand a crash, an attorney must look at the scene. In this case, our initial visit was a virtual one using the wonders of Google Earth. Surprisingly, this image immediately made us suspicious that the police got it wrong. The intersection was not your typical 90-degree angle right turn but was an extremely sharp right turn.

Trucks with trailers are not like other vehicles because of their length. They require more space to make sharp turns. For a sharp right turn, a truck must swing left before turning right. This allows sufficient space for the truck’s cabin and trailer to follow and prevents the end of the truck from running off the road.

Some drivers, thinking that the truck is turning left, mistake the truck’s veering left before a right turn as a chance to pass the truck on the right, placing themselves in the trucker’s blind spot that runs along the truck’s passenger side. Unseen by the trucker, the motorist, to her horror, does not discover the trucker’s intention to turn right until the truck turns in front of her and by then it’s too late- she’s squeezed between the truck and the curb. This accident is known as a “squeeze play.” If the truck driver fails to indicate their intention to turn right by appropriately signaling and confirming that he has sufficient room to swing left and then turn right or doesn’t recognize that swinging into the left lane can deceive other drivers into thinking that the truck is turning left, the trucker is at fault.

In our client’s case and based on our extensive experience in collisions, we immediately recognized that our client was the unwitting victim of the classic “squeeze play.” We quickly launched an investigation, obtained photographs of the truck and car, analyzed the road and clues of impact. Based on our experience, we soon realized that even the police at the scene were wrong about how the accident happened, in part because they took a statement only from the trucker who said our client tried to pass him on the right shoulder (but also who, of course, wants to seem blameless). No statement was taken from our client because she was unconscious!

When we presented our analysis of the accident to the trucker’s insurance company, they were forced to agree that the collision was very possibly the trucker’s fault. Soon afterwards, they tendered their entire insurance policy limits to our client even though she was cited for the crash by the police!

Rader Law Group, LLC

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

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The Referral Process With Rader Law Group

April 20, 2021

Rader Law Group prides itself on its strong working relationships with other law firms.

Whether a personal injury case is outside of your area of practice, the case is too complex, or you simply do not have the manpower to try the case, you may look to refer it out to another law firm. If you are looking to partner with lawyers that have the specialized knowledge, resources, and creativity necessary to help your clients maximize their recoveries, then call Rader Law Group today.

Following are some of the most frequently asked questions that we receive from our many trusted referring attorneys, along with our responses:

Do I stay involved in the case? If so, how much?

That is entirely up to you. At one end of the spectrum, there are some referring attorneys who prefer to take a hands-off approach. We provide them with periodic updates on the case, and that is the extent of their involvement. On the other hand, we can also act as co-counsel with another firm to augment their expertise and help them win a significant verdict for the client. Again, in most cases, the level of involvement is determined by the desires of the referring attorney.

What can I expect for a referral fee?

We typically follow the Florida Bar approved fee split of 25 percent for the referring attorney. In some cases, this could go up to 33 percent if the referring attorney stays highly involved in the case and its litigation. In this situation, a petition must be filed with the court to receive this increased amount.

Will my initial costs be reimbursed?

If you have been substantially working on the case before the referral, we do everything we can to reimburse you when the case closes. Both your and our fees and costs are paid out of the total recovery the client receives. Your portion of the fees and costs will be shown to the client on the settlement statement and paid at the close of the case. As in all cases, if there is no recovery, neither your firm nor Rader Law Group will be reimbursed for costs.

Does my case have a good chance of winning?

We evaluate each case on an individual basis. We give referring attorneys and clients our honest opinion of whether we believe a case has merit and if we believe that we are the right counsel for it. While we cannot guarantee results, if we believe that the case has merit, we will work tirelessly to do what we can to win it.

Do I need to place a lien on the case?

Absolutely not. When you refer a case to Rader Law Group, you are the referring attorney or co-counsel, not the prior attorney. You are welcome to remain as involved in the case as you would like. We will provide the client with a new retainer agreement, which will document your role in the case, as well as the fee-sharing arrangement that we have with you.

Why should I work with Rader Law Group?

We have successfully partnered with dozens of referring attorneys and paid out more than $1.5 million in referral fees over the last seven years. Some of our wins include:

A settlement for a client that was five times larger than the initial offer the referring attorney was able to secure.
A case we took from a $12,500 pre-suit offer to well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars at mediation.
A case where the attorney could not get beyond a $150K offer. Upon our filing a Notice of Appearance, the offer increased to $500,000. We settled the case for $700,000.
A low-value herniated disk case that we parlayed into a massive $2.9 Million settlement because of our deep knowledge of medication side effects. The attorney expected a $6,000 co-counsel fee. Imagine his surprise when we handed him a check for over $200,000!
We carry a limited caseload, but we work the cases we have fast and aggressively.
We are true trial attorneys, and the insurance companies know it.

As our results show, we are experts in winning large recoveries for clients. Insurance companies and their attorneys know a client means business when Rader Law Group is representing them. We can help you win big for the client.

How do I start the referral process?

Contact us at (954)-913-2273. We will start the process right away to make sure your client gets every penny they deserve.

Rader Law Group, LLC

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

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Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April 5, 2021

Though many think that sexual assault must include a physical act, recent stories like those of Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein have helped us to understand that this serious crime comes in many different forms. This April, Sexual Assault Awareness Month is focused on building safe online spaces, where many sexual predators lurk unchecked.

Sexual assault and violence in any form is a subset of crimes posing a serious problem across the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 43.6 percent of women1 and 24.8 percent of men2 in the United States have experienced some form of sexual violence. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, in 2019, there were 8,439 rape offenses in Florida alone3.

Many people do not realize that sexual abuse can happen online as well as in-person. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, some examples of online sexual abuse include:4

Sending unwanted sexual comments
Sending unwanted requests for nude photos, videos, or livestream of sexual acts
Performing sexual acts on webcam without consent or in inappropriate settings
Sharing private images or videos without consent (also known as revenge porn)
Sharing porn in spaces without consent
Grooming children to enable their sexual abuse. Grooming is when a sexual perpetrator tries to gain a child’s trust for the purpose of sexually exploiting them.

Any of these types of abuse can cause long-lasting emotional and psychological trauma. However, we can all take steps to help prevent online sexual abuse. Some ways that you can help are:

Community Level Prevention5

Leaders of online communities can:

Create agreements that delineate the expectations about respectful communications for all participants.
Develop a process for community victims to report harassment.
Establish norms detailing appropriate and inappropriate forms of contact between community members (e.g. times of day to contact or which apps can be used for contact).

Preventing Online Sexual Abuse of Children6

Educate children on what grooming is and how to recognize the signs of it.
Listen to your child if they tell you that someone is making them feel uncomfortable online.
Monitor the content that your children are accessing or have access to online.
Contact the local authorities if you suspect someone is sexually abusing your child online.
Online sexual abuse is scary and can cause trauma that lasts a lifetime. If you are the victim of online sexual abuse, don’t suffer in silence. Contact the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-645-HOPE to be connected with someone in your local area who can help you.

Rader Law Group, LLC

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

References:
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2015 Data Brief — Updated Release (cdc.gov). Page 2.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2015 Data Brief — Updated Release (cdc.gov). Page 3.
3. Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Violent Crimes (state.fl.us)
4. National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Online Abuse and Trauma | National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)
5. National Sexual Violence Resource Center. SAAM 2021 Online Community Prevention | National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)
6. SAAM 2021 Keeping Kids Safe Online | National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)

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Checklist: Top 9 Things You Need to Do Right After A Car Accident

March 23, 2021

While we hope you never need it, below is a checklist that outlines what you need to do to get proper medical attention, preserve potential evidence, and protect your rights after a vehicle accident.

Be Safe.

Move to a safe location and stay calm.

Call 911.

If anyone is hurt, call 9-1-1 and request medical assistance. Inform the operator that you were in a vehicle accident with injuries.

Document the Scene.

If your medical state permits, take photos of the damage to your vehicle, the location and position of any vehicles involved including the other license plates. Then, write down how the accident occurred, the condition of the vehicles involved, and any relevant information about weather and road conditions. The data you collect may be used during an investigation.

Write Down any Witnesses.

Request the name and telephone number from any bystanders who witnessed the accident.

Obtain a Police Accident Report.

The police accident report will be crucial for any insurance claims. Request that the officer provide either a copy of the police accident report or the case number. If you are unable to obtain a copy, it is available within 7-10 days through local law enforcement or your attorney will be able to get it.

Contact a Reputable Personal Injury Law Firm.

If you were injured in the accident, contact a reputable and experienced law firm such as Rader Law Group to protect your rights and recover any medical costs and lost earnings to which you are entitled.

Be Cautious with Communication

Avoid discussing the details of the accident nor fault with anyone other than your attorney.

Additionally, do not answer calls from unknown numbers. Although illegal, hustlers may solicit and attempt to prey on accident victims.

Contact your Insurance Company and the Insurance Party of the Other Party

Do not allow either insurance company to take a “recorded statement” nor discuss which party was “at fault.” Instead, simply inform them of the vehicle accident and only the information they need to initiate a claim: individuals involved in the accident as well as a brief description of the accident, any damage, and injuries.

Do NOT discuss settlements nor imply that you are willing to settle the insurance claim. Also, do NOT sign anything without first discussing with your attorney.

Meet with Your Attorney

Be prepared during your initial meeting with your attorney. Make sure you have the following documents:

Police accident report or case number
All medical treatment and injury-related bills and receipts
Vehicle repair estimates and receipts
Insurance company communications

Rader Law Group, LLC

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

Learn More

Blog

As Seen In:

Car Insurance: Do You Really Have Full Coverage?

Recent Blogs

Filing a Personal Injury Claim When Injured on Vacation in Florida

Types of Accidents

What to Do If You Are Injured

Take Notes at the Scene

Obtain Medical Care Right Away

Follow All Medical Guidance

Contact a Florida-Based Personal Injury Attorney

Rader Law Group, LLC

Most Common Wrongful Death Claims

Family members are able to recover damages for:

There are many potential causes of wrongful death. Three of the most common ones are:

Motor Vehicle Accidents

Medical Malpractice

Workplace Accidents

Rader Law Group, LLC

Case Verdict – Things Aren’t Always As The Police Report States

Rader Law Group, LLC Has A Proven Track Record Of Successful Settlements For Our Clients

Rader Law Group, LLC

The Referral Process With Rader Law Group

Following are some of the most frequently asked questions that we receive from our many trusted referring attorneys, along with our responses:

Do I stay involved in the case? If so, how much?

What can I expect for a referral fee?

Will my initial costs be reimbursed?

Does my case have a good chance of winning?

Do I need to place a lien on the case?

Why should I work with Rader Law Group?

How do I start the referral process?

Rader Law Group, LLC

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Community Level Prevention5

Preventing Online Sexual Abuse of Children6

Rader Law Group, LLC

Checklist: Top 9 Things You Need to Do Right After A Car Accident

Be Safe.

Call 911.

Document the Scene.

Write Down any Witnesses.

Obtain a Police Accident Report.

Contact a Reputable Personal Injury Law Firm.

Be Cautious with Communication

Contact your Insurance Company and the Insurance Party of the Other Party

Meet with Your Attorney

Rader Law Group, LLC

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