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McLaughlin & Stern LLP, is proud to announce William T. Abel has achieved AV Preeminent® in Personal Injury, Litigation and Commercial Law from Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™. This honor signifies that he has been deemed to have very high professional ethics and distinguished legal ability. Only lawyers with the highest ethical standards and professional ability receive a Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating.

Here’s what some of his peers had to say about Bill:

“Mr. Abel demonstrates professionalism and high ethical standards in his practice.”

“Bill Abel is one of the most classy attorneys here in our Palm Beach County legal community. He is the very definition of professionalism. Bill and I were opposite each other many times when he was a defense lawyer. He was always prepared, diligent and effective. Now that he is a plaintiff's lawyer I consider him a trusted advocate. Bill will be one of our very best lawyers if he continues on the path he's on today.”

McLaughlin & Stern LLP, is proud to announce Dena Sisk Foman has achieved AV Preeminent® in Personal Injury, Insurance and Litigation from Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™. This honor signifies that she has be deemed to have very high professional ethics and distinguished legal ability. Only lawyers with the highest ethical standards and professional ability receive a Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating.

Here’s what some of her peers had to say about Dena:

“Dena is very professional and knowledgeable attorney. I believe she exemplifies the best and highest standards in the practice of law.”

“Very ethical, very passionate attorney who always keeps her client's interests at the forefront of all she does. Ms. Foman is willing to tackle the toughest cases regardless of cost or the tremendous amount of effort which may be required.”

Congratulations to Steven Hyman, Partner, McLaughlin & Stern, LLP — Maine Judge Rejects Ebola Quarantine for Nurse Kaci Hickox

Ms. Hickox’s lawyers said the decision was a victory for their client and for health workers everywhere.

“This decision isn’t binding on other states but it will certainly influence them,” said Steven Hyman, one of her lawyers. “The judge made a reasonable decision about setting smart limitations.”

Mr. Hyman spoke to Ms. Hickox by phone after the decision and said she was “very grateful.”

“She said she hopes this will make it so other aid workers don’t have to go through this,” he said

#kacihickox #civilrights

Steven J. Hyman, Partner, McLaughlin & Stern LLP, representing Nurse Kaci Hickox on quarantine order: It's all political, driven by fear

Kaci Hickox, the nurse who recently returned from fighting Ebola in West Africa is now in the middle of a different fight in Maine. Governor Paul LePage says Hickox has been unwilling to follow CDC guidelines, even though those federal guidelines actually say she should not be quarantined.

#civil rights #ebola

Great to see Our firm on the Today Show today and here in the NY Daily news.

A brave nurse who treated Ebola patients in West Africa has been locked up in a 15-by-20 foot plastic tent since returning to New Jersey as part of the mandatory quarantine instituted on Friday.

#civllrights #ebola

This is obviously a very tragic accident, but there is very little information about how the accident happened. Notwithstanding that, there are potential theories of liability and defenses that may arise if a civil wrongful death claim is filed. There is a belief that the woman fell from the roof of the condominium building. If she was not a condominium owner or guest, then she may be considered a trespasser, which will create a higher burden for her representatives to meet in order to prove the condominium or the construction company did something wrong. Assuming she was a resident or guest, the question is whether she was allowed to be on the roof. If not, she might be considered a trespasser for being in an area where owners and guests are not supposed to be. Again, this will make her case more difficult to win.

But let’s consider that she was allowed to be on the roof. The next question will be what caused her to fall from the building. She either intentionally jumped or accidentally fell. There did not appear to be any witnesses and no suicide note was referenced in the article so it appears that she accidentally fell. Whether the condominium association and building owner had proper railings and wall heights on the roof will be important in establishing in order to determine whether the association/building owner is liable. The construction company may be liable if they had equipment on the roof that was not safely installed or managed. Whether the construction company had knowledge that owners/guests would use the roof would also be important to know in establishing the construction company's responsibility for the accident.

I find it interesting that the article indicates that she fell from the roof. The obvious lawsuit is if she did not fall from the roof but fell from her balcony because the construction company left midway through their work on her balcony and did not advise her that the railing or wall was no longer structural sound, causing her to lean against them and fall to her death. The fact that the construction company left mid-work day because of rain suggests that maybe they left in haste and failed to properly secure the premises or warn residents. If this is the case, then the condominium association could also be responsible for failing to warn. Keep watching this case because there is more to learn in determining who is responsible for this wrongful death.

William T. Abel, Esq.,

#Tragedy #Liability

The Grenade in the Crib Trick

The police entered a home and assumed they would be met with armed guards and weapons. None of that happened and no guns were found. Nonetheless, they came armed with weapons including hand grenades. Unfortunately, one of the hand grenades landed in the crib of an infant and detached his nose from his face leaving him permanently scared and a long stay in the hospital.

Even though no criminal charges were filed, it is possible that civil claims could be made. Clearly, the child was the innocent party. Were the police reasonably relying on information that was given by the sheriff’s office? It seems plausible before they began throwing grenades that they needed to make sure that there was an actual threat. Further, they should have made sure that the safety of innocent people was taken into consideration especially since they were acting offensively- not defensively.

The child's medical expenses are likely significant and he may incur future medical costs. Further, there will likely be some permanent scarring and disfigurement. All of these things, plus pain and suffering are compensable. However, if Georgia has a sovereign immunity statute like Florida does, the governmental entity (the police) will have limits on liability. In Florida, the recovery against a governmental entity is limited to $200,000. This means that no matter the amount of the damages, the maximum recovery is $200,000. In most cases these cases are defended quite vigorously because the entity knows that no matter how significant a verdict, recovery is never going to be over $200,000 without legislative permission. The only way to get around the $200,000 limit is to have a claims bill that is approved by congress for an amount in excess of $200,000.

Dena Sisk Foman

#liability #personal injury

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Who is to Blame for the Toxic Tea?

This lady takes a drink of a toxic mixture that led her to weeks in the hospital and significant injuries that are permanent in nature. She is left with chemical burns in her throat and esophagus. While the article does not outline her future care, it does sound like the lethal drink may have a long-lasting impact on her ability to live her life normally.

While we need a few more facts it seems fair that a few assumptions can be made. Surely the lady did not go up and knowingly take a drink out of something that did not belong to her. Likely, she had a drink that was the same size that was near the same location as the toxic mixture. It appears that the toxin, lye, was placed in the ice tea urn. The question becomes whether the restaurant knew of should have known that the tea mixture contained a lethal toxin. Should this type of toxic mixture be used anywhere near food when the restaurant is open?

The other thing to consider is whether the tea in the urn had been served to anyone else and whether there were other complaints before it was served to this lady. The restaurant appears to be busy enough that that using this type of mixture near while food is being prepared was not likely a good idea.

The other thing to consider is whether the woman that consume the beverage has any responsibility for drinking this mixture. It seems hard to think of a scenario in this case where the lady that drank the tea has any responsibility. She was handed the drink by the store employee. How would she know to question its contents?

In Florida, we are a pure comparative negligence state. The jury gets to divide the liability into 100% in determining who is at fault. This means that they can apportion a percentage of fault to any party or entity that is listed on the verdict form. This means that the parties have presented evidence that there are other parties at fault besides the chosen defendant. If the jury find that there was negligence by the defendant, the jury will then be able to determine how negligent the defendant was and the award will be reduced by the percentage of liability. In other words if the verdict is $100,000 and the liability on the defendant is 75%, the plaintiff’s recovery will be $75,000.

In this case, it looks like there is complete responsibility on the store and its employees. The question then becomes the amount of damages. This lady can claim her actual damages- the hospital bills and lost wages and future damages that are likely to occur. She would also be able to ask for pain and suffering damages as a result of the accident.

Dena Sisk Foman.

Who is to Blame for the Toxic Tea? This lady takes a drink of a toxic mixture that led her to weeks in the hospital and significant injuries that are permanent in nature. She is left with chemical burns in her throat and esophagus. While the article does not outline her future care, it does sound like the lethal drink may have a long-lasting impact on her ability to live her life normally. While we need a few more facts it seems fair that a few assumptions can be made. Surely the lady did not go up and knowingly take a drink out of something that did not belong to her. Likely, she had a drink that was the same size that was near the same location as the toxic mixture. It appears that the toxin, lye, was placed in the ice tea urn. The question becomes whether the restaurant knew of should have known that the tea mixture contained a lethal toxin. Should this type of toxic mixture be used anywhere near food when the restaurant is open? The other thing to consider is whether the tea in the urn had been served to anyone else and whether there were other complaints before it was served to this lady. The restaurant appears to be busy enough that that using this type of mixture near while food is being prepared was not likely a good idea. The other thing to consider is whether the woman that consume the beverage has any responsibility for drinking this mixture. It seems hard to think of a scenario in this case where the lady that drank the tea has any responsibility. She was handed the drink by the store employee. How would she know to question its contents? In Florida, we are a pure comparative negligence state. The jury gets to divide the liability into 100% in determining who is at fault. This means that they can apportion a percentage of fault to any party or entity that is listed on the verdict form. This means that the parties have presented evidence that there are other parties at fault besides the chosen defendant. If the jury find that there was negligence by the defendant, the jury will then be able to determine how negligent the defendant was and the award will be reduced by the percentage of liability. In other words if the verdict is $100,000 and the liability on the defendant is 75%, the plaintiff’s recovery will be $75,000. In this case, it looks like there is complete responsibility on the store and its employees. The question then becomes the amount of damages. This lady can claim her actual damages- the hospital bills and lost wages and future damages that are likely to occur. She would also be able to ask for pain and suffering damages as a result of the accident. Dena Sisk Foman.

Dena Sisk Foman & McLaughlin & Stern, LLP are proud to be a sponsor of the 8th Annual Children’s Day Luncheon, Families First of Palm Beach County. Dena will be speaking and co-chairing this event that will honor Gary Lesser, Esq., for his work in the community as recipient of the Harriett Goldstein award.

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Why Privatizing Social Services is a Bad Idea

In the State of Florida, corporations have been allowed to move in and obtain contracts with the state to provide social services. Typically, these services are provided to our most vulnerable citizens, prisoners or youth involved in juvenile justice. While we like to think that money- making operations that seek such work are doing so because they feel they can do a better job than the state, that is simply not the case.

Take for instance the Lowell Correctional Facility which is one of the women’s prisons in Florida. The women there are divided up into two age groups: under 21 and over 21. Children that are sentenced to adults fit into the under 21 category. As one might imagine, they come to prison with pre-existing health and mental health problems. The stress of prison alone for a child brings its on health problems. Yet, this facility has privately contracted the mental health services. To make matters worse, there are only two counselors for the entire prison with a maximum capacity of over 1450 prisoners! How are two counselors going to be able to service that many prisoners? We are also told that the wait for mental health care is over 2 months in most cases- even for suicide. How much is the private company being paid to provide this type of service and is it even a service? Would it not make more sense to spend the dollars on prison education or employees that can provide direct services? How is our state overlooking such a significant problem and throwing tax-payer money at corporations that are making this human problem even worse?

The Department of Juvenile Justice has handed out millions of dollars to private companies. The reports of abuse have been rampant. There are widespread claims of sexual abuse, beatings and cover-ups with staff on abuses so that the companies continue to receive funding. The companies hire cheap and follow minimum guidelines as there is no oversight. The cheaper they hire, they more they pocket. People without even a high school education are being hired to “counsel” our most at risk youth. The Southern Poverty Law Center was quoted when the issue was brought before the Florida Senate in January 2014 as follows: “We often use the juvenile justice code as a shield to protect the anonymity of these kids,” Utter said. “But what we end up doing is protecting the abusers who are not doing their job. If we had more transparency, more community oversight, more community involvement, that would go a long way.” Despite these widespread claims, the Department defended its private contracting system with vigor and turned a blind eye to the humans that are being destroyed in the name of money.

Mr. Carjaval’s case is a shining example of how humans are being left to die under this system with no oversight. His sentence had an end date and he would have paid his debt to society but unfortunately his life will likely expire before he has time to be rehabilitated. We must stop choosing profit over humans in our social service systems as greed cannot be controlled. The large companies know who to contribute to in order to push their agenda and how to get their profit machines funded- even at the price of human life.

Attorney Gary Lesser will be honored for his work in the community as recipient of the Harriett Goldstein award. Keynote Speaker Deborah Polston, Co-Chairs Dena Sisk Foman & Raul Mercader.

Why Privatizing Social Services is a Bad Idea In the State of Florida, corporations have been allowed to move in and obtain contracts with the state to provide social services. Typically, these services are provided to our most vulnerable citizens, prisoners or youth involved in juvenile justice. While we like to think that money- making operations that seek such work are doing so because they feel they can do a better job than the state, that is simply not the case. Take for instance the Lowell Correctional Facility which is one of the women's prisons in Florida. The women there are divided up into two age groups: under 21 and over 21. Children that are sentenced to adults fit into the under 21 category. As one might imagine, they come to prison with pre-existing health and mental health problems. The stress of prison alone for a child brings its on health problems. Yet, this facility has privately contracted the mental health services. To make matters worse, there are only two counselors for the entire prison with a maximum capacity of over 1450 prisoners! How are two counselors going to be able to service that many prisoners? We are also told that the wait for mental health care is over 2 months in most cases- even for suicide. How much is the private company being paid to provide this type of service and is it even a service? Would it not make more sense to spend the dollars on prison education or employees that can provide direct services? How is our state overlooking such a significant problem and throwing tax-payer money at corporations that are making this human problem even worse? The Department of Juvenile Justice has handed out millions of dollars to private companies. The reports of abuse have been rampant. There are widespread claims of sexual abuse, beatings and cover-ups with staff on abuses so that the companies continue to receive funding. The companies hire cheap and follow minimum guidelines as there is no oversight. The cheaper they hire, they more they pocket. People without even a high school education are being hired to "counsel" our most at risk youth. The Southern Poverty Law Center was quoted when the issue was brought before the Florida Senate in January 2014 as follows: "We often use the juvenile justice code as a shield to protect the anonymity of these kids," Utter said. "But what we end up doing is protecting the abusers who are not doing their job. If we had more transparency, more community oversight, more community involvement, that would go a long way." Despite these widespread claims, the Department defended its private contracting system with vigor and turned a blind eye to the humans that are being destroyed in the name of money. Mr. Carjaval's case is a shining example of how humans are being left to die under this system with no oversight. His sentence had an end date and he would have paid his debt to society but unfortunately his life will likely expire before he has time to be rehabilitated. We must stop choosing profit over humans in our social service systems as greed cannot be controlled. The large companies know who to contribute to in order to push their agenda and how to get their profit machines funded- even at the price of human life.

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