Recent Articles
Legal articles about Personal Injury written by Attorney James L. O’Leary to help you understand your rights.
Understanding the Florida Collateral Source Rule
On December 21, 2010, the First District Court of Appeals in Florida ruled against Nationwide Insurance in it’s attempt to circumvent the rule of evidence that prohibits defendants from introducing any evidence of health insurance benefits paid on behalf of the injured party. In Nationwide vs. Harrell, 35 Florida Law Weekly D 2873, the court […]
The Oath and The Truth
Court Reporter: Will you raise your right hand? Do you solemnly swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” Witness: I do. Why do we have witnesses in depositions or in trial take an oath? The simple answer seems so obvious, because we want […]
Motivating Kids to Learn – The Essential Goal
This past week at my Rotary Club meeting we heard from the Superintendent of Lee County Schools about all of the programs that attempt to deal with the enormous challenges facing our public K-12 education system here in southwest Florida. One thing that struck me, and has been on my mind for so many years, […]
Trial Lawyers Fighting to Reduce U.S. National Deficit
As I write this it is Saturday evening, July 30, 2011 and we Americans are watching and listening to our representatives in Washington attempt to come to some resolution on raising the debt ceiling. This has caused me to reflect on how personal injury and medical malpractice plaintiff trial lawyers are a force for reducing […]
Liability Releases Signed by Parents for Children
The Florida Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that liability releases signed by parents on behalf of their children will not be enforced. The rationale used by the Court to invalidate such releases is that a parent does not have the authority to bind his or her child in a release that will prevent a child […]
Florida Automobile No Fault PIP Personal Injury Protection
The Florida No Fault Law does two things 1) It establishes a limited exemption from liability for injuries caused to others in an automobile accident; and 2) It establishes personal injury protection (PIP) benefits to pay for certain losses resulting from an accident. Legal Rights & Duties Who is covered? 1) If you are a […]
The Single Most Important Political Issue in Florida Now
I am not a Democrat or Republican, I’m an Independent, who truly loves the State of Florida and wants to make it better, safer, cleaner, and more prosperous state with better education, lower taxes, and smaller government. Help me stop unfair redistricting by the Florida Legislature. Please join me in getting educated on this issue […]