Our client, the victim in this Florida boat accident case, had just arrived in Florida to visit her children and their families. After being picked up at the airport by her daughter and granddaughter, they went to her son’s home for a brief visit. During this visit, her son wanted to show them the boat he had recently purchased. Unfortunately, what occurred next would alter all of their lives forever.

The victim, her daughter and son boarded the boat, and as her son tried to start the engines, there was a loud “pop” and then a blast which threw the daughter and son off the boat and into the water. Unfortunately for our client, she had gone below to view the galley and was trapped.

Luckily, the daughter was able to climb back on the boat and pull her mother to safety, but not before her mother had been burned over 52% of her body, including severe burns on her face, neck, head, chest, the fronts and backs of both arms, including both hands, and the palms of both hands, both thighs, both lower legs, and at locations on both of her legs and right hand, the skin was literally falling off due to the severe burns received. Both the son and daughter also received burns, but they were nowhere near the extent of the burns their mother endured.

After being rushed to the hospital and then flown by helicopter to the burn unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital, the victim spent almost eight agonizing months in excruciating pain, enduring numerous surgeries, skin grafts and infections, with extensive periods on a ventilator.

The victim in this case will never fully recover from her serious burn injuries and since her return to Connecticut, she has faced many, many hours of rehabilitation and several lengthy hospital stays with additional surgeries.

For all these years, the FBI has failed to provide the Stevens’ family with any information at all concerning why Mr. Stevens died and no arrests have been made in the case.

Investigation into the origin of the anthrax in this case had identified the Ames Strain as the type of anthrax that killed Bob Stevens, and further research indicates that this strain originated in U. S. government run labs, with the most likely scenario being the USAMRIID lab at Ft. Detrick, Maryland. A former employee from a U. S. government lab conducting research on anthrax stated: “…7-11 had better inventory controls than the labs handling the deadly anthrax.” Still yet another official stated there was evidence of concealed work and cover-ups relating to anthrax as far back as 1992.

In a recent press release titled, "U. S. Officials Release Evidence Against Anthrax Scientist Bruce Ivins," the Federal Bureau of Investigation has informed Maureen Stevens that their investigation has proven that Bruce Ivins was the person responsible for the anthrax deaths in 2001, when this deadly substance was sent through the mail.

The FBI has stated that Bruce Ivins was the lone killer in the anthrax letters case. This is very disturbing, since they also stated that this man had a long standing history of mental instability, which was apparently well known to his supervisors, and yet he was placed in the position of working with anthrax and other toxic and ultra-hazardous substances on a daily basis. As unbelievable as it may seem, Bruce Ivins also participated in the investigation and examined evidence regarding the crimes he is now accused of committing.

1.The party recovering judgment shall recover all his or her legal costs and charges which shall be included in the judgment; but this section does not apply to executors or administrators and actions when they are not liable for costs.

2.Costs may be collected by execution on the judgment or order assessing costs.

Florida Statute 316.614 governing seatbelt usage reads as follows:

4. It is unlawful for any person:

(a) To operate a motor vehicle in this state unless each passenger of the vehicle under the age of 18 years is restrained by a safety belt or by a child restraint device pursuant to Section 316.613, if applicable; or

(b) To operate a motor vehicle in this state unless the person is restrained by a safety belt.

5. It is unlawful for any person 18 years of age or older to be a passenger in the front seat of a motor vehicle unless such person is restrained by a safety belt when the vehicle is in motion.

This statute has placed the burden on Plaintiffs, both as operators and passengers in motor vehicles, to be restrained by a seatbelt.

This survey will be done electronically, i.e., sent to your email. It represents a golden opportunity for us, as lawyers, to make our voices heard and to have input into this most important source of local governmental information. Whether it’s being able to access pleadings in a Civil or Criminal matter or E-filing of pleadings, or other functions, please let us know what you would like to access to assist you in your specific practice specialty. The suggestions that you make will be prioritized and the results of the survey will be reported to the Clerk’s office and to our Association.

The timeline for responding to this survey will be short. Since the bidding process and negotiation for the new software will be moving forward quickly, we ask that you respond to this survey electronically within fourteen (14) days of receipt.

Of course, there is no guarantee that all of our suggestions will be able to be incorporated immediately upon the launch of this new software sometime in 2009 (which is the target). Bear in mind that any E-filing and access to scanned pleadings is controlled by the Florida Supreme Court through the Florida Courts Technology Commission which has to approve of any proposals. However, I can think of no greater opportunity for we, as lawyers, to have a significant impact on a major source of governmental information that relates to all of our practices.

I want to thank, in advance, our Clerk and Comptroller, Sharon Bock, and her staff, especially Un Cha Kim, Jim Douglas and Nicole Blanton, and those heading up our Bar Technology Committee – Casey Jones, Chuck Hernicz, Brian Poulton from the State Attorney’s Office, Mark Osherow from the South County Bar, Bard Rockenbach and, of course, Patience Burns for participating in this important project.

We look forward, with anticipation, to your responses!

“Judge Winikoff, that has a nice ring to it, but do you know, truly, what the two most important requirements are to be a Judge?” “No” he said (with that mischievous smile that would become so familiar) “but I think you’re going to tell me”.

“Well,” I said, “the first requirement to be a Judge is to have a full head of gray hair – to look distinguished. The second requirement is to have hemorrhoids – to look concerned.”

He laughed as only Judge Winikoff could and then said, “do you know what the most important requirement will be to be a successful lawyer in my Court?” (The obligatory “no”) – “don’t tell the Court such stale jokes!” We hit it off right away.

This past month the bench and bar has lost a giant of a man – literally and figuratively. Judge Winikoff was one of the most down-to-earth, yet intelligent and practical Judges. He was what a Judge should be: fair, impartial, humorous, diligent, quick to recognize the issues, and quick to brush aside spurious arguments that wasted the Court’s time. He knew how to get to the heart of a matter and treated parties, attorneys, and jurors with the utmost respect.

I miss Judge Winikoff. I miss his sense of humor and his other attributes, but most of all, I miss that feeling of knowing, in his Courtroom, professionalism prevailed and my clients would always get a fair shake. Yes, and even in the most serious cases, we would all have some laughs along the way!

Demographics

1.Approximately 55% of lawyers nationally are baby-boomers, the eldest of whom are reaching retirement age.

2.Fewer lawyers are coming into the profession than are approaching retirement age.

3.Bar Associations may have to plan for reduced memberships unless these demographics reverse themselves.

Legal Education and Law School Debt

1.After several years of decline, law school enrollments increased slightly last year.

2.Female enrollments are declining.

3.Minority enrollments appear to be declining.

4.Law school tuitions are up 267% since 1990.

5.Starting salaries are up 60% since 1990.

6.Graduates of private law schools have debts of about $80,000.00 or more not including undergraduate debt.

Career Mobility

1.One in four workers have been on the same job for one year.

2.One in two less than five years.

3.Today’s graduates will hold 10 to 14 jobs by their 38th birthday.

4.The Palm Beach County Bar Association experiences 20 to 30 address changes per month.

Technology and the Economics of the Practice

For a real eye-opener, one should take a look at a couple of the legal sites that I will list below. In fact, there are legal sites that promote the preparation of legal papers such as leases, trusts, wills, etc., across state lines over the Internet and there are even legal sites such as one listed below, that large industrial clients post assignments on to be bid upon by large law firms within a specified time period. The client, e.g. Exxon Mobil, will then select the bid that it deems most appropriate for its legal task and contract with the particular law firm or law firms selected. A selection of these sites for your review are as follows:

1. www.legaladviceline.com

2. www.legalzoom.com

3. www.elawforum.com

4. www.completecase.com

The above are just a sampling. There are many more than these.
Along with the above information, you should be aware of these additional facts bearing on technology’s impact on our practices:

1.More than 50% of U.S. 21 year olds have created content on the web.

2.70% of 4 year olds have used a computer.

3.It was December of 1992 when the first commercial text message was sent over the Internet.

4.Today alone, commercial text messages exceed the population of the planet.

5.Today information is doubling every two years on the Internet.

6.It is predicted by the year 2010, information on the Internet could double every 72 hours!

These are some of the trends made apparent at the BLI. If you’re going to further your practice, it is fairly clear that all of us need to be aware of these and other fast-paced developments for, as the old saying goes “if you’re not on the train, you might be on the tracks.”

Throughout the rest of this year, I will try my best to alert our members to issues like these through this President’s Message column and at our meetings.

]]> http://www.florida-personal-injury-lawyer-blog.com/2008/04/legal_trends_you_cant_afford_t_1.html http://www.florida-personal-injury-lawyer-blog.com/2008/04/legal_trends_you_cant_afford_t_1.html Palm Beach County Bar Newsletter Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:16:08 -0500