by Marius Ged, on Jun 15, 2022 3:23:06 PM
Keep up with the latest personal injury law news and insights from the industry's trusted legal partner, Ged Lawyers. Here is an overview of what happened this month in the personal injury law field.
What’s New in FL Personal Injury Law
1) Florida Supreme Court Rules on Admissibility of Plaintiff’s Entitlement to Past Medicare Benefits in Personal Injury Cases
On April 28th, 2022, the Florida Supreme court made its decision in a Dial vs Calusa Psalms Master Association Inc, which ultimately will have profound effects on the damages awarded in personal injury cases in Florida.
Elaine Dial was injured after tripping and falling on Calusa Palms Master Association property. Dial was covered by a private health insurance plan at the time of her injury, but she later became eligible for Medicare. Both Dial and Calusa Psalms filed petitions concerning her past medical expenses.
Concerning medical expenses processed by the plaintiff's private health insurer, Calusa Palms agreed that the plaintiff could admit the full past medical expense amounts, even though they had been paid at the insurer's discounted rates. However, with regard to the medical expenses processed by Medicare, Calusa Palms argued that the plaintiff should be permitted to admit only the amounts paid by Medicare.
Under the court's ruling and after factoring in the Medicare discounted amounts, Dial's past medical expenses totaled $34,641. If she had been permitted to admit the full amounts, the total would have been approximately $120,000.
On appeal, the plaintiff contended that Medicare was a collateral source for past medical expenses, although it violated Florida Statutes section 768.76(2)(b). The Second District Court of Appeals upheld the trial court's decision and certified the case as one of public importance. The Florida Supreme Court explicitly approved the Second DCA's decision in Dial. Through the ruling, the Florida Supreme Court standardized the way past medical expenses should be handled throughout the state.
Industry Updates
1) How to Curb 'Social Inflation' in Lawsuit Damages
Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the number of damages awarded in lawsuits. This increase has far eclipsed general inflation, causing an increase in the cost of goods and services.
Many factors cause social inflation. First, the younger generation of jurors will award large amounts of damages not only to compensate the injured individual but also to address broader societal concerns. A younger juror will view awarding lawsuit damages as a way of distributing wealth from the rich to the less privileged in society.
Additionally, lawsuit financing by third parties is a major contributor to social inflation. A financier will inflate the reasonable settlement value of the case because the recovered money is shared among many pockets.
Social inflation is also a result of the successful efforts of lawyers to convince courts to remove limits on certain types of damages, such as pain and suffering. Lawyers have lobbied many states to adopt laws that increase the amount of recoverable damages.
Judges have a social responsibility to block unsound arguments and testimonies by damages experts. Unfortunately, they often fail to uphold the responsibility.
The good news is that there are ways to stop inflation in lawsuit damages. First, judges should act as gatekeepers to keep speculative and misleading information away from jurors. Second, state legislators can set a reasonable upper limit on certain types of damages. They can also adopt laws to ensure that third-party litigation funding is transparent so that they do not exert improper influence over lawsuits.
Growing Your Practice
1) Why Law Firms Need to Prioritize SEO and Social Media Marketing
Until the pandemic arrived, Michelle Creeden, the practice administrator for National Legacy Center, always relied on referrals over advertisements. However, following the COVID-19 pandemic, Creeden turned to SEO and social media to market the law firm. Since implementing SEO, the firm has experienced website visits rise by more than 1,200% and organic site visits account for 42% from 7%.
Other law firms are also transitioning from email marketing to social media and SEO marketing, but they are not all there yet. According to a December 2021 survey from CallRail, only 17% of firms prioritize SEO or Social Media advertising. Most firms rely on email lists to keep in touch with the leads that have not been converted to clients.
Most personal injury law firms are still stuck in the traditional ways of reaching their clients and are hesitant to adopt SEO and social media mainly because they don’t believe that change is necessary. Others, though, find understanding SEO to be overwhelming and intimidating, and time-consuming. However, for the law firms that have been using SEO and social media marketing, they attest that SEO has been instrumental in expanding their client list quickly and methodically.
Maximize Your Law Firm Revenue with Ged Lawyers
If your Florida law firm handles personal injury cases for medical providers, maximize your revenue channels with Ged Lawyers. Through our 25 years of practice, we have designed an elaborate and efficient approach to letting lawyers turn their medical providers into reliable streams of income.
At the same time, our Ged lawyers are committed to helping these same providers resolve personal injury protection cases. Florida PIP referrals present an untapped growth opportunity both for the medical providers and their legal advocates. We, therefore, invite you to learn more about the process and read testimonials from the partner firms.
Ged Lawyers is founder-led by Attorneys C. Glen Ged and Marius J. (Marty) Ged. Based in Boca Raton, the Ged Lawyers firm maintains offices in Sarasota, Clearwater, Melbourne, Estero, Naples, and Panama City.
Contact us today to start collaborating with our team. Our knowledgeable experts are ready to onboard you today!
