The practice of law includes the drafting of documents for clients as well as the bringing
and defending of lawsuits on the client’s behalf. Our firm is able to review and draft
documents for its clients, to include but not be limited to, contracts, leases, employment
agreements, waivers, estate planning documents, and transactional documents such as
deeds, and promissory notes to name a few. We also handle litigation matters. To
determine whether your case is one we can accept, you must make an appointment for a
free consultation. The engagement of attorney only occurs after written agreement between
the parties. An overview of the courts and different types of cases is found below.
Overview
The practice of law covers many areas arranged on various dockets in state and federal
courts. Most people are familiar with criminal dockets, where people are charged with felonies
and misdemeanors by either the state or federal government. However, in addition to criminal
dockets, judges also hear cases brought by citizens against one other or entities, which are
assigned to various courts, dockets, and divisions. In the federal system, there are tax courts,
patent courts, bankruptcy courts and the general civil courts.
For civil matters in Florida’s state system, there are County and Circuit courts. Circuit courts
are assigned matters that reach jurisdictional and monetary amounts, as well as cases that are
assigned to them by statute, such as probate and trust matters or cases that involve title and
boundaries to land. On January 1, 2020, changes in Florida state law and the Florida Rules of
Procedure went into effect, changing jurisdictional amounts as follows:
County court jurisdictional thresholds increased to $30,000 (and will further increase to
$50,000 on January 1, 2023). Presently, cases with an amount in controversy exceeding
$30,001 are heard in Circuit court.
Small claims cases now include cases up to $8,000. Small claims are heard in County court.
Filers are required to include a civil cover sheet specifying the dollar amount in dispute in
cases exceeding $8,000 in value. [This enables the various clerks of court to assign the cases
to the proper docket.]
Thus, a Circuit Civil Division typically hears cases with damages in excess of $30,001 filed by
an individual, business or government agency. The Circuit Civil Division has jurisdiction over a
broad category of cases, including tort actions, contract disputes, products liability issues,
malpractice matters, infringements of intellectual property, injunctions, probate, guardianship,
trust matters, family law, ejectment, matters involving titles and boundaries to land, and other
matters meeting the statutory monetary amount.
A County Civil Division typically hears Landlord Tenant, Small Claims (amounts up to $8,000),
and other civil matters like auto negligence, condominium and personal injury protection
(amounts of $8,001 up to $30,000) cases.
For a more comprehensive discussion on the Florida Court System, visit
https://www.flcourts.org/Know-Your-Court
TYPES OF CASES OUR FIRM HANDLES
Our firm handles cases, to include but not be limited to, Appeals, Probate and Trust
Matters, cases involving titles and/or boundaries to land, Quiet Title actions, Automobile
Accidents, Negligence, Premise Liability, Contract Disputes, and Medical Malpractice. To
determine whether your issue is one that we would accept, please feel free to call us for a free
consultation.
Automobile Accidents: When you are involved in an automobile accident, there is often a great deal of confusion. At the
Law Offices of Jennifer Kerkhoff, we help clients cope with the consequences of the accident
and, where the injuries are serious, we pursue claims on the client’s behalf where appropriate.
We provide a variety of services to clients who have been injured in automobile accidents.
Evidence Gathering: We photograph of the accident vehicles, the scene of the accident, and interview witnesses
and/or place ads to locate eyewitnesses in the evidence gathering stage. If the case warrants, we
may employ expert witnesses who provide testimony regarding how the accident occurred,
vehicle speeds, forces involved in the accident, visibility conditions, and opinions on mechanical
issues.
Monitoring Medical Treatment: If you have been injured in an automobile accident, you must receive appropriate medical
attention. While a the is proceeding, our firm obtains copies of applicable medical records and
forwards documents to the insurance carrier while building your case.
Payment of Medical Bills and Lost Wages: Florida law requires owners or registrants of motor vehicles licensed in this state to carry "no-fault" insurance. Florida's no-fault insurance law provides medical, surgical, funeral and
disability insurance benefits without regard to fault. Typically, Florida’s no-fault insurance will
pay 80% of reasonable medical expenses related to injuries sustained in the accident and 60% of
lost earnings subject to the limits of the no-fault coverage and any applicable deductible. If you
have been involved in an automobile accident, the first policy examined is yours, and we can
examine your insurance coverage and explain your benefits to you. If your Florida auto insurer
wrongfully refuses to pay benefits on your behalf, we will bring suit to help recover any benefits
to which the client is legally entitled.
Payment of Other Damages: Under Florida law, in order to recover damages for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and
inconvenience because of injuries sustained in an automobile accident, the injured party must
establish a significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, a permanent injury
within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant and permanent scarring or
disfigurement, or death. For clients who have sustained serious injuries in an accident, our firm
works to determine whether the injuries satisfy the statutory criteria to allow recovery of such
damages. Where the requirement is met, our firm will bring suit to help recover any damages to
which the client is legally entitled.
Defective Products: A wide range of defective products kill and injure people every day. Unfortunately, many
manufacturers use a cost/benefit heuristic that places profits over safety.
Defective products cases are varied and include rollover crashworthiness cases, gas tank fires,
seat belt failures, tire and wheel failures. Typical manufacturers sued include those of heavy
equipment, motorcycles, lawnmowers, steel products, electrical cords, and the makers of safety
and guard rail type products used to alter or divert the flow of traffic.
Injuries from defective products are oftentimes horrific and debilitating to downright deadly. If
you or a loved one has been injured from a defective product, call today for a free consultation to
review the specifics of your case.
Medical Malpractice: A cause of action for medical malpractice applies to a variety of healthcare providers and is not
limited to medical doctors. The term covers osteopaths, nurses, dentists, health care facilities and
others providing healthcare services.
In order for there to be an actionable malpractice case, a healthcare provider must have acted
improperly toward a patient. The legal definition is that the healthcare provider breached the
accepted medical practices for a specific specialty of medicine. It is often equated with
carelessness or negligence. A injured patient MUST prove that the wrongdoing of the healthcare
professional actually caused the injury and damage. The fact that a less than favorable result
occurred, or even a poor result occurred, does not necessarily mean malpractice exists.
Establishing wrongdoing on the part of a healthcare provider is often difficult. It requires the
hiring of specialists with the same training as the one being charged with misconduct to testify as
to what should have properly been done. Since medical organizations to which most healthcare
providers belong discourage them from testifying against one another, it is difficult to secure
experts who have the integrity and courage to come forward and testify as to misconduct by a
peer. Another difficulty lies in the fact that insurance carriers providing coverage to a healthcare
provider prohibit testimony against another provider having nsurance with the same company.
Another difficulty in proving medical malpractice is the challenged report. The healthcare
professional being charged is generally the one who wrote the report that forms the basis of the
suit. Since they are often the only ones who are present and know what really occurred when the
misconduct happened, and they choose how they want to describe the event, records seldom are
descriptive of what truly happened. In addition, there have been more than a few occasions
where records have been changed or added to after the fact to cover up" what actually may have
occurred. Likewise, other healthcare providers may frame their reports so as to protect the one
guilty of misconduct. There have been many cases of malpractice resulting in death where a
burial or cremation without an autopsy prevented discovery f the wrongdoing. Thus, rarely do
wrongdoers step forward, admit the mistake and offer compensation.
Another hurdle is connecting the serious njury to the medical misconduct and proving that the
healthcare provider actually caused the injury. Thus, while a healthcare provider can act
improperly, unless it can be said that "but for" the wrongdoing of the provider the injury would
not have occurred, or that the wrongdoing played a substantial part in causing the injury or that
the misconduct deprived the patient of a substantial chance of survival, a case will not succeed.
For instance, the giving of wrong medication or unacceptable doses of medication may constitute
malpractice, but unless it causes injury, there is no viable claim. A healthcare provider may fail
to diagnose a serious medical condition, but unless the diagnosis would have changed the outcome, a lawsuit will not lie.
Nevertheless, a healthcare provider who clearly disregards well-established standards of medical
practice or who performs procedures that are well beyond his or her level of skill and
competence may be found guilty of malpractice. Where the damages for which the healthcare
provider is responsible are serious, he or she can be held liable for those damages. Ferreting all
of the applicable issues and statutes of limitations requires a
comprehensive review of your case
to include all medical records, which a client should request from each healthcare provider
before making an appointment with an attorney.
In Florida, there is a statutory obligation on the part of the injured patient and his or her attorney
to conduct a good faith pre-suit investigation into the merits of a potential medical malpractice
claim. At a minimum, pertinent records must be gathered and reviewed by a properly qualified
expert. Then, if there is a reasonable basis for pursuing the claim, the expert must sign an
affidavit setting forth his opinions in some detail. This affidavit, accompanied by a Notice of
Intent letter, must be sent to the potential medical malpractice defendants alerting them that at
the end of ninety (90) days, a lawsuit will be filed against them. During the ninety-day pre-suit
period, "discovery" of information by both sides is permitted. Interestingly, an unsworn
statement may be taken from the healthcare provider, but it may never be used for any purposes
whatever in a subsequent lawsuit. Thus, even if the physician makes a statement at trial that is
180 degrees different than expressed during
pre-suit screening, the change in his testimony
cannot be used or referred to. If a case has not settled during the ninety-day pre-suit period, suit
is filed.
Unsafe Premises: The owner of property owes a duty of reasonable care to prevent injury to a person whose
presence is known to the landowner and the injury is caused by the active conduct of the
landowner. This duty is changed when the injury was caused by a defect in or a dangerous
condition of the premises itself. In these cases, the status of the person on the premises
determines the duty of care owed by the possessor of the premises.
When a person on the premises of another is injured as a result of a defect in the premises, the
injured person falls into one of several categories. These include 1) Trespassers, 2) Licensees,
and 3) Invitees. These designations are irrelevant if the injury is not caused by a condition of the
premises but as a result of misconduct of the owner.
A "trespasser" is an individual who goes on property without the permission of the landowner or
without some other right to be on the property. In this case, the entry is for the trespasser's own
purpose or convenience and not for the benefit of the landowner. The landowner has a duty to
refrain from willfully and wantonly causing injury to an undiscovered trespasser. If the
landowner discovers the trespasser, the landowner's duty to the trespasser increases. In addition
to a duty to refrain from willfully and wantonly causing injury, the landowner has a duty to warn
a "discovered trespasser" of known dangers that are not immediately obvious.
An "uninvited licensee" is a person who is privileged to enter the property of another for the
purposes of convenience, pleasure or benefit. A licensee may enter the premises when the owner
has given permission to do so and this distinguishes the licensee from the trespasser. The duty
owed by the licensee is essentially the same as that owed to a discovered trespasser. The
landowner must warn the licensee of a defect or condition known to the landowner to be
dangerous when the danger is not open to ordinary observation by the licensee.
An "invitee" or "invited licensee" involves a situation where the owner or occupier of the land
has led the visitor to believe that the premises are intended to be used for the purpose for which
the visitor has in fact entered the establishment, and that such a purpose was contemplated and
encouraged by the occupier in the design or arrangement of the premises. The duty of care owed
to this class of persons is such that the possessor of the premises 1) must use ordinary care in a)
keeping the premises in a reasonably safe condition and b) correcting dangerous conditions of
which the owner knows or should reasonably know, and 2) must give timely notice of hidden or
concealed perils that are known or should be known to the owner, but that are not known to the person on the premises. The owner or occupier of the premises must act as a reasonably prudent person would in maintaining the premises in a safe condition. The owner or occupier mustundertake reasonable steps to repair any dangers of which the owner has actual or constructive
knowledge.
A child who is injured while trespassing may still bring a suit against the landowner if the injury
is caused by an artificial condition on the land and all of the following conditions are met:1) The
place where the condition exists is one on which the possessor knows or has reason to know that
children are likely to trespass; 2) The condition is one which the possessor knows or has reason
to know and which he or she realizes or should realize will involve an unreasonable risk of death
or serious bodily harm to children; 3) The children, because of their young age, do not discover the condition or realize the risk involved in intermeddling with it or coming into an area made dangerous by it; 4) The utility to the possessor of maintaining the condition and the burden of eliminating the danger are slight as compared with the risk to children involved; and 5) The
possessor fails to exercise reasonable care to eliminate the danger or otherwise protect the
children. Swimming pools are an example where this doctrine may come into play.
Slip and fall is an example where substantial injury occurs. Generally, these occur wherethe injured person has been invited or granted permission to be on the premises. The
injured person must prove misconduct on the part of the property owner or occupier. The
owner or occupier of the premises must have used reasonable care to maintain thepremises in a safe condition and warn the invitee of any concealed dangers. The owner or
occupier, however, is not an insurer of the customer's safety. The mere fact that injury
occurs on the premises of another does not mean that there is liability for the damages
unless some wrongdoing has occurred. A customer still has a duty to exercise reasonable
care in moving about the premises and must be alert to obvious and apparent dangers.
Swimming pool drownings. The owner of the premises must take measures to ensure that
the facility is reasonably safe. The owner has an obligation to make adequate provision
for life-saving and resuscitation. If such is not available, warnings must be issued.
Among the factors to be considered is whether a particular piece of safety equipment or a
lifeguard is available, the size of the complex, the age of the tenants, the characteristics of
the pool and the extent to which the facility is used. In private pools, the owners are
required to use reasonable care for children and protect against uninvited children who
might have access. Proper precautions include factors such as fencing, gate alarms, etc.
The owner of a motels and other businesses must take reasonable care to provide for the
safety of guests. The degree of care is related to the circumstances of the assault, the
foreseeability of the event, and the history of crime in the area.
THE ABOVE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED INFORMATIONAL ONLY AND NOT THE
GIVING OF ADVICE RELATIVE TO YOUR SPECIFIC CASE.
Alachua
Baker
Bradford
Brevard
Citrus
Collier
Gilchrist
Hernando
Hillsborough
Lake
Levy
Lee
Manatee
Marion
Orange
Osceola
Pasco
Pinellas
Polk
Seminole
Union