| Gary T. Lazarus | 0 Comments | SLIP AND FALL, Uncategorized

Social Media Privacy and Florida Law

A case involving a “slip and fall” claim in Florida is challenging some widely-held expectations regarding privacy on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

A woman named Maria Nucci claimed that on February 4, 2010, she slipped and fell on a foreign substance on the floor of a Target store. In her complaint, she alleged that she suffered bodily injury, pain, lost earnings, and other damages.

This case, coming before the District Court of Appeals in the Fourth District of Florida is interesting and complex because it involves images and videos from the Facebook account of Ms. Nucci and deals with the issue of whether they are private or not. The case also deals with technical rules of procedure involving the timing of depositions and also statutes involving discovery, or the gathering of evidence.

The court cited the following opinion from a Palm Beach County judge:
Social networking sites, such as Facebook, are free websites where an individual creates a “profile” which functions as a personal web page and may include, at the user’s discretion, numerous photos and a vast array of personal information including age, employment, education, religious and political views and various recreational interests.

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| Gary T. Lazarus | 0 Comments | PHARMACEUTICAL NELIGENCE, Uncategorized

Pharmacist’s Duty of Care in Florida – A Case Involving Drug Intoxication and Death

Pharmacist’s Duty of Care in Florida – A Case Involving Drug Intoxication and Death
When people go to the pharmacy to have a prescription filled, most assume that a collaboration between their doctor, the pharmacist, and the pharmacy’s computerized record system will ensure they stay in line with a plan for their best health. That is often not a realistic expectation.

A case in Florida involved two powerful medications – Alprazolam and Hydrocodone – and a patient (Mr. Steven Porter) who died as a result of combined intoxication from those drugs in March of 2011.

Instead of cooperatively working together, a lawsuit alleged that the physician involved over-prescribed the drugs and the pharmacy filled the prescriptions in a manner that exceeded what would be deemed reasonable and safe levels.

The lawsuit was filed by the estate of Mr. Porter and also stated that the pharmacy did not warm Mr. Porter about the dangers associated with taking large quantities of the drugs. The trial court dismissed the lawsuit, however a higher court, the District Court of Appeal 5th District reversed the decision.

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| Gary T. Lazarus | 0 Comments | NEGLIGENCE, Uncategorized

Liability for Damages and/or Injuries Involving an Alcohol-Impaired Person

We live in a world where commercials on TV portray a happy, friend-filled lifestyle for people who drink a particular brand of beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverage. Then at the end of the commercial, the announcer reminds us to “please drink responsibly.”

Now it would be nice if everyone listened to the announcer, but in fact that does not always happen. According to MADD.org in 2013 there were 10,076 persons killed in drunk-driving crashes, which is one every 52 minutes.

Sometimes people choose to purchase alcohol on their own and drink alone. Other times people go to parties and drink with friends. Often, people go to bars or restaurants and are served drinks by a bartender or server. It’s this scenario where the responsibility and liability for the actions of impaired persons is sometimes murky.

A case in France recently gained world-wide attention when a man died after being served 56 shots of alcohol, and the bartender was found guilty of manslaughter. See Time Magazine story here: TIME

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