PERSONAL INJURY
WRONGFUL DEATH
VEHICLE ACCIDENTS
CRUISE SHIP INJURIES
SLIP, TRIP AND FALL
PRODUCTS LIABILITY
BOATING ACCIDENTS
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
CONSTRUCTION SITE & WORK ZONE ACCIDENTS
BUSINESS LITIGATION
INSURANCE BAD FAITH
NEGLIGENT SECURITY
HURRICANE, FIRE & STORM PROPERTY DAMAGE
DOG BITES
PREMISES LIABILITY
MARITIME/ADMIRALTY
DEFECTIVE DRUGS AND MEDICAL DEVICES
CLASS ACTIONS AND MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION
CATASTROPHIC INJURIES
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY
COMMERCIAL LITIGATION
IMMIGRATION
CRIMINAL DEFENSE
AVIATION LAW
SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT REPRESENTATION

In Florida, dog owners are strictly liable when their dog bites someone and causes injury. Strictly liable means the dog’s owner will have to pay for any damages that flow from the bite whether the owner was negligent or not in causing the dog bite. This law is codified as Florida Statute 767.04 which states as follows:

The owner of any dog that bites any person while such person is on or in a public place, or lawfully on or in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, is liable for damages suffered by persons bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owners’ knowledge of such viciousness. However, any negligence on the part of the person bitten that is a proximate cause of the biting incident reduces the liability of the owner of the dog by the percentage that the bitten person’s negligence contributed to the biting incident. A person is lawfully upon private property of such owner within the meaning of this act when the person is on such property in the performance of any duty imposed upon him or her by the laws of this state or by the laws or postal regulations of the United States, or when the person is on such property upon invitation, expressed or implied, of the owner. However, the owner is not liable, except as to a person under the age of 6, or unless the damages are proximately caused by a negligent act or omission of the owner, if at the time of any such injury the owner had displayed in a prominent place on his or her premises a sign easily readable including the words “Bad Dog.” The remedy provided by this section is in addition to and cumulative with any other remedy provided by statute or common law.

But what happens when the owner of the dog has no money to pay for your damages and/or their Homeowners insurance excludes coverage for dog bites? If this happens, which it often does just like in car accident cases, Perkins Law Offices will investigate to determine if there are any other viable defendants whose negligence may have caused or contributed to the dog bite or attack. For example there may be landlord or property owner liability if they were on notice of the dog’s dangerous propensities. A landlord has a duty to protect its tenants from a vicious dog of which the landlord has knowledge. Another example would be if a property management company or homeowners association has rules which specifically prohibit certain breeds of dogs and do not enforce those rules resulting in injury. Also one can be found liable for letting a dangerous dog out of the yard by negligently leaving a gate or door open.

Keep in mind, the person who got bit may be partly at fault for causing their own injury. Teasing a dog could reduce the amount of damages you are entitled to. There also might not be liability where the victim is a trespasser or ignored beware of bad dog signs. There are many legal theories and statutes involved in dog bite cases which require an experienced lawyer like Attorney Alex Perkins who has handled many dog bite injuries over the years. Please call Attorney Alex Perkins at 305-741-5297 or email Perkins Law Offices at info@PerkinsLawOffices.com.

CONSTRUCTION SITE AND WORKZONE ACCIDENTS Stuart Florida. The construction industry that build our buildings, homes and highways, try to work quickly to make deadlines and earn as much profit as possible. This can lead to using unskilled labor and cutting corners. These mistakes can hurt people. In Florida the booming construction projects that continually change our skyline and routes to work, are challenged by weather conditions, requirements for hurricane protection, people with disabilities and construction materials new to the industry. Faulty designs and engineering do happen resulting in hidden perils that may not come to light for years to come. During the building phase it is crucial for the developers to adhere to the design plans and specifications and to hire qualified sub-contractors. Danger and instability can arise from pooling rain water on roofs, balconies, or roads; flooded foundations, cracked slabs, sub-standard materials, mold or termite infestations; dangerous machinery, lack of safety equipment, poor signage and lighting, uneven lanes, improper barriers, etc. All of these things endanger our safety. Some the most deadly construction related injuries happen during the active construction phase, as we have seen time and time again such as when the Stuart-Dade College campus parking garage collapsed during its construction in 2012, killing and injuring several workers or when a highway has temporary travel lanes causing motorists to be confused and run off the road. Over time the construction and design flaws can be made worse without proper maintenance and inspection. If you have been seriously injured due to a construction site or work zone accident, we can help. Email us at info@PerkinsLawOffices.com or call at 305-741-LAWS (5297) or 855-741-LAWS, for a free and confidential consultation from our skilled lawyers at Perkins Law Offices.

Stuart Florida Dangerous Drugs Attorneys

Sometimes the medicines and medical devices intended to help people and prolong our lives, wind up doing more harm than good. Manufacturing pharmaceuticals and medical equipment is big business. Billions of dollars are at play in these industries, therefore sometimes corporations put profits over safety. This is precisely what happened in December 2006 to a young man with muscular dystrophy when his ventilator malfunctioned due to a design and maintenance defect resulting in his untimely death.

Attorney Alex Perkins took on this wrongful death case after some of the most well known personal injury lawyers in Florida were not interested because of its complexity and the fact that the young man had a shortened life expectancy due to his muscular dystrophy. The manufacturer and maintenance company claimed the product worked properly. Not satisified with relying on the defendants representations, Mr. Perkins’ intuition led him to investigate deeper. Mr. Perkins’ flew in a renown medical technology expert from San Antonio, Texas who downloaded the ventilator’s black box called electric programmable memory. This blackbox download at the joint inspection of the ventilator helped to prove the time line of events, the lack of maintenance and the product defects. Alex Perkins’ persistent discovery requests and video taped depositions revealed that not only did the defective medical device not receive its proper preventive maintenance, but that the FDA and manufacturer had received thousands of complaints about battery and alarm malfunctions for years that went without proper corrective and preventive action by the manufacturer. In many instances the ventilators were returned to the manufacturer who said the malfunction could not be duplicated back at the factory. This is akin to giving the gun back to the murderer during a murder investigation. After several years of hotly contested litigation, this product liability, wrongful death lawsuit was settled for $2,500,000.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed as a result of defective medical device or drug, contact Perkins Law Offices at Perkins@PerkinsLawOffices.com of call for a free confidential case review at 305-741-LAWS(5297).

Contact a Stuart Florida Boating Accident Attorney if you are injured on or by a by a boat or pleasure craft while in an ocean, river, bay, lake or any other type of navigable waterway or body of water. Perkins Law Offices is an experienced Boating Accident law firm, which is why we understand that most likely these cases will be governed by special laws called Maritime and Admiralty. Under maritime law, ship owners and operators have a duty of reasonable care to all passengers and seamen. In the event of an injury or accident in Stuart Florida, a passenger may be able to bring an injury claim against the ship owner or captain depending on the circumstances by contacting a Stuart Florida Boating Accident Attorney. Maritime and Admiralty law is complex and can be quite different than laws governing the same injury had it occurred on land. Therefore your lawyer needs to be well versed in the nuances of the laws that govern accidents on the water. Attorney Alex Perkins has extensive experience in handling boating and cruise ship injury cases. Cruising the waterways at night is very dangerous as running lights on boats and piers can be difficult to see. Mr. Perkins often known as a Stuart Florida Boating Accident Attorney has resolved several cases involving boat collisions, in particular boat crashes that occur at night and involve alcoholic beverages. In a 2009 tragic case in Monroe County, Mr. Perkins achieved a $700,000 result for a woman who sustained a fractured hip and wrist in a terrible boat collision that also took another boaters life. Mr. Perkins’ client was on a a boat with friends on the way to dinner at a popular Stuart Florida Keys restaurant when they were struck by a fishing boat retuning to shore. Mr Perkins has also handled numerous cruise ship injury cases in Federal Court including a crew member on passenger rape that yielded over $1,700,000 for the victim.Stuart Florida Boating Accident Attorney.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a boating accident contact Perkins Law Offices at info@PerkinsLawOffices.com of call for a free confidential case review at 305-741-LAWS(5297).

Stuart Florida Boating Accident Attorney :: Boating Accidents :: Port of Miami, Stuart Florida Maritime Injury Lawyer

Stuart Florida Car Accident Attorney. Vehicle accidents are the most common type of personal injury and wrongful death cases in Florida. They are usually caused by to someone being negligent or reckless behind the wheel. Common allegations we see are improper lane changes, careless driving, reckless driving, failing to keep a proper look out, driving too fast for conditions, failing to perceive hazards, disobeying traffic signals and laws and driving under the influence.

The key to a good vehicle accident case is when the other person who is at fault or is mostly at fault for causing the accident and your permanent injury, has liability insurance to pursue. Unfortunately we are seeing more and more people in Florida driving around with very low insurance policy limits and sometimes no insurance at all. Many people who buy the bare minimum amount of insurance limits the law requires, think they are fully protected. That could not be farther from the truth. In Florida the minimum amount of insurance required is only $10,000 in PIP limits. This won’t even cover a couple days in a hospital, much less costs of suregries, ongoing treatment, lost wages and pain and suffering.

If the at-fault driver has no insurance or inadequate insurance, you may be able to pursue your own insurance policy benefits if you paid extra for uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM) protection. Again, most people think they are fully covered, but they usually do not have UM coverage because it is not required by law and costs more to have. Most people reject UM coverage when they initially apply for a policy.

Perkins Law Offices will help you understand the different insurance policies and benefits at play. We will find any and all coverage available or parties liable for the accident and have successfully obtained personal money from defendants over and above any insurance limits.

Perkins Law Offices regularly helps people who are seriously injured in car accidents, motorcycle accidents, trucking accidents, bicycle accidents, scooter/moped accidents, vehicle on pedestrian accidents, drunk driving accidents, hit and runs, chain reaction collisions and motorcycle lay downs cases. Vehicle accidents can cause catastrophic, life altering injuries and death. But even smaller impact collisions can cause injures that interfere with your enjoyment of life.

Stuart Florida Car Accident Attorney. Below is a list of rules you should follow if you are in a car accident:

1. Call Police so a crash report will be filed.
2. Remember as much as you can about how the accident happened:

The speeds of the vehicles.
The lanes of travel the vehicles were in.
The direction of travel of the vehicles.
Where the impacts were
What the other driver and witnesses said at the scene.
3. Take pictures of the accident scene, the vehicles and your injuries if you are not too injured to do so or immediately transported to the hospital.

4. Get names and contact info of any witnesses that may help prove your case.

5. Seek medical treatment immediately. Even if you do not have insurance or a regular doctor. Car Insurance companies will not take your injury case seriously if you do not get treatment immediately or if you have a gap in treatment dates. Even your own insurance company may not pay your own PIP benefits you don go to a hospital or doctor immediately.

6. Do not talk to anyone about the car accident or injuries other than your attorney or doctor after the accident other than police. You do not want to talk with an insurance adjuster or investigator, sometimes even from your own carrier because they are not there to help you. Make sure you talk to Perkins Law offices before speaking to anyone or giving any statements about the accident or your injuries.

7. Keep track of all of your damages such as medical bills, lost time and wages from work. Make sure you tell Perkins’ injury lawyers every detail about your injuries and how the injuries effect your life.

Stuart Florida Car Accident Attorney. The few minutes after a car crash can literally make the difference between winning or losing your case, even when the accident is not your fault. Our Stuart Florida car accident law firm recommends that everybody, whether driving or riding a passenger, always wears one’s seatbelt, no matter how far you are driving. It can be a critical mistake to think people do not need to wear a seatbelt if they are just driving around the corner. Studies have proven that a person has a 400% greater chance of surviving an accident if they are properly seat belted.

8. Disclose to Perkins Law Offices about any prior accidents, lawsuits, claims or other personal things that may affect your case. Do not worry, everything you say to Perkins Law Offices is confidential and protected by the attorney client privilege.

Stuart Florida Car Accident Attorney

Provided by PerkinsLawOffices.com 305-741-LAWS (5297) TF 855-741-LAWS (5297) Perkins@PerkinsLawOffices.com

Perkins Law Offices is a full service law firm that offers its clients experience with Real Estate litigation matters and the brokering and negotiating of deals. The firm will handle Real Estate cases such as contract disputes, commercial leasing matters, property damage, homeowner and policyholder insurance claims and can guide its clientele through Real Estate transactions and disputes. Most recently, Perkins Law Offices successfully defended a commercial property dispute involving highly sought after parcels of land in the Design District owned by his client. After obtaining a dismissal with prejudice of the case in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, Perkins Law Offices negotiated terms for the sale of the property for $16 Million Dollars.

To discuss any potential Real Estate related inquiries you may have about real estate law in Stuart Florida contact us at 305-741-5297 or Perkins@PerkinsLawOffices.com.

Slip and fall Lawyers in Stuart Florida

Stuart Florida Slip & Fall Lawyer. Slip and fall’s and trip and fall’s on someone else’s property that result in serious injury are called premises liability cases. A property owner or person or entity in control of the property may be held financially responsible for those injuries occurring on the property that are due to a dangerous condition. The key issue that a Miami slip and fall lawyer is looking to prove is that the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and did not act reasonably to detect or correct it. Common examples of dangerous or hidden conditions on the ground are wet floors, uneven ground surfaces, rolled up floor mats, and deteriorated pavement. Poor lighting and lack of warning signs can contribute to the overall dangerous condition. In a premises liability cases your Stuart Florida slip and fall lawyer will look for possible building code violations that will be evidence of negligence on the owner, possessor or builder of the property. Building code violations that lead to dangerous conditions such as stairwells that have an uneven risers or defective a handrails or doorways that are misplace or swing in the wrong direction can lead people to loose balance or trip and fall. Perkins Law Offices Stuart Florida slip and fall lawyers may retain expert engineers to testify as to building code violations or to conduct coefficient of friction tests to prove a floor surface is unreasonably dangerous. Some floor coverings and materials may be deemed unsafe because they do not pass slip tests measured by special engineering equipment and techniques such as a slip meter.

Many people take these types of cases lightly, but often times and slip and fall’s and trip and fall’s lead to serious injuries, such as broken ankles, broken hips, knee joint injuries, brain injuries and even death. Perkins Law Office’s Stuart Florida slip lawyers understand how a an injury from a fall can have a serious negative impact on someone’s life. Attorney Alex Perkins has been a Stuart Florida Slip and fall lawyer handling slip and fall and trip and fall cases his entire career. He has successfully handled claims against Hotels, Condo Associations and many large corporations such Walt Disney World, Publix, Winn Dixie, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise to name a few.

If you or a loved one was seriously injured as a result of a fall due to a dangerous condition, call Attorney Alex Perkins at 305-741-LAWS(5297) or email him at info@PerkinsLawOffices.com for a free confidential Stuart Florida Slip and fall case review.