We are pleased to announce that our 2021 Summer e-Newsletter has been published. Please take a few minutes to read it as it contains information on new case law updates, including topics on liability, workers’ compensation, first party property and coverage, trucking, medical malpractice, and many more. The e-Newsletter also includes firm successes secured by Conroy Simberg, additional news and notes, and firm announcements.

COVID-19 has affected the state of Florida, and the entire United States, in ways that were previously unfathomable. The virus has taken a catastrophic toll on the population as well as the economy. While many industries are struggling to recover, the risk of opportunistic insurance claims and lawsuits as a result of the pandemic is on the rise. The financial threat these lawsuits pose to the business community, large and small, is incalculable. Multiple plaintiffs have already filed lawsuits in hopes of compensation for a variety of reasons, including relatives of deceased family members seeking compensation for their loved ones’ deaths and businesses filing suits against insurance carriers that have denied business interruption claims. New state legislation passed on March 29, 2021 grants liability protection against COVID-19 related injury and death lawsuits to Florida businesses and educational, governmental, and religious institutions – all of which are attempting to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic.

Workers’ compensation is a type of insurance that protects employees if they are injured on the job and limits the liability exposure of the businesses that employ them. The insurance provides medical benefits and wage replacement for the employee depending on the nature of their injuries while also protecting the employer from lawsuits related to the incident that caused the injury at work. While workers’ compensation can be considered an essential benefit for employees, many business officers find they do not require the same protection.  Those who work in administrative and/or management roles may have a significantly lower risk of sustaining a work-related injury, making workers’ compensation coverage unnecessary. Because insurance providers use a business’ total payroll to calculate insurance premiums, removing an officer’s salary can reduce insurance expenses. To do this, the officer needs to file for a workers’ compensation exemption. Exemptions can make it easier for a business to meet Florida’s workers’ compensation requirements while maintaining a reasonable profit margin.

Joshua E. Nathanson, a partner in the firm’s Hollywood office, obtained a verdict in an admitted liability rear-end auto collision. This was one of the first live trials held in Miami, Dade County since the COVID-19 shutdown.  

On April 29, 2021, The Florida Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion on how the new summary judgment standard it promulgated on December 31, 2020 will be applied after its effective date of May 1, 2021. This standard is not “new” but rather it is patterned after the federal summary judgment standard. The Supreme Court has made it clear that, as a result, federal case law interpreting Federal Rule 56 will be persuasive in state courts.