April 26, 2023 | Legal Alerts

Fourth District Court of Appeal Issues Important Ruling on Determining the Proper Medicare Fee Schedule for Purpose of PIP Reimbursement, Receding from Its Prior Ruling and in Conflict with the Third District

On April 26, 2023, the Fourth District Court of Appeal addressed the ever expanding litigation over the proper Medicare Fee Schedule, overturning a trial court’s ruling that insurers must pay the higher 2007 Non-Facility Limiting Charge, and holding the proper reimbursement rate was the lower 2007 non-facility participating price, in Progressive Select Insurance Company v. In House Diagnostic Services, Inc., a/a/o Darryl Frazier, No. 4D21-2581. In doing so, the entire Court, not just a three-judge panel, officially receded from its own prior precedent.

April 12, 2023 | Verdicts and Settlements

Summary Judgment Secured in a Trip and Fall Case

Attorney Tylar Heintz of our Orlando office won a summary judgment for a residential homeowner in a trip and fall sidewalk case in Orange County, Florida.  Plaintiff alleged he tripped due to underground tree roots buckling the concrete sidewalk adjacent to the homeowners’ residence. Plaintiff brought suit against the homeowners, the HOA, the management company and Orange County. Based on case law presented from the 1st, 3rd, and 4th DCAs, the Court agreed with Mr. Heintz’s argument that a property owner has no duty to maintain or repair a public sidewalk, and therefore granted final summary judgment in favor of the Defendant homeowners.

March 24, 2023 | Legal Alerts

Florida Tort Reform

The Governor has now signed the new Tort Reform Act into law effective today, March 24, 2023. The law significantly changes personal injury, wrongful death, attorneys’ fee claims in personal injury protection and first party property insurance claims, as well as insurer bad faith cases in this state. The key points of the bill as signed by Governor DeSantis, are as follows:

March 17, 2023 | Legal Alerts

Insurance Fraud Costs the U.S. $308 Billion Annually

The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud (CAIF) has come out with a new study that shows the full extent of insurance fraud in the United States. For the first time in almost three decades, the figure that estimates total losses due to insurance fraud has been updated. According to the CAIF, total losses due to insurance fraud across the country are $308 billion. This figure is dramatically higher than the group’s $80 billion estimate in 1995, which is the last time it released an estimate of the cost of insurance fraud. The study may even underestimate the total amount of insurance fraud because some insurance companies may not realize that they have been defrauded due to sophisticated methods employed by fraudsters.