General Frequently Asked Questions

☑️ Can an attorney hold my settlement check from me after my case is settled in mediation?

No, that is not possible. That would be illegal. Your attorney is hired to act in your best interest and that's why they are entrusted with money.

☑️ What Happens in a Wrongful Death Suit?

hen a person dies due to negligence or because of the action of another person, it is a wrongful death in the eyes of the law. Wrongful death lawsuits can encompass many different types of cases and deaths, and due to their nature, they can be quite complicated. If you have someone in your family who passed away and you are considering a wrongful death suit, then you will need the help of an attorney. The first step of a wrongful death suit is contacting the attorney. You always want to choose an attorney that has experience in the area and that will be able to provide you with the help that you need. Some attorneys handle all types of cases. You don’t want to hire that type. A jack of all trades is a master of none. Interview attorneys who focus only on injury cases. That type of attorney will be best able to represent you. In some cases, the attorney might be able to settle the case out of court. The attorney will contact the defendant or the defendant’s attorney, and they will try to work out a settlement agreement. In some cases, it will be possible to reach a settlement. In other cases, it will be impossible to reach a settlement, and your attorney will then file the lawsuit, during which time the defendant’s attorney will likely try to have the case dismissed. Once the process is underway, it still doesn’t mean that you will necessarily have to go to trial. The lawyers will argue that they should win the case without trial, or the judge might try to tell the lawyers to work out a settlement, and more. Of course, the cases do go to trial. Trials are taxing, but with the help of a highly qualified attorney, the process will much easier. The lawyer will be able to help you understand everything that’s going to happen in the case from the start to the finish. It will not be as frightening when you have your lawyer explain everything to you. You and your deceased family member deserve justice, and filing a wrongful death lawsuit is one way that you will be able to seek that justice.

☑️ How Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Handle Your Case?

The most important thing, if you have been involved in an accident, is for you to recover. Your attorney can’t start doing anything if you are not released from hospital or recovered from injuries. Next step is collecting medical bills, employment records and other necessary documents. After that you should get an offer from the insurance company involved, you should review it, and discuss with your lawyer. If your lawyer can't reach a fair settlement, the next step is lawsuit. Your lawyer should be every step by your side and should answer every question

☑️ What is the negligent treatment of MRSA?

Our indiscriminate overuse of antibiotic medicine has given rise to a super-bacteria known as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that has developed immunity to many antibiotic treatments. Now, doctors and healthcare providers must diagnose and treat infections that can turn deadly much faster than previously known bacterial infections. If MRSA is not accurately diagnosed or treated, it can quickly progress into a flesh-eating infection, osteomyelitis or toxic shock death. The following points represent a small sample of the ways that doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers can commit medical malpractice when faced with MRSA.

Patients with prior MRSA infections and history or recurrent infections of the soft tissues should be treated as if they are infected with MRSA until doctors are sure they are not. This is a “guilty until proven innocent” approach. MRSA is just too dangerous to treat this type of patient any differently. If these factors are present, they indicate that the patient is susceptible to MRSA. Since MRSA may advance more rapidly in already susceptible patients, all precautions should be taken. Such a patient should not be treated with cephalexin or other similar antibiotics. If an MRSA victim were treated initially with cephalexin, such a course only delays appropriate treatment and opens the door to the potential for unnecessary complications.
Normal infections can be treated with cephalexin. Such treatment is absolutely appropriate for non-MRSA infections. However, if a patient does not respond to that conservative treatment, doctors must either perform a culture or switch treatment to an MRSA-effective drug or take both steps simultaneously. Antibiotics that effectively combat MRSA are vancomycin, trimethoprim-sulfa, or linezolid. A failure to recognize an MRSA soft-tissue infection can cause the infection to progress past the point of treatment.
Failure to appropriately screen for pre-existing MRSA can lead to implant and wound infection. Experts now recommend that patients who receive medical hardware or prosthesis (including vascular grafts) should be checked before surgery for MRSA already living on the patient’s skin. MRSA on a person’s skin can be unproblematic. When MRSA moves from the skin into the body through a surgical incision, dangerous infections can arise. To prevent such infections, patients who are found to already have MRSA on their skin can either decolonize themselves or take MRSA effective antibiotics before surgery.
Once MRSA contaminates a patient’s blood, treatment must not be delayed. Several years ago, doctors thought bacteremia (blood infection) with Staphylococcus aureus was still considered a skin contaminant and not treated aggressively. A failure to recognize or treat MRSA bloodstream infections can be deadly.
Doctors, nurses and healthcare providers know that deep infections require draining. If a deep MRSA infection is not drained, the results can be devastating.
Even powerful antibiotics like vancomycin have limitations and side effects. Doctors’ failure to appreciate them can lead to a poor outcome in MRSA patients.

☑️ What is a compulsory medical examination? Is it important to my personal injury case?

Some people call this an independent medical examination. However, it is anything but independent. Your legal opponent pays for it and chooses the doctor who conducts it. Your opponent will choose a doctor known by your opponent to give opinions favorable to your opponent. That is why I call this a compulsory medical examination and not an independent medical examination. The doctor conducting it is not independent – she is paid for and beholden to your opponent. If the defendant (usually an insurance company) will not pay you a fair settlement and forces you to file a lawsuit, the defendant has the right to force you to submit to an examination by a physician of its choosing. The doctor will submit his or her report to the insurance company and to us detailing the doctor’s opinions of your injuries. Not only can the insurance company compel you, or force you to do this, but the report and doctor’s testimony are admissible at trial. Therefore, we want you to be armed with as much information about this process as possible. Here are some suggestions and helpful hints (napisati artikal)

☑️ Why should you file personal injury claim?

Personal injury claims are not just about seeking compensation for an injury. It has a much greater purpose, it's about justice for victims. Also, a personal injury claim ensures proper medical care, a lot of money from most settlements goes for medical expenses. Claim cant is successful without a serious injury and a liable party that’s negligence caused the injury. This means that claim stops repeated negligence because that kind of act will be held quilty. Insurance companies are paying out settlements. So filling a personal injury claim means holding insurance companies accountable.

☑️ My loved one has died as the result of negligence, how do I get authorized to bring a lawsuit on their behalf?

In Florida, the only person who is authorized to bring a wrongful death lawsuit is the Personal Representative of the deceased person’s estate. If the deceased had a will, he or she will likely have nominated a personal representative. Look to the will to determine the deceased wishes. If the person dies without a will, any person over the age of 18 can act as Personal Representative. If a family member agrees to act in this capacity, then costs associated with hiring a professional can be avoided. Once a Personal Representative has been selected, contact an attorney who practices in the area of estates to set up an estate.

☑️If I come to Zimmet & Zimmet for legal advice regarding a family member who has died, what documents should I bring to our meeting?

First, please accept our condolences if that is the case. We understand how difficult it is when a loved one has died. If you believe that their death was caused by someone else’s wrongdoing or carelessness, that can make it even more difficult. If we can help you achieve even a little peace of mind, we are happy to spend as much time with you as you need to feel completely sure and certain that we accomplished everything you wanted to in our meeting. To help us answer your questions and explain your options, please bring the following documents to our office:

An original death certificate. If you do not already have one, ask the funeral home for it. Also, ask the funeral home for a final receipt stamped “fully paid.”
If an autopsy has been performed, please inform us. If you have the report, please bring it. Otherwise, we can request a copy from the medical examiner’s office.
The names and addresses of all doctors your family member or loved one visited within the last two to four years.
A list of the immediate family members. Please provide their names, ages, birthdates, relationship to the deceased and social security numbers.
We need to examine your loved one’s will if one exists so we may determine who the executor or executrix (female executor) is.
If your loved one did not draft a will, someone will need to be named as the administrator of the estate. This simply means that that person will make any discretionary decisions regarded estate property. That person will need to sign their name to the legal documents. Importantly, the administrator will not receive any different or greater share of the recovery simply because of their position as administrator.
Bring all the medical records you have.
Bring all the medical insurance information you have, such as insurance cards, bills and receipts regarding your loved one’s recent medical treatment.
Bring copies of your loved one’s tax returns and W-2 forms for the last four years.
When you come to our office to meet with us, please bring any family members who have knowledge or information about the specific events that led to your loved one’s injuries and wrongful death.

All of these documents are necessary to your case. If you are able to provide them at our first meeting, it will assist us in more quickly evaluating and processing your matter.

☑️ If I live as far away as Orlando or Jacksonville, will Zimmet & Zimmet still accept my case?

Yes, we are looking forward to helping you.

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