In Wake of Carnival Corp. Costa Concordia Sinking, Coast Guard, Industry Leaders Call for Greater Safety

Posted on March 16, 2012 by David Singer

The sinking of Carnival Corp’s Costa Concordia off the Italian coast in January still has industry leaders and maritime attorneys wondering how to improve safety and reduce the chance of personal injury and deaths aboard cruise ships. A panel of maritime leaders and safety consultants said recently the only solution is “continuous improvement — not merely compliance with existing regulations — to ensure the welfare of passengers and crew aboard cruise ships,” the Miami Herald reported.

“Regulations are good — but not enough — when it comes to ensuring the safety of cruise ships, a panel of maritime experts said Thursday at a cruise industry conference,” the paper reported from the Cruise Shipping Conference held recently in Miami.

Maritime Attorney David Singer has led the discussion of and advocacy for improved safety conditions on cruise liners. If you have been injured, assaulted or suffered some other personal injury aboard a cruise ship, or if a friend or family member was killed aboard a cruise ship or during a cruise excursion, contact us immediately.

David W. Singer, Esq.
1011 So. Federal Hwy
Hollywood, FL 33020
www.1800ASKFREE.COM
305-945-3045 Dade Office
954-467-3045 Broward Office
561-833-6944 W. Palm Office
305-904-4899 Cell
954-926-5746 Fax
DSingeresq@aol.com

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Posted in Cruise Line Injury, Damage Awards | 1 Comment

Florida Product Liability, Defective Drug Attorney: Bayer Announces Settlement for Yaz, Yazmin Trials

Posted on March 12, 2012 by David Singer

Watching international news unfold from South Florida – whether in Miami, Hollywood or elsewhere in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach counties, you wonder how local residents may be affected by global legal affairs. In another incident sure to have a local impact, international drug maker Bayer will settle about 70 product liability claims arising from its Yaz and Yasmin oral contraceptive products, the company noted in its latest annual report. Still, the company notes it faces more than 11,200 similar cases.

According to a news report, the two drugs (or the generic versions of the drugs, Ocella and Gianvi) are in a class of oral contraceptives containing drospirenone. Some studies have found that drospirenone causes a greater risk of blood clots than similar ingredients used in previous types of birth control pills.

Lawsuits allege that taking Yaz and Yasmin can cause heart attacks, strokes and gallbladder failure, and that Bayer failed to warn of those risks.

Bayer wrote in its report, “As of Feb. 13, 2012, Bayer had reached agreements, without admission of liability, to settle the claims of approximately 70 plaintiffs in the U.S. at terms and conditions which Bayer views to be reasonable,” the company said in the legal risks section of its 2011 annual report. The terms of those settlements were not disclosed.

“Bayer believes that it has meritorious defenses and will continue to defend itself vigorously against all claims that are not considered for settlement,” the report states.

If you have taken Yaz, Yazmin, the generic versions of the drugs, Ocella and Gianvi, or any product in the class of oral contraceptives containing drospirenone, contact a skilled product liability attorney. Learn more by contacting us at

David W. Singer, Esq.
1011 So. Federal Hwy., Hollywood, FL 33020
www.1800ASKFREE.COM
305-945-3045 Dade Office
954-467-3045 Broward Office
561-833-6944 W. Palm Office
305-904-4899 Cell
954-926-5746 Fax
DSingeresq@aol.com

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Posted in Defective Products | Leave a comment

Jury Verdict Awards Costco Customer $415,000 in Slip-and-Fall Damages Incident

Posted on March 9, 2012 by David Singer

From Florida to California, Costco Wholesale stores dot the landscape. So, too, do incidents of slip-and-fall that lead to personal injury, pain and suffering, ongoing medical expenses, and significant damage awards. That’s what a Costco Wholesale customer – and the company itself – learned recently after a jury awarded a Covina, California, woman $415,000 for slipping and falling at a store in Industry.

According to the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper group, Monika Leiterman, 58, was slipped on a puddle of liquid soap in 2009. The fall shattered her patella, or kneecap. As a result of the injury, the paper reported, Leiterman has already had one operation – and may face two more.

The jury ruled 12-0 in favor of Leiterman, the paper reported. Jurors awarded her a total of $414,868; $89,868 for past and future medical expenses and $325,000 in past and future pain and suffering, it wrote.

If you are involved in a slip-and-fall accident that included personal injury, contact a skilled personal injury attorney. Learn more by contacting us at

David W. Singer, Esq.
1011 So. Federal Hwy., Hollywood, FL 33020
www.1800ASKFREE.COM
305-945-3045 Dade Office
954-467-3045 Broward Office
561-833-6944 W. Palm Office
305-904-4899 Cell
954-926-5746 Fax
DSingeresq@aol.com

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Posted in Damage Awards, Slip & Fall | Leave a comment

Florida Accident Attorney: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Under-Reports Bus, Motorcoach Crashes, Deaths

Posted on March 5, 2012 by David Singer

Bus travel is relatively safe – but apparently passengers and consumers cannot judge simply by reported figures related to bush crashes, deaths or personal injury. Many Florida personal injury attorneys know that accident statistics exist — though they’re generally under-reported.

In 2011, a charter bus carrying passengers who’d spent the evening gambling in a New York-area casino crashed, flipping on its side, swiping a sign pole, and killing 13 passengers. In another accident, former college basketball hero Lorenzo Charles was killed in a bus accident in North Carolina. Yet many such accidents go un- or under-reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the government agency responsible for tracking accidents.

In an article entitled, “Bus crashes, fatalities worse than reported,” USAToday last year reported that “the number of fatal bus accidents such as the one that killed  is much higher than the government reports, a USA TODAY review of government records and news reports finds.”

If you were involved in a bus or motorcoach accident that included injuries or death, know your rights. Contact a skilled personal injury attorney. Learn more by contacting us at

David W. Singer, Esq.
1011 So. Federal Hwy., Hollywood, FL 33020
www.1800ASKFREE.COM
305-945-3045 Dade Office
954-467-3045 Broward Office
561-833-6944 W. Palm Office
305-904-4899 Cell
954-926-5746 Fax
DSingeresq@aol.com

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Posted in Automobile Accidents | 3 Comments

South Florida Hospital Emergency Room Failure to Diagnose Medical Malpractice

Posted on March 1, 2012 by David Singer

A 56-year-old South Florida man walked into an area hospital emergency room complaining of epigastric pain. Misdiagnosed by the ER doctor, the man died of heart failure – and his situation became an example for how doctors should treat such cases – and why the family likely will win damages.

The man presents to ER with complaints of epigastric pain. An EKG was ordered and interpreted as normal as is an abdominal sonogram. No further cardiac work-up was done.

The patient remained in the ER for over 12 hours with unremitting epigastric complaints. A presumptive diagnosis of pancreatitis was made, but no definitive diagnosis was ever rendered.

Eventually, the patient was sent for a CT scan. While undergoing scan, the many suffered cardiac arrest. Resuscitative efforts failed, and he died.

The cause of death later was determined to be cardiac arrhythmia.

This case likely would prevail as a medical malpractice case. The hospital ER never performed a cardiac evaluation, including repeat EKGs and cardiac enzymes. Since the autopsy showed significant occlusive ischemic coronary disease, this is a strong case against the ER doctor.

David W. Singer, Esq.
1011 So. Federal Hwy
Hollywood, FL 33020
www.1800ASKFREE.COM
305-945-3045 Dade Office
954-467-3045 Broward Office
561-833-6944 W. Palm Office
305-904-4899 Cell
954-926-5746 Fax
DSingeresq@aol.com

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Posted in Medical Malpractice | Leave a comment

Personal Injury Attorney South Florida Driver Safety Tips: When Seatbelts Aren’t the Safe Solution

Posted on February 26, 2012 by David Singer

Ask any Florida personal injury attorney, seasoned driving instructor or cautious parent out there what’s one of the best injury prevention devices in the car – aside from a safe driver – and they’ll invariably say, “The seat belt.” But in a growing number of car crashes, vehicle accidents and hospital reports, the seat belt – when improperly used or defective in nature – can cause serious personal injury or death.

So simple to use, seat belts seem almost infallible. They remain the single most effective tool we have to avoid injury resulting from a car, truck or other vehicle accident.

That’s a problem, though. Some juries believe the belt cannot be part of the problem. Yet seat belt defect cases are on the rise.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Automobile Accidents, Damage Awards, Defective Products | 1 Comment

South Florida Attorney: Sexual Assault, Personal Injury Growing on Cruise Ships

Posted on February 23, 2012 by David Singer

From the grounding and capsizing of Carnival Corp.’s Costa Concordia, to the assaults, attacks, sexual assaults, rapes and other personal injuries that occur on cruise ships, incidents of shipboard crime and tragedy are not unique.

In one case, it was reported that Dylan Cole Bloodsworth, who was referred to as a “serial rapist” by the prosecutor, has pled guilty to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old during a cruise aboard a Carnival Cruise Line cruise ship, the Elation. The assault occurred last March.

Maritime Attorney, David Singer recommends to all parents who decide to take minor children on a cruise ship that sexual assaults and rapes do happen on cruise ships with a much greater frequency than ever was imagined by the general public. It has only been in recent years that there has been increased public awareness of crimes, including sexual assaults and disappearances, happening onboard cruise ships. The public attention has also resulted in Congressional Hearings addressing cruise ship safety, which eventually led to the passage of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act past in the year 2010 and signed into law by President Obama.

Maritime Attorney David Singer is very familiar with sexual assaults onboard a cruise ship, so, he urges that minor children should be carefully supervised by the parents with this awareness.

David W. Singer, Esq.
1011 So. Federal Hwy
Hollywood, FL 33020
www.1800ASKFREE.COM
305-945-3045 Dade Office
954-467-3045 Broward Office
561-833-6944 W. Palm Office
305-904-4899 Cell
954-926-5746 Fax
DSingeresq@aol.com

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Posted in Cruise Line Injury, Personal Injury | 1 Comment