Edwards & Ragatz News
Volume 1, Issue 3 July 2010 |
 Good Afternoon,
-- E&R's recent Suits & Settlements
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Tom Edwards Jr. named member of FBA Trial Lawyers Section Thomas S. Edwards Jr., a partner at Edwards Ragatz P.A. and former Jacksonville Bar Association president (1998-1999), was named a member of the Florida Bar's Trial Lawyers Section Executive Council during the Bar's annual convention June 23-26 in Boca Raton, Fla. Edwards previously served as president of the Florida Justice Association/Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers (2008-2009), Jacksonville Bar Association (1998-1999), president of American Board of Trial Advocates-Jacksonville Chapter (2006), and president of the Jacksonville Justice Association/Jacksonville Trial Lawyers Association (2000). Edwards currently is a member of the Florida Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions-Civil. |
Law Day in May Celebration raises $5,260 for JALA
More than 140 people attended the May 6 reception and fundraiser for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid.  |
(Left to right) Mark Logan, chief counsel for HOPS International; and Mark Sieron of Smith, Aguilar & Sieron, chatted with Edwards & Ragatz partner Tom Edwards.  |
Firm partner Eric Ragatz (center) with West Wingate (left) of Wingate Insurance Group, and Richard Brock, chairman of LBA Certified Public Accountants.  |
(Left to right) James Cobb of Peek & Cobb, Mike Dewberry of Rogers Towers and firm attorney Jennifer Millis at the Law Day in May Celebration.  | |
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(Photo on left) Firm attorney Leigh Wilhite (right) and her daughter, Emileigh Wilhite, visited with friends on the veranda. (Photo on right) Fraz Ahmed (left), Jacksonville Bar Association Law Day chairman and attorney at Kubicki Draper, visited with E&R attorney Jeffrey Totty.
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Courthouse Construction Update
David Schneider,
senior project manager for the City of Jacksonville, answered questions from newsletter editor Jayne Krichbaum about the construction of the Duval County Courthouse.
How is the construction progressing?
Very well -- on schedule and within budget. The structure was topped out June 8 and there is much work going on inside.
What will the address be?
501 W. Monroe St.
How much of the structure is completed?
37 percent as of May 31, 2010.
What is the projected completion date?
May 14, 2012
What is the square footage?
800,000 square feet
What is the length and width of the courthouse?
The ground floor is roughly 680 feet by 310 feet. The length is over two football fields long. The surface area of the first floor is equivalent to 4 1/2 football fields!
How tall is the building?
Seven stories.
Where will people park?
The parking garage is across the street, located at Clay and Adams streets. It contains 1,200 spaces.
The new Duval County Courthouse will be the third largest building in downtown Jacksonville. The largest is the Wachovia Bank, 1 Independent Drive, with 892,297 square feet, and the second largest is EverBank Field, 1201 E. Duval St., with 878,000 square feet.
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How many Supreme Court Justices can you name?
Who is this Justice? Her name is printed at the bottom of this newsletter.* | Test Your Knowledge on civics and Revolutionary War-era history at www.EdwardsRagatz.com.
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Legislature passes nursing home staffing bill
House Bill 5301 deals with nurse, CNA requirements
A new law passed the last Florida legislative session that keeps the daily minimum requirement of care -- 3.7 hours per patient -- but changes how the daily average number of hours are split between a certified nursing assistant and a licensed nurse.
Nursing home facilities staffers say the change will allow them to provide more medical care by licensed nurses and give them more flexibility.
Critics say the change will diminish the quality of care in nursing homes.
The requirements were established in 2001 by the industry, patient advocacy groups and trial lawyers, in exchange for a deal on tort reform.
Find out more...
Source: The Florida Times-Union
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EverBank Plaza
501 Riverside Ave., Suite 601
Jacksonville, FL 32202
Phone: 904.399.1609
Toll Free: 800.366.1609
Fax: 904.399.1615
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E&R Suits & Settlements
In the area of Car and Truck Accidents:
Edwards & Ragatz P.A.
negotiated a seven-figure settlement for a Jacksonville woman and her son, who sustained injuries when a semi truck crossed into their lane on Interstate 10. The semi truck, owned by a Jacksonville-based crane rental service company, dragged the car onto the median and hit a parked Florida Highway Patrol vehicle.
The truck driver was charged with failure to drive in a single lane and tested positive for cocaine in a drug screening performed two days after the accident.
A six-figure settlement was negotiated by firm attorney Jeffrey Totty for a woman who was permanently injured when her vehicle was rear-ended by a work truck. The woman experienced severe pain in her lumber disc, disc protrusion in her cervical spine, impairment, disfigurement, loss of earnings and permanent pain.
A 55-year-old bank executive will have significant spinal pain for the rest of her life, after the car she was driving was rear-ended by a semi truck. Firm partner Eric Ragatz and attorney Jeffrey Totty negotiated a six-figure settlement for this client.
In the area of nursing home neglect:
A confidential settlement was negotiated by partner Tom Edwards Jr. and attorney Leigh Wilhite on behalf of the family of a nursing
home patient whose basic needs were neglected, resulting in malnutrition and dehydration and ultimately death. |
Driving Distracted - Cell Phone Use A Growing Cause Of Accidents
Surveys* show that cell phone use is a cause of approximately 17 percent of fatal accidents.
States have different laws restricting the use of cell phones and texting.
Stats:
--As of December 2008, more than 271 million cell phones are in use in the U.S.
--More than 84% of the country's population owns a cell phone.
--According to the New England Journal of Medicine and the British Medical Journal, the risk of having an injury-causing accident increases fourfold when talking on the cell phone while driving.
--Cell phone drivers' reaction time is reduced by approximately 20%.
--Hand-held and hands-free
phones are equally at fault in distracting drivers because of "inattention blindness," a cognitive state that slows a driver's reaction time and limits the ability to detect changes in the road.
--The performance of drivers who are conversing on cell phones is more impaired than drivers who are intoxicated.
--Last year, Americans sent more than 600 billion text messages, 10 times the amount sent three years ago.
--It is estimated that 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries result from driver cell phone use each year.
*Fatality Analysis Reporting System 2008 fatal crashes, National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey Jan. 2005-Dec. 2007.
Source: Leesfield & Partners Petition
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Today's update for Florida fishing, seafood safety and oil in the Gulf is available on www.fl-seafood.com. |
Hotline Monitors Seafood, Fishing, Gulf Oil Spill
A hotline and website have been set up by the state and are updated daily with information related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Florida seafood safety and fishing bans. |
| FDA Recalls,
Alerts, Boxed Warnings
Weight-loss prescription medicine Xenical or over-the- counter Alli have a warning added to their labels. Both contain orlistat and there is a potential, rare occurrence of liver failure in people who take these medications. The FDA has identified 12 cases of severe liver injury in people taking Xenical and Alli.
A warning has been issued on Proton Pump Inhibitors--there is a possible increased risk of fractures of the hip, wrists and spine for people who take these medicines for heartburn, acid reflux or ulcers.
Prescription PPI names: Aciphex, Dexilant, Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec, Protonix, Vimovo, Zegerid.
Over the counter PPI names:
Prevacid 24 Hour, Prilosec OTC, Zegerid OTC
Tanning Beds and Sunlamps--Ultraviolet radiation from these devices can pose serious health risks, including cancer, premature aging, immune suppression, eye damage and allergic reactions.
For more information, call the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at 800.332.1088 or visit fda.gov.
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Attorneys
Thomas Edwards Jr.
Jennifer Millis
Eric Ragatz
Jeffrey Totty
Leigh Wilhite
Areas of Practice
Nursing Home Neglect
Car and Truck Accidents
Medical Malpractice
Insurance and Coverage Litigation
Product Liability
Construction Site Accidents
Business Litigation
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