Comparative Negligence

2,627 Florida cases classified under this topic · sorted by citation count

• Chelton v. Tallahassee-Leon Cnty. Civic Ctr. Auth.
  525 So. 2d 972· Fla. 1st DCA· 1988-05-12 ·cited 12×
  Holly Chelton appeals a summary judgment dismissing her negligence claims against the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center Authority after she fell on stairs while attending a concert. The appellate court reversed, finding that material factual issues regarding lighting adequacy,
• Parker v. Ervin Montgomery, Sr.
  529 So. 2d 1145· Fla. 1st DCA· 1988-04-20 ·cited 12×
  In this wrongful death appeal, the First District Court of Appeal upheld a $650,238 judgment for parents whose 18-month-old child died in a vehicular accident, rejecting defendants' argument that evidence of the mother's failure to use a child restraint device should be admissibl
• Gorday v. Faris
  523 So. 2d 1215· Fla. 1st DCA· 1988-04-07 ·cited 12×
  A young man who was intoxicated and fell asleep while driving, causing a serious accident that rendered him paraplegic, sued his friend for negligent entrustment of an automobile. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendant based on express assumption of risk, but
• State v. Caffiero
  522 So. 2d 57· Fla. 2d DCA· 1988-02-12 ·cited 12×
  A passenger injured and a driver killed in a high-speed single-vehicle accident on U.S. 19 sued the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT) for negligence based on inadequate roadside safety features, including a culvert headwall located too close to the road. The court revers
• Brandt v. Phillips Petroleum Co.
  511 So. 2d 1070· Fla. 3d DCA· 1987-08-25 ·cited 12×
  George Brandt appealed a trial court's calculation of his employer Phillips Petroleum's lien on his third-party tort settlement for worker's compensation benefits. The Florida appellate court reversed, holding that the trial court failed to properly apply the statutory formula in
• Bradford v. Bernstein
  510 So. 2d 1204· Fla. 2d DCA· 1987-08-12 ·cited 12×
  In this slip-and-fall negligence case, the appellate court reversed the trial court's grant of summary judgment for the building owner, finding that the architect's affidavits and deposition testimony created a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether code violations of t
• Diebold v. Moore McCORMACK Bulk Transp. Lines, Inc.
  805 F.2d 55· 2d Cir.· 1986-11-06 ·cited 12×
  The court held that the trial judge erred in granting a directed verdict for the defendant, as there was a sufficient basis for a jury to find employer negligence.
• Turlington v. Phillips Petroleum Co.
  795 F.2d 434· 5th Cir.· 1986-07-25 ·cited 12×
  The court held that the district court did not err in instructing the jury on sole cause, nor in refusing to instruct on inherently dangerous activities or implied duties, affirming the jury verdict for the defendant.
• Seaboard Coast Line R.R. Co. v. Clark
  491 So. 2d 1196· Fla. 4th DCA· 1986-07-16 ·cited 12×
  Seaboard Coast Line Railroad appeals from a trial court's order granting a new trial in a wrongful death case involving a train-pedestrian collision. The court held that the trial judge did not abuse its discretion in granting the new trial because the failure to instruct the jur
• Luann Black v. Dist. Bd. of Trs. of Broward Cmty. Coll. Fla.
  491 So. 2d 303· Fla. 4th DCA· 1986-07-09 ·cited 12×
  A police officer trainee was injured during a realistic police academy training exercise when another trainee accidentally struck her with a revolver while Black attempted to disarm her. The court affirmed the jury's finding that Black expressly assumed the risk of injury by volu
• Royal Netherlands S.S. Co. v. Elida Quinto de Garcia
  489 So. 2d 128· Fla. 3d DCA· 1986-05-20 ·cited 12×
  Royal Netherlands Steamship Company appeals a $1,000,000 wrongful death judgment in favor of the mother of a Guatemalan ship painter who died falling from defendant's ship while docked in Guatemala. The appellate court affirms, rejecting defendant's challenges to personal jurisdi
• Ouida McCANDLESS v. Beech Aircraft Corp.
  779 F.2d 220· 5th Cir.· 1985-12-10 ·cited 12×
  The court held that the jury's award for loss of support and services was supported by sufficient evidence, but awards for mental anguish were not, and affirmed awards for loss of companionship.
• Burns v. Smith
  476 So. 2d 278· Fla. 2d DCA· 1985-10-04 ·cited 12×
  Florida appellate court affirmed a jury verdict finding Mr. Burns 75% comparatively negligent for not wearing a seat belt, holding that expert testimony on accident reconstruction is not required to establish the causal relationship between seat belt nonuse and injuries when the
• Thanh Tran v. Manitowoc Eng'g Co.
  767 F.2d 223· 5th Cir.· 1985-08-08 ·cited 12×
  A third party claim for joint tortfeasor contribution against a vessel owner/stevedore employer for negligent acts as vessel owner is not barred by the LHWCA. However, the case must be remanded to determine the specific percentage of the employer's fault attributable to its negli
• Herold v. Burlington N., Inc.
  761 F.2d 1241· 8th Cir.· 1985-05-02 ·cited 12×
  The court held that the jury's verdicts for Kenneth's injuries and Janet's injuries were supported by substantial evidence and affirmed those judgments. It also held that Janet's loss of consortium award should not have been reduced by Kenneth's negligence and that the order for
• Noel v. M. Ecker & Co. & Carpentry Collaborative, Inc.
  445 So. 2d 1142· Fla. 4th DCA· 1984-03-07 ·cited 12×
  The court affirmed a directed verdict for a carpentry company due to statutory immunity but reversed a directed verdict for a related equipment-supplying company in an employee's negligence suit for hearing loss caused by a loud T-Nailer.
• Mitchell Maint. Sys. v. State of Fla. Dep't OF Transp.
  442 So. 2d 276· Fla. 4th DCA· 1983-11-23 ·cited 12×
  A contractual provision requiring a contractor to indemnify the Department of Transportation for claims arising out of the contractor's actions, except for damages directly caused by the DOT's sole negligence, will be enforced even if the DOT was also negligent, as long as the pr
• Gootee v. Colt Indus., Inc.
  712 F.2d 1057· 6th Cir.· 1983-07-14 ·cited 12×
  The court held that the trial court erred in directing a verdict on the misrepresentation claim and in excluding evidence of custom and usage regarding the Colt .45, and that the issue of negligent design should have been submitted to the jury. The court also found the special ve
• Grant v. Brown
  429 So. 2d 1229· Fla. 5th DCA· 1983-03-16 ·cited 12×
  Samuel Grant appealed a jury verdict finding him 20% comparatively negligent in an automobile accident, challenging the admission of blood test results showing his blood alcohol level taken during hospital treatment, which was not conducted under Florida's statutory DUI testing r
• Lewis v. Timco, Inc.
  697 F.2d 1252· 5th Cir.· 1983-02-14 ·cited 12×
• Echols v. The Hammet Co., Inc.
  423 So. 2d 923· Fla. 4th DCA· 1982-11-10 ·cited 12×
  This case involves an appeal from a jury verdict that was subsequently overturned by directed verdicts for the defendants. The appellate court found that the trial court erred in directing verdicts for both the construction company and the Department of Transportation, necessitat
• Greenwood v. McDONOUGH Power Equip. Inc.
  687 F.2d 338· 10th Cir.· 1982-09-03 ·cited 12×
  The juror's failure to disclose his son's accident did not prejudice the defendant's right to a peremptory challenge.
• In re the Complaint of MAC Towing Inc. v. Am. Commercial Lines
  670 F.2d 543· 5th Cir.· 1982-03-15 ·cited 12×
  The court held that the trial court's factual findings regarding the collision and allocation of fault were not clearly erroneous, and that the shipowner was entitled to limit its liability.
• Coleman v. W. Elec. Co., Inc.
  671 F.2d 980· 6th Cir.· 1982-03-03 ·cited 12×
  Under Michigan law, a plaintiff's contributory negligence does not diminish recovery when the absence of an adequate safety device is the proximate cause of the injury.
• Ramey v. Fassoulas
  414 So. 2d 198· Fla. 3d DCA· 1982-02-23 ·cited 12×
  Parents sued a physician for negligently performing a vasectomy that resulted in the birth of two unplanned children, one healthy and one with substantial congenital defects. The court held that parents cannot recover general child-rearing expenses for normal, healthy children bo
• Culver v. Slater Boat Co.
  644 F.2d 460· 5th Cir.· 1981-05-04 ·cited 12×
• Simmie L. Walker v. The Blacksea S.S. Co.
  637 F.2d 287· 5th Cir.· 1981-02-02 ·cited 12×
  A shipowner can be held liable for injuries caused by a dangerous condition on a ladder, even if the danger is obvious, if the owner should have anticipated the harm and the condition was not under the control of the stevedore or longshoreman.
• Sheryn Kautz Fietzer and Oward Kautz v. Ford Motor Co.
  622 F.2d 281· 7th Cir.· 1980-05-13 ·cited 12×
  The court held that the trial court committed prejudicial error by unreasonably restricting voir dire and by improperly excluding evidence relevant to the allocation of comparative negligence.
• Universal Eng'g Corp. v. Cartier
  380 So. 2d 1160· Fla. 3d DCA· 1980-03-11 ·cited 12×
  The trial court erred in awarding attorney's fees to claimant's counsel in an equitable distribution proceeding because the relevant statute does not authorize such fees in that context.
• Singletary v. Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp.
  376 So. 2d 1191· Fla. 2d DCA· 1979-10-24 ·cited 12×
  The court held that under the current wrongful death statutes, one parent's negligence is not imputed to the other parent for the death of their child.
• Md. Cas. Co. v. Whitley
  375 So. 2d 18· Fla. 1st DCA· 1979-08-30 ·cited 12×
  Maryland Casualty sought reimbursement for 50% of workmen's compensation benefits paid to an injured worker under Florida Statute 440.39, which allows carriers to recover half the benefits if the employee recovers full value of damages. The trial court awarded only 25% reimbursem
• Cruz Ortega and Higinia Ortega v. Perrini & Sons, Inc.
  371 So. 2d 203· Fla. 2d DCA· 1979-05-18 ·cited 12×
  The court held that the trial court erred in granting a new trial based on a juror's speculation about future earnings and the manifest weight of the evidence, as the record did not support these grounds.
• Fuentes v. Reilly
  590 F.2d 509· 3d Cir.· 1979-01-09 ·cited 12×
  The exclusion of expert testimony regarding the effect of delayed medical attention on the victim's chances of survival was reversible error, requiring a new trial.
• Seaboard Coast Line R.R. Co. v. Griffis
  381 So. 2d 1063· Fla. 1st DCA· 1979-01-09 ·cited 12×
  In this railroad crossing collision case, the court reversed a jury verdict finding Seaboard Coast Line Railroad negligent, holding that no reasonable inference supported imposing a duty on the railroad to issue speed restriction orders where construction activity occurred 15 fee
• Anderson v. Iceland S.S. Co.
  585 F.2d 1142· 1st Cir.· 1978-09-29 ·cited 12×
  The court held that the shipowner was not negligent and therefore not liable for the longshoreman's injury, as the hazardous condition on the pier was the responsibility of the stevedore and the shipowner had no knowledge of it.
• Gibson v. AVIS Rent-A-Car Sys., Inc.
  362 So. 2d 960· Fla. 3d DCA· 1978-08-22 ·cited 12×
  Gibson appeals a directed verdict in favor of Avis and Arata in a personal injury action stemming from a multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 95. The court affirmed, holding that the negligence of a fourth driver (McNealy) constituted an efficient intervening cause that insulated
• Dixon v. S. Pac. Transp. Co.
  579 F.2d 511· 9th Cir.· 1978-07-10 ·cited 12×
  The court held that while the magistrate committed clear error by communicating with the jury off the record without notice to counsel, the error was harmless because it did not affect the substantial rights of the parties.
• Hansen v. Cessna Aircraft Co.
  578 F.2d 679· 7th Cir.· 1978-06-16 ·cited 12×
  A federal district court in a diversity case must instruct the jury on both negligence and strict liability theories in a products liability case if there is sufficient evidence to support negligence, as required by Wisconsin law.
• Ryder Truck Rental, Inc. v. Orin C. Korte
  357 So. 2d 228· Fla. 4th DCA· 1978-04-04 ·cited 12×
  A police officer injured while attempting to rescue a trapped motorist seeks recovery under the rescue doctrine against the negligent drivers whose accident created the peril. The court holds that comparative negligence principles apply to rescue cases and that a police officer m
• Vandergrift v. Fort Pierce Mem'l Hosp., Inc.
  354 So. 2d 398· Fla. 4th DCA· 1978-01-17 ·cited 12×
  In this medical malpractice case, the Vandergrifts appealed a jury verdict that awarded Mr. Vandergrift $12,500 (despite finding $125,000 in damages) due to his 90% comparative negligence, while awarding Mrs. Vandergrift nothing for loss of consortium. The Fourth District affirme
• Nutt v. Loomis Hydraulic Testing Co.
  552 F.2d 1126· 5th Cir.· 1977-05-27 ·cited 12×
  The court held that the employer (Loomis) is liable for contribution to the other vessel (Union) based on the negligence of the employer's employee (decedent), even though the employee's negligence had already been factored into the wrongful death award.
• Manassa v. NEW Hampshire Ins. Co. & Colonial Point of Jacksonville, Inc.
  332 So. 2d 34· Fla. 1st DCA· 1976-04-28 ·cited 12×
  Plaintiffs were injured when one slipped on accumulated leaves on a tennis court owned by defendants. The trial court erroneously instructed the jury on assumption of risk as a complete defense, but under Florida's comparative negligence doctrine, such risk is a factor in neglige
• Indus. Waste Serv., Inc. v. Ada Henderson
  305 So. 2d 42· Fla. 3d DCA· 1974-12-10 ·cited 12×
  Industrial Waste Service, Inc. and its employees appealed a $95,000 wrongful death judgment for James Henderson, who died when he fell from a moving garbage truck. The appellate court affirmed the jury verdict, rejecting arguments that Henderson's negligence was the sole proximat
• Acevedo v. Justo L. Acosta
  296 So. 2d 526· Fla. 3d DCA· 1974-06-18 ·cited 12×
  The court addresses how Florida's comparative negligence doctrine applies to damages awarded to a child-passenger and the derivative claims of a parent-owner when the at-fault driver is the child's mother and the parent's wife. The court held that a child-passenger's damages are
• Yellow Bayou Plantation, Inc. v. Shell Chem., Inc.
  491 F.2d 1239· 5th Cir.· 1974-03-29 ·cited 12×
  The court held that the jury's verdict for the defendants was supported by sufficient evidence, and that any errors in admitting certain evidence were not prejudicial.
• Cont'l Grain Co. v. Fegles Constr. Co., Inc.
  480 F.2d 793· 8th Cir.· 1973-06-29 ·cited 12×
  The court held that the contract's guarantee provision did not preclude a negligence action and that the statute of limitations did not bar the claim because damage had not occurred or been discovered until shortly before the collapse.
• Harris v. Hercules
  455 F.2d 267· 8th Cir.· 1972-02-09 ·cited 12×
  The court affirmed the district court's decision, holding that the jury's finding of assumption of risk was permissible under Arkansas law, even if the plaintiff did not know the precise proximity of the crane to the power line.
• Thelma J. LAW v. Converse
  419 F.2d 38· 3d Cir.· 1969-11-25 ·cited 12×
  The court held that a plaintiff cannot instruct a jury that it has a right to render a compromise verdict contrary to the law, and that the rule regarding "manufactured" diversity jurisdiction should not be applied retrospectively to undo a judgment on the merits.
• Olsen v. States Line
  378 F.2d 217· 9th Cir.· 1967-05-29 ·cited 12×
  The court held that the trial court erred by refusing to instruct the jury on the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur and by failing to give a more specific instruction on the duty to supervise.
• Thompson v. Brotherhood OF Sleeping CAR Porters
  367 F.2d 489· 4th Cir.· 1966-09-14 ·cited 12×
  The court held that a union's failure to espouse a non-member's seniority claim, leading to job loss, constitutes a breach of the duty of fair representation, and that future damages are recoverable in such cases.