Vero Beach Attorney - Vero Beach Lawyer - Personal Injury - Gould Cooksey Fennell, P.A. - Attorneys at Law

Circuit Court Enters Order Providing Relief Against High Cost of Obtaining Medical Records

David M. Carter — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:09:15 +0000

How much should it cost to obtain copies of medical records so that they can be reviewed by the attorney of a patient who has a potential legal case? In recent years, some medical providers have attempted to charge $1.00 per page, no matter how many pages of records exist. Some attorneys believe that practice is unreasonable, and that it is either an intentional or unintentional impediment to a victim’s ability to have his or her case reviewed by an attorney. Consider that some hospital visits generate thousands of pages of records. If a patient suspects that he or she has been the victim of malpractice, and asks an attorney to review the circumstances, that attorney must be willing to invest thousands of dollars to have any idea of how to advise the potential client. Because very few cases can be ultimately pursued, the $1.00 per page practice results in many potential client’s being turned away, or being asked to cover the cost of record retrieval themselves. Of course, most people who have suffered a recent catastrophic event, are even less in a position to make a speculative record retrieval investment than their potential law firm.

In the case below, the Honorable Julie H. O’Kane considered the applicability of Rule 64B8 of the Florida Administrative Code to an attorneys request for copies of medical records. That provision limits the amount a medical provider can charge a patient or governmental agency to $1.00 per page for the first 25 pages and .25 cents for all pages exceeding that number. However, hospitals and third party corporations which are in the business of gathering records for a profit, claim that attorneys who are asking for records on behalf of a patient are not entitled to that limitation, and attempt to charge $1.00 per page to attorneys requesting records. That practice is employed even when the records are provided on a computer disc.

Judge O’Kane issued a ruling that will provide support for those challenging that practice by finding that a patient’s attorney acting on the patients behalf is entitled to the same limitation on charges as the patient and mandated that the corporations charge no more than $1.00 per page for the first 25 pages, and .25 cents for anything above 25 pages. The Court found support for her ruling in Section 456.057, Florida Statutes which mandates that records be provided to patients upon request.

Although Judge O’Kane’s ruling does not have the same precedential value as that of an appellate decision, we believe legal practitioners and their clients will be well served by including a copy of her decision along with a check in an amount consistent with her findings when a medical provider demands $1.00 per page for all medical records.

Click here to view the order from the Honorable Julie H. O’Kane

A day of vindication for GCF Client

gcf — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:57:29 +0000

A day of vindication for GCF client Barbara Maschi. For six years, she was told by Dr. George Blaine Lake and Indian River Medical Center that that they did nothing wrong by leaving a needle inside her pelvis. They also refused to admit that she wasn’t told about the needle claiming that she must have forgotten. They took this position despite the fact that there was not a single medical record suggesting that she was told, and despite internal documentation showing they knew she had returned to the hospital in severe pain following the surgery. This case was never about the amount of money which would be awarded to Barbara Maschi. When the defendants refused to accept any responsibility, she just wanted GCF to allow a jury to tell them she was wronged. She freely admitted that her pain resolved after the needle was removed. For six years, the hospital and doctor refused to take any responsibility for their actions and the hospital’s attorney went as far as saying in closing argument that the scarring caused by the needle was a “good thing,” because scarring promotes healing. Barbara Maschi got her day in Court, and can move forward in life knowing that six Indian River County jurors decided that the defendants are responsible for their actions.

Indian River Jury Awards woman $257,000 (Article posted on www.TCPalm.com, January 25, 2012)

GCF Attorneys remember Billy Livings

gcf — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:24:04 +0000

Many GCF Attorneys and Staff members had the good fortune of knowing Billy Livings during his tenure at VBHS. His recent passing was a loss to our community. GCF Attorneys David Carter, Brian Connelly and Todd Fennell pay tribute to Coach Livings in the following article found in Vero Beach News Weekly, October 20, 2011.

Indian River Land Trust acquires 450 acres of Indian River Real Estate

gcf — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:26:53 +0000

Christopher H. Marine of GCF’s Real Property Group serves on the Advisory Board of the Indian River Land Trust. In the last two years, the Land Trust has acquired nearly 450 acres of environmentally and culturally significant real estate along the Indian River Lagoon. These purchases are the result of an extremely successful capital fundraising campaign which has generated $7.64M in donations and pledges. The Land Trust’s extraordinary efforts were recognized recently in the Press Journal and Vero Beach News Weekly. Mr. Marine presently chairs the Stewardship Subcommittee of the Land Trust, which is charged with the exciting task of developing and implementing property management systems to preserve and enhance the conservation values and public benefits of these beautiful Indian River Lagoon properties.

Indian River County Waterfront Transactions

gcf — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 20:48:26 +0000

Christopher Marine and Sandra Rennick of GCF’s Real Property Group each maintain a practice emphasis in transactions involving the acquisition and sale of waterfront estates on the ocean and the Indian River. Notwithstanding the flagging economy, this segment of the real estate market has experienced a welcome spike in recent activity. In the last year and a half, Mr. Marine and Ms. Rennick have successfully completed waterfront transactions of over $93M in total value.

Chris Marine interviewed for Florida Trend’s 2011 Economic Yearbook

gcf — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 19:24:07 +0000

Christopher Marine of GCF’s Real Property Group successfully represented a group of land owners seeking to expand the Urban Services Area at a strategic commercial location in Indian River County. As a result, the Land Use designation was amended for a large tract of 575 acres near the I-95/S.R. 60 interchange from Agricultural to Commercial/Industrial. This Land Use amendment will permit future development of large scale research facilities and related uses. The case was reported in the 2011 Economic Yearbook published by Florida Trend magazine as a significant economic advance for Florida’s Treasure Coast region.

Florida Trend Economic Yearbook (Vero Beach/Indian River County)

David Carter is Listed in Best Lawyers

gcf — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:18:18 +0000

Gould Cooksey Fennell is proud to announce that David Carter has been chosen for the 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in the practice area of Personal Injury Litigation.

For nearly three decades, Best Lawyers in America has been regarded by many as the definitive guide to legal excellence in the United States, and has been described by The American Lawyer as “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.” Excerpts from Best Lawyers appear in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, New York magazine, and more than 85 other regional and city magazines around the world. Selection to Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey (comprising more than 3.9 million confidential evaluations). Because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, we consider inclusion in Best Lawyers a singular honor.

Historical Florida Photos

gcf — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 01:27:57 +0000

One of the most commented upon items by visitors to our firm is the collection of old photographs adorning our hallways. These photographs are almost all local in nature and are part of the collections of B.T. Cooksey and David Carter, both having multi-generational histories in our community. We recently discovered the attached series of photographs of old Florida from around the turn of the century and found them very interesting. The quality of the photographs is exceptional and some depict images from only a few miles away. They certainly show how different life was in our area only a few generations ago.

The courageous story of GCF Client, Debbie Bates

Brian J. Connelly — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:19:18 +0000

We all like stories of everyday people fighting courageous battles to overcome adversity. Debrah Bates is just that person. In 2007, Ms. Bates was severely injured when another vehicle cut across her lane of travel, causing Ms. Bates’ SUV to violently roll and eject her from the truck. She sustained massive internal injuries, broken bones, and spinal injuries. She lost her left leg just below the knee and required two knee implant surgeries to the right knee. When the at-fault driver’s insurance carrier refused to accept responsibility for the accident, the PI Group at Gould Cooksey Fennell took her fight to a jury. After ten days of trial, the jury awarded a 6.6 million dollar verdict in recognition of the severity of her injuries. But, Ms. Bates’ battle is not over. Watch the attached videos to learn more about this amazing single mom who manages to deal with her life altering injuries and still provide a loving, nurturing home for her 14 year old son.

Videos from HealthFirstReality.org

The Team That Saved Her Life

Debbie Bates’ Reunion

Groundbreaking Ceremony for Del Mar Hotel, 1925

Eugene J. O'Neill — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:56:57 +0000

There is a picture on the wall at Gould Cooksey Fennell, P.A. which shows the groundbreaking ceremony for the Del Mar Hotel in the year 1925. In the picture is Alex MacWilliam, Sr., Mayor of Vero Beach, and Hudson Baker, the contractor. In the background of the photograph is the SeminoleBuilding, which Hudson Baker built, and is the subject of one of these other photograph blurbs.

The Del Mar Hotel is also depicted in a couple of hand colored photographs located in the hallway at Gould Cooksey Fennell. It has a connection to our judicial system in that the small claims court was located there in the late 1950s. It is also coincidental that the site of the Del Mar Hotel was across the street from the future location of the County’s new courthouse exactly 50 years later. The Del Mar Hotel was razed in the early 1960s.