November 7th, 2011
This past Saturday, the injury and trial attorneys as well as bankruptcy lawyers at PERENICH The Law Firm were among nearly 20 food sponsors at the St. Petersburg Bar Association’s annual Oktoberfest. Hundreds of lawyers and judges from St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and Tampa, Florida enjoyed chili and cornbread, along with a variety of unique hot sauces, fixins, and Patron tequila at the PERENICH food tent. The chili, cornbread, and fixings were provided by the Ozona Pig restaurant in Palm Harbor, Florida.
This was PERENICH The Law Firm’s first year of sponsoring the St. Petersburg Bar Oktoberfest, where their tent and menu items were a smashing success.
The firm, whose practice concentrates on personal injury, medical malpractice, bankruptcy, and foreclosure defense law, is already planning for next year’s event.
Tags: bankruptcy lawyer Clearwater FL, Octoberfest, Oktoberfest, Ozona Pig Restaurant, PERENICH The Law Firm, personal injury attorney Clearwater FL, St Petersburg Bar Association
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November 1st, 2011
October 1, 2011 marked the date of numerous legislative changes in Florida, some of which affect medical malpractice actions. Among them is the newly-created Section 458.3175, Florida Statutes, which requires that out of state medical experts testifying or providing an opinion in medical malpractice lawsuits in Florida obtain an expert witness certificate. The application fee is $50, and the certificate is valid for two years.
In a related amendment, Section 458.331, Florida Statutes, now subjects medical expert witnesses to more severe disciplinary action and denial of their medical license for providing deceptive or fraudulent testimony related to the practice of medicine.
The presuit process of initiating medical malpractice lawsuits also has an additional component. The new Section 766.1065, Florida Statutes “presuit notice of intent to initiate litigation for medical negligence under Section 766.106(2) must be accompanied by an authorization for release of protected health information.” This new statute provides a form for the authorization that must be followed. Failure to include this authorization in the presuit Notice of Intent makes the entire notice void, but the law only affects actions that accrued on or after October 1, 2011.
At Perenich The Law Firm, our medical malpractice attorneys have more than 60 years of combined experience in holding those responsible for the tragic and often preventable injuries and wrongful deaths of patients who placed their trust – and their lives – in the hands of careless doctors, surgeons, and other medical providers. Our offices are conveniently located throughout the Tampa Bay, Florida area, including Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Tarpon Springs, and New Port Richey.
Tags: expert witness, Florida Statutes amendments 2011, legislative changes, medical malpractice action, medical malpractice attorney, PERENICH The Law Firm
Posted in Medical Malpractice | No Comments »
October 7th, 2011
Much has been reported in the past year about questionable tactics by mortgage lenders and their attorneys in their efforts to foreclose on homes throughout Florida and the United States, despite the lenders’ inability to prove they owned the loans or otherwise had legal standing to foreclose. This, in turn, has made short sales and foreclosure sales more difficult because the prospective buyers are unable to obtain title insurance if there is no clear evidence of ownership by the foreclosing lender.
As if the foreclosure situation in Florida wasn’t already fraught with issues of title and proper ownership, an Osceola County, Florida man has compounded the problem by placing himself on more than 100 deeds to foreclosed properties. According to an article in today’s St. Petersburg Times, the deeds are improper because the man, named Jacob Dyck, convinced homeowners, who were desperate to remain in their home, to sign a deed to the property over to Dyck in exchange for a $2,500 fee and monthly rent. The problem is that the deeds were signed after final foreclosure judgment had been entered in favor of the lender banks, meaning the homeowners no longer owned the home and had no right to sign the deed to Dyck. Thus, Dyck has no claim to the properties, yet the effect of filing the bogus deeds continues to cloud title and hinder prospective buyers’ ability to purchase these properties.
The attorneys at PERENICH The Law Firm have more than 20 years of experience representing homeowners facing foreclosure on their homes, whether by the lender or an HOA. We work to help homeowners remain in their homes by defending the foreclosure and and participating in mediation with the lender. Depending on the situation, bankruptcy can also allow homeowners to keep their home and reinstate their mortgage.
Tags: deed scam, Florida foreclosure attorney, Foreclosure, mortgage foreclosure attorneys Tampa Bay Florida, Perenich The Law Firm Tampa Bay, wild deeds
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September 19th, 2011
PERENICH The Law Firm sponsored the North Pinellas Kiwanis Corn Toss Tournament last Saturday, September 17, 2011. The inaugural event took place at Boyle’s Backyard Neighborhood and Grill in Palm Harbor, Florida. Gregory Perenich, a partner at the firm, participated in the event with his son. There were 64 doubles teams at the tournament with approximately 128 individual participants.
Greg is the former President of the Kiwanis Club of Palm Harbor, which is dedicating to providing support and funding to local organizations and service projects that benefit children, including FEAST Food Pantry, Tarpon Springs Head Start, Pinellas Adopt-a-Class, Youth Triathlons, and Palm Harbor Band.
PERENICH The Law Firm is committed to community involvement and outreach throughout Pinellas County, Florida and the Tampa Bay area, including Clearwater and St. Petersburg. The firm represents plaintiffs who have been harmed by the careless acts of others in matters such as personal injury, car accidents, boating accidents, slip and falls, and others. Additionally, the attorneys at PERENICH The Law Firm represent homeowners and debtors in bankruptcy and foreclosure defense. The firm has five offices throughout the Tampa Bay area, including Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Tarpon Springs, and Trinity/New Port Richey.
Tags: Corn Toss Tournament, Florida, Kiwanis Club of North Pinellas, NoPiKi Cornhole Classic, PERENICH The Law Firm, Pinellas Florida injury lawyers, youth outreach
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September 13th, 2011
Attorneys and staff at PERENICH The Law Firm took part in a free legal workshop at the Hispanic Outreach Center on September 12, 2011. Terence Perenich, a partner at the firm, along with associate Jowita Wysocka and legal assistant, Virginia Heidel, who served as a translator.
The event offered members of the Clearwater, Florida Hispanic community an opportunity to meet with pro bono attorneys on a variety of legal issues including personal injury, bankruptcy, Social Security disability benefits, labor, and family law. The workshop was sponsored by the Clearwater Bar Association, Clearwater Bar Foundation, Hispanic Outreach Center, Gulfcoast Legal Services, and Stetson Hispanic Student Bar Association.
Tags: Hispanic Outreach Center, legal services, PERENICH The Law Firm injury attorneys Clearwater FL
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September 9th, 2011
Like most states, Florida has numerous laws designed to protect children under the age of 18 from many common risks of harm, including personal injury. The reasoning behind such laws is that children have a lesser capacity to appreciate certain dangers and risks than adults; therefore, the government should have legislation and policies in place to protect them.
Among such protective legal measures concerning child safety is the “Attractive Nuisance Doctrine.” This doctrine is applied in the context of personal injuries to children as a result of a property owner’s negligent failure to warn, repair, or properly maintain the premises to prevent foreseeable harm to minors.
One tragic example of how this doctrine is applied in court involves the pending personal action lawsuit of Avi Davidson. According to the St. Petersburg Times, in 2009, the Gaither High School student, who was 16 at the time, climbed a 35-foot power pole to take photographs and was thrown to the ground when he came in contact with a power line. The teen suffered severe burns, lost his left arm from the elbow down, and was paralyzed below the waist. The lawsuit alleges that Tampa Electric Co. was negligent for failing to warn people such as Avi Davidson of the dangers of power lines as well as failing to prevent access to the pole.
The child injury attorneys at PERENICH The Law Firm have more than 60 years of combined experience in helping children, parents, and families in the Tampa Bay, Florida area recover damages for injuries to children when others have needlessly placed them in harm’s way. If you are in need of a personal injury and accident lawyer, contact PERENICH The Law Firm today to speak to one of our injury attorneys . Our offices are conveniently located in Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Tarpon Springs, and Trinity, Florida.
Tags: attractive nuisance, child injury, child safety, Clearwater Florida personal injury attorney, PERENICH The Law Firm
Posted in Personal Injury-Liability, Premises Liability | No Comments »
August 25th, 2011
Attorneys from PERENICH The Law Firm will be among dozens of Tampa Bay area foreclosure and bankruptcy lawyers who will participate in this Saturday’s Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Forum. The Forum, which is sponsored by the City of St. Petersburg, the St. Petersburg Bar Association, and the St. Petersburg Bar Foundation, will be held on Saturday, August 27, 2011 from 9:00 to 3:00 at the Coliseum, 535 4th Avenue North, St. Petersburg, Florida. This is a free event open to all.
The Forum offers an opportunity for homeowners to meet one to one with attorneys for free on issues such as mortgage loan modification, foreclosure, bankruptcy, and other options. Debt management specialists, real estate agents, mediators, and community professionals will also be on hand to offer education, information, and resources to the public.
Tags: Florida, mortgage foreclosure attorneys Tampa Bay Florida, Mortgage Foreclosure Forum St. Petersburg, PERENICH The Law Firm
Posted in Bankruptcy, Events, Foreclosure | 1 Comment »
August 17th, 2011
Sometimes, the best-intended laws have unanticipated consequences. Consider Florida’s new legislation aimed at grinding down prescription drug abuse, which is responsible for the deaths of 7 Floridians every day on average, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Last year, then-governor Charlie Crist also approved legislation imposing stricter regulation on doctors and pain management clinics in Florida that prescribe and dispense prescription pain medication. 
The new “Pill Mill Law” signed by current Florida governor Rick Scott, which went into effect on July 1, 2011, “tightens reporting requirements to the database from 15 days to seven days, a change critics said the program needed to make it more effective.” In addition, the new prescription drug law “increases penalties for overprescribing Oxycodone and other narcotics, tracks wholesale distribution of some controlled substances, and provides $3 million to support law enforcement efforts and state prosecutors.” Further, the legislation “prohibits most doctors who prescribe narcotics from dispensing them, requiring prescriptions to be filled at certain types of pharmacies.”
Rick Scott actually opposed the bill initially before having a change of heart. The St. Pete Times reported that “of all the oxycodone that is dispensed by physicians in the United States, 85 percent is dispensed by Florida doctors.”
Despite the Pill Mill Law’s lofty intentions, it is not without its problems, and implementing this and previous pill mill laws is proving difficult. For example, one of the law’s requirements was that prescriptions be written on special, counterfeit-proof pads. This proved unduly burdensome for doctors who were unable to obtain the requisite prescription pads in time to assist patients who genuinely needed pain medication.
In addition, Florida government has been calling for the creation of a drug monitoring program since 2009, but this has yet to occur. Finally, the new law and its predecessors have the effect of punishing those whom the laws are designed to protect through severe punishment of pharmaceutical drug offenses, which includes a minimum prison sentence of 3 years and $50,000 fines.
Frequently, persons injured in auto accidents, slip and fall, and other incidents have the misfortune of becoming addicted to painkillers as a result of their injuries, which are often caused by the negligence of others. The accident and injury attorneys at PERENICH The Law Firm can help clients receive the medical care they need from qualified doctors.
Tags: hydrocodone, injury lawyer, oxycodone, PERENICH The Law Firm, pill mill law, prescription drug addiction
Posted in Auto Accidents, Other, Personal Injury-Liability | No Comments »
August 6th, 2011
The staggering rate of foreclosures on Florida’s homes and businesses is well known. What property owners may not realize, however, is that lenders may have legal cause to foreclose after just one missed payment. In some cases, depending on the terms of the mortgage and promissory note, even if the property owner makes the missed payment the very next day, the bank may insist on foreclosing.
That’s what happened to the owner of a Mobil station. According to the Tampa Bay Times, “Saji Mathew was one day late in paying the mortgage on his gas station.” Although he deposited the money into his account the very next day to make his payment, since BB&T, the lending bank, often did not withdraw the money from his account until several days after the payment due date, BB&T returned his payment. The bank also returned payments Mathew attempted to make over the next two months and instead initiated foreclosure proceedings in court.
Even the judge assigned to the case, Circuit Judge Amy Williams, was incredulous over the lawsuit. “This is why we’re in a worldwide financial crisis because there’s no business sense anymore in the foreclosure industry, none,” she said during a recent hearing in which Mathew offered to pay BB&T $50,000, the full amount due since October. Judge Williams ordered BB&T to either place the $50,000 in a trust account or into the court registry until the case is concluded.
The foreclosure defense attorneys at PERENICH The Law Firm, which has its main office in Clearwater and serves clients throughout the Tampa Bay area at additional offices in St. Petersburg, Tampa, Trinity/New Port Richey, and Tarpon Springs, have over 20 years of experience in defending home and business foreclosures.
Tags: Foreclosure, foreclosure attorney Clearwater, late payment, loan modification, PERENICH The Law Firm, Tampa Bay Times
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July 26th, 2011
During the now infamous Casey Anthony trial, the defense alleged that her daughter Caylee Anthony had drowned in the family swimming pool. In a state where drowning is the leading cause of death among toddlers, the odds were in their favor.
Tragically, Florida consistently has the highest unintentional drowning rate for children between the ages of 1 and 4. Such drownings usually occur in swimming pools and beaches, where inattentive parents, caregivers, or lifeguards are negligent in supervising children in the water. Even plastic kiddie pools and bathtubs can be deadly if children are left unattended.
During this unusually hot Florida summer, people are flocking to public and private pools as well as beaches to seek respite from the scorching temperatures. Thus, the risk of accidental drowning is significant in crowded conditions, where it becomes far more difficult to watch children in the water.
In an effort to raise awareness and prevent accidental drownings, the Florida Office of Injury Prevention began a public outreach campaign in 2006 called “Keep Your Eyes on the Kids.” The program has been implemented in Orange County and several other counties in Florida where the rate of accidental drownings is particularly high. By 2009, the program had helped reduce the number of children ages 1 to 4 who drowned by15% and the drowning rate by 18%.
At Perenich The Law Firm, our drowning accident attorneys have more than 60 years of combined experience in holding those responsible for the unimaginable, tragic, and highly preventable death of a child due to drowning. Our offices are conveniently located throughout the Tampa Bay, Florida area, including Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Tarpon Springs, and New Port Richey.
Tags: casey anthony trial, Caylee Anthony, child drowning Florida, Florida accident attorney, Florida drowning accident attorney, Florida injury lawyer, Perenich The Law Firm Tampa Bay, pool safety
Posted in Other, Personal Injury-Liability | No Comments »
