The 2019 Atlantic Hurricane season begins this year on June 30 and ends on November 30. According to AccuWeather’s 2019 Atlantic hurricane season forecast, they are predicting a normal to above-normal season with 12 to 14 storms total. Of these storms, several are bound to become major hurricanes.

“This year, we think that there will be a few less tropical storms and lower numbers in hurricanes, but again, the old saying is ‘it only takes one’,” AccuWeather Atlantic Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said.

What he’s saying is especially important for residents of Florida to consider. In 2018, hurricanes Michael and Florence were brutal on local communities in terms of damages. In 2019, meteorologists are reminding residents to be just as careful. Here is what to expect from this year’s hurricane season and how Attorney David R. Heil, P.A, is able to help your home and property damage insurance claims this year.

The Named Hurricanes for 2019

While the hurricane season has not started yet, the National Hurricane Center decides the list of assigned names beforehand. When the storm becomes powerful enough, it is assigned a name. For instance, in 2018, you may remember hurricanes Chris, Helene, and Oscar. Here are the list of names chosen for this year’s storms:

Andrea

Barry

Chantal

Dorian

Erin

Fernand

Gabrielle

Humberto

Imelda

Jerry

Karen

Lorenzo

Melissa

Nestor

Olga

Pablo

Rebekah

Sebastien

Tanya

Van

Wendy

Once a hurricane has passed, many Floridians are left with the devastating damages they cause. Large enough storms have the ability to demolish buildings and their roofs, automobiles, mobile homes, boats, and more. This could leave families with thousands of dollars in damages they simply can’t afford.

This is where having the right insurance comes into play. Not everyone is aware of the rights they have with their insurance. Sometimes insurance policies have intentionally complex or confusing language so individuals do not understand if they should get a payout. This is why you may need the expertise of an Insurance Claim Attorney who can offer strong representation for your claims.

As a lawyer in hurricane claims and more, Orlando Attorney David R. Heil wants to make sure your insurance covers the costs when you need it the most. For those who suffer hurricane damage this year, you must be prepared. Learn more about insurance claim attorneys for the upcoming hurricane season below.

Insurance Claim Attorney for the 2019 Hurricane Season

The first-priority of a home owner is to ensure your family and property is safe from the oncoming storms. When the hurricane has ended, you must assess your damages as soon as possible if you want to claim damages.

Many insurance companies will go to great lengths not to pay for damages. Attorney David R. Heil, P.A, is able to fight for your rights in Central Florida and beyond. I have experience in home and automobile insurance, renter’s insurance, boat insurance, and more. Call me at 1-800-952-1622 today. I am available 24/7 for your convenience.

Our increasingly connected world is dominated by mobile apps. We use these apps for everything from waking up in the morning to ordering food. They have become so critical to our daily lives that when they malfunction, they can disrupt our entire routine. Depending on the nature of the malfunction, the disruption can even be harmful. Sometimes, even when the app is used as intended, people get hurt. The nature of apps makes it legally challenging at times to determine liability and what duties and obligations fall upon the creators of apps.

Injuries in App Usage

Two and a half years ago, the application Pokemon Go was released. This app encouraged users to track down digitally generated creatures in an augmented reality environment. Unfortunately, the locations tended to bring users onto private property in pursuit of rare breeds, and sometimes even incentivize rushing out into oncoming traffic. The interactive nature of these apps leads one to wonder at the duties the app makers have to warn users against rash action.

More recently, a motor-scooter company referred to as “Lime” has come under fire for providing misleading information about the use of its motor scooters. The company provides rental scooters to users – allowing them to take the scooter from many various locations around their hometown and use them in place of other transportation options. They warn users to not use them on sidewalks – but in Fort Lauderdale such use is legal.

This confusion over the lawful use led to several users getting hit by cars while operating the scooters. The question of legal liability for the company has been raised as a consequence – if a person is misinformed by an app over proper use due to local law, and that confusion leads to injury (even if the injury was caused by a third party), is the app legally liable?

What Warnings Are Apps Required to Provide?

Many apps give warnings to customers regarding their use. These warnings include simple instructions on how to use and even alerts such as ‘do not use while driving.’  There have been pushes by consumer advocacy groups to require apps to offer more warnings, though poorly timed notifications might distract users while they’re driving.

In general, though, the onus remains largely on the user to ignore distractions and not allow themselves to be exposed to dangerous situations while making use of an app.

So What is the Law?

The law really depends on the situation, as in almost every case. Right now, the main focus of the law is on medical apps that provide health advice and guidance. This is because these apps have a clear potential to cause harm and misleading or inaccurate information could directly cause injury and death. There is also substantial case law and statutes regulating medical devices. However, it is expected that as mobile apps become more prevalent, so will lawsuits over the distractions that these apps create for their users.

If you’ve been injured as a result of a distracting or misleading mobile app, your best bet is to get in touch with a qualified personal injury attorney for a consultation on your case. If the circumstances of your particular injury hold the app maker legally liable, then your attorney can help you recover damages you deserve.

On April 5^th at the Hilton Melbourne Beach Oceanfront Hotel, the Marine Resources Council of Indian River County will be hosting a banquet to award those who have put in extraordinary efforts for conservation. Among the sponsors for this important event will be David Heil, who has helped contribute to furthering this mission and supporting this most worthy of causes. As the years tick by and we begin to see the impact our actions have on the world around us, ensuring clean waterways has become more important than ever before.

The Mission of the MRC

The mission of the Marine Resources Council is to preserve our natural waterways with a particular focus on Indian River County. The organization got its start through a group of Florida Tech professors with a mission to clean up the negative environmental damage being inflicted upon the Indian River Lagoon. Their goal was to use hard scientific data to make intelligent decisions motivated mainly by facts.

Eventually, this group came together as the Marine Resources Council. They have continued to carry out their mission started in 1988 – the mission to “To improve water quality and to protect and restore the fish and wildlife resources of the Indian River Lagoon, coastal waters, inshore reefs, and the watershed by advocating and using sound science, education and the involvement of the public at large.” (savetheirl.org)

The organization carries out a wide variety of services to further its mission. Some of these services include growing new plant life native to the area and taking measurements on the state of the lagoon and ensuring its health. If things start to look unhealthy, MRC can sound the alarm and advocate for change that will have a positive impact on the community.

Our Involvement

Protecting our environment is something that the law firm of David R. Heil aspires to help with. Many injuries and illnesses arise from the mismanagement of our resources. Keeping people our natural resources pristine helps to protect people from potential catastrophes. Everybody benefits from a clean waterway – from the restaurant whose risk is reduced when contaminated water is no longer a fear, to sports fishermen who do not have to worry about missing work because their weekend out caught them a sickness-inducing meal.

Our mission has always been to look after our community and this is just one of the many ways we do it. Personal injury law is one of those professions where, in the ideal world, it would no longer be needed because nobody would be injured due to the negligence of another. Working to make the world a better and safer place brings us closer to that goal, and a cleaner environment is just one way of doing that.

We would like to thank Marine Resource Conservation for their hard work over the years and the opportunity to help them in their cause. We want to wish them good luck in their future endeavors and, should any of their team need legal assistance, the law offices of David R. Heil stand ready to offer that assistance.

Cases of sexual harassment and assault have made headlines this year, with no greater example of the emotions bound up in these allegations than the recent Supreme Court nomination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. While the Supreme Court and criminal aspect grab headlines, what is often neglected is the civil aspect. Such egregious crimes carry damages long after the initial incident with psychological traumas that may prevent normal functioning for months or even years afterward. The expenses that result from therapies, and lost income that will inevitably result when such attacks occur in the workplace, make these cases representative of a substantial personal injury.

While it may be difficult to come forward – particularly if state prosecutors are refusing to move forward with the case themselves – it is necessary to expose individuals who commit these acts and institutions that support them. Even if there is found to be insufficient evidence for a criminal conviction, compensation for damages may still be within your reach. In a civil lawsuit, the goal is compensation for emotional distress, physical trauma, and other losses associated with the action. These lawsuits only must meet the “preponderance of evidence” standard – which means as long as you have more evidence showing guilt than the defense you are likely to see justice served.

Employers also have a duty to protect their employees from these sorts of assault. While every state is different, in the state of Florida an employer is legally obligated to ensure sexual harassment does not take place. This requires the employer to clearly define sexual harassment and to take claims seriously. If your employer fails to properly define sexual harassment and fails to provide an environment where you can comfortably report these incidents, that may impart liability upon the employer in question. Specifics of a case will vary so make sure you have spoken with a qualified personal injury attorney if you are considering bringing suit against an employer.

It is understandable that many victims will feel like they cannot come forward with their story. Popular judgments and scorn are undeniable, and the current culture of victim blaming might compel silence. Remember, however, then those who get away with sexual assault and harassment are likely to repeat their behavior. It can be the hardest thing in the world to speak out against injustice when you feel that nobody cares, which is why finding an attorney willing to stand is important. A good attorney can listen to your story without judgment, guide you to resources for support, and evaluate the legal merits of your case and find a way to ensure justice is received.

Do not stay silent, do not be pressured into walking away, and do not accept that such things are simply the way they are. Speak up and take action. Many serial abusers have been outed for their actions over the years and victims are starting to find justice. Filing suit before the statute of limitations on your case runs out will help keep the wave going and ensure a safer future for yourself and your family.