If a pregnant woman loses her baby due to an accident in Florida, the law says the parents can’t sue for the baby’s death. They can only sue for the mom’s injuries. The dad might be able to sue for emotional distress, but it depends on if he was married to the mom, saw the accident, and the age of the baby when it died. These rules determine if the dad can get money for his emotional pain. In Florida, the impact rule says that before someone can get money for being upset because of someone else’s mistake, they have to have been physically hurt by the mistake. This is to stop people from making up stories. But there are some exceptions to this rule, like if someone gets hurt because of being upset about seeing a family member get hurt. Some courts disagree on whether you have to be related to the hurt person to get money for being upset about it. The Third and Fourth district courts of appeal say there must be a legal relationship between the person suing and the person who got hurt. For example, in Ferretti v. Weber, the court said a guy couldn’t sue for emotional trauma from seeing his girlfriend die in a car crash. But the First District Court of Appeal says a close personal relationship is enough, and the jury should decide. This matters for a dad who isn’t married to the mom, because the impact rule might stop him from suing. In Florida, there is an exception to the impact rule in cases involving the death of a fetus. In Tanner v. Hartog, the Florida Supreme Court allowed a man to recover emotional damages for the stillbirth of a 41-week-old fetus, even though there was no physical impact on the mother. However, in Thomas v. OB/GYN Specialists of Palm Beaches, Inc., the court ruled that the exception does not apply to cases involving the death of a 15- to 18-week-old fetus. So, the impact rule still generally applies in those cases. The impact rule in Florida courts means that a father cannot sue for emotional distress if his baby is stillborn, but he can if the baby dies during the first or second trimester and he witnessed the incident that caused the mother’s injury. If he didn’t witness the incident, he can’t sue. And he has to show that the emotional distress caused him physical injury. In Florida, the definition of a father depends on the situation. Until paternity is proven, the mother is considered the natural guardian of a child born out of wedlock. This means the father has no legal rights to the child until he asserts his rights. Whether the father is biologically related to the child or has a close relationship with the mother doesn’t matter until he establishes his parental rights. In Florida, if a father’s name is on a child’s birth certificate, it means he is considered the legal father. This can happen even if the father is not the biological parent. If a child is born to a married couple, the husband is automatically considered the father, even if he is not the biological father. In some cases, the non-biological father may not be allowed to contest the paternity of the child. In adoption cases, if the biological father is known and can be found, he must be notified about the adoption plan and given a chance to object. If a couple is involved in a lawsuit due to a fetal death during the mother’s third trimester and they decide to file for divorce, the money they receive as compensation may be considered marital property and subject to division between the spouses. However, any money specifically allocated for future losses or future expenses may be considered the separate property of the injured spouse and not subject to division. The language of the settlement release is important in determining how the money will be classified. This was seen in a case where the husband was able to keep his settlement as separate property because the release stated that it covered future injuries and losses. The definition of family is changing, and fathers are more involved in pregnancy and raising children. Florida law is evolving to give fathers more rights and responsibilities. This could lead to fathers being able to claim emotional distress in the case of a stillbirth, even if they weren’t married to the mother. The law is still uncertain, but there is potential for change. This passage contains references to various legal cases in Florida. It also includes some legal principles and statutes. The author of the passage is Manuel S. Hiraldo, an associate at a law firm in Miami. He practices in civil litigation. This column is from the Family Law Section and talks about the importance of serving the public, improving justice, and advancing the study of law. It’s written by Diane M. Kirigin, with help from editors Sarah Sullivan and Amy Hamlin, and contributors Doreen Inkeles, Abigail Beebe, and law student Megan Mann.
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/biology-versus-legality-how-the-definition-of-father-impacts-floridas-impact-rule/
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