Personal Injury
If you have been injured by another person's carelessness or recklessness, the law firm of Parker Waichman Alonso LLP can help you recover damages and move on with your life.
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Naples, Florida is Southwest Florida's Crown Jewel. Part of the Paradise coast, the sparkling beaches of Naples line the gateway to the Gulf of Mexico. Located in Collier County, Florida, the 10-mile long stretch of sandy white pristine beach and coconut palm trees has been called the best beach in America by the Travel Channel in 2005. Within a few blocks of this glorious coastline is world-class golfing. A slight drive south of downtown Naples brings you to wide, untamed tropical wilderness known as the Everglades. Tropical country clubs and golf resorts acts as a buffer zone to the wilderness of the Everglades.
Interstate 75 crosses south Florida from the east and makes an abrupt right turn to the north at Naples. It's an almost natural dividing line, with Ft. Myers and civilization to the north and the entrance to the great Everglades Swamp to the south via State Highway 41, also known as “Alligator Alley.”
According to the U.S. Census, Naples, FL has had a relatively stable population number from the 2000 Census (20,976) through the current 2007 estimate of 19,455. Median household income in 2007 of $71,533 was well above the national average while the median family income of $102,262 was more than 40 percent higher than the national average. One distinct statistic of the Naples area is the median age of its residents at 62.4 years, as opposed to 36.4 nationwide. With the 50-50 split point rounding out to age 65, there are plenty of multi-generation families enjoying the Paradise Coast of Naples.
Naples, Florida was settled in 1886 from a partnership of a politician and a businessman: John Stuart Williams, a Confederate General and later U.S. Senator from Kentucky; and Walter N. Haldeman, a businessman and publisher of the Louisville Courier-Journal. As early as 1870, Haldeman had published an article that referred to the area that is now Naples as being similar in climate and layout to the Italian Peninsula of Naples. When descriptions of the area by promoters used that parallel, and that the area's similarly wide range of available fish and game "surpassing the bay in Naples, Italy," the name stuck. The Town of Naples was incorporated in 1925 and became the City of Naples in May 1949.
There are some recognizable corporate names in and around Naples, Florida with Health Management Associates being most prominent; however, the number-one income producer and claim to fame is tourism. Even a simple matter of launching a small craft for an afternoon of cruising or fishing is accommodated at a half dozen equipped and staffed boat launch ramps. What was once a freight and passenger dock for narrow gauge trains, constructed in 1888, is now a Naples community attraction and one of the bright spots on the Naples beachfront. The Naples Municipal Beach and Fishing Pier is a pleasant spot to stop and view the entire expanse of Naples beachhead or to cast a line off the end.
Golfing aficionados will find three quality courses within the city limits and a plethora of first-class country club golf course settings mere minutes from the Naples city limits as you head toward the Everglades. Combining all of Collier County's facilities nets almost 90 choices, allowing Naples to consistently rank either first or second in the National Golf Foundation's national Golf Holes Per Capita surveys.
All towns have a modest shopping district and it is usually a hot spot for tourists. In Naples, FL however, there is nothing modest about the upscale oasis that occupies the bay front section known as "Old Naples," with its colorful European architecture. Rare finds in the shops coupled with the impeccable cuisine found at the restaurants and cafes turn mere shopping into a memorable experience.
Even with tourism and retirement activities being hot tickets in this area there is no shortage of services and amenities for the resident families in the Naples, Florida area; the educational system is a proud reflection of that. One of the most recent and noteworthy developments in the area of higher education just north of the City of Naples, FL is the Ave Maria University, a Catholic university. Naples will also be the new home of Ave Maria School of Law in late 2009.
The Florida State Courts System is divided into 20 judicial circuits or areas of jurisdiction. Florida has two appellate courts. Florida's Supreme Court, the state's highest court, hears civil and criminal appeals from the lower courts. The court also answers constitutional questions and rules on the validity of statutes and on the construction of the state or U.S. constitutions. The state's five District Courts of Appeal, headquartered in Tallahassee, Lakeland, Miami, West Palm Beach, and Daytona Beach, hear all matters not directly appealable to the Supreme Court, as well as final actions of state agencies.
Florida has a two-tier trial court system of Circuit and County courts. The state's Circuit Courts hear felonies, family law matters civil cases involving amounts over $15,000, probate, guardianship and mental health issues, juvenile dependency and delinquency issues and appeals from County Court. The state's County Courts hear misdemeanors, small claims of up to $5,000 and civil cases of up to and including $15,000 in controversy, as well as traffic cases. Examples of civil matters include hospital negligence, surgical malpractice, automobile accidents, truck accidents, work injury, dog bites, and professional liability lawsuits.
