A tragic auto accident on Interstate 95 in Boynton Beach involving special needs passenger kills one person and leaves three others in critical condition. The fatal auto accident happened Wednesday involving an 18 year old from Lake Worth driver that swerved and hit a passenger van carrying special needs individuals. The driver of the passenger van remains in critical condition, and two passengers are being treated for severe injuries. The 18 year old driver of the car that exercised poor judgment sustained minor injuries.
The passenger van in the crash is owned by Gayle Transportation Inc. of Riviera Beach. The company also owns several group homes under the name Dios Ark. The van's driver, 49 years old was taken to Delray Medical Center and remains in intensive Care.
There are several factors to consider in this case. What caused the accident? Could it have been avoided? Were the passengers in the van and drivers wearing seat belts? Was the 18 year old distracted while driving? Was there a phantom vehicle involved that caused the accident?
Early morning driving in West Palm Beach has become more dangerous. West Palm Beach resident Myra Hudson was asleep in her home with her grandson and daughter when she was awakened by the sound of a loud crash. Amazingly, the crash was that of 79-year-old man crashing his SUV into her home. This 79 year old was exchanging gunfire with other people in the West Palm Beach Neighborhood when he literally crashed into Ms.Hudson's home around 3:30 AM.
According to the police, none in the home was hurt, from the car accident. However, the 79 year old gun slinging driver, Lamar Davis, was critically injured and transported to St. Mary's Medical Center.
Investigators are looking for the people involved in shooting 79 year old Lamar Davis. They also want to hear from any witnesses who may have seen the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS (8477).
The American Red Cross gave Ms. Hudson and her family a place to stay for five days. They can't go back into their home until the dwelling is certified safe by inspectors.
We encourage readers to support the American Red Cross in their local community, so that the American Red Cross has the funds to assist families in times of need.
It is always sad to read about tragic accidents. On May 31, a 20 year old Wellington Resident was having fun visiting Orlando with a group of friends from South Florida. Unfortunately, at 2:50 am, she was a passenger in a Lexus SUV on the Florida Turnpike near Orlando, when her friend lost control of the vehicle. The Lexus SUV rolled over twice, after hitting the guardrail, and ejected passenger Shanique Corbett from the vehicle.
Ms.Corbett died from injuries sustained in the Rollover accident. The driver, 20 year old, Emmylee A. Rousseau, 20, of Pembroke Pines. suffered serious injuries in addition to a 17 year old passenger. According to reports, other passengers in the vehicle suffered minor or no injuries.
When someone dies in a car accident it is always a travesty. The first question that is asked is what caused the accident? Followed by could the accident have been avoided? Were the people wearing seatbelts? Was alcohol involved? Was it a mechanical or human error that caused the accident?
Investigators are investigating the Orlando SUV accident that killed 20 year old Corbett, who unfortunately was not wearing a seatbelt, according to published reports in the Palm Beach Post. The next question is would she have lived, if she were in a seatbelt at the time of the Rollover? We will never know the answer to that question.
However, we can promote the message that wearing seatbelt is required in Florida for drivers and passengers because they help save lives. The following are Florida Seatbelt Safety Stats published from the organization Florida Students Against Distracted Driving (SADD) based on info from the 2007 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the FL Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Florida Seatbelt Safety Stats:
Every hour, someone dies in America simply because they didn't buckle up.
Failure to buckle up contributes to more fatalities than any other single traffic safety-related behavior.
Back seat passenger who do not wear seat belts are three times as likely to die or have serious injuries as passengers who wear a rear seat belt.
Passengers up to the age of 18 must be belted when in either the front or tear seat of a vehicle.
All front seat occupants must buckle up, even if the vehicle is equipped with an air bag.
The driver is held responsible for passengers under 18 years of age who are not buckled up.
Passengers 18 years of age or older may be individually fined if they are not buckled up.
Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and loved ones of Shanique Corbett. We strongly encourage all drivers and passengers to buckle up. It is the law in Florida and it can help save lives.
Two vehicles were involved in a head-on collision on Interstate 4 causing one of the passengers to lose her arm. The violent car accident happened on May 21, 2010 in Orlando around 2:30 am, when a 21 year old male was driving his 2010 Nissan westbound into the eastbound lanes of I-4 and collided with a Honda driven by a 32 year old female.
In an effort to avoid the car collision with the Nissan heading the wrong way on I-4, the driver of the Honda swerved her car towards the divider wall of the Kaley Street Overpass. Unfortunately, the impact was not avoidable and the Honda collided with the Nissan. The impact of the car accident caused the Honda to crash into the wall and flip several times. The car crash shut down I-4 for almost four hours, and eastbound traffic was backed up for miles.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, emergency crews rushed the driver of the Honda to Florida Hospital and her passenger to Orlando Regional Medical Center for emergency medical treatment of their injuries sustained from the car accident. The Orlando Fire Department crews had to cut the top of the Honda to treat the injured passenger for her severed arm and other injuries sustained in the car collision. The driver of the Nissan was taken to ORMC for medical treatment.
Orlando Police Investigators are trying to determine where or why the driver of the Nissan entered I-4 driving the wrong way and caused the tragic car accident.
This particular Orlando car accident was not a fatal one. Unfortunately, several people were severely injured as a result of the wrong way driver on I-4. Several questions need to be answered, such as was alcohol involved, was the driver distracted, was the driver falling asleep at the wheel among many more. The Orlando police investigators will do a thorough investigation of this accident and will present the facts to the proper authorities.
The 2009 traffic data on accidents is expected from the National Highway Safety and Transportation Association (NHTSA) by late June. The NHTSA released a Traffic Safety Facts preliminary report in March 2010 on traffic fatalities in 2009 citing that there were 33,963 deaths as result of traffic accidents. This is a decrease from 2008, where 37,261 people died in traffic accidents.
We encourage drivers to exercise care and caution while driving. Some accidents can’t be avoided, especially, when they are caused by the negligence of others. However, there are things that drivers and passengers can do to protect themselves on the highway and to make it safe for everyone. A few simple things such as using a seat belt, not texting while driving, limiting distractions in a car while driving include a few basic principles.
The highways can be extremely dangerous for all drivers. When it comes to motorcycles, this danger increases greatly. Recently, a motorcyclist was critically injured after a hit and run wreck with an SUV. The biker was riding with two other motorcycles when an SUV ran a stop sign.
After running the stop sign, the SUV collided with one of the motorcyclists, which caused it to roll over. The other two motorcyclists put their bikes down on the asphalt in an effort to avoid a head on motorcycle crash. One of the motorcyclists who laid down his bike hit his head on a fire hydrant and suffered critical head injuries. All three motorcyclists were wearing helmets.
In an unwise move, the SUV driver ran from the scene. The police apprehended the hit and run SUV driver several hours later. The authorities are investigating the accident.
Despite the known dangers, motorcycle riding is quite popular, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there were 7.1 million motorcycles on the road in 2007 and in 2008, sales for motorcycles were over 1 million in 2008. During this time motorcycle fatalities also increased, in 2008 reaching the record number of 5290 in 2008. There has also been a dramatic jump in the number of deaths among motorcyclists age 40 and older in recent years.
The Governor's Highway Safety Association (GHSA) issued a preliminary report on Motorcyclist Traffic Fatalities by State for 2009. In the Spotlight on Highway Safety report on motorcycle fatalities for 2009, there was a trend in a decrease towards fatalities. The report only included data from 39 States, however, this trend is positive news. The top nine states with motorcycle fatalities include the following states: California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
2008 2009 Change
CA 454 321 - 133
FL 413 302 -111
IL 110 113 + 3
IN 112 104 -8
NY 159 134 -2
NC 147 136 -11
OH 184 136 -48
PA 202 185 -17
TN 132 101 - 31
This brings us to a few very important issues. How can we make the roadways a safer place for motorcyclists and other drivers?
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation has created a great list on Ten Things All Car & Truck Drivers Should Know About Motorcycles. Please click on the link below to read a few selected few highlights from this list.
The City of West Palm Beach is embracing the new trend of traffic light cameras to help issue fines. The Palm Beach Post reports that new data on the first 70 days of the project shows that accidents increased and rear-end collisions doubled compared to the same period of 2009.
It is important to note that West Palm Beach implemented installed the traffic light cameras in the name of safety. However, the snowball effect of this safety measure helped the City of West Palm Beach capture a third of a million dollars from 2,675 camera fine tickets in the month of March.
Motorist group AAA pointed out that Goldman Sachs partly owns the private camera contractor American Traffic Solutions based out of Arizona. Kevin Bakewell, a vice president with AAA stated, "It's more about the money than it is traffic safety". AAA and other opponents were unsuccessful in urging Gov. Charlie Crist to veto the state law on traffic light cameras in Florida.
Traffic division director Dan Weisberg stated that Palm Beach County plans to put cameras at 10 intersections because research in other states such as Virginia tends to show at least a moderate reduction in side-angle crashes with cameras, even if rear-end crashes sometimes go up.
In 2007 a Virginia study found red-light running crashes decreased 42 percent , while rear-end collisions increased 27 percent after red-light cameras were installed. These statistics are unsettling for something that is supposed to help promote safety. The data on the cameras in Palm Beach County are new. Time will tell how the traffic safety stats in Palm Beach County will shape up, by year end.
West Palm Beach Drivers beware: The days of getting away with running a red light without being caught are over. However, your chances of getting into a rear collision car accident in West Palm Beach have increased. Drive with caution in West Palm Beach the cameras are watching.
In Palm Beach County, there was a fatal truck crash involving a tow truck and a van this week. Reports show that the tow truck driver tried to make an illegal U-turn on Florida's Turnpike and caused a fatal crash. The victim of the other vehicle unfortunately died. This Palm Beach traffic accident caused a shut down the major roadway's southbound lanes in Boynton Beach for several hours.
According to the FHP, the tow truck slowed on the turnpike in order to make an illegal U-turn. The tow truck pulled into the median but the rear of the truck remained protruding into the traffic lanes. A van driving behind the truck collided with it and rolled over.
The van's driver, was a 32 year old Lake Worth resident. The driver was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, according to an FHP news release.The tow truck driver was a 42 year old male of West Palm Beach. He was not injured. The FHP said the case is still being investigated and charges in the crash are pending.
There was a surviving passenger in the Ford truck that was taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries.
Rollover Crash in Palm Beach County causes death of driver - Palm Beach Post
Every day millions of people take the Florida Turnpike to work. Personally, I have a two-hour daily commute on the Florida Turnpike. I use a Sunpass to save time. A Sunpass helps drivers move through the toll lanes with no waiting. On Wednesday, Warren Thomas made his last and final drive on the Florida Turnpike. Thomas went through a Sunpass lane at Mile Marker 63 and tried to back up to get to a tollbooth where change is given. At the same time, a semitrailer truck fatally struck his minivan. He was taken by ambulance to Broward Medical Center where he later died.
Investigations are underway by the Florida Highway Patrol to determine what caused this fatal crash involving the minivan and the semitrailer truck. At this time it is not known whether Warren Thomas of Fort Lauderdale had a Sunpass. The truck driver, Orta Gerardo, 45, of Miami, wasn't hurt, According to the FHP.
The accident occurred before 6:00 AM Est., driver fatigue may have played a factor in this fatal accident. Reports indicate that over 750 deaths occur each year and over 20,000 injuries, due to driver fatigue by truck drivers operating commercial truck vehicles, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Tired and sleep drivers can be deadly drivers. Commercial truck drivers often drive long hours to make more money, many are sleep deprived to make the tight delivery deadlines often imposed by commercial trucking companies.
Nodding off or drifting into other lanes are two common signs of driver fatigue and sleep deprivation by a trucker. Inattentive and fatigued truckers often lead to rollovers, jackknifing and ineffective down-breaking, which can result in a fatal crash. Truck accidents often involve multi-vehicle accidents. Reports show that approximately 600 commercial truck drivers die each year in fatal highway truck accidents.
Click on the following link to read more from the Sun-Sentinel.
Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) has suffered another blow to its already tarnished safety record. Following a Consumer Reports “Don’t Buy” warning, the carmaker issued a temporary sales halt on April 14 for its 2010 Lexus GX 460 luxury sport-utility vehicle. Consumer Reports found the popular SUV to be a “safety risk” due to its susceptibility to flip over in certain situations.
Tests of the SUV by Consumer Reports found that the rear of the vehicle was prone to slide out during sharp turns or other emergency maneuvers, despite an electronic stability control system seemingly designed to prevent such occurrences. As a result, Consumer Reports found the SUV susceptible to potentially life threatening rollover accidents.
“We believe that in real-world driving, that situation could lead to a rollover accident, which could cause serious injury or death,” Consumer Reports noted on its Cars Blog about the situation. “As a result, we are urging consumers not to buy the GX 460 until the problem has been fixed.”
Julia Piscitelli, a spokesperson for a division of the Transportation Department, advised drivers of the Lexus GX 460 to "use care and caution. Drivers of all vehicles should avoid excessive speed and aggressive maneuvering in order to maintain control of their vehicles."
The Los Angeles Times reports that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is planning to review the findings of Consumer Reports.
Additional fines may be imposed against Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) , by U.S. safety regulators, for failure to promptly take action to fix the sticky accelerators. This would be in addition to the historic $16.4 million penalty imposed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the automaker, April 5, that we discussed previously on the Injury Law Blog. The NHSTA noted that the fine would have been $13 billion if not for caps set by U.S. law.
Automakers are required by law to inform regulators about a safety defect within five days of its discovery. Toyota’s records indicate that the automaker issued repair notices for sticking accelerators in Europe and Canada in September, but waited until January to take action in the United States. The possibility of this new penalty comes in response to an ongoing review of Toyota’s documents by NHTSA that indicates there were two separate defects in the recalled pedals.
United States District Judge James V. Selna in Orange County, Calif. will handle the trial, including important pretrial decisions such as deciding what documents and materials Toyota will need to provide as evidence.
According to an investigative Associated Press article, Toyota has a reputation of withholding documents and using evasive legal tactics in previous product liability, personal injury and wrongful death cases. A prime example is a product liability case in Colorado involving a young girl s killed in a 4Runner rollover crash. Court records show that a federal judge ordered Toyota to produce documents about internal roof strength tests. Unfortunately, the jury ruled in favor of Toyota, since they were not privy to important documents that may have helped shape a different opinion.
A former Toyota attorney, Dimitrios Biller and Whistleblower, accuses the automaker of withholding evidence in former rollover cases. Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, found many of Biller's claims to be substantiated after reviewing some of Biller's still-undisclosed records. It is important to note that Rep, Edolphus Towns, had to subpoena Biller's records.
Toyota now must decide whether to appeal the initial fine or not. According to NHTSA Chief Counsel O. Kevin Vincent,
"If Toyota will not agree to pay the demanded penalty, NHTSA will refer this matter to the U.S. Department of Justice with the recommendation that the Attorney General commence a civil action in federal court ."
It is hard to believe that the previous largest fine was against General Motors Company for only $1 million. Surprisingly, this fine was for not promptly recalling windshield wipers in vehicle model years 2002-2003. US regulators consider 2nd fine against Toyota – Reuters
A tractor-trailer owned by Alabama trucking company, Hester Inc., was involved in a horrific crash that killed 11 people in Kentucky. The driver of the commercial tractor-trailer, was carrying auto parts, when he crossed a highway median and slammed head on into a van filled with friends and small children en-route to a wedding. After the collision, the truck hit a rock wall and burst into flames, killing the driver.
The National Transportation Safety The National Transportation Safety Board has dispatched a six-person team to investigate Board dispatched a six-person team to investigate the Kentucky highway crash involving Hester Trucking, Inc. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Hester Inc., a privately owned company, had no fatal accidents and one injury accident in the 24 months before the Kentucky accident.
Hester Inc is an interstate carrier with 30 drivers and 25 trucks. Records show that in 2008, they drove a total of 2.3 million miles carrying general freight, meat, produce and beverages. According to Federal records, 19 of the interstate carrier's drivers were taken off the road for violations from 167 driver inspections. This rate of 11.4 percent is higher than the national rate of 6.6 percent. Excessive driving hours, was the most common violation issued for Hester, Inc. Driving too many hours in a row or not taking required breaks accounted for approximately 166 (one-fourth) of the total violations for drivers..
Before crashing into the van, the tractor-trailer knocked down six cable barrier uprights and the four cables running through them. According to County officials, the cable barriers recently installed has helped prevent other crossover accidents. Mark Brown, a spokesman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet stated the following:
"The cable barriers weren’t designed to withstand a tractor-trailer. They have been very successful though in preventing crossover crashes where they are installed,”
Truck Crash Statistics for 2008, from the Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
In 2008, there were 365,000 police-reported crashes involving large trucks. One percent (3,733) of the truck related crashed had at least one fatality, and 18 percent (64,000) had at least one nonfatal injury.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is seeking the maximum civil penalty of $16.375 million, against Toyota for failing to notify the government about its sticky accelerators in a prompt manner. This would be the the largest civil penalty ever assessed against an automaker by the agency. According to records, Toyota knew about the problem as early as late September 2009 when the problem was confirmed in Europe and Canada but waited until late January 2010 to recall 2.3 million cars in the U.S. for the same issue. This is unacceptable behavior for a company that prides itself on "quality, dependability and reliability".
U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood stated the following on the Toyota issue
Automakers are required to provide the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) with notification of a safety defect within five days of its discovery. Why did it take Toyota so long to inform U.S. officials and the American public about about the threat of sticky accelerator pedals on certain models? Were they testing the cars to be sure of the defect or was it corporate greed?
“We now have proof that Toyota failed to live up to its legal obligations. Worse yet, they knowingly hid a dangerous defect for months from U.S. officials and did not take action to protect millions of drivers and their families. For those reasons, we are seeking the maximum penalty possible under current laws.”
At least 52 deaths have been linked to crashes allegedly caused by accelerator problems in Toyotas, according to government records. The sticky accelerator pedal recall involves the 2007-10 Camry, 2009-10 Corolla, 2009-10 Matrix, 2005-10 Avalon, 2010 Highlander and 2007-10 Tundra. The recalls have led to congressional hearings, a criminal investigation by federal prosecutors, dozens of lawsuits and an intense review by the Transportation Department.
Toyota has attributed the problem to sticking gas pedals and accelerators that can become jammed in floor mats, and has cited no evidence of an electrical problem. Toyota dealers have fixed 1.7 million vehicles under recall so far. Consumer groups have said electronics could be the culprit, and dozens of Toyota owners who had their cars fixed in the recall have complained of more problems with their vehicles surging forward unexpectedly
Toyota could face additional violations and further penalties, if more evidence is found in the ongoing investigations. Toyota must now decide whether it will contest the fine
Today a panel of seven federal judges in San Diego must consider a locale for the cases filed against Toyota nationwide, and whether to consolidate the numerous proposed class-action lawsuits before the chosen court. The panel’s decision, expected within several weeks, would likely determine the eventual trial or settlement of the cases.
Some of the suits claim that Toyota was aware of the sudden acceleration problem but failed to inform consumers or the government. Others claim that Toyota is ignoring the real source of the problems: flawed electronics. According to National Public Radio (NPR), the suits each claim to be filed on behalf of some 6 million drivers. NPR also indicated that numerous other suits have been filed against Toyota, including wrongful death, personal injury, and claims of loss by investors due to decreases in stock value.
If the cases are consolidated and settled, Toyota could face damages up to $3 billion. According to Tim Howard, Northeastern University law professor,
"the class-action lawsuits filed against Toyota ranks as the largest automobile class action in the history of American law and the world.”
The New York Times reports that the judge of the chosen locale will make several important decisions, including “whether all Toyota owners affected by the recalls should be treated as a single class that could be paid for the vehicles’ lost value.”
Toyota is expected to request a dismissal of any single case.
Click on the following links to read more on the Toyota Lawsuit news.
The reliance on cell phones has led to an increase in talking on a cell phone while driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that at any given moment of the day, 800,000 drivers of passenger vehicles are talking on handheld cell phones. Unfortunately, statistics show driving while talking or texting on a cell phone are two leading driver distractions that cause car accidents. According to a January 2010, report from the National Safety Council an estimated 1.6 million crashes (28 percent of all crashes) are caused each year by drivers talking on cell phones (1.4 million crashes) and texting (200,000 crashes) based on data from the NHTSA and peer reviewed research.
When a driver takes their eyes off the road to text a message, dial a number or becomes absorbed in a conversation, their ability to concentrate on the road is impaired and can cause an accident. Studies show that driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent. Driver distractions accounted for 5,870 deaths and an estimated 515,000 personal injuries that involved police crash reports in 2008, according to the NHTSA.
Personal Injury and Employer Liability
Talking a cell phone for company business is a common event for many employees. However, an employer may be liable if an employee causes an accident while on the phone in the scope of doing business. A personal injury victim may be able to file suit against a driver/employee involved in a cell phone related accident and their company in the certain circumstances.
A few examples include:
The phone call pertained to business
The driver was performing company business on his or her cell phone while driving.
The accident happened because the driver was distracted by the phone call
The company provided the cell phone used by the driver/employee
A few prominent examples of personal injury suits involving cell phone use of employees while driving include the following:
A salesperson for lumber wholesaler Dyke Industries was driving and using a cell phone at the time of an accident that left a 78-year old woman severely disabled. The salesperson denied using the cell phone at the time of the accident; however, phone records showed otherwise. A jury held the employer, liable and awarded a $20.9 million verdict, that later settled for $16.2 million.
An employee for International Paper rear-ended another driver, while on her company cell phone. The plaintiff lost her arm because of the car accident. International Paper settled the personal injury suit for $5 million.
A teacher for the state of Hawaii struck a pedestrian tourist while talking on the cell phone. The plaintiff suffered a traumatic brain injury because of the car accident. The personal injury lawsuit settled for $1.5 million.
A stockbroker for investment banking firm Smith Barney, talking on the cell phone to a potential client, struck and killed a motorcyclist. Although the stockbroker was using his personal cell phone, the plaintiff argued that Smith Barney should be liable for not providing proper training to employees on cell phone safety issues. The wrongful death suit settled for $500,000.
Cell Phone Use while Driving Restrictions by State
Highway Safety and cutting down on driver distractions and cell phone use while driving is important to several states. Many states have cell phone use restrictions while driving. However, presently, no state completely bans all types of cell phone while driving. The Governor’s Highway Association sends the stern message of not to use cell phones or any electronic device while driving, regardless of the law.
Hand Held Cell Phones – As of March 2010, seven states require the use of a hands free device for drivers talking on a cell phone. The use of hand held cell phones while driving is banned in California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah and Washington, plus Washington, D.C and the Virgin Islands. These laws are primary enforcement, with the exception of Washington. This means that a driver may be cited for using a hand held cell phone without other traffic offense.
How can Toyota have actual knowledge of their cars sticky accelerators, give wrong information to the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and NOT face criminal penalty?
Presently there is a Federal Grand Jury proceeding in New York, which is investigating the “timeliness of Toyota’s reporting of its sudden-acceleration complaints and fixes.” I am betting that the United States Attorney will open an investigation soon for criminal penalties against the company. Many innocent victims have died because Toyota hid the truth about safety issues.
Human lives are not to be counted on an actuarial chart and compared to the financial impact on a company before making a known defect public. When you are producing a dangerous product and putting it in the stream of commerce, you must correct know defects; otherwise, you are acting with reckless abandon in harming human life.
The very definition of manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without premeditation or intent through gross negligence. The difference between this and actual murder is that murder requires actual malicious intent. Former Toytota counsel Dimitrios Biller said that Toyota had systematically disregarded the law. He said to CNN that the material he had reviewed was “very, very disturbing.” Toyota continues to fight the litigation requests to review their most important documents. They are also not permitting their old lawyer to say what he knows.
Hopefully, the public will not feel bad for Toyota because tough minded trial attorneys want to hold Toyota accountable for their reckless conduct.
Yesterday a Senior Female Driver, age 76 years old, was killed in a fatal car accident in West Palm Beach Florida. While driving, she lost control, and the car overturned and came to a rest on the shoulder. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family of the woman that died in this tragic accident.
In looking at traffic fatalities involving older drivers, we came across the following study by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, based on data from 1999-2004. From ages 75 to 84, the rate of about three deaths per 100 million miles driven is equal to the death rate of teenage drivers. For drivers 85 and older, the fatality rate skyrockets to nearly four times higher than that for teens drivers.
However, according to reports studies on traffic deaths from IHHS and the Department of Transportation studying traffic fatalities across the United States, there is a decline in fatal traffic accidents involving Senior drivers ages 70 and older. In 2008 there was a total of 4,268 traffic fatalities involving drivers ages 70 and older. This is a decrease from 2007 where the total number of traffic fatalities involving drivers ages 70 was a total of 4,631.
Florida, being a no-fault state, means that each person’s respective PIP (Personal Injury Protection) insurance will pay for that person’s medical bills up to $10,000 based on a fee schedule.
Injury Law Blog Question: If the accident was the other driver’s fault, and the injured driver in the other vehicle was uninsured, will the at-fault insured be responsible for personal and property damages even though Florida is a no-fault state?
The answer to our reader’s comment is YES. Under general law in Florida, a person who is found at-fault in an accident is responsible for the other person’s damages that are caused. So, if the at-fault driver caused both personal and property damage, then the at-fault driver is responsible for that.
The minimum insurance that Florida Drivers are supposed to carry in Florida is Personal Injury Protection and Property Damage. Personal Injury Protection – as discussed above – pays for your personal medical bills, regardless of who is at fault in the accident. Property Damage pays for the other person’s property damage that you caused.
For example, consider the following: The driver of Vehicle 1 is at fault in an accident and injures driver of Vehicle 2 as well as causing property damage. Driver of Vehicle 1, his insurance company, through the Property Damage, should pay for the repairs of Vehicle 2. In addition, if Vehicle 1 has what is called Bodily Injury Liability insurance, then that money will be used to compensate the driver of Vehicle 2 for his or her personal injuries – not property damage.
Depending on the level of injury, if the driver of Vehicle 2 has what is called Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage, then that money can also be used to compensate the driver of Vehicle 2 for that person’s injuries or damage.
We are always happy to answer any personal injury related questions. Please do not hesitate to contact us via our blog or directly at the office if you need help with a personal injury related matter or just have a personal injury related question.
Three teens were tragically killed by a train crossing a bridge in Melbourne, Florida. They were seen earlier taking pictures and joking around on a railroad that spans 200 feet over a creek. Unfortunately, they were not able to move out of the way fast enough as an oncoing train barreled down the tracks, According to an Associated Press article.
Reportedly, onlookers shouted for the teens to run or jump into the 20 feet creek of water below, sadly only one was able to jump out of the way safely. The train accident occured just before dusk on Saturday evening.
One can't help but ask the question why this tragic train accident occurred and how it could have been avoided? Pedestrians and drivers should exercise caution when crossing railroads. We encourage parents and teachers to discuss the importance of exercising caution at Railroad crossings, both as a driver and a pedestrian to students of all ages.
Driver safety educator and trainer for the National Safety Commission, Dave Herron, states the following in his articleon Railroad Safety Tips that unfortunately can apply to pedestrians as well:
"Drivers are still not getting the word that trying to outrace a train at a railroad crossing is a lose/lose proposition. 94% of the collisions and 87% of the fatalities at railroad crossings are caused by risky driving behavior or poor judgment on the part of the driver."
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, reports that in 2008, Florida had 50 accidents at rail-road crossings between trains and cars or pedestrians that resulted in 12 deaths and 19 injuries. There were a total of 378 total injuries at rail-roads as a crash site location. The numbers are down 2007, where there were a total of 90 accidents at rail-road crossings involving trains and cars or pedestrians that resulted in 20 fatalities and 63 injuries.
Taking a look at pedetrian fatalities from 2008, Brevard County, the location of the train accident, reported 18 pedestrian fatalities. The top five counties in Florida ranked by pedestrian fatalities and injuries, includethe following:
Miami Dade: 66 pedestrian fatalities and 1466 Injuries
Broward : 51 pedestrian fatalities and 1005 Injuries
Hillborough: 47 pedestrian fatalities and 618 Injuries
Palm Beach: 32 pedestrian fatalities and 583 Injuries
Assume that there is a train on every track at all times, even tracks that are rarely used.
If there are two or more tracks, make sure there a train isn't coming in the other direction.
When stopping at a railroad crossing make sure you stop no less than 15 feet from the tracks.
Never cross a railroad track unless you are sure there is room on the other side for your vehicle to completely clear the tracks.
Don't shift gears while crossing a railroad track; it could cause your vehicle to stall.
If your car stalls on a railroad track, get out of the car immediately, clear the tracks and call 911 for help.
If a train is coming, run away from the tracks in the direction of the approaching train.
Never try to beat a train at a crossing or snake around the lowered crossing gates. Once the lights start to flash and the crossing gate arms go down, the train will appear in about 20 seconds.
As pedestrian, Deborah McDonald, walked home from celebrating the arrival of her first check, a car struck and killed the Ohio Lottery winner. According to the Ohio Highway Patrol, the vehicle struck McDonald in the evening, as she walked along a road after leaving the bar.
The 47-year-old Crystal Rock, Ohio resident had reportedly spent some of the $5,520 check on wedding rings for herself and her husband shortly after receiving the winnings. Items the couple had been previously unable to afford. She had also treated her husband and some friends to dinner before heading to the bar to celebrate.
An Ohio Lottery spokesperson indicated that McDonald won approximately $8,000 in the lottery’s TV game show “Cash Explosion Double Play” on January 12.
Joe Wentworth, a patrol sergeant with area police, said investigators are looking into whether or not alcohol played a factor in the death. However, he indicated that police officials do not think the driver of the car who struck and killed McDonald was drinking.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 4,378 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States in 2008. The NHTSA also indicates that a pedestrian-related traffic fatality occurs every two (2) hours, and a pedestrian is injured every 8 minutes in a traffic crash.
McDonald’s home state of Ohio reported 98 pedestrian fatalities in 2008, or roughly 8.2 percent of the nation’s total amount. These grim statistics remind us of the possibility of personal injury or even death resulting from motor vehicle accidents involving pedestrians.
The NHTSA reminds pedestrians and drivers alike to be safe and courteous, and to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians when required by law.
In a follow up of our blog post regarding the Hit and Run Driver causing injuries to 6 people in West Palm Beach, we regret to inform you that the baby ejected from the car has died. Allegedly, the hit and run driver was not only speeding, but was also drunk when he slammed his 2010 Honda into two other cars. Recent reports have confirmed that the 3 month old baby in the minivan has died as a result of injuries in the car accident. Concerned readers have inquired about the car seat. According to reports, the grieving mom of the deceased baby has confirmed that her infant was in a car seat.
The hit and run driver has been charged with DUI manslaughter, DUI with serious injuries, failing to render aid, and one count of hit and run in a fatal crash. He is being held without bail in the West Palm Beach Jail.
This is a tragedy, so many lives are destroyed because of this hit and run incident. The parents and families involved are facing a devastating loss.
Florida is third in the nation, behind California and Texas for hit and run accidents annually.
Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc. (TMS), announced today, that the company has developed a safe solution to the risk of sudden, unwanted acceleration. The Japanese automaker indicated that its engineers created and thoroughly tested the solution: a small steel pedal reinforcement assembly designed to eliminate excess friction. Toyota reports that it has commenced shipping the parts to dealers, and expects the millions of affected vehicles to undergo repair as soon as possible.
According to Toyota, this sticking occurred (or can occur) because of excess friction resulting from normal vehicle operation. The company indicates that the pedal reinforcement assembly will eliminate the excess friction that caused the accelerators to stick in rare instances.
At the end of January, the company recalled over 4 million cars from eight vehicle models due to the risk of sudden acceleration caused by the accelerator sticking in a partially open position. In an unprecedented move, the Japanese automaker also halted production to resolve the problem safely and effectively. With Toyota’s announcement comes an apology from top brass, and a hope that the solution will begin to restore customers’ faith in the brand.
Toyota Motor Sales (USA) president and Chief Operating Officer, Jim Lentz, commented on the situation:
“Nothing is more important to us than the safety and reliability of the vehicles our customers drive. We deeply regret the concern that our recalls have caused for our customers and we are doing everything we can – as fast as we can – to make things right. Stopping production is never an easy decision, but we are 100% confident it was the right decision. We know what’s causing the sticking accelerator pedals, and we know what we have to do to fix it. We also know it is most important to fix this problem in the cars on the road.
The Toyota saga continues with the National Public Radio report Toyota Apologizes, Releases Details On Plan To Fix Gas Pedals. In a continuing story, NPR's All Things Considered, co-host Melissa Block spoke with Toyota's Jim Lentz this afternoon on how a driver should handle the situation, of a gas pedal getting stuck.
Lentz is quoted in the interview as giving listeners the following advice:
The Driver should put both feet on the break, press hard, shift the transmission into neutral, and pull off the road.
The Toyota vehicles involved in the recent accelerator recall include:
2009-2010 RAV4 (Certain models)
2009-2010 Corolla (Certain models)
2009-2010 Matrix
2005-2010 Avalon
2007-2010 Camry (Certain models)
2010 Highlander (Certain models)
2007-2010 Tundra
2008-2010 Sequoia
As we mentioned in a previous LaBovickInjuryLawBlog article on the Toyota accelerator recall, owners and drivers of the above mentioned Toyota models to contact their local Toyota dealer or to contact Toyota directly, if they are having issues. Safety measures and precautions should be taken to avoid any serious car accident.
Car Accidents are never fun to be involved in, especially, a hit and run or when someone gets injured. Most people involved in an accident are shaken up afterwards, sometimes, just for the shock of the entire situation.
Yesterday, in West Palm Beach Florida, a driver of a Honda plowed into a Minivan, carrying a family of four. Due to being struck, the Minivan, crashed into another another car, with two passengers. According to a WPBF - ABC - Report, a baby in the Minivan was thrown from the car into the street. The first question in everyone's mind is: Is the baby going to be okay and how was the baby restrained in the car? All of the passengers were taken to the hospital and were in stable condition, with the exception of the baby, who was last reported to be in critical condition.
The driver of the Honda, reportedly ran and collapsed down the street. The police are investigating whether or not alcohol was involved.
(1)(a) The driver of any vehicle involved in a crash occurring on public or private property that results in injury of any person must immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the crash, or as close thereto as possible, and must remain at the scene of the crash until he or she has fulfilled the requirements of s. 316.062. Any person who willfully violates this paragraph commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(b) The driver of any vehicle involved in a crash occurring on public or private property that results in the death of any person must immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the crash, or as close thereto as possible, and must remain at the scene of the crash until he or she has fulfilled the requirements of s. 316.062. Any person who willfully violates this paragraph commits a felony of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. Any person who willfully violates this paragraph while driving under the influence as set forth in s. 316.193(1) shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 2 years.
On a positive note, data released last year for 2008 Florida traffic accident data show a positive trend on Florida's highways in the area of crashes and fatalities in Florida.
Traffic-related fatalities on Florida roadways decreased between in 2008 from 2007. The number of fatalities in 2008 were 2,983 and 3,221 in 2007.
Traffic related accidents and crashes on Florida roadways decreased in 2008 from 2007. The numbers for 2008 were 243,342 accidents and the numbers for 2007 were 256,206 accidents.
Traffic related accidents and crashes on Florida roadways involving alcohol decreased in 2008 from 2007. The numbers were 1,169 for 2008 and 1,244 for 2007.
Everyone understands that a car accident is never a fun experience for any party involved. However, it does not give the person at fault the right to run from their responsibilities. Bloggers for the Jacksonville law blawg:ForYourprotection.com, gave an excellent summary in a post regarding a DUI Florida Hit and Run accident that resulted in the death of a passenger, when they wrote the following:
"If you are involved in an auto wreck and you have been drinking, the absolute worst thing you can do is leave the scene. You will be caught and convicted, not to mention the moral duty you have to the person you have just injured. Stay and render aid and be helpful and figure your actions have finally caught up with you."
Lastly, if you are involved in a car accident, Stop, take a deep breath, and proceed to take the appropriate actions. It will all work out much better if you stay and address the situation instead of trying to avoid it. Strangely enough this holds true for many things.
Let's continue to make Florida's roadways safer by driving with care and following traffic laws.
As pedestrian, Deborah McDonald, walked home from celebrating the arrival of her first check, a car struck and killed the Ohio Lottery winner. According to the Ohio Highway Patrol, the vehicle struck McDonald in the evening, as she walked along a road after leaving the bar.
The 47-year-old Crystal Rock, Ohioresident had reportedly spent some of the $5,520 check on wedding rings for herself and her husband shortly after receiving the winnings. Items the couple had been previously unable to afford. She had also treated her husband and some friends to dinner before heading to the bar to celebrate.
An Ohio Lottery spokesperson indicated that McDonald won approximately $8,000 in the lottery’s TV game show “Cash Explosion Double Play” on January 12.
Joe Wentworth, a patrol sergeant with area police, said investigators are looking into whether or not alcohol played a factor in the death. However, he indicated that police officials do not think the driver of the car who struck and killed McDonald was drinking.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 4,378 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States in 2008. The NHTSA also indicates that a pedestrian-related traffic fatality occurs every two (2) hours, and a pedestrian is injured every 8 minutes in a traffic crash.
McDonald’s home state of Ohio reported 98 pedestrian fatalities in 2008, or roughly 8.2 percent of the nation’s total amount. These grim statistics remind us of the possibility of personal injury or even death resulting from motor vehicle accidents involving pedestrians.
The number of deaths involving pedestrians in Florida decreased, however, the number of injured pedestrians injured and pedesrtians in crashes saw an increase over 2007.
2008 Florida Pedestrian statistics from the NHTSA related to car accidents:
Pedestrians Killed 502
Pedestrians Injured 7,878
Pedestrian Crashes 8,471
2007 Florida Pedestrian statistics
Pedestrians Killed 530
Pedestrians Injured 7,529
Pedestrian Crashes 8,139
The NHTSA reminds pedestrians and drivers alike to be safe and courteous, and to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians when required by law.
Commercial Drivers, including truckers and bus drivers, beware, texting while driving is now illegal, according to a new Federal ban. If you need to send a message while driving, pull over safely and send or read your text, if not, you can face serious charges and fines up to $2750.
Ray LaHood, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), announced a Federal ban on texting for the drivers of large commercial vehicles on Tuesday, Jan. 26. Effective immediately, this ban prohibits the operators of vehicles regulated by Federal law, including tractor-trailers and large commercial buses, from sending and/or receiving text messages while driving. The texting ban is a step in the DOT’s comprehensive plan to combat the dangers of distracted driving.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), on average, drivers who send and receive messages are distracted 4.6 out of every 6 seconds while texting. This means that operators, travelling at 55 miles per hour, will drive the full length of a football field without looking up from their phone. In fact, drivers distracted by texting are more than 20 times likely to be involved in a crash than non-distracted drivers.
Violations of this new Federal ban subjects commercial vehicle drivers to civil and/or criminal penalties of up to $2,750. This ban stems from the Distracted Driving Summit held in September 2009 in Washington, D.C. In addition to text ban, the DOT and other government agencies are reported to be working on further regulatory measures to decrease distracted driving.
“We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe,” Secretary LaHood said. “This is an important safety step and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving.”
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., has recalled approximately 2.3 million vehicles to correct sticking accelerator pedals on specific Toyota Division models. This action is not related to the on-going recall of approximately 4.2 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles to reduce the risk of pedal entrapment by incorrect or out of place accessory floor mats. Approximately 1.7 million Toyota Division vehicles are subject to both separate recall actions.
Happy New Year!!! Today marks the first day of 2010. Today is a fresh start for the new year.
It is a time of reflecting on one's life and setting new goals.
Unfortunately, two South Florida teens were killed in a fatal rollover crash auto accident on New Year's eve. They will not have the opportunity to enjoy 2010 and make the most of their lives. At this time, the cause of the crash is under investigation by the police. According to Police, the teens were traveling at a "high rate of speed" when the driver lost control and the car smashed into a brick sign. A third victim in the car managed to escape. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones.
To help drivers make the right decision about getting behind the wheel after drinking, AAA offered a FREE TIPSY TOW for drivers that had too much to drink this holiday season. This was a two program to help cut down on deaths and accidents during this time of year. Time will tell, how many lives were lost in car accidents over the new year's holiday.
We can't stress enough that while you are driving a vehicle, caution and safety come first. Texting while driving has become such an important issue that some states have made this a first offense. On Friday, texting while driving in Illinois will be illegal. The texting ban law also bans checking e-mail, updating Facebook and Web surfing while driving. However, using your phone GPS is okay. It will be interesting to see how this is enforced. More states are looking at making texting while driving illegal, Florida included.
On another note, if you are looking for relief of pain, before you reach for your Tylenol, check the label. The Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles have been recalled. This product has a red colored EZ-Open top. According to the FDA,The recall stems from complaints of a moldy odor which may result in nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea for the user. The symptoms are caused by trace amounts of the chemical 2, 4, 6-tribromoanisole resulting from the breakdown of a chemical used to treat wooden pallets that transport and store packaging material.The recall only applies to this exact model and not other products labeled Tylenol Arthritis. Please visit the Tylenol website for more specific information on the recalled Tylenol Arthritis Caplets.
Last month Toyota finally had to fess up. They had to say “We are sorry. Our cars have a malfunction. We are killing people.” Toyota recalled almost 4 million cars because the accelerators were sticking and cars were being run up to 120 miles per hour causing high speed crashes
I have several loved ones and friends that drive a Toyota. Therefore I am genuinely concerned about this recent recall issue. A few months ago, we shared information on our blog regarding the Toyota Mat Recall.
I started to think about the following:
Here is the big game: Before anything: BLAME THE VICTIM. BLAME THE VICTIM. NEVER ADMIT FAULT. BLAME THE VICTIM.
It is the same old story: “The accident wasn’t our fault, it was driver error!” BLAME THE VICTIM.
But eventually the statistics add up. Eventually the big corporation must face the facts. Your car is messed up. Your drug is defective. Your medical device is malfunctioning.
When will these corporations learn and be more responsible about Consumer Safety?
I am delighted that we have a justice system that allows us to hold companies accountable.
Toyota issued the following Recall information on their website, regarding the accelerator pedal:
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) announced today details of the vehicle-based remedy to address the root cause of the potential risk for floor mat entrapment of accelerator pedals in certain Toyota and Lexus models. Toyota issued a consumer safety advisory on September 29 on this issue and has, as an interim measure, commenced the mailing of safety notices to certain Toyota and Lexus owners on October 30.
The models involved are: 2007 to 2010 MY (model year) Camry, 2005 to 2010 MY Avalon, 2004 to 2009 MY Prius, 2005 to 2010 MY Tacoma, 2007 to 2010 MY Tundra, 2007 to 2010 MY ES350, 2006 to 2010 MY IS250, and 2006 to 2010 MY IS 350
Toyota's quick fix to this problem is to shorten gas pedals by three-quarters of an inch, starting in January. In certain instances, they will take padding from the floor to prevent the pedals from getting stuck on floor mats.
Attention all readers, this is a very important blog post. If you are a Toyota driver or know someone that is, please read and share this important information. It could help save your life or the life of a loved one.
The Toyota Motor Corp. has announced that it will recall 3.8 million vehicles in the United States, to address problems with a removable floor mat that could cause accelerators to get stuck and lead to a crash. The recall affects Toyota models from 2004 – 2010. Specific models affected include 2007-2010 Toyota Camry, 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra, 2007-2010 Lexus ES350 and 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350.
Toyota is working with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to find a solution to the problem. In the meantime, drivers of the named vehicles should immediately remove the mat from the driver’ side and not replace it, until further notified.
According to a Toyota spokesperson in published reports "A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop a vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death.
There have been reportedly 102 incidents where the accelerator may have become stuck on the Toyota vehicles involved, according to the NHTSA. However, it is unclear how many have led to crashes.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood issued the following statement “For everyone's sake, we strongly urge owners of these vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration."
Toyota has warned owners that if they think their vehicle is accelerating out of control, they should check to see whether their floor mat is under the pedal. If a driver can't remove the floor mat, Toyota advises drivers to step on the brake pedal with both feet until the vehicle slows and then try to put it into neutral and switch the ignition to accessory power.
Unfortunately, this recall comes too late for California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor. In August, Officer Saylor and three others were killed in a fatal car accident involving the crash of a 2009 Lexus ES 350 and a Sport Utility Vehicle. Reportedly, one of the family members called the police minutes before the crash to report the accelerator was stuck and that the car had no brakes. The Officer’s car hit the SUV, rolled several times and burst into flames. Reports from the NHTSA investigators determined that a rubber all-weather floor mat found in the wreckage was slightly longer than the mat that belonged in the vehicle, something that could have snared or covered the accelerator pedal.
This morning, I removed the driver’s side mat from my Toyota Camry and recommend that all Toyota owners of the above mentioned vehicles do the same. If you have questions or want more information, please contact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's hotline at (888) 327-4236, Toyota at (800) 331-4331 or Lexus at (800) 255-3987.
Driver distraction caused the deaths of nearly 6,000 people and the injuries of 500,000 people last year according to new government reports on auto safety. There is a correlation of using mobile devices while driving. This includes texting while driving and talking on the cell.
Transportation officials recently released a report that showed driver distraction being involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008. The Transportation report shows that 515,000 people were injured and 5,870 people were killed last year, with driver distraction being involved in the accident.
The Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, government officials, safety advocates, researchers and lawmakers are coming together this week to discuss ways of setting new restrictions on texting and using devices while driving. Young adults involved car accidents where they were texting while driving are also involved in the safety discussions. New data supports that 16 percent of all under-20 drivers involved in fatal car accidents were distracted while driving.
Every day, people text and drive, even in places where it's outlawed. According to Secretary LaHood "We feel a very strong obligation to point to incidents where people have been killed or where serious injury has occurred.”
Earlier this year, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that collision risks were 23 times greater when drivers of heavy trucks texted while driving. Dialing a cell phone and using or reaching for an electronic device increased risk of collision about six times in cars and trucks. The popular magazine Car and Driver released a report that showed texting and driving to be more dangerous than driving while intoxicated. This report obviously has caused a lot of controversy and discussions among safety advocates.
Some groups want tough laws on the distractions and are asking for restrictions on talking and texting by drivers of tractor trailers, motor coaches and large vans.
Automobile Manufacturers and the Governors Highway Safety Association are on the same page in support of restrictions for texting while driving. Surprisingly, 11 automakers have come together on a united front with the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers to support this important issue of auto safety and the use of handheld devices.
The Cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA) believes that education and enforcement are critical to changing the behavior of drivers. A series of public Service Announcements warning teen drivers of the dangers on distracted driving will be paid for by the National Safety Council and CTIA in an effort to promote safe driving.
We encourage all of our readers to exercise caution and to use judgment when driving and using a cell phone. Texting while driving is dangerous and increases your risk of an accident.
In the City of Parkland the texting while driving debate is heating up. On Monday night city commissioners made history when they unanimously approved the ban which would make it illegal to send text messages while driving. Fines for violators could be as much as $100. If approved, this would be the first municipality in Broward County to take such measures for driver safety. A second and final vote will be taken on September 23rd.
A ban on texting while driving is not new. Seventeen states including Maryland, New Jersey and California already have such bans; in California the fine is $20 for the first offense.
A recent survey from Nationwide Insurance shows that nearly 80% of U.S. adults support laws banning text messaging while driving,
The survey of 1,008 Americans, found most were in favor of a texting ban. Surprisingly, this was rated high among young drivers born between 1977 and 1988.
According to Nationwide associate vice president, Bill Windsor, in a recent WSJ article,
Generation Y’s support for driving-while-texting bans — a hot-button topic that has gotten considerable attention in recent weeks — was unexpectedly strong.
Another discrepancy in the texting debate is the contrast of views among drivers from the Northeast and West compared to drivers from the Midwest and the South.
93% of Northeasterners say yes to texting bans, compared with 72% of Southerners — something Mr. Windsors attributes to more congested traffic conditions on the East and West coasts. Drivers in the Northeast and South, however, were the most likely to say they often see other drivers on the phone.
Our message is that safety comes first. The texting while driving debate is going to heat up in Florida. We look forward to sharing helpful information to readers that will keep our roadways safe. Let us know what you think of the texting while driving ban. We are interested in hearing from our readers on this important topic.
Summer for school age children is officially over and the school Year for 2009-2010 is starting around the country. Drivers will see Yellow school buses on the road in full force. Students will be walking and riding their bikes to school. School zones will be in force in the morning and in the afternoon. We encourage all drivers to drive safely and pay extra attention while you are driving on the roads.
Parents are encouraged to discuss safety tips with their children, to prevent avoidable injuries and accidents. Studies have shown that over a million school age children are injured each year according to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. Let’s try and prevent accidents and injuries this year with education and training to students and young children.
The American Academy of Pediatrics created a great safety tip checklist for parents of school age children. We have highlighted a few tips for parents and caregivers to school age children. Please feel free to share these helpful and practical tips with others.
BACKPACK SAFETY TIPS
• Always use both shoulder straps. Slinging a backpack over one shoulder can strain muscles.
• Choose a backpack with wide, padded shoulder straps and a padded back.
• Pack light. Organize the backpack to use all of its compartments. Pack heavier items closest to the center of the back. The backpack should never weigh more than 10 to 20 percent of the child’s body weight.
TRAVELING TO AND FROM SCHOOL SAFETY TIPS
Review the basic rules with your children
School Bus safety tips for students
• Do not move around on the bus.
• Wait for the bus to stop before approaching it from the curb.
• Check to see that no other traffic is coming before crossing.
• Make sure to always remain in clear view of the bus driver.
• Children should always board and exit the bus at locations that provide safe access to the bus or to the school building.
Car Safety tips for students
• All passengers should wear a seat belt and/or an age- and size-appropriate car safety seat or booster seat.
• All children under 13 years of age should ride in the rear seat of vehicles. If you must drive more children than can fit in the rear seat (when carpooling, for example), move the front-seat passenger’s seat as far back as possible and have the child ride in a booster seat if the seat belts do not fit properly without it.
• Remember that many crashes occur while novice teen drivers are going to and from school. You should require seat belt use, limit the number of teen passengers, do not allow eating, drinking, cell phone conversations or texting to prevent driver distraction; and limit nighttime driving and driving in inclement weather.
Bike Safety tips for students
• Know the "rules of the road."
• Use appropriate hand signals.
• Respect traffic lights and stop signs
• Ride on the right, in the same direction as auto traffic.
• Wear bright color clothing to increase visibility.
• Always wear a bicycle helmet, no matter how short or long the ride. Research indicates that a helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by up to 85 percent.
Walking to School safety tips for students
• Make sure your child's walk to a school is a safe route..
• Bright colored clothing will make your child more visible to drivers
• Be realistic about your child's pedestrian skills. Carefully consider whether or not your child is ready to walk to school without adult supervision.
• If your child is young or is walking to new school, walk with them the first week to make sure they know the route and can do it safely.
• Plan a walking route to school or the bus stop. Choose the most direct way with the fewest street crossings
• In neighborhoods with higher levels of traffic, consider starting a “walking school bus,” in which an adult accompanies a group of neighborhood children walking to school.
First Quarter 2009 Traffic Fatalities Project Continue Record Trend decrease
While a weak economy, staggering gas prices, and high unemployment rates across the country may seem to have only negative connotations, there may be some positives that arise out of these dire situations. With people choosing “staycations” over vacations, workers choosing to carpool to the office rather than drive solo, and people more frequently utilizing public transportation, Americans may be driving fewer miles than in years past. With the overall number of vehicle miles traveled on the decline, some of the serious problems gripping the nation could be just a few of the reasons that passenger car fatalities have dropped for the sixth straight year while small truck fatalities have dropped for the third straight year. This helps to account for fewer overall deaths on the country’s roadways than in years past.
The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that in 2008 the country experienced the lowest number of traffic related fatalities since 1961. This trend continued into 2009 as the reported number of motor vehicle related deaths during January, February and March of 2009 decreased from the previous year. These decreases may also be linked to stricter seatbelt enforcement, safer roads, and a reduction in the number of impaired drivers on the roads as well as the economy. Unfortunately, the number of motorcycle related traffic fatalities has been on the rise.
In 2008, of the 2,978 traffic fatalities reported in Florida, 1,727 of these fatalities were the result of auto accidents. Passenger car accident deaths accounted for 1,727 auto accident fatalities or 33 percent of total traffic fatalities. Other types of auto accidents include truck accidents, vans, and buses. These various types of auto accidents and car accidents account for 60 percent of all traffic related fatalities in Florida. Motorcycle Accidents, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents help make up the remaining 40 percent of traffic related deaths.
Statistics for the years 2004-2008 for the state of Florida indicate that the state’s number of traffic fatalities is higher than those reported nationally. For example, in 2008 there were approximately 6 fatalities per 100,000 people in Florida, and in the U.S. there were approximately 12 fatalities per 100,000 people. Furthermore, Florida usually reports a higher number of vehicle miles traveled during the year than the nation as a whole. This could be one contributing factor that could account for Florida’s higher traffic fatality rates.
Seatbelts Save Lives.... Click it or Ticket... As of June 30, 2009, the Florida Seatbelt law is in full force. Since the Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Safety Belt Law went in effect, the Florida Highway Patrol has written 16,168 in July. This is the first full month that enforcement has been in place. This is quite a bit more than the 6,475 seatbelt violations issued in July 2008.
Are you a parent or a grandparent with a teen at least 16 years of age?
Did you know that:
Last year, over 5,000 teenagers died in motor vehicle crashes, the leading killer of American youths aged 16 to 19, accounting for more than 40 percent of fatalities in that age bracket.
In an effort to promote road safety, Street Survival Inc and BMW CCA Foundation have teamed up to offer Drivers Education Safety programs across America.
Locally in Palm Beach County, the Everglades Chapter of BMW Car Club is hosting a Tire Rack Street Survival Teen Driving Program at Palm Beach International Raceway on Saturday Aug 8, 2009 from 7am - 4pm.
The program is open to all makes and models of cars. One does not need to own a BMW to participate. Students that register for the program will drive what they bring. All makes are accepted, from minivans and pick-ups to hopped-up sports cars and everything in between.
The program needs 25 students registered by this Friday – July 24 to offer the program for the reduced rate of $60.
The one day course is open to all ages 16 years old (must be 16 years of age on Aug 8, 2009).
If you have learners permit – you must have it for 6 months.
The program will cover learning car control; breaking and use of a wet slippery surface to learn driving skills that will save your life!
The cost is $60.00 per student. All the monies go to the Street Survival Teen Program sponsored by the BMW CCA Foundation and the SCCA Foundation.
All of our instructors and staff are volunteers.
We encourage you to spread the word, and sign up if you have a teen that would qualify or benefit from this course. To learn additional information and to register, visit www.streetsurvival.org.
It is finally here: The Florida Seat belt law officially named the Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Safety Belt Law is now in effect. Drivers in the state of Florida can be pulled over for not wearing a seat belt and ticketed. In Palm Beach County, the ticket will cost drivers $101.00 for not wearing a seat belt. Buckle up or be prepared to pay the fine.
As we mentioned previously on the Injury Law Blog, this law was named after two young teens tragically killed in a car accident that were not wearing seatbelts. It is believed that they would not have died, if they were wearing seatbelts when the accident occurred. Traffic Safety Champion, and former state representative, Irv Slosberg, said in a recent interview "This new law is a major victory on the roads".
Capt. Patrick Kenny, of the traffic division in the Palm beach County Sheriff's Office, is in favor of the new law. According to a recent interview on the new Florida Seat belt law, with the Palm Beach Post, he stated the following:
"It's long overdue. Everybody knows that wearing seat belts, they do save lives. Making it the primary reason for a traffic stop gives us the ability to write more citations and make people aware that they need to wear a seat belt."
Data from NHTSA on Crash Safety Facts, shows that Florida ranked three in the nation, in 2007 with 3,214 deaths due to car accidents. Texas came in at number two with 3363 car accident related deaths and California came in at number one with 3974 car accident related deaths.
Let's hope the passage of this new Florida seat belt law will help cut the numbers of unnecessary car accident deaths down in Florida. It will be interesting to compare our numbers from this year after the seatbelt law goes into place with next year's data. Time will tell if the traffic deaths will continue in a downward direction.
Important facts regarding Florida's seat belt laws:
* At all times, passengers in the front seat must wear a seatbelt.
* At all times, any and all rear passenger under the age of 18 must wear a seatbelt.
* At all times, children ages 3 years and younger must be secured in a child restraint seat that is federally approved.
* At all times, children ages 4-5 years must be secured either by a seatbelt or a federally approved child restraint seat. It is important to note that this can include the use of a booster seat in conjunction with the vehicle seatbelt.
* Drivers of vehicles are responsible for ensuring that children in the vehicle are properly buckled into their seats or using the required restraint devices, there are no exceptions.
The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and regulations with which automobile manufacturers must comply were first enacted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in March 1967 to provide manufacturers with guidelines regarding minimum safety performance requirements. Since 1967, new standards have been added and existing standards have been amended. These changes have been necessary due to the evolution and expansion of automobile manufacturing. In 1973, FMVSS 216 was enacted. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, FMVSS 216 “specified requirements for roof crush resistance over the passenger compartment.” The intent of FMVSS 216 was to provide protection to individuals involved in rollover crashes by ensuring that automobile manufacturers adhered to federal roof standards. In April 2009, FMVSS 216 was amended to provide better protection for those involved in rollover crashes and extended the standards applicability to both heavier trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUV).
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that more than 280,000 rollover accidents are reported each year. As a result of these accidents, approximately 10,000 individuals are killed on a yearly basis. Many of these fatal accidents involve SUVs and trucks. Until the 2009 amendment to FMVSS 216, most SUVs and trucks were exempt from federal roof standards. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Status Report the amendment will begin being phased-in in the year 2012, and all automobile manufacturers will be expected to comply with the amendment by the year 2017. This means that all passenger cars, trucks and SUVs up to 10,000 pounds will be subject to federal roof standards. These standards will apply to both the driver and the passenger side of the vehicle’s roof.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Commission reports that only 2 percent of accidents involve rollovers, but these accidents account for approximately 33 percent of all vehicle related fatalities. In Florida, approximately 25 percent of motor vehicle fatalities were the result of rollover crashes in 2007 according to the Traffic Safety Performance (Core Outcome) Measures provided by the NHTSA. In 2007, Georgia (31%), Alabama (40%), and California (29%) all had higher percentages of rollover fatalities than Florida, and New York (17%), Michigan (19%), and Mississippi (19%) had lower percentages of rollover fatalities than did Florida. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Status Report predicts that 135 lives will be saved each year by the amendment to FMVSS 216.
The changes that FMVSS 216 will require automobile manufacturers to make in the production of vehicles up to 10,000 pounds will mean that the roofs of cars, trucks, and SUVs will be even sturdier than they have been in the past. Not only will the driver side be able to withstand greater impact but the passenger side will be able to withstand greater impact as well. Proponents of the amendment to FMVSS 216 feel that this change has been long overdue and that by updating and improving the federal roof standards individuals will be more likely to survive a rollover crash.
Motorists, please be aware that leaving the scene of an accident prior to the police coming is a crime. Recently a Port St. Lucie woman, Matilda Nunez was arrested and charged with a felony for leaving the scene of an accident that she caused involving a teen Bicyclist.
It is Summer and school is out. This means that more kids and people are on the road riding bicycles. As drivers we should be aware of this and pay careful attention to where we are going, this will help cut down on avoidable bicycle accidents. In the case involving Ms. Nunez, she was distracted by her cell phone, when she injured the teen bicyclist that was crossing the driveway, according to reports in the Palm Beach Post..
Car Accidents sometimes can't be avoided. But in most instances, when drivers are paying attention to driving and not talking on the cell phone or texting while driving, accidents can be cut down tremendously. In an effort to promote roadway safety for Bicyclists we are sharing important stats involving bicycle accidents.
There are 73 to 85 million bicycle riders in the US, including 45 million over age 6 who rode more than six times in 2008.
700 bicyclists died on US roads in 2007. Over 90 percent died in crashes with motor vehicles.
The "typical" bicyclist killed on our roads is a sober male over 16 not wearing a helmet riding on a major road between intersections in an urban area on a summer evening when hit by a car.
About 540,000 bicyclists visit emergency rooms with injuries every year. Of those, about 67,000 have head injuries, and 27,000 have injuries serious enough to be hospitalized.
43,000 cyclists were reported injured in traffic crashes in 2007.
There were 1 in 8 of the cyclists with reported injuries had a brain injury.
Two-thirds of the deaths here are from traumatic brain injury.
A very high percentage of cyclists' brain injuries can be prevented by a helmet, estimated at anywhere from 45 to 88 per cent..
There were 698 Bicyclist deaths in 2007: (Down from 773 in 2006).
There were 43,000 Bicyclist injuries in traffic in 2007: (Down from 44,000 in 2006).
The average age of a bicyclist killed on the highways was Age 40.
The average age of a bicyclist injured on the highways was age 30.
The number of Bicyclists killed that were 15 years old and under was 107.
The number of Bicyclists injured that were 15 years old and under was 12,000.
The number of Bicyclists killed that were 16 to 34 years old was 163.
The number of Bicyclists injured that were 16 to 34 years old was 16,000.
The number of Bicyclists killed that were 35 to 54 years old was 262.
The number of Bicyclists injured that were 35 to 54 years old was 10,000.
The number of Bicyclists killed that were 55 years and older was 262.
The number of Bicyclists killed that were 55 years and older was 4,000.
In a prior post on the LaBovick Injury Law Blog, we shared "Rules for The Road" and safety tips for cyclists. Here is look at Seven tips ever cyclist should be aware of. It would not hurt drivers to take a look at these tips as well. As a Personal Injury law firm, we want to help make the roadways safer for all, Pedestrians, Drivers and Bicyclists included.
7 Tips and Rules for the Road for Bicyclists
Protect Your Head. Wear a Helmet.
Assure Bicycle Readiness. Use proper size and function of bicycle.
Ride Wisely. Learn and Follow the Rules of the Road.
The end of school signals the beginning of summer and the time of the year when many young, inexperienced teenaged drivers will be on the roadways. Whether these minor drivers are heading to their part-time jobs or out for a day of fun in the sun, the number of teen drivers on the roads during the summer months increases significantly. Because of their inexperience and risky behaviors behind the wheel, teen drivers are often the victims of devastating car crashes. Even though teen drivers only represent approximately 7 percent of the driving population, teen drivers account for approximately 14 percent of all traffic-related fatalities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among teens in the United States.
While teenagers may be inexperienced drivers, this fact does not imply that all teens are unsafe drivers. Teenaged drivers simply need to be more aware of their surroundings and take extra precautions while on the road. Teen drivers should avoid distractions while driving, such as changing the radio, texting while driving, or having too many passengers in the car. Because many accidents involving teens occur at night, teen drivers should safeguard against accidents by paying close attention to all traffic laws, being aware of other drivers, and being free of distractions. Car crashes involving teens not only affect the teens involved in the crash but their families, employers, and society in general. According to studies conducted by the American Automobile Association (AAA), the cost of teen car crashes in 2008 was more than $34 billion for medical bills, property damage, and other related expenses.
In 2003, Florida was ranked number 4 among the 50 states with the worst teen fatal crash rate. In 2008, 4 of the 10 deadliest hotspots for teen fatalities among the 50 largest metro areas were found in Florida. The CDC reports that more than half of all teen car accidents occur on weekends (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), and approximately half of all teen accidents occur between 3pm and midnight. However, teens do not have to become a statistic over the summer months. By using good judgment and making mature decisions, teens can safely enjoy their summer and their time behind the wheel. Teens should make sure they drive the speed limit, do not drink and drive, do not ride with someone that has been drinking, wear their seatbelt at all times, and limit the number of passengers in their vehicle. By following some simple driving rules and safety regulations, teens may save their lives as well as the lives of others.
Parents have a talk with your teen about driving safety. Take a look at the following list of suggested topics to include in the conversation:
Suggested Safety Rules for Teen Drivers - provided by the NHTSA
Alcohol: Absolutely No Alcohol (No exceptions)
Seat belts: Always Buckle Up! - (In Florida, it is the law June 30th)
Cell phone/texting: No talking or texting while driving (Set an example and use a headset)
Curfew: Have the Car in the Driveway by 10 p.m. (depending upon circumstances)
Passengers: No more than one at all times (this simple rule has saved many lives)
Graduated Drivers License: Follow your state's GDL law
Parental Responsibility: Set your house rules and consequences
Florida Motorists, mark your calendars, on June 30, 2009, the Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Safety Belt Law will go into effect in the State of Florida.Thanks to the valiant efforts of concerned citizens and organizations such as the Dori Slosberg Foundation and the Katie Marchetti Foundation, this law will finally become a reality. This law is named in memory of two Florida teens that were killed in separate traffic accidents and died as a result of not wearing their seatbelts. This new seatbelt law will have far-reaching implications for those motorists that continue to violate the law by failing to wear their seatbelts either as the driver of or as passengers in a vehicle. While many might argue that every individual should have the right to choose whether or not to buckle up on Florida’s roadways, the state feels that it is in the best interest of public safety to enforce safety rules and regulations regarding seatbelts. Hence, Florida motorists will want to be aware of the new seatbelt law and how it will affect them.
While the percentage of motorists wearing seatbelts has increased over the last several years, Florida’s percentage of those that adhere to seatbelt laws is still below the national average. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that the national percentage of seatbelt use in 2008 was 83 percent. In Florida, the percentage of seatbelt use in 2008 was just under 82 percent. Even though Florida’s seatbelt use percentage is close to the national average, 1 in 5 drivers still do not wear their seatbelts according to the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT). Furthermore, the Florida DOT states that 3 out of 5 motor vehicle fatalities are the result of a failure to buckle up.
Florida joins 28 other states plus the District of Columbia with the passage of th new primary seatbelt law that will allow Florida law enforcement officers to pull over and ticket motorists for simply not wearing their seatbelts. No other type of violation will be necessary under the new seatbelt law for Florida law enforcement officers to make a traffic stop. When the driver or any passengers in the vehicle are not wearing their seatbelts, a Florida law enforcement officer will have a legal right to pull over the car and ticket those not wearing their seatbelts. The state fine for a seatbelt violation will be $30, and each county may impose additional fines and court fees as well.
According to Florida Governor Charlie Crist, "The most important function of government is to protect." With that said, Governor Crist signed into law the Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Safety Belt Law. The Florida Highway Patrol predicts that at least 124 individuals will be saved each year as a result of the state’s new seatbelt law. It is important for drivers and their passengers to be aware of these changes to the state’s seatbelt laws, and drivers should ensure that they and their passengers are buckled up before hitting the Florida roadways beginning June 30.
Two teens leaving Seminole Ridge High School were injured by a vehicle while crossing the very busy Seminole Pratt Whitney Road. The students used the crosswalk to cross the road, but unfortunately, were not protected from being injured by a car traveling northbound on Seminole Pratt Whitney Road.
According to reports, the police is investigating the accident. Several parents are outraged that more is not being done to protect the safety of student pedestrians crossing Seminole Pratt Road. There are two crosswalks on this road, Seminole Ridge Road Cross walk and Sycamore Road crosswalk. But are they effective in making it safe for student pedestrians crossing Seminole Pratt Whitney Road?
The Seminole Ridge crosswalk encourages student pedestrians to cross the highway into an area where there is no sidewalk on the other side.It is dangerous that a student pedestrian must walk several hundred yards on the side of a busy road, before reaching a sidewalk. Some detractors say, "But there is a sidewalk on the other side of the street." However, there is no crosswalk to help pedestrians cross over safely to the other side. Is it safe for a pedestrian to run across busy traffic with no crosswalk?
Governor Charlie Crist signed the Pedestrian Safety Bill (S.B. 154) into law in May 2008, which requires drivers to stop when pedestrian is in the crosswalk. In addition, the Pedestrian Safety Bill (SB 154) amends sections 316.075 & 316.130 of the Florida Statutes and says, “The driver of a vehicle at any crosswalk where signage so indicates shall stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross a roadway when the pedestrian is in the crosswalk or steps into the crosswalk and is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling or when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger.”
Since Seminole Ridge is a High School, it does not qualify for a crossing guard or blinking school zone sign, according to the Palm Beach School District. Should there be an exception, since the speed limit is 45 mph on Seminole Pratt Road and nearly 40 of the 100 accidents on Seminole Pratt Whitney Road have occurred in front of Seminole Ridge High School, since 2007.
What will it take for the safety of students crossing this busy intersection to be put first? Many concerned parents and citizens have asked this question. The blame game and excuses are no longer acceptable and something must be done now.
Concerned citizens and parents are working on ways to make it safer for Seminole Ridge High students crossing Seminole Pratt Whitney Road before and after school. It should not take the death of a student to make crossing Seminole Pratt Whitney Road safer for student pedestrians.
A new report shows that highway deaths in 2008 dropped from previous years. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, 37,313 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes last year. This happens to be 9.1 percent fewer deaths than in 2007, which had 41,059 traffic deaths. It is important to note that this is the lowest number of traffic deaths since 1961, when there were 36,285 deaths.
The high gasoline price tag of $4 gallon and fewer miles driven is only one side of the equation. Effective measures like enforcement of drunken driving laws and the work of advocacy groups, such as the Dori Slosberg Foundation, that encourage safer driving habits, also contribute to the decrease of traffic related deaths and awareness of highway safety.
In addition, increased seat-belt use and states promoting seat-belt usage through law enforcement helps promote highway safety. Currently there are 27 states with a primary mandatory seat-belt law. Arkansas is the most recent state to approve legislation of primary enforcement of the safety belt use law. In Florida, there is only a primary seat belt use law for children under 18, effective since 2005.
We encourage all drivers to use caution when driving on the highway. Always use a seat belt and limit the amount of distractions when behind the wheel, such as texting or talking on the phone while driving.
Leave the need for speed to the actors and Hollywood production crews that create Box office blockbusters, "Fast and Furious".
A Fresno woman's severe brain injury was a big deciding factor in the large monetary award her family received by the Jury. $10.5 million was awarded to Maria Blanca Lopez and her family, one of the largest monetary judgments ever assigned in Fresno County case of drunken driving.
June 9, 2007 was the day J. C. Ramirez, an employee of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Charities of Central California, chose to drive drunk. He was driving a dump truck used by the organization when he ran a stop sign at the corner of Church and Valentine. The truck, weighing 20,000 pounds, was traveling at 25 to 30 miles per hour when it struck and broadsides Lopez.
Ramirez plead guilty, in an earlier court appearance, to charges of driving drunk. Ramirez was evidently drunk when he arrived at work on June 9th. He was allowed to operate the truck regardless of alcohol consumption.
The jury assigned DAV Charities the responsibility of $4 million in medical expenses covering past as well as future events. They awarded an additional $6.5 million to the family for pain and suffering equated with the injuries Lopez will live with for the rest of her life. This is such a tregedy all the way around, since the DAV Charities was found responsible and had to pay this huge award.
According to a list on MSN of “The Drunkest Cities” in the U.S. Fresno, CA ranks in the top ten at number 93. Number 100, Denver, Co. ranks as the drunkest city. Other cities listed as failing are Colorado Springs, Austin, Fargo, Anchorage and Omaha. They compiled data from an article written by the editor's of Men's Health.
At the Injury Law Blog, we encourage readers not to drink and drive. If you see friends or others attempting to get behind the wheel while intoxicated, call them a cab. There are several services that provide intoxicated drivers free rides home, in an attempt to cut down on drunk driving accidents. If everyone reaches out to prevent driving while intoxicated, we can make a difference in the drunk driving car accident statistics.
We all know that accidents can happen when a driver is experiencing distractions. It is a no-brainer that texting or talking on a hand held cell phone while driving can be dangerous. In fact, there are a few states have made it illegal to use hand held cell phones while driving, those states include California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Utah, and Washington) and the District of Columbia. According to the Institute for HIghway Safety, there are states that have left it up to local government to ban cell phone use, those states include Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) specifically. On the otherhand, there are 8 states prevent localities from from banning cellphone, our very own State of Florida, is among the group of states, including Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah.
We came across some useful studies and statistics that we felt our Injury Law Blog Readers would find useful. We encourage you to share and pass this along. If we help save the life of one individual, by sharing these statistics, we will be grateful. Our Florida Law Firm partners with the Dori Slosberg Foundation and proudly supports their efforts in promoting driving safety among teens. Managing Partner, Brian LaBovick, joins Frmr. State Representative Irv Slosberg by speaking at High School Assemblies to High School students about the importance of highway safety for teen drivers.
Important Safety Stats on driving safety and cell phone use:
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) shared that in 2007, teens accounted for 12 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths. (Note: there were 4,956 teen deaths involving motor vehicles).
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released a report on Cell Phone driving and research update and provided the following:
Over half of U.S. drivers report having used a cell phone while driving.
Onee in seven drivers admits to text messaging while driving.
Young drivers were overwhelmingly more likely to text message, and somewhat more likely to talk on cell phones while driving than older drivers.
Higher levels of education were also found to be associated with higher levels of cell phone use and text messaging while driving, especially among males.
Dialing a hand-held device was associated with nearly triple the odds of being involved in a crash or near-crash, and talking or listening to a hand-held device was associated with about a 30% increase in the odds of being involved in a crash or near-crash.
We encourage you to be safe and to exercise caution while driving and using a cell phone. To read more from the American Automobile Association cell phone driving report click on the following link.
In a recent Arizona Appeals case, Chalpin vs. Snyder, the Court, raised several questions in a case regarding an insurance company not paying an insureds claim regarding a car accident. One of the most far-reaching question's is whether an attorney is liable for aiding and abetting in a malicious tort?
This case argues that Snyder, Attorney for the Reliance Insurance Company, assisted and participated in a tort against Hi-Health and its owner Mr. Chalpin, when the company refused to cover a driver-at-fault accident involving Mr. Chalpin’s daughter. Mr. Chalpin’s daughter was covered under the company policy as an occasional employee.
Two additional points of note are that 1) Reliance initially accepted the claim, and 2) Snyder initially held that the claim was valid. It was not until the claim exceeded a five million dollar expense that Reliance sought to disallow the claim. In fact, Snyder advised Reliance Insurance to sue their insured, Mr. Chalpin as a means of minimizing the value of the policy and thus reducing the acceptable settlement amount in the accident claim.
Two courts dismissed motions for summary judgment filed by Hi-Health and allowed the case to go to trial. Their reason was that the evidence as presented raised a credibility issue that was best decided by jury.
The subsequent appeal noted that the credibility issue would not have been present if Snyder had addressed the points of the suit in the motion. In short, Hi-Health claimed that Snyder knew that Reliance had improperly revisited its original decision to cover Mr. Chalpin’s daughter only after it realized the amount of exposure the company would suffer and that the subsequent suit was in fact an effort to shift its losses.
The court noted that Reliance failed to avail itself of a number of alternatives when issuing the original coverage, including modified coverage and deeper initial investigation of the person covered. The fact that Snyder was aware of these options, and initially held that the coverage was legitimate, was Snyder’s undoing.
Under general rule, “a lawyer is subject to liability to a client or non-client when a non-lawyer would be in similar circumstance.” Moreover, “when a lawyer advises or assists a client in acts that subject the civil liability to others, those others may seek to hold the lawyer liable along with or instead of the client.” (Paragraph 45 of the ruling) Thus, the court held that Snyder, due to active involvement in the misdirection of the case and its subsequent motions, was indeed liable and that aiding and abetting was a valid cause of action.
The Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s orders dismissing the aiding and abetting claims and granted summary judgment of the malicious prosecution claim.
Ironically, if Reliance Insurance had authorized the original settlement amount, consistent with the coverage obtained by the policyholder, this case would never have gone to trial.
A brain injured auto accident victim has $10.5 million reasons to be thankful after receiving a large monetary award in court The sum of $10.5 million was awarded to brain injury victim M. Lopez and her family in a Fresno courtroom. This was one of the largest monetary judgments ever assigned in Fresno County case of drunken driving.
June 9, 2007 was the day J. C. Ramirez, an employee of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Charities of Central California, chose to drive drunk. He was driving a dump truck used by the organization when he ran a stop sign at the corner of Church and Valentine. The truck, weighing 20,000 pounds, was traveling at 25 to 30 miles per hour when it struck and broadsided the brain injury victim.
Ramirez plead guilty, in an earlier court appearance, to charges of driving drunk. Ramirez was evidently drunk when he arrived at work on June 9th. He was allowed to operate the truck regardless of alcohol consumption.
A word of caution to employers: Make sure your workers ar not driving drunk or operating machinery while intoxicated. There is a good chance that the employer can and will be held liable. Take a close look at today's jury verdict.
The jury assigned the employer, DAV Charities the responsibility of $4 million in medical expenses covering past as well as future events. They awarded an additional $6.5 million to the family for pain and suffering equated with the injuries Lopez will live with for the rest of her life.
The brain injury victim in this case is a 57-year-old minimum wage earner . Since June 9th, she has been in hospitals and injured in the accident. She has been in hospitals and nursing homes. .
The size of the award is a first for the Fresno area. Large sums in cases of such severe brain injury have long been recognized as appropriate in other areas of California. Fresno juries have finally seen fit to follow the trend.
MSN posted a list of “The Drunkest Cities” in the U.S. with data taken from an article written by the editor's of Men's Health. Fresno, CA ranks as being one of the most drunkest cities at number 93. The MSN list ranks Denver, CO as the drunkest city at Number 100. Other cities listed as failing are Colorado Springs, Austin, Fargo, Anchorage and Omaha. Surprisingly, Miami, FL made the top ten list of least dangerously drunk cities. Now it is important to mention that MSN used the following factors when making their list: annual death rates due to alcoholic liver disease, as well as who's headed there by regularly downing five or more drinks in a sitting (CDC)., drunk-driving arrests (FBI) and the percentage of fatal accidents involving intoxicated motorists (U.S. Department of Transportation).
Drunken-driving deaths decreased in 32 states from 2006 - 2007, according to a NHTSA report on Thursday. However, alcohol-related fatalities among motorcycle riders increased around the country.
According to the report, in Florida there 143 fewer deaths in 2007 (3,214) that were traffic related fatalities from 2006 (3,357).
Overall, almost 13,000 people were killed in crashes in which a driver had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08, the legal limit in the United States, or at higher levels, compared to the 13,500 in 2006.
The report also shows that in 2007, 1,621 motorcyclists were killed in alcohol-impaired crashes, a 7.5 percent increase from 2006.
In light of the Labor Day weekend, please drive responsibly. If you are driving and happen to have a drink or two, think twice before getting behind the wheel of a car. Ask a friend to drive you home or call a cab before risking your life and the life of others, by driving intoxicated. Law Enforcement in Florida is in full force this weekend and will be ticketing and arresting people that are driving drunk.
A common topic that we are asked to explain to clients in our Florida law office is the Florida Law on PIP. There are several misconceptions out there on what PIP covers. This blog post will go over the ABC's of Florida Personal Injury Protection Insurance.
PIP is a guaranteed health insurance policy for a person who is injured in an automobile accident. When a person is injured in an automobile accident if they do not have regular health insurance, but they have PIP insurance, they are guaranteed $10,000 of health insurance less what ever deductible they have chosen. In other words, the person injured is guaranteed $10,000 worth of health benefits. If they have a $1,000 deductible for example, the first $1,000 of medical bills is their responsibility.
PIP pays 80% of your reasonable and necessary medical bills. The PIP law just changed, so there are Medicare fee schedules that PIP pays 80% of those schedules. For example, if there is a charge for $100, Medicare's fee schedule would be $80. Eighty percent of the first bill would get applied to the deductible. When the deductible is met, PIP then pays 80% of those next bills, up to $10,000. One of the benefits of PIP is that it gives the injured person in an accident, $10,000 of insurance for their medical bills. It is also the law in Florida as the minimum requirement to operate a vehicle. In the State of Florida, you must have PIP and Property damage insurance.
Is it always the $10,000 limit?
Yes. I have seen on occasion, extended PIP, but those would be associated with out of state policies. I have not seen extended PIP on a Florida policy.
What is the deductible for PIP?
You can manipulate your deductible, meaning you have options too choose from, which includes: no deductible, $500 deductible or $1,000 deductible.
“What limit do you suggest on contingency fees - versus none? Unfortunately, except in certain prof liab and other law, we are hearing of contingencies of up to 65% and 70% in certain jurisdictions.”
First, I must say, this was a thoughtful question. Here is my belief on the appropriate cap on attorney fees. I am writing my response on our LaBovick Injury Law Blog, because I believe this will interest our readers.
In Florida, contingency injury cases are capped by the Florida Bar. To exceed the cap the attorney must obtain special permission from the judge assigned to the case. It is my inherent belief that market forces do a better job lowering injury case contingency fees then a Florida Bar fee cap. (I must add that I am a Republican.) There are a huge number of personal injury lawyers in every community in the country. Under typical market circumstances, the sheer number of attorneys competing for injury cases would drive fees down. The Florida Bar instituting a fee cap effectively created an informal "State Assigned" minimum fee. This is a good marketing trick for injury lawyers because the consumer believes the Florida Bar has regulated the minimum fee for injury cases. There are so few lawyers who advertise lower contingency fees then the Florida Bar contract that they are irrelevant. However, both attorneys and consumers perceive lower fees from the small number of practitioners as low quality legal work. In reality the Florida Bar, fee cap has created a situation where the cap is actually a minimum fee and some attorneys actually go to court and ask the Judge for permission to charge more, not less.
If there was no Florida Bar fee the market would, over time, take effect. Better lawyers would charge more and less qualified or less experienced or "mill" business models would charge less. The consumer could investigate and choose the attorney they wanted. The consumer's investigation into fees vs. reputation would create competition between attorneys, even those with good reputations, and would force them to charged less to compete in the market. That was the long answer to your question: I do not believe there should be any "cap" on fees because it creates an artificially high fee for the consumer.
“What limit do you suggest on contingency fees - versus none? Unfortunately, except in certain prof liab and other law, we are hearing of contingencies of up to 65% and 70% in certain jurisdictions.”
First, I must say, this was a thoughtful question. Here is my belief on the appropriate cap on attorney fees. I am writing my response on our LaBovick Injury Law Blog, because I believe this will interest our readers.
In Florida, contingency injury cases are capped by the Florida Bar. To exceed the cap the attorney must obtain special permission from the judge assigned to the case. It is my inherent belief that market forces do a better job lowering injury case contingency fees then a Florida Bar fee cap. (I must add that I am a Republican.) There are a huge number of personal injury lawyers in every community in the country. Under typical market circumstances, the sheer number of attorneys competing for injury cases would drive fees down. The Florida Bar instituting a fee cap effectively created an informal "State Assigned" minimum fee. This is a good marketing trick for injury lawyers because the consumer believes the Florida Bar has regulated the minimum fee for injury cases. There are so few lawyers who advertise lower contingency fees then the Florida Bar contract that they are irrelevant. However, both attorneys and consumers perceive lower fees from the small number of practitioners as low quality legal work. In reality the Florida Bar, fee cap has created a situation where the cap is actually a minimum fee and some attorneys actually go to court and ask the Judge for permission to charge more, not less.
If there was no Florida Bar fee the market would, over time, take effect. Better lawyers would charge more and less qualified or less experienced or "mill" business models would charge less. The consumer could investigate and choose the attorney they wanted. The consumer's investigation into fees vs. reputation would create competition between attorneys, even those with good reputations, and would force them to charged less to compete in the market. That was the long answer to your question: I do not believe there should be any "cap" on fees because it creates an artificially high fee for the consumer.
Are laws that require drivers to use a Hands Free device for talking on a cell phone making a difference? The state of California and 4 other states thinks so. Effective today, July 1, 2008 if you are driving in the state of California, and want to talk on a wireless phone, you must use a handheld wireless telephone, (according to Vehicle Code (VC) §23123). It is interesting to note that this law affects drivers 18 years of age and older. Drivers that are younger than 18 years of age are not allowed to drive using hand held devices or talk on a wireless phone at all.
California joins four other states, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Washington), the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands in the ban of driving while talking on handheld cell phones. Some may say that about texting while driving, only 4 states have stepped up to the plate and passed laws on banning texting while driving, they include: Alaska, Minnesota, New Jersey and Washington. Several other states have pending legislation on the ban of texting while driving.
Since we are a Florida Law firm, I asked one of our Attorneys, Mark A. Greenberg, his perspective on the impact of hand held cell phones and car accident cases he has handled. He informed me that he has seen accident cases, where the defendant lied about using a cell phone while driving. After getting telephone records, Attorney Mark Greenberg, was able to show that the defendant was on the phone at the time of the accident. It does not pay to lie about things like this, because a Plaintiff's Attorney can get the phone records to determine if a defendant is lying about the use of the cell phone and a car accident. The distraction of a phone call, can cause someone to not pay attention to the road and cause an unfortunate injury to an innocent car accident victim. The Insurance Information Institute cites the following statistics on their site about dangers of driver inattention: An April 2006 study found that almost 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds of the event. The study, was a joint study between the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.
In a conversation with the Executive Director of the Dori Slosberg Foundation, Tara Kirschner. I found that the foundation is 100% in favor of making hands free devices a requirement for Florida drivers. Sun Sentinel writer John Kennedy commented in an article that legislation banning the use of cell phones for all drivers was proposed in Florida five years ago, but failed with legislators due to the belief that they would be too much government interference.
However, according to an article in the LA Times, by Myron Levin, a hands free cell phone law, may not make the roads safer. He quotes Arthur Goodwin, a researcher at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, as saying "There’s a common misperception that hands-free phones are safer when the research clearly suggests that they they’re both equally risky”. I find this interesting that Mr. Goodwin and other scientists would say that hands-free laws could actually make things worse by encouraging drivers to make more or longer calls. I must state for the record that I find this statement a bit of a stretch, I am sure that a lot of people will agree.
The eighth annual Click it or ticket Florida Campaign Kicks off for 2008 today. The campaign runs from May 19 - June 1, 2008. The Click it or ticket is a part of a national campaign that encourages drivers to buckle up.
This is a serious issue the LaBovick & LaBovick Law Firm is deeply committed to supporting. This year we partnered with the Dori Slosberg Foundation in helping to make the community more aware of this important roadway safety issue. This year, Governor Crist and law enforcement has extended the campaign in hopes of saving more lives. Drivers on the roadways should be aware:
During May 19 - June 1, 2008, law enforcement will be increasing normal patrols and enforcement activities. In addition, law enforcement will be practicing a zero tolerance policy for safety belt usage. If a person is stopped for any traffic violation and is caught not wearing a safety belt, he or she will be ticketed.
Research indicates that when people are wearing their seat belts/safety belts, lives have been saved in automobile accidents and automobile crashes.
Join the LaBovick & LaBovick Personal Injury Law Firm in promoting the 2008 Click it or Ticket Florida Campaign. We can all take it one step better and promote wearing seat belts all year long.
Important Florida seat belt usage statistics:
South Florida Seat belt Usage Statistics by County
Broward – 81.5% (2007)
Miami Dade – 76.2% (2007
Palm Beach – 79.0% (2007)
Seat belt Safety Usage Statistics in Florida: • 2,103 people killed in vehicles.
• (1,301) of those killed not wearing seat belts.
• 72% (79 of 110) of the children ages 0 to 17 years old killed were not using safety equipment
Seat belt Usage by Florida Drivers:
• 618 drivers not wearing their safety belts were killed in traffic crashes.
• 23,197 drivers involved in traffic crashes were not wearing their safety belts.
Day and Time of Crashesin Florida:
• Friday, during the 5 p.m. hour, had the highest number of all types of crashes (3,294).
• Sunday, during the 2 a.m. hour, had the highest number of fatal crashes (48).
• Saturday, during the 2 a.m. hour, was second with 40 fatal crashes.
NHTSATraffic Safety Facts, 2006Nationwide Crash Statistics
1 fatality every 12 minutes
1 injury every 12 seconds
1 property damage crash every 8 seconds
1 law enforcement reported crash every 5 seconds
The Allstate Corporation, one of the the nation's largest publicly held insurance companies, recently released approximately 150,000 pages of documents pertaining its review claim practices from the 1990s. Although, some media have regarded the documents as coming up short, according to a recent Times Picayune article.
On the opposite side of the argument, the release of the documents by Allstate can be viewed as Allstate's way of showing that they have nothing to hide. Undoubtedly, the Mckinsey documents issue will not go away for awhile, in light of the looming release of the new tell all book for the public by New Mexico attorney David Berardinelli, called "From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves: The Dark Side of Insurance."
An Allstate spokesperson, Rich Halberg, downplays the significance of the documents in a recent Allstate press release, "When aired in the unbiased setting of a court of law, allegations about the documents have been shown to be without merit. Most recently, some of the documents were seen and explained in context to a jury during a two-week trial in Kentucky (Hager v. Allstate)."
The Hager v. Allstate case involved a rear-end automobile accident case that occurred in 1997. The Plaintiff, a 60 year old accident victim, sued Allstate for not paying claims related to the personal injury in the car accident and for allegedly violating Kentucky's Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act. The outcome of the two week trial was for the Defendant, Allstate. According to several published reports, the jury came back with this verdict after deliberating for a short while. One can only wonder if the Jury took the Plaintiff seriously for asking for $1.425 Billion for what is typically referred to as a soft tissue injury.
Click here to view the extensive site of the Allstate "Claim Review" documents. The site shares comprehensive information on Casualty Review, Homeowners Review, Auto Physical Damage Review and Field work Information.
We encourage the public to read the documents and let us know your opinion of the documents.
A recent study from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety tested several mid-sized cars and rated most with marginal or poor ratings for rear-end collisions. This is important to mention because rear-end collisions and and neck injuries are the most common injuries reported in automobile injury accidents. According to insurance reports, rear-end collisions account for nearly 2 million insurance claims each year, with an estimated cost of $8.5 billion. Although, neck injuries are not life-threatening, they often leave the injured accident victim with a lot of pain and are sometimes debilitating.
The Rear crash test rated protection in a two-step procedure. Starting points for the ratings are measurements of head restraint geometry — the height of a restraint and its horizontal distance behind the back of the head of an average-size man. Seats with good or acceptable restraint geometry are tested dynamically using a dummy that measures forces on the neck. This test simulates a collision in which a stationary vehicle is struck in the rear at 20 mph. Seats without good or acceptable geometry are rated poor overall because they can't be positioned to protect many people.
On a positive note, according to Institute senior vice president David Zuby, "The side impact results represent a huge change from just four years ago. "A major change is that auto manufacturers have been moving quickly to make side airbags standard, even on lower priced models."
In 2006, there were 42, 642 people killed in the 38, 588 fatal motor vehicle accidents, according to the Institute of Highway Safety. Florida was third in the nation in fatal motor vehicle accidents, with 3,374 reported deaths from 3,097 fatal accident crashes. California was number one in the nation in automobile fatal accidents with 4,236 deaths and Texas came in second with 3,475 reported motor vehicle deaths.
According to a NHTSA FARS report, South Florida led the state in traffic fatalities by County, with Palm Beach County having 212 traffic fatalities, Broward County having 267 traffic fatalities and Miami Dade County having 367 traffic fatalities. It is important to mention that Palm Beach County traffic fatalities increased the most significantly in South Florida from prior years by nine percent.
This makes the National Click it or Ticket Campaign, so important in saving lives on the roadway. During May 19 - June 1, 2008, law enforcement agencies join forces day and night, from coast-to-coast, for an enforcement blitz that delivers on our message “Click It or Ticket". The mobilization is supported by national and local paid advertising and earned media campaigns aimed at raising awareness before the blitz that ... Day or Night - Buckle Up or Pay Up.
The amazing nonprofit, Dori Slosberg Foundation has taken important steps in working with Florida law enforcement to ensure Florida's participation in this meaningful campaign. Irv Slosberg and his dedicated team have tirelessly worked side by side with Florida law to ensure that we have the necessary representation on the roadways during this campaign. Although the campaign is only for a few weeks, prior year statistics show that traffic fatalities are decreased during this timeframe.
Click here to learn more about the Staying Alive on 95 event spearheaded by the Dori Slosberg Foundation.
New Jersey drivers will be fined $100 if they are caught using a hand held devices to talk or to send text messages while driving. Starting Saturday, March 1, 2008, the new law went into effect. Police will be issuing fines for $100 if they catch drivers in the act of texting or not using a hand held device while driving.
New Jersey is among four other states, New York, California, Connecticut and Washington, D.C., to have such laws. According to a survey done by Nationwide Insurance, 73 percent of drivers use cell phones and 20 percent text while driving. The New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed the legislation giving police more authority to target drivers using hand-held cell phones, and making it illegal to send text messages while driving - distractions legislators contend make for risky driving. The law however, allows drivers to use hands free devices to talk on the phone.
Do Hands Free devices make the roads safer? According to reports from the transportation officials, nearly half of the 3,580 phone-related crashes in New Jersey involved a hands-free device, Five of 11 fatal accidents involving a cell phone that year also involved a hands-free device. This data was from 2006. Russ Rader of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said those figures are consistent with recent research showing no difference in crash risk between hand-held and hands-free cell phones.
Although, Florida has not joined the pack in banning texting and cell phone use without a hands free device, We urge you to use caution and common sense. If you are driving, pay attention to the road and do not text and drive. If you must send a text, pull over, stop driving and send your text message. After you are finished, compose yourself and proceed with caution to get back on the highway if you have pulled over. If you do not have one, go out and purchase a hands free device for your cell phone. However, as the statistics above show, driving while not concentrating can cause accidents even with a hands free device. Always exercise caution while driving and talking. Your primary focus should be operating your vehicle safely and paying attention to what is happening on the roadway, not your phone conversation, which can be a distraction.
Click here to read more on texting and cell phone use bans from 6ABC.com, AP and the Gainesville Sun
A West Palm Beach Jury awarded a couple $11 million in a Product Liability suit. The case involved the death of the couple's 25 year old son in a 2004 rollover crash. According to the Plaintiffs the death was caused by a defective seat belt and front passenger seat of a Mitsubishi Sport Vehicle involved in the fatal rollover.
The Counsel for the Plaintiff argued the seat belt was called an "energy absorbent" belt and was designed with an extra 10 inches of overlapping fabric, that could break and cause the belt to extend.
The Counsel for the Defense argued the loop of material installed on the front passenger seat was designed to help protect the passenger from head and chest injuries. The Defense attorneys are appealing the $11 million jury verdict.
Thankfully the driver's belt did not have any extra material, therefore he suffered only minor injures.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 2007 report of rollover crashes and outcomes, there were 10,553 fatalities involving rollovers in 2004. Florida came in third in the nation with 627 fatal Rollovers in Florida. Texas came in second in the nation with 876 fatal rollovers in Texas. California led the nation with 1068 fatal rollovers in California. Ironically, Montana led the nation percentage wise with 67% fatal rollovers in Montana.
Click here to read more of this case from the Daily Business Review and Click here to read more from NHTSA on Rollovers
As a Personal Injury Attorney, I come across a lot of interesting cases. When I find one that involves insurance disputes, I take special note. One such case is the recent Pease v. State Farm. This is a personal injury case involving a police officer and uninsured motorist coverage.
Jason Pease, a sergeant in the Lincoln County’s (Maine) Sheriff’s Office, had a regular take home car. While off duty on Christmas night in 2002, Sergeant Pease responded to a dispatch call to resolve a disturbance. When he arrived, Sergeant Pease found Michael Montagana causing the problem. Mr. Montagana claimed that he had been drugged and that people were out to get him. Sergeant Pease tried to control the situation but at some point Mr. Montagana ran to the Sergeant's car, got in, and tried to drive away. Sergeant Pease attempted to stop Mr. Montagana and was run over. As a result, Sergeant Pease suffered severe injuries.
What happened next is disconcerting:
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office had elected not to buy Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage to protect its officers.
The Sheriff’s Office did have Workers Compensation coverage, but it did not adequately provide for Sergeant Pease's condition.
Sergeant Pease had personal UM coverage through State Farm.
State Farm built into its UM coverage an exclusion for vehicles “furnished for [your] regular use”. According to State Farm, Sergeant Pease was left without a remedy since Sergeant Payne was regularly allowed to take his police car home. The Maine Supreme Court, fortunately, found that once the car was stolen it was no longer supplied for his regular use, and therefore Sergeant Pease’s exclusion did not apply.
What is perhaps most interesting about this decision is that it is not the argument made by the Sergeant's attorneys. Instead, the main Supreme Court reached this conclusion on its own. This decision follows ruling from several other states finding UM coverage for people injured by a thief or carjacker, who had stolen the insured’s own vehicle.
In the future, when you are renewing your personal car insurance policy, think twice before you try to save money and cancel or downgrade your UM coverage. It may come in handy when you least expect it. You never know...
Plaintiff lawyers were dealt a huge blow on Wednesday when their $60 million jury verdict against Ford Motor was overturned by the 3rd Court DCA. All eyes are on Miami right now, because this was a huge jury verdict for the Plaintiff's. According to the Daily Business Review, the DCA ruled that Judge Roberto Pineiro erred by allowing testimony regarding previous accidents without requiring the plaintiffs to establish the similarities between the case at hand.
Interesting the article mentioned a case involving a driver falling asleep at the wheel. Being that this is "Drowsy Driving Prevention Week", this is an important detail to point out. A Ford spokesperson is quoted as saying “One case was about a driver that fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of the vehicle.”
Unfortunately, this rollover case will need to be retried. We will keep an eye on this case, it is a noteworthy case for ATV rollovers. Stay Tuned....
The statistics are pretty unsettling, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are 100,000 sleep-related crashes a year and over 1,550 people killed per year and 71,000 injuries in the United States.
What can you do to help? Check out the great resources section of theDrowsy Driving Organization website. You will find a plethora of examples and ideas for parents, teens, and adults to use for drowsy driving prevention week.
Personally, I pledge to be more responsible by not driving so late at night, when I feel sleepy. On that note, I will sign off, because it is getting late. I need to get enough sleep, so that I will be alert, when I am on the road again.
Have a good night and try to get enough sleep, before you hit the road. Drive Alert and Arrive Alive.
Texting while driving is becoming trendy and dangerous. It is not uncommon to see someone text while driving these days, especially teens. Let's not forget the Blackberry Crowd. They are equally dangerous to drivers on the road. One New Hampshire Lawmaker is doing something about it, Nashua's David Campbell has filed the paperwork for a bill to ban two-handed texting or typing on any electronic or telecommunications device while driving. According to Campbell in a recent Associated Press article, "You need at least one hand to operate a motor vehicle,'' a police officer told him cell phone texting isn't the only problem. Some drivers are typing on laptop computers while behind the wheel." He seeks only to ban two-handed typing or texting.
In a recent accident involving a 17-year old, text messages were sent to and from the teen driver before the deadly crash involving a tractor trailer crash. This is any parents nightmare. Their teen dying at the wheel, while on the phone. Adults are not immune to texting while driving. According to Lynch Ryan Worker's Comp Insider Blog,"You can make a case that a vehicle can be operated safely while the driver talks on a cell phone - preferably with a head piece - but no case can be made for safe driving while the operator's eyes are actually focused on the mobile device. Texting, like alcohol, does not go with driving." I agree wholeheartedly. The cell phone providers should do more to bring awareness to the dangers of texting while driving. According to a recent study by AAA on teen texting while driving habits, nearly 46% of teens, text while driving.
Blogger, Anne Donnegan, hit it nail on the head, when she said, more people may have to die in DWT accidents, before legislators eventually see the light and pass a bill banning DWT.
Thankfully, lawmakers around the country are introducing legislation to curb this dangerous behavior. A few brave champions, such as Washington State, Phoenix and New Hampshire are writing legislation on Driving while texting.
What are your thoughts on texting while driving? Should it be illegal? What is better a fine or points on a license? The answer remains with concerned citizens. Do you want your loved one killed or injured by a driver that is texting? If not, find out if your local city or state has a ban on DWT - Driving While Texting. If not, contact your local lawmaker and suggest this legislation. Share what other cities are doing such as: Washington,Phoenix, and New Hampshire. Make a difference and let your voice be heard in the fight to end DWT accidents.
Rollover Accidents account for only 2% of all accidents, but account for 33% of all Traffic Deaths according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Commission.
The following is a breakdown of Rollover fatalities by motor vehicle type:
61% of SUV occupant fatalities occur in rollover crashes.
45% of Pickup Truck occupant fatalities occur in rollover crashes.
33% of Van occupant fatalities occur in rollover crashes.
23% of Passenger Car occupant fatalities occur in rollover crashes.
30% of all motor vehicle occupant fatalities in Florida involve rollover crashes.
Yesterday, Florida's no-fault insurance law, PIP, passed phase I in a special legislative session that ends next Friday. The talks continue today as to whether or not revive the mandatory Personal Injury Protection automobile coverage for Florida drivers.
The House Insurance committee endorsed reviving PIP with the implementation of anti-fraud measures. The anti-fraud measures suggested Cap payouts to medical-care providers to a fee schedule and limits the providers to specific doctors and health clinics.
The Bill has an uphill battle in the Senate, where it has a 50-50 chance of passing according to Ellyn Bogandoff, (R) Ft. Lauderdale.
All eyes are on Tallahassee during this Special budget cutting session, which is scheduled to end next Friday. Our valiant Governor Charlie Crist, has made restoring PIP law a priority in this session.
Let's hope our Legislators come to an agreement that works best for the public and clamps down on fraud.
A few weeks ago in West Palm Beach, we were experiencing heavy rainstorms. As I was driving home late at night, I noticed cars lined up on the side of the road. They were trying to wait out the rain. Others such as myself, continued with blinkers on at a snails pace, trying to drive safe on the wet roadways in the pouring rain. I counted 3 or 4 accidents on I-95 in West Palm Beach that night. Unexpectedly, I came upon one involving three cars on the far left lane on I-95 and a large 18 wheeler. I thought, wow, those poor individuals involved in an accident in this downpour. I suddenly came up to a large bumper or front end that was knocked off a F150 like truck. There was nothing that I could do, but stop immediately. Otherwise, I would be in a wreck myself. The left lane was full of water, so I had to stay in the center lane. I could see the traffic fastly approaching me in my rear view mirror. I honked my horn, sat silently in the car and closed my eyes. I knew for sure that the speeding cars in my rear view mirror were going to hit me. I closed my eyes and hoped for the best. After a few minutes, a gentleman out of nowhere, knocked on my driver side window, held up the front end or bumper of a F150 like truck and signaled me to go. I looked in the rear view mirror and there was another man standing in the pouring rain, with his hand signaling for the cars behind me to stop. These two good Samaritans saved my life and prevented another car accident in West Palm Beach from happening. I am thankful for their random act of kindness.
In the event, you are involved in car accident, you may want to contact a Personal Injury attorney to discuss your legal rights. If you are involved in a car accident in West Palm Beach and have serious injuries, contact the West Palm Beach Personal Injury Attorneys of LaBovick & LaBovick. The law firm has experience in handling all types of auto accidents and can inform you of your rights as an accident victim. The consultation is free.
The Law Firm, LaBovick & LaBovick, Civil Justice Prosecutors, is a Plaintiff’s firm. The firm focuses on fighting for Plaintiff’s personal injury victim’s rights in Florida and on qui tam (whistleblower claims) nationwide. We handle all serious injuries, car accidents, maritime accidents, wrongful death, slip & fall, toxic torts and product liability cases. We have locations in Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Jupiter and Port St. Lucie, Florida. Visit our firm website at www.LaBovick.com for more injury information
Lack of sleep can create dangers for drivers, especially teen drivers. It is estimated that teens need approximately 9 hours of sleep, whereas the average adult needs 7 - 8 hours of sleep. Sleep deprivation can create dangers on the road that can affect coordination, reaction time, and judgment. A study comparing sleep deprivation and alcohol concluded that "people who drive after being awake for 17 to 19 hours preformed worse than those with a blood alcohol level of .05 percent. The legal blood alcohol limit in most U.S. states are .1 percent and a few at .08 percent. Sleep deprivation can be as harmful as drunk driving. Click Here to read the AAA study on drowsy driving and traffic safety.
Recently in South Florida three teens from UM were involved in a car crash with a flip over. Thankfully no one died, but one was injured. Two of them were top recruits for the University of Miami Hurricanes Football program. According to the Palm Beach Post, the driver Jermaine McKenzie, was charged with careless driving after falling asleep at the wheel. These teens have a lot to be thankful for, they were wearing their seat belts. Their car was totaled and flipped over several times after finally landing on the top.
As a Law Firm that handles Personal Injury Car Accident cases in Florida, LaBovick & LaBovick has handled car accident cases involving teen drivers. In some instances, innocent car accident victims have lost lives or been severely injured as a result of a teen driver.
What can we do to prevent this from happening to other innocent Accident victims? Share information on Teen Driving. Promote Teen Driving Safety programs and help the public become more aware. This is not to penalize young people, but rather, help create awareness and continue the dialogue that Teen Driving Accidents can be cut down if we take the time to care and promote safety.
The National Safety Council offers an Arrive Alive at 25 program for young drivers. Corporations such as Allstate, State Farm and Toyota all have a teen safe driving educational program. We can all make a difference if we take the time to share important safety messages to teens, without sounding judgmental. If you want more information on teen driving and safety Click Here, provide us with your contact information and we will send the information.
• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers.
• 3,467 drivers age 15-20 died in car crashes in 2005.
• Drivers age 15-20 accounted for 12.6 percent of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes and 16 percent of all the drivers involved in police-reported crashes in 2005.
• Graduated drivers license programs appear to be making a difference. Fatal crashes involving 15- to 20-year olds in 2005 were down 6.5 percent from 7,979 in 1995, to the lowest level in ten years.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates the economic impact of auto accidents involving 15-20 year old drivers is over $40 billion.
• According to a 2005 survey of 1,000 people ages 15 and 17, conducted by the Allstate Foundation:
• More than half (56 percent) of young drivers use cell phones while driving,
• 69 percent said that they speed to keep up with traffic
• 64 percent said they speed to go through a yellow light.
• 47 percent said that passengers sometimes distract them.
• Nearly half said they believed that most crashes involving teens result from drunk driving.
• 23 percent of teen drivers killed in 2005 were intoxicated, according to NHTSA.
• Statistics show that 16 and 17-yr-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger.
The Law Firm, LaBovick & LaBovick, Civil Justice Prosecutors, is a Plaintiff’s firm. The firm focuses on fighting for Plaintiff’s personal injury victim’s rights in Florida and on qui tam (whistleblower claims) nationwide. We handle all serious injuries, car accidents, maritime accidents, wrongful death, slip & fall, toxic torts and product liability cases. We have locations in Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Jupiter and Port St. Lucie, Florida. Visit our firm website at www.LaBovick.com
for more injury information.
The Supreme Court of Kentucky ruled in Steele v. Jason Congleton, that an auto accident victim is not entitled to damages for pre-impact fear. This was a wrongful death accident involving Melissa Congleton and a tractor trailer being driven for Steele Technologies. On the day of the accident, the tractor trailer was hauling 37,000 pounds of coil. An unidentified car stopped in front of the tractor trailer, causing it to slam on brakes. Immediately, it lost control and the steel coil broke loose, causing it to fall head on into the pick up truck being driven by the accident victim, Melissa Congleton. Unfortunately, Melissa died instantly on the scene from the impact.
The Law Firm, LaBovick & LaBovick, PA., Civil Justice Prosecutors, is a Plaintiff’s firm. The firm focuses on fighting for Plaintiff’s personal injury victim’s rights in Florida and on qui tam (whistleblower claims) nationwide. We handle all serious injuries, car accidents, maritime accidents, wrongful death, slip & fall, toxic torts and product liability cases. We have locations in Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Jupiter and Port St. Lucie, Florida. Visit our firm website at www.LaBovick.com for more injury information.
A toddler seriously injured in a car accident can sue his parents for improperly installing and maintaining his car seat, according to the the Minnesota Supreme Court. The favorable ruling forces the family's auto insurance company to pay $100,000. The insurance company agreed to pay the claim if the Supreme Court ruled in Teddy's favor
Teddy Harrison, now age 9, was 3 years old when flew from his mother's SUV during the car accident. He suffered a serious brain injury that left him permanently disabled. They sued the car seat manufacturer, Century Products Co., alleging that the seat was defective because even with a coin lodged in the buckle, it clicked and appeared locked.
Century Products argued the boy's parents were partially to blame for failing to properly maintain and install the seat. In good faith, a confidential confidential settlement was reached with the car-seat manufacturer. Afterwards, Teddy sued his parents - with their support - in an effort to collect from the family's auto insurance.
Click Here to read more about this in the Twin Cities Pioneer Press.
Trial Attorney Andre P. Gauthier thought he was having a bad day in court when the Jury came back with a verdict in less than three days. To his surprise, the Jury sided with his client, a 23-year old Louisiana car accident victim and awarded $1.175 Million in compensatory damages for a minor car accident.
This verdict is not the norm, especially when a car accident victim has a prior lower-back injury from a previous car accident. The client had no visible injuries and received doctor reports citing minimal disc bulges. Despite the defense showing evidence that the victim did not miss any days from work, played softball and went out dancing the Plaintiff Attorney, Andre P.Gauthier still received a great verdict for his client. It is a good thing that he turned down the earlier settlement of $150,000.
Click Here to read more of this settlement from Lawyers USA Verdict Reporter.
A tragic auto accident on Interstate 95 in Boynton Beach involving special needs passenger kills one person and leaves three others in critical condition. The fatal auto accident happened Wednesday involving an 18 year old from Lake Worth driver that swerved and hit a passenger van carrying special needs individuals. The driver of the passenger van remains in critical condition, and two passengers are being treated for severe injuries. The 18 year old driver of the car that exercised poor judgment sustained minor injuries..jpg)
It is always sad to read about tragic accidents. On May 31, a 20 year old Wellington Resident was having fun visiting Orlando with a group of friends from South Florida. Unfortunately, at 2:50 am, she was a passenger in a Lexus SUV on the Florida Turnpike near Orlando, when her friend lost control of the vehicle. The Lexus SUV rolled over twice, after hitting the guardrail, and ejected passenger Shanique Corbett from the vehicle.
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The City of West Palm Beach is embracing the new trend of traffic light cameras to help issue fines. 
In Palm Beach County, there was a fatal t
Every day millions of people take the Florida Turnpike to work. Personally, I have a two-hour daily commute on the Florida Turnpike. I use a Sunpass to save time. A Sunpass helps drivers move through the toll lanes with no waiting. On Wednesday, Warren Thomas made his last and final drive on the Florida Turnpike. Thomas went through a Sunpass lane at Mile Marker 63 and tried to back up to get to a tollbooth where change is given. At the same time, a semitrailer truck fatally struck his minivan. He was taken by ambulance to Broward Medical Center where he later died.
Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) has suffered another blow to its already tarnished safety record. Following a Consumer Reports “Don’t Buy” warning, the carmaker issued a temporary sales halt on April 14 for its 2010 Lexus GX 460 luxury sport-utility vehicle. Consumer Reports found the popular SUV to be a “safety risk” due to its susceptibility to flip over in certain situations.
Additional fines may be imposed against Toyota Motor Corporation 
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is seeking the maximum civil penalty of $16.375 million, against Toyota for failing to notify the government about its sticky accelerators in a prompt manner. This would be the the largest civil penalty ever assessed against an automaker by the agency. According to records, Toyota knew about the problem as early as late September 2009 when the problem was confirmed in Europe and Canada but waited until late January 2010 to recall 2.3 million cars in the U.S. for the same issue. This is unacceptable behavior for a company that prides itself on "quality, dependability and reliability".
The reliance on cell phones has led to an increase in talking on a cell phone while driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that at any given moment of the day, 800,000 drivers of passenger vehicles are talking on handheld cell phones. Unfortunately, statistics show driving while talking or texting on a cell phone are two leading driver distractions that cause car accidents. According to a January 2010, report from the National Safety Council an estimated 1.6 million crashes (28 percent of all crashes) are caused each year by drivers talking on cell phones (1.4 million crashes) and texting (200,000 crashes) based on data from the NHTSA and peer reviewed research. 
Yesterday a Senior Female Driver, age 76 years old, was killed in a 
On another note, if you are looking for relief of pain, before you reach for your Tylenol, check the label. .jpg)
Last month Toyota finally had to fess up. They had to say “We are sorry. Our cars have a malfunction. We are killing people.” Toyota recalled almost 4 million cars because the accelerators were sticking and cars were being run up to 120 miles per hour causing high speed crashes
problem. In the meantime, drivers of the named vehicles should immediately remove the mat from the driver’ side and not replace it, until further notified.
In the City of Parkland the texting while driving debate is heating up. On Monday night city commissioners made history when they unanimously approved the ban which would make it illegal to send text messages while driving. Fines for violators could be as much as $100. If approved, this would be the first municipality in Broward County to take such measures for driver safety. A second and final vote will be taken on September 23rd.
The Click it or ticket is a part of a national campaign that encourages drivers to buckle up. 