Happy Fourth of July - How to Avoid Injuries with Fireworks

Happy Fourth of July!

On Independence Day we reflect and remember the people who paved the way for Americans to have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Let's not forget about the sacrifices that were made for our gift of freedom.

Remember that freedom is a delicate balance. Throughout history, societies have given up their freedom to dictators. Our right to free speech, to assemble and most importantly to vote, is the guarantor of that freedom. Exercise your rights and remember to vote. Don't limit your vote to the presidential election. Vote in all the primary elections. Your community and your country deserve your participation. I have provided a link to several Florida Voters Registration Sites and Florida Supervisor of Elections websites at the end of this blog post.

As you celebrate today, we encourage you to be safe. According to reports, there were nearly, 10,000 injuries in 2007 related to fireworks. In Florida, reports claim 137 fires were started due to fireworks. Injuries and fires that are caused from using fireworks can be prevented, if people are cautious and pay attention to what they are doing. As a parent of three young children, I was surprised to learn that Sparklers have caused more injuries to children under age five than any other type of fireworks. The Consumer Product Safety Commission states that  Sparklers burn at temperatures hot enough to melt some metals. If you are a parent or happen to see children handling Sparklers, make sure they are over the age of 12 and are doing so with Adult Supervision.

If you are purchasing fireworks, be sure that you are buying consumer fireworks from a licensed store or stand. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has safety warnings on legal fireworks packaging. Look for the CPSC label and read the warnings.


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Click it or ticket 2008 Florida campaign starts (May 19 - June 1)

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 Crashes in 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.


NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts, 2006 Nationwide 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

Take your child to work day - Palm Beach law firm shares a life lesson with a 10-year old

Today was "Take your Child to Work Day" around the country.  As a boutique Florida Law Firm, I wondered how many children of our staff would come in today.  I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Mark A. Greenberg, an Attorney in our Jupiter Office, bring his son Jared to work today. The main reason is that Attorney Greenberg has a trials coming up and a mediation scheduled for today. Mark, being the caring and loving dad, wanted to have Jared with him today and learn first hand what to experience a Day in the life of a Trial Lawyer, especially one preparing for trial.  Jared often notices his father working late nights in the office and sometimes at home on the computer, writing, going through files and dictating notes for his legal staff of paralegals. 

Jared Greenberg, a 10-year old, saw first hand, how important preparation and following up is for an attorney. He learned how important completing assignments were for schoolwork. Good work takes discipline and hard work. He saw his dad interact with clients and opposing counsel. The art of negotiation and effective listening skills were also on display in today's life lesson in our Jupiter Law Office today. Mark wanted today's visit by Jared to be meaningful, so he assigned him tasks to complete such as making copies, tagging exhibits and other meaningful things that he could work on with the team. I was amazed at how many questions Jared would ask his dad regarding projects he worked on or meetings that he would sit in on. These strong probing questions shows that Jared Greenberg has good instincts.  Who knows? One day when Jared is grown up, he may decide to follow in Attorney Mark A. Greenberg's footsteps to become a Civil Justice Prosecutor and fight for the rights of injured accident victims. 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words... Take a look at the above picture and see the excitement in the eyes of Jared and the joy and love in the eyes of Mark. 

Earth Day - April 22, 2008 - we can all do something

Today, April 22, 2008 is Earth Day. It is amazing that Earth Day has been around since 1970 and I only seem to remember hearing about it a few years ago.  Last week I purchased several reusable shopping bags at Publix, a major chain in the Southeast. Initially, I thought the .99 price tag was just a gimmick to get people to buy a product.  I see that I was wrong, as I bring my 4 bags back to the market with me, I am pleasantly surprised to see other shoppers doing the same.  The bags are awesome. One bag takes the place of 4 plastic shopping bags and two large paper bags. Based on my bagging methods. 

I spoke to Managing Partner, Brian LaBovick, Esq. regarding my post on Earth Day and asked what he was doing today to acknowledge Earth Day. After my story of the Publix "reusable shopping bags" he decided to go out and buy bags for all of our LaBovick & LaBovick staff members in an effort to help promote saving the environment in small steps. Yes, I mention small steps, because if we all take a few steps to make the environment better, it will make a difference. According to the EPA, companies can make a difference at the work place in helping the environment. A few   simple things, to start with include: 1) reducing energy use, 2) Re-use or recycle office products, 3) Use water more efficiently 4) Efficient Commuting for the environment, this includes, working from home when possible, carpooling use of mass transportation 5) Turn off  equipment, copier, printers, computers when not in use, 6) Use energy efficient lighting.

As a Boutique Florida Personal Injury Law firm, we are doing a little bit more than just giving reusable Publix Shopping bags to our employees. About a year ago, Managing Partner, Brian LaBovick, told me that he wanted to go paperless. He asked me to investigate and find the necessary steps on what it will take for us to be a paperless office. Imagine a paperless law firm. Believe it or not, they do exist. They are few and far between, but not impossible.

We are exploring the paperless office, which will take some time and effort, but in the interim, our Florida Injury Law Firm has taken some giant leaps in being more efficient and environmentally friendly. Last year we recycled old computers and monitors, after stripping them of all data, first. We shred and recycle paper and recycle cans that we use for beverages in the firm for staff and clients. We purchased a state of the art copier to scan documents for us to send PDFs of files to Doctors,  Insurance Adjusters, Defense Counsel, Experts and others involved in Personal injury and Qui tam cases we are working on. This cuts down on the use of paper tremendously. We satisfy requests of those that prefer receiving paper instead of a PDF or file.

If our Florida Injury Law firm can take small steps in our business to help the environment, we encourage other firms to join in.  A few weeks ago, the wonderful Governor of Florida, attended a "Going Green" event in Palm Beach County sponsored by Palm Tran. It is nice to see that officials in Florida are trying to make the public aware of their efforts to improve the environment.

You too can make a difference and do your part for our environment.

Highway Saftey Data and Daylight Savings - Turn your clocks ahead this weekend

It's that time of year again.  Daylight Saving Time begins this Sunday at 2 a.m. and ends on November 2. In case you forgot, Daylight Savings is always the second Sunday of March.

In the Fall, we Spring back each year at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November. In the month of November, move your clocks back one hour at the resumption of Standard Time.

We uncovered some interesting statistics for Roadway crashes in Florida from the Florida Department of Motor Vehicle Safety Administration. According to published reports, there was a significant spike in crashes in the month of March 2006. There were 24,066 crashes in the month of March, an increase of nearly 3,000 crashes from the month of February.  The number of fatal crashes also increased in March to 308 an increase from February's fatal crashes which were 221. It is important to note that in the month of November, the number of crashes went down from the previous month.  In November 2006 there were 20,984 crashes in Florida, which is much less than the month prior, which was 21,306 total crashes.  Fatal crashes in Florida also went down in November to 240 fatalities, down from 268 fatalities in October. 

We share this information with our readers to hopefully drive home the message for drivers to be safe on the highway, especially in the beginning of Daylight Savings Time, which is the month of March. In 2006, there were 3,097 total fatal accidents in Florida, March had the highest number of fatalities with 308 deaths.

At LaBovick & LaBovick, our goal is to help save lives by promoting and sharing safety information.  If we can help save a life or several lives on the highway, we feel that our time sharing this information has been well spent.

Click here to read more on the Florida Highway Motor Vehicle Safety Administration on crash statistics and highway data.
 

Brian F. LaBovick is attending the AAJ Annual Convention in Chicago

Managing Partner, Brian F. LaBovick is attending the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Annual Seminar and Convention in Chicago this week. Several thousand lawyers and law makers from around the country convene together to learn new things about The AAJ is an organization committed to promoting a fair and effective justice system. The AAJ supports the work of attorneys in their efforts to ensure that any person who is injured by the misconduct or negligence of others can obtain justice in America’s courtrooms, even when taking on the most powerful interests.

Attorney LaBovick will be writing  a synopsis of the seminar for the readers of the LaBovick Injury Law Blog, when he returns from his trip. He will share pertinent and relevant information that will be of interest to readers of the LaBovick Injury Law Blog.

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.

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Brian F. LaBovick is named a Florida Super Lawyer

The Law firm LaBovick & LaBovick, Civil Justice Prosecutors, is pleased to announce that Managing Partner, Brian F. LaBovick, Esq. has received the designation of 'Super Lawyer', by the publisher of Super Lawyers Magazine. Attorney LaBovick was among the few  Personal Injury lawyers in Palm Beach County  to receive this recognition.The Super Lawyers® designation is awarded to only 5% of Florida lawyers, based on nominations and feedback from other Florida attorneys.

Super Lawyer® Brian F. LaBovick and his firm is among a select group of firms in the United States focusing on qui tam (whistleblower) claims. The firm represents Plaintiff whistleblowers and prosecutes fraud on behalf of the federal and state government.

More than 44,000 lawyers across the state were asked to name the best lawyers they personally observed in action. Super Lawyers Magazine then divided the submissions into practice areas, which were then reviewed by a Blue Ribbon panel of attorneys. The final list represents the top 5 percent of attorneys in Florida.

About the Firm:

The Law Firm, LaBovick & LaBovick, Civil Justice Prosecutors, is a Plaintiff's firm that was established in 1992. The firm focuses on qui tam (whistleblower claims) and fighting for personal injury victim's rights in Florida. They handle all serious injuries, car accidents, maritime accidents, wrongful death, slip & fall, toxic torts and product liability cases. The firm has office locations in Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Jupiter and Port St. Lucie, Florida. Visit the firm website at www.labovick.com or the firm's legal blogs: Whistleblowerlawblog.com or LaBovickinjurylawblog.com for more information.