South Florida Injury Attorney Blog

An elementary school teacher with a career stretching more than 30 years was killed in an accident with a large truck March 9, the Miami Herald reported. Sharon Braun was headed to the school with her four grandchildren, who are students there, and fellow teacher Gail Carter. Carter was driving when a tractor-trailer changed lanes into her car, knocking it into another vehicle and rolling it over. Braun was killed at the scene and Carter was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, but none of the four children was seriously hurt. One of the children, who are ages 7 to 11, borrowed a phone from a witness to tell their parents about the accident.

As of March 9, the accident was still under investigation and no charged had been filed, the Herald article said. But according to state records the newspaper found, the driver of the tractor-trailer, Tracy Fiffia, had a history of traffic citation problems. Among other things, Fiffia’s record includes tickets for speeding, reckless driving, using defective equipment and driving with an improper license or no license, though his license was valid at the time.

It’s not for an Aventura trucking accident lawyer to assign blame for an accident if the FHP is still investigating. But from the facts presented in the article, it sounds like the truck driver’s lane change is primarily responsible for this accident. If that turns out to be true, the trucker and his trucking company could be legally at fault, which means they would be liable for all of the injuries this accident caused. In addition to the physical injuries to Carter and any injuries to the children, that would also mean the injury to Braun’s family caused by her death -- the loss of a mother’s love, companionship and emotional and financial support. And any lasting trauma to the children who were part of this accident would certainly be an emotional injury.

All of these harms are “injuries,” as the word is understood by South Florida truck crash attorneys. In a Miami trucking accident lawsuit, victims of serious trucking accidents and their family members can claim financial compensation for all of these injuries and the financial costs that they cause, such as hospital bills, repair costs and therapy costs. Accidents with tractor-trailers like this one can cause very serious injuries, including wrongful deaths, brain damage and spinal cord injuries. Cohn, Smith & Cohn is proud to help victims of those injuries hold the at-fault people legally responsible and collect money to help pay medical costs and make ends meet as they recover.

Cohn, Smith & Cohn’s Pembroke Pines semi truck accident attorneys offer free, confidential consultations to all potential clients. If you or someone you love has been hurt by a careless truck driver and you’d like to learn more, you can set up a consultation by calling our main office at (954) 831-4100 or contacting us through our Web site.