South Florida Injury Attorney Blog

The federal government is considering two moves that would have a major effect on the safety of the large trucks that share our roads in Florida. On July 24, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it will require newly manufactured trucks to be able to come to a complete stop more quickly, reducing the distance traveled during braking by 30%. Specifically, a semi truck traveling at 60 mph would be required to stop within 250 feet starting with newly manufactured 2012 trucks. Currently, the same truck traveling at 60 mph is required to be able to stop within 355 feet. The NHTSA estimates that this will save 227 lives every year and prevent 300 more serious injuries.

That announcement comes on the heels of a quieter change being considered by Congress. According to the Allentown, PA Morning Call, the House of Representatives is considering relaxing big rig weight limits. Currently, they can be no more than 80,000 pounds; House Resolution 1799 would increase the weight limit to 97,000 pounds. To prevent problems caused by that additional weight, it would also require an extra axle to create more “stopping power” and an $800 annual fee from the heavier trucks to defray the cost of repairing extra wear and tear on the roads. Competing legislation brought by Congressmembers concerned about both crash safety and the extra stress on the roads would maintain the current 80,000-pound limit.

As a Deerfield Beach tractor-trailer accident attorney, I am glad that the NHTSA rule change is taking place -- but I will be especially glad if the change to the weight limit also passes. Weight and braking are directly connected: The larger the weight, the longer it takes a vehicle to stop. If trucks are allowed to be 17,000 pounds heavier, their already long stopping distances will get even longer unless braking technology can keep up. And that has bad implications for the drivers around those large trucks. Some drivers don’t realize trucks need more stopping distance and mistakenly treat them like other cars; others are exposed to serious injury when the trucker makes a misjudgment and can’t brake in time to prevent an accident. In either case, the increased weight of the truck translates to increased force in the resulting collision, causing wrongful deaths and catastrophic injuries.

Continue reading " Federal Government Requires Increased Braking Power and Considers Higher Weight Limits for Tractor-Trailers " »

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A motorcyclist died Sunday after a single-vehicle accident, the Palm Beach Post reported July 20. According to a report released by the Florida Highway Patrol, Christian Holmes of Coral Springs was evading a state trooper when he crashed his motorcycle. He was heading south on Interstate 95 when a trooper noticed him speeding and gave pursuit, the report said. After about six minutes, Holmes took the eastbound State road 706 exit, which has a tight curve and a posted speed limit of 20 mph. He failed to negotiate the curve and died at the scene after crashing into a guardrail.

As a motorcyclist and a Pembroke Pines motorcycle accident lawyer, I don’t enjoy reading about any fatal motorcycle accident, especially one in which the motorcyclist is so clearly at fault. But with the number of motorcycle accident fatalities rising in Florida and across the United States, it’s worth noting that this rider died because he was speeding. Because motorcycles only have two wheels, they are more difficult to control than cars in a very fast turn. That can lead to spinning out, hitting the ground or simply failing to make the turn and colliding with an object. That’s one reason why, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a quarter of all fatal motorcycle accidents in 2007 involved hitting a fixed object -- a substantially higher rate than for any other vehicle.

The same study showed that motorcyclists have a higher rate of other risky behaviors than other motorists. Of all drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2007, motorcyclists had the highest rate of speeding, alcohol impairment and failure to use safety restraints. (Presumably, “safety restraints” for motorcyclists means helmets, which may be unfair because Florida and many other states do not require helmets.) In the same year, motorcyclists also had the highest rate of previous DUIs, previous speeding convictions and recorded driver’s license suspensions or revocations, of all motorists involved in fatal crashes. While I believe drivers exaggerate motorcyclists’ risky behavior, I also believe motorcyclists have a responsibility to change drivers’ minds by riding safely. As a Plantation motorcycle accident attorney, I would be happy to see far fewer clients come to me with brain damage or other devastating disabilities that could have been prevented with a little more care.

Continue reading " Speeding Blamed for Fatal Single Vehicle Motorcycle Crash in Jupiter " »

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The Florida Highway Patrol has announced criminal charges in a semi truck accident that killed six in Glades County last year, the Naples News reported July 16. Ewing Saunders, 67, was charged with six counts of DUI manslaughter and one count of DUI property damage in the Sept. 29 accident. The crash killed Jose Saavedra, Jose Maria Arellano, Lucas Reyes Flores, Rigoberto Reyes Perez, Oscar Humberto Reyes and Sergio Saul Salazar. All six men were in a van on the way to their jobs picking saw palmetto berries, according to the article.

The FHP report said Saunders, of Nokomis, was driving a 2005 Peterbuilt tractor-trailer on State Road 78 in Glades County. As he approached the intersection with State Road 29, he failed to stop for a stop sign and collided with the workers’ 1993 Chevrolet van. All six men were pronounced dead on the scene; no injuries to Saunders were reported. However, testing of Saunders showed that he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.11 -- over the 0.08 legal limit in Florida. The FHP filed charges after a 10-month investigation. Saunders was held on $300,000 bail; if convicted on all counts, he faces decades in prison.

As a Pompano Beach big rig accident lawyer, I was struck by the fact that this is a DUI manslaughter case. Statistically, truckers drive drunk at much lower rates than other motorists -- possibly because they can have their commercial licenses suspended for just one infraction. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, truck drivers were just 1% of drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2007 who were legally drunk; they also had the lowest rate of previous DUI convictions of all drivers involved in fatal crashes.

But when truck drivers do drive under the influence, the results can be deadly. Because trucks are so large and heavy, they are nearly guaranteed to cause serious damage to passenger vehicles in any collision -- killing or very severely injuring the people inside. That’s why statistically, the vast majority of people killed in semi truck crashes are people in other vehicles. When they are not killed, victims often sustain catastrophic or disabling injuries requiring lifelong medical care, such as brain damage or paralysis. As a Hallandale tractor-trailer accident attorney, my job is to help these victims win a fair insurance settlement, so they can get needed medical care and put their lives back together -- but I would much rather see fewer families devastated by a truck driver’s negligence.

Continue reading " Truck Driver Faces DUI Manslaughter Charges in Southwest Florida Trucking Accident " »

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Posted In: large truck accidents , wrongful death

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A truck driver ran into a guardrail at 4 a.m. Sunday, triggering a crash involving eight vehicles, the Gainesville Sun reported July 12. Nobody was seriously injured in the crash, which involved a total of two semi trucks and six cars traveling in both directions on Interstate 75. However, the accident caused a truck to roll over and sprayed debris across the highway, backing up traffic throughout Sunday. Reckless driving charges are pending against the truck driver, Yerany Guelmes of Naples, who the Florida Highway Patrol said fell asleep at the wheel.

According to the article, Guelmes was southbound on I-75 in a Freightliner when he fell asleep and hit the center guardrail. The accident caused the tractor-trailer to roll over and sent pieces of the truck flying into both lanes. A northbound truck driver, Erik Stephen Riis, then ran over an axle and lost control, causing him to hit the guardrail and send debris into the southbound lane. Six other vehicles were damaged as well, but the article does not explain how. Both truckers were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, and clearing the wreckage took much of Sunday, slowing traffic south of Gainesville.

As a Broward County trucking accident lawyer, I am interested in this crash in part because the FHP believes the cause was Guelmes falling asleep at the wheel. A lot of publicity has been focused on the problem of truck drivers taking amphetamines and other drugs, but in many cases, the root cause is plain old sleepiness. Federal law limits the amount of time truck drivers may drive without taking a break to sleep, but these laws are routinely ignored in the trucking industry. Truckers frequently have their pay tied to making on-time deliveries, which means they have an incentive to ignore those laws and stay on the road. In the worst cases, that can lead to devastating accidents caused by a truck driver who fell asleep at the wheel of an 80,000-pound big rig.

Continue reading " Semi Truck Driver Falls Asleep at the Wheel, Causing Eight-Vehicle Accident in Gainesville " »

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Federal investigators are looking into an accident at an Orlando theme park that hospitalized a worker with serious injuries, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported July 14. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it would look into the July 1 incident after receiving a “referral” from an unnamed informer. The referral did not come from the theme park itself, the newspaper said; it is not required to report accidents that resulted in no deaths and fewer than three hospitalizations.

According to the newspaper, the accident happened at around 7:30 a.m., before the Islands of Adventure theme park opened for the day. Under circumstances the paper did not report, the employee was hit by one of the cars of the Dueling Dragons roller coaster ride. The employee suffered serious injuries, but the newspaper did not go into detail. Universal said it was already involved in the investigation, would continue to cooperate and did not believe the accident showed the ride’s safety was compromised.

Most people think of theme park injuries as a danger to the public -- not to employees. But theme park workers may actually be more likely to be hurt than their visitors, because they spend so much more time there. Most theme parks are safe, but as a Boca Raton workplace injury attorney, I know that accidents do happen -- and they can be extremely serious. A report from the Orlando Sentinel shows that Islands of Adventure alone has seen 42 reported South Florida theme park injury lawsuits since 2001, including cases of neck injury and broken bones as well as unspecified “serious injuries.” While some of these injuries were simple slip and falls, others involved the rides -- and one report said a stunt man fell on a woman, suggesting that the employee may have been injured as well.

Continue reading " Federal Workplace Safety Organization Investigating Injury Accident at Universal Orlando Theme Park " »

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A little-noticed state law passed last month will send some drivers to get their driving skills re-tested, the Miami Herald reported July 10. Effective Jan. 1, 2010, the law will require drivers to repeat their driving tests if they get three crash-related moving violations in three years. The law requires both a written test and a behind-the-wheel test that is normally taken by teenagers and other first-time drivers. The goal is to stop drivers considered chronically at fault for accidents -- in essence, people considered bad drivers. Current law requires that people cited in two crashes take a written test, but it does not require practical, behind-the-wheel testing.

The law will not apply retroactively, although people who get a third crash-related ticket after Jan. 1, 2010 may have to retake their tests if the ticket is a third within a three-year period. However, the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has identified 3,277 drivers who would be required to retake their tests if the law were already effective. Of those drivers, 64% are white males under the age of 40; a third are under the age of 25. And 595 have at least one DUI conviction. The executive director of the DHSMV, Electra Bustle, said she believed the law would be successful if it managed to produce even one fewer crash.

As a Fort Lauderdale auto accident lawyer, I know from experience that drivers who get into serious accidents tend to have a string of other accidents behind them. That’s why I believe this law will ultimately help make Florida roads safer. Traffic citations are not ironclad proof of fault in the accident, but they are strong evidence that we use regularly in our Davie car crash lawsuits to establish who authorities believed was at fault. Auto accidents cause wrongful deaths and very serious injuries, including permanent, lifelong disabilities like brain damage. If requiring drivers with spotty records to retake the tests helps reform their behavior -- or spot dangerous drivers who should be taken off the road -- it’s worth the extra effort and inconvenience.

Continue reading " New State Law Will Require Driving Test for Floridians With Three Crash-Related Tickets " »

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The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles announced good news July 6: Fatal traffic accidents decreased by 6.21% in 2008. That statistic comes from the department’s annual report on traffic crashes (PDF), gathered from information from Florida’s own traffic crash database. According to the report, fatal crashes involving cars, pickups, SUVs and large trucks are down -- but pedestrian, bicycle and motorcycle crashes went up in 2008. According to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, officials at the DHSMV attribute the change in part to the bad economy, which meant fewer tourists, less driving by Floridians and slower speeds when people do drive.

High gas prices might explain the rise in accidents involving pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcycles. Fatal accidents dropped in all of those areas, but injury accidents rose -- most dramatically for motorcycle passengers, whose injury rate rose by 14.80%. Pedestrian injury accidents rose by 4.64%, bicyclists injured rose by 1.79% and motorcyclists injured rose by 4.07%. On the plus side, fatalities in Florida overall are down by 7.39%, alcohol-related fatalities are down by 6.03%, and drug-related fatalities are down by a staggering, and welcome, 32 7%. The department keeps separate statistics for teenagers, whose fatality rate dropped by 16.8% and whose overall crashes dropped by 11.1%. Perhaps most interesting to a Fort Lauderdale car accident attorney, the study lists “careless driving” as the most common contributor to all crashes, followed by alcohol, failure to yield the right-of-way, speeding and crossing a center divide.

I am happy to say that here in Broward County, many of our accident statistics maintain that downward trend, though pedestrian and bicycle accidents continued to be an exception. However, one statistic particularly important to me as a Miramar motorcycle accident lawyer -- motorcycle fatalities -- has only now evened out. Over the five years between 2004 and 2008, our county saw a steady rise in fatal motorcycle crashes, reaching its peak in 2007 with 52 deaths. That number dropped to 37 this year, a trend I hope will continue. Overall, crashes, injuries and fatalities in Broward County are down, including alcohol-related injuries and deaths.

As a Pompano Beach car crash lawyer, I’m glad to see that fewer Floridians are getting involved in crashes, even if that means fewer people need my services. Serious auto accidents are catastrophic, life-changing events for many of our clients here at Cohn, Smith & Cohn. Accidents leave victims with internal damage, head injuries, broken bones and other injuries that require months and many thousands of dollars to fully treat. During that time, victims often cannot work, making it difficult to pay for all of this health care. In some cases, the situation is complicated by an insurance company’s refusal to provide the coverage victims have already bought and paid for, requiring a time-consuming and sometimes expensive legal battle to secure benefits.

Continue reading " Report Says Florida Traffic Accident Deaths, Including Motorcycle Crashes, Decrease in 2008 " »

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Posted In: automobile accidents , large truck accidents , motorcycle accidents

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A Broward County father and son narrowly avoided serious injuries when they were hit by a passing boat, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported July 6. Rudy Perez and his 15-year-old son, Christian Waters-Perez, were snorkeling during the Sunday incident. Fortunately, they weren’t seriously hurt when a 26-foot boat passed overhead, hitting Perez in the head and Waters-Perez in the legs. As required by law, they had their red-and-white dive flag up, warning boaters to stay 100-300 feet away.

According to Perez, he and his son were about 200 yards off the Hollywood coast when a boat with the ironic name Karma hit them. He described it as having a white hull and a light blue canopy over the console. The operator waved at the snorkelers and apologized, but didn’t slow down or stop. Jorge Pino, a spokesman for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, said the operator might face criminal charges if found -- but because boat names aren’t necessarily on registrations, a record search may not help. The incident left Perez with a headache and Waters-Perez with a limp, but both said they would be fine.

I am pleased that this accident didn’t cause more serious injuries. As a Fort Lauderdale boating accident lawyer, I know that boats can cause serious damage to a human body -- especially if hitting the hull produces a head injury, or the victim gets tangled in a propeller, both of which can fatally incapacitate a swimmer. However, if these two victims had suffered more serious injuries, the description in the article suggests that the boater would have been at fault. That would make him or her legally liable in any Aventura boating accident lawsuit the family might choose to file.

Continue reading " Police Looking for Boat Involved in Hit-and-Run Accident With Pembroke Pines Snorkelers " »

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A new law allowing police to pull over drivers not wearing a seat belt left some Florida drivers disgruntled, Florida Today reported July 1. The primary enforcement law, as it is called, is a change from Florida’s old seat belt law. Before, not wearing a seat belt could still get you a $10 ticket, but police could only write that ticket after pulling drivers over for another reason. Now, drivers can be pulled over and handed a ticket if law enforcement spots them without a seat belt on. Prices for the tickets vary, and officers issued a lot of verbal warnings on the first day of the new law, but Florida Today said the Brevard County tickets will be $104.

Many drivers interviewed by the newspaper were unhappy about the new law. One woman interviewed said she believed seat belts should be a choice for people age 18 or older. Another said she thought that because motorcyclists are not required to wear a helmet, drivers should have a choice about their seat belts. Palm Bay traffic officer Mike Veina said the point of the law is not to generate revenue from tickets -- another common complaint -- but to save lives. He pointed out that airbags, another life-saving device, can actually be harmful in slow speed-crashes because they are designed to work in tandem with seat belts. The article said that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency that tracks accident statistics, estimates that about 140 Floridians a year are killed because they failed to wear seat belts.

I sympathize with the argument that adults should have the right to choose whether to wear seat belts (or motorcycle helmets). But as a Hollywood auto accident lawyer, I know all too well that a seat belt can make the difference between death or serious injury and minor injuries in a serious accident. In an accident, seat belts help prevent occupants from hitting the hard (and sometimes jagged) interior of the vehicle and from being thrown from the vehicle, which cuts down substantially on brain damage, spinal injuries and other serious injuries. The NHTSA estimates that seat belts cut the risk of death by 45% to 65%, depending on the vehicle and the passenger’s position inside it. Faced with numbers like that, I believe the smart choice is to buckle up, regardless of whether a law is forcing me to.

Continue reading " New Primary Enforcement Seat Belt Law Annoys Florida Drivers " »

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A truck driver left quadriplegic by a hit-and-run accident successfully sued his insurance company for denying coverage, the Miami Herald reported June 24. Derry Brown, 64, lost the use of both arms and legs in an accident caused by a driver who ran a stop sign. When he made a claim on his trucking insurance for the cost of his subsequent medical treatment, the company denied uninsured-motorist benefits. Unable to work and with hundreds of thousands in medical bills and growing, Brown sued, and a Broward County jury awarded him $14.6 million in unpaid benefits.

According to the Herald, Brown was hauling a load of sugar through Palm Beach County when the other driver cut him off by running a stop sign. He swerved to avoid an accident that, his lawyer said, would almost certainly have killed the driver in the other vehicle -- a claim that I, as a Davie trucking accident attorney find all too easy to believe. The other driver left the scene. However, the swerve overturned the truck, leaving Brown with spinal cord damage that paralyzed him below the neck. The accident happened May 31, 2007, but he is still undergoing treatment and rehabilitation at the Florida Institute for Neurological Rehabilitation in Wachula.

Unfortunately, the article doesn’t go into details about why the insurance company denied benefits. However, my experience as a Davie tractor-trailer accident lawyer is that insurance companies don’t like to pay any uninsured motorist claim they can avoid paying. And in many cases, they believe they can avoid paying simply by finding technicalities allowing them to argue that the accident isn’t covered. These practices aren’t just unfair to injured motorists -- they are illegal and a violation of the insurer’s own contract. Unfortunately, to enforce their rights, motorists like Brown sometimes have no choice but to file a Hialeah semi truck accident lawsuit to recover the money they’re legally entitled to -- and, indeed, have already paid years of premiums for.

Continue reading " Paralyzed Driver Wins $14.6 Million in Lawsuit Against Insurer That Refused Coverage " »

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The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a former seaman injured on the job may sue his ex-employer for refusing to pay his medical bills and maintenance, the Florida Times-Union reported June 26. The ruling means that Eddie Townsend may continue his lawsuit against former employer Atlantic Sounding, including a claim for punitive damages intended to punish serious wrongdoing. In the 5-4 decision, the majority wrote that the Jones Act, which allows people injured in maritime jobs to sue their employers for medical care and replacement wages, allows punitive damages when employers show “willful and wanton disregard” for their obligations.

Townsend was working on a tugboat at the port of Fort Lauderdale when a fallen line knocked him to the deck, breaking his shoulder. When he told his supervisor, he was told he would be fired if he reported the injury. He tried to work the next day but couldn’t, so he reported his injury anyway -- and was fired, just as predicted. His employer, Atlantic Sounding, refused to pay his medical bills or maintenance while he recovered, on the grounds that he had left the boat. (Most Florida employers must offer both of these benefits through the Florida workers’ compensation system.) With no health insurance, he wound up living in his car in North Florida. Eventually, he sued Atlantic Sounding.

The Jones Act, formally known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, is a form of workers’ compensation for sailors and others who work in navigable waters. It allows seamen like Townsend, who were injured at work, to sue employers whose carelessness caused or contributed to the accident. All such claimants can claim money to pay their medical bills and living expenses while they cannot work. Federal appeals courts had split over whether they could also claim punitive damages -- payments intended to punish and deter lawbreaking -- in cases involving injuries and maintenance pay. The Supreme Court resolved that split with last week’s ruling, saying they can.

As a Fort Lauderdale boating accident attorney, I am delighted with this ruling. Firing someone for reporting an accident literally adds insult to injury, and Atlantic Sounding’s actions would have been illegal for most Florida employers. That makes this case extremely appropriate for punitive damages. Thanks to this ruling, Townsend can claim the true cost of his injuries -- not just the medical care and reduced wages that would have allowed him to make ends meet while he recovered, but damages for his wrongful firing and the troubles he faced afterward. The ruling doesn’t necessarily mean that Townsend will win his case or collect a large amount of money, but it means that if he does win, he will be able to claim fuller, more appropriate compensation that recognizes Atlantic Sounding’s serious wrongdoing.

Continue reading " Supreme Court Allows Florida Man to Claim Punitive Damages in Jones Act Lawsuit Over Workplace Injury " »

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Posted In: boating accidents

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