South Florida Injury Attorney Blog

The Broward Sheriff’s Office was investigating a traffic accident in which a white sedan crashed into a storefront window. The accident occurred at The Check Cashing Store in Davie, west of Interstate 95, just around 5.30pm on a Friday. A man had just entered the Davie Check Cashing Store to cash his paycheck, when the accident occurred. The man was about to step up to the cashier counter when a car suddenly crashed through the store window, the driver of the vehicle apparently made an attempt to reverse out of a parking spot but had to stop and pull forward back into the spot to avoid hitting a pedestrian crossing behind his car, once the pedestrian had crossed, the vehicle driver made another attempt to reverse out, but forgot that he had put the car in drive, and that was when his car crashed through the store front window injuring the man at the cashier counter.

Emergency Rescue took the driver and the injured man to a Broward hospital, luckily the injuries they sustained were not major, but the innocent by standard’s injuries were serious enough for him to be hospitalized for at least a twenty four hour observation.

The man that was injured sought legal counsel from an experienced Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney to secure his rights and to seek proper compensation.

Should you or a loved one become the victim of an accident, contact a personal injury attorney to ensure you receive proper compensation for any injuries you may have sustained.

Photographs are an important tool when being used as evidence to document an injury, whether you were a victim of a vehicular accident, a slip and fall injury, or any injury caused by the negligence of another person(s) or business. Victims have used their mobile and cell phones as they have built in cameras, to document these injuries or record the scene of the accident. We typically advise clients to take photographs with any camera available to ensure the photographs clearly document the injuries or the scene of the accident soon after it happens.

Personal Injury Attorneys practicing in Fort Lauderdale, Davie, Sunrise and Cooper City, advise that you should always document your injuries and keep all your medical records should you decide to file a personal injury claim. Photographs have been pivotal in documenting some of the following: vehicle damage; the scene of the accident from all angles including the road and the surrounding terrain or area.

If you were the victim of a slip and fall injury photographs will document the area where the injury occurred: wet or dangerous floors, parking lots, stairs, escalators and other conditions that may have caused the injury. Photographs will also assist in keeping record of your injuries: lacerations, burns, cuts, stitches, staples, and surgical incisions, Facial and or eye injuries and bruises, welts or any scarring. If you do not have a camera, ask to borrow one or buy a disposable camera.

Sometimes, the photograph is the most important evidence when presented in court to support a claim or lawsuit. Of course, always seek legal advice; from a South Florida attorney should you decide to file a claim.

Doing groceries or food shopping is a weekly errand for everyone. On any given day during the week supermarkets across Broward County are full of shoppers. A woman running her usual errands on a Saturday, was at in the checkout line of an Albertson's in Davie, when her bag slipped open while the clerk was handing it to her, as the woman bent down to prevent the bag from falling and spilling the groceries across the floor. As she rested her hand on the credit card machine stand for support, it gave way and she fell to the floor. As minor as this injury seemed Emergency Medical Services were called to the Sunrise grocery store by the store manager, and after the woman was evaluated by EMS, they determined the injury was serious enough for the woman to be hospitalized.

The hospitalization caused her loss of work, medical expenses and great pain, as she suffered serious damage to her knee and required microscopic surgery. She sought legal counsel from a Personal Injury Attorney practicing in Sunrise, to ensure she received proper compensation from her injuries sustained from the fall.

In Florida, we come across numerous slip and fall cases or personal injuries where claims are filed against businesses due negligence. Should you or a loved one be the victim of a slip and fall injury you should seek legal counsel from an experienced South Florida personal injury attorney who knows your rights and can seek proper compensation for your specific situation.

Living in South Florida has its “good and bad” when it comes to the weather, luckily unlike the rest of the United States, South Florida does not have to deal with extremely bad winter storms. In South Florida, our equivalent of snow storms is our Hurricane season. We all know driving in the rain can be very dangerous.

For example, during rush hour on the rainy Friday morning in September, there were numerous accidents reported. At least four of those accidents resulted in injuries. Most of these accidents were caused because motorists who were driving too fast in the slick conditions. You should always seek advice from a personal injury attorney should you become a victim of a motor vehicle accident to ensure you receive proper compensation for injuries you may have sustained due to reckless and negligent driving of others.

Wet roads are particularly dangerous because water brings dirt and oil up to the surface of the pavement. The combination of oil, dirt, and water make the roads slick and tires have a harder time getting traction causing the effect of hydroplaning. The most effective way to ensure safety on wet roads is to drive slower. Slowing down allows more of your tire to grip the roadway and increases your traction. Avoiding sudden stopping and turning will also ensure you get the best traction possible. Hydroplaning is when your tires skid across the water surface on the road and this may cause you to lose control of your vehicle. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident caused by someone driving negligently in wet conditions, contact an experienced personal injury attorney who will know your rights and get you proper compensation.

When you say South Florida you think sun, sand, and well not really cruising. Amazingly, Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale can now be called “The Home of Cruise Ships” with some of the largest ships making this port their home. Cruise ships may look sparkling clean and safe, but behind the surface lays an industry that lacks any formal regulation and accountability for what occurs on-board. Most ships are registered outside of this country and make no mistake, have regulations unlike that of the USA.

As experienced attorney’s practicing law in Fort Lauderdale, we have come across many cruise ship accident claims, crimes that go unreported, from sexual crimes, theft, to passengers that go missing never to be seen again, that all get covered up by ship personnel or on board security.

Most people are shocked when they learn just how poorly regulated the cruise industry is or how easily victims can find themselves with no recourse for the harm they have suffered. Personal injury attorney’s have represented victims of these cruise ship mishaps and accidents or the families of these victims in any way we can to ensure that proper compensation is received. Attorneys also seek appropriate regulations and safeguards are enacted by Congress, so that dream vacations don’t turn into nightmares.

Should you be on your dream vacation cruising through the Caribbean and you find yourself a victim of personal injury on board a cruise ship, you should seek legal counsel or contact an experienced South Florida attorney who knows your rights, and will ensure you are properly compensated.

Sunrise Police recently reported that a vehicle containing two men, slid off of the roadway into a canal. The accident took place while the men were traveling north entering the Florida’s Turnpike from Sunrise Blvd on a Monday morning. Witnesses reported the car slid when it encountered loose gravel on the road from the recent road repairs in that area. The occupants, two men in their 20’s, were heading to work when the accident occurred, they were able to escape from the vehicle and swim to safety. Both received emergency care for minor injuries and their vehicle was recovered from the pond.

In South Florida, these types of auto accidents are common, and these men were very fortunate as exiting the vehicle is not always so easy in this type of accident. It is not a bad idea to contemplate such an event to ensure that you are able to escape if you find yourself in a vehicle that has been submerged in water. One approach is to buy and keep handy a tool that can be used to break your window quickly. Whether trapped after a car or truck accident, this tool can be used efficiently to break most windows to allow escape from the water.

Obviously, drivers have an obligation to travel at a safe speed for road conditions. As a Fort Lauderdale auto accident attorney, I should point out that victims of this type of vehicular accident may have a claim against the road repair company for any injuries and damages they may have suffered.

If you are the victim of an auto accident always seek advice from an experienced auto accident attorney to know your rights and to ensure you receive proper compensation for damages. Contact an attorney to help you today.

In South Florida personal injury attorneys have filed numerous personal injury claims against both corporate and commercial companies and or organizations stemming from escalator injuries, these injuries involve trapped feet, hands or shoes.

Escalator related injuries are mostly caused from clothing that is loose or dangling for example; shoelaces, drawstrings, scarves and mittens can become easily entrapped by the step of an escalator; not paying proper attention when attempting to embark or disembark the escalator, may cause a person to get seriously hurt or trip and fall .

As personal injury attorneys practicing in South Florida, we have represented victims of personal injuries due to these type accidents, where these victims have been injured in Malls while shopping, in corporate offices or anywhere where there exists an escalator for public use. From filing these claims we have compiled some safety tips for using escalator’s: always avoid the edges of the escalator's steps, this is where entrapment may occur; always hold the escalator’s handrail when attempting to embark or disembark the escalator, if you are accompanied by a child please hold his/her hand; use the elevator if you are carrying your child in a walker, stroller, or cart; always pay attention and be alert while using an escalator; and most importantly children should not be allowed to play on the steps of an escalator.

Should you become a victim of an escalator injury anywhere in South Florida, you should always contact a personal injury attorney to seek legal counsel and know your rights should you decide to file a personal injury claim against any entity. Contact an attorney now.

With summer nearing for students across Broward County, this usually means participating in organized sports and summer camp activities will begin. On any given day, because of South Florida’s all around perfect weather, you will find kids and teens on fields in cities such as Margate, Plantation, Weston, Cooper City and Fort Lauderdale attending practices in their sport of choice. Whether its baseball, football, soccer or cheerleading, safety precautions need to be taken to avoid injuries for all.

Each sport has its own safety gear; football requires helmets, and shoulder pads, baseball; helmets are also essential along with gloves for grip and athletic cup protection, soccer; shin guards and special shoes. It is also becoming a standard in all sports that mouth guards be used for protection as well. Whatever the sport your child chooses to participate in be sure you are also ensuring that the proper safety gear is being used. Strains, bruising and broken limbs are the most common childhood sport injuries.

Coaches play a vital role in teaching each participant not only the rules of the sport, but also the safety precautions and how to use the equipment needed to perform. As a parent, it's important for you to get involved with your child’s activities and know that the coach is taking the precautions necessary for that particular sport. Sports that require physical contact, such as football, obviously need to follow more safety precautions. The athletes of today are bigger and faster, meaning the collisions can cause a lot more damage. Although, sports safety gear can't guarantee prevention of injuries, they are designed to reduce the risk.

Should your child be injured playing any sport, contact your South Florida Personal Injury Attorney to know your rights and to ensure your child receives proper compensation.

In South Florida, one in every third person has a dog or two or three as pets living in their household. In cities across Broward County you can see an owner with his or her dog out and about, on the beaches of Fort Lauderdale, in parks in Sunrise and Plantation, even the Doggie parks in Davie, owners are walking their dogs whether it’s for exercise or just to get the dogs out of the house for some fresh air.

Recent studies by the Insurance Information Institute, state more than one-third of homeowner’s insurance claims filed are related to dog bite incidents. The study also showed that the average cost per claim was $24,840, which was up 1.5 percent from 2008's costs. Overall, dog attack claims have risen 30 percent since 2003, when reporting first began.

Even though experts say that while the actual number of dog bites has not grown that much, the inflated costs of medical bills and the increasingly large settlement amounts in these types of cases are causing the claims total to rise exponentially every year, as more and more victims of dog bites file claim.

Most homeowner and renter insurance policies cover anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000 in medical bills and/or damages caused by a dog attack, and we have found that many insurance companies are forced to raise their premium rates across the board as settlements continue to rise.

If you are being denied coverage for a dog bite attack on your property or if you have been bitten by a dog on someone else's property, it is imperative that you contact a South Florida Personal Injury lawyer right away, to save you time and money in the process.

South Florida Attorneys have filed numerous cases of civil liability for negligent or criminal acts that arise out of a resort, vacation or recreational setting. They can encompass a vast array of types of cases but they all have one thing in common: Tourists, business travelers and locals alike are all exposed to risk while traveling, vacationing or engaging in retreat activities, particularly because they are focused on relaxing and enjoying their leisure activities and pleasant surroundings.

South Florida is a resort destination, and due to our year round perfect weather this promotes all kinds of resort activities, these torts occur with great frequency here. Tourists are less attentive to dangers because they are in a strange place and are focused on enjoying the surroundings.

A 35-year-old man, was playing golf with a friend one evening and near the 17th hole, two masked man stepped out of the bushes and attempted to rob them. The 35-year-old man was shot in the back. His friend was was not injured. Although the gunshot victim was rushed to North Broward Medical Center by Fire Rescue he died a few days later. Are golf courses responsible for security or safety of the players?

With an abundance of resorts and golf courses across Broward County, in cities such as Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Sunrise and Davie to name a few, negligent premises security is a serious matter and is sometimes a factor in incidents that occur at resort and recreational facilities including hotels, amusement parks, nightclubs, casinos, etc. Negligent security and safety measures can give way to injuries, criminal acts and violent attacks.
Always contact your South Florida Attorney to know your rights should you decide to file claim.

A local newspaper in Broward County, Florida recently published several user submitted stories focusing on the dangers of texting while driving an automobile. The commentaries included real life car accident scenarios involving automobile accidents in where one of the drivers was texting. In one case, a young teen driver was texting while driving her car and she veered off of the road while attempting to read a text and crashed head-on into a parked car.

One of the commentators cited a recent study by the Department of Transportation (DOT) that compiled statistics on the use of cell phones and texting while driving. According to the commentator, the DOT study found that the leading cause of distracted driver traffic crashes in South Florida, as well as across the country, was texting.

According to the study, 80% of car crashes involve driver distraction; and, texting is the number one thing that distracts motorists' attention. The study found that manual manipulation of phones, such as dialing and texting, led to a substantial increase in the risk of being involved in a car crash, truck crash or near crash event. An automobile driver dialing a cell phone was 2.8 times more likely to be involved in a car crash (or near crash) than a non-distracted driver.

These commentaries highlight what Ft. Lauderdale personal injury lawyers have known for some time, namely that distracted driving causes car accidents in Broward. Most accident attorneys in Broward have been aggressively focusing on distracted conduct like cell phone use and texting to prosecute negligence claims against distracted drivers, whose conduct causes injury or death. Most car accident lawyers will try to determine cause, through the discovery process, to find if the defendant driver was engaging in any type of distracted driving prior to a car accident.

Always contact an experienced Personal Injury Attorney and seek legal consultation should you be a victim of a car accident to know your rights.