Le Canne was on an early-morning ride along the causeway when he was hit from behind by a Volkswagen Jetta. The Jetta was driven by Carlos Bertonatti, 28, a pop musician with a history of traffic citations. Bertonatti allegedly failed to stop after hitting Le Canne, instead driving off with the bicycle under his front wheels. He faces multiple felony charges related to the accident, including DUI manslaughter. Witnesses said it took 15 to 20 minutes for emergency personnel to respond to the accident, but by the time they arrived, it was too late. This was blamed in part on reduced operating hours in the closest Miami-Dade firehouse, but also on the operator’s failure to call Key Biscayne or Miami firehouses. Other reforms on the bicyclists’ agenda include closing this gap in fire-rescue coverage.

As a Coconut Creek bike accident lawyer, I’m pleased that the cycling community is turning this accident into a call to make the roads safer. But for Le Canne and his family, it’s too late. Our society penalizes drunk driving harshly because it’s very dangerous, accounting for about a third of all fatal car accidents. If it’s proven that Bertonatti was intoxicated, he will instantly be assigned fault for the crash. And that will have important implications if the family chooses to pursue a lawsuit against him. If a blood test or a criminal conviction makes it clear that Bertonatti was too intoxicated to drive, he will certainly be liable for all of the physical and emotional damage the crash caused.

If you or someone you love was hurt on a bicycle in South Florida, you should call us right away to learn more about your rights. To set up a free, confidential consultation, please contact us online or call (954) 431-8100 today.

According to the lawsuit, Henry had been bringing her daughter to the center for 11 months before the Jan. 6 incident. As was usual, she arrived at the center between 7:30 and 8 p.m., after work, to pick up Inari. However, the center was closed. Henry tried repeatedly to call center employees or its director, her lawsuit claims, but had no success. Panicking and feeling contractions, she called the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. Officers managed to reach an employee, who said it was possible that employees had forgotten Inari. Knowing that temperatures were likely to dip into the 40s that evening, police decided to break through a glass door out of concern for Inari’s safety. They found the girl in the dark, cold, wet and crying, but unharmed. It was not reported whether Henry ended up delivering her child.

As a North Miami injuries to minors attorney, I am interested in this article in part because the reported facts so clearly point to liability by the center. In many cases involving injuries to children and teenagers, an injury lawsuit follows a criminal prosecution by the local State’s Attorney. But in this case, there may not actually be a criminal statute that applies -- that is, the center and its employees may not be guilty of any crime. (They may still have violated administrative rules and face professional consequences, like the loss of a license.) Of course, plaintiffs are free to bring legal claims even in cases where there is a criminal prosecution as well. But when prosecutors cannot or will not bring criminal charges, families may have no access to justice whatsoever unless they choose to pursue a civil claim like Henry’s.

If your child has suffered a severe injury because of someone else’s carelessness, Cohn, Smith & Cohn can help. To set up a free confidential evaluation of your case, please contact us through the Internet or call our main office in Broward County at (954) 431-8100.

According to the article, Dillon and Centrangolo were headed north on U.S. 19 when Terrero ran a stop sign on a side street. Dillon tried to avoid a crash by changing lanes, but Terrero’s turn was wide and Dillon rear-ended her SUV. It wasn’t immediately clear why Terrero was called a “fugitive from justice” in the warrant; reports from the time show that she did not hit and run. She was a resident of Hudson at the time, but apparently moved to New York during the investigation. However, state records show that she had five speeding tickets, several license suspensions and three charges of leaving the scene of a 2006 accident during her Florida residency. Her license was not suspended at the time of the arrest.

As a motorcycle crash attorney in Davie, I’m pleased to see that justice is being done for Centrangolo and Dillon. In reports from the time, the Florida Highway Patrol said charges were pending the outcome of an investigation, so presumably, law enforcement was considering charges from the beginning. In fact, if the FHP always had test results showing Terrero was intoxicated, it’s surprising that it took so long to make the arrest. The article doesn’t say why Terrero might have moved to upstate New York, but if she was trying to avoid an arrest and criminal conviction, the move will almost certainly count against her in the criminal case. It could also weaken her case significantly if Dillon or Centrangolo’s family choose to file a motorcycle accident lawsuit against her.

Cohn, Smith & Cohn offers free, confidential consultations, so there’s no risk in speaking to us about your rights and your case. To set up a meeting or learn more, you can reach us at (954) 431-8100 or contact us through the Internet.

Madge Weaver had used her ResponseLink pendant once before, and the operator that time called 911 for her. But this time, the family’s Central Florida wrongful death attorney said, the ResponseLink operator tried to call Weaver’s home to see if she needed help. Weaver was unable to answer the phone because she had fallen in the shower with her body blocking the drain, and couldn’t reach to turn the water off. Weaver paged the service at least eight times in 10 minutes, but nobody came to rescue her until the operator thought to call Pifer, who lived nearby. Pifer arrived six or seven minutes later and immediately called 911, but it was too late. Weaver died two days later of severe burns. The family’s lawsuit alleges that Weaver would have sustained no serious injuries if the operator had called emergency services right away.

As a Coconut Creek wrongful death lawyer, I am disturbed to read that this emergency alert system failed so drastically. People may joke about services like ResponseLink, but they’re valuable tools for older people who want to live independently. In fact, they are designed for exactly this kind of incident -- emergencies in which the victim can’t reach the phone to call for help. ResponseLink and its operator surely must have known that, but by calling Weaver’s home instead of 911, they undermined the point of the system and left a client helpless. As a result, Weaver suffered under a scalding-hot shower for more than 15 minutes and died an avoidable death, with emergency workers just a few minutes away.

Cohn, Smith & Cohn offers free, confidential case evaluations to potential clients, so you risk nothing by speaking to us about your case. To set up a consultation, you can call us at (954) 431-8100 or send us an email.

The Health Department has been investigating the suspected cancer cluster since the summer of 2009 and has not yet concluded that rates of cancer there are unusually high. However, the tests for radon are cheap and easy to conduct, a spokesman said. The county plans to end its interviews with families in the next few weeks, at which time it will start the testing. The results will be presented at a community meeting about the problem in February. Radon gas is a by-product created when the radioactive chemical element radium decays. It is colorless, odorless and tasteless, making it difficult for humans to detect -- but it’s also a known carcinogen. Some Acreage residents believe the radiation could be the result of toxic spills from a nearby plant for rocket developer Pratt & Whitney, which later became a Superfund site.

As a toxic contamination site lawyer in Plantation, I will be very interested in the results of this study. Human beings knew radon caused sickness among miners as early as the sixteenth century, and federal agencies suggest immediate action when radon levels in a home or workplace exceed guidelines. If testing can identify radon as the source of the problem, homeowners can take that action as soon as possible to protect themselves and their families. Testing may also help investigators determine the source of the contamination, an extremely important issue for residents who are considering legal action. If radioactive contamination from the Pratt & Whitney plant is the problem, that company, real estate developers for The Acreage and government agencies may all be held legally liable for failing to warn residents about the risk of radioactive exposure.

If you believe you’ve suffered an illness or injury because of someone else’s negligence, you should call Cohn, Smith & Cohn to learn more about your legal options. To set up a free evaluation of your case, please send us a message online or call (954) 431-8100 today.

The systems are the result of collaboration between major computer manufacturers and automakers, and were displayed with pride at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Spokespeople for the companies say consumers want these features, especially busy consumers looking to get business done in the car. But safety and technology experts believe the dashboard-mounted screens run contrary to growing awareness of the dangers of distracted driving. A researcher at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute said there’s already evidence that looking at a screen while driving raises the risk of a crash. That risk goes up exponentially the longer the driver looks away from the road. A professor at MIT went further, saying “[I]t is a continuation of the pursuit of profit over safety — for both drivers and pedestrians.”

I would like to believe that drivers can make safe decisions even with these options -- but as a Davie auto accident lawyer, I’ve seen far too much evidence to the contrary. Auto accidents were a leading cause of death and brain injuries even before cell phones were widely available. Unfortunately, far too many people simply don’t take their responsibilities behind the wheel seriously -- at least until they’re involved in a crash. At that point, it may be too late to prevent deaths or catastrophic injuries, both to the driver and to the other motorists and pedestrians who happen to be nearby. Because car crashes can be so serious, I believe it’s appropriate to do rigorous testing to determine whether in-car computers can be used safely. If they cannot, automakers should consider disabling distracting features while the car is on the road, and governments should consider aggressive anti-distraction laws and enforcement.

If your family has been affected by a car crash that was no fault of your own, you should call Cohn, Smith & Cohn for help. To set up a free consultation on your case and your rights, please contact us through our Web site or call our main office in Hollywood at (954) 431-8100 today.

The “stand your ground” law extends the “castle doctrine” found in many states, which permits homeowners to use deadly force against an intruder. In Florida, this right extends to public places if the shooter is attacked and reasonably believes deadly force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily injury. Lake County prosecutors are still deciding whether this applies to Hilson’s shooting. Conrad told police he was awakened by the sound of his own truck’s horn. After two warning shots, someone inside the truck got out. Despite warnings from Conrad to stop or he’d shoot, the person walked toward Conrad, who shot again. The person was Hilson, who was dead before EMTs called by Conrad’s relatives arrived. Hilson had no criminal record but one DUI, but he was described as a severe alcoholic going through personal turmoil at the time. His parents believe he was trying to visit another neighbor where he sometimes stayed.

The State’s Attorney’s office is likely still considering whether to file charges because the circumstances do not fall neatly into those described by the law. As a Pompano Beach wrongful death attorney, I understand how frustrating that must be for Hilson’s parents as well as for Conrad. However, this case is a good reminder that even when state officials do not file criminal charges in connection with a death, victims’ families still have the right to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit. A wrongful death claim cannot put perpetrators in prison, but it can help victims’ families bring those perpetrators to justice. And because these are civil cases, the standard of evidence is slightly lower, allowing families to win a case even when prosecutors believe a criminal case wouldn’t win.

If you’ve lost someone in an accident you believe was caused by someone else’s bad decisions, don’t hesitate to call Cohn, Smith & Cohn for help. To set up a free evaluation of your case, please contact us through the Internet or call (954) 431-8100 today.

There are several aspects of this accident that interest me as an attorney. First and foremost, the rollover aspect of the accident suggests that fundamental structural problems may have led Eugene’s SUV to tip over. SUVs became notorious in the late 1990s and early 2000s for being involved in rollovers at a much greater rate than smaller cars or even pickup trucks. Safety experts blamed this on their high centers of gravity, which made them prone to tip over even during ordinary driving. This is a serious safety problem because rollovers are one of the most dangerous accident types. Because rollovers throw vehicles’ occupants around and out of the vehicles, they substantially raise the likelihood of death, brain damage, spinal injuries or severe burns. This is made worse by the fact that SUVs are exempted from standard passenger-vehicle roof strength standards, making their roofs more likely to crush under the weight of the vehicles.

As a Boynton Beach car crash lawyer, I would also be interested in what happened to create the obstacle in the road in the first place. Driving with an improperly secured load is illegal in Florida. More importantly, if the driver responsible for securing the load realized the problem and drove on the highway anyway, he or she could be held legally responsible for this crash in any lawsuit the victims choose to file. This is not to say that Mintz, or Eugene himself, may not also be held partly responsible for the crash in the FHP’s report. If they are, the jury in any lawsuit filed would have to divide up responsibility between all of the parties involved. This would diminish, but by no means eliminate, the compensation available to Mintz or to Eugene’s family.

Cohn, Smith & Cohn offers free, confidential consultations, so there’s no risk in speaking to us about your options and your case. To learn more and have your case evaluated for free by an experienced attorney, please send a message through our Web site or call our main office at (954) 431-8100 today.

The article notes that Brewer underwent three skin-graft surgeries to replace skin destroyed by the burn. This typically means the patient needs blood transfusions, and an uninvolved doctor told the newspaper that blood transfusions can weaken patients’ immune systems. This leaves patients more vulnerable to infections, including potentially serious infections like pneumonia. Patients could be even more vulnerable if they had a preexisting medical condition that weakened their immune systems, such as diabetes, or failed to follow doctors’ orders. And one of Brewer’s doctors had already said that respiratory failure was a possibility with burns this severe. Burns over more than a small patch of skin can cause these complications because the skin protects our bodies from infection and regulates hydration. Losing it can be life-threatening.

Believe it or not, this frightening list of complications is only the beginning for many of the patients I see as a Sunrise severe burn lawyer. After the initial danger is past, patients with extreme burns still require months of follow-up care to prevent infections, repair as much damage as possible and promote healing. In many cases, they will also need future care aimed at preventing their skin from scarring in a way that limits their mobility and disables or disfigures them. Even when this is medically successful, it can still leave patients with visible scars that change the way others behave around them and make it hard to go into public. And unfortunately, all of this medical care can be very, very expensive, reaching six or seven figures over a lifetime even with insurance.

If your family has suffered a severe burn injury because someone else’s carelessness, you should talk to Cohn, Smith & Cohn right away. To tell us about your case and learn more about how we can help, please contact us through the Internet or call (954) 431-8100 today.

Accidents happen, the article says -- but safety experts say they don’t need to happen as often as they do. According to David Holstein, chief traffic engineer for the state of Ohio, an accident-monitoring system in that state found that crashes increase by as much as 70% in construction zones. With stimulus package money likely to fund many new construction projects, more deaths may be likely in 2010. Transportation officials focus on driver error by raising speeding fines and making “move over” laws. But 85% of deaths in construction zones are driver deaths, the article said, and federal safety officials don’t track whether and how contractors might be to blame.

One example the article gave was an accident that took place on I-75 in Sarasota. Zep Construction, the contractor, planned to use a “rolling roadblock” to slow down traffic for work on a bridge just after midnight. However, the roadblock caused traffic to stop completely rather than slow, in an area with a blind spot and a 70-mph speed limit. Drivers Manuel Ramirez and James Brashear came to a stop, but a semi truck behind them couldn’t stop in time. It jackknifed into a line of cars, killing both men and wounding 10 other people. Brashear’s son Tyler, 11 at the time, was physically unhurt but trapped in the crushed vehicle with his father. The article said Zep had followed almost none of the rolling roadblock guidelines provided by the Florida Department of Transportation, but the state still gave the contractor an excellent performance rating. The Brashears have sued Zep.

I am disturbed to read that there are so few regulations on construction zone safety in our state, or across the U.S. According to the NYT, those guidelines that do exist are mostly not mandatory or specific, and states resist changing this because of fear of litigation. Ironically, as a Miami Gardens car crash attorney, I believe states are in a worse position without such rules, because accidents, and thus lawsuits, are more likely when safety is lax. More importantly, failure to make and follow adequate safety rules means more preventable deaths, like those of James Brashear and Manuel Ramirez. No contractor sets out to create deadly accidents, but this article shows that good intentions are not enough. If government agencies and contractors are not willing to set and enforce higher standards, the accidents -- and their legal liability -- are likely to continue.

Cohn, Smith & Cohn offers free, confidential consultations to all potential clients, so you risk nothing by speaking to us about your case and your options. To set one up, please contact us through the Internet or call (954) 431-8100 today.