South Florida Injury Attorney Blog

The Miami Herald reported an auto accident with an unusual twist: The accident spilled pesticides and rat poison all over the highway. The vehicle involved was a pickup truck, which rolled over for reasons not specified by the newspaper. The spill closed westbound lanes of Interstate 595 for an hour while workers cleaned it up. Fortunately, the man’s injuries were not life-threatening.

Those of us who live in South Florida have another reason to be thankful: The spill didn’t do any lasting damage to the environment or the roads we use every day. Under different circumstances, a spill of a toxic material like rat poison could become a major disaster. Toxic spills aren’t just harder to clean up; they’re also dangerous for everyone in the area, regardless of involvement with the accident. A spill involving the local water supply could make drinking water and farmland unsafe for weeks or longer, not to mention the effects on wildlife. Statistics on toxic spills are difficult to track down, but according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, about 11% of accidents with large commercial trucks -- semis, tractor-trailers or 18-wheelers -- involve a spilled load of any kind.

It’s also worth noting that a rollover accident is surprisingly common for pickup trucks like this one. By now, most people know that SUVs are unusually likely to be involved in a rollover accident, even during normal driving. What you may not know is that pickups are right behind them in the rollover rankings, representing 27.8% of all fatal rollovers in 2006. (SUVs represented 35.1%.) Both are part of a category of vehicles the federal government calls “light trucks.” Rollovers are so feared because they expose drivers and passengers to very serious risks. In a rollover, vehicle occupants are thrown around the inside of the cabin, exposing them to brain and spinal injuries from the impacts, as well as puncture wounds from deformed or broken metal and glass. If they are not wearing seat belts, they may also be thrown from the vehicle, causing death or very serious injuries.

Traffic accidents are so common that many of us have forgotten just how dangerous they can be. Unfortunately, a car crash can be a life-changing event, killing its victims or causing brain damage, spinal injuries and other injuries that lead to permanent disability. If the accident was caused by another person’s careless behavior, victims have the right to hold that person legally responsible with a Florida auto accident lawsuit. The Pembroke Pines law firm of Cohn, Smith & Cohn has substantial experience with these claims, including claims for serious medical conditions. If you’d like to speak with us to learn more about your injuries and your legal rights, please contact us today to set up a free consultation.

Posted by Cohn, Smith & Cohn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: automobile accidents , large truck accidents

Bookmark:

Accidents with two different large commercial trucks took the life of a Merritt Island man in early November. According to a story in the Daytona Beach News-Journal, the man had a non-fatal accident with a tractor-trailer truck on Interstate 95 around 5:20 a.m. He stopped his truck in the highway's inside lane and got out, but was then hit by a second semi. The first truck left the scene; the Florida Highway Patrol is looking for its driver.

I am sorry to say that this sort of accident happens more often than you might think. If you're in a minor accident, your first instinct might well be to pull over onto the shoulder of the road, or the emergency lane or breakdown lane in the center, if it's closer. That's certainly safer than staying in the middle of traffic, but far too many drivers don't look for pedestrians or stopped cars in those lanes. In fact, some illegally use the shoulder to pass stopped traffic, not realizing that the reason for the stopped traffic might be an accident moving to the shoulder. The result is that some accident victims quickly become victims a second time. And if they're on foot, as this man was, death is a serious possibility.

Statistics on accidents just in emergency lanes are hard to find, but the Florida Highway Patrol has reported that 1,793 state emergency vehicles were hit by other vehicles over a five-year period, causing five deaths. That number was part of the Move Over Florida campaign, which tried to raise awareness of the importance of following the Florida Move Over Act. That law requires motorists to either change lanes or slow down when approaching stopped emergency vehicles, law enforcement or construction workers. It's more than six years old now, but Floridians still don't follow it as well as we should, for either public servants or our neighbors.

Truck accidents are so frequently terrible and traumatic because trucks are so much larger than other vehicles. Pitted against the weight and force of an 18-wheeler, a passenger car or pickup truck will almost always be crushed; someone on foot doesn't stand a chance. And because trucking companies expect to be involved in accidents, they move very quickly after a crash to limit their legal responsibilities to victims. In that situation, hiring an attorney simply evens the playing field. If you or someone you love was killed or seriously hurt in a Florida trucking accident, and you’d like to learn more about your legal rights, please contact me at Cohn, Smith & Cohn for a free consultation.

Posted by Cohn, Smith & Cohn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: large truck accidents

Bookmark:

A woman died in North Florida recently after she was struck by a set of tires that separated from a passing tractor-trailer truck. According to the Panama City News-Herald, the victim, a visitor to Florida, was walking at a rest stop on Interstate 10. As the truck passed, its left rear tires separated from the axle and bounced into her, killing her instantly. The report said the accident is under investigation.

News reports elsewhere have called this a "freak" accident, presumably meaning it was very improbable. But as a Florida trucking accident lawyer, I wonder if it was. Most drivers don't realize this, but equipment failure is a key cause of accidents with semis, tractor-trailers, 18-wheelers and other large commercial trucks. According to a 2007 study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, vehicle-related factors were the critical reason for 10% of all large truck accidents in the study. Brake problems were the most frequently cited associated factor, showing up in 29% of the cases, with tire problems (6%) and cargo shifts (4%) also frequently cited.

There are many reasons why trucks and equipment might fail. Some are inherent flaws in the equipment itself, meaning that it was always defective, either by design or manufacture. Others are ultimately caused by poor maintenance. Federal laws require that trucking companies and independent truckers inspect their trucks every day and meet certain safety standards. But that's expensive and time-consuming, and some businesses would rather make a little extra money than take the time to ensure that their equipment is safe, even when their own trucks and cargo are at risk. A National Transportation Safety Board study in 2005 removed a full 46% of randomly inspected trucks from the road because of brake problems alone.

Each time a trucking company or trucker fails to meet these maintenance obligations -- or knowingly drives with unsafe trucks or equipment -- all of the drivers around that truck are at risk of a very serious accident. Accidents between cars and large trucks frequently cause wrongful deaths, permanent brain damage or other very serious injuries. If the accident is caused by the careless behavior of the trucking company or its driver, the victims have the right to hold them legally and financially responsible for the results. If you or someone you care about is a victim, Cohn, Smith & Cohn would like to help. To talk with an experienced Florida attorney about your options and your rights, please contact us today for a free evaluation of your case.

Posted by Cohn, Smith & Cohn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: large truck accidents , pedestrian accidents

Bookmark:

Interstate 95 through South Florida was partially shut down twice in two weeks in late September because of serious accidents involving large trucks. In fact, the first of the crashes attracted national attention because it caused one of the trucks to lose its unusual cargo -- a load of more than $180,000 worth of nickels headed to a federal building in Miami.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the truck carrying the nickels rear-ended another semi early in the morning, sending the front truck into the guardrail and overturning the rear truck. Four tons of coins spilled across the highway, prompting officials to close the highway both for safety reasons and to allow several federal agencies to pick up the money. The crash killed a man sleeping in the back of the rear truck and injured both drivers.

Just a week later, I-95 was closed in both directions after a series of three trucking accidents happened near the Indian River-Brevard County line. Florida Today reports that a southbound semi truck struck a guardrail and overturned onto a median at about 2:30 p.m. A few minutes later, a northbound tractor-trailer jackknifed in the northbound lanes, closing that side of the road as well. And a fire truck crashed on the way to the scene. Thankfully, no one was injured, although the tractor-trailer's driver was charged with careless driving.

As a Florida large truck accident lawyer, I am grateful that these accidents were not much worse. You are probably already aware of the dangers of accidents with Mack trucks or 18-wheelers, whose much larger weight can be deadly in an accident with a passenger car or truck. And the spilling of nickels might sound like a funny story, but if it had happened during rush hour, those four tons of coins could have caused some very serious accidents. In addition to the truck accident itself, any loss of a load adds more potential hazards to the road. Imagine reacting at highway speeds to a load of nickels, logs or boxes of consumer products that comes flying at you without warning.

And of course, unattended money could have attracted pedestrians to the highway, which is just unsafe for everyone involved. I am sure that was part of the reason authorities closed the highway for so long, and even though it was an inconvenience to many Florida motorists, I believe it was the right thing to do. Automobile accidents are very serious, causing irreversible injuries like brain damage, paralysis and amputations. We should do everything we can to prevent them -- and those who become victims anyway are entitled to collect compensation when they are hurt by another driver's carelessness. If you or someone you love is in this position, please contact my firm, Cohn, Smith & Cohn, for a free consultation on your case.

Posted by Cohn, Smith & Cohn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: large truck accidents

Bookmark:

The news from our Central Florida neighbors has focused recently on a terrible Florida trucking accident that happened between a semi truck and a school bus on September 23. The truck rear-ended the school bus in Citra, near Ocala, causing both vehicles to burst into flames. The accident killed a 13-year-old girl, a middle school student on the bus. Nine other students were injured, along with the bus driver and the driver of the truck.

Importantly, the Florida Highway Patrol believes the truck driver was using a cell phone right before the accident. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the driver told the FHP he was using the phone on the day of the accident, but refused to say exactly when. Authorities told the paper that the driver will be charged with reckless driving, at a minimum, depending on whether their investigation turns up new information.

Banning the use of cell phones while driving isn't popular with everyone; only a handful of states require drivers to use hands-free headsets on the phone. But as the article notes, this accident serve as a wake-up call for Florida drivers who continue using their phones on the road. As a Florida auto accident lawyer, I see plenty of accidents that were caused by distracted driving -- using a cell phone, eating, rubbernecking and other activities that take the driver's eyes off the road. In fact, a 2006 study by the AAA and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that distractions made a driver almost three times more likely to be in an accident. Phones, drowsiness, reading and eating were the most common distractions the study found.

The Governor of California signed a law banning text messages for drivers of any age in the same week that the accident occurred. California had already banned talking on the phone while driving. Those laws may be a tough sell in freedom-loving Florida, but I believe they would make our roads safer. A serious traffic accident is a life-changing event that causes death or very serious injuries, and we should do all we can to prevent them. But if you or someone you care about has already become a victim of a serious traffic crash, you should speak to us at Cohn, Smith & Cohn to discuss your rights as an accident victim and the legal options open to you. You can reach our main office at (954) 431-8100 or click here to fill out our confidential online case evaluation form.

Posted by Cohn, Smith & Cohn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: injuries to minors , large truck accidents , wrongful death

Bookmark:

The three adult children of a woman killed by a truck's improperly secured cargo won $1.7 million recently in a wrongful death lawsuit, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. Claudia Avila was a passenger in a car traveling on Interstate 95 more than four years ago when a flatbed truck carrying a load of metal plates lost part of its cargo, sending a 34-pound metal plate crashing through the windshield in front of Avila. She was on life support with severe head injuries for more than a month before her death.

Despite the severity of the accident, the truck carrying the metal plates apparently did not stop; it took investigative work by the family's lawyer to uncover the names of the companies involved in the accident. The trucking company and the scrap metal company it delivered its cargo to settled with the family, but the manufacturer of the metal plates opted for a trial, where it was found liable for improperly securing the plates and hit with a $1.7 million judgment.

Florida wrongful death lawsuits are always hard. There is no doubt in my mind that Avila's children would rather have their mother back than this money. But because they cannot, I am glad to see that they and their lawyer have managed to track down the people at fault and hold them legally responsible for this accident. A wrongful death lawsuit can help them in small ways, by paying them back for the costs of the accident, including the costs of intensive care and a month of life support. It can also compensate them for the incalculable loss of their mother's love, support and advice.

And, I hope, it may even prevent future accidents by bringing home the importance of safety to those who carry heavy loads up and down our nation's highways every day. Most of us don't think about poorly secured cargo when we think of Florida trucking accidents, but loads that shift or drop off in transit can cause deadly accidents just like this one.

If you or someone you love has been wrongfully killed in an accident in Florida, contact Cohn, Smith & Cohn today for a free consultation about your case and your rights.

Posted by Cohn, Smith & Cohn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: automobile accidents , large truck accidents , wrongful death

Bookmark:

A diesel delivery truck stopped traffic on Interstate 95 recently when it jackknifed and spilled diesel on the road. As the Sun-Sentinel reported, the westbound exit onto Oakland Park Boulevard was closed for a morning while crews cleaned up the spilled diesel. Luckily, no injuries were reported.

Most of us don’t think of cargo spills when we think of accidents with large trucks (also known as tractor-trailers, Mack trucks or 18-wheelers). However, according to a study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the agency responsible for regulating the trucking industry, cargo spills are a full 11% of U.S. trucking accidents. Another FMCSA study found that trucks carrying hazardous materials are far more likely than other trucks to roll over or catch fire.

Unlike a crash that pits a truck against another vehicle, cargo spills don’t just harm one vehicle -- they could endanger all the vehicles that are nearby when the spill happens. And in the case of a volatile and toxic cargo like diesel fuel, they can also endanger the wider community by poisoning the air, water and soil, or causing a fast-burning fuel fire. The best result of this type of accident is a temporary evacuation and cleanup; the worst could be a toxic spill that poisons the innocent people unlucky enough to live nearby.

We were lucky this time to avoid a fire or another serious consequence of this diesel spill. But accidents with large trucks happen frequently in Florida, and unfortunately, some are the fault of trucking companies and truckers more interested in profit than safety. If you believe a trucker’s bad decision seriously injured someone you care about, you have the right to hold him or her responsible for the results with a Florida trucking accident lawsuit. Contact Cohn, Smith & Cohn for a free consultation on your case and your rights.

Posted by Cohn, Smith & Cohn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: large truck accidents

Bookmark:

The Sun-Sentinel recently reported a tragic accident that killed a Hollywood man. Jose Barros died on U.S. 27 when he didn’t stop his pickup truck soon enough to accommodate the Mack truck ahead of him, which was slowing in order to pull over. Barros was also not wearing his seat belt during the rear-end accident. Our sympathies go out to his family and to the driver of the Mack truck.

As an experienced South Florida auto accident lawyer, what strikes me the most about this story is the difference in size between the two vehicles involved. A Ford F-150 like the one Barros was driving is a big truck -- but a Mack truck is far bigger. A 2008 Ford F-150 weighs about 5,500 pounds, but the weights of large commercial trucks start at 10,000 pounds and go up from there. A Mack truck’s bumper is also generally much higher than that of a passenger vehicle. Automotive safety experts call this “vehicle mismatch,” and it’s a serious problem.

In an accident, weight translates to physical force -- which means a much greater weight produces a much greater force, crushing the smaller vehicle. Meanwhile, the higher bumper of a large truck is placed too high for the smaller vehicle’s bumper to absorb the shock; instead, it’s likely to be right at the level of vehicle occupants’ heads and necks. This means vehicle mismatch poses a serious threat to people in smaller vehicles -- and almost everyone on the road is smaller than a large truck.

Truck drivers must have special commercial licenses, so they’re generally good drivers, but the exceptions can be deadly. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2006, people outside of the truck were a staggering 83% of the fatalities in all fatal large truck crashes. When victims live, they often have catastrophic injuries like brain damage, severe burns and paralysis.

The article didn’t report how fast Barros was driving or why the Mack truck pulled over, so it would be inappropriate to assign blame for this accident. But when truck drivers and trucking companies kill or seriously injure people with carelessness and safety violations, they should be held legally liable for the harm they cause. A Florida trucking accident lawsuit can help victims recover the money they need to cover medical costs, funeral bills and other costs of the accident, make ends meet and more. If someone you love has been victimized, contact Cohn, Smith & Cohn today for a free consultation.

Posted by Cohn, Smith & Cohn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: automobile accidents , large truck accidents

Bookmark: