South Florida Personal Injury Blog

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts studies and reports on auto accidents and applicable laws in U.S. states. A recent report released by the organization calls on states to raise the legal driving from age 16 to 17. The study revealed that teenagers who receive new licenses at the ages of 17 or 18 are less likely to have accidents than 16-year-olds with new licenses.

The number of crashes suffered by 16-year-old drivers is ten times higher than the number of crashes experienced by drivers between the ages of 30 and 59. More than 5,000 teenagers die in car accidents annually in the United States. In Florida, car accidents are believed to be the leading cause of teen deaths. According to the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles, drivers between the ages of 15 and 19 have the highest rate of crashes and the highest number of driver fatalities.

Some Florida driving school instructors believe that teenagers are in more accidents simply due to their lack of experience, while the IIHS sites the lower number of accidents among teens in the state of New Jersey, which is the only state in the U.S. that has raised the legal driving age to 17.

The highest number of accidents in Florida, however, involves drivers who are 18 or 19 years old. The IIHS believes this is because of the state’s graduated licensing system, which restricts the number of hours younger drivers can be on the road. As a result, drivers who are 16 or 17 are often driving with their parents. Teen auto accidents in Florida were reduced by 23 percent when graduated licensing began in 1996.

Nevertheless, the IIHS believes that car accidents in Florida could be further reduced if a law which increased the driving age to 17 was combined with the extra safety provisions in place regarding learner’s permits, restricted driving hours, and the necessity of 50 hours of experience driving with an adult before a driver’s license is granted.

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TRENTON – A wildfire between Trenton and Bell caused smoke conditions which led to several car accidents Friday, October 17. The smoke, coupled with fog, made it necessary to close area roads last weekend due to zero visibility.

One of the accidents involved David Turner, a Gilchrist County Sheriff, who had never had an accident in his 33 years with the Sheriff’s office. His record was shattered when he was rear-ended by another vehicle despite the fact that the roads had been closed. A woman apparently pulled onto the road from a side road and did not see Turner’s car. Turner will be eligible to retire from the Sheriff’s office in just 78 days.

Fire departments, emergency crews, and highway patrol personnel remained in the area to detour traffic and attend to those who were involved in the accidents. No names or details of those crashes have as yet been released. A man reported that he believed his wife’s car had broken down in the area, and police searched for her on Friday. The results of that search are unknown.

An official from the Florida Division of Forestry said that firefighters had been attempting to put out the blaze since Sunday, October 12. It is believed that the fire began in a bay as a result of lightning and spread over a 100-acre area south of County Road 232 and east of US 129. While the area can only be reached via logging trails, the smoke, combined with the fog that is common this time of year, quickly created poor visibility on the nearby roads.

Personal injuries due to automobile accidents are among the practice areas represented by Alitowski & Moore, P.A. If you have been injured in an accident, contact a Broward County/Dade County/Palm Beach Injury Attorney/Lawyer, and find out if you could be eligible to receive monetary damages. Offices are located in Broward County, Miami Dade, and Palm Beach.

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LAKE WORTH – Five were killed and three were injured in a car accident on Florida’s Turnpike near the Lake Worth service plaza just south of Southern Boulevard on Friday, October 17 around 11:30 p.m. The single vehicle accident was the result of a rear tire which blew, causing the driver, Moline Etienne, 23, to lose control of the 2000 Ford Expedition. The SUV flipped over and stopped in an upside down position in a deep canal.

The deceased include three children – Natayel Meyer, 10, Malesha Louis, 5, and Roodandray Louis, 3. The driver, Etienne, and another passenger, Shelley Peters, 30, were the other two killed in the accident. None of the children were in safety seats, and not all passengers were wearing seat belts. Roodandray’s body wasn’t found until the next morning by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue firefighters and divers who searched the canal and shoulder of the road as long as possible before suspending the search until morning.

The remaining three passengers were taken to Delray Medical Center for treatment. Gina Merceron, 41, the car’s owner and a certified nursing assistant, was treated for a minor eye injury and released the next day. Shadrack Gustave, 6, is said to be in serious condition, while Enichka Maurice, 15, is in satisfactory condition.

The group began in Orlando and was on their way to Fort Lauderdale.

Some lawsuits have been filed against Ford Motors, blaming the design of the 2000 Ford Expedition for rollover accidents. The arguments have pointed to the top-heavy design, as well as insufficient door latches and safety glass. Neither the vehicle nor the tire is under recall, however.

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When an accident occurs, the injuries are usually turned into dollar figures. These dollar amounts are called “monetary damages” or “compensatory damages.” Determining the amount of the damages for doctor and hospital charges, car repair or replacement, and the fees charged by attorneys is easy. These are called “Economic Damages” (sometimes also called “Pecuniary Damages”) because they reimburse the injured party for “out of pocket” expenses incurred as a result of the accident. Lost income is also often included in Economic Damages when the person suffering the injuries must miss work.

But damages are also often awarded for “pain and suffering,” which is not so cut and dry. These damages are called “Non-Economic Damages” (sometimes also called “Non-Pecuniary Damages”). It can be difficult to apply a dollar figure to pain or to suffering, so this is where your personal injury attorney comes in. It’s the job of your lawyer to convince the responsible party’s lawyer that you deserve a certain amount of money for your pain and suffering. Much will be made of the severity of your injuries and how long they have caused or will cause you pain. If the injury results in any kind of permanent disability, the amount of money awarded for pain and suffering will be greater.

Non-Economic Damages for pain and suffering may also include something called “loss of consortium.” This means that the spouse of the injured party is also entitled to compensation if the person injured has been unable to participate in the marriage sexually or otherwise as a result of the accident.

These are not the only kinds of damages, though. If you’re in an auto accident, you may also receive “Punitive Damages,” which are allowed in Florida. These kinds of damages apply if the responsible party was very reckless in causing the accident. It may take an excellent personal injury lawyer to prove that the responsible party was truly reckless and negligent in the accident.

This is why it’s important to choose an experienced attorney to help you get the best possible settlement in your car accident case.

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If you are injured in an accident – whether it’s a car accident, on the job, or elsewhere – you may be entitled to money from the person or people responsible for the accident. This money is typically called “damages,” and the amount you request is called your “claim.”

Your personal injury lawyer will talk to you about a settlement, which is the amount of money you receive from the responsible person or people. After you have agreed to a settlement amount, you let the responsible parties off the hook for the accident and agree to never ask for more money from them. In order to start a case against the responsible parties, you must file a lawsuit against them with the local court in which you are the plaintiff, and they are the defendants.

As the plaintiff, it’s up to you and your attorney to prove that the defendants were responsible for your personal injuries. This proof will determine the amount of monetary damages that you receive. This is true whether or not you end up in court. The better you can prove that the defendants were responsible for your injuries, the less likely you will have to go to court at all.

Your personal injury lawyer will always try to avoid going to court because it is much less expensive. Instead, he or she will attempt to negotiate a settlement with the defendants or the defendants’ lawyer for your monetary damages. Usually, these negotiations are done with the lawyer for the defendants’ insurance company. This is especially true in automobile accidents where auto insurance companies are involved.

If the defendants’ lawyer refuses to pay you monetary damages in an amount that you and your lawyer believe is high enough, you may decide to go to court. Then, a judge or a jury will decide who is at fault for the accident and how much money, if any, you are entitled to receive. This happens most often when fault is not clear-cut. Sometimes, the defendants’ attorney may claim that you or someone else was partially at fault for the accident. There may be more than two parties, such as in a crash involving three or more cars. In a case like this, a judge or jury may be required to decide where the fault lies and how much money is appropriate for each person who suffered injuries.

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CHARLOTTE COUNTY, FLORIDA – An officer suffered serious personal injuries at about 12:30 a.m. on Monday, October 13 in a hit and run automobile accident that occurred on I-75 at mile marker 166 on the Peace River Bridge in Charlotte County.

Officer James Perrine, 24, of North Port and Lt. John Churilla, 50, stopped to assist Gerald Guadlap, who had lost control of his 2006 Mitsubishi sedan in a northbound lane and run into a guard rail on the bridge. Florida Highway Patrol has concluded that Guadlap was not drinking at the time of the accident.

The officers were off-duty at the time and on their way home from work at the Charlotte Correctional Institution. Before there was time to move the car out of the lane of traffic, a pick-up truck hit the car and then Officer Perrine. The driver did not stop, and officials are now seeking witnesses who might have seen the vehicle. The pick-up truck is believed to be a Chevrolet model, dark in color, and with new front-end damage from the collision.

Gerald Guadlap, Jr., 34, of Cape Coral, was treated at Charlotte Regional Hospital for minor injuries and released. Damages to Guadlap’s car from the two crashes have been estimated at $8,000.

Officer Perrine suffered numerous broken bones and was air-lifted to Lee Memorial Hospital, where he remains in serious condition. Perrine only became a certified officer in March of this year.

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If you’re in an accident, you may hear the word “tort.” No, it isn’t a dessert. It’s a legal term for a harmful or negligent act. Florida tort law basically says that if someone causes you injury, you should receive monetary compensation for those injuries.

A tort is not a crime. Someone can cause an injury to someone else without breaking the law, but sometimes a tort does indeed involve a crime. If someone runs a red light, for example, that’s against the law. That person may receive a ticket from a police officer, but if running the red light also causes an accident, the crime is a tort as well.

The “tortfeasor” is the legal term for the person who causes the injury, and the injured party has a right to sue the tortfeasor for compensation, also called “damages.” These damages may involve bodily injury and/or injury to property.

In most automobile accidents, the torts are called “negligent,” which means that the tortfeasor failed to be careful enough to prevent the injury from occurring. Sometimes, a court is required to determine if someone was truly negligent and if their actions really caused the injuries in question. Even if someone is injured, the court may find that the tortfeasor took reasonable precautions to prevent the accident. In this case, the alleged tortfeasor may not have to pay for the injured person’s damages. This is why a personal injury lawyer is important – to help you prove that the tortfeasor is responsible for your injuries. Usually, attorneys can obtain settlement funds for their clients without going to court because court nearly always takes longer and is more expensive.

“Proximate cause” is another term that people see in personal injury cases. It means that the tortfeasor’s actions were a direct cause of the injuries. A court may find that the alleged tortfeasor did not directly cause the injuries and is, therefore, not responsible for paying for the damages. In other cases, it may be found that both the tortfeasor and the injured party are responsible for the accident. This means that they may have to share the cost of the injuries. The court may assign a certain percentage of the blame to each individual.

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CITRA, FLORIDA – A fatal accident Tuesday, September 23 involving a tractor-trailer and a school bus resulted in the death of 13-year old student, Frances Margay Schee. The accident occurred on U.S. Highway 301 in Marion County when the truck rear-ended the school bus, causing both vehicles to catch fire. Six students were injured, but none with life-threatening injuries. Both drivers were also treated for minor injuries at nearby hospitals.

According to Jim Yancey, the Marion County Superintendent of Schools, witnesses to the accident rescued children from the burning bus, which was carrying 20 passengers at the time of the accident. The deceased was a student at North Marion Middle School, and all of the surviving children have been accounted for.

The Florida Highway Patrol says that the investigation into the collision could take as much as 30 days to complete. According to FHP spokesman Lt. Patrick Riordan, the investigation will include interviews, photographs and measurements from the accident scene, and blood samples from the drivers, as well as an examination of the truck operator’s driving record. The 18-wheeler carries the emblem of CSX, a company based in Jacksonville.

Assistant State Attorney Rock Hooker has discussed the accident with the FHP officials who are conducting the investigation and was set to meet with them on Friday, September 26.

A preliminary report states that the driver of the truck, Reinaldo A. Gonzalez, 30, of Orlando, was talking on a cellular phone prior to the crash. The report also mentions potential problems with the truck’s air brakes. No charges have as yet been filed, however.

Continue reading " Truck-Bus Accident on Highway 301 Results in Injuries, One Death " »

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