South Florida Personal Injury Blog

A claim of negligence may be established where the evidence shows that the defendant exceeded the posted speed limit, failed to stop at a stop sign, attempted to pass in a no passing zone, or failed to put out warning flares after his truck became disabled on the highway. Likewise, where the evidence shows that a defendant failed to comply with the Florida traffic laws requiring motor vehicles to have two headlamps and requiring them to be lit during the nighttime, such failure is also prima facie evidence of negligence on the part of the defendant

Note: The trial court should have instructed the jury concerning violations of the Uniform Traffic Control Law where the employer of a motorist who had rear-ended a cab settled the cab passenger's lawsuit on behalf of all defendants and filed an action against the cab company for contribution, during which the cab company requested instructions regarding unlawful speed, special hazards, and careless driving based on evidence given by a witness to the accident.

Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer Practice Guide: A rebuttable presumption of negligence attaches to the driver of the rear vehicle in a rear-end collision case. If the lead vehicle suddenly stops, but the stop happens at a place and time where it was reasonably expected, then the presumption that attaches is not rebutted; however, if the stop by the lead driver is “arbitrary” (i.e., unexpected and sudden), then the presumption is rebutted and the plaintiff is not entitled to a directed verdict.