Fatal Car Accidents in Miami Dade County

The clear majority of car accidents are filed under a theory of negligence.  In a Miami-Dade County car accident where the victim is killed as opposed to being seriously injured, the actual cause of action will be a wrongful death case, but it will still be filed under a theory of negligence.

However, one thing to keep in mind is that the statute of limitations is not the same in wrongful death cases as it is in a car accident lawsuit, even if the underlying tort that resulted in the death was a car accident. While this may seem confusing, if we look at Florida Statute 95.11, we see that the statute of limitations for a personal injury case is four years, as that is an action founded on negligence.  This includes car accident lawsuits. However, as Miami Dade car accident lawyers can explain, a wrongful death action has a statute of limitations of two years. This means that if a car accident results in death, and plaintiff desires to file the case as a wrongful death cause of action, it would need to be filed within two years.  This does not mean it can’t be filed more than two years after the date of death, but it would mean that plaintiff could only file a standard negligence case.

A recent news article form the Miami Herald discusses a car accident that resulted in the death of one Deerfield Beach football player, and another football is in the hospital fighting for his life. Authorities have said the two teens were in the front seat of a new Corvette Stingray that one of the teen’s mothers had rented for them to drive on prom night.  While they were driving, one of the teens lost control of the vehicle, and it resulted in the fatal car accident.

The car was totaled, and, when first responders arrive at the scene, they found both teens had been thrown from the vehicle.  The victim who was killed in the crash had just qualified to receive scholarship offers from schools where he was planning to play football.  The other victim who ended up in critical condition is a year younger than his friend who was killed and was hoping to speak with colleges about football scholarships starting next season.

He suffered a head injury that resulted in swelling of his brain.  While this may be a concussion or other type of traumatic brain injury (TBI), doctors cannot be sure until after they can control the swelling and see if there is any remaining damage on future brain imaging.

He is currently being sedated, which is not quite the same as a medically induced coma, but is often necessary to allow for the maximum amount of recovery following a traumatic brain injury.

It should be noted that there have been no formal accusations of negligence against the driver who was killed in this tragic Miami Dade car accident as of the time of this article.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Deerfield Beach football player dead, another clinging to life after car accident on prom night, May 30, 2017, By Manny Navarro, Miami Herald

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FHP Launches Program to Help Solve Hit-and-Run Crash Cases, April 3, 2017, Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Blog