Articles Posted in Car Accidents

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When entering into a car accident settlement, crash victims must make sure the language of the agreement is carefully reviewed. Some agreements contain provisions that release not only the person or entity involved, but also all future defendants, even if those have not yet been identified. caraccident7

Make sure to ask the personal injury lawyer negotiating your settlement about this possibility, and carefully read the document yourself before signing off.

The case of Gores v. Miller is a cautionary tale. This was a case recently before the South Dakota Supreme Court, but the principles are still applicable to accident victims in South Florida. Continue reading

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Jurors in Broward County have awarded more than $300,000 to a woman who was seriously injured following a Fort Lauderdale car accident with a police officer six years ago.policecar

Unfortunately, because the defendant is a municipality, the award is capped at $100,000. The city hasn’t yet said whether it will appeal the decision.

Plaintiff, 52, was a passenger in a vehicle driven by her son just a few weeks before Christmas 2010. Defendant Daniel Gowans, a Fort Lauderdale police officer, was responding to a domestic violence call when he arrived at the intersection of Southeast Fourth Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard. His cruiser collided with the vehicle driven by plaintiff’s son. As a result of that impact, plaintiff’s wrist was broken in eight different places. Continue reading

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There are over 20,000 car accidents in Florida every year. Preliminary counts of South Florida traffic deaths in 2015 suggest a sharp increase. In Palm Beach County, for example, The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles counted a 29 percent increase in the first six months of the years to the first six months of 2014 – 102 deaths versus 79 deaths. Motor vehicle fatalities in Florida were also up 29 percent and nationally, up 14 percent. traffic8

There is of course the growing element of distraction now that most every driver has access to their own person computer at all times via their smart phone. But there is something else going on, researchers say.

We are now at the tail end of what has been one of the longest roads to economic recovery since the end of WW II. The labor market has improved. Unemployment is down. So are gas prices. This has meant people have more money in their pocket. More freedom to take a trip. More incentive to take a private vehicle rather than opt for public transportation or bicycling. In turn, there are more vehicles on the road and a higher likelihood of traffic deaths. Continue reading

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You may have heard of Florida’s dram shop law, which allows drunk driving victims in some cases to recover damages from the establishment that served alcohol to the impaired driver. As far as dram shop laws go, it’s not the greatest; it only allows compensation when the driver was under 21 or known to habitually abuse alcohol. Still, it’s an important resource for some victims of these wholly preventable collisions. druggedriving

Now, given the precedent set by a recent settlement agreement in Minnesota, there may be another alternative for victims of drugged drivers: Action against the doctor or clinic where the driver received prescription medications.

Given the fact that Florida was not long ago labeled the “Oxy Express” and that abuse of prescription painkillers led to an epidemic of opioid addiction and overdose, it’s likely we might see similar cases crop up here. Continue reading

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It was just a few short months ago that Uber was granted permission to operate once again in Broward County, after commissioners caved and eased regulations for this and similar ride-sharing services. The public fought hard to bring the service back, flooding local leaders with email, snail mail and voice mail messages. Mayor Tim Ryan called the issue, “The millstone around our collective necks.” driving9

Meanwhile, Palm Beach County leaders put the brakes on any decision until this spring, and Miami-Dade is weighing regulatory proposals now. But there is another side to this coin: Lack of driver and vehicle regulation could put the public at higher risk for injury.

This is what is being alleged in a wrongful death lawsuit against Uber following a December 27th fiery crash in Miami. According to The Miami Herald, 20-year-old Pablo Sanchez Jr., a pharmacy student, had contacted an Uber ride using the app on his cell phone. He was looking for a ride for himself and five friends from downtown Miami to his parents’ home 30 miles away in Country Walk. A driver picked them up and they were almost there when the driver allegedly turned left into oncoming traffic. The Uber driver’s sport utility vehicle burst into flames. The driver got out, as did all of Sanchez’s friends. However, he was trapped and died inside.  Continue reading

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Imagine driving along a dark stretch of a four-lane highway. A few taillights pass. Then suddenly, you see headlights suddenly flash. They’re right in front of you. It’s too late to do anything but brace. highway09

It’s a nightmare that plays out all too often in real life for drivers in South Florida. The impact of these collisions are often violent. They are often fatal. Officials are forced to halt traffic on major highways for hours as they launch complex investigations and massive cleanup efforts.

It’s a scenario local law enforcement and other safety advocates are fighting to end.  Continue reading

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A sheriff’s cruiser and an Uber car collided recently at a busy intersection in Seminole County, resulting in the death of the 28-year-old passenger who was catching a ride home after a holiday party.traffic8

The Florida Highway Patrol has launched an investigation into the fatal crash, which claimed the life of Orlando native Corey Allicock, the vehicle’s only passenger. Neither the law enforcement officer, Deputy Scott Sullivan, or Uber driver, 73-year-old Robert Williams, have been cited at this juncture, though the inquiry remains active.

This tragic incidents opens the door to questions about who pays when an Uber driver is involved in a crash. The answer is one that has evolved in recent years, as Uber and other ride-sharing services have gained traction throughout Florida and the country. Continue reading

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It was bad enough when 62-year-old Broward County transit bus driver Charles Raymond Smith caused a crash two years ago that left a woman seriously injured, resulting in an out-of-court settlement of $75,000 recently approved by county commissioners. busdriver

But The Sun-Sentinel has since uncovered that in the 21 years he has been employed as a driver for the agency, he’s racked up 16 crashes, 25 written warnings and more than 30 days total of unpaid suspension. The very first in his series of disciplinary woes started when he was just one week on the job, and it’s continued through last year.

Worse is that, despite numerous calls by county commissioners for years to wrangle greater control over discipline of unsafe public transportation drivers, union protection means it’s likely Smith will remain on the job until he becomes eligible for retirement until 2020. And while his record was one of the worst discovered by the Sun-Sentinel in its analysis, he’s far from the only driver to have this type of history. Continue reading

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Nearly two years to the day Fast and Furious star Paul Walker died in a car crash, his father has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against auto maker Porsche. It’s the second such lawsuit against the German car manufacturer. The first was filed by Walker’s teen daughter, Meadow. carreraporsche

The 40-year-old movie star was a front seat passenger in a rare 2005 Porsche Carrera GT, driven by professional racer friend Roger Rodas. The vehicle struck a lamppost and tree in suburban Los Angeles. The vehicle burst into flames shortly after impact, and Rodas and Walker, 40, were burned beyond recognition.

Although investigators with the county and state deduced that high speeds were likely the core cause of the crash, the lawsuit filed by Walker’s father asserts the vehicle lacked important safety features found not just on other high-end racing cars, but on the company’s basic models. Continue reading

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The Florida Highway Patrol has launched an investigation into a fatal accident that involved a vehicle owned by a local car dealership. Based on the preliminary investigation, the FHP reported, it seems the vehicle was being taken for a test drive, with the employee and two passengers inside.Honeymoon, Day 3

The crash, which occurred in Stuart, about 90 minutes north of Fort Lauderdale, killed an 83-year-old man named Donald Maloney, who was a passenger in the Honda CR-V. That Honda had just been taken out for a test drive, though the dealership employee was behind the wheel at the time of the crash, according to WPBF ABc-25 News.

Investigators say the dealership employee was traveling south and then turned left at an intersection – and into a Chevy Tahoe. The sport utility vehicle impacted the passenger vehicle on the right front passenger seat. That’s where Maloney was sitting. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading

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