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Jury Finds South Florida Restaurant Vicariously Liable for Crash in $2M Verdict

Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 18:01:43 GMT

A South Florida seafood restaurant has been deemed liable to pay $2 million in damages after a federal jury determined the restaurant’s employee was acting in the course and scope of employment at the time of a crash that injured another driver. The question of exactly what the worker was doing at the time of the crash was central to the issue of vicarious liability – and whether the restaurant could be made to pay.

Vicarious liability is a form of strict, secondary liability in which a supervisory party (like an employer) can be held responsible for the negligent actions of a subordinate or associate (i.e., an employee). It stems from the belief that these supervisory parties have a right, ability or duty to control the actions of their subordinates. It’s not necessary to prove the supervisory party was actually negligent or even that it knew about the subordinate’s actions. This type of liability falls under the umbrella of a doctrine called respondeat superior, which is Latin for “let the master answer.”

In some cases, it’s obvious that a worker was acting in the course and scope of employment. An example might be a truck driver delivering cargo from a supplier to a receiver in a company-owned truck. However, if at any point that driver is side-tracked or is running a personal errand and the crash occurs at that time, defendant could argue the driver was not acting in the course and scope of employment and therefore the employer can’t be liable. That’s what defendant tried to argue in the recent case before the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida.more

According to court records, the 19-year-old seafood restaurant worker was reportedly on his way to purchase a television for the restaurant when he caused a crash that involved a 59-year-old pizza delivery driver. She suffered serious injuries that make it difficult for her to walk to this day. But when plaintiff sued the restaurant, defense argued the restaurant wasn’t vicariously liable because the worker had been side-tracked by a personal errand when a relative asked him to pick up several younger relatives from school.

As plaintiff was on-the-clock herself at the time of the crash, she was entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. However, those benefits are limited to compensation for medical bills and a portion of lost wages. The at-fault driver’s father, as owner of the truck he was driving at the time of the crash, was also named as a defendant, and his auto insurance provider paid his $100,000 bodily injury liability limit. However, the vicarious liability case against the restaurant continued to trial.

Plaintiffs attorneys told the Daily Business Review they spent countless hours investigating the family and the route of defendant driver’s vehicle, presenting substantial evidence he was either on his way to the appliance store or returning to the restaurant at the time of the crash. The school from which he supposedly would have picked up his younger relatives was not open on the day in question.

The trial was bifurcated along issues of liability and damages. At the first trial last year, it was determined the driver was acting in the course and scope of employment. It didn’t hurt that defendants’ expert witnesses were never called after a Daubert hearing resulted in disallowing much of their testimony. The second trial was to ascertain whether plaintiff shared any of the responsibility and what her damages should be. (A finding of comparative fault by a plaintiff could reduce the amount of damages paid.) Jurors ruled the seafood restaurant worker was 100 percent at fault for the crash, and ordered the restaurant to pay $2 million, though that amount could be offset by previous insurance payouts in the case.

If you are injured in a Fort Lauderdale car accident, it’s important to explore all your legal options and trust your case to an injury attorney with ample experience.

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

Additional Resources:

Miami Restaurant and Fish Market on the Hook for $2M After Crash, Nov. 6, 2017, By Celia Ampel, Daily Business Review

More Blog Entries:

Proving Medical Bills, Lost Wages, Causally Related to Crash Injuries, Dec. 2, 2017, Florida Car Accident Attorney Blog

New Year’s Eve Poses Drunk Driving Risk on South Florida Roads

Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys — Sat, 31 Dec 2016 21:25:08 GMT

The holidays are a time to spend with family and loved ones and celebrate the season. People especially look forward to New Year’s Eve and the chance to start all over again with a clean slate. But sadly, for far too many people, New Year’s is a time of endings. That’s because there is a surge in drunk drivers. Revelers are out late to ring in the New Year, and fail to plan ahead, call for a ride or just stay where they are. Instead, they risk their own lives – and the lives of their companions and everyone else sharing the road – to make it to their destination.

Technically and statistically speaking, New Year’s Eve isn’t actually horrible when to impaired drivers. The worst comes after midnight, on New Year’s Day. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, more than half of all fatal crashes on New Year’s Day involve a driver who was drunk or impaired. Intoxication by alcohol is typically measured by whether one had a blood-alcohol concentration that exceeded 0.08.

New Year’s Day exceeds even July 4th when it comes to the percentage of fatal crashes stemming from alcohol intoxication. On that day, 42 percent of all deadly accidents involve a drunk driver. The third is St. Patrick’s Day, on which 40 percent of all roadway deaths involve impaired motorists.

If you are imbibing this New Year, consider reminding yourself about the seriousness of the consequences of driving drunk and take the time to plan ahead. Bear in mind that even if you “sleep it off” for a few hours, it may not be enough if you really indulged. Even just having a hangover, you could technically still be too drunk to drive. And there isn’t any fast way to sober up. You can’t eat your way sober. You can’t drink water or coffee to make yourself sober. The only thing that will make you sober, eventually, is time.

Part of the problem too is that people just aren’t the best at judging whether they have had too much to drink. A single, standard drink – a 12-oz beer or a 5-oz glass of wine – is all an average person can reasonably be expected to metabolize in an hour. There are other variables that could affect that, but this is the average. Go just a bit beyond that, as many people do on New Year’s Eve, and you will quickly find yourself over the limit. Now this generally wouldn’t be a problem, unless you then choose to get behind the wheel of a vehicle.

What if it’s a friend who wants to drive? MADD suggests:

Never letting anyone get behind the wheel of a car drunk, if you can help it.

Calmly suggest other alternatives.
Take their car keys.
If you can’t stop them, call law enforcement.
Never get in a car with someone who is drunk.
Contact law enforcement if you spot a motorist driving erratically.
If friends come over and drink, make sure they have a safe ride home or a place to stay.

Drunk driving simply isn’t worth the price – not just the dollar amount, but the potential loss of innocent lives. If you have been injured or have lost a loved one in a Fort Lauderdale drunk driving accident, our injury lawyers can help you determine the best course of legal action.

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

Additional Resources:

Plan Ahead this New Year’s Eve, December 2012, MADD

More Blog Entries:

Motorcycle Riders in Construction Zones Face Hazards, Nov. 11, 2016, Fort Myers Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog

Florida Fatal Car Accident Spurs Lawsuit Against Uber, Driver, Deputy

Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys — Wed, 25 May 2016 11:00:47 GMT

A 28-year-old Uber passenger in Orlando was killed in December when the driver allegedly ran a red light and struck a deputy, speeding through the intersection.

Now, the family of that victim, Corey Allicock, is suing:

Uber
The Uber Driver
The Deputy

Although investigators did not fault Seminole County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Sullivan in the crash, witnesses who saw the deputy just before the crash said he was traveling 60 mph on the road. Authorities later revealed he was on his way to an emergency domestic violence call. However, it is undisputed he had not activated his emergency lights and siren. The 73-year-old Uber driver, meanwhile, was cited for running a red light and for causing the young man’s death. He has not driven for Uber since the crash.more

Our Fort Lauderdale Uber accident lawyers know this kind of case is becoming more common, as ride-sharing services have gained popularity. The good news is that insurance coverage for accidents caused by Uber drivers has improved greatly in recent years. As of March 2016, Uber offers the following limits on liability:

$1 million of liability coverage per incident. Drivers’ liability to third parties is covered from the moment a driver first accepts a trip until that trip’s conclusion.
$1 million of uninsured/ underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage per incident. So if a passenger is injured by a car accident caused by another driver who lacked insurance or who didn’t have enough insurance, the $1 million UM/ UIM policy will kick in.
$50,000/ $100,000/ $25,000 coverage between trips. That means if an Uber driver is involved in an accident while he or she is on duty but not actively engaged in transporting or picking up a customer, this coverage would apply. Normally, that driver’s own personal auto insurance would kick in during these times, but Uber offers this additional lawyer of coverage in case it does not. This amount meets or exceeds the minimum requirements for third party liability service in the U.S.

Still in a wrongful death lawsuit, it is possible that damages could exceed $1 million, and that is why it is smart in this case to explore the possibility that more than one driver is at-fault.

Investigators say the young man was on his way home from a holiday party to the condo he shared with his girlfriend. The crash happened at 1:40 a.m., and authorities don’t believe any other drivers saw the actual crash.

The Uber driver suffered serious injuries as well. He had a fairly good track record, having offered some 800 rides from April 2015 to December 2015, and having a customer rating of 4.8 out of 5.

The deputy, meanwhile, suffered a fractured neck. A passenger who was riding with the deputy, a new recruit who was slated to begin working with the agency, also suffered injuries.

Allicock died of a combination of the impact and loss of blood.

Plaintiffs in the case allege negligence by both the Uber driver and the deputy played a role in the crash, and therefore in Allicock’s death.

If you have been injured in a Florida Uber accident, we can help you recover damages.

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

Additional Resources:

Crash victim’s family files lawsuit against deputy, Uber driver, April 19, 2016, By Erik Sandoval, News 6/ ClickOrlando.com

More Blog Entries:

Construction of Guardrails on Alligator Alley Faces Criticism, May 6, 2016, Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Snapchat Named in Car Accident Injury Lawsuit

Ansara Law Personal Injury Attorneys — Tue, 03 May 2016 19:51:27 GMT

A man injured in a car accident last year is suing not only the young driver who slammed into him, but the social media platform on which she was allegedly engaged at the time of the wreck.

According to the complaint in Maynard v. McGee and Snapchat, filed in a Georgia state court, plaintiff alleges a critical cause of the crash was the mobile software produced and made available by Snapchat.

For those unfamiliar, Snapchat is a messaging app that allows users to take photos or videos and than add a caption, doodle or lens graphic over the top and send it to a friend. Users can also create “stories” and broadcast them publicly – either to everyone or just to your followers. Some of these images can only be viewed for a short period of time before they disappear.

What does this have to do with car accidents? A recently-added feature to the app allows users to track their speed and then superimpose that speed onto an image taken by the user. Points are issued to those who use this feature. Snapchat insists there are many reasonable uses for this feature. For example, runners may want to capture their speed and their picture to share with friends.

However, plaintiff alleges the app clearly encourages users to play on their phones while driving, posing a serious health and safety hazard not only to themselves but to others.

The facts of this case unfolded in September 2015 in Spalding County, GA. According to the complaint, an 18-year-old driver with two friends in the car was driving her father’s Mercedes Benz on a Thursday at around 11:15 p.m. She reportedly wanted to post an image of herself driving fast. She pushed down the accelerator and captured a speed of 80 mph on her device. She then allegedly dialed up the speed to 90 mph. Then, 100 mph.

Soon after, the complaint alleges, plaintiff lost control of her vehicle. At 107 mph, the complainant alleges, she shot across the left lane and struck plaintiff’s vehicle, sending it careening off the road down an embankment. Plaintiff, who had just begun his shift as an Uber driver, was seriously injured. He incurred a traumatic brain injury. He spent more than a month in the intensive care unit. His weight plummeted by 50 pounds. He is now unable to work. He can no longer take care of himself.

Meanwhile, the teen driver reportedly snapped another picture of herself, while in the ambulance. Lying on a stretcher, blood dripping down her face, she took a selfie, and captioned it, “Lucky to be Alive.”

Indeed.

Plaintiff in this car accident lawsuit says Snapchat should have known the risk it was creating because other users had used the device for this very same purpose. In fact, one user allegedly posted a snap of himself driving his vehicle at speeds of more than 140 mph. What’s more, the company incentivized this behavior by giving users points (albeit worthless points) for uploading their speeds.

For its part, the social media platform insists that it is not to be used in any way that distracts from driving or results in users violating traffic safety laws. This disclaimer exists in its terms of use. However, it’s unclear how many users actually take the time to read these notices, let alone abide them.

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

Additional Resources:

Snapchat ‘Speed Filter’ Led to Georgia Car Crash, Lawsuit Alleges, April 28, 2016, By Elizabeth Chuck, CNBC

More Blog Entries:

Florida Day Care Injury Prompts Police Report, April 29, 2016, Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Lawyer Blog