South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Raising your teenager to be a safe driver is one of the milestones to being a good parent. Understanding how to discuss driving, safety and distractions with your teenager driver is critical as we head into the long summer travel season.

Our Naples car accident attorneys understand that the 100 deadliest days for teenage drivers is quickly approaching. Across the nation, nine of the 10 deadliest days for teens fall during the summer months. On average, fourteen young drivers die each day between Memorial Day and Labor Day in vehicle related accidents. During this time, our teens have more free time on their hands, they have more late nights and sometimes they even have fewer rules from parents. When you toss in alcohol, texting and inexperience behind the wheel, you've got a recipe for a car accident.

Luckily, there are ways that you can try to head off these risks. Drivers Ed Direct offers some tips and conversation starters with your teen to help get them on the road to safe driving:

-Make sure you have a parent-teen driving contract enacted within your household. Use this one from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an example.

-Remember that teens like to take risks behind the wheel. Remind them that safe driving habits are the best way to stay out of the hospital, from behind bars and to keep money in their pocket.

-Make sure your teen drivers know they can call you for a ride -- no matter what. Before they get behind the wheel after drinking or get into a car with an intoxicated driver, make sure they know that you're their safe lifeline.

-Ride along with your teenager often. Providing them with plenty of supervised driving time is the best way to ensure that they're practicing the safe driving habits expected of them.

-Before allowing your teen out of the house, make sure you know where they're going, who they're going with, what they'll be doing and when they'll be returning home. Knowing their whereabouts and what they're doing will help to reduce the risks for accidents.

-Lead by example. Demonstrate respect for road rules, eliminate distractions and exercise proper decision-making at all times -- especially when your teen driver is in the vehicle with you.

Teen drivers have more car accidents than any other age group. Per mile traveled, they are involved in the greatest number of car crashes, from crashes involving property damage to those that are deadly. The problem is the worst among 16-year-olds, who have the least driving experience. Their immaturity makes them most likely to take risks behind the wheel.

Make sure you have the safe driving talk with your teen driver today. Don't put it off. Help to save their life and prevent an accident today!

Continue reading "South Florida Traffic Safety: 100 Deadliest Days for Teen Drivers" »

The month of May is Motorcycle Safety Month.

The truth of the matter is that motorcyclists are much more vulnerable to crashes than other drivers. Many accidents happen because motorcycles are hidden in a vehicle's blind spot. It is important that motorists always make a visual check for motorcyclists by checking mirrors and blind spots before entering or leaving a lane of traffic.

Our Fort Myers motorcycle accident lawyers understand that there were close to 450 motorcyclists killed in traffic accidents in the state of Florida in 2011. According to the latest statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), we were ranked as the second most dangerous state in the country for these kinds of accidents, only falling behind the state of Texas.

For Motorcycle Safety Month, all motorists are reminded to safely "share the road" with motorcycles and to be extra alert to help keep motorcyclists safe. Motorcyclists are reminded to make themselves visible to other motorists.

This is the perfect time for motorcyclists to brush up on their riding skills. You may be a veteran biker, but there's always room for improvement and there's always room for safety. With close to 3,000 Motorcycle Safety Foundation RiderCourses, there are plenty available to you. Check out the RiderCourse locations to find the one nearest you. It's a class that can save lives.

Florida's sunny weather, beautiful beaches, and scenic highways make it a popular place for motorcycle enthusiasts. The state also is host to popular motorcycle rallies such as Biketoberfest and Daytona Bike Week. The growing number of residents and visitors in Florida who love riding motorcycles make motorcycle safety an important issue.

But motorcycle safety should be everyone's concern, especially those in passenger vehicles. It's also important that we're using our turn signals. Using predictive measures, we can help to keep other drivers out of the danger zone, in case we do overlook another vehicle.

Don't forget to get these motorcycles their room, too. They may be much smaller than our vehicles, but that doesn't mean that they're not worthy of the same rights. Never share a lane with a motorcyclist and it's important that we don't tailgate them. You also want to make sure that you're allowing them with enough room when passing.

Also, remember that because of its small size, a motorcycle can be easily hidden in a car's blind spots (door/roof pillars) or masked by objects or backgrounds outside a car (bushes, fences, bridges, etc). Take an extra moment to thoroughly check traffic, whether you're changing lanes or turning at intersections. Awareness can help to save lives, it can help to keep your driving record clean and it can help to keep yourself out of a legal mess.

Continue reading "Making the Month of May All About Motorcycles" »

We know that cell phone-related car crashes deaths are a problem. We just don't know the full scope of the issue.

However, cell phone-using drivers are the cause of many more fatal car accidents than anyone ever thought, according to a new release from the National Safety Council (NSC).

Our Boca Raton car accident lawyers understand that it's an even bigger problem here in the state of Florida as we currently have no laws on the books to keep drivers off their phones and text messaging devices. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), we are one of the only states left who has not enacted an kind of anti-distraction driving laws. A measure that would finally ban texting and driving has passed the legislature and now awaits the governor's signature.

According to The Washington Post, drivers aren't likely to admit that an accident was their fault and that they were using a cell phone while it happened. Even when drivers are busted for this poor driving behavior, officials aren't always recording the cause in accident reports.

"There are wide-ranging, negative ramifications to safety if a fatal crash factor is substantially underreported, as appears to be the case of cellphone use in crashes," said Bill Windsor with Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, which helped fund this study.

These kinds of statistics help to identify and eliminate common causes of accidents. They help officials to sort their prevention priorities, help to determine where national and local funds are allocated for prevention efforts, help to attract the media's attention in prevention and help lawmakers to determine the best route for new laws.

Currently, there is no reliable method to accurately determine how many accidents involve cell phone use, therefore it's impossible to know the true scope of the problem.

In the state of Florida, officials report that less than .5 percent of car accidents in 2011 were caused by cell phone-using drivers, according to the NSC's "Crashes Involving Cell Phones" report.

According to researchers, about 25 percent of all car accidents involve a cell phone-using driver. Others believe that this number is even higher -- especially when you add in distractions of all kinds, including text messages, GPS devices, email checking, internet surfing and other electronic device use.

Still, the fight is far from over. As Florida lawmakers dabble with possible distracted driving laws, the National Transportation Safety Board is still working on a nationwide ban on cell phone use while driving.

While it may not yet be law here in Florida, drivers know that it's dangerous to take their attention off the road. As phones being the most common form of distraction, drivers are asked to hang up the phone when they're behind the wheel and the car is in motion.

Continue reading "Florida Distracted Driving Accidents Largely Underreported, Study Says" »

Lawmakers in Florida might not be the ones to make us pay more attention to the road when we're behind the wheel, but officials with the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) are looking to do just that.

In the Sunshine State, there are no distracted driving laws on the books. This means that drivers can use cell phones, shoot text messages and even check their email all while driving down the road. We're actually one of the few states left that hasn't enacted any of these laws to help stop distracted driving. Now, NHTSA officials and those with the U.S. Department of Transportation are looking to head the problem off at the automakers.

Recently, the DOT released distraction guidelines that are going to be used to encourage automobile manufacturers to limit the distraction risks connected to electronic devices that are built into their vehicles, such as navigation, entertainment and communication systems. our Boca Raton car accident attorneys understand that these guidelines are voluntary, but have the power to prevent a lot of accidents. There were close to 3,500 people killed in distracted driving car accidents in the U.S. in 2010, according to Distraction.gov. That's a number that's on the rise, but could quickly be reduced if more drivers rededicated themselves to focusing on the road.

The truth of the matter is that distracted driving habits have become a deadly epidemic with some serious consequences on our nation's roadways.

Under these new guidelines from the NHTSA, the distractions affected are those that require a driver to take their eyes off the road for two seconds at a time or for twelve seconds total. They also recommend that these devices be stopped, or shut off, unless the car is stopped and is in "park."

These recommendations follow closely on the heels of a NHTSA naturalistic study, The Impact of Hand-Held and Hands-Free Cell Phone Use on Driving Performance and Safety Critical Event Risk. In this study, researchers aimed to show just how dangerous these devices are and how much they impact our visual-manual reactions. The findings in this study showed that the risks of accidents skyrocket when drivers use electronic devices behind the wheel. Cell phones and other electronic devices actually increased a driver's risk for an accident by about three times. And many of these risks come as standard equipment in our newer vehicles.

It's such a serious problem, that statistics show close to 20 percent of injury accidents reported in 2010 were distraction-related collisions. And these were all accidents that we're completely preventable. There's never a legitimate reason to take your eyes off the road and your mind off driving. There should never be a phone call, a text message or an email that's worth a life. It's a needless risk that could cost you.

Continue reading "NHTSA Targets Car Manufacturers in Fight Against Driver Distractions" »

As we've been talking about recently, the month of May is Bicycle Safety Month. While we're all about preventing accidents, we understand that they do happen. We're going to focus on falls, and your best ways to survive them.

Researchers with Bicycling.com recommend moves that could end up saving your life.

Our Naples bicycle accident lawyers understand that bicycling is a popular activity here in the state of Florida. Whether it's for recreational purposes or for transportation purposes, we've got to all make sure that we're doing it safely.

Now, to preventing falls.

Look Ahead: Instead of looking at something you want to avoid, look at where you need to travel. Your sight will help to guide you.

Prep The Pedals: If you're riding a challenging trail, set clipless pedals loose (if possible), mostly so you won't stress about your escape. It's a natural reactions to swing your feet out when you're falling, so disengagement won't be a problem as long as you anticipate your crash and commit to it rather than trying to hang on too long.

Stay Loose: You never want to tense up on a bicycle and lock up your joints. Always go with the flow as the bike navigates, bumps and jumps. Many times, you can just ride out a tricky maneuver.

Stay Stable: For a slow-speed or uphill bail, stand to separate your body from your bike, and click out a foot (on slanted sloped, use your uphill foot), planting it wide so that your leg and the bike's two wheels form a stable tripod.

In addition to prepping yourself to help to reduce the risks of a fall, you also want to prep your bicycle to make sure that it's ready for anything riding has to throw its way. Every bike needs routine mechanical attention to keep it working efficiently, quietly and safely. You can take your bike to a shop, or you can do much of the work yourself, saving time, money and grief. Check the following to ensure a safe ride:

-Make sure you have the proper spoke wrench. No tool can take the place of this wrench, and using any other can round off the nipples of the spokes.

-Get a chain breaker. This is to help you remove and install a bicycle chain properly.

-Keep the lube and grease. This is going to help ensure smooth sailing on your bicycle. They also help to prevent corrosion and water contamination.

We need to keep an eye on the traffic around us. Be ready for anything and take the proper preventative measures to help to reduce your risks for an accident. Happy Biking!

Continue reading "Preventing Falls and Protecting Yourself on Your Bike" »

Officials in Lee County are pushing bicycle safety. While it's a year-round job, it's an especially important one during the month of May, which is National Bike Month.

According to the BikeWalkLee Blog, Dan Moser with the Florida Bicycle Association, there are a bunch of activities going on throughout the month to help to promote safe and responsible riding.

With the sun shinning and our residents' desire to go green and get in shape, our Fort Myers bicycle accident lawyers have seen an increasing number of accidents in recent years. One of the most effective things you could do is check out one of this month's safety events. They're sure to be fun, entertaining and informational:

-Wednesday, May 8, is Bike to School Day.

-Friday, May 17, the official Bike to Work Day.

-Wednesday, May 15, is the Ride of Silence.

-Saturday, May 18, is a guided ride on a portion of our Tour de Parks route.

If you don't have the time to get out and get to one of these events, you can do the job at home. All you have to do is take part in the Florida Department of Transportation's (FDOT) "Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow" survey. This survey is important for FDOT's campaign to make our streets safer for ALL users. The good news is that it will only take 3 minutes out of your day and will help to make our roadways safer for everyone.

They're even taking the efforts to the islands. Adding to the regular series of "Cycling Safety Notes" are efforts from the Island Sun and the Island Reporter/Islander. Throughout this ad campaign, bicyclists will be reminded to remove their headphones, ride on the right side of the road, warn before passing and to always wear a helmet. It's a little refresher course for your safety.

"We think these newspaper public service ads are doing a great job of helping to keeping the idea of safe cycling front and center," said Sanibel Club President Sharon Hannon.

What you might not know is that Florida is the most dangerous state in the country for bicycling accidents. According to the latest statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were close to 150 bicyclists killed on our roadways in 2011. Many of those fatalities occurred on our South Florida roadways.

And it doesn't look like it's getting any better, considering there was a 10 percent increase from the number of fatalities recorded in the prior year. Be on your best behavior out there and brush up on your safe bicycling skills to help to reduce the risks of a potentially fatal accident.

Continue reading "Officials Push Bicycle Safety to Save Lives in South Florida" »

It's about time for our young ones to wrap up their school year. And while that's good news for them, it's worrisome news for us.

During this time of the year, we see a significant spike in the number of child pedestrian accidents. It's because they're spending more time outside and near motor vehicles.

As parents, we should help our children strive to be active and safe. Walking can help reinforce good behaviors. Be a role model and teach your children safe ways to be a pedestrian, and encourage walking as an exercise.

Our Naples child injury lawyers are here to help families to keep their children safe over the summer break. In 2010, nearly one in every five children between the ages of 5 and 9 who were killed in traffic crashes was a pedestrian, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One average, someone is killed in a pedestrian accident every 2 hours and a pedestrian is injured every 8 minutes.

To help keep your child from becoming a statistic, family rules should encourage pedestrian safety:

-Set an age limit. Don't let children under the age of 10 walk alone. At this age, they're not able to understand the workings of traffic and are at a serious risk.

-Eye on the corners. Make sure that the corners by your home are not covered in bushes, signs or any other kind of obstruction that is going to stop drivers from seeing your young ones.

-Make sure everyone's listening. In addition to looking for oncoming traffic, you can use your ears to listen for it. Using more than one sense is going to help to reduce your risks for an accident.

-Dress for safety. Make sure that you dress your children in bright-colored clothing when they go outside to play. You want to make sure they're as visible as possible to passing traffic.

-Grab a hand. Whenever you're walking through a parking lot, walking on the sidewalk or walking near any kind of traffic, make sure your young ones and holding your hand and staying near.

-Utilize the sidewalk. Whenever there is a sidewalk available, make sure both of your feet are on it.

It's also important that you teach your children to stay safe when playing near a driveway. Never allow them to leave their toys in the sidewalk. It will only lure them to it. You should also teach them to move off the pavement and onto the grass whenever they hear or see a car. Designate a "safe place."

In 2010, 4,280 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States, and another 70,000 pedestrians were injured, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Continue reading "Keep Young Pedestrians Safe through Summer Break" »

A man who was hit by an out-of-control driver is continuing his fight as a family mourns the loss of yet another pedestrian. According to 7NEWS, the driver of an SUV lost control of his vehicle, crossed over oncoming traffic, hit two pedestrians and slammed into a liquor store in Miami. One of the pedestrians was killed and the other fights for his life in the hospital.

The two pedestrians were hit while they were standing on a sidewalk outside of a local restaurant. Officers are still trying to figure out how the driver lost control off the vehicle.

Our Boca Raton pedestrian accident lawyers understand that these kinds of accidents can happen anywhere and at any time. It's important that we're ready for anything that our roadways can throw our way. We can't rely on the safe driving habits of others to keep us safe. Unfortunately, pedestrian accidents are common on our South Florida roadways. And it's our elderly residents who are suffering the most.

According to Transportation for America, the baby boom generation "ages in place" in suburbs and exurbs and they're provided with very few mobility options for those who do not drive. By 2015, officials estimate that there will be more than 15 million Americans who are over the age of 64 who will be living in a community where public transportation isn't a viable option. And this serves up a serious problem for everyone.

Officials with Transportation for America have created the "Aging in Place, Stuck Without Options" report to show which areas are going to be affected the most.

In this study, Miami ranked as the 44th most dangerous metro area with 1-3 million people. By 2015, it's estimated that more than 57,000 residents between the ages of 65 an 79 will be suffer from poor transit access by 2015. That's a problem that will affect more than 15 percent of our population. The West Palm Beach/Boca Raton area ranked in as the 16th most dangerous. Officials estimated that there would be close to 115,000 residents between the ages of 65 and 79 who will suffer from public transit problems in 2015. Fort Lauderdale ranked in 34th place, which more than 97,000 in elderly facing this problem.

It's a pretty serious problem here in the state of Florida. Just because the public transit isn't providing all it needs to, that doesn't mean that our elderly residents should stay behind the wheel longer. It's important to know when to give up your keys and it's important to know how to navigate our cities safely.

Check in with the elderly members of your family to make sure everyone can get to where they've got to go. Offer them your assistance. If they choose to walk, make sure that they know how to do so safely and they can keep their risks for an accident to a minimum. Your efforts can help to save a life.

Continue reading "Elderly at High Risk of Pedestrian Accidents in South Florida" »

Our teen drivers are facing some of the most dangerous years of their lives. Motor vehicle accidents continue to be the number one cause of death for teens across the country.

According to the latest figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were close to 2,000 teenage drivers killed in traffic accidents in 2011. This number shows that our teens are in danger, and represents an increase compared to the previous year.

Our Fort Myers car accident lawyers understand that these risks spike during this time of the year, with prom, graduation and summer break right around the corner. Each spring, our teenagers spend more time behind the wheel and face higher risks for accidents.

The newest statistics from the NHTSA report that there were more than 115 teenage drivers killed in the state of Florida in 2011. When you include passengers, there were more than 325 teens killed in car accidents in Florida. We ranked as the third most dangerous state in the country for these kinds of accidents, which means it's time we focus some of our attention on our young drivers in an effort to improve roadway safety.

It's not just our teens that are suffering from their inexperience behind the wheel. In 2011, there were close to 4,500 teenage drivers involved in fatal traffic accidents in the United States. Although our teens only account for about 6 percent of all licensed drivers, they were involved in about 10 percent of the fatal accidents recorded during the year.

With graduation season upon us, we're asking parents and guardians to step forward and talk with their teens about the risks involved with drinking and driving. Thankfully, officials with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are here to offer up some helpful tips to get the conversation started. MADD wants all teens to know that adding alcohol to prom doesn't help make good memories.

Unfortunately, teens have a bad reputation for drinking in excess. They're more likely to experience blackouts and brownouts, which cause memory loss. Blackouts cause a drinker to lose all memories while brownouts cause a person to only remember bits and pieces.

To help to push these anti-alcohol messages, MADD has also chosen to enforce Alcohol Awareness Month during the entire month of April. The truth of the matter is that parents play an important role in a teen's decision to drink. In fact, close to 75 percent of teens say their parents are the number one influence on their decisions.

Although our teens aren't old enough to legally consume alcohol, that doesn't mean that they can't get their hands on it and it doesn't mean that they're not going to drink. Have the talk today and help to save their life tomorrow.

Continue reading "A Safe and Sober Path to Graduation in South Florida " »

In our earlier article on Cruise Ship Mishaps on Carnival cruises, we discussed some of the big issues that Carnival is facing. The well-publicized Carnival problems occurred in February aboard the Carnival cruise ship Triumph and started with the ship losing power, although the media focused on the nonfunctioning toilets aboard this boat.

The problems with the Triumph lasted for five days and the disaster was very well-publicized. Since then, however, Carnival has been plagued with one problem after another.

Our Fort Lauderdale cruise ship injury attorneys know that problems can turn a dream cruise into a nightmare, especially if you sustain personal injury or illness due to the cruise line's negligence or faulty equipment. Unfortunately, it is important to realize that you give up some of your rights when you go on a cruise. As such, in addition to understanding the problems on Carnival cruise lines in recent weeks, you should also be aware of the legal rights you surrender when you board a Carnival ship.

Some more details about the recent problems aboard Carnival ships as well as details about the laws of cruising can be found below.

Crown Princess Toilet Woes

According to CNN, the Carnival Cruise line's Crown Princess recently had 410 stateroom toilets out of order. The problem was caused by a blockage that would not allow the toilets to flush for one day from five in the morning to six thirty that night. Minor problems persisted for a few days afterwards and were handled by the ship's technical team.

Carnival Fascination Failed Health Inspection

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently performed a health inspection on the Carnival cruise line's ship, the Carnival Fascination, and rated it unsatisfactory. ABC News reported the score of 84 when an 85 is satisfactory. Problems included less chlorine than is needed in the pool, a roach nymph and flies found at a juice dispenser and the lack of a sneeze guard covering some items in the buffet line.

Carnival Dream Stranded

Yet another problem was reported by Travel Daily News recently. The Carnival cruise ship Dream experienced a problem with a generator while docked in St. Maarten. All activities on board continued and all operations were functional but the ship could not return to Cape Canaveral. Eventually all passengers were flown to Florida or their hometown or were booked on another ship.

Understanding Your Rights

After reading these accounts, you may be wary of taking a cruise and may want to know how to protect yourself. Unfortunately, you are somewhat limited in your ability to do so and you need to be aware of the rights that you sign away when buying a cruise ticket.

Reuters published a story highlighting the seven rights you give up when purchasing a Carnival cruise ticket. These include:

1. Privacy: Your bags and personal effects can be searched at any time


2. Pictures: Carnival reserves the rights to your pictures and you cannot use them without consent


3. Personal property: The limit of reimbursement for bags and belongings is $50 for each guest and $100 per stateroom


4. The right to actually go on the cruise: Carnival can cancel a cruise at any time


5. Litigation: The ticket contract has an arbitration clause for submitting claims for lost luggage. Personal injury suits are handled by the U.S. Federal District Court in Miami. There is also a time limit for litigation.


6. Punitive damages: Liability limits are set at $80,000


7. Emotional distress: You waive your right to claim emotional distress in litigation

Unfortunately, when a cruise ship experiences problems, there is a higher likelihood of injuries or disease. Cruise lines need to keep all passengers safe and protected but these limitations make it harder for you to take action when the ships fail. Consulting an experienced personal injury attorney is always your best bet.

Continue reading "Problems Continue to Plague Carnival Cruise Lines" »

According to a recent article in the Sun Sentinel, some bus drivers in Broward County are not being reprimanded after having accidents and are not properly retrained afterwards.

As if this isn't bad enough, some bus drivers have also had numerous accidents that were later found to be preventable and yet are still employed.

Our Fort Lauderdale bus accident attorneys know that bus accidents can be dangerous or deadly. We are concerned that some of the bus drivers for Broward County are prone to accidents and are allowed to continue driving without proper training or disciplinary action. County Commissioner Lois Wexler is asking for a review of policies regarding bus driver discipline and we support this review in an effort to help protect kids and the public.

County Audit Findings Show Problems With Bus Safety
After a series of accidents involving bus drivers that have a history of numerous crashes and a settlement of yet another bus accident lawsuit, an audit was performed by county auditor Evan Lukic. His audit found that the department is lacking in three areas that can reduce bus accidents. The three areas include:

• Keeping good records of accidents and who was involved in them.


• Enforcing discipline on the drivers in those crashes and


• Retraining drivers after accidents.

The audit covered years from 2008 to 2012 and showed that six percent of the drivers experienced three to four crashes each. One percent had been involved in five or more accidents during that time.

Lukic looked into the discipline that was received by 15 accident prone drivers and found that seven were not properly disciplined. Transit officials either could not or would not explain the reasons for this lack of discipline. The union contract states that a bus driver can be fired if he or she has more than four preventable accidents in a two year period but clearly this is not occurring.

Bus Driver Policies Failing to Keep Kids Safe
When considering the data, it is clear that there are some major problems in Broward County. For example:

• Over the past four years, the percentage of preventable bus accidents has risen 88 percent. In spite of that, drivers have escaped being disciplined or fired when involved in or responsible for these accidents.


• Retraining bus drivers that have been involved in crashes has been shown to reduce future accidents. Yet, due to the high cost of the training, transit officials have stopped performing this retraining on a regular basis.


• Another budget-related problem comes from the state assessing a fee to check for suspended driver's licenses. For a period of time, because of this fee, the county stopped checking licenses, so drivers with a suspended commercial license may have been allowed to drive.

These factors have very real consequences. For instance, one long-time bus driver has been in 21 accidents, 12 of which were deemed to have been preventable. That means that more than 50 percent of his accidents could have been avoided, possibly with retraining. According to the department's policy, he should have been fired in 2007, but was not and instead continued to drive and endanger children.

Continue reading "Some South Florida Bus Drivers Have Long Crash History" »

Recently, there have been reports of children being injured at school or leaving the school grounds unnoticed.

One report covered a serious injury that a child sustained while playing on a gym and the other told of a student walking away from a school and later drowning in a pond.

Our Fort Lauderdale injury attorneys know that students should be properly supervised at school to reduce the number of accidents, some with possible deadly consequences. Avoiding injuries due to both negligent supervision and due to sports play at school is absolutely essential, yet schools seem to be failing in too many instances.

Recent Accidents Raise Awareness of School Safety Issues
According to a recent article in the Sun Sentinel, a six grader was seriously injured at Deerfield Beach Middle School and had to be airlifted to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale. The 12-year-old student was in the gym at the time and was playing under the bleachers. The child sustained head injuries and appeared to be stable when he arrived at the hospital.

This tragic incident was not the only incident in Florida that occurred recently. As reported by the Tampa Bay Times, a special education student recently walked away from the Pierce Middle School and walked six miles to his home. He was not injured but the student's teacher has been suspended.

In that same article, yet another recent incident was mentioned involving a student with Down's Syndrome who left a gym class at Rodgers Middle School in Riverview. She later drowned in a pond. The incident at Pierce was referred to the Sheriff's Child Protective Investigations unit and it was deemed a case of inadequate supervision. The case at Rodgers was investigated by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and the school district.

School Injuries Caused by Negligent Supervision

These incidents and many other injuries that occur at school are often caused by negligent supervision. Negligent supervision can result in a child leaving the grounds unnoticed or injuring himself while on school grounds. If it is found that a teacher or coach who was in charge of a student was negligent, the school can be held responsible for the student's injury or death.

In addition to general negligent supervision cases, schools are also commonly held responsible for sports injuries that occur on school grounds. Sports injuries can affect the head, back, spinal cord, bones and joints and may be caused by:

• Protective gear that is inadequate or unused
• Activities that are inappropriate for the student's skills or developmental level
• A playing surface that is poor quality
• Not matching players in a fair wasy according to ability or size
• Coaches that are not properly trained or are abusive

Sports injuries may be even more common than general negligent supervision cases. In fact, the National Center for Sports Safety reported that:

• More than 38 million children and adolescents participate in sports each year in the U.S and more than 3.5 million of those aged 14 and under receive medical treatment for sports injuries.
• From 2001 through 2009, it is estimated that there were over 1.7 million emergency department visits among children 14 and under for injuries related to sports or recreation; 6 percent of these visits involved traumatic brain injuries.
• Among children ages 14 and under, the top five sports associated with head injuries include: cycling, football, baseball and softball, basketball, and skateboards/scooters.
• For males, the highest risk of concussion in organized sports is from football, while among females, soccer and basketball are the sports with the highest risk.

Like negligent supervision injuries, schools can be liable if a sports injury happens on school grounds or during school activities. The boy playing on the bleachers, for example, may have been injured due either to negligent supervision or to a sports injury. In either case, the school may be to blame.

Continue reading "School Injuries Raise Serious Safety Concerns in South Florida" »

State legislators are attempting to pass laws that would make it more difficult for victims of Florida nursing home abuse, neglect and negligence to obtain just compensation for their injuries.

Our West Palm Beach nursing home abuse lawyers are troubled not only at the premise of HB 869 and SB 1384, but that they have made it as far as they have in the lawmaking process.

HB 869 is currently in the Civil Justice Committee, while SB 1384 has just one more stop before it is introduced to the Senate floor for a full debate.

We are not the only ones sincere in our hope that these measures don't make it any farther - both the AARP and the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans have issued scathing criticism of both measures. Although proponents of these bills wish to frame them as a sort of tort reform to help curb the ever-expansive greed of plaintiff lawyers, the reality is these acts are a way to shield large nursing home corporations from litigation, which in turn weakens accountability for abuse and neglect.

We all would like to think that nursing homes and nursing home corporations try to do right by our most vulnerable citizens because it's the morally and ethically correct thing to do. Unfortunately, many of these facilities will look to cut corners in care wherever they can, so long as there is a good chance they will get away with it. But when you limit the chances of them having to pay punitive damage awards for serious wrongdoing - penalties that are already capped as it is - you are stripping patients and loved ones of the potential to seek justice.

The only ones who stand to benefit from these measures are nursing homes and nursing home corporations.

Both laws propose amendments to FL Statute 400.023. This is the law that outlines who may sue a nursing home for abuse, neglect and negligence and establishes certain guidelines, processes and fee structures. '

With regard to punitive damages, which are added as punishment to the defendant, the law states that the plaintiff may show the court by proffer or evidence that a reasonable basis exists for the claim. However, a judge need not approve it prior to trial. Additionally, whatever punitive damages are awarded have to be "reasonable in light of the actual harm suffered," as well as the seriousness of the offense.

Both SB 1384 and HB 869 are homed in on the issue of punitive damages. Originally, the senate measure would have also made it difficult if not impossible to seek damages from a nursing home's management company. That portion was later scrapped amid fierce protestations from advocacy groups, as well as the other side of the aisle.

The bills have since limited their focus to making it tougher to obtain punitive damages by requiring plaintiffs to have punitive damage claims approved by a judge at an evidentiary hearing prior to trial.

Continue reading "Florida Nursing Home Abuse Victims Target of State Legislation" »

The number of teen driver fatalities is on the rise and there may be only one way to help bring this number down -- you!

According to the Governors Highway Safety Administration (GHSA), parents are some of the most influential people in a young driver's career behind the wheel. Researcher for Ford's Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) program shows that teenage drivers mimic how their parents act behind the wheel. So you better be on your best behavior in the driver's seat -- for the safety of your newly-licensed driver.

Our West Palm Beach accident lawyers understand that traffic accidents are the number one cause of death for teens across the country. In 2010, there were over 3,000 teenage fatalities recorded in the country, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Their inexperience and their underestimation of roadway dangers make them extremely likely to get into an accident during their first few years behind the wheel.

"While state laws and educational programs are critical, ultimately, parents are the most critical component to keep their teen drivers safe," said Jim Vella, President of Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services.

Don't know where to start? Don't worry. We've got some tips for you to get you started in helping your young driver on the road to safe driving habits.

-Take part in the driving process. Provide them with plenty of supervised driving time. Make sure they're being exposed to all kinds of driving scenarios so they know what to do in these situations when you're not in the car.

-Buckle your seat belt. Seat belts continue to be your number one defense against injury and death in the event of a car accident. When parents don't buckle up, children aren't likely to do so either.

-Watch your speed. Driving too fast is one of the top causes for teenage car accidents. If parents are speeding, children are likely to do so as well. Make sure you're abiding by all posted speed limits and adjusting your driving to the current weather and traffic conditions. Speed continues to be a factor in about a third of all traffic accidents in the U.S. -- and we can help to bring this number down by slowing it down a little.

-Put away the distractions. You never want to take/make phone calls in the driver's seat. Driving needs 100 percent of your attention to help ensure a safe trip.

-Never tailgate. Following too closely to another vehicle only decreases your time to react to roadway dangers and increases your risks for an accident.

-Limit your passengers. The more passengers you have in your vehicle, the higher your risks are for an accident. According to recent studies, young drivers can easily be distracted by just one additional passenger, which can exponentially increase the risk of an accident.

Talk with your teen today and make sure they're aware of the safe driving habits that are expected of them. Helping to shape their driving habits today will help to ensure a lifetime of safe travels.

Continue reading "West Palm Beach Traffic Safety: Parents Vital in Keeping our Teen Drivers Safe" »

One of our greatest dangers while traveling near tractor-trailers is the risk of underride. This is the problem we face in accidents with these big rigs when our vehicles slide right up underneath them. On an encouraging note, these trailers have become more effective in decreasing risks with stronger underride guards. But are they strong enough?

According to officials with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the guards on these trucks are helping to eliminate these risks when you slam into the back of a trailer. But they're not effective when your vehicle is involved in a collision with only a small portion of the truck's rear. This is when most trailers fail to prevent potentially fatal underride.

Our Broward trucking accident attorneys understand that not all semis are required to have an underride guard. You may be familiar with these guards -- they're the bars that hang from the bottom of trailers to help to keep passenger vehicles from sliding underneath these trucks in the event of an accident. According to earlier studies, the minimum requirements for these guards weren't enough. These studies prompted officials with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to tighten up regulations back in 2011. But safe driving advocates aren't happy just yet, as they're continuing to push for these guards on even more types of trucks -- like dump trucks.

Tractor-trailer companies are coming through with stronger guards. But why if they're not mandated? Many believe that these guards are stronger because the standards are tougher in Canada -- and they have been since 2007. Others believe that they're getting stronger because of the recent crash test results published by the IIHS. Since then, at least one trailer manufacturer has started selling a trailer with an even better and stronger underride guard.

In just 2011, more than 250 of the 2,240 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed in accidents with large trucks reportedly died when the fronts of their vehicles slammed into the back of these large trucks. That's a number that's down from the 460 reported in 2004, but it's still not low enough. Officials believe that the drop in this number is largely due to the tougher design of passenger vehicles, the stronger make of these underride guards and the fact that our struggling economy had drivers taking time off from the road.

When you're sharing the road with a big rig, you're asked to be on your best behavior. Pay attention and keep your distance. You never want to travel too closely to a big rig. The size, weight and power of our passenger vehicles don't stand a chance against that of a large, commercial vehicle.

Continue reading "Commercial Trucks & Risks Inadequate Underride Protection in South Florida " »