South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

As the holidays are upon us get in the spirit of giving. The greatest gift we can give is the gift of life so this holiday season use caution on the roadways and reduce the risk of a car accident in Boca Raton or West Palm Beach by fastening your seat belt, slowing your speed, and concentrating on the roadways at all times.

Last year's holiday season was fatal for 165 Florida motorists. According to the
Fatality Analysis Reporting System from the National Highway Safety Administration, 74 people died on Christmas day and 91 died on New Year's Eve (13) and New Year's Day (78). Nationwide in 2009, on Christmas day 640 victims lost their lives and another 1,079 were lost on New Year's (Eve and Day).

As a reminder that we aren't immune to bad things happening during the holidays, one family will be mourning this holiday for the loss of their loved ones lost last Christmas. The couple who died were killed by a vehicle crossing the center line during Christmas Eve Crash.

It is a frightening thought that you can be driving along and suddenly get a glimpse of an oncoming vehicle in your lane. Roadtrip America offers some advice to avoiding a head-on crash.

It is vital that you pay attention at all times while driving. The sooner you see a vehicle coming at you the more time you have to react. Immediately begin slowing down in a safe manner. If the other vehicle continues to come at you drive off the road to the right. If you move to the left and the other driver swerves back into their lane at the last second you will be in the wrong lane. The idea is to not hit anything when you run off the road to the right, but if a crash is inevitable don't hit anything head-on. A glancing blow to a tree is better than a head-on crash with another vehicle.

Use a designated driver, wear your seat belt, pay attention and keep your cool. Let's avoid all types of accidents this holiday season.

Continue reading "Safe driving this holiday reduces your risk of a Boca Raton car accident" »

Speed is a leading cause of holiday car accidents in Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale. In fact it is the leading cause of fatal Florida car accidents, along with drunk driving. Florida is one of the top 5 states in the country for peed-related traffic fatalities each year.

Old movies give the notion that speed or drag racing is reserved for desolate country roads, where no one ever gets hurt. Not the case in Lee County recently where there was a fatal accident involving vehicles street racing. NBC News reported a collision with two vehicles that claimed the lives of two and critically injured two more. Residents living in the area are all too familiar as they admitted speed racing is common at this intersection with 2 miles of straight roadway ahead.

Speeding traffic fatalities in Florida are a real concern when compared to the rest of the United States. In 2009, the Fatality Analysis Reporting System used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that Florida ranked fourth behind California, Pennsylvania, and Texas, in speed related fatalities with a total of 1,068. There were 9,479 fatal crashes involving at least one car speeding last year in the United States, Florida accounted for 479 of these fatal crashes.

Though the statistics have shown a decline in Florida fatalities involved in speeding accidents over the last 5 years reporting 608 in 2005 down to 535 in 2009, the numbers still remain startlingly high for Collier, Lee and Palm Beach Counties.

-Collier County reported 14 fatalities which equates to a rate of 4.4 per 100,000 people.

-Palm Beach County had 34 fatalities in crashes involving speeding which per 100,000 people was a rate of 2.66.

-Lee County had only 17 speed related fatalities last year which calculated to 2.9 per 100,000 in population.

People who find driving at high speeds stimulating, especially on city streets and highways need to find another outlet. Speed limits are determined to maintain safety and have a purpose for being established. Make a sensible decision to save the racing for the tracks and slow down on city streets. It may just save your life or the life of someone else.

Continue reading "Speed a leading cause of holiday car accidents in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers" »

The Florida Highway Patrol has announced a crackdown on drunk driving this holiday season in an effort to reduce the number of Fort Lauderdale car accidents and traffic accidents elsewhere in South Florida.

West Palm Beach Accident Attorney Gregg Hollander and the staff at The Hollander Law Firm wish each of you a safe and enjoyable holiday season. Please celebrate responsibly, designate a driver and don't drink and drive.

"All too often innocent, law-abiding people suffer tragic consequences due to this careless disregard for human life," said FHP Director, Colonel John Czernis. "We are intensifying enforcement during the holidays and we will be especially vigilant during high-risk, night-time hours when impaired drivers are most likely to be on our roads."

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports that 1,004 motorists were killed in Florida drunk driving accidents last year, accounting for more than one-third of all traffic fatalities in the state.

Those rates are even higher through the holiday. Last year, 56 percent of all fatal accidents were alcohol related during the New Year travel period. Florida law enforcement will practice zero tolerance through the holiday travel season and the patrol will use auxiliary and reserve troopers to augment staffing during high-traffic periods.

The FHP offers the following advice:

-Plan ahead. If you are going to be drinking, designate a sober driver and give that person the car keys.

-Call a taxi, use mass transit, or phone a friend or family member.

-Report drunk drivers to law enforcement at *FHP (*347).

-Motorists who are having car trouble or otherwise need the assistance of law enforcement can also contact the FHP at *FHP (*347).

Continue reading "Drunk driving accidents a holiday risk from Fort Myers to Fort Lauderdale " »

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is encouraging motorists to update their emergency contact information with law enforcement, which will allow your loved ones to be quickly notified in the event you are involved in a West Palm Beach car accident or traffic accident elsewhere in South Florida this holiday season.

Our Boca Raton injury lawyers encourage you and your family to take the time to enter your contact information into this database. It can save precious time in the event of a serious or fatal accident -- time your family could spend helping to make medical decisions on your behalf, or taking pictures and preserving evidence to protect your rights at an accident scene.

The program allows holders of driver's licenses and identification cards to submit two contacts to notify in the event of an emergency. The information can only be accessed in an emergency by law enforcement officers looking to find designated contacts. Four million Floridians are currently registered with the award-winning program.

"It is reassuring to see the number of ECI registrants climb, but with more than 15.5 million licensed drivers in Florida we still have a long way to go," said DHSMV Executive Director Julie L. Jones. "Our goal is for all Florida drivers and ID card holders to register their Emergency Contact Information."

You can register online or at a state driver's license office.

Last year, more than 243,000 Florida traffic accidents killed 2,983 motorists and injured almost 200,000. The 665 crashes that occur in Florida every day mean somewhere in the state a car accident is occurring every two minutes.

Continue reading "Register with state's emergency database this holiday season to protect you and your family in case of a South Florida car accident" »

After decades of screaming, begging and pleading by safety advocates, the federal government finally announced on Wednesday a permanent ban on the manufacture and sale of dropside cribs in the United States.

Fort Lauderdale Child Injury Attorney Gregg Hollander has handled numerous defective product cases involving unsafe products marketed for use by children.

As we reported this summer on our South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, the government estimates the cribs have killed more than a dozen infants a year. Typically, a child's head gets caught between the mattress and siderail. Of the more than 100 children's products recalled so far this year by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, at least five involved dropside cribs.

The government has also been far too slow to act in recalling dangerous and defective strollers. We reported last month about a Graco Stroller recall after the strangulation of four infants dating back to 2003. Attorney Hollander represented the family of one of those infants, who was tragically killed by the defective strollers.

The USA Today reports that the dropside cribs have cradled millions of infants for generations. But, starting in June, cribs must not have side rails that move up and down. More than 9 million of the cribs that been recalled in the past five years.

"I am proud to say the United States will now have one of the strongest crib standards in the United States," said Inez Tenenbaum, chairman of the Consumer Products Safety Commission. "I believe these new standards will markedly reduce crib-related hazards and help to ensure that children sleep more safely in their cribs."

Hotels and childcare centers will have two years to comply with the year rules.

Continue reading "West Palm Beach child injury lawyer hails government ban of dropside cribs" »

Wear your seat belt and don't drink and drive.

It's a refrain you will hear over and over again heading into the holiday season. Taking those two steps could have a positive impact on the number of serious and fatal car accidents in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and elsewhere in South Florida through the upcoming holidays.

Particularly when it comes to younger drivers and passengers -- the data continues to show that teenagers are among the worst offenders of nearly every poor driving habit, including not wearing a seat belt, drinking and driving, speeding and distracted driving.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 13,000 lives were saved by seat belts last year.

And an additional 5,000 lives were saved by airbags, motorcycle helmets and the 21-year-old minimum drinking age. Lastly, child-restraint laws saved the lives of nearly 4,000 children.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported that 2,563 motorists were killed in Florida traffic accidents last year. By comparison, the federal government estimates that the following number of lives could have been saved in Florida.

-Child restraint under 4: 20
-Seat belts: 726
-Airbags: 162
-Motorcycle Helmets: 118

Nearly 150 additional lives could have been saved with 100 percent seat-belt compliance. In other words, an increased emphasis on safety could have reduced the number of roads deaths in Florida last year by about half.

To say nothing of the dangers of drunk driving -- which still account for about one-third of all traffic deaths. Florida drunk driving accidents claimed 1,004 lives.

Continue reading "Seat-belt, drunk-driving campaigns to dominate holidays as police seek reduction in Boca Raton car accidents" »

A Cape Coral nursing home abuse investigation has resulted in the firing of three employees, the News-Press reported.

Florida is among the states with the most nursing home residents, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Nearly 700 facilities house more than 82,000 residents. In most of these, the cost of care exceeds $40,000 a year.

More than half of the nation's nursing homes are for-profit companies operated by large chain corporations. If you have concerns, contacting a Cape Coral nursing home neglect attorney is the best course of action for ensuring the proper care of our most vulnerable older adults.

In this case, the state is investigating Clare Bridge, a home that provides dementia care. Two men went to police after a staff member reportedly told them an employee was abusing residents. A spokeswoman for the home's parent company, Brookdale Senior Living, said the firings were not related.

She said the firings were for failure to maintain confidentiality, spreading gossip and threats.

In cases where an employee is fired for revealing neglect or abuse, he or she can and should seek to collect all of the damages to which they are entitled under the law.

The home is being investigated by the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Children and Families, according to the News-Press.

Continue reading "Cape Coral facility target of nursing home abuse allegations" »

A hit-and-run driver fled the scene of a Fort Lauderdale School bus accident this week, the Palm Beach Post reported.

The crash involved a bus near Westwood Heights Elementary and occurred shortly before 8 a.m. at Southwest Seventh Street and Southwest 29th Avenue, according to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue.

The bus was carrying students from Bethune Elementary and Attucks Middle schools, which are both located in Hollywood.

Police reported a car collided head-on with the school bus. The driver of the car fled the scene on foot.

A Fort Lauderdale child injury lawyer should always be consulted when dealing with a school bus accident. Whether a claim is made against the at-fault driver and his or her insurance company -- or the school and its insurance carrier -- can depend on any number of factors. In some cases, all parties may share responsibility for the accident.

We encourage parents who are dealing with the injury of a child in a school bus accident or other mishap to make a complete report, seek the appropriate medical attention and to consult an experienced personal injury attorney. Some types of child injuries may not be readily apparent at the time of the accident but can cause significant issues weeks or even months later.

By taking the necessary steps to protect your rights, you will be helping to assure your well-being should medical complications arise at a later time.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports more than 1,500 deaths have involved school transportation accidents in recent years. However, thousands more are injured.

Of particular concern when it comes to school buses are accidents that occur while loading or unloading.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale school bus accident a reminder of potential dangers" »