Florida Injury Attorney Blog

We have written at length on this blog about the dangers of distracted driving and the increase in serious injury and fatal accidents in Florida that have been caused by people who were focusing on something other than driving. Distracted driving is becoming more of a priority for lawmakers and police in Florida and throughout the country due to studies that show how dangerous distracted driving is, and the corresponding serious traffic accidents that result.

Distracted driving falls into a few primary categories, and it is one of those things that is pretty easy to identify when you see it. How many times have you looked over at another driver and seen him/her looking at a cell phone rather than the road? A recent study confirmed that using a cellphone or other handheld mobile communication device is the most common distraction for drivers on the road, including drivers of semi trucks. The study analyzed traffic crashes and near crashes to see whether some sort of driver distraction caused or contributed to the event. Another conclusion of the study, which should be fairly obvious at this point, was that people who use cell phones and similar devices while driving are much more likely to get into an accident than those who do not use such devices.

While cell phones and text messaging devices are clearly the most dangerous distractions leading to traffic crashes, they are not the only dangerous distractions for drivers. In the next category, eating, drinking and/or smoking while driving were also major factors contributing to accidents and near accidents on the roads.

A recent report indicated that there were 5,474 deaths and 448,000 injuries from accidents caused by distracted driving in 2009. Distracted driving typically refers to people who are driving but are distracted by talking on their cell phones or sending or receiving text messages. This fatality figure represents 16% of all deaths from traffic accidents and is a 10% increase over the past five years. While a 10% increase over a five year period may not seem like a significant figure, the 10% increase came at a time when overall deaths from traffic accidents were at their lowest point since 1950.

Clearly, as more and more affordable cell phones with various applications are released, more people will be using them while driving. As a result, it is expected that the number of people causing serious injury and fatal accidents due to distracted driving will continue to increase. We suspect that the numbers from the most recent report are low as so many people seem to be driving while using their cell phones for one purpose or another. Plus, it is unclear how the preparers of this report determined which accidents were caused by distracted driving and which were not. When police investigate accidents, they often do not spend a lot of time investigating whether cell phones or other text messaging devices were in use. Personal injury and wrongful death lawyers will often explore those issues at greater length to determine if the other driver was distracted at the time of the crash.

A man walking across Blanding Boulevard in Orange Park, Clay County, Florida was hit by a pickup truck and killed over the weekend, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. According to the article, Roy Aguilar, Jr. was killed after being struck by the pickup truck. The article also indicated that alcohol tests are pending on the driver of the pickup truck as well as Mr. Aguilar.

Any time there is an accident involving a death or serious injuries that may result in a death, the police are supposed to conduct a complete traffic crash investigation. If the police suspect that alcohol or drugs may be involved, the police will take steps to determine if any of the people involved were impaired and to what extent.

In this case, if the pickup driver was intoxicated at the time he hit Mr. Aguilar, he could be charged with vehicular homicide, a very serious crime in Florida. Regarding the wrongful death case brought by relatives of Mr. Aguilar, the pickup driver's intoxication could also result in significant damages being awarded to Mr. Aguilar's family.

However, if a pedestrian victim is intoxicated at the time of the accident, how does that affect the victim's family's wrongful death case? It depends. A pedestrian victim's intoxication is only relevant in a personal injury or wrongful death case to the extent that the intoxication caused or contributed to the accident. If a pedestrian is intoxicated but is acting appropriately and following all of the traffic laws, his/her intoxication may be completely irrelevant. For instance, if a person walks across the street with the walk sign and within the crosswalk, it should not matter if he/she is intoxicated. However, if that person is stumbling across the street in front of traffic, then his/her intoxication would be relevant and would serve to reduce his/her damages, or his/her family's damages in a wrongful death case.

A man was seriously injured after he fell from a golf cart and struck his head in Vilano beach, St. Johns County, Florida. Apparently, Christopher Chaplin from Virginia was standing on the back of the golf cart when he fell and hit his head. He was taken to Shands Hospital according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com.

Golf cart accidents are not uncommon, particularly in the Jacksonville and St. Augustine areas of Florida where there are so many golf courses. As we have handled numerous personal injury and wrongful death cases, we have seen cases where people have been seriously injured as a result of accidents involving golf carts. Because golf carts do not have seat belts or doors, it can be fairly easy for a person to fall out and hit a tree, the concrete cart path or something else which can cause very serious injuries.

When a person gets injured in a golf cart accident, the same principles apply as if it was an accident involving cars or other motor vehicles on the road. The initial question is: who was at fault for causing or contributing to the accident and resulting injuries? If another person caused the accident by driving negligently, then that person is liable for the damages caused in the accident. There has also been case law in Florida which holds the owner of the golf cart responsible for the injuries caused by the driver who was authorized to use the golf cart. Golf courses can also be liable for failing to maintain their golf courses and surrounding premises in a safe condition. If a large pothole or other hazard is left unchecked without proper warning and detour signs, the golf course can certainly be liable if a person in a golf cart is involved in an accident caused by some dangerous condition on the golf course that should have been fixed or blocked off.

Most accidents involve motor vehicles on the roads. However, golf carts can be dangerous instrumentalities as well that result in serious injuries after an accident. When such an accident occurs and a person is injured, it is important to determine who was at fault so the injured party can be properly compensated for his/her damages.

A recent article on a Jacksonville news website cited a study that said people drive while talking on their cell phones more in the south than any other part of the country. We have posted several times about the dangers of driving while talking on a cell phone or worse, driving while texting. As attorneys who drive all over Jacksonville, North Florida and Southeast Georgia for various cases, we see how many people are out there focusing on their cell phones rather than the road. As a result, when we handle personal injury and wrongful death cases resulting from auto accidents, we always look into the other driver's cell phone records to determine whether the at fault driver was using a cell phone at the time of the crash. Studies like the one cited in the article provide further support for the fact that preventable auto accidents that cause serious injuries are occurring more and more in Florida because people are distracted by their cell phones. It is a serious hazard to people on the roads in Florida that is not going away anytime soon.

A Jacksonville, Florida man was arrested after allegedly intentionally hitting his girlfriend with his car after an argument according to an article on FirstCoastnews.com. The man was arrested for aggravated battery after the incident.

It is not clear from the article whether, and to what extent, the woman was injured. However in cases where the crash was intentional, it may be difficult for the injured party to recover damages. In the overwhelming majority of auto accident cases, the injured plaintiff seeks to recover damages from the other driver's insurance company. However, insurance policies do not cover all types of crashes. Most, if not all, insurance policies will have an exemption for intentional acts that cause damages. If a person runs a red light and causes a crash with injuries, that is a negligent act that is likely covered by an insurance policy. If a person tries to hit someone intentionally for whatever reason, that is likely not going to be covered by an insurance policy. In the latter case, if there is no insurance coverage, it can be very difficult, if not impossible, for an injured victim to recover damages for his/her injuries.

An SUV driver was driving recklessly and speeding, hit a utility pole and then crashed into other vehicles in the area of Beach Boulevard and Hodges Boulevard in Jacksonville, Florida according to an article on News4Jax.com. At least two people in the other vehicles were injured as a result of the crash.

The article suggests that the SUV driver was driving recklessly prior to the crash. There is no simple definition for reckless driving. There is a legal definition of reckless driving (which is actually a misdemeanor crime in Florida), but it does not help to define reckless driving in regular terms. It basically refers to driving that goes above and beyond more routine negligent driving and places other people in danger. Running a red light, speeding, or failing to yield are common examples of negligent driving. Doing all of those at once, excessive speeding in a residential area, or driving while intoxicated may be examples of driving that is worse than negligent driving and rises to the level of reckless driving. Ultimately, it may be up to a jury in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit to decide if the defendant's driving was reckless.

Whether a defendant's driving was reckless or just negligent can have a major impact on a personal injury or wrongful death case. If the personal injury/wrongful death lawyer for the plaintiff can prove the defendant driver was driving recklessly when he/she caused the crash, the plaintiff can ask the jury to award punitive damages. Punitive damages are more easily defined. They are damages awarded to the plaintiff that are designed to punish the defendant for his/her reckless conduct and deter any such future conduct. Punitive damages can significantly increase the value of a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.

We have written several times on our blog about serious injury and fatal accidents caused by people who were distracted while driving because they were talking on their cell phones or sending or receiving text messages. Studies show that driving while texting can be as dangerous as driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs because it takes a person's focus off of the road for significant periods of time. Would you rather have the person in another vehicle driving after a few drinks at dinner or looking down at his/her cell phone while he/she types out a text message for 20 seconds while driving 65 miles per hour? Neither is ideal.

However, a recent study showed that a driver's reaction time is significantly reduced if he/she is listening to sports on the radio and more so when the person is particularly interested in the game or discussion. The study found that reaction times for drivers intently listening to a game while driving were up to 20% slower which certainly can be the difference between safe driving and causing a serious accident. The number of incidents of hard braking almost doubled when drivers were listening to sports radio.

While different states are making it illegal to drive while texting or talking on a cell phone, it is unlikely that anything would be done about people driving while listening to anything on the radio. However, some people do get inordinately caught up into a game or sports talk show on the radio, and it could cause them to be less alert to their surroundings and more susceptible to causing an accident. It is an issue that personal injury and wrongful death lawyers should explore in a personal injury/wrongful death lawsuit during a deposition or otherwise.

Two people died and two were seriously injured after their vehicles crashed in Webster, Florida (which is about 3 hours southwest of Jacksonville, Florida). According to the article, Kodi Chamberlain and Roger Higby were driving on State Road 471 in Sumter County, Florida when their vehicle veered off of the roadway. The driver was able to get the vehicle back onto the road, but it drove into the oncoming lane when it crashed into an oncoming vehicle.

It is unclear from the article exactly why and how this accident occurred, but as personal injury and wrongful death lawyers in Florida, we do see a lot of similar crashes in rural areas. It is not uncommon for drivers in rural areas to lose focus and veer off the road. This can be an extremely dangerous situation even where the vehicle leaves the road for mere seconds. Vehicles traveling on rural roads are often traveling at high speeds. Additionally, rural roads are often more narrow than the roads in more urban areas. If a vehicle does leave the road, the shoulder next to the road in a rural area is often grass or dirt which can make it difficult, and very dangerous, for a driver to safely get back on the road. Often, a driver will panic when the vehicle leaves the roadway and overreact, or over-correct, so that when the vehicle turns back onto the road, it does so at too sharp and angle and too fast so the vehicle drives through its lane and into the oncoming lane. Under those circumstances, these kinds of serious, high speed, head-on accidents occur, and fatalities and serious injuries often result.

More and more states are passing laws that make it illegal to drive while using a text messaging device. With studies coming out showing the dangers of driving while texting, often comparing the practice to driving while intoxicated, and the increased number of serious auto accidents involving drivers who were distracted while driving because of their cell phones, these laws banning driving while texting are becoming more prevalent.

Under the new law in Georgia, a driver who is caught driving while texting may receive a ticket and a $150 fine with a point added to his/her license.

A head-on collision resulted in the death of a teenager in Baker County, Florida which is just west of Jacksonville, Florida, according to an article in News4Jax.com. William Hardin was reportedly driving along U.S. 90 in Baker County, Florida when he crossed the center line and struck the vehicle driven by 15 year old Travis Suggs, who died from his injuries. Several of the passengers in Travis's vehicle were seriously injured.

It is unclear from the article what caused the driver to cross the center line and cause the head-on crash. However, these kinds of serious accidents are not uncommon in less-traveled, rural areas. Some people might expect the majority of serious accidents to occur in more urban areas on busier roads due to the higher traffic levels. However, studies show that traveling on smaller roads in more rural areas can be just as, if not more, dangerous. Rural roads are often narrower with soft shoulders leaving little margin for error. The speed limits are often higher on average than streets within cities. People have a tendency to lose focus while driving when there are not a lot of other drivers, traffic signals, street signs and other things that can keep a person more alert. In rural areas on narrower roads, even a minor mistake can result in a very serious accident.

A Dodge Durango was rear ended on I-10 in Columbia County, Florida (which is about an hour west of Jacksonville, Florida), and two children in a family from Arkansas were killed in the accident according to an article on News4Jax.com. Other occupants of the Dodge Durango were seriously injured in the crash. The article indicates that Jordan Burch's vehicle hit the Dodge Durango from behind on I-10 which caused the accident. However, the accident was still under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol at the time the article was posted.

Whenever there is a serious accident like this one, it is important to determine who was at fault so the injured parties can be compensated in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. In Florida, when there is a rear end accident like this one, there is a legal presumption that the back vehicle driver was negligent and liable for the damages caused by the crash. One reason for this legal presumption in Florida is that the back driver is in a better position to anticipate and avoid such a crash since the front driver is most likely looking ahead rather than behind his/her vehicle at any given time. This presumption can be refuted, for instance if the front driver did not have lights on at night or slammed on the brakes suddenly for no reason, but those instances are rare. In most accidents of this nature, the back driver could and should have avoided the crash and is fully responsible for all damages that result from the rear end accident.

A person riding a bicycle on Cedar Point Road near Gate Road in Jacksonville, Florida was struck by a vehicle and killed, according to an article on News4Jax.com. Police were still investigating who was at fault in the accident at the time the article was posted.

Jacksonville, Florida is a city with a lot of bicyclists year round because of the good weather. However, many of the streets are not conducive to safe bike riding. Additionally, a lot of vehicle drivers do not seem to understand that they need to share the road with bikers. Driving around in Jacksonville, Florida, we see a lot of bicyclists on the roads. We also see a lot of cars who do not slow down or move over to accommodate the bicyclists. Some drivers seem to think that bicyclists do not belong on the roads and should be relegated to the sidewalks. But that is not the law in Florida. Bicyclists are permitted to ride on the roads just like vehicles. When vehicles are in the vicinity of bicyclists, those drivers need to slow down, move aside or make any other adjustments to safely share the road with bicyclists.

As more and more drivers distract themselves with cell phones and text messaging devices, the roads become more dangerous for bicyclists who are often in close proximity to motor vehicles. If a vehicle driver hits a bicyclist, whether because he/she was distracted or just failed to take the necessary steps to make way for the bicycle, serious injuries often result and the vehicle driver is often at fault for negligent driving.

Three people were killed after their vehicle swerved off of I-95 and drove into a tree in Titusville, Florida. According to the article, the driver, Jeff Cain, had to swerve to avoid a grill that fell off a truck in front of Mr. Cain's vehicle on I-95. The car left the roadway and rolled over before hitting a tree. Three occupants were killed, and another was seriously injured.

These kinds of accidents are not uncommon, unfortunately. Normally, when there is a one-vehicle accident, fault for the accident lies with the driver of that vehicle. However, there are exceptions, for instance, when another driver's negligence causes a hazard like this one. Whenever a person places something in his/her vehicle or trailer that could potentially be a hazard to other drivers on the roads, it is imperative that the person secure that item to ensure that it does not fall from the vehicle or trailer. A grill falling onto I-95 would certainly qualify as a potentially dangerous object that needs to be securely tied down. When a grill or similar object falls onto a road like I-95 where the speed limit is 65 miles per hour, it creates a serious and immediate hazard that is likely to cause a serious accident like this one. In a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit surrounding an accident like this, it is important to investigate how the grill was secured, if at all, why it fell from that vehicle and how the person was driving with that unsecured load in his/her vehicle. More than likely, the driver of the vehicle with the grill was negligent in failing to properly store and secure the grill which resulted in this serious, fatal accident.

Hopefully, the driver of the truck stopped at the scene of the crash, or his license tag was recorded by someone, so that his information and insurance information could be discovered. If so, personal injury/wrongful death lawyers would certainly want to question that driver about the circumstances of him/her placing and securing the grill in the truck and the manner in which he/she was driving with that grill in the truck. If not, the injured victim and the families of the deceased victims would still be able to make a claim with their own insurance companies for damages under an uninsured motorist insurance policy.

A recent study using information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that I-95 is the most dangerous highway in the U.S. in terms of serious, fatal traffic crashes. Particularly, in Florida the study found that there were 1.73 deaths per mile on I-95 in Florida. I-4, which also runs through Florida, was found to be the 3rd most dangerous highway in the country.

As people who live here in Jacksonville, Florida know, I-95 and I-4 are major highways that are well traveled in Jacksonville. It is not uncommon to see serious accidents on those roads and hear about them in the radio traffic reports. Because two of the more popular highways in the country intersect in Jacksonville, we also have a large number of semi trucks that drive on our roads after having traveled long distances from other parts of the country. The existence of tractor-trailer drivers, some of whom are fatigued from the long drives, add to the dangers of driving in and around Jacksonville. This study should come as no surprise to those of us who drive on I-95 and I-4 in Jacksonville, Florida every day.

A woman died and her two children were seriously injured after her car ran into the back of a tractor-trailer on State Road 207 in Hastings, St. Johns County, Florida, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The article indicates that the semi truck slowed and the woman’s vehicle drove into the rear of the semi truck causing the vehicle to be pinned under the trailer.

Ordinarily, fault for rear end accidents are attributed to the rear vehicle as they are in a better position to avoid the crash. There are exceptions to the general rule if a vehicle stops suddenly and for no reason or is stopped in the roadway without properly alerting other drivers. In the case of a semi truck, even where the accident is caused by the rear driver, there still may be some fault on the semi truck driver and the trucking company if the tractor-trailer does not have the proper markings and equipment. Semi trucks should have bright stickers or marking around the vehicle to alert other drivers of its presence. In the back of the trailer, they should also have bars or guards that prevent smaller passenger vehicles from going underneath the trailer in the case of a serious rear end accident like this one. In the past, rear end accidents involving passenger cars resulted in much more serious injuries than necessary because the car would go under the trailer. As a result, semi trucks are supposed to have bars on the back of their trailers to prevent cars from going under the trailer in cases of rear end accidents. Where semi trucks do not have this type of equipment on their trailer and a serious accident of this type occurs, it can be argued that the semi truck driver and the trucking company were negligent for not having the proper equipment on its vehicle that would have lessened the severity of the injuries in a rear end accident.

According to a new survey conducted by Nationwide Insurance, people are talking on their cell phones and texting less while driving. As the dangers of driving while texting or talking on a cell phone are becoming more publicized (largely due to serious injury accidents caused by such distracted driving), people are being more careful about using mobile communication devices while driving. According to the survey, 20% of people with cell phones drive while texting. However, the percentage of drivers under age 35 who admit to driving while texting is still quite high at 47%. The surveyors who admitted to driving while texting did admit to doing it less than before. Additionally, 67% of those surveyed admitted to driving while talking on their cell phones.

In our opinion, this survey illustrates two points. First, people are under-reporting their driving while texting and driving while talking on a cell phone practices. Looking around at people driving in Jacksonville, Florida and the North Florida area, it seems to be increasingly common to see drivers using their cell phones in some manner while driving. Secondly, even with the admitted numbers, driving while distracted is a huge problem. Some studies have shown that driving while texting can be as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs because of the way it takes a driver's eyes and focus off of the road for significant periods of time. At highway speeds, a vehicle can travel long distances when a driver is looking at a cell phone as opposed to the road for just a few seconds. It is when this occurs and a vehicle stops, a driver switches lanes or the distracted driver veers out of his/her lane that serious accidents occur.

It is good that distracted driving is becoming more of a publicized issue in an attempt to reduce serious and avoidable injury accidents. However, as cell phones become more advanced with more applications and more people buy them, we are skeptical that the numbers truly indicate that people are driving while texting or talking on their cell phones less.

A taxi driver driving south on U.S. 1 in St. Johns County, Florida lost control of his vehicle, crossed the median and crashed into an SUV, according to an article on News3Jax.com. The driver of the taxi was killed in the crash, and the three occupants of the SUV were taken to the hospital.

Fault and liability for a crash like this are typically pretty easy for a personal injury or wrongful death lawyer to prove. When a vehicle crosses the median and crashes into another vehicle in the oncoming lane, the driver who left his/her lane of travel will almost always be exclusively liable for the crash and resulting injuries unless it can be shown that another driver caused him/her to leave his/her lane.

Assuming the taxi driver is at fault in a crash like this, who is liable for the injuries to the people in the other vehicle? Of course, the driver of the vehicle that caused the crash will be liable so a claim can be made against his insurance company. However, when the driver is working at the time of the crash, i.e. he/she is driving within the course and scope of his/her employment, then the employer is also liable for any damages caused by the driver in an accident. In this case, the taxi company may also be liable for the injuries caused by the taxi driver if the taxi driver was working at the time the accident occurred.

Finally, in Florida, owners of vehicles are liable for accidents caused by the drivers of their vehicles, as long as the driver had permission or authorization to drive the vehicle. So, if an owner lets another person borrow a car or a person buys a car and puts it in his/her name but allows another person to use it, that owner is liable for any damages caused by the driver in an accident.

So, there are potentially three separate persons, entities or insurance policies that may be liable to pay damages when a driver causes injuries to another in an accident- the driver, his/her employer and the owner of the vehicle.

A car ran into a group of bicyclists and injured three of the riders along Highway U.S. 1 in St. Augustine, Florida, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. The three injured bicyclists were riding in a larger group when the car crashed into them, according to the article. The driver, Michael Nally, then kept driving and threw a beer bottle out of the window of the car. Michael Nally ultimately stopped and was arrested by St. Johns County police. Nally was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury, and DUI with serious bodily injury charges may be coming pending the results of blood alcohol tests.

In personal injury cases involving a vehicle against bicycle accident, there are always questions as to whether the driver was carefully watching out for others along the road. Some drivers do not seem to understand that they need to share the road equally with bicycles. When serious accidents like this occur because drivers do not take the proper precautions to accommodate bicycles on the roads, it is typically easy to attribute liability for the accident on the vehicle driver. When that same driver does not stop at the scene immediately and there is additional evidence that he/she is intoxicated, punitive damages can be assessed against that driver. Based on the information provided in the article, it appears that the vehicle driver may have been grossly negligent and even reckless if blood test results show alcohol and/or drugs in his system. If that turns out to to be the case, the driver will likely face punitive damages claims that are desired to punish and prevent this kind of crash from happening again.

Several cars were involved in an accident on State Road 9A near Phillips Highway in Jacksonville, Florida after a tire on one of the vehicles blew, according to personal injury and wrongful death lawyers, the proper questioning and investigation into maintenance records can uncover when a driver and/or owner is negligent in failing to maintain his/her vehicle.