Articles Posted in Car Accident

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CBS Local Miami reports tennis legend Venus Williams is allegedly at-fault in a car accident that resulted in the death of a 78-year-old man.  This fatal accident occurred at an intersection in Palm Beach Gardens. It’s important to bear in mind, however, that a final determination of fault may ultimately rest with the court. A police report is just the result of initial findings by a single investigator, and may even be subject to change as the investigation continues.

The accident report indicates that Williams was driving north when approaching an intersection and tried to make it through, but traffic in front of her caused her to slow down as she approached the intersection.  As this was happening, the victim was headed west and entered the intersection. According to investigating officers, the victim had the right of way in that intersection and not Williams. Continue reading →

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When a pedestrian is hit by a car the result is often horrific. The pedestrian has no protection and is being hit by a moving object that weighs thousands of pounds.  Even at slow speeds, there is so much mass and energy being transferred to the pedestrian that is like the pedestrian is colliding with a brick wall.   For this reason, the pedestrian is often left with severe and debilitating injury or is killed as happens often.

According to a recent news article from the Miami Herald, a woman was waiting at a bus stop in Lauderhill when she was killed as result of a two-car accident that occurred adjacent to the bus stop at which she was waiting. Authorities have said the two cars were engaged in reckless driving and that is the result of the crash and her death.  While this woman at the bus stop was the only fatality, there were seven total injuries.  One of the injured was ejected from a car that was involved in what is being described as a chain reaction crash. Continue reading →

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If you are the victim of a serious car accident, you likely suffered many different types of harm. There is an emotional toll taken when you are the victim of serious car accident in South Florida.  This can include the shock caused during the accident and the mental anguish during the treatment and painful recovery from the accident.

This is what lawyers would call “suffering” in terms of damages.  Damages is basically a legal term to mean the money to which you are entitled as the victim of serious car accident or any other personal injury, for that matter.  The pain you experienced during the accident and treatment can also be reduced to financial figure, and this is typically coupled with the suffering damages and is expressed as a single figure for pain and suffering.  There are various other types of damages in a car accident case that we will discuss below, and they are also listed in Florida Statute 768.73. Continue reading →

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In the state of Florida, the law requires all drivers with Florida license plates (a car registered in the state of Florida) to have a car insurance liability policy.  It is illegal to drive without insurance. It should be noted that while the law only requires cars registered in Florida to have insurance, every other state has its own insurance requirement, and a vehicle driven in Florida, but registered in another state must have insurance pursuant to their home state’s law, and failure to do so is illegal in Florida as well.

As for the amount of insurance you must carry, pursuant to the Florida laws, you must have no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) of at least $10,000 and $10,000 in property damage liability (PDL) insurance for property damage to others (car, house, building) damaged in the accident. There is a per claim limit of $20,000 and a total combined single accident minimum of $30,000. Continue reading →

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We often use the terms car “accident.” However, in reality, the term crash would probably be more appropriate.  The reason for this is because when we think of an accident in the non-legal sense, we tend to think of something that just happens and can’t be avoided – something that is nobody’s fault.

However, we know most car accidents are someone’s fault, and the accident occurred due to negligence of the at-fault driver, and, had the driver been more careful, the accident could probably have been avoided. Continue reading →

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Anyone familiar with West Palm Beach or other South Florida cities knows what a canal is.  These are man-made drainage trenches controlled by Utilities and Drainage Districts, and they are there to alleviate flood risks and also for irrigation.  They are often fenced-off and are known for being home to alligators.  From time to time, we see car accidents in which a vehicle ends up in the one of the canals, which often results in serious personal injury or even death.

According to a recent news article from the Palm Beach Post, a 26-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly crashed his car in to a canal in West Palm Beach and swam across the canal to flee the accident.  The car was submerged in deep water in this canal at the time, and there was a female passenger still trapped inside. Continue reading →

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When you are injured in a serious crash, it’s important not to negotiate with the at-fault driver’s insurance company until you have spoken with an injury attorney. Victims of major auto accidents may be entitled to a substantial amount of damages, and signing off too early could result in forfeiting money you’re owed.

According to a recent news report from CBS 12, a firefighter from Fort Lauderdale was seriously injured in a car crash in West Palm Beach, Florida. This serious car crash occurred on Northlake Boulevard near Coconut Avenue.

Authorities have said victim was driving his personal vehicle in the Palm Beach Gardens area, and was only a few miles away from his home.   He was on his way home from a long shift at his fire station in Fort Lauderdale when he was allegedly rear-ended by another driver.  The force of the collision was so significant that it caused his car to hit a tree and roll over. Continue reading →

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A 30-year-old North Fort Myers woman suffered a double leg amputation after she was struck by a vehicle along I-75 in Fort Myers as she was helping another motorist who had crashed into a guardrail. 

Now, her family has set up a GoFundMe account, and is asking for assistance for the woman, who is a mother to five children under 10, including three foster children. Friends and family have pitched in to help with the children while the victim is hospitalized. According to USA Today, the woman had already spent several weeks in the intensive care unit, with one leg amputated at mid-thigh and the other just above the knee.

Complicating her situation even further is the fact that she did not have health insurance. Now, she faces mountains of medical bills for care and future prosthetics, which would be the only way she will ever walk again. According to ABC News, the cost of a single prosthetic leg can be anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 – and even the most expensive are only built to withstand about three to five years of wear-and-tear. That means they have to be replaced numerous times over the course of one’s life – a cost few people can afford even with decent health insurance.  Continue reading →

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When you buy a used car, you may factor in a few needed maintenance repairs into the cost. However, you don’t expect that the very device intended to save your life could actually maim or kill you.

However, a recent crash in Nevada highlighted an unfortunate hole in the efforts of the government to remove dangerous exploding airbag inflators made by Takata off the road. Specifically, there is nothing in the law that requires these devices be removed from wrecked cars and then reinstalled into new ones.

In the Nevada case, an 18-year-old woman’s trachea was punctured when shrapnel came spewing at her from her airbag when she crashed in Las Vegas. The collision was deemed relatively minor. The greatest threat to the driver was the airbag – the very contraption designed to save her life in the event of a serious crash. She nearly died, but survived and is still recovering. Surgeons had to remove several pieces that severely damaged her vocal cords. Continue reading →

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Florida has been ranked the second-worst state in the country when it comes to distracted driving, tailing only Louisiana for the dubious distinction. 

The study was conducted by the online insurance firm EverQuote Inc. Although we normally wouldn’t highlight the findings of an auto insurance company as any sort of gospel, EverDrive, the  motion-sensing app used to conduct the analysis gleaned information from some 2.7 million trips and 230 million miles driven. Plus, these same kinds of results have been underscored in previous studies on distracted driving.

What the findings showed was that more than 9 in 10 drivers across the country who have cell phones used those phones while in a moving car at some point in the previous month. Study authors created a point system that analyzed certain maneuvers, such as bard braking, speeding, aggressive turning, sudden acceleration and other movements while the phone was in use (not in sleep mode). Based on this calculation, Florida was ranked the second-worst.  Continue reading →

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