Articles Tagged with car accident lawsuit

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The mother of a child left paralyzed, brain damaged and forever scarred has filed a lawsuit against not just the man who was driving drunk that night, but also against the two bars that served him that night. 

This lawsuit, filed separately from the three others brought by the estates of three persons killed in the drunk driving crash that night, alleges the driver downed 13 beers – plus a free shot of liquor – at two bars in the hours before the crash. At just 26, he worked as an assistant baseball coach at Anderson University in South Carolina. But that night, instead of guiding youths to greatness, his actions ended the lives of three young people, a 17-year-old girl, a 20-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man. That same recklessness nearly claimed the life of an 11-year-old girl, and probably would have had it not been for the quick and brave actions of a sheriff’s deputy with paramedic training who was first on scene. He found a faint trace of life, and gave her an emergency tracheotomy, right there on the scene.

Now, according to The State newspaper, that defendant has been convicted of numerous felonies relating to his actions that night. The young girl whose life was saved? She is now 13 and requires around-the-clock medical care. Her mother is now seeking justice from the business establishments she say should have known better than to continue serving the defendant driver alcohol, knowing he was clearly already drunk.  Continue reading →

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When you buy auto insurance and keep up with your monthly premium, it’s supposed to offer peace of mind. You trust that when you get into an accident, your damages will be covered. 

However, it happens fairly often that the cost of this “protection” is constantly on the incline and far too many claims are wrongfully denied, delayed or low-balled.

If your insurance company doesn’t treat you fairly, you have a few legal options. Bear in mind, though, you really cannot pursue them without the help of an experienced injury lawyer. Most of these claims will assert either bad faith or breach of contract. Although the ultimate award may be triple the original damages, these are complex cases that require a legal team with extensive experience.  Continue reading →

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Motor vehicle accidents are the No. 1 killer of children under 14 in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). When a car accident involves a child injury, it’s important to ensure the child’s rights are protected in any ensuing settlement or litigation. In fact, Florida law requires that the court appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the child’s interests in any settlement agreement involving a gross figure of $50,000 or more. 

Courts are given discretion to appoint a legal representative for settlements with lower dollar amounts, but F.S. 744.3025 requires that it be done when the amount reaches that $50,000 threshold.

This was a central issue in the recent 4th DCA case of Allen v. Montalvan. This was a tragic accident in which a grandmother was killed, and her adult daughter, minor son and three minor grandchildren were injured to varying degrees when their vehicle was struck by a drunk driver.  Continue reading →

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An Orlando jury awarded $10 million to the plaintiff in a wrongful death lawsuit that holds Domino’s Pizza liable for a car accident reportedly caused by a delivery driver employed by a franchise.

What’s particularly interesting about this case – and what could have ramifications for future cases – is that the jury chose to held the parent company liable. Most of the time, parent companies that have a franchisor-franchisee contract will prevail on vicarious liability issues by arguing they did not employ the employee and had no control over the worker’s hiring, training or supervision. Here, jurors combed over the franchise agreement and concluded the national pizza chain exercised its control over all major aspects of its contract with the franchisee, and thus could be vicariously liable for the negligence of the employee driver.

The crash killed a former Brevard County fire chief, who had been a firefighter in Central Florida for more than three decades. The impact of the crash rendered him quadriplegic and he died of his injuries little more than a year later. Continue reading →

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A Florida deputy is being hailed as a hero after he reportedly sacrificed his life by driving his cruiser in the path of a wrong-way driver – ahead of another driver who otherwise would have been struck.

Deputy John Kotfila, 30, was killed in the crash, as was the 31-year-old wrong-way driver, Erik McBeth. The wrong-way car accident happened in Hillsborough County around 2:45 a.m. on the Leroy Selmon Expressway.

The 41-year-old woman who was saved said the deputy saw the imminent danger she faced and made a split-second and heroic decision to sacrifice his own life to save her. Continue reading →

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Typically when a driver is injured or killed while fleeing or eluding efforts to detain them for criminal wrongdoing, there may not be strong grounds to pursue civil litigation. But as the recent case of Roddey v. Wal-Mart Stores shows, it still may be a possibility worth exploring. 

This was a South Carolina Supreme Court case that dealt with the death of a woman in a car accident that reportedly occurred while she and her sister were fleeing from a retail store after an alleged shoplifting excursion.

Decedent was waiting in the vehicle for her sister, who attempted to shoplift several items of clothing from a retail store. However, a customer service manager realized what was happening and alerted another manager, as well as an on-duty security guard, hired by a separate firm.  Continue reading →

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The Federal Highway Administration encourages roadway agencies to adopt roadside vegetation management programs that identify the best maintenance practices for each location. An integrated approach includes:

  • Mowing
  • Cutting (mechanical and hand)
  • Use of herbicides
  • Grazing of livestock
  • Cultivating desirable vegetation
  • Re-vegetation

Essentially, drivers have to be able to see and navigate the road clearly. If overgrowth of vegetation blocks a driver’s view of roadway signs or oncoming traffic, the municipality in charge of maintenance could find itself facing a car accident lawsuit.

That’s the situation in Wuthrich v. King County, a lawsuit recently revived by the Washington Supreme Court.  Continue reading →

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Plaintiff in McFadden v. Dept. of Transportation has won the right to continue pursuit of her wrongful death claim on behalf of her husband’s estate, alleging state liability for negligent highway maintenance involving a pavement drop-off. The decision was recently handed down by the Iowa Supreme Court. 

The case highlights an important roadway defect that can cause serious problems for motorists – especially motorcycles and other small vehicles – on Florida’s fast-paced roads.

Pavement drop-offs and shoulder edge drop-offs are road conditions where there is a significant change in elevation or uneven pavement from one travel lane to the next or from the travel lane to the shoulder. It’s a characteristic that is known to be dangerous to drivers, and it’s generally seen as a highway engineering flaw. Continue reading →

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Lost income and loss of employment benefits are among those factors taken into account when awarding damages to a car accident victim.

In most cases, if you’re employed by someone else, you simply request a letter from your company indicating your position, rate of pay, hours typically worked, number of hours or days missed after the accident and whether you took sick leave, vacation time or a leave of absence.

However, when victims are self-employed (as an 26 million people in the U.S. are), proof of lost income gets trickier. It’s usually advisable to hire a forensic accountant to assist in studying past income and offer a forecast of potential future income and business growth rate (or lack thereof).  Continue reading →

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Even with Florida’s no-fault auto insurance system, it’s common for those injured in a traffic accident to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver or other responsible parties. This occurs when damages and costs for injuries exceed a certain amount.

Occasionally, it becomes necessary for crash victims to take legal action against close friends, relatives or even spouses.

That whole notion strikes nerve with people, many of whom insist they don’t want to be in a court battle with someone they love. However, what’s important to keep in mind is these actions are truly not personal. Rather, taking this route is sometimes the only way a person who is injured can recover the necessary insurance benefits to which they are entitled. But individuals can’t sue an insurance company directly for an insured’s wrongdoing. Insurers are only added to the action later, once liability has been established. Continue reading →

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