Articles Tagged with Orlando car accident attorney

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The voice on the line was that of a retired police officer who had come across many accident scenes in his career. But in that 911 call to dispatch at the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, that voice, although clearly and succinctly describing the situation, revealed the sheer awfulness of it.

“We have people trapped in the car unconscious. We’re trying to get the door open. I have one, two people in the back seat unconscious. It’s pretty bad.”

By the time active duty emergency crews arrived, they would find one of four teens inside that vehicle, an 18-year-old recent Nease High School graduate, was dead. Five others – including two 18-year-old sisters (two in a set of identical triplets) – were seriously injured. Additionally, two others in another vehicle – a 20-year-old driver and his 19-year-old passenger – were seriously injured as well. Three of the teens injured are high school students, including the two sisters. According to a GoFundMe page for the sisters, they face “a long recovery.” The decedent, according to his obituary, had been studying computer engineering at the University of Central Florida. Continue reading →

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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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It seems almost everyone has a story about that one time they were involved in a crash or encountered a serious hazard due to an unsecured load or debris cluttering the roadway. Florida Rep. Jamie Grant (R-Tampa) recalled his best friend’s mother was killed when an engine fell off the back of a trailer and flew through her windshield. Others have talked about encountering construction tools flying off the back of trucks, swerving to miss a mattress lying in the highway, losing control due to ripped tires on the roadside or a huge tree branch that was causing an obstruction. 

While these incidents can result in thousands of dollars in property damage, serious injury or even death for those who encounter these dangers, the person who was responsible, if they are caught, might expect a ticket with a few hundred dollars fine or, if someone dies, up to 120 hours of community service.

Many argue that’s simply not enough, particularly in light of a new report by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, which reports this is a much bigger problem than we may have previously understood. According to the latest news, there are approximately 50,000 accidents reported every year that are caused in some way by road debris. That’s nearly double the number noted in a previous report from 2000 indicating there were 25,000 of these incidents every year.  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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If you are involved in a car accident, you may be wondering not only if you should hire an attorney, but whether you can afford one.

The good news is that our Orlando car accident lawyers take cases on a contingency fee basis, which means clients do not pay attorney’s fees upfront (as they would in many other types of litigation), and in fact, they don’t have to pay any attorney fees if the case is unsuccessful.

And here is some other good news: There are some situations in Florida injury law in which the courts will order defendants to pay the plaintiff’s attorney’s fees at the close of the case. When the other side pays those fees in full, plaintiffs don’t have to worry about paying it out of their portion of damages. Continue reading →

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When two vehicles collide at relatively low speeds, it can result in substantial injury.

Consider that the average vehicle weighs about 2,000 pounds. If it hits a stationary object at just 10 miles-per-hour, the impact force is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.7 tons.  And obviously, if we’re talking about a larger vehicles, such as a sport utility vehicles, it’s going to hit with even more force. Additionally, physics dictates that a person inside a vehicle travels faster than the vehicle itself when it is struck, so the occupants end up absorbing a disproportionate amount of force.

But none of this is going to stop a defendant from arguing that because the crash was low-impact, the plaintiff couldn’t possibly have suffered the injuries he or she is alleging.  Continue reading →

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The Florida Supreme Court came out strongly against insurance companies that delay, deny and low-ball legitimate claims in the recent decision, Fridman v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Ill.

At issue on appeal before the court was whether an auto insurance company could file a confession of judgment on the eve of trial and avoid a bad faith insurance claim. The answer was no.

This was a case where an insurance company dragged its feet for four years, denying an uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) claim. Even when the plaintiff filed notice of intent to file a bad faith lawsuit, the company didn’t respond. And then when the plaintiff filed the lawsuit, the company still didn’t respond, and nor did the company answer when plaintiff offered to settle for the policy limits of $50,000. It wasn’t until a month before the trial was scheduled that insurer sent a confession of judgment and a $50,000 check. Continue reading →

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Ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft have gained a groundswell of popularity in Florida and across the country, where deal-seeking customers praise the app’s ease of use and accessibility. 

But Florida lawmakers say passengers are at risk when drivers aren’t required to carry the same level of insurance coverage as more traditional ride services, like taxis and limousines. Issues of coverage can get even more complicated when taxi drivers join Uber as a way to get more fares.

Two bills have been introduced, taking aim at the newer technology, though one is actually backed by the ride-share industry, while the other is firmly opposed.  Continue reading →

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“Elderly driver accidentally drives into a Game Stop in Tampa.”

“5 Injured After Car Crashes Into Plantation Restaurant.”

“Car Crashes Into Central Florida Day Care, Killing One Child.”

“Disgruntled worker crashed car into Target store.”

News outlets bill such incidents as something of an oddity or a freak accident. In truth, occurrences of vehicles smashing into storefronts, restaurants and other buildings happen far more frequently than we’d like to think. In fact, the Storefront Safety Council reports such incidents occur over 60 times every day, resulting in 4,000 injuries and 500 deaths a year.

A new study by Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) examined whether the storefront barriers and bollards many property owners install to prevent such instances are strong enough to accomplish their designed purpose. Continue reading →

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Most people understand that when they are involved in a car accident that was someone else’s fault, they are entitled to collect damages for serious injuries. What is less understood is the fact there are two kinds of damages: Compensatory and punitive.

While compensatory damages are intended to compensate victims for actual losses, punitive damages are intended to punish the wrongdoer and discourage similar future acts. There are certain criteria for pursuit of punitive damages, and in Florida, the criteria is described in F.S. 768.72. Plaintiffs will have to show defendant either acted with gross negligence (conduct so reckless it constituted a conscious disregard or indifference for life, safety and rights of others) or intentional misconduct.

Punitive damages aren’t applicable to every case, but they are usually worth exploring because they can substantially increase the sum owed to car accident victims. However, plaintiff attorneys must be cautious because filing for punitive damages absent a sound basis to do so may result in sanctions from the court.  Continue reading →

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