Articles Tagged with Orlando car accident lawyer

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As noted by peer-reviewed traffic research, lane-changing collisions are among the most common types of crash on multi-lane freeways. These crashes generally happen when a driver miscalculates how much space/ time they have to make a lane change maneuver or they simply fail to glance in their mirrors to note whether other vehicles are in their blind spots. 

Newer and emerging driver assist vehicle technology can help to reduce lane change car accidents by using advanced sensors to alert drivers when another vehicle is in their blind spot. Usually, this is in the form of a small activated light on either side mirror. Some vehicles also allow reduce crash risk by programming a blinking visual warning or audible beeping warning if the driver has signaled intention to change lanes or moves to do so while another vehicle remains in their blind spot. This could go a long way to reducing these crashes long-term, but analysis on just how much probably won’t be out for a few more years.

In the meantime, lane change crashes continue to be a major problem. Just recently, a driver filed a personal injury lawsuit in Orange County Circuit Court, alleging injuries sustained in an Orlando car accident were the result of another motorist failing to operate her vehicle in a careful and prudent manner when changing lanes. The Florida Record reports the complaint alleges defendant driver failed to maintain her lane and carelessly tried to change lanes when it was not safe to do so.  Continue reading →

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He survived the loss of both legs due to crushing injuries sustained in a crash as he was helping his Uber driver move a stalled car onto the shoulder. Now, a 23-year-old California man is suing Uber, the Uber driver, Uber’s insurance carrier and the driver of the vehicle that struck him. 

According to local news reports, the victim was an Uber customer passenger in a newer model Jeep around 1 a.m. in March when the Jeep ran out of gas. The driver attempted to coast onto the shoulder, but instead the vehicle came to a rest in one of the lanes of the freeway. Both the driver and the passenger got out and started to push the vehicle onto the shoulder. It was at that time a second driver lost control of his vehicle and struck the customer. The severity of crushing injuries required that both legs be amputated.

Plaintiff’s personal injury lawsuit, which his injury lawyers have valued at between $25 million and $50 million, alleges the driver was not fit to operate the vehicle, and that this was a “substantial factor” in causing him to be in a position where he was hit.  Continue reading →

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Emergency vehicles are given special privileges and legal protections in Florida, specifically as outlined in F.S. 316.126. However, that does not mean that cities, municipalities or states (which generally own/ operate emergency vehicles as part of public service) are immune from liability when public servants are involved in collisions that result in injury. In fact, part of that statute specifically indicates, “This section does not diminish or enlarge any rules of evidence or liability in any case involving the operation of an emergency vehicle” and further, “does not relieve the driver of an emergency vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons using the highway.” 

Recently in a case out of West Virginia, the state supreme court there affirmed a trial court ruling in favor of a plaintiff, denying defendant a new trial in this personal injury lawsuit.

According to court records, a city police officer was assigned to work at a local high school. Shortly after arriving, he had to return home to attend to a homeowner emergency. After briefly meeting with a plumber, he left to return to work. While en route, he overheard a radio dispatch from another officer, in distress and pursuing a suspect on foot. The officer activated his lights and siren and traveled at a high rate of speed. Meanwhile, plaintiff pulled out from a parking lot into the same travel lane as the officer. The officer, traveling 65 mph, skidded more than 150 feet before rear-ending plaintiff. An investigating deputy sheriff testified that the skid marks and speed of the officer’s vehicle indicated plaintiff could not have seen the patrol car when he entered the roadway.  Continue reading →

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Auto insurance companies universally set per accident and sometimes per person limits on how much can be collected after a collision for which they are liable. These limits are based on the specifics of the policy in question, usually involving how much the insured pays.

While the question of how many accidents occurred is typically a simple one, there are scenarios wherein certain facts could raise doubt. This is commonly the case in multiple-vehicle accidents. It’s not uncommon in these situations for plaintiffs to argue more than one crash occurred. The simple reason for this the more accidents there were, the more insurance money will be available. In many cases, the number of claimants will not affect the per-accident payout (so the more claimants there are, the less can be paid to each individually). Meanwhile, proving there was more than one accident could mean more damages collected per claim.

In a case recently before the Wyoming Supreme Court, this issue was raised by a widowed bicyclist who was seriously injured – and her husband killed – when they were struck by a driver as they rode along a roadway.  Continue reading →

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We all rely on bridges in everyday transportation in Florida, whether commuting for work or heading to church or just out for a fun family day. Bridges are not just historical and aesthetically valuable to our skylines – they are integral to modern transportation.

However, there is growing concern that a number of these structures are not actually safe. Not all are built with parts or structural integrity that are entirely sound. Even those that are can degrade and erode over time with exposure to the elements. Some sustain more severe damage in natural disasters, such as hurricanes and tornadoes.

Recently, the Washington Post developed a user-friendly, searchable database using figures from the National Bridge Inventory, breaking down which areas have the highest percentages of structurally deficient bridges that pose the greatest risk to drivers.  Continue reading →

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Back in the 1970s, lawmakers in Florida sought to reduce the burden that constant car accident lawsuits imposed on the courts. That’s when they devised a system of no-fault benefits that every driver was required to purchase, called personal injury protection benefits, or PIP insurance. It’s intended to serve as a basic level of medical coverage for individuals who are injured in car crashes – no matter who is at-fault. 

The law requires drivers to buy a minimum of $10,000 in PIP protection, and only if their damages exceed that amount or if the injuries are debilitating, permanent or scarring can those injured seek compensation outside of that system, per F.S. 627.736. Drivers here also aren’t required to buy bodily injury liability insurance (though it’s usually a good idea).

But now, legislators say they are going to be rethinking Florida’s PIP no-fault auto insurance this spring. A study commissioned by state leaders shows that if the PIP system were tossed, drivers would save an average of $80 on their policies. That doesn’t sound like a ton, but of course Florida has some of the highest auto insurance rates in the country and we’ve also got one of the highest rates of uninsured drivers – 1 in 4. Meanwhile, the cost of PIP benefits has soared in recent years, climbing 14.4 percent between 2013 and 2014 and then again by 25.7 percent between 2015 and 2016.  Continue reading →

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The Sunshine State has a vast number of amazing qualities – but the safety of its roads apparently isn’t one of them. 

The newest report from SmartGrowth Design, Dangerous by Design 2016, details Florida’s abysmal rates of pedestrian deaths, relative to the number of people who walk to work. This year, researchers combed through data of 104 cities across the countries. Eight of the nation’s top 10 most dangerous cities are in Florida, as is No. 11. While the national average rate is 52.4, the top metro area in Florida – the Cape Coral/ Fort Myers region – had a rate of 283.1. Orlando-Kissimmee-Standford metro region ranked at No. 3 with a rate of 235.2.

What that means is when it comes to pedestrian deaths in Orlando, our ranking is 350 percent higher than the country’s average.  Continue reading →

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With the vast majority of car accidents caused by error of the drivers involved, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration seeks to give motorists more automated features to increase their awareness of potential hazards. The latest effort involves the advancement of Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication systems, which the NHTSA wants to make mandatory for all cars and light trucks in the U.S. 

The agency issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on the technology, which gives cars – and other devices – the ability to transmit their location, speed, direction and other information at a rate of 10 times per second. That lets other cars (and drivers) nearby know when a vehicle ahead is braking hard or about to run a red light or changing lanes or barreling fast around a blind curve. These alerts would give drivers enough time to react and prevent a collision.

Officials with NHTSA believe this technology has the potential to mitigate or prevent the severity of 8 out of 10 crashes that don’t involve drugs or alcohol (which is about two-thirds of the total 13 million accidents that happen every year). In essence, V2V has the ability to give drivers a total 360-degree awareness of what’s happening on the road.  Continue reading →

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Florida is a prime destination over the holidays. AAA reports that just over Thanksgiving, some 49 million Americans traveled 50 miles or more for the holiday, and more than 90 percent drove a car. Over the Christmas/ New Year’s Eve holidays, the same agency opines an estimated 100 million people will be making similar trips. 

According to CarRentals.com, three of the top 10 cities for holiday car rentals (an indication of top destinations) are in Florida. No. 2 is Orlando – just behind Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Holiday road trips may be an annual tradition, but that doesn’t mean drivers should be complacent. There are a host of hazards that may confront drivers, and it’s important to be aware and be prepared. Continue reading →

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The Utah Supreme Court has affirmed the right of an individual to act as both plaintiff and defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from a fatal car accident in which they were both the negligent driver and the person who suffered the loss of a wrongful death. 

The unusual case of Bagley v. Bagley has garnered international headlines, and will now proceed to trial after the state supreme court affirmed the decision of the appellate court to reverse the trial court’s dismissal of the claim. The trial court had reasoned a person can’t be both plaintiff and defendant. But the higher courts rule it is possible when we’re talking about a person who, in the plaintiff capacity, is acting as personal representative of the estate of the decedent. So in effect, they are not suing themselves for the personal injury they have personally inflicted, but rather, the wrongful death that their loved one suffered.

We don’t expect to see a glut of these kinds of cases anytime soon, but it could open the doors for some families to recover damages from insurance where they otherwise might not have been able to do so.  Continue reading →

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West Palm Beach, FL 33409
Phone: 561-999-9999
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8751 W Broward Blvd #106
Plantation, FL 33324
Phone: 954-999-9999
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MIAMI
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Miami, FL 33156
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Fax: 954-979-1225
ORLANDO
258 Southhall Ln #140
Maitland, FL 32751
Phone: 407-999-9999
Fax: 407-956-3820

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