Florida Injury Attorney Blog

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.

Every so often, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will focus on a particular violation of the regulations designed to keep the roads safe and prevent accidents involving massive tractor trailers and serious injuries or deaths. Some of the more important regulations deal with bus and semi truck drivers who have a history of drug or alcohol abuse or are under the influence of drugs or alcohol while driving a bus or semi truck.

Recently, the FMCSA targeted bus and semi truck drivers who may be driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. During a two week period, the alcohol and drug strike froce removed 109 bus and truck drivers from the roads for alcohol or drug violations. In addition, 175 bus and trucking companies were penalized for drug and alcohol violations. FMCSA employees reviewed the drug and alcohol records of bus and tractor trailer drivers, including school bus drivers and truck drivers carrying hazardous materials. The goal was to remove drivers and penalize bus and trucking company who violated federal drug and alcohol reporting requirements and other regulations. For instance if a semi truck driver has a history of a positive drug or alcohol test, the semi truck driver and the trucking company may be penalized. If either one failed to report a positive drug or alcohol test, that could also result in a violation. Bus and trucking companies are also supposed to maintain drug and alcohol testing programs and procedures. Failure to do should result in a violation.

The federal regulations clearly require bus and trucking companies to determine whether their drivers are unsafe due to an alcohol or drug problem or a history of positive tests. The regulations also require bus and semi truck drivers to submit to a drug and alcohol test as soon as possible after a serious accident. It is good to know the FMCSA is looking into these issues, but the number of violations here in a relatively short period is not too comforting.

When a trucking company hires someone to drive a commercial motor vehicle, i.e. a semi truck or tractor trailer, the trucking company should give that prospective employee a drug and alcohol test. Additionally, any time a semi truck driver causes or contributes to an accident that results in an injury to someone else or property damage, the semi truck driver is supposed to submit to a drug and alcohol test as soon as practicable according to the rules and regulations that govern semi truck drivers and trucking companies. Unfortunately, these important rules are not enforced very well, and many semi truck drivers are able to avoid taking the post-accident drug and alcohol tests without punishment. The government has discussed doing more to enforce these rules and otherwise make sure that drivers with a history of drug and/or alcohol abuse are not employed as semi truck drivers.

Recently, the Federal Department of Transportation (FDOT) has amended the rules dealing with drug tests of tractor trailer drivers. The new rules basically add certain drugs to the list of drugs screened during a pre-employment, post-accident or other drug test. With the rule changes, amphetamine-type drugs such as MDMA (ecstasy), MDA and MDEA will now be screened as well as an indicator for heroin use. The rules also lower the threshold for a positive drug tests for cocaine and amphetamines.

There are rules that are designed to prevent drug and alcohol abusers from driving semi trucks on the roads. However, the rules are not ideal, and they are often ignored due to lackadaisical enforcement and weak penalties. Any rule changes that will serve to prevent drug and alcohol abusers from obtaining jobs as commercial motor vehicle drivers are welcome.

A van driving along I-95 crashed into a semi truck that was parked on the side of the interstate, resulting in one death and several serious injuries in Woodbine, Camden County, Georgia, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The article indicates that eight people were riding in the van on I-95 in south Georgia when it crashed into the tractor trailer. It was not clear from the article why the crash occurred.

As personal injury and wrongful death lawyers, we see a variety of different accidents involving semi trucks. Many of them are serious like this one. When tractor trailers are stopped on the side of the road, they can be a serious hazard to other drivers. For that reason, semi truck drivers must make sure their vehicles and trailers are well off of the road, particularly when stopping along a busy road like I-95. Semi truck drivers should also make sure their vehicles and trailers are clearly marked so other drivers can see them stopped and make sure their path is clear. Even in the daytime, the large trailers can be difficult to see from a distance against a light blue or gray background. Those trailers should be well marked with bright orange or similarly colored markings to alert other drivers to their location. At night, it is important for semi truck drivers to put down fluorescent markings so drivers can see the hazard well in advance.

Because semi trucks pose a particularly serious hazard to other drivers on the road, they need to be clearly marked so other drivers can see them ahead of time so when a tractor trailer driver has slowed, stalled or stopped in or close to the road, other drivers can make adjustments to get out of their way. When semi truck drivers do not take the necessary efforts to make their vehicles and trailers conspicuous, serious accidents like these result.

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.

In January of 2009, a medium sized tour bus with 16 passengers was involved in a very serious accident in Arizona after the bus driver became distracted and crashed. Apparently, the bus driver was distracted by something with the door to the bus and as a result, the bus, which was going 70 miles per hour, veered out of its lane of travel. Once the bus driver realized he was out of his lane, he jerked the steering wheel to get the bus back in its lane but lost control of the bus. The bus rolled over and came to rest in the oncoming lane. Seven passengers on the bus were killed in the accident, and ten were injured.

The National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) investigated the fatal accident. The NTSB concluded that if the bus had a lane departure warning system, the driver would have been alerted to the act that the bus was veering outside of its lane. Additionally, if the bus was equipped with a stability control system, the likelihood of the bus losing control and rolling over would have been reduced. Stability control systems are now fairly common on automobiles and SUV's. The NTSB noted that it is unclear from federal regulations whether medium sized buses are required to have this kind of safety equipment. As a result, the NTSB recommended that all vehicles over 10,000 pounds should have lane departure warning and stability control systems, among other safety equipment.

The NTSB's recommendation makes sense and should have been implemented years ago. If regular passenger vehicles have this safety equipment, larger vehicles that may be more susceptible to rolling over and carry many passengers should surely have at least the same, if not more, safety equipment as well.

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.