Florida Injury Attorney Blog

An 18 year old was killed in an auto accident on Philips Highway near I-95 in Jacksonville, Florida over the weekend, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. The victim, Megan Bunn, died in an accident with an ambulance. There were other serious injuries as a result of the accident. According to the article, the ambulance turned into the path of the pickup truck in which Bunn was riding, causing the crash.

When traffic accidents involve ambulances, police officers and other emergency vehicles, there are different issues that arise when it comes to determining fault for the crash and the subsequent injuries and/or death. Drivers do have an obligation to watch out for emergency vehicles that are properly marked and move out of their way when it is safe to do so. However, ambulance and other emergency vehicle drivers have an obligation to drive safely when responding to or from an emergency. They can speed through traffic and disregard traffic signals, but they cannot disregard other vehicles on the road. They must make sure their emergency lights and sirens are activated and it is safe to speed, make a turn or drive through an intersection with a red light or stop sign at all times. If an emergency vehicle fails to do any of those things, that driver can be found negligent and the ambulance company or the city can be held liable for the damages caused by the negligent driving.

A recent report indicated that Jacksonville, Florida is one of the most dangerous cities for pedestrians in terms of serious injuries and deaths caused by traffic accidents. Most people think of car and truck crashes when they think of serious injury or fatal accidents. However, the recent report indicated that almost 12% of all traffic crash deaths involved pedestrians. Jacksonville, Florida was considered the third most dangerous city in the United States for pedestrians according to the report. All of the top four dangerous cities for pedestrians were in Florida.

The report indicated that many of these pedestrian deaths from traffic crashes were in locations where there were poor provisions for pedestrians, i.e. poor road alignment, no crosswalks, poor signaling for pedestrians and a lack of sidewalks.

When a person is injured in an accident as a pedestrian, many of the same issues apply as in accidents involving only cars and trucks. There may be insurance issues but generally, if you are a pedestrian and are hit by a car or truck, that person's insurance policy should cover your injuries and your own uninsured/underinsured motorist policy, if you have one, should cover you as well.

Franklin Fox was walking on Lem Turner Road in Jacksonville, Florida when he was struck by a vehicle and killed, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. The article indicates that the police sought alcohol tests for the driver of the vehicle and Mr. Fox.

It is unclear from the article how this fatal accident occurred or whether any of the parties involved were intoxicated, but it raises an issue about how alcohol affects a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. When the party that causes the crash and resulting injuries or death is under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time, that is a very important fact in the resulting lawsuit. It enables the injured party, or the family of the deceased, to seek punitive damages against the impaired driver. It will significantly raise the amount of damages one can recover in the personal injury or wrongful death case.

Alternatively, when the victim is intoxicated, the driver can argue that the victim was partially, or completely, at fault for the injuries he suffered or the death resulting from the crash. If the victim was completely at fault for the crash, he/she would not be able to recover any damages. If the victim was partially at fault for the crash, then the victim's damages would be reduced by the percentage of fault, or negligence, that can be attributed to the victim based on his intoxication. However, a victim who is found to be partially negligent can still file a lawsuit against someone who caused him/her damages who was also negligent.

When the driver who caused the crash was intoxicated as well as the victim, the two sides will negotiate the case to try and determine the percentage of fault attributable to each side. If they are unable to resolve that issue, a jury would decide how much each party contributed to the crash. If the jury decides that the victim was partially at fault, his/her damages would be reduced accordingly. But, the fact that the victim was intoxicated does not mean he/she cannot sue the other driver and recover damages for his injuries or the death. Additionally, the victim can use the fact that the driver was intoxicated to increase the damages that he/she can recover.

A head-on accident on U.S. 90 in Baker County, Florida killed one driver and seriously injured another, according to an article on News4Jax.com. According to the article, Casey Prevatt's vehicle crossed the center line and crashed head-on into a pickup truck, killing Mr. Prevatt and seriously injuring the driver of the pickup truck.

Assuming the deceased driver caused the accident and the injuries to the pickup truck driver, one question that arises in personal injury cases is whether someone injured by a driver who dies in the crash can make a claim against that deceased driver. In other words, can the injured pickup truck driver sue the other driver who died in the crash? The answer is yes. The at-fault driver's insurance company is still liable to pay the damages caused by the negligence of the driver who died in the crash. If the case cannot be resolved through negotiations, the injured driver can sue the deceased driver's estate for his/her injuries to collect the available insurance money. Also, in any accident, if the owner of the vehicle that caused the crash is different from the driver of that vehicle, the injured party can make a claim against that owner's insurance company for his/her injuries. Florida has what is called the dangerous instrumentality rule which says that an owner of a vehicle (i.e. his/her insurance company) is generally liable for injuries caused by that vehicle even if someone else is driving.

A man was seriously injured when another vehicle apparently ran a stop sign and crashed into his vehicle on U.S. 1 in Nassau County, Florida, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The man who was hit, Marvin Henderson of Hilliard, Florida, was taken to the hospital from the scene of the crash. The article indicates that the police are looking into whether the other driver who ran the stop sign was intoxicated.

In any personal injury case with serious injuries, it is important to look into all possible factors that led the at fault driver to crash into the victim and caused the injuries. When alcohol is one of those factors, it raises the damages an injured party can collect by a significant amount. It enables an injured party to seek punitive damages against the at fault driver and gives the injured party a lot of leverage in dealing with the insurance companies.

There are several ways for the police and personal injury lawyers to investigate and determine whether alcohol was a factor in causing the crash. The crash report and/or police report may list signs of impairment which can be used as evidence in the personal injury case. If the at fault driver was also injured and was taken to the hospital, they may take a blood sample from that driver to determine his blood alcohol level. And of course, testimony of any witnesses at the scene can also establish whether the at fault driver showed signs up impairment from drugs or alcohol.

A Jacksonville, Florida pedestrian was killed after he was struck by a pickup truck that left the scene immediately after the accident in timuquana road, according to an article on News4jax.com. The driver of the pickup truck was located a few miles from the crash and arrested on felony hit and run charges. The victim, Alphonso Dow, died at the scene of the crash.

In wrongful death cases like this one, the fact that the at fault driver violated the law and left the scene is relevant to the case and the damages the victim's family can recover in a wrongful death lawsuit. When a driver leaves the scene of an accident, it often shows that the driver was negligent, or possibly reckless, in causing the crash. The argument is, of course, that if the driver did not do anything wrong, why did he leave the scene of the crash? There may be other reasons for a person to leave the scene, such as an outstanding warrant or a suspended license, but those are not favorable to the driver either. Of course, when a driver leaves the scene in a serious injury or fatal accident, personal injury and wrongful death lawyers will also look into whether the driver was impaired by drugs or alcohol, which is another common reason for people to leave the scene of an accident.

There are specific rules and regulations in place designed to prevent serious injury and fatal accidents involving semi truck drivers with drug and/or alcohol problems. Before a trucking company hires a truck driver and sends him/her out on the road, that company must make sure the truck driver has been drug tested. The trucking company is also obligated to investigate whether the truck driver has a drug or alcohol problem or has ever tested positive for a prior drug or alcohol test.

Unfortunately, many trucking companies do not comply with this safety requirement and hire suspect tractor trailer drivers without performing the proper background checks. As a result, unsafe semi truck drivers and semi truck drivers with a propensity to use drugs and/or alcohol are out on the roads driving 70,000 pound tractor trailers and at risk of causing serious traffic accidents.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) which administers safety regulations that govern the trucking industry and try to prevent serious traffic crashes involving semi trucks has stepped up enforcement against truck drivers with histories of drug and/or alcohol use and the trucking companies who are hiring them. In a recent ten day period, the FMCSA found that more than 80 trucking companies were involved in some sort of violation involving safety records relating to drug and alcohol use. Almost 80 commercial drivers were taken out of service for some period of time related to drug and/or alcohol safety violations.

It is scary to think that there are so many semi truck drivers on the roads with histories of drug and/or alcohol problems. It is also scary to think that in addition to the many other safety violations that are common among semi truck drivers and trucking companies, safety violations relating to drug and/or alcohol use are so prevalent with trucking companies failing to even check into the background of the truck drivers they hire.

A multi-vehicle traffic crash occurred in Jacksonville, Florida last week on I-295 near Duval Road after a vehicle struck a ladder that was in the road. That vehicle crashed and caused others to crash as well. Some of the people involved in the crash were seriously injured.

This raises the question as to who is at fault when a vehicle hits an object, such as a ladder, that is in a vehicle's path of travel. In the context of a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit, the injured party(ies) will seek damages for their injuries from everyone whose negligence caused or contributed to the crash. In a case where a vehicle hits something in the road and then crashes into other vehicles, several questions must be asked to determine fault. First, what was the object and how long has it been in the road? Should the vehicle have seen the object and been able to avoid it? Did other cars ahead of him/her avoid the object?

If the object just fell out of another vehicle and there was no time to avoid, it, fault may be attributed to the driver who allowed the object to fall from his/her vehicle. If the object had been in the road for some time and the driver should have seen and avoid it, some fault may be attributed to the driver or person who allowed the object fall into the road (if that person can be identified) but may also be attributed in part to the driver who who should have avoided the object but did not. Also, if a driver is following another vehicle too closely, it may be too difficult to see and avoid an object in the road that could otherwise be seen and avoided.

In an accident like this, there may be several factors, and multiple parties, that contribute to the accident and the subsequent injuries caused by the crash.

A motorcyclist was seriously injured after being hit by an SUV in Putnam County, Florida according to an article on News4Jax.com. John Herbert was seriously injured after an SUV struck him from behind on U.S. 17 and dragged him over 500 feet, according to the article.

We have seen more and more serious traffic accidents where motorcyclists have been the victims these days in the Jacksonville, Florida and North Florida area. In personal injury or wrongful death suits brought by victims of accidents on motorcycles, insurance companies for the at-fault drivers will often try to place some sort of blame on the motorcycle driver. However, the law is clear that drivers of cars and trucks have to look out for motorcycles and avoid them just like any other vehicle. In a case like this which apparently involved a rear end accident and the motorcycle being dragged several hundred feet after the crash, it is hard to imagine what defense the SUV driver or his insurance company would come up with to try and argue that he was not negligent in causing the crash and exacerbating the motorcycle driver's injuries by dragging him so far.

When people are injured driving motorcycles, they have as much a right to seek compensation as anyone. Their cases are often better because accidents involving motorcycle victims are often the result of a careless driver who was not paying close attention to the road and other vehicles.

Semi truck drivers are often paid by the mile and have strong incentives to get their shipment to its destination as quickly and efficiently as possible. However, this can result in serious dangers to other drivers on the road when a semi truck driver takes a route that is not suitable for the semi truck. For instance, some roads are too narrow and restricted to semi truck drivers. Other roads have overpasses that are too low creating a serious risk if a tractor trailer driver ignores a road sign telling them the route is restricted and drives on that road anyway.

With the increasing popularity of GPS devices, more semi truck drivers are taking the shortest routes and ignoring road signs which show certain roads are restricted to the big trucks. As a result, there has been an increase in accidents involving semi trucks, particularly those crashes caused by tractor trailers crashing into a lower overpass. Obviously, if a semi truck is driving at a normal speed and crashes into an overpass, the risk of injuries to other drivers on the road is significant. That risk is compounded for semi truck drivers that are carrying hazardous materials or other dangerous cargo.

If a semi truck driver crashes into an overpass, it seems almost irrefutable that any injuries that result are caused by the negligence of that semi truck driver in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. If it turns out that the semi truck driver was using a GPS device that directed him to a quicker, but unsafe, route and he/she ignored any road signs telling him/her to avoid that road, an argument could be made that the semi truck driver was being reckless and punitive damages should be awarded to the injured parties.

A man from Middleburg, Florida was riding a motorcycle and was killed after he was apparently struck from behind by a pickup truck in Jacksonville, Florida, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The article indicates that the crash occurred late yesterday afternoon on Normandy Boulevard. It is unclear why the pickup driver did not see the motorcycle before he crashed into it. The driver of the motorcycle, Paul Van Degrift, was ejected from his motorcycle and died from his injuries.

We have seen a lot of serious traffic accidents in the Jacksonville, Florida area in which motorcyclists have been victims. Due to the number of careless drivers who run red lights and disobey other traffic laws, motorcyclists are more vulnerable since they are more difficult to see and susceptible to more serious injuries if involved in a crash. And as more and more people drive while talking on their cell phones and using other mobile communication devices, the risk of serious accidents is raised for everyone.

In personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits involving a motorcyclist victim, there is no mitigation for the at fault driver because the victim was a motorcycle. People driving cars and trucks have just as much of an obligation to look out for motorcycles as any other vehicle on the road. When a vehicle crashes into the back of a motorcycle and causes a death on a crowded road in the light of day, the fact that motorcycles are smaller than regular vehicles should offer no excuse for the at fault driver.

A man riding a moped was killed after being hit by another vehicle in Neptune Beach, Florida, just east of Jacksonvillle, Florida, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The article indicates that Anthony Ortega died and a passenger was seriously injured after they were ejected from the moped after the crash.

Most personal injury and wrongful death cases involve cars and trucks and the insurance policies that cover the drivers and passengers in those vehicles. However, personal injury and wrongful death cases are just as viable when people are injured or killed driving and riding other modes of transportation such as mopeds and bicycles. Insurance policies of the drivers who cause the accident and injuries and/or death also will likely cover the accident involving the moped or bicycle. Depending on the circumstances, the injured or deceased party's own insurance policy should also cover the traffic accident when the at fault driver is either uninsured or does not have sufficient insurance to cover the damages.

Most people think of injury cases involving accidents to include more traditional vehicles like cars and trucks. However, for people who have been injured or killed while riding a moped, riding a bicycle or as a pedestrian, there is an equally valid personal injury or wrongful death claim to be made for those damages as well.

A teenage driver was killed and his passenger was seriously injured after their vehicle struck a disabled vehicle on J. Turner Butler Boulevard (JTB) in Jacksonville, Florida according to an article on News4Jax.com. Apparently, the driver of the disabled car lost control and hit the guardrail causing her car to become disabled on the road early Sunday morning. Subsequently, a vehicle driven by 17 year old Winfield Craven struck the disable car resulting in the death and serious injuries.

In an accident such as this involving a death and serious injuries, it is important to determine all of the potential causes of the crash. When a disabled vehicle is involved, there can be many factors which attribute fault for the accident upon the driver of the disabled vehicle. For instance, was the driver of the disabled vehicle able to park the vehicle out of harm's way and out of the path of the other vehicles driving along that road? If so, but the driver left the vehicle in a dangerous location instead, that is a seriously negligent act particularly on a busy and dark road like JTB. If not, did that driver leave his/her lights on or otherwise alert the other drivers as to the location of the disabled vehicle? When a person gets into an accident or otherwise has a disabled vehicle, he/she still has a duty to other drivers to make sure that vehicle does not become a hazard. If the driver does not properly move the vehicle to the side of the road or alert other drivers as to the location of the vehicle, the driver of that disabled vehicle may be responsible for any subsequent accidents and injuries or fatalities.