Florida Injury Attorney Blog

A single car accident on Edgewood Avenue in Jacksonville, Florida resulted in three people being ejected from the vehicle, including a baby, according to an article on News4Jax.com. One of the people died and the other two were seriously injured. The police indicated that none of the vehicle occupants were wearing seat belts or child restraints.

In a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit resulting from a serious traffic accident like this, a lot of time and resources will go into attributing blame for the crash and the resulting injuries and death. When a person injured or killed in a traffic crash is not wearing a seat belt, the insurance company lawyers will always argue that the damages recoverable in the lawsuit should be significantly reduced due to the injured party's negligence in failing to wear a seat belt. They will hire an expert to say that if the person had been wearing the seat belt, they either would not have been injured at all or would have been injured much less severely. Personal injury/wrongful death lawyers for the plaintiff can also hire an expert to show that wearing a seat belt would not have made a major difference in the crash, but the issue can become an obstacle to a full recovery.

Keep in mind that the law requires all front seat occupants to wear a seat belt. Additionally, all occupants under 18 must wear a seat belt, or be secured in a child restraint, no matter where they are in the vehicle. However, even if the law does not require adults in the back seat to wear a seat belt, if an adult in the back seat does not wear a seat belt and gets injured or killed in an accident, the insurance company for the other driver will argue that his/her damages should be reduced due to the negligent failure to wear a seat belt. The safer course of action is for everyone to wear a seat belt at all times in any vehicle.

A woman driving to her home in South Georgia on State Road 21 near Jacksonville, Florida ran her vehicle off of the road and into the woods, according to a news article. Apparently, the woman was not injured in the crash, but she was unconscious and in serious condition when the police arrived due to an apparent heart attack she had while driving.

This kind of traffic accident brings up an issue that arises from time to time in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. Although no one was apparently injured as a result of the crash in this case and there is no evidence that foul play was involved, there are traffic crashes and resulting lawsuits where the driver who caused the crash claims that he/she suffered from some sort of medical problem or prescription drug reaction immediately prior to the crash. This kind of defense is asserted to avoid responsibility for the accident and resulting injuries by claiming the accident was out of their control. However, these defenses are rarely valid. In personal injury cases, we have seen where defendants who have used these excuses are apparently up and walking around and seemingly fine immediately after the accident when the police arrive. It is hardly credible for a person to say that they "blacked out" just before the crash but were fine minutes before the crash and immediately afterwards.

Additionally, it is also highly suspect when a person claims that a medical condition or drug reaction occurred for the first time immediately before the crash with no prior notice. It is one thing for a person to establish that they did in fact have some medical problem immediately prior to the crash which caused the crash. If they are able to do that, that driver must also prove that the medical problem or drug reaction was unforeseeable. In other words, if the person had a prior diagnosis or warning from a doctor or was given a prescription drug with warnings about driving while taking the drug, they cannot successfully argue that they could not foresee the possibility of the medical problem or reaction occurring while driving. On the contrary, personal injury/wrongful death lawyers for the injured party or the family of the person who died in the crash can use this information to show that the driver was not only negligent in his/her actual driving but was also negligent by getting in the car in the first place after being warned of the dangers of a possible medical problem or drug reaction.

A mother and her two children were hit by an SUV in a traffic crash on San Jose Boulevard near Kori Road in Jacksonville, Florida. One of the children died from her injuries, the mother (Nora Springer) was injured but survived and the other child was not injured according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com.

According to the article, the mother and her two children were crossing San Jose Boulevard with the proper walk signal, but the signal changed and the SUV had a green light before they could reach the other side of San Jose Boulevard. The article did not provide any further details, and it is unclear who was at fault for the tragic accident, and death and injuries that resulted.

In a traffic crash involving a vehicle and pedestrians, when determining fault for the crash, the first place to look is the traffic signals. However, even where the pedestrians do not have the walk signal (or green light) or they are crossing where there is no crosswalk, the vehicle driver can still be partially, or primarily, at fault for the crash. Even where the vehicle has the green light, particularly when the light has just turned green, it is the responsibility of the driver to make sure there are no pedestrians in the road. Because of the vulnerable nature of pedestrians, vehicle drivers must be extra careful to watch out for them even when the vehicles have the green light and the right of way. It is not uncommon to see situations where people with kids, people who are injured/disabled or people who are elderly cannot cross the road completely in the time it takes for the walk signal or green light to stay illuminated. This is particularly true for streets with several lanes going in each direction like San Jose Blvd. In such cases, regardless of the green light and the right of way, it is important for vehicle drivers to look out for pedestrians at busy intersections, particularly a mother and two children. The failure of a driver to properly look out for others can result in liability for a driver in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit even where a driver has the right of way.

Two semi trucks were involved in a serious accident on I-95 in Flagler County, Florida (which is about an hour south of Jacksonville, Florida), according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. We write often about the duties and obligations of tractor trailer drivers that go above and beyond those of regular cars and trucks and the safety issues that arise when semit truck drivers do not follows the safety regulations. In this traffic crash, one semi truck driver had pulled over on the side of I-95 due to a malfunction with the vehicle early Tuesday morning while it was still dark, according to the article. However, when that semi truck driver pulled back onto I-95, he did so in front of another semi truck being driven by Julio Rentas, who was killed in the crash.

Semi truck drivers are not only charged with driving safely while on the roads but making sure they are safe when they have to make stops. A semi truck pulling back into the road in the early morning hours can pose as much of a danger to other vehicles as any other time while driving at highway speeds. Some questions to look at in this situation are whether the semi truck that pulled into the road was properly marked so other drivers could see it in the darkness. Tractor trailers, especially the trailers, can be very difficult for other drivers to see if not marked properly. Additionally, because semi trucks take longer to build speed, they must have more space before they can pull out from a stopped position on the side of the road. How much space did this semi truck driver have before pulling out in front of Mr. Rentas? The article suggests that the answer may be: not enough. Additionally, what was the malfunction that caused the semi truck driver to stop in the first place? If it was something that could and should have been resolved during the pre-trip check of the vehicle, this accident may have been completely avoidable.

An elderly woman crossing the street near Murray Hill and Edgewood Avenue in jacksonville, Florida was struck by a vehicle and killed, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. The driver then fled the scene.

When a pedestrian is killed by a vehicle crossing a busy street, both parties involved in the accident will likely argue that the other was at fault in causing the accident and resulting death. In a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit, there are times when both parties share the blame for the accident and resulting injuries or death. In that case, the plaintiff's damages are going to be reduced by the percentage of fault attributable to that plaintiff. In other words, if a jury in a personal injury or wrongful death case decides that the defendant was 75% at fault for the accident and the plaintiff was 25% at fault for the accident, the plaintiff's damages would be reduced by 25%.

When a person crosses the road and gets injured or killed, personal injury/wrongful death attorneys will look at a variety of factors. Was the plaintiff crossing at a crosswalk or other area where it is appropriate to cross the street? Even if the plaintiff was not crossing at the appropriate place and time, did the driver of the vehicle have an opportunity to see and avoid the pedestrian? Was the driver of the vehicle speeding, on a cell phone or violating any other traffic laws? Of course, when the driver flees the scene after the crash, that is strong evidence that the driver did something wrong to cause the crash. These and many other issues present themselves in personal injury and wrongful death cases involving pedestrians and vehicles. They are rarely black and white in terms of negligence and liability.

A man stopped to help a woman who had car trouble on Atlantic Boulevard near University Boulevard in Jacksonville, Florida and was ultimately run over by the woman's vehicle while trying to help her according to an article on News4Jax.com. The man helped the woman, and then after he got the car to start, the car ran over him. The man was injured and taken to Shands Hospital.

When a person stops to help another driver whose is having car trouble, he/she is entitled to the same reasonable standard of safety as any other driver on the road. In other words, if a person stops to help another driver, that other driver must take every reasonable step to make sure the person trying to fix the vehicle is not injured by the vehicle. If he/she does something negligent or unsafe and the good samaritan is injured, the good samaritan can make a claim with the other driver's insurance company or file a lawsuit for damages just like any other driver injured in a traffic accident. The article does not indicate how or why the good samaritan was run over by the stranded driver's car. However, in a case like this, the stranded driver must make sure the car is turned off and/or not capable of moving when the good samaritan is attempting to fix it. If the stranded driver was negligent in allowing the car to move while the good samaritan was in the vulnerable position of trying to fix it, the stranded driver would likely be responsible for the injuries caused by the stranded driver's vehicle.

A man riding a motorcycle was injured after a vehicle swerved into his lane causing the motorcyclist to turn away from the car and crash. The black vehicle then left the scene of the accident, according to

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A woman was seriously injured after she was hit by a car crossing a busy street at night on the south side of Jacksonville, Florida according to a news article. It was not clear why or under what circumstances the woman crossed the road at a point where there was no crosswalk.

When a pedestrian is hit by a car or other vehicle in the road while crossing where there is no crosswalk, the initial assumption may be that the pedestrian is at fault and the driver of the vehicle does not share any of the blame. However, traffic accidents involving pedestrians are often very serious and need to be investigated further during the course of a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. Even where a person crosses a busy road where there is no stop sign, traffic signal or crosswalk, drivers of vehicles are still required to look out for pedestrians and yield to them. Even where the pedestrian should not have been in the road, if the vehicle driver did or should have seen the pedestrian, that driver must take steps to avoid the pedestrian. If the driver fails to do that, he/she will be negligent and liable for some or all of the injuries caused to the pedestrian by the crash.

Many of these vehicle vs. pedestrian accidents are not black and white in terms of fault and liability. The pedestrian may be partially at fault for crossing the road improperly, but the vehicle driver may also be at fault for failing to avoid an avoidable crash, speeding or violating some other traffic law. In those cases, the injuries and resulting damages are often significant, and the driver's insurance company will be on the hook for some, most or all of those damages.

Many states have already passed laws that make it illegal to send and receive text messages on their cell phones while driving. Florida has been considering such a law for a while, but such a law has yet to pass in Florida. Governor Crist has thrown his support behind a statewide ban of texting while driving in Florida, and state legislators have filed several proposed bills that would make driving while texting illegal in Florida next year.

Recent studies have shown that driving while texting is potentially more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol. One study reported that when a person is driving and texting at the same time, he/she is 23 times more likely to be involved in a serious traffic accident. When a person is injured or killed in a traffic crash, personal injury and wrongful death attorneys should always investigate whether the other, at-fault driver was using his/her mobile communication device, whether to send or receive a text message, talk on the cell phone or use any of the other many applications available these days. This occurs more and more frequently these days and is strong evidence of negligent driving that leads to serious accidents and injuries or death.

After a serious traffic crash that involves serious injuries or a death, it is vital for accident lawyers to uncover as much information as possible about why the crash occurred and all of the factors that contributed to the crash and resulting injuries or death. Most people think of airplanes when they hear the term "black box", but many regular cars and trucks on the roads today also have sensing and diagnostic modules (aka "black boxes") that can provide a lot of important information about that vehicle during the time period just prior to a serious traffic accident.

For instance, the black box may be able to provide data about the car regarding its speed prior to the crash, the change in forces as a result of the crash impact, the engine RPM's, any braking that was attempted and seat belt information. Not all cars and trucks have black boxes, but if they do and the information from them can be obtained, any or all of these facts could go a long way in proving a negligence case against a driver who was driving improperly and caused a serious injury or fatal traffic crash.