Florida Injury Attorney Blog

A woman died after being involved in a crash in St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The woman was critically injured after being hit in the intersection of Shores Boulevard and Deltona Boulevard in St. Augustine by a car driven by Christopher Jones, according to the article.

When St. Johns County police investigated the crash, they learned that Mr. Jones did not have a valid license and may have been drinking. Criminal charges have not been filed in relation to the crash pending the investigation which probably means the police are awaiting the results of a blood test for alcohol taken from Mr. Jones after the crash.

In any crash resulting in serious injuries or a death, whether a driver had been drinking alcohol or had ingested drugs is a significant issue to be investigated. If it can be proven that alcohol and/or drugs were involved, it opens the door for the plaintiff(s) to collect punitive damages from the defendant. If the driver did not have a valid license, that can also be relevant in the personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit depending on the circumstances. Personal injury/wrongful death lawyers would look into when and why the driver's license became invalid andf what effect that may have had on the person's driving patterns and actual driving leading up to the crash.

Any time there is a serious crash and alcohol and other potential driving-related crimes are involved, those issues must be thoroughly explored. They can lead to a significant increase in damages for the plainitff.

A motorcyclist was killed after his motorcycle struck the curb causing him to be ejected from his vehicle, and then he was struck by a tractor trailer on U.S. 90 in Florida, according to an article on News4Jax.com. Apparently, the accident was initiated when the motorcyclist, Kevin Daugherty, struck the curb and was separated from his motorcycle. However, as he lay in the roadway, a semi truck came along and ran over Mr. Daugherty.

This tragic accident raises an interesting question in terms of Mr. Daugherty's family's right to recover damages in a wrongful death lawsuit. When a person is involved in an accident that is his/her own fault, that person cannot recover for damages resulting from the crash. As a result, assuming the initial accident caused when Mr. Daugherty hit the curb was his fault, his family would not be able to recover damages resulting from that part of the accident. However, since there were technically two accidents in this case, the family may still have a right to recover damages. The real question is whether Mr. Daugherty died from the initial crash and ejection caused by him hitting the curb or the subsequent crash when he was run over by the semi truck.

Certainly, an argument can and should be made that the semi truck caused Mr. Daugherty's death. In a wrongful death lawsuit, experts hired by the wrongful death lawyer for the family would analyze the crash and Mr. Daugherty's injuries to determine if the semi truck was in fact the actual cause of his death. If that was the case, the semi truck driver and company that employs him/her would be liable for his death, if it is proven that the semi truck driver was negligent in failing to see Mr. Daugherty in the road and hitting him.

A car driven by Dennis Watt in Lake City, Florida (which is about an hour west of Jacksonville, Florida) crashed after the driver lost control, left the road and hit a couple of trees, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The passenger in the vehicle was seriously injured as a result of the crash and flown to Shands Medical Center in Gainesville.

In a single vehicle auto accident where the passenger is injured, what recourse does that passenger have to recover his/her damages? Most accidents involve at least two vehicles where one of the drivers is at fault. The injured party can make a claim against that other driver's insurance company for damages. In single car accidents, a passenger can still make a claim against the driver's insurance company where the driver was negligent in causing the crash. In this case, there is an indication that the driver was driving too fast. Additionally, blood was taken from the driver to determine wehther he was impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash. Those factors would allow the passenger to make a stronegr claim against the insurance company for the driver for damages.

The passenger may also be able to make a claim against his own insurance company. Even though the passenger was not in his own vehicle, if he has uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, he can make a claim against his own insurance company if the driver of the vehicle either has no insurance or insufficient insurance to cover the passenger's damages, which would likely be significant given the nature of this crash.

A young child was walking along Daytona Beach in Florida when she was struck by a car and killed, according to an article on News4Jax.com. Witnesses to the accident said the child (Ellie Bland from England) was running on the beach when a vehicle driven by Barbara Worley struck the child, knocking her down, and then ran over the child after she apparently hit the accelerator.

Daytona Beach, Florida is one of the few places where people can drive on the beach, although at a very slow speed. However, in the context of a wrongful death lawsuit after a terrible accident like this, issues of fault and liability are examined in a similar manner to a regular accident, with the exception that drivers on the beach need to be extra careful, particularly when children are around as they often are at the beach. Questions about the driver's speed and alertness when a child is walking or running nearby can help determine whether the driver was as careful as she should have been given the unique circumstances of driving on the beach, or negligent in causing or contributing to the accident. Additionally, the witness testimony indicating the driver hit the accelerator after striking the child is very troubling. Even if the driver panicked, there is no legitimate excuse for accelerating and running over the child after the initial accident. Depending on the facts of this case play out, that part of the crash could lead to significant liability on the part of the driver.

A deadly accident in the Arlington area of Jacksonville, Florida apparently was caused by a driver who was earlier seen weaving through traffic, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. In Florida, when there is a more routine accident, a police officer will arrive, speak with the drivers involved in the accident, perhaps talk to a witness if available and then make a fairly quick decision regarding who was at fault for the crash and give that person a ticket. Unless the police officer actually witnessed the crash, his/her determination of who was at fault and who deserved the ticket is irrelevant in the subsequent personal injury lawsuit.

For more serious crashes that involve serious injuries and/or death, the police take a much more deliberate approach. A traffic homicide detective will likely be called to the scene to investigate exactly how and why the auto accident occurred. Part of that investigation involves taking pictures of the vehicles, the crash scene, the area where the crash occurred and any markings in or near the road relevant to the accident. Measurements are also often taken. Another important part of the investigation is to locate and interview witnesses. Eyewitnesses can obviously be helpful to tell investigators what happened in the crash and fill in any holes left by the physical evidence. In a crash like this, where there is evidence that one of the drivers was weaving in and out of traffic, eyewitnesses can be crucial to reconstructing the crash.

Personal injury and wrongful death lawyers can use and build on the investigation done by the police. They can retain their own accident reconstructionist experts, interview witnesses in more detail and hire their own investigators to find additional witnesses and information to assert the interests of their clients. In a case such as this, every effort would be made to find out how and why the driver alleged to have been weaving was driving that way and use that information to obtain a good recovery for the family of the deceased party.

A pickup truck driver hit two motorcycles carrying four people head-on killing all of them in an accident in Bushnell, Sumter County, Florida (which is about two and a half hours southwest of Jacksonville, Florida), according to an article on News4Jax.com. Apparently, Paul Sermons, the pickup truck driver, was trying to pass another vehicle when he moved into the oncoming lane and struck the motorcyclists. It is not clear if Mr. Sermons will be criminally charged for the accident.

When we handle personal injury or wrongful death cases involving motorcycles, it seems like the causes are very similar- car and truck drivers not paying enough attention to other vehicles, particularly motorcycles. Mr. Sermons apparently told the Florida Highway Patrol officer that he did not realize how close he was to the motorcycles when he decided to pass the vehicle in front of him. In a personal injury or wrongful death case involving such an accident, that is no defense for causing the accident. Passing another vehicle on a two lane road is very dangerous under any circumstances. If a driver chooses to take the risk and pass the vehicle, it is up to him/her to be certain that it is safe and there is plenty of time to make the pass. If a person decides to pass on a two lane road and an accident with an oncoming vehicle results, it is almost certain that liability for the crash and the resulting injuries or death(s) will be attributed to the driver of the vehicle who initiated the pass and created the dangerous situation.

A man was walking on Main Street in downtown Jacksonville, Florida when he was hit by a car. He died from his injuries according to an article on News4Jax.com. According to the article, charges may be filed against the driver of the vehicle.

In serious vehicle versus pedestrian accidents like this one, it is important for personal injury/wrongful death attorneys to investigate why the vehicle struck the pedestrian and what the vehicle driver could and should have done to avoid the accident. When the pedestrian is walking with the light in the crosswalk, the vehicle has a red light and the crash occurs, it may be clear that the vehicle driver was negligent in causing the crash. However, even where the pedestrian does not have the light and may be outside of the crosswalk, vehicle drivers are required to look out for pedestrians who are visible in and near the roadway. If the vehicle has the right of way with a green light but sees, or should see, a pedestrian in the road, the vehicle driver must accommodate the pedestrian to avoid an accident because of the obvious potential damage that can be caused to the pedestrian.

However, in this case, it appears that the state may charge the vehicle driver with a crime related to the accident. In that case, this accident may be a situation where the pedestrian was following the rules of the road and the driver was negligent, or even reckless, in causing the crash and the subsequent death.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which regulates semi truck drivers and bus drivers, has issued a regulation making it illegal for semi truck and bus drivers to text while driving a commercial motor vehicle. The FMCSA noted that texting takes a driver's eyes off of the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. At 65 miles per hour, a tractor trailer or other vehicle would travel approximately 146 yards in those 4.6 seconds the driver is looking at his/her cell phone or other mobile communication device. That is almost a football field and a half.

Because driving while texting is so dangerous and contributes to very serious accidents, particularly when a semi truck is involved, the FMCSA has made it illegal to drive while texting. But what exactly is included in the word "texting"? For semi truck drivers, texting includes not just sending text messages but also preparing text messages and reviewing text messages. Basically if a law enforcement officer sees a driver doing anything with a cell phone or similar device other than talking into it, that semi truck or bus driver can expect to get a ticket for texting while driving.

There seem to be an unusual number of wrong way accidents in the Jacksonville, Florida area, and many of them are on major highways like I-95 and State Road 9A. There was another one last week on I-95 north of downtown Jacksonville that resulted in several serious injuries and two of the vehicle's occupants being airlifted to Shands Hospital.

Accidents caused by drivers driving the wrong way will almost always raise the issue of punitive damages in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. In a normal accident case, the driver responsible for causing the crash and the resulting injuries is liable for the damages suffered by the injured party. More accurately, the at-fault driver's insurance company pays the damage caused by the driver who caused the crash. These damages may include past and future medical bills, past and future pain and suffering and past and future lost wages.

However, if a person is driving recklessly and causes a serious injury or fatal accident, that driver, or the insurance company, may be liable for punitive damages. While regular, or compensatory, damages aim to make the injured person whole, punitive damages are designed to punish a person who caused an injury or death by driving recklessly. Accidents involving alcohol or drugs are the most common injury or fatal accidents that result in punitive damages for the victim. However, in cases of unusually bad driving, such as where a person is driving the wrong way on a major road like I-95, punitive damages are certainly viable.

The personal injury/wrongful death lawyer for the injured party would certainly make a claim for punitive damages as part of the lawsuit.

A SUV driven by Raymond Claudio was apparently going the wrong way on State Road 16 in St. Augustine, Florida and was involved in two crashes, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. The article indicates that Mr. Claudio's vehicle sideswiped one vehicle and then crashed head-on into a second vehicle injuring that second driver and Mr. Claudio. It is unclear at this stage of the investigation whether Mr. Claudio was impaired by alcohol and/or drugs.

When there is a serious accident involving a wrong way driver and a subsequent personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit, serious questions are raised as to why someone would be driving so recklessly. Depending on the answers, a claim may be made for punitive damages in addition to the regular negligence if it can be shown that the at-fault driver was reckless in causing the accident. If drugs and/or alcohol were involved, recklessness is practically a given, but driving the wrong way is also strong evidence of recklessness particularly if it can be shown that the driver was driving the wrong way for an extended period of time.

The laws in personal injury and wrongful death cases are designed to compensate an injured victim and punish an at-fault driver when that person causes an accident in a manner that is more reckless and irresponsible than the normal accident. When a person is driving while impaired by drugs and/or alcohol or is otherwise driving recklessly, such a punitive damages claim can be made.

A woman driving her car struck an SUV causing the SUV driver to lose control, flip and drive off of the bridge, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The SUV driver, identified as Luma Kajy, was killed as a result of the crash.

There was also a second article that indicated that a witness had observed the driver of the car driving recklessly for approximately 20 miles before the crash. The witness apparently followed the driver who caused the crash and helped the police locate and arrest her for vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of the accident.

While this was a tragic accident, fortunately there was a witness who can testify about the reckless driving of the car driver prior to the crash and the fact that she struck the SUV driver causing her to lose control. In wrongful death lawsuits that arise after such crashes, it can be difficult to reconstruct the accident when one of the parties dies and cannot give his/her version of the events. In those cases, the wrongful death lawyer for family of the deceased driver must rely on an accident reconstructionist who investigates the crash and reviews the investigative reports to try and determine what happened after the fact. Insurance companies for the defendant in wrongful death lawsuits hire their own accident reconstructionists who will come up with an opinion favorable to the insurance company.

However, direct witness testimony is almost always preferable to expert opinions. In this case, it appears that there was a concerned and responsible witness who saw the car driver driving recklessly, reported her driving, saw the crash and even followed that driver so she could be apprehended by the police.