Florida Injury Attorney Blog

Florida is one of the most well traveled states in the country with interstate highways that can take you all the way across the country going north or west. As a result, there are a tremendous number of semi trucks on the roads of Florida at all times. Not all of the semi truck drivers are safe, and not all of the tractor trailers themselves are safe.

The semi trucks and trailers are supposed to be thoroughly inspected by the semi truck drivers before and after each trip. Unfortunately, because many of these semi truck drivers get paid by the mile, they do not take the time to conduct thorough inspections. Department of Transportation officials will also inspect semi trucks at various checkpoints along the road and other times. Sometimes, state agencies make a special effort to check semi trucks to see how many are in violation of various trucking regulations. As one might expect, many of these semi trucks and drivers fail these random inspections.

In a recent effort by different states to check the safety and compliance of the semi trucks in their states, officials found that many of the semi trucks they checked were in violation of the various safety regulations. Almost 30% of the violations for the over 1,000 semi trucks inspected were out of service violations. This means that the safety violation was so serious, the tractor trailer and/or truck driver had to be placed out of service, i.e. taken off of the road until the violation was corrected, if possible. In all, after the inspections which spanned four states, almost 7% of the semi truck drivers were so unfit to drive that they had to be removed from the road and more than 13% of the semi trucks had to be taken off of the road.

Numbers like these are pretty scary to those of us who share the roads with these semi trucks and truck drivers. Serious injury and fatal accidents happen frequently enough with normal drivers who do something careless while driving. When you add dangerously unsafe semi truck drivers and semi trucks to the roads in significant quantities, the risk of serious accidents increases.

In a recent auto accident that resulted in serious injuries and a death in Florida south of Jacksonville, there were multiple vehicles involved and two impacts which resulted in a trial where liability was a hotly contested issue. The crash occurred when the victim approached an intersection with a stop sign. Rather than stopping, she went through the stop sign because she was going to make a U-turn. She made the U-turn but sideswiped a vehicle coming from the other direction. That impact pushed her pretty far down the road until she stopped in the middle of the road. Several seconds later, a semi truck came along and crashed directly into the victim without slowing down or attempting to avoid the vehicle. The victim ultimately died from her injuries.

In an accident with multiple vehicles and more than one impact, liability for the ultimate injuries or death can be a complex issue. In this case, the wrongful death lawyer for the family for the victim who died in the crash would minimize the victim's failure to stop at the U-turn and the initial accident and claim the death was caused by the negligence of the semi truck driver who should have stopped or avoided the victim's vehicle that was stopped in the road for several seconds before the impact. The defense attorney will claim that the victim was negligent by failing to stop prior to the U-turn and hitting the first vehicle which resulted in the victim being stopped in the road in the first place.

These issues of liability can be difficult in multiple impact accidents in a personal injury or wrongful death case. However, even where there is an initial impact or initial negligence by the victim leaving the victim in a vulnerable position, all drivers, particularly semi truck drivers, have a duty to look out for other vehicles and avoid potential accidents regardless of what the other driver is doing or has done if a hazard arises. Since the semi truck driver did not apparently do anything to avoid the victim's car stopped in the road for a period of time, the semi truck driver shares liability for contributing to a serious accident that perhaps could and should have been avoided.

Two women were killed after their vehicle was hit by an SUV in an intersection accident on State Road 321 in Lake Butler, Florida, according to an article on News4Jax.com. Apparently, a Cadillac SUV driven by John McDonald ran a stop sign at the intersection and caused the accident with the two women who died in the crash. The article indicates that alcohol was not a factor but charges were pending when the article was written.

How do pending charges affect a wrongful death lawsuit such as this one? It depends on the charges and how they are resolved. When alcohol or drugs are involved and the at-fault driver is charged with DUI, those charges can have a a significant effect on the civil wrongful death lawsuit. If the at fault driver is convicted of DUI related to the accident and a restitution ordered is entered by the judge, the at fault driver cannot deny the elements necessary to allow the plaintiff to allege punitive damages in the wrongful death lawsuit. In other words, if the criminal case is successful and handled properly, the plaintiff in the wrongful death case should be able to get punitive damages out of the civil wrongful death case. Punitive damages are damages awarded by a jury, or negotiated as part of a settlement, that are designed to punish a driver for conduct that is worse than regular negligence.

Reckless driving is another criminal charge that may result from an accident. Reckless driving, even without alcohol or drugs, can also be the basis for a punitive damages claim in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. When the at fault driver is just given a regular traffic ticket, for instance for careless driving, running a red light, speeding, etc., these are not as helpful for the personal injury or wrongful death case. Normally, when police officers give traffic tickets, they do so after the crash and base their opinions on statements made after the crash rather than their direct observations of the crash. If the police officer did not see the crash, his/her opinion about fault and his/her decision to give a ticket to one driver or another is irrelevant because it is only based on speculation. However, it is always helpful to know who received the ticket in a crash because that can be used as a part of an argument to show that driver was liable for the crash.

A man riding his motorcycle died after he was hit by a car on U.S. 17 in Green Cove Springs, Florida according to an article on News4Jax.com. Phillip Breidenstein died after another vehicle crossed the road directly in front of his motorcycle causing the crash. The driver of the car apparently made the statement that he looked before pulling out into the road but did not see the motorcycle.

We see a lot of accidents involving motorcycle driver victims and unfortunately, many of them are very serious due to the vulnerable nature of motorcyclists. Most of the time, the driver who causes the accident with the motorcyclist has the same excuse- the driver looked but did not see the motorcycle. In a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit, this kind of excuse only serves to establish liability for the other driver. Failure to see a motorcycle is almost never a valid reason for such an accident. More likely, it shows that the driver who hit the motorcyclist was not paying enough attention to the road and the surroundings. In a day and age where it seems like people are driving worse whether due to distractions like cell phones and Ipods or just because they are not paying enough attention, motorcycle drivers are more vulnerable than ever. When accidents like this occur, other drivers need to be held accountable so they will drive more safely and pay attention to all vehicles and pedestrians in and near the road.

One of the most common auto accidents resulting in serious injuries or deaths that we see as personal injury and wrongful death lawyers is the rear end accident. A question that often comes up in such accidents is whether the back driver whose vehicle strikes the front driver is always negligent and liable for damages in such crashes. Most of the time, the back driver is liable for these rear end crashes, but there are exceptions.

In Florida, there is a presumption of negligence on the part of the rear driver in rear end accidents. This means that it is presumed that the back driver is negligent in causing the crash unless the back driver can establish some reason(s) that he/she was not negligent. Examples of such reasons may include that the front driver stopped suddenly for no reason or the back driver was forced to hit the front vehicle by another driver's negligence. There are two primary reasons for the presumption of negligence in rear end crashes. First, the front driver often does not know what is going to happen until it is too late because drivers are often looking forward. Therefore, the front driver is often at a disavantage when describing how and why the crash occurred. Second, drivers are supposed to drive slowly enough and at a safe enough distance so they can stop for cars in front of them. The back driver typically has much more control and ability to avoid a rear end crash than the front driver.

This presumption of negligence on the part of the back driver only applies when the front driver sues the back driver for damages, which occurs in the majority of rear end accident lawsuits. However, sometimes the back driver, or a passenger in that vehicle, will sue the front driver for injuries resulting from an accident. For instance, if the front driver stops suddenly and for no apparent reason and the back driver's vehicle hits the front vehicle causing injury to the back driver and/or passenger(s), the back driver and/or passenger(s) can sue the front driver. In that case the presumption that the back driver was negligent does not apply. The front driver can certainly argue that the back driver was negligent in causing the crash and should have been able to avoid it, but the front driver cannot avail him/herself of a legal presumption that the back driver was negligent.

According to a new regulation from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that will go into effect in 2012, certain trucking companies will be required to install electronic on board recorders on their commercial tractor trailers. The regulation will require those trucking companies that have a 10% or higher hours of service violation rate to install the devices. Hours of service rules limit the number of hours semi truck drivers can be driving and/or on duty before they must take a break. Semi truck drivers are required to log their time driving, on duty and off duty so it can be determine whether or not they are complying with the hours of service regulations. The idea is that semi truck drivers who drive over hours become fatigued which leads to serious injury and fatal accidents. Trucking companies with more hours of service violations also tend to be involved in more serious accidents.

Electronic devices that can be installed on semi trucks and other vehicles can record a variety of data about the vehicle. They can also provide important information after a crash that can allow personal injury and wrongful death lawyers to determine how a crash occurred and learn important information about the time period leading up to the crash. According to the new regulation, the required electronic on board recorders will record, among other things, date, time, location and distance traveled. This information is very helpful in determining when, where and how long a semi truck driver has been driving and whether he/she is following the hours of service rules. Without the electronic on board recorders, one has to rely on the manually written log books of the drivers to determine these facts. As you might expect, these logs are often not done or done inaccurately, either intentionally or unintentionally. When dealing with people who typically get paid more the more they drive, you can expect that they may not always be compliant with rules that limit their driving time. This is particularly true after a serious accident when they know DOT officials and personal injury/wrongful death lawyers will be looking closely at their records and driving history to determine why the accident occurred.

We have discussed on multiple occasions the dangers associated with people who are driving and using their text messaging devices at the same time. One study we saw compared the danger of driving while texting with driving under the influence of alcohol. In some respects, driving while texting would seem more dangerous than a person who is driving while being just over the legal limit. If I had to choose, I think I would prefer someone who has had a couple of drinks and is just over the legal limit of 0.08 but has his/her eyes on the road driving a normal passenger vehicle to a truck driver operating a 70,000 pound fully loaded tractor trailer who is looking down at his/her cell phone for 30 seconds going 65 miles per hour. Obviously, neither is ideal, but the risk of serious damage in the second instance is tremendous.

In any case, state and federal government agencies have recognized the danger of driving while texting, although after many serious accidents caused by the practice. As a result, the federal government is proposing to make penalties for semi truck drivers who drive while texting more severe. The proposal would provide for a fine up to $2,750 for all offenses and a 60 day suspension for anyone caught doing it a second time within three years. A third offense within three years would result in a 120 day suspension. We think these kinds of punishments are a start, but when one considers how extremely dangerous it is for these semi truck drivers to take their focus off of the road for significant periods of time to send and receive text messages, more should be done to prevent them from doing so.

A woman and her six year old child were injured in an auto accident with a nine year old driver according to an article on Foxnews.com. Apparently, the mother of the nine year old driver left the girl alone in her car with the keys in the ignition while she went to the library.

Obviously, this kind of accident does not happen too often. But when it does, one question is whether there is any insurance coverage for the injured parties. In any accident, one early question that needs to be answered by victims and their personal injury and wrongful death lawyers is whether there is insurance coverage and if so, how much? After all, it is the insurance company that almost always pays for damages caused by drivers in accidents.

However, insurance policies do not cover every kind of driver and every kind of accident. One kind of accident that is not covered is an accident caused by a driver who was not on the insurance policy and not authorized to drive the vehicle. For example, in Florida, if you allow someone to borrow your car and that person causes an accident, your insurance policy will likely cover the damages. On the other hand, if someone steals your car and causes an accident, your insurance company will not cover the accident and you will not be liable for any damages caused.

In this case, the nine year old girl would not have been listed on the auto insurance policy. The nine year old girl would not have had permission to drive the vehicle. The driver's mother's insurance company will deny coverage for the accident because the accident was caused by an unauthorized driver.

However, there is still an issue about whose negligence caused the crash. Clearly, the girl was negligent in causing the crash, but that will not do the injured parties any good because the girl will not be insured and will not have any money. In Florida, the dangerous instrumentality doctrine provides that a vehicle owner is responsible for damages caused by authorized drivers of his/her vehicle in an accident. However, that would not apply because the girl was not an authorized driver.

There is one more theory that would apply to possibly allow the injured party to recover damages. Based on the facts alleged in the article, the mother was likely negligent for keeping the keys in the car with the girl and then going into the library. She would be even more negligent if personal injury lawyers for the plaintiffs could show the mother had some specific reason to believe the girl might take the car based on any comments the girl made or something that had occurred in the past. In any case, it could certainly be argued that the mother's act of leaving the keys and the girl alone in the car was negligence that caused the ultimate crash and it was foreseeable that this might occur. If that could be proven, the injured parties may recover their damages from the mother, if she has any money to pay.