Florida Injury Attorney Blog

A woman died and her two children were seriously injured after her car ran into the back of a tractor-trailer on State Road 207 in Hastings, St. Johns County, Florida, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The article indicates that the semi truck slowed and the woman’s vehicle drove into the rear of the semi truck causing the vehicle to be pinned under the trailer.

Ordinarily, fault for rear end accidents are attributed to the rear vehicle as they are in a better position to avoid the crash. There are exceptions to the general rule if a vehicle stops suddenly and for no reason or is stopped in the roadway without properly alerting other drivers. In the case of a semi truck, even where the accident is caused by the rear driver, there still may be some fault on the semi truck driver and the trucking company if the tractor-trailer does not have the proper markings and equipment. Semi trucks should have bright stickers or marking around the vehicle to alert other drivers of its presence. In the back of the trailer, they should also have bars or guards that prevent smaller passenger vehicles from going underneath the trailer in the case of a serious rear end accident like this one. In the past, rear end accidents involving passenger cars resulted in much more serious injuries than necessary because the car would go under the trailer. As a result, semi trucks are supposed to have bars on the back of their trailers to prevent cars from going under the trailer in cases of rear end accidents. Where semi trucks do not have this type of equipment on their trailer and a serious accident of this type occurs, it can be argued that the semi truck driver and the trucking company were negligent for not having the proper equipment on its vehicle that would have lessened the severity of the injuries in a rear end accident.

According to a new survey conducted by Nationwide Insurance, people are talking on their cell phones and texting less while driving. As the dangers of driving while texting or talking on a cell phone are becoming more publicized (largely due to serious injury accidents caused by such distracted driving), people are being more careful about using mobile communication devices while driving. According to the survey, 20% of people with cell phones drive while texting. However, the percentage of drivers under age 35 who admit to driving while texting is still quite high at 47%. The surveyors who admitted to driving while texting did admit to doing it less than before. Additionally, 67% of those surveyed admitted to driving while talking on their cell phones.

In our opinion, this survey illustrates two points. First, people are under-reporting their driving while texting and driving while talking on a cell phone practices. Looking around at people driving in Jacksonville, Florida and the North Florida area, it seems to be increasingly common to see drivers using their cell phones in some manner while driving. Secondly, even with the admitted numbers, driving while distracted is a huge problem. Some studies have shown that driving while texting can be as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs because of the way it takes a driver's eyes and focus off of the road for significant periods of time. At highway speeds, a vehicle can travel long distances when a driver is looking at a cell phone as opposed to the road for just a few seconds. It is when this occurs and a vehicle stops, a driver switches lanes or the distracted driver veers out of his/her lane that serious accidents occur.

It is good that distracted driving is becoming more of a publicized issue in an attempt to reduce serious and avoidable injury accidents. However, as cell phones become more advanced with more applications and more people buy them, we are skeptical that the numbers truly indicate that people are driving while texting or talking on their cell phones less.

A taxi driver driving south on U.S. 1 in St. Johns County, Florida lost control of his vehicle, crossed the median and crashed into an SUV, according to an article on News3Jax.com. The driver of the taxi was killed in the crash, and the three occupants of the SUV were taken to the hospital.

Fault and liability for a crash like this are typically pretty easy for a personal injury or wrongful death lawyer to prove. When a vehicle crosses the median and crashes into another vehicle in the oncoming lane, the driver who left his/her lane of travel will almost always be exclusively liable for the crash and resulting injuries unless it can be shown that another driver caused him/her to leave his/her lane.

Assuming the taxi driver is at fault in a crash like this, who is liable for the injuries to the people in the other vehicle? Of course, the driver of the vehicle that caused the crash will be liable so a claim can be made against his insurance company. However, when the driver is working at the time of the crash, i.e. he/she is driving within the course and scope of his/her employment, then the employer is also liable for any damages caused by the driver in an accident. In this case, the taxi company may also be liable for the injuries caused by the taxi driver if the taxi driver was working at the time the accident occurred.

Finally, in Florida, owners of vehicles are liable for accidents caused by the drivers of their vehicles, as long as the driver had permission or authorization to drive the vehicle. So, if an owner lets another person borrow a car or a person buys a car and puts it in his/her name but allows another person to use it, that owner is liable for any damages caused by the driver in an accident.

So, there are potentially three separate persons, entities or insurance policies that may be liable to pay damages when a driver causes injuries to another in an accident- the driver, his/her employer and the owner of the vehicle.

A car ran into a group of bicyclists and injured three of the riders along Highway U.S. 1 in St. Augustine, Florida, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. The three injured bicyclists were riding in a larger group when the car crashed into them, according to the article. The driver, Michael Nally, then kept driving and threw a beer bottle out of the window of the car. Michael Nally ultimately stopped and was arrested by St. Johns County police. Nally was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury, and DUI with serious bodily injury charges may be coming pending the results of blood alcohol tests.

In personal injury cases involving a vehicle against bicycle accident, there are always questions as to whether the driver was carefully watching out for others along the road. Some drivers do not seem to understand that they need to share the road equally with bicycles. When serious accidents like this occur because drivers do not take the proper precautions to accommodate bicycles on the roads, it is typically easy to attribute liability for the accident on the vehicle driver. When that same driver does not stop at the scene immediately and there is additional evidence that he/she is intoxicated, punitive damages can be assessed against that driver. Based on the information provided in the article, it appears that the vehicle driver may have been grossly negligent and even reckless if blood test results show alcohol and/or drugs in his system. If that turns out to to be the case, the driver will likely face punitive damages claims that are desired to punish and prevent this kind of crash from happening again.

Several cars were involved in an accident on State Road 9A near Phillips Highway in Jacksonville, Florida after a tire on one of the vehicles blew, according to personal injury and wrongful death lawyers, the proper questioning and investigation into maintenance records can uncover when a driver and/or owner is negligent in failing to maintain his/her vehicle.

A 16 month old girl was injured after she was hit by a vehicle backing out of a driveway in Jacksonville, Florida, according to an article on News4Jax.com. We have mentioned these kinds of serious accidents before, when a person is backing up a vehicle and hits or runs over a small child. As expected, these occur mostly in residential areas, and the drivers always say they did not see the child.

Obviously, it is believable when the driver says he/she did not see the child, but these accidents are too common and too many people back up without looking properly, particularly in residential areas where children are often playing. Children cannot be trusted to always watch where they are going and be mindful of hazards. It is almost never a valid excuse for any vehicle to back into or run over a child unless, perhaps, the child darts into the vehicle's path. The bottom line, and the argument any personal injury or wrongful death lawyer would use in a lawsuit on behalf of an injured or deceased child, is that if a driver cannot be sure the path is clear, particularly if children or others may be around, the driver should not move that vehicle. When a child has been injured, or worse, a jury in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit would likely be more sympathetic to that argument than one where the driver says he/she did not see the child.

A teenage girl died after she apparently lost control of her vehicle and hit a tree off of State Road 110 near Waverly, Georgia in Camden County. According to the article, Morgan Kenzie died as a result of the accident and her subsequent injuries. The article suggests the possibility that she was using her text messaging device just prior to the crash which may have caused her to lose control of the vehicle.

As cell phones become more advanced and more people buy them, we have seen seen more and more auto accidents that are caused by drivers who are either talking on their cell phones prior to the accident, or worse, are sending or receiving text messages. On prior occasions on our personal injury/wrongful death lawyer blog, we have pointed out studies that indicate that texting while driving can be as, or more, dangerous as driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol. Studies have shown that texting while driving takes the driver's focus off of the road for dangerously long periods of time, particularly when the vehicle is traveling at fast, highway speeds. Additionally, studies show that teenagers, who have limited driving experience to begin with, are often the ones who are texting and driving.

In a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit resulting from such a serious accident, the plaintiff's lawyer will always investigate whether the driver was using his/her cell phone or text messaging device at the time of the crash. If records and/or witness testimony suggest that the driver was texting or talking on the cell phone at the time of the crash, that is important evidence to be used in an effort to obtain full damages for the injured party or the family of the deceased. Such evidence makes a strong case of negligence and liability on the part of that driver.

As personal injury and wrongful death lawyers, we have seen many accident cases where the serious accident was caused by a truck driver who was under the influence of alcohol or drugs,. The regulations governing semi truck drivers and trucking companies require trucking companies to have potential commercial truck drivers submit to drug tests before they start driving. They also require semi truck drivers to immediately get a drug and alcohol test after causing an accident that results in injuries and/or property damage.

Unfortunately, these regulations are not enforced very well, and many trucking companies do not force their drivers to get the post-accident drug and alcohol tests. Likewise, many truck drivers do not get them on their own. Additionally, there are many reports of fraud with the tests that result in unreliable results.

According to a recent article, a commercial pilot was selling a powder drink mix that would mask the results of a drug test. He was marketing it towards pilots, semi truck drivers and truck engineers, all of whom are required to take drug tests since they have very safety-sensitive jobs. Fortunately, the person selling these drug testing masking kits to pilots and truck drivers was arrested and prosecuted. According to prosecutors, the product worked. Other similar products are on the market and have been the subject of other federal criminal cases.

With today's fairly lax enforcement mechanisms, it is troubling to read a story that provides semi truck drivers and people in similar positions with the means to falsify critical drug tests. The drug tests are particularly important for semi truck drivers when they are required after an accident that causes an injury. If a semi truck driver causes an injury accident while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the employer (and other potential employers) must be made aware of that fact so the semi truck driver can be prohibited from driving a semi truck and doing the same thing again. Law enforcement officials and personal injury and wrongful death lawyers must also have access to reliable drug test results so the semi truck driver can be properly held accountable for the accident and injuries and/or deaths caused by the accident.