Florida law establishes strict requirements for auto insurance, including requiring all drivers to carry a type of coverage called personal injury protection, or PIP. Per F.S. 627.736, this PIP coverage provides up to $10,000 in medical and disability benefits and $5,000 in death benefits resulting from bodily injury, sickness disease…
The number of traffic deaths in Lee County soared higher than at any point in a decade – and more than 10 percent in just a single year. That’s according to the latest report from The New-Press, which as of Jan. 1st still only had numbers through early December 2016.…
The number of traffic fatalities in Lee County topped 100 for the first time since 2007, according to a report late last month from The News-Press. As of the third week of December, there were 102 traffic fatalities in 2016 – more than it’s been in a decade. That figure…
One would assume that proving someone caused a crash would be sufficient to establish liability to compel them to pay for it. As the case of Minnegren v. Nozar shows, though, that’s not always true. The driver in this case admitted his error in judgment resulted in a crash that caused plaintiff’s…
Uninsured/ underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage is essential for all Florida motorists, as it provides the policyholder and other insureds with coverage in the event of collision with an at-fault driver who doesn’t have insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance. However, F.S. 627.727(7) allows insurers to avoid paying damages under UM/UIM policies…
Recently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sought to heighten awareness of unsafe vehicles and vehicle components and the devastating toll it takes on our roadways. The agency’s “Safe Cars Save Lives” bus tour involved a large bus making its way across the country – including to South Florida in…
The Virginia Supreme Court reversed a $20 million product liability verdict favoring a woman seriously injured when her Mazda convertible rolled over. Justices ruled trial court abused discretion in allowing plaintiff’s expert witness to testify, and further, defendant manufacturer had no legally recognized duty to design or supply a soft top…
Auto insurance companies make lots of promises. They vow to be “on your side” and “like a good neighbor.” The truth of the matter is, when it comes time to pay a claim, they will do anything in their power NOT to pay it – or at least to minimize…
It seems such a common-sense measure for rental car companies: Don’t rent out vehicles that have been recalled until they’ve been repaired. But until June 1, 2016, there was no law stopped from them from doing so. Many rental car companies routinely rented to customers vehicles they knew were unsafe.…
Guardrails are intended to keep motorists and passengers safe from careening into embankments, bridge parapets, signs, lights, signal supports, boulders, utility poles, drainage ditches, trees or bodies of water more than two feet deep. Generally, they do a good job. Cable guardrails, also sometimes referred to as cable barriers, installed…