Articles Posted in Car Accidents

A recent report by the Insurance Research Council indicates a marked increase in the number of people seeking legal assistance in filing an auto injury claim.

Our Cape Coral car accident attorneys understand the percentage of personal injury protection claimants in auto accidents represented by a lawyer increased to 36 percent in 2012, a five percent increase from the number represented by attorneys in 2007. It’s also more than double the rate of those represented by lawyers in 1977.

Meanwhile, the number of bodily injury claimants represented by attorneys increased to roughly 50 percent in 2012.
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This Labor Day is expected to be the busiest on our nation’s roadways in six years, with the recession easing and gas prices lowered. But, according to AAA projections, it’s also likely to be one of the deadliest holidays in recent years as well.

As our Fort Myers car accident lawyers know, more vehicles on the road translates to a greater number of crashes.

It can be easy to downplay the risk as you head out to the boat or backyard barbeque. No one ever thinks it can happen to them. The National Safety Council indicates the odds are 1 in 88,000 you or someone you love will die in a crash between now and Tuesday. Those might seem like decent odds, but the consider too the chance is even higher you or someone you love might be seriously injured.
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In auto accident litigation, our Lehigh Acres injury lawyers know it can be helpful to the plaintiff’s case if it can be shown the defendant driver was engaged in some violation of traffic law at the time of the crash.

However, as the recent case of Estate of Edmund M. Carman v. Tinkes, et al. reveals, it isn’t the only factor that matters. A driver who violates a traffic law might be cited by police for that infraction, and that fact could be used in the civil case to reveal a pattern of poor habits behind the wheel. However, that fact alone won’t establish liability. What has to be shown is that the traffic violation was a contributing cause of the crash.

Another important factor is that of comparative negligence. That is, to what degree was the plaintiff responsible for causing the accident? Florida follows the pure comparative negligence standard, which liberally favors plaintiffs by holding that no plaintiff is barred from recovery of damages just because he or she shared a portion of the blame for what happened. However, the amount of damages collected may be reduced, depending on one’s degree of fault.
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Fort Myers police report a 23-year-old pedestrian was killed after being struck by a hit-and-run driver outside a local club. The 21-year-old driver was caught soon after the crash by police after a witness followed him home and contacted authorities.

Our car accident lawyers in Fort Myers know that under a new law that went into effect last month, drivers will face harsher penalties for leaving the scene of a motor-vehicle collision involving injury or death.

Before the law was passed, a legal loophole essentially created an incentive for drunk drivers to flee the scene. That’s because the penalties for hit-and-run were less than what one could expect to receive for a conviction on a charge of DUI manslaughter. So if a hit-and-run driver could avoid capture until his blood-alcohol level dissipated, the state would be deprived of critical evidence to prove the driver was drunk at the time of the crash.
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Anytime an insurance claim is made for injuries relating to a motor vehicle crash, you can bet the insurer is going to question both the nature and extend of any injuries. The primary way this is done is through compulsory medical exam.

This is sometimes referred to by the insurer as an “independent” medical exam, but our Cape Coral car accident lawyers refuse to use this term, as there is nothing “independent” about these visits. The doctors are paid for by the insurer, with the primary goal of discrediting your assertions about the seriousness of your condition.

In the past, auto insurers commonly used a policy provision to automatically deny coverage to a claimant who refused to submit to a compulsory medical exam after seeking underinsured/uninsured motorist benefits. A Florida Supreme Court ruling in March – State Farm v. Curran – rejected this practice. While the insurer had argued refusal to submit to an exam amounted to a breach of contract by the insured, the court found it to be a post-loss obligation, not a precursor to coverage.
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Generally speaking, the government and its employees are shielded from lawsuits asserting negligence resulting in injury based on the legal principle of sovereign immunity. Government entities entitled to this protection encompass a wide range of fields, from police departments to hospitals to school districts to transportation departments.

However, our Sarasota injury lawyers know that successful lawsuits against the government and its workers are won all the time. That’s because this immunity is waived in certain circumstances, primarily when the plaintiff can show the worker acted recklessly, outside the scope of his or her employment or when the negligence involved an operational failure, rather than a planning failure.

Clearing these hurdles requires careful legal analysis on the part of your attorney, and hiring a lawyer with experience will be critical to your case.
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Wrongful death litigation in Florida can arise from virtually any death resulting from negligence, including traffic crashes, work accidents, medical malpractice and other incidents that result in fatality. Similarly, it can involve almost any type of family.

The fact that the makeup of the “average” American family has evolved significantly in recent years has meant courts are grappling with the issue of who has the right to claim damages for the wrongful death of a loved one. Complications are especially prevalent in cases of blended families, cohabitant couples who never married, gay couples, divorced parties and children of prior marriages still reliant on the decedent for support, and children born out of wedlock.

Our Fort Myers wrongful death lawyers know that Florida has outlined very specific guidelines under its Wrongful Death Act, specifying who can collect damages, the amount to which they are entitled under the circumstances and how those claims must be pursued. Still, because of familial complexities, courts have been known to make exceptions in the interest of fairness and to meet the standards of legislative intent.
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Fort Myers car accident attorneys recognize that in crash cases, there are numerous situations in which a third party can be held responsible for the at-fault driver’s actions.

Per the doctrine of vicarious liability, there are instances wherein the owner of the vehicle could bear some of the burden. So too might the driver’s employer, if he or she was working or driving a company vehicle at the time of the crash. Additionally, the parent of a minor behind the wheel or anybody who served alcohol to the driver just before the crash could face liability.

While the courts in Florida have allowed a broad application of this theory, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal recently narrowed scope in the case of Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of South Florida, etc. v. Bermudez. Even while sympathizing with the plaintiff and chastising the defendant American Indian tribe for refusing to pay the settlement agreement in lieu of continuing to defend a drunk driver, the court ruled there was still no legal basis to force the tribe to comply.
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Case law in Florida has well-established that insurance companies must write policies that are clear and without ambiguity. Any dual interpretations or omissions are to be considered in a light most favorable to the insured.

Cape Coral car accident lawyers note this principle was highlighted most recently in Florida in the case of Spaid v. Integon Indemnity Corp., wherein the First District Court of Appeals held a discrepancy in the policy with regard to medical coverage fell in favor of the plaintiff.

While court opinions have varied somewhat from state-to-state in this regard, many courts have reached similar conclusions, strengthening the basis for future claims. One of the more recent cases is that of Winter v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, weighed by the Montana Supreme Court.
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With the economic recovery still tepid in Florida, many people are forgoing full auto insurance coverage – or sometimes giving it up altogether -because they can no longer afford it.

Of course, many of these individuals still drive, as do those who aren’t eligible for auto insurance because they lack a valid driver’s license.

Cape Coral car accident lawyers know that in Florida, it’s illegal for a driver to operate a vehicle without insurance coverage. The fact that so many drivers do it anyway substantially increases the risk that someone who is covered will be involved in a crash with someone who isn’t.

This is where uninsured and underinsured motorist benefits can make all the difference.
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