Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Car accidents a leading cause of spinal cord injuries in Fort Myers

January 23, 2011 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Last week our Cape Coral injury lawyers reported on the risks and complications associated with traumatic brain injury in the wake of the tragic shooting of Gabrielle Giffords. As we said, most brain injury cases are caused by falls and auto accidents, not by assault.

Another type of catastrophic injury associated with car accidents, falls and other types of trauma, is spinal cord injury. Depending on how high in the spine an injury occurs, lower extremities or both lower and upper extremities may be impacted. A high injury near the neck may result in tetraplegia or quadriplegia, which affects arms, truck, legs and pelvic organs. While an injury lower in the spine may result in paraplegia, which affects all or part of the trunks, legs and pelvic organs.
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A spinal cord injury may be complete — meaning no feeling or function survives below the injury site, or partial, meaning the victim may retain some sensory or motor function below the site of the injury.

Leading causes of spinal cord injuries include:

-Motor Vehicle Accidents: Leading cause responsible for nearly half of all spinal cord injuries.

-Violence: 16 percent are caused by violence, including knife and gunshot wounds.

-Falls: Spinal cord injuries in those over the age of 65 are most often caused by a fall.

-Sports and recreational activities: Are responsible for about 12 percent of all spinal cord injuries.

These injuries frequently result in the need for long-term care and can have life-long medical complications, including respiratory and circulatory problems, problems with muscle tone and control and sexual dysfunction, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports about 200,000 people are living with a spinal cord injury in the United States. About 20,000 new cases occur each year.

The average lifetime medical costs for someone with a spinal cord injury is $500,000 to $3 million, depending on the severity of the injury.

Like with any type of catastrophic injury, seeking experienced legal help is critical. Insurance companies and their attorneys know what is at stake and will often make a fast settlement offer, sometimes even bringing a check to a victim’s home or hospital room. Please do not make any statements or sign any documents until speaking to an experienced and well-qualified law firm.
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Florida distracted driving law an issue even as government and safety advocates debate impact

January 22, 2011 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

As our Fort Myers personal injury attorneys frequently report, Florida is one of the few remaining states that has done nothing to prevent motorists from causing distracted driving accidents by either text messaging or talking on the phone while behind the wheel.

As lawmakers convene in Tallahassee, we urge them to consider, at a minimum, enacting a law that would prohibit teenagers and new drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has labeled distracted driving an “epidemic” that leads to 5,000 deaths and 500,000 injuries each year in the United States.

The USA Today reports that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is questioning whether hands-free laws or prohibitions against text messaging are effective. In part because an increasing body of research is suggesting hands-free devices are no safer, and in part because motorists may be attempting to hide their phones in their laps to avoid getting a ticket, and thereby taking their eyes off the road for a longer period of time.

Yet there is no question distracted drivers frequently cause car accidents in Fort Myers, Cape Coral and throughout South Florida. We see it every day. A comprehensive and common sense approach is needed and we think addressing the issue of teen drivers and cell phones is a great place to start.

IIHS President Adrian Lund said distracted driving “is a growing problem in the sense of our recognition of it, but the fact is, it’s always been there.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has recently deflected criticism that the department is ignoring other safety issues as a result of hyper-focusing on distracted driving. He points to recent initiatives dealing with better rear-visibility in vehicles, a new five-star rating system and a number of recent recalls. Most of those have been announced since the IIHS first made critical comments about the focus on distracted driving last year.

LaHood said the government is “”laser focused on auto safety, holding automakers accountable for dangerous safety defects that put consumers at risk. … Our roads are the safest they’ve ever been, but we’re not going to stop pressing forward to make them safer.”

He said distracted driving was linked to 10 percent of fatal crashes in 2005. That number increased to 16 percent in 2008 before leveling off last year. The department credits its initiatives and the work of states passing distracted driving laws.
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Fort Myers injury attorney should be consulted in accidents involving hit-and-run motorists, uninsured drivers

January 21, 2011 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Police are looking for the suspect in a hit-and-run motorcycle accident in Fort Myers, according to

Giffords case illustrates complexity of Traumatic Brain Injury

January 17, 2011 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The horrific attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has brought the issue of Traumatic Brain Injury to the forefront of the national conversation in the last week. The miraculous strides in Giffords’ recovery illustrate the unique nature of brain injuries. What has yet to be mentioned is the likelihood of her medical care exceeding $1 million.

Our Fort Myers accident attorneys understand the complex nature of catastrophic injuries, which can include a Traumatic Brain Injury, spinal cord injury, loss of a limb, loss of eyesight or severe burns. When it comes to Traumatic Brain Injury (or TBI), no two cases are alike.

And such injuries are far more common than many people think. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports about 1.7 million people suffer a Traumatic Brain Injury each year. Of those, about 52,000 will die and 275,000 will be hospitalized. More than 1.3 million will be treated and released from hospital emergency rooms.

Distracted driving, economy, among factors in number of fatal car accidents in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples in 2010

January 16, 2011 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports fewer traffic fatalities occurred in the Sunshine State in 2010 than at any time since the 1970s. A total of 2,430 traffic fatalities were reported in Florida last year — five percent fewer than the 2,563 reported in 2009.

Debate continues over whether traffic deaths will begin to increase again with the economic recovery. The National Safety Council reports a four percent decrease in accidents nationwide last year, although about a dozen states, primarily in the Midwest, had increases last year for the first time since the start of the Great Recession.

Southwest Florida mirrors that trend.

Corrections officer killed in Cape Coral motorcycle accident

January 15, 2011 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Our Cape Coral motorcycle accident lawyers and the staff at the law offices of Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, would like to extend our condolences to the family of Scott Wheeler, an off duty correction’s deputy who was killed in a motorcycle accident on Wednesday.

The News-Press reports Wheeler’s Yamaha motorcycle collided with a vehicle making a left turn onto Pine Island Road from Skyline Boulevard. The crash happened just before 6 p.m. The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed.

Wheeler, 24, has been a correction’s officer since 2008 and leaves behind a fiance, who is pregnant, and two children, ages 4 and 5.

The death was the first traffic fatality of the year in Cape Coral and the third in Lee County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. It also serves as a tragic reminder to ” Watch for Motorcycles” throughout South Florida’s winter riding season.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports 5,290 riders were killed in 2008 and more than 96,000 were seriously injured. Florida motorcycle accidents accounted for 523 riding deaths. Only California (537) reported more fatal accidents.

Motorcycles can be hard to see. And their small size makes judging speed difficult at best. As we reported last fall on our Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, the winter is prime riding season in Florida.

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s “10 Things All Car, Truck and Bus Drivers Should Know About Motorcycles” are worth repeating often.

-When a motorcycle is involved in an accident with another vehicle — the driver of the other vehicle is usually to blame.

-Motorcycles can be hard to see and can hide in blind spots. Look twice and use extra caution when pulling into the roadway.

-It’s tough to judge a motorcycle’s speed. Assume it’s closer than it appears.

-Don’t rely on a motorcycle’s brake lights — a rider often slows by backing out of the throttle and downshifting.

-Motorcycles often move around within their lane. Don’t crowd them.

-Turn signals on motorcycles do not shut off on their own. Make sure you know a rider’s intentions before proceeding.

-Don’t expect a motorcycle to be able to dodge out of your way.

-Don’t expect a rider to stop on a dime — a motorcycle requires about the same distance to stop as a passenger car.

-Visualize a motorcycle as a person — the rider is just as vulnerable.

-Motorcycle accidents typically result in very serious or fatal injury to the rider. Don’t subject yourself to that guilt for the sake of saving a few seconds of drive time.
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Want to reduce your kid’s risk of a Fort Myers car accident? There’s an app for that

January 9, 2011 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

If you want to prevent your teen from speeding or text messaging while driving, there is an app for that.

Our Cape Coral car accident attorneys reported last week on our Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, that the Countdown2Drive program has been aimed at 13- and 14-year-olds in the latest effort to reduce the risk of teenage car accidents.

But Florida is one of a rapidly dwindling number of states that have no laws on the books that prevent drivers from text messaging. The Governors Highway Safety Association reports 30 states have outlawed text messaging by drivers. Eight others outlaw the use of hand-held cell phones by all drivers, and still others prohibit young drivers from texting or using cell phones while behind the wheel.

Unsafe loads leads to Fort Myers school bus accident

January 8, 2011 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

A Fort Myers school bus accident sent an elementary school student and a driver to the hospital this week, after a ladder fell out of a van and into the path of the bus.

The News-Press reported that the driver and a 6-year-old boy were transported to Lee Memorial Hospital for treatment.

The 68-year-old driver of the van was headed north on Hart Road in the area of Forest Park Drive when the ladder came loose from the van’s roof. The ladder fell into the path of the bus. The Florida Highway Patrol cited the van’s driver for hauling an unsecured load.

School bus accident cases can be complicated by multiple victims, competing claims and multiple defendants and insurance companies. In this case, at-fault parties may include the van’s owner and driver, as well as its insurance carrier, any umbrella liability policy that may be in place if the van is a commercial vehicle owned by a business, and the school bus owner and/or school district and their insurance carriers.

An experienced Fort Myers accident attorney should be consulted whenever a child is seriously injured on school property, including sports injuries, assault and transportation accidents. Child injury and recovery may be complicated by growth and other factors. In other cases, the full extent of injuries may not be readily apparent for weeks or even months after injury.

The National Coalition for School Bus Safety reports more than 26,000 school bus accidents have occurred over the last decade, resulting in more than 7,000 injuries.

An average of 19 students are killed in bus accidents each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Many of those involve pedestrian accidents as students board or deboard.

Bus accidents can also pose serious risk to other motorists on the road. Like semis, school buses frequently weigh many times the weight of a 3,500 pound passenger car. Their large size and height also leave them mismatched with the bumpers of many passenger vehicles. In such cases, the occupants of a passenger vehicle are often at greatest risk.
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Punta Gorda state’s most dangerous for pedestrian accidents — four of nation’s most dangerous cities in Florida

January 7, 2011 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Our pedestrian accident attorneys in Fort Myers and Cape Coral were not surprised to learn that Florida claimed four of the top five most dangerous spots in the nation for pedestrian accidents. Unfortunately, pedestrian accidents have reached near epidemic proportions in Florida.

No area of the state is immune. And it is a year-around problem that impacts all ages, from grade-schoolers to the elderly. Florida accounts for more than 10 percent of the nation’s fatal pedestrian accidents ( 490 of 4,378 in 2008), according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.. Only California records more fatal pedestrian accidents.

The new report by Transportation for America found the top five most dangerous metro areas in the nation are Orlando, Tampa, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville and Memphis.

However, when looking at all areas of a state, Punta Gorda was the most dangerous area in Florida for pedestrian accidents. Followed by Vero Beach, Ocala, Panama City and Orlando.

The Cape Coral and Fort Myers area was the state’s ninth most dangerous, with a reported 32 fatal pedestrian accidents in 2007-2008. Naples-Marco Island placed 17th, with a reported 12 fatalities.

Nationwide, more than 76,000 Americans have been killed in pedestrian accidents in the last 15 years — more than 43,000 have lost their lives in the last decade alone. During that time, 3,906 children were killed. The federal government reports that pedestrian accidents disproportionately impact children and the elderly, with about 20 percent of all pedestrian accidents involving a victim over the age of 65.

The study recommends a number of improvement methods, including:

-Traffic calming and street design: Including signals that give pedestrians a head start in crossing the road. Such planning, when combined with speed-reduction measures, can reduce accidents by up to 70 percent.

-Complete Streets: Planning for upgrades and future road projects need to take into account the needs of all users, including bicyclists and pedestrians. The needs of various age groups and persons with disabilities also should be taken into account.

-Safe Routes to School Program: These programs take a comprehensive approach to student safety, whether walking, riding a bike, waiting at the bus stop or on the bus.

-Walkable Neighborhoods: Communities need to be designed with plenty of emphasis on walking and bicycling, including parks and public spaces, restaurants and nearby retail facilities.
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New Year’s Resolution for parents: Talk to teens about reducing risk of car accidents in Fort Myers, Naples, Cape Coral

January 4, 2011 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

If you want to make a New Year’s resolution that counts, our Fort Myers car accident attorneys urge you to speak with your teenagers about the importance of making good driving decisions. Reducing your teen’s risk of a car accident in Naples, Cape Coral or elsewhere in South Florida could be the best move you can make as we enter 2011.

Safe Kids USA and the General Motors Foundation is launching Countdown2Drive, a national campaign aimed at equipping teenagers ages 13 and 14 — as well as their parents — with safety information well before the teen is eligible to drive legally. The effort is aimed at reducing the risk of serious or fatal accidents among young drivers, where the statistics are anything but encouraging.

The