car accident attorney

Etherton v. Owners Insurance Co. – Bad Faith Insurance After Car Accident

July 17, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

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 the amount they will compensate you.

Bad faith insurance action – when an insurance company fails to deal with a customer in good faith – the penalties may be quite severe. If a judge or jury holds an insurer liable for bad faith action, the insured may be paid triple the original damages. This is intended to deter such action in the first place.

Many actions can be categorized as “bad faith,” but we generally see it manifest in car accident claims through claims that are swiftly denied or wrongly delayed or in low-ball settlement offers that are far below what the claim is actually worth. Continue reading ›

Excessive Speed a Factor in Horrific Crash That Killed Family on Way to School Play

July 12, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The family of four was on their way to a school play at a local high school. They were just minutes from it starting. Meanwhile, a 20-year-old driving a turbocharged BMW was heading home after picking up some Chinese takeout for his family. He was traveling at a mind-bending 115 mph – 70 mph over the speed limit on the Maryland road.

The crash was described by The Washington Post as “thunderous.” The BMW struck the Chevrolet Volt at a broadside angle. Although horrified onlookers tried valiantly to rescue the family in the Volt – uprooting a metal sign so they could fight to pry the door open, smashing the rear car window and a doctor who crawled into the car to try to administer medical attention – three of the four inside perished. The sole survivor lost her mother, father and her 18-year-old brother, her only sibling, in that crash. She suffered life-threatening injuries, but ultimately survived.

Meanwhile, the driver of that BMW was in hysterics nearby. “It’s all my fault!” he could be heard screaming. Continue reading ›

Wrong-Way Crashes Curse Florida Roads

July 7, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Wrong-way crashes are becoming a serious problem on Southwest Florida roadways, and The News-Press recently explored this issue on both a micro-level and from a statewide perspective.

As The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) noted in its 2012 investigation into the issue, wrong-way driving tends to have very serious consequences – in fact much more so than other types of dangerous driving behaviors. Although it occurs relatively infrequently – about 3 percent of all accidents on high-speed, divided highway accidents – drivers are 27 times more likely to be killed in wrong-way crashes than in other types of accidents.

Local media picked up on the issue after a series of high-profile wrong-way crashes in Southwest Florida. One of those included a teenager killed in a Lehigh Acres car accident in which a wrong-way driver struck her head-on. Continue reading ›

Allen v. Montalvan – Florida Car Accident Settlements Involving Minors

June 30, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Motor vehicle accidents are known to be the No. 1 killer of children in the U.S. under the age of 14. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates every year that more than 1,100 children are killed and 167,000 are injured in traffic crashes.

So it makes sense that a fair amount of car accident settlements would involve minors as interested parties. Florida law requires that anytime there is a settlement with a gross amount that meets or exceeds $50,000, the court must appoint a guardian ad litem to ensure the child’s interests are protected. This is outlined in F.S. 744.3025(1)(b). The law also allows the courts to appoint a guardian ad litem in any case for personal injury, property damage or wrongful death that exceeds $15,000 if the court believes it’s necessary to protect the minor’s interests. However, once that gross amount hits $50,000, the appointment is mandatory.

This was a sticking point in the recent case of Allen v. Montalvan, before Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal. This was a tragic case in which a grandmother was killed while her two children (one adult) and two minor grandchildren were injured when a drunk driver slammed into their vehicle. The passengers, including the underage children, all suffered varying degrees of personal injury. Continue reading ›

Alligator Alley Guardrails Criticized

May 15, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

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 on Florida’s turnpike and I-75 on Alligator Alley served to slash the number of canal crashes along those roads significantly, according to reports.

But now, there is concern that new Alligator Alley guardrails will harm motorists, accident victims, workers and emergency responders. Continue reading ›

When Negligent Repair of Auto Plays a Role in Crash

February 6, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Most of us depend on our vehicles to commute to work, school, our kids’ soccer practices and more. We can’t control the way everyone drives on the road, but we can ensure our own driving habits are optimal and that our vehicle is in good working condition.

Or can we?

We rely heavily on auto mechanics to make sure our vehicles run properly. In fact, when you entrust your vehicle to the possession of a mechanic for service or repair, it establishes something known as a “bailment relationship” or contractual relationship with the mechanic. This in turn gives rise to a number of professional and legal duties owed by the mechanic. These duties include:

Inspecting the vehicle to make sure it is not a danger to any driver;
Treating the care with reasonable care;
Avoid fraud, concealment or bait-and-switch tactics;
Refrain from making unauthorized or unnecessary repairs;
Not replacing or fully repairing broken or worn parts;
Installing the wrong replacement part;
Not noticing a major repair that needs done;
Performing the wrong repair or maintenance procedure;
Altering a vehicle in a manner that makes it illegal to drive;
Causing damage to other parts of the vehicle.

South Florida Judge Rejects Waiver as Absolution Argument by Crash Defendants

December 28, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Citing the 2015 Florida Supreme Court decision in Sanislo v. Give Kids the World, Inc., defendants in a fatal van accident lawsuit argued before Collier Circuit Judge Hugh Hayes that a liability waiver meant they weren’t liable for a 17-year-old’s death in December 2011. Hayes, though, wasn’t buying it. In rejecting a defense motion for summary judgment, Hayes determined the four-sentence waiver on its own wasn’t enough to free the company from responsibility in this wrongful death case, particularly when the alleged negligence was so egregious.

Decedent was one of eight youths in a van driven by an employee of a work camp contractor with the Department of Juvenile Justice. Plaintiffs say the 17-year-old was working to turn his life around. He and the other teens were returning from an athletic trip in Daytona Beach – one they had earned with good behavior.

The driver, a 25-year-old employee with a poor driving record who in fact should not have been working for the contractor, was talking on his cell phone when he lost control of the vehicle at a 90-degree curve on a dirt road. After sliding into a traffic sign, the van overturned and flipped into a canal. Seven of the teens got out. One 16-year-old survivor said as he pushed his way out of the van, he felt a tug on his leg. He thrust his hand into the cold water, trying to reach the other passenger, to help pull him up. But their hands slipped.

“And I knew right then, it was (him),” the survivor told The Naples Daily News. Continue reading ›

Kimminau v. City of Hastings – Government Liability for Roadway Cleanup

August 1, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

When a crash occurs on government roads, it is the duty of government authorities to close the roadway in a timely manner until debris has been cleared and the site is safe for traffic. Once the roadway has been cleared for resumed traffic by authorities, the government could be liable for remaining debris left in the road, should it be the cause of a traffic accident resulting in injury.

This was the situation in Kimminau v. City of Hastings, recently weighed by the Nebraska Supreme Court.

A messy spill of food material on the road occurred as a result of a truck accident. Government employees and volunteer firefighters were called to clear the debris from the road. They did so and the road was cleared for traffic. But when an accident the following day was attributed to remaining debris from that earlier crash, the question was who was responsible.

Ray v. Draeger – Insurance Industry Connections With Crash Case Expert Witnesses

July 29, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

In car accident lawsuits, it is not uncommon for both sides to present testimony from experts to prove their respective positions. Experts could range from medical doctors, who would attest to extent of injuries, causation of injuries and reasonable treatments for those injuries. Accident reconstructionists could attest to the nature and cause of the crash. Mental health experts could speak to the emotional trauma.

It’s also fairly common for insurance companies to consult the same experts over and over again. These expert witnesses are compensated for their time and travel.

This can raise questions of bias when insurers use the same witnesses repeatedly. In effect, these witnesses derive a substantial profit from testifying on a regular basis on behalf of insurance companies/defendants, and this may raise valid questions regarding the witness’s potential bias.