car accident lawsuit

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 ›

Collier County Jury Awards $5M in Fatal Marco Island Crash Lawsuit

June 24, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

A Collier County jury recently awarded $5.1 million the family of a 91-year-old woman killed in a Marco Island car accident caused by a man reportedly traveling 77 mph in a 30 mph zone before running a stop sign in November 2013.

The civil judgment comes almost exactly one year after the conclusion of the criminal case, in which the defendant, also from Marco Island, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. This was just one year less than the maximum 15 years he faced on the charge of vehicular manslaughter. Defendant had three prior DUI arrests and two tickets for excessive speeding. He was not charged with DUI manslaughter in this instance, prosecutors say, because only one official at the scene detected signs of impairment that might warrant a blood draw. Without that evidence, proving defendant was drunk at the time of the fatal crash was nearly impossible. Nonetheless, the criminal court judge apparently wasn’t swayed by his pleas for leniency that pointed out his participation in half a dozen charitable golf outings annually. His attorney asked for a maximum of three years. The judge gave him nearly five times that.

At the civil trial, plaintiffs attorneys presented evidence that defendant had consumed five shots of liquor and three beers in the hours just before the crash. A bartender at the establishment defendant had earlier patronized testified at trial. Continue reading ›

Brewer v. State Farm Mutual Auto Ins. Co. – “Excessive” Punitive Damages

May 20, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Punitive damages can be awarded in Florida personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits in which a defendant acted with gross negligence or intentional misconduct. The definitions of these terms are set forth in F.S. 768.72.

But while punitive damages may substantially increase the amount of a certain damage award, the Fourteenth Amendment blocks these awards from being “grossly excessive.” But what does that mean? There is no dollar figure that establishes what is “grossly excessive,” which means the courts have to interpret legislative intent and rely on prior case law.

One Florida injury case where this became necessary was State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Company v. Brewer, recently before the Florida’s Second District Court of Appeals. In this case, defendant and his insurer sought review of a final judgment entered in favor of plaintiffs in an injury case arising out of an automobile accident. The court affirmed judgment in favor of plaintiffs as well as the compensatory damages awarded. However, with regard to punitive damages, the court ruled the award was excessive to the point of being unconstitutional. For this reason, the court reversed and remanded for further proceedings. Continue reading ›

Limousine Service Sued for Crash Injury

May 13, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Prom and graduation season is upon us, which means many high school students will be donning tuxedos and gowns and heading out for a final bash.

Parents concerned about the possibility of drunk driving may splurge on a limousine service for their kids, just to be certain teens won’t be tempted to drive while impaired. But limousine services can sometimes be negligent too. When a limousine accident results in injury, our experienced auto accident lawyers can help.

In a recent case out of Illinois, a limousine service carrier is the target of at least one lawsuit and a federal regulator shut-down following a fatal crash in March. Continue reading ›

Universal Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Winton – Garage Liability Insurance for Auto Dealerships

April 24, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

A night of fun in Oklahoma turned tragic when a 48-year-old driver caused a motor vehicle accident that killed five people – including herself – and severely injured two others. Aside from the driver, those killed were between the ages of 18 and 23. The two injured were 17 and 22.

The families of two decedents (one of whom was a young mother) and two survivors sought compensation from the estate of decedent. But she only had a bodily injury liability coverage of $50,000 – hardly enough to compensate even one of the victims for their losses. Indeed, the estate settled the cases for $3 million per each survivor and $5 million for each family whose loved one died. The problem was who would pay those amounts. Decedent’s insurance was only $50,000 – and that was paid.

The approved settlement indicated collection of damages would be limited to applicable insurance policies. Soon after the settlement was approved, three insurance carriers sued the victims for a declaratory judgment that would assert they were not liable to pay the insurance settlement. In the case of Universal Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Winton, plaintiffs argued either that one of the insurers was liable under garage and umbrella policies because the dealership still owned the vehicle, or alternatively that another dealership still owned the car and therefore a different two insurance policies covered the accident. Continue reading ›

Rish v. Simao – Low-Impact Defense in Car Accident Lawsuit

March 18, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

In some Fort Myers car accident lawsuits, defendants will allege injuries or damages incurred by plaintiff were not as serious as he or she has stated because the crash was low-impact.

However, just because a crash happened at a relatively low speed does not mean serious injury is an impossibility. Consider that:

A typical automobile weighs about 2,000 pounds;
A collision at 10 miles-per-hour is going to result in an average impact force of 3.7 tons;
A 3,000-pound vehicle striking at 10 mph is going to result in a force of impact of about 5.6 tons.

The force of impact to one’s back and neck is significant. Plus, when a person is involved in a rear-end accident, it’ s important to understand a physics principle known as “magnification of acceleration.” What that means is the occupants of a vehicle are going to accelerate a lot faster than the car that is impacted, which means they are going to absorb much more of the force. So even a low-impact crash can result in substantial injuries. 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.

Woodward v. Taylor – Jurisdiction in Crash Case

February 2, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

With most auto accidents in Fort Myers, if it happens here, the proper court in which to file it will be within the 20th Judicial Circuit Court, Civil Division.

Still, one of the first things the court will want to establish is jurisdiction, which is the official power to make legal decisions and judgments. There are generally two types of jurisdiction: Personal (over the individual involved) and Subject Matter (over the circumstances of the case). There is also a third prong sometimes mentioned called Procedural (over the specific procedures involved).

The purpose of jurisdiction is to ensure the right laws are applied and the right court is handling the case. In most cases, if a car accident happens here, it’s the local civil court that will have jurisdiction to hear the injury claims. However, there could be circumstances under which that’s not true.

Take for example the car accident lawsuit of Woodward v. Taylor, recently before the Washington State Supreme Court. Continue reading ›

Investigation: Train That Derailed in Truck Crash Had Flawed Parts

January 12, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

An internal investigation into a deadly train crash in Southern California, just outside of L.A., has revealed a number of the derailed passenger cars were equipped with defective parts. Specifically, two couplers and a “cow-catcher” broke when the train struck a large pickup truck and trailer that had gotten stuck on the tracks. That’s according to a recent report by the L.A. Times.

On trains, couplers are supposed to keep the cars together. The cow-catcher is affixed to the front of the train to catch cattle or other objects that may be in the train’s path and keep them from going underneath the train, which could cause it to derail.

The revelation, which came following release of an internal report by the train’s operator, Metrolink, coincides with an ongoing federal investigation into the February crash. Further, it may provide an additional avenue from which injured victims may seek compensation. The train’s engineer, age 62, died a week after the crash as a result of his injuries. A total of 28 passengers were transported to local hospitals with injuries that ranged from minor to critical. Additionally, two other crew members were hurt. Continue reading ›

$1.45 Million Settlement For Lacking Barriers in Fatal Crash; $9.5 Million Lawsuit Still Pending

December 20, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

A commissioner for the City of Portland, Ore. has received an agreement to settle one of the pending wrongful death actions for the loss of her husband for $1.45 million. The settlement was reached with the Oregon Department Transportation following a head-on collision in September 2014 on a stretch of interstate with no cable median barriers. Another $750,000 was paid by the state to the family of the front seat passenger, who also died.

Another $9.5 million lawsuit against two other drivers is still pending.

Additionally, decedent’s widow pushed hard for legislative action that would specifically require the Department of Transportation to finish erecting median barriers on 100 miles of unprotected highway identified as prone to deadly cross-over crashes, such as the one that killed decedent. Senate Bill 921, known as the “Fritz-Fairchild Act,” was passed by both legislative bodies, signed by the governor and codified in Chapter 275 of the state’s 2015 laws. It becomes effective Jan. 1, 2016. The measure will specifically target a dangerous, unbarricaded stretch of interstate that has been neglected for years as political priorities shifted. This was despite the DOT being aware of the need for updates as far back as 1996.

These new changes will cost an additional $20 million. Continue reading ›