personal injury

Southwest Florida Traffic Fatalities Highlight Holiday Travel Risks

December 16, 2019 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The deaths of two Fort Myers sisters in a traffic accident is a sobering reminder of the risks of driving in Southwest Florida as we head into the height of the holiday travel season.

The sisters, ages 56 and 52, were killed when their car struck an oncoming vehicle while making a turn at the intersection of Daniels Parkway and International Drive, according to NBC-2.The Florida Highway Patrol reports the driver of the other vehicle was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. The sisters were beloved in the community and were involved in numerous charitable organizations and fundraising efforts.

Drivers will face increased risk through the remainder of the holiday season. As our injury lawyers in Fort Myers reported, the shortened holiday season will likely lead to frayed nerves as it coincides with the beginning of the long winter tourism season.

Injury Lawyers Encourage Annual Auto Insurance Review

November 28, 2019 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The end of the year is a time of self-reflection and self-renewal. A time for family and for resolutions.

It is also a time when we deal with much of the paperwork that runs our lives. As part of your annual review, our experienced injury lawyers in Cape Coral and Fort Myers urge you to take a careful look at your auto insurance policy to make sure it will be there for you in the event of a serious accident.

For many victims, it will be their own insurance policy that will be the best source of financial relief in the aftermath of a serious or fatal motor vehicle injury. And, for too many, their own auto insurance policy may even turn out to be the only source of compensation.

Impairment a Risk this Holiday Travel Season

November 28, 2019 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The National Safety Council is urging motorists to consider all forms of impairment this holiday travel season.

For more than 20 years, drivers with alcohol concentrations at or above 0.08 have remained involved in about one-third of all traffic fatalities in the U.S. That’s about 10,000 lives lost every year. Our car accident lawyers in Fort Myers and Cape Coral have made fighting for the rights of drunk-driving collision victims a primary focus since 1971.

We remain active this holiday season in supporting the Lee County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and have long supported DUI checkpoints and increased patrols conducted by local law enforcement agencies, including the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Cape Coral Police Department.

Holiday Travel Safety in SWFL

November 5, 2019 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Thanksgiving is the busiest travel weekend of the year. But it also signals the beginning of the long holiday travel season and the beginning of winter tourism season in Southwest Florida.

Early darkness, holiday stress, more cars on the road, and a large number of visitors and tourists, all increase the risks of motor-vehicle collisions through the remainder of the year.

Last year, AAA reported about 54-million people traveled during the Thanksgiving holiday. And by the end of the year, 112-million people total traveled for the holidays. The agency is expecting to see that trend to continue this year. That means about 1-in-3 Americans are expected to travel more than 50 miles from home this year, or about 300,000 people traveling to or from Lee County this holiday season.

Year-End Holidays Signal Approach of Seasonal Traffic Risks

October 31, 2019 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

With early darkness approaching and the year-end holidays just around the corner, local road-safety advocates are warning residents and visitors alike to make safety a priority.

Our injury lawyers in Fort Myers see an increase in crashes each autumn. We have written recently about the collision risks associated with back-to-school, as well as Halloween pedestrian safety. However, early darkness brings with it its own risks, not the least of which is the return of snowbirds and other winter residents.

Florida saw a record 126 million visitors last year. But the record is expected to be short-lived, with even more people expected to visit the Sunshine State this year. More than 1 million of those will visit Southwest Florida during the year-end holidays, according to the Lee County Visitors and Conventions Bureau.

Aviation Injuries in Southwest Florida

October 30, 2019 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

A woman in Key West recently suffered serious injuries after being struck by the propeller of a private airplane. The incident highlights the risks faced by those who enjoy Southwest Florida’s thriving private aviation community.

USAToday reported she lost her right hand and two toes of her right foot when a propeller blade hit her Saturday as she was helping to prepare a private plane for takeoff at Key West International Airport. The airplane accident involved a a 1966 Cessna model 172S plane rented in Fort Myers. The plane was being piloted by her husband; the couple resides in Fort Myers.

The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting an investigation of the accident. The 46-year-old victim was initially taken to Lower Keys Medical Center and later flown out to Ryder Trauma in Miami. Continue reading ›

Intersection Collision Risks Abound in Southwest Florida

September 29, 2019 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Intersection accidents have been in the news a lot this month. Too often motorists see intersections as delays and bottlenecks in their commute, even running yellow lights to quickly get past some of Southwest Florida’s most notorious hot spots for congestion and motor-vehicle collisions.

WINK News reports a recent reader survey identified U.S. 41/Colonial Boulevard, Six Mile Cypress and Gladiolus and the Midpoint and Cape Coral bridges as among the worst traffic locations in Southwest Florida.

With tourist season just around the corner, it’s critical motorists remember that these high-traffic locations are also the most likely location for serious and fatal motor vehicle collisions. Allowing frustration or distraction to prevail when caught in traffic, will only further increase your risks. Our Fort Myers car accident lawyers know intersections are the most common location for urban car accidents and pedestrian accidents. These natural points of traffic conflict involve bumper-to-bumper traffic, walkers and cyclists, and harried and distracted drivers.

Back-to-School Safety Checklist for SWFL

September 10, 2019 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The National Safety Council recently published an excellent Back-to-School Safety Checklist for parents and students.

Our injury lawyers in Fort Myers and Cape Coral have published a number of back-to-school safety articles in recent weeks, including Back-to-School Bicycle and Pedestrian Accident Risks and school bus injury risks in Southwest Florida.

But the fact is autumn is the most dangerous time of the year for a number of reasons.

Drugged Driving Risks in Focus in SWFL

September 9, 2019 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is sponsoring events all month to promote recovery services. The agency’s theme this year is “Join the Voices of Recovery: Together We Are Stronger.”

About half of all fatal traffic accidents involve alcohol or drug use. Alcohol alone is confirmed to be involved in one-third of traffic deaths each year, claiming more than 10,000 lives nationally, and more than 800 here in Florida. The increasingly permissive use of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes also increases the risks on the road. In addition, the nationwide opioid epidemic is now blamed for more than 35,000 overdose deaths annually, which surpasses the number of motorists killed on the nation’s roads each year, an untold number of whom were under the influence of a prescribed or illicit opioid narcotic at the time of a motor-vehicle accident.

The personal injury lawyers at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, have been representing car accident victims in Southwest Florida since 1971, and continue to support Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and local law enforcement efforts to get impaired drivers off the road, including sobriety checkpoints and enforcement blitzes.

Lightning Liability in SWFL

September 5, 2019 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Lightning safety is in focus in Southwest Florida through the height of the hurricane season, which runs through November 30.

As Hurricane Dorian batters the Bahamas and threatens the East Coast of the United States this week, it’s easy to remember the power of Mother Nature.

But lightning is a primary threat throughout Southwest Florida’s long rainy season. In fact, South Florida is the lightning capital of the United States, with Rwanda being the only place in the world where lightning is a bigger threat. As a result, South Florida leads the nation in fatalities and injuries resulting from electrical storms.

Fort Myers injury lawyers know injuries resulting from lightning can include muscle pain, broken bones, burns, cardiac arrest, hearing loss and seizures. Lightning burns are characterized by a unique pattern of skin lesions. Alternative names for them include “keraunographic markings”, “feathering”, “ferning”, “Lichtenberg figures,” “lightning flowers” or “lightning trees”.