personal injury

Construction Injuries a Threat as Building Boom Continues

June 20, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The improving economy is briging a strong tailwind to Southwest Florida’s booming construction industry.

As our Founder Bruce L. Scheiner celebrates his 50th year fighting for the rights of the injured in Southwest Florida, we have written about the area’s long history of explosive growth. Since 1971, Lee County has grown from fewer than 100,000 residents, to about 800,000.

But, if anything, growth has seemed to accelerate since coming out of the Great Recession a decade ago. And, while the COVID pandemic stalled growth temporarily, all signs point toward continued growth and expansion.

Wet Weather Driving Safety in SWFL

June 10, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

With the welcome return of rain in the last week, Southwest Florida is entering rainy season.

Hurricane forecasters expect it to be a busy year, on the heals of a 2020 season that saw the most named storms in recent history. This year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts an above-normal storm season with 13 to 20 named storms, 6 to 10 hurricanes and 3 to 5 major hurricanes in 2021.

Lee County offers a hurricane preparedness guide. While we encourage you to be prepared, our car accident attorneys in Fort Myers and Cape Coral know most of the weather risks in Southwest Florida come from blinding afternoon storms, flooding, and the risks associated with driving into a canal, retention pond, or other water hazard.

Beware: “100 Deadliest Days” for Teen Drivers

June 8, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Summer is the deadliest time of the year for young motorists, particularly the stretch between Memorial Day and Labor Day, which safety advocates call the “100 Deadliest Days” of the year on the roads.

Nationwide, more than 7,000 people died in teen driving-related summertime crashes from 2010 to 2019. According to previous research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, new teen drivers ages 16-17 are three times as likely as adults to be involved in a deadly crash.

“There are more daily deaths in crashes involving teen drivers during the summer months than the rest of the year because teens tend to have more unstructured time behind the wheel,” said Jake Nelson, AAA’s director of traffic safety advocacy and research.

Our car accident attorneys in Fort Myers and Cape Coral know these can be tragic cases, with victims often being friends or relatives of the at-fault driver. Serious injuries, multiple parties, and numerous factors of causation can make these cases among the most complex handled by an experienced law firm. Such tragedies forever mark lives. We encourage you to take the risks seriously, lay ground rules, and talk frequently with the young drivers in your household.

Summer Travel Safety in Focus

June 6, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

With Memorial Day in the rearview mirror and Fourth of July a month away, there is every evidence that Southwest Floridians are hitting the roads in record numbers.

Despite high gas prices that are on average $1 gallon higher than a year ago, AAA is reporting travel is reaching pre-pandemic highs even as airlines are reporting a sharp rebound in travel bookings. Here in Southwest Florida, that means busy roads despite the departure of seasonal traffic, and greater risks as we head into the summer rainy season.

Our injury lawyers recently reported our streets have not become statistically safer during COVID, with more than 100 traffic deaths reported in Lee County in 2020. As the economy continues to improve and the world recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, there is every evidence that record summer tourists and guests will continue to visit, even as local residents hit the road for some much needed time away from home.

Water Safety in Focus as SWFL Summer Arrives

May 18, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Water safety is in focus as we head into summer.

COVID has increased the risks on a number of fronts: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports the number of boating fatalities increased 20 percent in 2020, while the media has reported on a number of drowning tragedies that have occurred in backyard pools.

Statewide, more than 800 serious boating accidents were reported.

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There were three fatal incidents involving boats for people in Lee County. In Fort Myers Beach, a 45-year-old man drowned after falling off his boat in November. There were also boating accident fatalities reported in the waters off of Bokeelia and Fort Myers in 2020.

Motorcycle Safety a May Focus in SWFL

May 16, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Several high-profile motorcycle crashes this week are a stark reminder of the risks riders face as we head into the summer riding season.

A Cape Coral restaurant owner was killed when his motorcycle was struck by a motor vehicle at an intersection in Cape Coral. Another rider was seriously injured in a crash on Airport-Pullings Road in Naples, according to the Daily News.

Our veteran motorcycle injury attorneys have spent decades fighting for the rights of riders and their families, as well as promoting safe riding throughout the community. We urge all motorists to use caution around riders, and to understand that their lives are truly in your hands.

Traffic Safety Focus on Dangerous Intersections in SWFL

April 28, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Safety advocates are warning motorists of the dangers of intersection traffic collisions.

Our car accident attorneys in Cape Coral and Fort Myers opened the year with our Safe Driving series, which looked at the heightened risks of a collision at intersections. These natural points of traffic conflict are especially dangerous for walkers and cyclists. But motorists also have a high risk of colliding with another motor vehicle.

WINK News is among the organizations reporting the rise in traffic collisions since the start of the pandemic. As we reported here on our injury blog, more than 100 traffic deaths were reported in 2020 despite the drastic reduction in traffic congestion that resulted from pandemic restrictions. In September, as season opened, there were close to 1,000 crashes in Lee County.

SWFL Streets No Safer Despite COVID

April 25, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

It’s official. COVID has not made the streets of Southwest Florida any safer.

The News-Press reported there were more than 100 traffic fatalities last year in Lee County, despite the drastic traffic reductions that resulted from COVID restrictions through high season and the summer months.

It was the 10th time since 2000 that Lee County recorded more than 100 traffic deaths in a year, but the first time since 2017. So, statistically, road risks actually increased during the pandemic, despite the travel restrictions and business closures.

As our injury lawyers in Fort Myers have pointed out here on our blog, vulnerable road users continue to be at highest risk and are overrepresented in the statistics. There were 22 Lee County pedestrians killed in crashes in 2020, 18 motorcyclists and eight bicyclists. That accounts for nearly half of the total number of fatalities. All totaled, there were 107 Lee County drivers killed in 94 fatal crashes in 2020.

Eleven of the 98 fatal crashes were hit-and-runs and a high number of fatal crashes were blamed on speeding.

Infrastructure Plan to Continue Road Construction Boom in SWFL

April 6, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The defining symbol of the $2 trillion infrastructure package proposed by President Joe Biden might be a traffic cone.

One thing is certain as we emerge from the pandemic, travel and road construction are certain to mix like oil and water for the foreseeable future.

Southwest Florida has seen explosive growth for decades. As our founder Bruce L. Scheiner celebrates his 50th year of fighting for the rights of injury victims, we have noted many of the growth milestones that have occurred locally during that half century, from the construction of I-75 and Southwest Florida International Airport to the establishment of several of the area’s universities. A population of just over 100,000 in the 1970s, has grown to nearly 800,000 residents.

But as we emerge from the pandemic, there is every sign that the growth is accelerating. The USA Today reports the plan includes $300 billion for roads, bridges, highways and electric vehicle infrastructure.

While we have long grown accustomed to summer road construction, and infrastructure projects being completed between tourist seasons, the massive $2 trillion in spending Biden is proposing, combined with the $1,9 trillion economic relief package that included billions for schools and local government projects, we are likely to see a construction boom the likes of which not even Southwest Florida has witnessed.

Pandemic Proving Particularly Deadly for Pedestrians

April 4, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Pedestrians were already at high risk before the pandemic. Particularly in Southwest Florida, which has consistently ranked among the nation’s deadliest locations for pedestrians. A lack of infrastructure like streetlights and sidewalks, urban sprawl, a significant transient population, and explosive growth have all been factors that have contributed to the risks.

But now there is evidence that the coronavirus pandemic has made walking even more dangerous.

The Governor’s Highway Safety Association reports the number of fatal pedestrian accidents increased in 27 states, despite reductions in overall traffic as a result of pandemic restrictions.

Nearly 3,000 pedestrians were killed, an increase of 20 percent, despite a 16.5 percent decrease in traffic.

“Walking should not be a life and death undertaking, yet many factors have combined to put pedestrians at historical levels of risk,” Jonathan Adkins, the group’s executive director, said in a news release. Florida was among 7 states that accounted for more than half of all traffic deaths. The others were Arizona, California, Georgia, New York, North Carolina and Texas.

The number of pedestrian deaths is on the rise nationwide. Walkers now account for 1 in 6 traffic deaths, up from about 1 in 8 in 2010.

Alcohol is often a contributing factor, with more than half of all fatal collisions involving an intoxicated driver or walker.