personal injury

Graduation a High-Risk Time for Teen Drivers

April 2, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Graduation season is upon us, followed by summer. Hopefully, we are putting the worst of the coronavirus pandemic behind us, and millions of Americans are itching to travel. Among those at highest risk are teenagers and young drivers.

We continue our safe-driving series by reminding Southwest Florida parents about talking to their kids about the risks and ensuring your teen is properly insured and is driving a suitable vehicle.

Much has been made about the extra risks teens face: Driver inexperience, uncertainty in unusual conditions like rain or heavy traffic, riding with other teen passengers, distraction, driving at night, and driving while intoxicated.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports teenagers drive less than all but the elderly, yet are three times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes than drivers over the age of 20. Those ages 16 and 17 are at highest risk.

But the truth is many risks are preventable.

Aggressive Driving a Seasonal Risk in Southwest Florida

February 25, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Seasonal traffic has hit the streets of Southwest Florida in force, despite COVID-19 and the ongoing pandemic restrictions.

Since the holidays, there has been a noticeable increase in traffic and congestion. This alone, is enough to make the streets more dangerous. But when combined with visitors in rental cars, lost tourists, and other motorists who are unfamiliar with the roads, the risks increase exponentially.

Our Fort Myers car accident attorneys begun the year with a look at the most common dangers on the road, including distracted driving. But perhaps the most under-appreciated risks include many common driving behaviors of which we are all guilty from time to time.

Phones Just Part of Distracted Driving Epidemic

January 11, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

As we enter our 50th year of representing injury victims in Southwest Florida, we recently blogged about the dangers of in-car technology and cell phones when it comes to the risks of being involved in a serious or fatal traffic collision.

But distracted driving is about much more than the electronic gadgetry that has become central to our daily lives. Nationwide, safety advocates report at least 3,000 people are killed and 400,000 injured each year in collisions involving distracted driving. However, the increasingly ubiquitous nature of this technology in our lives means the true risks are actually much higher – by some estimates involved in one-third of the nation’s traffic collisions, resulting in more than 10,000 road deaths each year.

Many of these victims were not in another vehicle at the time of the collision. About 1 in 5 of the people who died in crashes involving distracted drivers in 2018 were not in vehicles―they were walking, riding their bikes, or otherwise outside a vehicle, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Happy New Year – Staying Safe in Southwest Florida

January 10, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Happy New Year!

All of us at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, wish you a safe and peaceful start to 2021. Most of us were not sorry to see the end of 2020, and have hopes that 2021 will bring a new beginning as much of the world seeks vaccination from the coronavirus and a return to normalcy.

Speaking of normal, perhaps you have noticed a significant increase in traffic on the roads of Southwest Florida. While the holiday shopping season seemed unusually tame, heavy traffic has signaled the start of the new year and the height of tourism season in Southwest Florida. Schools are back in session, winter residents have arrived and an increasing number of tourists continue to arrive at destination locations throughout Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties.

Distracted Driving Risks Date to the AM Radio

January 8, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

When it comes to road risks, distracted driving is number one with a bullet.

Car radios (AM) date to the Model A, although they were a prohibitively expensive option. When installation of AM/FM radios became standard in cars in the 1950s, there was heated debate on whether they would prove to be a deadly distraction to drivers!

They did.

Bicycle Injuries a New Year Risk

December 28, 2020 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

So you got a bicycle. Now what?

Our bicycle injury lawyers in Fort Myers and Cape Coral encourage you to put safety at the forefront of everything you do. And proper safety precautions begin long before you hit the road.

Florida is the most dangerous place in the nation to ride a bicycle. In 2018, there were 6,568 bicycle crashes in Florida, resulting in 148 deaths and 6,175 injuries, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And area bike stores have reported record sales throughout the coronavirus pandemic as hundred of new riders take to the streets and trails of Southwest Florida.

COVID Christmas and “Man’s Best Friend”

December 6, 2020 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

So it’s COVID and it’s Christmas and you’ve decided to get a dog. While man’s best friend can bring years of love and enjoyment for single older adults and families alike, dogs are highly individualistic, and have certain breed characteristics that make them more or less suitable to a particular home.

Kids and dogs are as Americana as Norman Rockwell. But, unfortunately, they are also victimized by dog bites at an alarming rate. Some 4.5 million dog bites occur in the United States each year, and 800,000 of those bites result in medical care, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 1 in 70 people are bitten by a dog seriously enough each year to require medical attention.

Our personal injury lawyers in Fort Myers and Cape Coral know dog bite injuries involving children can be particularly serious. Toddlers are most often victimized. Scarring and emotional issues often impact self-confidence and child development. Frequently, a family dog or close friend or family member’s pet is responsible. While these are always emotional cases, it’s important to understand that a homeowner’s insurance policy is typically liable for damages, usually with a limit of $100,000 to $300,000.

Fort Myers Boat Show – Staying Safe on the Water

November 14, 2020 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The Fort Myers Boat Show kicks off this weekend in downtown Fort Myers amid unprecedented interest and demand for all things boating as Southwest Floridian’s continue to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Thousands of guests were expected and plenty of masked and unmasked faces were present as preparations this week were delayed by the meandering and prolonged path of Hurricane ETA, which finally made landfall as a tropical storm near Tampa, after wandering past Miami and spending several days off the coasts of Naples and Fort Myers Beach.

Parking Lot Accidents a Holiday Risk

November 8, 2020 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Safety awareness in parking lots is a focus as we head into the busy year-end holiday season.

Back-to-school, early darkness, returning seasonal residents, and harried holiday shoppers will converge in local parking lots over the next six weeks. Statistically, it is the most dangerous time of the year for parking lot injuries. While northerns must also deal with the beginning of winter snow and ice, our injury attorneys in Fort Myers and Cape Coral know Southwest Floridans are far from immune to the risks.

Children are at highest risk of being seriously injured or killed. Those risks begin with the start of school year, with drop-off and pickup lines and continue into the year-end holiday shopping season. Elderly residents are also at elevated risk for accidents in parking lots.

COVID Collisions a Consequence of Quarantine

October 19, 2020 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

More than six months into the coronavirus pandemic, the impact of COVID-19 on road safety is still being studied. Certainly there was a marked drop in traffic collisions through the spring and early summer, as lockdown orders shuttered bars, restaurants and all but essential businesses and most of Southwest Florida sheltered in place.

But with Gov. Ron DeSantis lifting remaining restrictions at the start of October, and the height of tourism season right around the corner, there is growing evidence that the roads of Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties are once again getting more dangerous.

And perhaps in new ways.