All Topics

• Florida Adds Emergency Contact Database

  Shannon Weidemann | February 27, 2007 8:27 PM | 0 CommentsGainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach, FL

  Sometimes with a car accident or other emergency law enforcement have a hard time finding a family member to contact. The Florida Driver and Vehicle Information Database has now been changed so that anyone with a driver's license or state identification card can add an emergency contact person and phone number.In the event that a resident is hurt or killed in a traffic crash or other accident,...

• Motorcycle Crash Results in Wrongful Death

  Craig Cannon | February 24, 2007 6:29 PM | 0 CommentsGainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach, FL

  A resident of The Villages riding his motorcycle was killed when he crashed into a car. The motorcycle and car accident occurred in Ocala. The motorcycle rider was taken to the hospital where he as pronounced dead. The driver of the automobile did not suffer any serious personal injury.The collision left the motorcycle in several pieces and the rider was thrown at least 13 feet from the...

• Nursing Home Abuse Ends in Wrongful Death

  Craig Cannon | February 22, 2007 6:13 PM | 0 CommentsGainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach, FL

  Choosing a good nursing home is difficult. Unfortunately for the family of one elderly person, the nursing home they choose for their mother resulted in her wrongful death. The 81 year who suffered from alzheimer's was abused by aides at the nursing home. Thankfully, cases like this are rare - but resident advocates and nursing home administrators alike say elder abuse, in all its forms, is...

• Dump Truck and Pickup Truck Involved in Collision

  Shannon Weidemann | February 20, 2007 3:35 PM | 0 CommentsGainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach, FL

  A pickup truck carrying 4 men was driving eastbound on U.S. 27 this morning when it collided with a dump truck. The front of the pickup went underneath the dump truck.Ocala Fire-Rescue officials reported it took about 40 minutes to extricate the two men from the blue-and-white pickup's front seat using the Jaws of Life and other cutting tools.Fire-Rescue spokesman Battalion Chief Wendell Rora...

• Two Men Injured in Car Crash

  Craig Cannon | February 13, 2007 3:53 PM | 0 CommentsGainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach, FL

  This was published in the Ocala Star Banner. Two area men suffered serious personal injury Tuesday morning after their pickup truck drove under the side of a large dump truck, crushing the cab and trapping the two front-seat occupants. Both men were airlifted to Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville. One man remained in critical condition for his personal injuries while the other...

• Legal Reforms and Tougher Juries Make Winning Slip & Fall Cases Difficult

  Shannon Weidemann | January 30, 2007 4:06 PM | 0 CommentsGainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach, FL

  In the last six years, the number of people winning a slip and fall injury case has decreased. Juries are putting much more personal responsibility on the plaintiff, especially after some very high profile cases with large awards. The biggest one to date is the woman who spilled coffee on her lap and was awarded $2.9 million. Lawyers are becoming pickier about what cases they take on;...

• No Polk County Nursing Homes on Florida's Watch List

  Shannon Weidemann | January 30, 2007 3:36 PM | 0 CommentsGainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach, FL

  The quality of care and level of safety have improved in Florida's nursing homes since laws were passed in 2001 to improve the standards. These measures included more time spent with each patient that is charted, more nurses to be hired, and that nursing homes must carry liability insurance. Six nursing homes in Polk County have made Florida's Watch List in the past, which alerts the public to...

• Florida Power & Light Truck Hits Minivan

  Shannon Weidemann | January 30, 2007 2:50 PM | 0 CommentsGainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach, FL

  A Florida Power & Light truck hit a minivan near the Golden Gates Estates Branch Library. It was by the intersection of 13th Street Northwest and Golden Gate Boulevard. The accident occurred near a Golden Gate fire station and was observed by a fire captain. The driver of the minivan was rescued from the vehicle and than airlifted to a local hospital. It is unknown if the driver of the FPL...

• Federal Court Now Has Wrongful Death Case Against CNN Anchor

  Shannon Weidemann | January 29, 2007 10:34 PM | 0 CommentsGainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach, FL

  The parents of Melinda Duckett filed a wrongful death lawsuit against CNN Anchor Nancy Grace and the network. The case has been moved to federal court. The family charges that Grace's interview with tough questions aimed at Duckett involving the disappearance of her 2-year-old son led her to commit suicide. The family is seeking damages and for the show to never be aired again. The boy has...

• New York Man Killed in Car Accident in Ocala

  Shannon Weidemann | January 29, 2007 10:04 PM | 0 CommentsGainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach, FL

  A man from New York was killed when he pulled out onto U.S. 27 in front of an oncoming car. The unidentified 80-year-old man was driving a 2001 Buick. He pulled out of the Howard Johnson parking lot and was hit by a 2004 Chevy Avalanche driven by Michael Grosso, age 77. The driver of the Buick died on the scene. His wife, also age 80, was a passenger in the car and she was airlifted to...