Gainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach Personal Injury Lawyer

CSX Railroad Train Kills Grandmother

Jeffrey Meldon — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:19:27 GMT

Cynthia Forman, a 58 year old grandmother, was killed yesterday when a CSX railroad train was unable to stop and hit her as she was crossing the tracks in her car. The railroad tracks crossed a private road that Ms. Forman was driving on. There apparently was no warning device to alert the victim of the oncoming train. The crash marks the 18th fatal crash this year in Alachua County , Florida. Last week I reported on the efforts of CSX railroad to get the Florida legislature to protect it from lawsuits arising from railroad accidents as part of a proposed deal to create the green "dream train." This is yet another example of why CSX wants to manipulate the people of Florida and limit their right to make valid claims for serious injuries or wrongful death. CSX will have no motivation to create safety warning devices at dangerous crossings if the state provides sovereign immunity (limits on the right to sue) to CSX. Trains are dangerous and the people of this state and our visitors need to be protected.

Gainesville Move Over Law Crackdown

Jeffrey Meldon — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:53:19 GMT

Gainesville/Alachua County will begin a crackdown on enforcing a five year old law requiring drivers to move over to avoid police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks on the side of the road. The move over law was enacted the year after 24 police officers nationwide were killed after being hit by other vehicles. Violators will be ticketed and required to pay $96.50. If the driver sees an emergency situation ahead they must either move over to the other lane or slow down to 20 miles under the speed limit. This common sense approach to the law was strongly supported by Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell who commented that even employees at the sheriff's office were not aware of the law. If we are asking our police and rescue personnel to risk their lives to help us out in emergencies the least we can do is to reduce the risk of causing another accident.

Motorcyclist Dies-Not Wearing Helmet

Jeffrey Meldon — Sun, 04 May 2008 19:10:35 GMT

A Deltona motorcyclist,Steven Louies Cruz,23, died yesterday after he lost control on a curve in the road and ran into a fence post. He was not wearing a helmet, which in Florida is lawful, so long as the rider is over the age of 21 and has $10,000 worth of medical insurance. A debate has been brewing since the law was passed five years ago. Hospitals with trauma emergency rooms have complained that the minimum $10,000 insurance is not nearly enough to pay for the cost of treating serious motorcycle head injury victims. They contend that even a $100.000 policy may be inadequate to pay the cost of medical care caused by the failure to wear a safety helmet. The American Motorcycle Association(AMA) believes that only young riders should be required to wear helmets and that any rider over 21 should be mature enough to make a decision on whether or not to "ride free" The AMA also believes that states should not require helmetless riders to have any mandatory medical insurance. Many riders are injured through the carelessness of drivers of cars and trucks and through no fault of their own. However, over half of Florida's car and truck owners have inadequate insurance to protect and fairly compensate seriously injured motorcyclists. It is highly recommended that motorcycle riders purchase uninsured motorists' insurance to help protect themselves from negligent drivers. Although the AMA strongly supports the right to choose whether to wear a helmet, they have not come up with a suggestion on how to compensate the hospitals who take care of their members without getting paid. In the end the people of the State of Florida usually foot the bill when a serious head injury occurs and the rider has minimal insurance coverage. The hospital trauma doctor will tell you that riding a motorcycle is extremely dangerous whether or not your choose to wear a helmet BUT to ride without a helmet significantly increases the risks. For Steven Cruz there is no way to know whether wearing a helmet could have saved his life. This debate has no end in sight.

CSX RAILROAD WANTS TO BE TREATED LIKE A KING

Jeffrey Meldon — Sat, 03 May 2008 10:30:44 GMT

CSX Railroad refuses to allow central Floridians to create a new "green" dream train mode of travel between the cities of Tampa, Lakeland, Orlando, Deland,and Daytona Beach�unless they are given sovereign immunity by the State of Florida.� The State of Florida�HAS offered to� 1)pay CSX one-half billion dollars for the the right to share their existing railroad lines� 2) get the federal, state , and local governments to spend another 615 million dollars to improve track conditions, as well as build train stations and buy new trains 3) allow CSX to continue to use the train tracks for their own commercial use(which is quite profitable)�� However CSX is unwilling to go along with the deal unless the state also gives them "sovereign immunity" or protection from lawsuits by innocent citizens who are injured by the negligence of CSX and it's employees.� As it stands now the railroad has a duty to protect the public and create safe conditions in operating it's trains and other operations.� CSX wants to be relieved of this responsibility by asking the state to pass a law that limits the rights of ordinary people to sue them even if their negligence kills or seriously injures someone.

Paul Jess, general counsel, for the Florida Justice Association released the following statement"If CSX is not going to be financially responsible for it's own negligence, what incentive does it have to keep the rail safe?"� The bill to approve this one-sided deal failed in the Florida Senate this past week.� Senator Paula Dockery�, a Republican from Lakeland, Florida�stated "I don't envision a time anytime soon where thoughtful senators are going to say that there's some kind of good public policy involved in taking liability away from somebody who was at fault�and putting it on the taxpayers of the State of Florida"

The concept of sovereign immunity dates back to merry old England when the king controlled everything and didn't want anyone messing with his power, control or wealth.� So he came up with a slogan "The king can do no wrong" and that became sovereign immunity.� No one had any rights to sue the king.�� That concept was carried over to the United States and it's individual states.� Forida had absolute sovereign immunity until 1956 when young lawyer from Daytona Beach named Maurice Wagner�took on a very compelling case.� A young man in Cocoa Beach Florida had been arrested for�DUI and was put into the small Cocoa Beach jail overnight.� The sole jailer decided to go get some coffee and a donut up the road and left Mr. Hargreaves locked up with no one else at the jail.�� The jail caught on fire and Mr. Hargreaves died a horrible death inside the jail cell.�� His widow asked Maurice Wagner to sue the city of Cocoa Beach for their negligence.� The supreme court of Florida ruled in favor of the widow and declared the the concept of sovereign immunity was outdated and had no place in modern day society.

The people of the state of Florida need to have "green" transportation but major corporate giants like CSX Transportation should not be allowed to trample everyone's right to be protected from unsafe and dangerous conditions.� A "free ride" on the the CSX railroad might be ok in a game of monopoly but the people of Florida deserve more.

�

Two Remain in Critical Condition After Saturday Crash

Jenny Albano — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:01:07 GMT

Two people remain in critical condition after a fatal two-car accident on Saturday, February 16. The drivers of the vehicles are still at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Authorities said one of the drivers, Jeremy Leon Halfcare, 20, of Eustis, refuses to speak with troopers about the accident, which claimed the life of his passenger and cousin, 18-year-old Ray Edward Jenkins.

The authorities are still investigating the accident, and once they turn in their findings, the State Attorney's Office will decide if charges will be brought against Halfcare.

Right before the accident occurred Saturday afternoon, Halfcare ran a stop sign and failed to use a turn signal. When a deputy attempted to pull over the 2007 Pontiac, Halfcare sped away. After the officer chased the Pontiac for a while, the deputy finally stopped following the car.

Witnesses told the authorities that Halfcare's Pontiac was driving recklessly before it lost control and crossed into oncoming traffic. Once in the other lane, the Pontiac crashed into a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu, driven by Eleanor Celeste. Celeste is sill in intensive care.

Annie's Naturals Recalls Shiitake and Sesame Vinaigrette Due to Mislabeling

Jenny Albano — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 01:16:17 GMT

Annie's Naturals, in conjunction with the FDA, is recalling 686 cases of its all-natural Shiitake and Sesame Vinaigrette because it may contain wheat or soy, which was not included on the label. People who are allergic to soy or wheat may incur sever of life-threatening side effects.

So far the comapny has not received any reports of illness from the recalled product. The dressing was sold in grocery and natural food stores in selected states from December 20, 2007 to February 6, 2008.

Consumers can most easily identify impacted product by looking at the product labels - the front label says Shiitake & Sesame Vinaigrette, but the back label and ingredient statement say Low Fat Honey Mustard Vinaigrette. Only dressings with UPC # 0-92325-33319-2 with a Best By Date of 02/20/09/1/E and 02/20/09/2/E are affected.

The issue happened when there was a product changeover and the back labels for Honey Mustard Vinaigrette was mixed with the Shiitake Sesame Vinaigrette. The Honey Mustard Vinaigrette product was not affected because of the mixed up labels.

Single Car Wreck Kills Five Men in Ocala

Jenny Albano — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 01:00:55 GMT

On Saturday, January 26, a car smashed into a tree killing five young men in Ocala.

A car traveling at high speed down a private airport runway ran off an embankment and was airborne for 200 feet before smashing into a tree early Saturday, killing all five young men in the vehicle, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Investigators were unsure if the car was driving alone or if the vehicle was racing another car. The car off an 85 foot embarkment at the end of the airport runway, it then hit a tree and the car split in half. The wreckage from the accident was spread over a 200 foot area.

Three of the five occupants were ejected from the vehicle and according to investigators it is too early to tell if the men were wearing seatbelts at the time of the car crash.

Two of the men, who were 18 to 20, were from Ocala, two were from Fairfield and one was from Anthony. The victims have all been identified, but only two names have been released to the press. Jacob James Casey, 19, and James Devon Hime, 19, were both pronounced dead at the scene.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Automobile Accidents.

Controlled Burn Causes Pile Up

Craig Cannon — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:26:26 GMT

A controlled burn in Lakeland caused a massive car and truck accident in Polk County on Tuesday. Apparently a controlled burn got out of control and caused smoke to mix with fog which created extremely limited visibilty along I-4.

"Firefighters on Tuesday had battled a controlled burn that got out of control and charred 250 acres, producing smoke that combined with the fog to cut visibility Wednesday morning." The accident scene is still under investigation and many details are not yet known. According to reports, at least 3 people have died and many others were injured as a result of the accident.

The Florida Diviision of Forestry regulates controlled burns under § 590.125, Florida Statutes. Those persons responsible for the controlled burn may be held responsible or liable for any damages that are caused by the controlled burn pursuant to § 590.130, Florida Statutes.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Spin Master Recalls Aqua Dots

Jenny Albano — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 00:41:38 GMT

Spin Master, in conjunction with the CPSC, is recalling about 4.2 million Aqua Dots because children have become unconscious and hospitalized after swallowing the beads.

The coating on the beads that causes the beads to stick to each other when water is added contains a chemical that can turn toxic when many are ingested. Children who swallow the beads can become comatose, develop respiratory depression, or have seizures.

So far two incidents have been reported to the CPSC. Two children who swallowed the Aqua Dots became dizzy and began vomiting and then fell into a comatose state. Both children, one of whom was only 20 months old, had to be hospitalized.

Aqua Dots are beads that are in a craft kit that are shaped to create multi-dimensional designs. When the beads are sprayed with water they fuse together to make the design permanent. All models of the product are being recalled; the kits include accessories such as a drying fan, applicator pen, design templates and the spray bottle.

The Aqua Dots were available in stores across the country from April 2007 to November 2007 and were manufactured in China.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Curent Status of PIP Car Insurance

Craig Cannon — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:56:16 GMT

An excellent summary of the current status of PIP insurance in Florida can be found in the Ocala Star Banner. Essentially PIP expired on October 1, 2007. The Florida Legislature did not attempt to renew the law before it expired, choosing to address the issue this week in a special session.

There are currently two different bills being floated in the legislature. One is supported by the Senate and one is supported by the House. The House, lead by Mark Rubio, has so far aligned itself more closely with the Big Insurance Companies, while the Senate has sided more closely on the side of consumers. Which version, if either, emerges from the legislature is yet to be seen.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.