Gainesville, Ocala & Daytona Beach Personal Injury Lawyer - Florida

Comparative Negligence - Do You Know What it Means For Floridians?

Jeffrey Meldon — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:56:00 GMT

In a recent Florida court case, the jury found three drivers and the Alachua Police Department to be negligent (at fault) in a fiery I-75 and Hwy. 441 crash that left one dead and two seriously injured two years ago. The jury decided that one driver and the Police Department were each 35% to blame for the accident and two other motorists, each 15%.

How can this be? This is done utilizing the doctrine of comparative negligence which Florida adopted in 1973 and falls under case law for personal injury or accident lawyers. This doctrine more accurately allows assignment of blame on a percentage basis.

What does this mean? Vehicular accidents usually result from the mistake/s made by one or more drivers or pedestrians. Many times people believe that they cannot recover any damages for loss of their property or their personal injuries if they were partially to blame for an accident. This is not always true. Florida law compares the fault of each party involved in an accident. Under the comparative negligence doctrine, a person may still be able to recover damages, even if they were partly at fault for a crash. However, the damages will be reduced by the percentage that they were found to be at fault.

For example, if you were rear-ended and the crash caused you serious personal injuries, your settlement amount may be reduced if you slowed down to make a turn but failed to signal.

What is the lesson here? Every person using the road, (whether it be a pedestrian, a motorist, or a passenger), is required to pay attention, follow traffic rules and use reasonable care on the road. If an accident victim fails to protect his or her own safety and the safety of others, he or she could be found to be partly at fault for their own injuries. Here are a few tips:

· If you are driving: avoid speeding, buckle up, always signal when making a turn, pay attention to the road, follow all road signs and laws, and do not drive a car that you know has mechanical problems.

· If you are a passenger: do not ride with a driver that you know has been drinking or is too sleepy to drive properly, and wear your seat belt.

· If you are a pedestrian: cross the street in a crosswalk, do not enter a crosswalk on red light, avoid using an MP3 player because it may prevent you from hearing a car horn or a vehicle approaching.

Dealing with the allocation of fault in accident cases can be very complicated, as there is no exact formula to determine percentages of fault. Proper investigation is of the utmost importance to help assign the fault of each party. This is one reason why if you have been involved in a serious accident, it is important to contact an experienced accident attorney ASAP before the evidence “gets cold”, witness become difficult to locate, and the facts of the case are lost. You may not need a lawyer, but with most personal injury attorneys, consultations are free, so take advantage of them and educate yourself.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeffrey Meldon

Texas Takes The Lead! But, We Floridians Can Also Protect Our School Children–Find Out How:

Jeffrey Meldon — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:53:33 GMT

Starting September 1^stin Texas, it will be illegal to talk on a cell phone in an active school zone unless: the car is stopped, a hands-free device is used, or in an emergency.

As we welcome a new school year in Alachua County, I wonder why Florida, or any state, wouldn’t also want to enact such a ban to protect our school children?

As an accident lawyer, it makes complete sense to me: small children + big cars + chatting/texting drivers = a very dangerous mix! We are required to reduce our speed from 35mph to 15 mph in most school zones for a reason – to be safe and focus drivers’ attention on the road because there are children around.

It is illogical then, if the purpose of a school zone is to create a zone of safety around a school, that the legislature would permit drivers to engage in dangerous behavior that:

decreases a person’s reaction time three times more that of a drunk driver (texting) and
is the equivalent to driving drunk (chatting on a cell phone).

The key to safe driving is to focus attention on the road and to keep both hands on the wheel. There is no question about the dangers cell phones bring to the road. Nearly nine months ago, the National Safety Council called for a nationwide ban on cell phone use while driving. The studies are clear and the data is alarming. Yet it remains legal in Florida, despite reports from the Governor’s Highway Safety Council showing that 80% of crashes are due to driver inattention - with cell phones being the #1 culprit.

(As a reminder, when it comes to the proven inattention to the road that cell phones cause, research has shown that hand-held or hands-free makes no difference as it is a brain distraction, not a hand problem.)

I applaud the efforts of the Texas Legislature to protect their school children. I urge every Floridian to do the following:

Follow Texas’s lead and get off the cell in school zones (even hands-free); we don’t have to wait until it becomes the law.
Contact your state Representative or Senator and urge them to follow the lead that has been set by Texas.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeffrey Meldon

Texting while driving… it should be illegal in Florida!

Jeffrey Meldon — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:57:41 GMT

Yet another study has been released showing that texting while driving is dangerous! I say, how many studies do we need to prove the obvious and for this dangerous activity to become illegal in Florida?

This latest and startling study was done by mounting a video camera inside the cab of long-haul semi trucks and was conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, one of the world’s largest vehicle safety research organizations. According to Rich Hanowski, the overseer of the project, “texting is in its own universe of risk,” when you compare it to the risk of other multitasking activities that are available to drivers of all kinds while behind the wheel.

The Institute concluded that texting while driving a car, pick-up, or any vehicle, even a semi, increases your risk of causing or being in an accident by 23 times! The study also found that typically drivers when texting, sending or receiving, take their eyes off the road for 5 seconds, which is enough time to go the length of a football field, and then some, when traveling at average highway speeds.

Tom Dingus, director of the Institute, was quoted saying that the study’s message was clear: “You should never do this,” he said of texting while driving. “It should be illegal.”

Yet, it remains a legal activity in the state of Florida; all drivers, even bus drivers with a bus full of school children, and tractor-trailer drivers hauling a double load down I-75, can text at will and still be within the law.

The Florida Legislature had a chance to do something about it this year with several proposed bills that would have changed the law, but failed to, despite the National Safety Council (the Group that got us to buckle up and not drive after drinking) calling for a nationwide ban on cell phone use while driving.

How many studies and deaths will it take for the Florida Legislature to do something about this proven deadly driving distraction and join the ranks of 14 other states plus DC that have a ban on texting while driving?

Some argue, and understandably so, even if Florida should step up to the plate and make our roadways safer by banning texting while driving, that it would be nearly impossible to enforce and may even make the problem worse, as drivers hide their texting activity well below the line of vision of law enforcement officers, making detection nearly impossible and at the same time, driving while texting even more unsafe.

However, as an accident attorney, I believe making texting illegal while driving is a start and a needed statement and law that Floridians deserve from their lawmakers in Tallahassee.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeffrey Meldon

Text Messaging: Armed and Dangerous

Jeffrey Meldon — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:35:35 GMT

Imagine driving down the road. In your car, you not only have yourself, but your young child, your spouse, or your friend. You know you’re a safe driver and you take all the precautions. But, you’re also trusting everyone else on the road to do the same. You expect them to return the favor. When you have your hands religiously at 10 and 2, you want the driver behind you, in front of you, and on either side of you to do the same thing. What if they’re texting? Diligently composing a message of genius to their friend and laughing at the new inside joke they just created? Their hands aren’t even on the wheel, let alone at 10 and 2. And their eyes? On their phone.

Texting while driving is the ultimate multitask. We have to think about what we’re going to write, the best way to say it, and the best way to abbreviate it so that it fits into the character limit on our cell phones. And using both hands to gingerly type out our thoughtful messages means only one thing: there are no hands on the wheel and our eyes and focus are not on the road.

Texting while driving has become a hot topic with both drivers and legislatures around the country. Distracted drivers lead to accidents and texting heightens distraction to a new level. Two years ago, texting was relatively obsolete. And although cell phone usage while driving has been an issue for quite some time, the texting distraction is relatively new. However, its newness does not lessen its severity.

This month, the legislature in Florida is focusing their efforts on a bill, headed up by Republican Doug Holder of Sarasota that would ban the use of text messaging while driving, which has been cited as an increased and dangerous risk to public safety on the road. As an accident attorney based in Gainesville, Florida, I applaud the Florida Legislature and Mr. Holder for their efforts towards increased public safety for all on or near the roads in Florida.

The bill will not be the first of its kind. A similar bill recently passed in the Alabama House, supported by Republican Jim McClendon, and joins seven other states, including the District of Columbia, that have bans on text messaging while driving. The numerous bills around the nation indicate a trend toward heightened awareness of the dangers surrounding texting while driving.

Statistics show that general cell phone usage, which includes texting messaging while behind the wheel, accounts for 636,000 car accidents per year nationwide, and even amounts to about 2,600 deaths. An accident in Canandaigua, New York, which led to the deaths of five high school teens, is thought to be the result of the driver texting while driving. The ban on text messaging would be an effort by legislatures to reduce these tragedies.

The National Safety Commission, which houses a variety of safety issues, including discussions on the dangers of texting. The message is clear: don’t text and drive!

As smart drivers, we wouldn’t dream of drinking and driving and should similarly avoid other distractions that take our focus, our hands, and our minds away from the road and the safety of ourselves and others.

For more information on this important topic:

Driving and Texting; A Combination Deadlier Than Drinking and Driving, Hopefully, Will Become Illegal Soon In Florida.

http://www.nationalsafetycommission.com/alerts/2009/02/new-florida-bill-aims-to-ban-texting.php

For information on Preventing an Auto Accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeffrey Meldon

Gainesville Florida Law Enforcment Cracks Down on Drunk Driving

Jeffrey Meldon — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:02:57 GMT

Gainesville, Florida law enforcement has joined a nationwide effort to increase DUI arrests and hopefully reduce the number of accidents, injuries and deaths caused by drinking and driving. The crime of Driving Under the Influence, in Florida, includes not only alcohol but also all drugs that impair a person's ability to drive safely. These drugs includes illegal drugs as well as those drugs prescribed by a doctor or available over the counter. Many people think that just because a doctor prescribed a drug it is legal to take that drug and drive. In fact, legal prescription drugs and certain over-the-counter drugs significantly contribute to the carnage and death on our highways.

The Gainesville Police Department, The Alachua County Sheriff's Office, and the Florida Highway Patrol have joined together to toughen up DUI enforcement between now and Labor Day as part of the "Drunk Driving Over the Limit. Under Arrest" Campaign. Alcohol related crashes were down from 23,000 in 2005 to 22,000 in 2006 statewide and law enforcement agencies in Gainesville hope to do their part in arresting people suspected of DUI.

Gainesville Police Department Sergeant Joe Raulerson reports that Gainesville recorded 18 traffic fatalities in 2007 and in at least a third of them alcohol was a factor. Gainesville has almost 65,000 college students who may be those at greatest risk of failing to recognize the risks associated with drinking or taking drugs(legal or illegal) and driving.

A DUI Causing Serious Bodily Injury can land someone in prison for many years,even on a first offense, and a DUI Manslaughter often results in a 15 to 20 year prison sentence for a first offense.

A conviction for a first offense DUI can cost as much a $20,000 or more primarily due to increased insurance costs. A new law passed in Florida in 2007 requires anyone convicted of DUI to carry car insurance with a minimum Bodily Injury Liability coverage of $100,000 per person/$300,000 per accident as well as $50,000 in Property Damage coverage.

It is important for drivers to plan ahead if they go out for a night that includes any more than a few drinks. Even one Martini(with 2.5-3 oz.of alcohol) can put a 120 lb. person at or near the legal limit of a .08. Planning to have a designated driver or taking a taxi home makes sense and can avoid the years of heartache that can be caused by a tragic DUI accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeffrey Meldon

Allstate Admits it has Dirty Hands

Jeffrey Meldon — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:02:33 GMT

Allstate the "good hands" people have decided to forgo hundreds of millions of dollars in profits rather than show their "dirty hands" to Floridians. Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty announced on Friday that Allstate Corp. will give it's existing Florida policyholders an additional 5.6% rate cut, forgive a $175 million dollar loan, and pay a $5 million dollar fine to the State of Florida rather than produce rate-related documents regulators had demanded.

This interesting settlement was only agreed to by Allstate after the Florida Insurance Commissioner suspended Allstate from writing new policies in Florida . The agreement resolves McCarty's legal action that accused Allstate of failing to produce rate-related documents, falsely claiming that the material requested contained trade secrets, and falsely certifying a request to raise rates by more than 40%.

Allstate has long had a reputation among consumer advocate groups for their policy of increasing premiums while reducing payouts to customers when they have a legitimate loss, thus increasing their overall profits. Apparently the State of Florida felt Allstate was trying to fleece it's policyholder's when it requested a rate increase after the State implemented a new program to reduce the exposure of all insurance companies in Florida that write homeowner's insurance policies. That program was designed to allow insurance companies to reduce rates after a rash of hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 had caused skyrocketing increases in premiums.

Allstate was facing an upcoming court hearing to determine whether it had to produce these internal documents that would have disclosed how they evaluated their requests for increases in premiums from consumers. That hearing has been canceled as part of this settlement. Allstate must have been concerned about the public outcry that would have resulted from the release of these rate-related documents.

Allstate will continue to be investigated for other violations of state law regarding claims handling and potential collusion with rating organizations, trade associations, and other entities. The company could still face further fines, suspension or revocation of it's license to do business in Florida. Allstate spokeswoman Kathy Thomas said the settlement was in the best interests of Allstate, its agents and customers. Many Allstate agents were losing huge profits when the State suspended Allstate from writing new policies in May.

It is encouraging to see our Insurance Commissioner finally ask the same questions consumers have been asking for years "Why are they raising our rates?" Apparently the answer to that questions was simple: "To make more money" The consumer is getting squeezed by the rich and powerful oil companies and now the insurance industry. Both have something in common: we need gas for our cars and we need insurance for our homes and cars.. Finally Florida has a watchdog in Kevin McCarty, at least' as far as insurance companies go. Maybe the State can find a watchdog for the oil companies as well.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeffrey Meldon