Florida Accident Attorney Blog

The recent accidental swimming pool drowning of an infant in Orlando County Florida is a tragic example of what can go wrong if pool safety measures are not fully in place. The Florida swimming pool drowning occurred earlier this month, when Orange County Fire Rescue responded to a mother's 911 call that her one-year-old baby had fallen into a backyard swimming pool.

The mother had attempted to perform CPR on her child, who was then airlifted by rescuers to a local hospital and later pronounced dead. Authorities have no plans to press charges against the parents. However news reports state that authorities commented that a safety fence around the swimming pool may have prevented this Florida accidental drowning death of a child.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that in Sunbelt States, the number-one cause of death in children aged 5 and younger is drowning.

A South Florida pool accident attorney can help determine who might be liable in a swimming pool drowning death.

Florida law states that safety fencing is required for all new pools installed in Florida homes, as well as pools that were installed in homes after 2001. The CPSC recommends that private homes have fencing around swimming pools of at least 4 feet high, without handholds or anything children could use to climb on. News reports state that the home of the Orlando County family who lost their infant to drowning was built in 1986 and protective fencing was not required.

Baby drowns in Orange County
MyFoxOrlando.com Feb. 19, 2009

Preventing Child Drownings
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Related Web Resources

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Pool and Spa Safety Publications

Safe Kids USA: Water Safety Campaign

Florida Power & Light Co. worker Junior Anthony Seaton died after being electrocuted while working on utility lines in Fort Lauderdale Florida. This Fort Lauderdale electrical utility worker fatality occurred on Weds. Feb. 18, 2009, when Seaton and members of the FPL crew were working on power lines during a planned power outage.

The FPL crew was upgrading power lines at Washington Mutual Bank at Federal Highway and East Broward Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. According to Fort Lauderdale police and news reports, Seaton went to check something at a transformer when the accident occurred. Eyewitnesses said Seaton was inside his utility truck near a pole when he was electrocuted.

Other utility workers came to Mr. Seaton's aid and freed him, performing CPR until help arrived. Paramedics tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at Broward General Medical Center. The cause of this Florida work-related death was determined to be "accidental caused by high-voltage electrocution."

In 2007, a total of 93 electricians and 30 electrical power line installers and repairers suffered fatal occupational injuries (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2008.)

Fort Lauderdale Florida Workers Comp Lawyers are familiar with the laws and regulations surrounding employer liability when personal injury or death occurs in the workplace or while on the job. OSHA is investigating this Fort Lauderdale Florida utility worker fatality.

Funeral service set for electrocuted FPL worker from Pines
South Florida SunSentinel.com Feb. 19, 2009

Related Web Resources

OSHA Electrical Hazard Recognition

OSHA Assistance for the Electrical Contractors Industry

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that although the overall national rate of work-related deaths has decreased in recent years, fatal Florida workplace injuries increased in 2007 to 362 deaths. Falls accounted for 15% of all work-related deaths in the U.S. in 2007 (U.S. Department of Labor 2008).

The United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) reports that the most common cause of construction worker fatalities in Florida and every other state is due to falling. Falls account for one out of every three construction worker deaths.

The most common type of construction fall accident is falling from a roof, though other types of falls such as those resulting from scaffolding and crane collapses can also be catastrophic.

A Fort Myers construction accident attorney can help determine whether the construction company, contractor, property owner, or another party is liable if a Florida construction worker dies as the result of a construction slip fall accident.

OSHA: Preventing Fatal Falls in Construction Sept. 25, 2008

Related Web Resources

South Florida Associated General Contractors

South Florida Construction Safety Forum

The next time you make a trip to a Fort Myers Florida shopping mall, drive with caution: Ft Myers Florida car crashes and fender benders happen on a regular basis in the parking lots, access roads and areas surrounding Lee County Florida shopping malls.

Shopping mall parking lots can be notoriously difficult to navigate, as drivers throw caution -- and the rules of the road -- to the wind in frantic search of a parking space. The layout of some shopping mall driving, drop-off, and parking areas, combined with shrubbery, hedges and other visual obstacles, can add to the confusion of mall driving. According to a report by Fort Myers Florida news source NewsPress.com, Lee County traffic accidents are the second-largest problem at area malls, with 129 accidents reported in recent months. Malls and car accidents mentioned in the report include...

Bell Tower Shops, South Fort Myers, Florida (28 crashes)
Coconut Point Mall (24 crashes) and Miromar (12 crashes)
Edison Mall, Ft Myers, Florida (32 crashes)
Gulf Coast Town Center, San Carlos Park, Florida (33 crashes)

Fort Myers police dispute some of the numbers in the report, saying that some accidents may have actually occurred on South Florida highways in front of the malls, such as US 41.

The last thing anyone wants when they go shopping is to come home with a dent in their car -- or worse. An experienced Fort Myers Florida car accident lawyer can help determine liability and the driver's options in cases where a moving or parked car is hit in a parking lot.

Car crashes high in mall parking lots
NewsPress.com Feb. 8, 2009

Related Web Resource

Mall Safety: AutoTrader.com

If you're arrested for driving under the influence in the Lee County and Fort Myers Florida area, chances are your name will appear on the Sheriff's Office public website. Every week, the Lee County Sheriff's Office posts an updated list of the names, birthdates, home addresses and incident locations for persons arrested for DUI.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office website states that the decision to publically post the names of those arrested for DUI during the past week is part of a larger public safety, education, and law enforcement campaign to reduce the incidents of alcohol-related car accidents in Lee County and Fort Myers Florida.

Florida DUI Laws and Car Crash Fatalities
Driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs remains a major cause of fatal car, truck, and motorcycle crashes in Florida. Facts:

• Under Florida law, DUI may be proven when a driver has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of .08 or above.
• The Florida Department of Transportation State Safety Office reported that in 2006, the alcohol-related fatality rate for Florida had dropped more than any other state in the USA. Still, alcohol was involved in 32.6% of fatal crashes and 1,099 people were killed by drunk drivers in Florida that year.
• Under Florida Statute, a driver who has been arrested four times or more for DUI may be labeled as a habitual/violent offender.
• In Florida, DUI repeat offenders or those who cause accidents involving serious bodily injury may be subject to felony charges.
• DUI offenders in Florida whose impaired driving results in the death of another may be subject to manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges.

A Fort Myers Florida car accident lawyer helps determine the liability in a DUI motor vehicle accident where personal injury or death occurs. Seems the Lee County Sheriff's Office hopes that publishing the names of persons arrested for DUI on their website will serve as a deterrent and as a safety reminder to the public: Don't drink and drive.

Lee County Sheriff's Office -- Weekly DUI Arrests

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles:
DUI and Administrative Suspension Information

Florida Department of Transportation State Safety Office:
State of Florida: Highway Safety Plan FY 07

A North Fort Myers Florida motorcycle crash claimed the life of the motorcyclist when he slammed into a PT Cruiser on a deadly Hancock Bridge Parkway curve, earlier this month.

Police say Christopher Zezula, 37, was driving his motorcycle too fast as he traveled eastbound on Hancock Bridge Parkway; he lost control control of his motorcycle on a curve and slammed into a PT Cruiser. Zezula was pronounced dead on the scene. The two motor vehicle occupants were treated at Lee Memorial Hospital for minor injuries. The Lee County Sheriff's Office investigated the scene of the fatal motorcycle-car accident.

The Hancock Bridge Parkway location of this fatal Lee County motorcycle car accident was the same curve where Danny Bougher, a soldier who'd come home to South Florida, was killed by a drunk driver in 2007. According to an MSNBC report, Florida Highway Patrol said a stoplight would not be enough to remedy the problem.

Florida Motorcycle Accidents and Fatalities
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that despite helmet laws, motorcycle accidents and deaths are on the rise nationally. In 2006, NHTSA reported 562 motorcycle rider fatalities for the state of Florida -- 46.7 percent of those killed were not wearing helmets and in 384 cases, operator alcohol use was involved (NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts 2006 Data: Motorcycles. Updated March 2008).

One dead in North Fort Myers crash
MSNBC.com Feb. 2, 2009

Related Web Resources

Lee County Sheriff's Office

Florida Highway Patrol

Share the Road: 2008 Motorcycle Safety Awareness Planner

A Broward County Florida deputy on his way home from duty at the Fort Lauderdale jail was killed by an older speeding Florida driver earlier this week. Detention Deputy Michael Martin, 47, of the Broward Sheriff's Office, was about two miles away from his home when his Toyota Corolla was rear-ended by an out-of-control driver speeding west on Northwest 199th Avenue in Miami Gardens, Florida.

According to Miami Gardens Florida Police reports, the 72-year-old driver had struck or sideswiped two parked or stopped cars on Northwest 12th Avenue and Northwest 13th Avenue before speeding out of control and striking Deputy Martin's car. The impact of the crash rolled Deputy Martin's car onto its side and sent it spinning into a utility pole and street sign, and finally into another car when it stopped. The Deputy was brought to a Miami Florida hospital where he died of his injuries.

Older Drivers Involved in Fatal Car Accidents in Florida
The name of the 72 year old driver in this fatal South Florida car accident had not been released, and no charges had been filed pending an investigation. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reports that the numbers of fatal crashes involving drivers over age 65 actually declined between 2001 and 2005:

In Florida, NHTSA reported 613 drivers aged 65 and older involved in fatal crashes in 2001, as compared to 563 drivers in 2005.

It's unclear whether age or health were factors in this fatal South Florida car crash. A Broward County Florida car accident lawyer helps investigate and document the details in a deadly car crash to determine if the other driver was at fault. This sad story illustrates how even our law enforcement officials face the same dangers as the rest of us when they get in their cars and drive on South Florida streets and highways.

Speeding car kills Broward County deputy
SunSentinel.com Feb. 2, 2009

Related Web Resource

NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts: May 2007
Drivers 65 and Older Have Lower Involvement Rates in Fatal Car Crashes

The Palm Beach County Florida Sheriff's Office has identified a man who was killed in a South Florida auto pedestrian accident last December as a young Guatemalan father of four. Jorge "Jose" Velasquez Francisco was killed when he stepped in the path of an SUV while trying to cross Military Trail to the west of Lake Worth, Florida.

The SUV driver in this fatal Palm Beach SUV pedestrian accident was not cited. Velasquez Francisco was not carrying any identification when he was involved in this deadly accident. It took authorities several weeks to eventually track down his family through the numbers stored in his cell phone in his pocket. The victim's wife and children live in Guatemala.

Some facts about auto-pedestrian accidents from the National Safety Council:

• Automobile-pedestrian accidents cause an estimated 5,900 pedestrian deaths every year.
• 84,000 pedestrians suffer nonfatal injuries when they are struck by automobiles.
• Children under age 15 account for nearly a third of car-pedestrian accident victims.

Florida Pedestrian Safety
Among its recommendations for pedestrians in South Florida to walk safely, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles website recommends a common sense approach to walking at night, namely "dress to be seen." Most drivers have had the startling experience of a pedestrian "suddenly" appearing in their headlights at night dressed in dark clothing. Wear light clothing if you're walking out at night, it could save your life. Other safety hints:

• Stay on sidewalks.
• Only walk in well-lit areas.
• Walk in the crosswalk and use crossing lights.

A Florida car pedestrian accident lawyer can sort out the details of who if anyone is at fault when a car, truck or SUV is involved in an accident with a pedestrian.

Man killed by SUV west of Lake Worth was Guatemalan father of four
SunSentinel.com Jan. 29, 2009

Related Web Resources
National Safety Council: Pedestrian Safety

WalkingInfo.org: Common Pedestrian Problems and Solutions

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles: Traffic Safety Tips