Florida Accident Attorney Blog

As summer ends and young students head back to their classrooms, Fort Myers and Lee County, Florida law enforcers are reminding motorists to be mindful of sharing the road with both pedestrians and bicyclists. Police will be on the lookout for drivers who exceed the speed limit or drive recklessly in school zones, including those who illegally pass school buses.

An estimated 800 school-aged children are killed in traffic accidents during daytime school hours in the United States every year -- roughly 14 percent of the total number of children killed in car accidents. Research has found that teenagers were behind the wheel in more than 50 percent of these deadly traffic accidents that occur during normal school day travel hours. Students getting on and off of the school bus are particularly at risk (University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, collected Aug. 29, 2009 -- see link below).

Fort Myers accident lawyers may be consulted by families in cases where children have been injured or killed in traffic accidents while walking or biking to and from school.

Overall, in 2008 in the state of Florida, 490 pedestrians lost their lives in car - pedestrian accidents (NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts Florida 2004-2008).

Bicycle safety is also a concern, particularly as school gets back in session. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has recorded 6 bicycle accident fatalities in Lee County, Florida in 2008 and 3 fatalities as of late August 2009.

Fort Myers police taking special steps for first day of public school in Lee County
NewsPress.com Aug. 22, 2009

Lee County bike safety spotlighted
NewsPress.com Aug. 22, 2009

Related Web Resources

Fort Myers Police Department

University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center

Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center

A study published in the journal Ergonomics found that people who work in hospitals are far more likely to lose work time and file Workers Compensation claims due to slip/trip/fall injuries than people in other private industry sectors.

The 10-year study -- which took place between 1996 - 2005, and whose authors were affiliated with the CDC, NIOSH, and health care facilities in the U.S. and Finland -- reported that lost workdays for hospital employees who had suffered slip-trip and fall injuries amounted to 35.2 per 10,000 full-time equivalents (FTE). That statistic is 75 percent greater than the average for all other private industries combined (which is 20.2 per 10,000 FTEs).

Causes of Slip, Trip, and Fall Accidents and Injuries
Hospitals, of all places, should be safe for both staff and patients. However, just like other establishments such as restaurants and hotels, hospitals can be prone to the same safety hazards that cause people to slip or trip and fall and get hurt -- wet floors and slick or slippery spots being the most common cause, along with obstacles on the floor or in walkways, loose or nonexistent handrails, and damaged flooring and stairs/steps.

Florida slip, trip and fall lawyers are sometimes consulted by individuals and families who suffer broken bones or other serious injuries as a result of slipping and falling while on the property of a commercial establishment. Premises liability may be an issue in some of those cases.

The Ergonomics study revealed that housekeepers, food services staff, and transport and EMS staff were at highest risk of suffering personal injury in a slip/trip/fall accident. The study went on to make recommendations for broad-based prevention programs for hospitals, including cause identification and hazard assessment, improvements to flooring, changes to housekeeping procedures and products, programs for outside ice and snow removal, and slip-resistant footwear for certain groups of employees.

Evaluation of a comprehensive slip, trip and fall prevention programme for hospital employees
Ergonomics, Volume 51, Issue 12 December 2008, pages 1906 - 1925

Related Web Resources

Slips, Trips & Falls
The International Contact Group for Researchers

The International Ergonomics Association

CDC: Falls Among Older Adults

The Dante Stallworth case is back in the news, as the NFL announced it will suspend the Cleveland Browns wide receiver for the remainder of the 2009 football playing season. Stallworth was found guilty of DUI manslaughter in a Miami, Florida traffic accident that claimed the life of a pedestrian.

Stallworth served his 30-day sentence and earlier this month, a judge agreed to let him work out to get in pro condition, though he had been ordered to two years house arrest. Nonetheless, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell chose to suspend Stallworth for the remainder of the season. A report on the NFL.com website (see link at end of entry) says he will be reinstated after the Super Bowl.

Florida Car Pedestrian Accident Fatalities
In cases where a driver's recklessness or negligence may have led to pedestrian injury or death, a Miami pedestrian accident lawyer is sometimes called upon by the aggrieved families to assist with the case. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 490 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents in Florida in 2008. Driving under the influence of alcohol over the Florida legal limit of BAC .08+ was reported in 875 traffic deaths that same year. (NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts Florida 2004 - 2008.)

This fatal Miami Beach, Florida drunk driving accident involving Stallworth occurred last March, when the car he was driving struck and killed a construction worker crossing MacArthur Causeway on foot to catch a bus. Stallworth plead guilty to manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol -- a charge which typically carries 10 years imprisonment in Florida. He came to an agreement with the victim's family to pay them a confidential financial settlement. His prison time was reduced to 30 days, which he has served.

In addition to the prison time and confidential financial settlement the verdict brought back for the aggrieved family, authorities also suspended Stallworth's driver's license for life, and ordered him to pay fines of $10,000 and to perform 1,000 hours of community service.

Brown Down: Wide Receiver Donte Stallworth Suspended By The NFL For 09' Season
19ActionNews.com Aug. 14, 2009

Goodell: Stallworth suspended for season, placed 'stain' on NFL, players
NFL.com Aug. 13, 2009

Browns' Donte Stallworth Gets 30 Days for DUI
Wide Receiver Will Pay Financial Settlement to Victim's Family
ABCNews.com June 18, 2009

Related Web Resources

WalkingInfo.org

NHTSA Pedestrian Safety Program

Parents of children who own and play with Little Tikes™ Workshops Sets and Trucks should be aware that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a product recall on those items, due to potential choking hazards.

The Little Tikes company of Hudson, Ohio, issued the recall of its toy workshop sets and toy trucks because oversized plastic toy nails may pose a choking hazard to children. The recall came as a result of a South Carolina boy getting one of the plastic nails lodged in his throat. According to news reports, the child is expected to make a full recovery.

The company indicates that the affected products (see link below for a full list) were sold at Toys “R” Us and other retail stores and websites from March '94 - June '09, at prices between $25 and $100. Consumers may contact Little Tikes for replacement nails that meet CPSC safety standards.

Florida product liability attorneys are aware of national product recalls such as this one, where the CPSC alerts news media and the public once it becomes aware of potentially dangerous products and products that have actually caused injury or death.

Dangers in Your Florida Home?: Other Defective Product Recalls
The CPSC offers a searchable database where consumers may find out what products in their homes may have been affected by hazardous product recalls. So far in August '09, the CPSC has issued more than a dozen recalls of a variety of defective products sold at national stores -- from child booster seats to exercise equipment to paper towel dispensers to Wii™ battery recharge stations (link below to list of August recalls of products that could cause personal injury or death).

Little Tikes™ Recalls Children’s Toy Workshop Sets and Trucks Due to Choking Hazard
News from CPSC Aug. 13, 2009

Little Tikes Workshop Sets, Trucks Recalled
Toy Nails Pose Choking Hazard
WSBTV.com Aug. 13, 2009

LittleTikes.com: Products Affected by Recall

Related Web Resources

US Consumer Product Safety Commission: Toy Hazard Recalls

US Consumer Product Safety Commission: August 2009 Recalls and Product Safety News

A teenager from Cooper City was injured in Davie, Florida this past week while riding an inner tube being pulled by his friend's water scooter. According to news reports, the 17 year old was airlifted to Broward General Medical Center for treatment for injuries to his spine, after the inner tube he was riding struck an embankment.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating whether speed or alcohol were factors in this personal watercraft accident, which happened in a canal in the Westridge Community.

Florida Law and Watercraft Safety
A Florida boating accident lawyer with knowledge of federal boating laws as well as state laws regulating watercraft safety may assist families in cases where liability may be a factor in water sports accidents that result in personal injury or fatalities.

Watercraft may include vehicles such as Jet Skis, Sea Doo personal watercraft, and WaveRunners. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission...

• State law requires that persons aged 21 years or younger must complete a boating safety education course or course equivalent approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA).
• In Florida, one must be at least 14 years old to operate a watercraft and 18 years old to rent a watercraft.
• Watercraft may not be operated from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise, even with navigational lights turned on.

Florida is known around the world as a premier destination for vacationers who come to enjoy our beaches and waterways. Boating and watercraft accidents can and do happen, particularly in peak vacation seasons when so many people are sharing space on the ocean and in waterways. Parasailing accidents also occur in Florida causing personal injury or death.

Florida watercraft accidents can be prevented when operators are properly trained to follow safety precautions and abide by state laws, and if they're aware of the risks of speed, water and weather conditions, and sharing Florida's waters with so many other pleasure boats and watercraft vehicles.

Teen recovering after Davie inner tube accident
SunSentinel.com Aug. 12, 2009

Related Web Resources

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: Boating Safety

National Association of State Boating Law Administrators

A 26-year-old Florida woman driver charged with DUI manslaughter in a fatal Fort Myers car crash that left an Iraq war veteran dead is scheduled to go on trial in September.

According to news reports, Army Staff Sgt. Danny Beougher was driving his Jeep Cherokee on Hancock Bridge Parkway in North Fort Myers, Florida, on the evening of Dec. 8, 2007. A Ford F-350, driven by Ashley East, crossed the meridian, hit a tree, and struck Beougher's vehicle. Staff Sgt. Beougher was killed and his wife was critically injured.

Florida Drunk Driving Death Statistics
In 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that of the 2,978 Florida traffic fatalities that occurred that year, 875 deaths were classified as "alcohol-impaired fatalities" -- involving all car and motorcycle drivers with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) above the legal limit of .08 percent. (NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts Florida 2004-2008)

A Fort Myers accident lawyer familiar with drunk driving laws and driver liability may be consulted by families in cases where an innocent person is hurt or killed due to another driver's negligence or recklessness.

In this fatal DUI case, the driver, Ms. East, is set to go to trial in September. She faces 10 charges, including leaving the scene of an accident causing death and DUI manslaughter. She may face up to 70 years in prison if convicted. Investigators at the time reported that East did not have a valid driver's license. Staff Sgt. Beougher, who was 23, had returned home to Cape Coral, Florida, after serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was an 82nd Airborne Division Paratrooper.

Fatal North Fort Myers crash case goes to trial in Sept.
News-Press.com July 29, 2009

82nd Airborne Division Paratrooper dies in Traffic Accident
Paratrooper.net Dec. 10, 2007

Related Web Resources

NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts Florida 2004-2008

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)

An elderly driver involved in a Florida highway traffic accident on I-95 in Brevard County late last month told law enforcement she became confused by a construction project prior to making a bad turn that sent her driving the wrong way on the highway.

The driver, an 84-year-old woman from Melbourne, told Florida Highway Patrol that she was not sure what to do when she came upon a construction site at Palm Bay Road. She then drove up the southbound exit ramp to interstate 95 and proceeded to travel north -- the wrong way -- in the southbound lanes. Two other motorists stopped to avoid the wrong-way driver, but a Miami driver unable to stop his semi truck struck the other two motorists. Two people received medical care for minor injuries, and the elderly driver was charged with driving the wrong way.

Construction site accidents at Florida highway work zones can occur and cause injury or death to both motorists and road construction workers, when drivers become confused by unexpected obstacles such as cones, barrels, blocked lanes, rerouted traffic, temporary signage, and detours. The Federal Highway Administration has published a Work Zone Operations Best Practices Guide in an effort to help states learn from each other's experiences and improve work zone mobility and safety management.

Florida Elderly Driving Accidents
Luckily no one was seriously injured or killed in this accident. But car crashes involving elderly drivers that make news headlines are not unique to the Sunshine State. A national debate is underway with some states discussing whether or not older drivers should be retested before having their driver's licenses renewed -- or revoked. Discussion is also focused on whether age alone should be the major factor in determining driving aptitude...or if health is a more important factor for drivers of all ages, and whether physicians should play a role in reporting patients whose medical conditions may make them unfit to drive.

According to a CBS News report, Florida leads the country in older-driver deaths, and drivers over age 75 have more fatal accidents than any other driver age group except teenagers (CBS News Health, "Elderly Drivers Not Ready to Give Up the Keys," May 13, 2001). Florida is aware of the challenge, which will increase as the Baby Boom enters its golden years. Edmunds.com praises Florida's highway planners for "making visibility and navigability improvements statewide since at least 1991" and for launching the Florida GrandDriver program.

Wrong-way driver sets off I-95 accident in Brevard
OrlandoSentinel.com July 29, 2009

Edmunds.com: Florida Paves the Way for Senior Drivers

Related Web Resources

Florida GrandDriver

Florida Department of Transportation

Federal Highway Administration: Work Zone Safety

The driver of a convertible walked away from what could have been a deadly Ft Lauderdale truck accident, when her out-of-control Mazda slipped underneath a tanker truck carrying diesel fuel.

According to news reports, the accident occurred during rush hour July 29 on South Federal Highway north of Fort Lauderdale / Hollywood International Airport. A 48-year-old woman driving a Mazda Miata, who said she was hit from behind, lost control of her sports car and collided with an oil tanker -- the car becoming wedged underneath the tanker truck. Aerial news shots show the top and passenger side of the car crushed beneath the belly of the tanker.

An off-duty Miami-Dade firefighter assisted the driver out of her car and walked her to paramedics. She sustained minor injuries and was transported to Broward Medical Center for treatment. The driver reportedly told the press that she is surprised and grateful she survived, as a car and commercial truck accident this serious could have left her dead or gravely injured.

Florida Large Truck Accident Statistics
Both drivers in this case were extremely lucky. Experienced Florida truck accident lawyers see the often tragic results of what can happen when cars, minivans, SUVs and motorcycles are involved in accidents with commercial trucks -- which can outsize and outweigh them by several tons. For the year 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recorded 4,930 large trucks involved in fatal crashes and 101,000 large trucks involved in injury crashes in the U.S.

For the state of Florida for 2008, NHTSA reports that of the 2,978 fatal traffic crashes that occurred last year, 263 fatalities involved an accident with a large truck. That number is down from 400 fatalities involving at least one large truck in 2005 (NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts Florida 2004-2008). In South Florida, many of these car-truck accidents occurred in Miami-Dade County followed by Broward County and Palm Beach County.

Sports Car Gets Wedged Under Tanker Truck
CBS4.com July 29, 2009

Related Web Resources

NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts Florida 2004-2008

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration