Florida Accident Attorney Blog

As if faulty hybrid brakes, sticky gas pedals, and millions of dollars in government fines weren't enough, Toyota can add a defective spare tire cable product recall to its growing list of consumer issues.

News reports state that 600,000 Toyota Sienna minivans manufactured from 1997 to 2010 are part of a new recall, due to risk of the spare tire carrier cable becoming corroded and breaking, and the spare tire falling out onto the road. While the concern is centered around vehicles originally sold in cold weather states where road salt is used, Florida motorists who drive a pre-owned Sienna should contact Toyota for instructions, or they can call the NHTSA Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236. Defective tire accidents can cause serious injury and death to motorists -- not just for the drivers of the affected vehicles, but for other motorists who share Florida's highways and roads with them.

As experienced Florida tire defect attorneys, we are keenly aware that the safety of spare tires can easily be overlooked -- sometimes with disastrous results. Spare tires are stashed away out of sight, in car trunks, on the backs of SUVs, and underneath minivans, where drivers don't think about them until they get a flat. In Florida, the extreme heat can cause spare tires to deteriorate from the inside, and a seemingly new or unused spare tire can actually be unsafe to use. (Read more on Florida driving and tire date coding, an important driving safety issue that most consumers are unaware of.)

Toyota recently agreed to pay $16.4 million in fines, the largest government penalty ever against an automaker, for not revealing information re: the sticking gas pedal recall. Defective accelerators that consumers have reported caused their Toyotas to "run away" uncontrollably at horrifically high speeds have been blamed in fatal car accidents around the country.

In addition, Toyota has recalled and stopped manufacturing the Lexus GX 460 and the Land Cruiser Prado after Consumer Reports branded the luxury SUV with its dreaded "Don't Buy: Safety Risk" bullet, citing read-end stability issues on turns that could increase risk for roll-over SUV accidents.

Toyota Recalls 600,000 Sienna Minivans
The Auto Channel April 20, 2010

Toyota Sienna recall spare tire cable corrosion
Examiner.com April 17, 2010

Lexus to Recall S.U.V. in Another Black Mark to Reputation
The New York Times April 21, 2010

Don't Buy: Safety Risk--2010 Lexus GX 460
ConsumerReports.org April 13, 2010

News-Press.com of Fort Myers reports that a new Florida state boating safety law that went into effect in January is designed to better prepare young people to avoid boating accidents.

The new law states that people born on or after January 1, 1988, must pass an approved Florida boater safety course to operate any boat or personal watercraft vessel powered by a motor of 10 horsepower or greater. It replaces the previous law, which required Florida boating safety education for anyone younger than age 21 operating a boat or water vessel of the same horsepower.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issues boater safety education ID cards to people who pass their safety requirements. An estimated 55,000 boats are registered in Lee County, Florida, and one million boats are registered in the entire state of Florida. As Fort Myers boat and watercraft accident lawyers know too well -- inadequately trained, impaired, and reckless boat operators can cause serious boat accidents on Florida waters, leading to drowning, maiming, disability, and death.

Parasailing accidents represent another area of concern related to boating safety and recreation off Florida's beaches (parasailing involves a person being harnessed in to a parachute, which becomes airborne as it is pulled behind a speed boat on Florida ocean waters or lakes), as do swimming pool accidents that can occur at Florida hotels, resorts, in municipal and privately owned pools. Florida state safety laws, such as the new boating education requirement, are put in place in hopes of raising awareness around safe operation of boats, water skis, and other personal watercraft.

Though Florida's waters and beaches attract tourists and residents who just want to relax and have fun -- all water sports and activities come with risks. Proper safety training, state laws, and industry regulations all help keep people safe as they enjoy the natural resources Florida has to offer.

New Florida law emphasizes safe boating
News-Press.com April 20, 2010

Related Web Resources

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: Boating Safety

National Association of State Boating Law Administrators

Boat U.S. Foundation

The Florida Board of Medicine has revoked the license to practice from a Sarasota, Florida doctor after he aborted the wrong fetus in a woman pregnant with twins in Jan. 2006.

The associated press reported that a patient who was 16 weeks pregnant with twins asked the doctor to abort a male fetus that tests showed had congenital defects. The doctor was reportedly quoted as saying though he hadn't done this type of procedure before, he believed he could do so safely. He told the press that he had informed the patient of his inexperience yet she still wanted to proceed with the selective termination -- which makes use of a chemical injection to terminate one fetus in a pregnancy with multiple babies. Instead, a female fetus that did not have birth defects was aborted.

The patient later returned to the same doctor to abort the male fetus. The doctor reportedly told the press that the patient received a liability settlement of $250,000 to compensate for his medical error.

A South Florida birth injury attorney with knowledge regarding medical malpractice and medical negligence may be consulted by families who believe their babies suffered harm or died during or after the birthing process, due to medical error.

The St. Petersburg Times reported that last year, seven Florida doctors had their licenses revoked as a displinary action by the Florida Medical Board. The doctor in this case told the press he regrets the error and plans to appeal his license revocation.

Doctor Terminates Wrong Fetus, Loses License
CBSNews.com April 13, 2010

Sarasota doctor loses medical license for aborting wrong fetus
St. Petersburg Times April 13, 2010

Related Web Resources

Florida Board of Medicine

CBS News: The Abortion Debate

A mother and two daughters who went missing in 1999 during a drive from Fort Lauderdale to Tampa, Florida, has been found deceased -- their car submerged in a canal. According to news reports, a Broward Sheriff's Office dive team on a training exercise in a canal off Florida I-75 last week discovered a green submerged van containing skeletal remains. Police identified the remains as those of Nelta Jacques, her two young daughters, and her unborn child. Ms. Jacques and her children had gone missing in June 1999 on a rainy night, as they were driving from Ft. Lauderdale to their home in Tampa, Florida.

Broward County, Florida Police have ruled the deaths accidental, due to an apparent car accident. Police theorize that Ms. Jacques may have pulled off Florida Interstate 75 to get out of the bad weather and accidentally drove into a canal around mile marker no. 31, near a boat ramp. The BSO dive team found the green van submerged under 18 feet of water -- the bodies still strapped in to their seat belts.

NBC News of Miami, Florida, reports that traffic accidents occurring off Florida canal roads -- where vehicles and their occupants end up trapped under water -- are tragically all too common. A news article stated that...

Divers from the Broward Sheriff's office made 90 dives in canals last year alone. One in every 100 cars they find has human remains.

Fort Lauderdale car accident lawyers may be consulted by families when a serious or fatal car accident occurs, to determine whether negligence or recklessness on the part of another party or parties may have caused or contributed toward the accident.

NBC News reported that the Broward County Medical Examiner called on Florida transportation officials to join him in identifying the most dangerous roads along South Florida's canals (e.g., those with difficult bends), where cars are most apt to go off the road and into the water -- in hopes of improving safety and preventing deadly motor vehicle accidents such as this sad story.

Vanished 11 Years Ago, Missing Mom Mystery is Resolved
NBCMiami.com April 2, 2010

Related Web Resource

Broward County Sheriff's Office: Marine Patrol and Dive Team

Florida news media report that the Friday night death of a promising high school football star who fell over a hotel balcony rail was the second such fatal fall accident to occur in the past two weeks of Spring Break.

Police in Panama City Beach, Florida reported that Matthew James of Ohio, who had been recruited to play for Notre Dame, was on the balcony of a Days Inn hotel with several friends when he reportedly went over the rail and fell to his death. Witnesses told police that James may have been leaning over the railing and arguing with another hotel guest on another balcony before the accident occurred. While the investigation remains ongoing, police believe alcohol may have been involved in James' death.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that unintentional injuries is the leading cause of death for young people under age 30. The CDC lists a number of potential hazards to teens' and college students' safety during spring break in Florida and other vacation destinations, particularly when alcohol is involved. These include drunk driving accidents, sexually transmitted diseases, acts of violence, swimming pool accidents, and other causes of injury and drowning death including boating accidents and personal watercraft accidents.

Spring Breaker Death-Update
WJHG.com April 3, 2010

Matt James, Notre Dame Recruit, Dies in Fall From Hotel Balcony
SportsIllustrated.com April 3, 2010

Related Web Resource

CDC: Spring Break Health and Safety Tips