Florida Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Published on: December 26, 2019

Florida Car Accident Lawsuit Alleges Tesla’s Futuristic Doors Made the Vehicle a “Death Trap”

Florida car accident lawsuit The crash itself, into a palm tree after the driver lost control, should not have killed him. He had not even suffered any broken bones. But according to the South Florida car incident lawsuit, an alleged malfunction of the Model S Tesla’s doors meant there was no escaping the electric vehicle after the lithium battery ignited. First responders, finding no other way to extricate him, watched on helplessly. The anesthesiologist’s widow says he died from smoke inhalation. Now, she’s suing Tesla, on behalf of herself and their five children.

The retractable door handles are supposed to auto-present when a key fob is detected nearby, the lawsuit said. But this time, it did not. The door handles could not be accessed, rendering the car a “death trap.”

This is far from the first time a Tesla has caught fire. Our Fort Myers car accident attorneys anticipate that unfortunately, this will probably be far from the last wrongful death lawsuit with a similar fact pattern.

Published on: October 30, 2019

Can I Sue for Car Accident Injuries Caused by Another Driver’s Seizure?

by Leland Garvin

If you suffer car accident injuries in a crash caused by another driver’s sudden health emergency – such as a seizure or heart attack – the claim can be impeded by a defense known as the “sudden emergency doctrine.”

car accident injuries

As our Cape Coral car accident injuries lawyers can explain, the law expects drivers to conduct themselves with a certain degree of reasonable care. Failure to do so is negligence.

But the law also recognizes that emergencies can arise. The sudden emergency doctrine is a defense that can be raised for people who are confronted with some unexpected danger. If established, it can mean the defendant isn’t held to the same standard of care as they might otherwise be in the event that they suffer from a heart attack or seizure while driving so long as this “sudden emergency” was not reasonably foreseeable.

Published on: October 23, 2019

Why Does a Florida Injury Lawyer Work on a Contingency Fee Basis?

by Leland Garvin

One of the top concerns an injury lawyer hears upon meeting with prospective clients is: How much will this cost me?

Most who have suffered a serious personal injury are hurting financially as well as physically – which is why they’re seeking compensation from the at-fault party in the first place. Fort Myers injury lawyer

The good news is that with personal injury litigation, you won’t need to pay upfront. In fact, you won’t pay any attorney fees at all unless you win.

Published on: October 17, 2019

Florida’s Choice of Law Doctrine in Car Accident Lawsuits

by Leland Garvin

It’s imperative when you take a personal injury case to court that you are not only doing so in the appropriate jurisdiction, but that you are applying the correct laws. Although it comes as a surprise to some, just because a case is litigated in Florida doesn’t necessarily mean Florida law should be applied. car accident lawyer

Generally, Florida law is applied to cases litigated in Florida. However, if an argument can be raised under the Choice of Law doctrine, the court can decide to choose to conduct a choice of law analysis.

As our Fort Myers car accident lawyers can explain, this can have a major impact on the proof burden or the remedies to which one is entitled. Some state standards are more relaxed, others more stringent. Sometimes, it’s federal law that must be applied. It’s necessary early on in each case to ascertain the appropriate jurisdiction – and choice of law – applied to all or any aspect of the case. Continue reading

Published on: October 13, 2019

A Deadly Year for Motorcyclists in Fort Myers, Cape Coral

by Leland Garvin

Not a month – or sometimes week – passes in Lee County where there isn’t a serious or fatal motorcycle accident. Florida in general has some of the most dangerous roads in the country – more than once noted by federal traffic safety regulators to have more deadly motorcycle crashes than anywhere else in the country. motorcycle accident lawyer

Because of their vulnerability in being openly exposed to the roadway, fixed objects and other vehicles, motorcyclists are 28 times more likely to die when they’re involved in a crash than occupants of passenger vehicles, according to the Governors’ Highway Safety Association.

By their very nature, motorcycles are less crash-worthy than closed vehicles. They are also less visible to other motorists and offer less stability than four-wheeled passenger vehicles. Further, motorcyclists and any passengers they carry are more vulnerable and exposed to the elements and road conditions than the average driver. This is why operating a motorcycle needs some combination of both physical and mental skills – and special licensing. Continue reading

Published on: September 30, 2019

Legal Options for Cape Coral DUI Wrongful Death

by Leland Garvin

Cape Coral drunk driving injury lawyer An alleged drunk driver who fled from the scene of a deadly crash in Sarasota this spring was arrested on charges related to the crash, including DUI manslaughter and leaving the scene of crash with death and serious bodily injury, as well as unrelated drug trafficking charges.

Authorities believe alcohol was a key factor in the crash, which killed a 70-year-old woman and critically injured her infant grandson. The driver suspected of DUI, as well as another motorist, sustained minor injuries.

As our Cape Coral DUI wrongful death lawyers can explain, criminal charges aren’t the only course of legal action available to victims of DUI accidents.

Published on: September 30, 2019

A Stroll in the Sunshine State: Florida Pedestrian Accident Risk No. 1 in U.S.

by Leland Garvin

First, the good news: The Cape-Coral-Fort Myers metro area is no longer ranked No. 1 as the most dangerous place to walk along the roadside. But cause for celebration is tempered, as our Cape Coral pedestrian accident attorneys can explain because this area still ranks No. 8 out of 20. Further, 8 of the top 10 most dangerous communities are in Florida. Nine of the top 10 were in the Southern U.S.

The latest Dangerous by Design report from Smart Growth America reveals that nearly 50,000 pedestrians were struck and killed by motor vehicles in the decade prior to 2017. Of those, more than 11 percent – 5,433 – happened in Florida (home to 6.7 percent of the U.S. population), with nearly 148 of them in Lee County alone.

Smart Growth America has been indexing pedestrian danger for years, and Florida’s roads have always been perilous. The Pedestrian Danger Index (PDI) factors how many pedestrians were killed by drivers, weighted against the population of each metro area and the percentage of people who commute to work on foot. Continue reading

Published on: September 23, 2019

The Heavy Price of Florida Truck Accidents

by Leland Garvin

A spate of serious and fatal Florida truck accidents has drawn attention to the fact that such collisions are on the rise – here and across the country, prompting safety officials and trucking carriers to weigh possible solutions.

State and federal crash data show that large semi-trucks are a substantial part of the reason Florida drivers face so much danger on thoroughfares like I-75.

In a single recent year, there were more than 4,300 large truck accidents just in Florida alone – more than 70 percent of those being the occupants of other vehicles, thanks to the size disparity between semis and passenger cars. In 2017, there were nearly 32,000 large truck crashes in the U.S.

As our Fort Myers truck accident lawyers can explain, part of making our roads safer in the face of increasing commercial truck presence is holding accountable the drivers, trucking carriers, shippers and other parties responsible when their negligence causes or contributes to the seriousness of a crash.

Sometimes, that accountability happens in criminal court. That’s the case in North Fort Myers, where a commercial truck driver ran a red light and killed another motorist, age 61, in June. Now, the 31-year-old trucker has been charged with reckless driving and vehicular homicide.

However, change can also come about from civil damage awards. Although civil cases, in general, are intended to be compensatory and not punitive, the damage awards in these cases are a proven incentive for trucking companies to adhere to federal regulations – in some cases, taking initiative to take additional safety precautions in the future. Continue reading

Published on: September 9, 2019

Amazon Delivery Accidents – Florida Injury Lawyers Fight for Accountability

by Leland Garvin

In its dogged push for e-commerce dominance, tech firm Amazon.com, Inc. has spent years building a massive logistics empire, all on the promise of getting your stuff to your door in as little time as possible. It’s fast, reliable – and all-too-often deadly. Amazon delivery accidents are increasingly common not only because the company is ubiquitous, but its drivers are rushed and under intense pressure.

Fort Myers Amazon delivery accidents Amazon is a $1 trillion company, the founder’s net worth climbing by some $260 million daily, but according to a recent co-report by The New York Times and ProPublica, the company has been less-than-generous in covering the human costs associated with Amazon delivery accidents.

Part of what makes establishing liability so difficult is the fact that Amazon, in an effort to reduce any dependence on long-time carriers like UPS, has forged a vast network of independent contractors, each supplying their own vehicles and drivers. On the one hand, this does allow the firm to shrink and expand its delivery forces as necessary, with the added bonus of avoiding payment of benefits and workers’ compensation when injuries occur.

Published on: August 26, 2019

Cape Coral Car Accident Lawyers: Tort Reform Doesn’t Slash Insurance Costs

by Leland Garvin

Tort reform advocates are once again beating the same old drum, insisting that if Florida would only lower its litigation costs, auto insurers could lower their rates for the rest of us.

personal injury lawyer

Cape Coral car accident lawyers know the main problem with this line of reasoning is it doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.

As one auto insurance lobbyist testified not long ago, “It’s a misnomer to ever really believe that your rates are going to go down. There are so many pressures for it to go up: Medical costs continue to go up, the cost of the vehicle continues to go up, the amount of wages that you have to compensate for continues to go up. So maybe what you do is slow the rate of rise.”

Even that is a pretty big “maybe.” More than likely, what happens is insurance firms and other large corporations benefit, while those most seriously injured receive less compensation. Continue reading

Florida Personal Injury Law Blog