Florida Injury Attorney Blog

Throughout Florida, law enforcement officials, transportation officers, and motorcycle safety groups are reminding motorcycle riders and motor vehicle drivers to share the roads safely with each other. Their efforts mark Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, which is being honored in all US states during the Month of May. This need for awareness that motorcyclists do share the roads with other drivers is especially important in Florida, where the use of motorcycles is on the rise.

Frankie Kennedy, who is president of the Southwest Florida ABATE motorcycle safety group, says that there are now over 1 million motorcyclists with licenses to ride in Florida—a significant increase from the 40,000 motorcyclists with Florida licenses in 2001. The month of May is also a time of year when more riders start to get on Florida’s roads and highways—long holidays and the summer vacation months play a role in this increase in riders—which also increases the chances that a Florida motorcycle accident may occur.

Kennedy is quick to note that 85% of motorcycle accidents resulting in a motorcyclist’s death occur because another driver was at fault. In Lee County, Florida alone, there were 278 motorcycle accidents that occurred in 2008 that resulted in 20 motorcycle rider deaths. In 2007, there were 530 motorcycle deaths that occurred throughout Florida.

Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month is not about placing blame on anyone. It is about reminding the drivers of cars, trucks, and buses, as well as motorcyclists, that they share Florida’s roads with one another. This means that motor vehicle drivers must allow motorcyclists a full lane to ride and not try to share a lane with them. They must also check their blind spots for motorcycles, as well as give a motorcycle enough space when following behind one so that the rider can stop abruptly in the event of an emergency.

Motorcyclists, in turn, have to remember that they share the roads with larger vehicles. Not only must they wear protective gear or clothing to minimize any potential injuries during a Florida motorcycle crash, but they also must make sure that they are visible to other motorists—this means avoiding a motor vehicle driver’s blind spot and wearing clothing that is bright enough so that they are as visible as possible to other drivers—especially at night.

Motorcyclists should also ride safely and refrain from speeding. Taking proactive steps to prevent a Florida motorcycle accident from happening could save not only a motorcyclist’s life but also the lives of other motorists sharing the roads with them.

Sharing the road safely, Wink News, May 18, 2009

Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, WCTV, May 4, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Motorcycle Safety, Florida Department of Transportation

Motorcycle Safety Awareness, NHTSA

Continue reading " Florida Transportation Officials Attempt to Decrease the Number of Florida Traffic Accidents With Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month " »

In Florida, a 72-year-old nursing home resident at the Rehabilitation Center of St. Petersburg has been charged with molesting another patient. Christopher McDermott was charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a disabled person.

The victim, a 54-year-old woman, has a 5-year-old’s mental capabilities. Nursing home workers had reportedly warned McDermott numerous times not to have any contact with the resident. On the afternoon of April 30, however, McDermott was seen touching the female patient’s breast.

Sexual abuse of any kind, whether between adults or an adult and a child is a crime and a cause of serious personal injury. If your loved one was sexually abused by another nursing home patient, a nursing home worker, or a visitor to the long-term care facility, you may be able to hold both the perpetrator and the nursing home liable for civil damages.

Nursing homes are supposed to take care of residents and protect them from becoming the victims of violent crimes. Failure to provide this care and protection can be grounds for a Florida nursing home neglect lawsuit.

Many elderly and sick nursing home patients have a hard enough time taking care of themselves let alone fending off a sexual assailant. Unfortunately, the victim may be too scared or is unable to voice his or her fears or report the incident.

Signs that a Florida nursing home resident may have been the victim of sexual abuse:
• Sexually transmitted disease
• Bruises on the inner thighs
• Pain or bleeding or itching in the anal or genital areas
• Depression
• Personality changes
• Fear of certain people
• Timid behavior
• Making comments about sexual behavior

Man charged with molesting fellow nursing home resident, TBO.com, May 5, 2009

Elderly Often Unrecognized Victims of Sexual Abuse, Senior Journal, November 9, 2004

Related Web Resources:
National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care

Nursing Home Guide, AHCA

Continue reading " Florida Nursing Home Resident Charged With Molesting Female Patient " »

The Florida Highway Patrol is looking for the drivers of two motor vehicles that struck a Fort Lauderdale motorcyclist after he was thrown from his bike on I-95 on Monday. 48-year-old Jerry Bordas is the second member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club to die in a Florida motorcycle accident in two weeks. He flew off his motorbike after colliding with a van at around 3 am and was then run over by three vehicles.

Two of the motor vehicles that hit him, a small car and a tractor-trailer, did not stop at the crash site. Bordas was not using a helmet at the time of the deadly Florida traffic crash.

Motorcycle Accident Injuries
Getting thrown off a motorcycle can be fatal for the rider, especially if he or she is not using a helmet. Examples of catastrophic injuries that can occur to motorcyclists:

• Facial injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Skull fractures
• Broken legs
• Broken feet
• Hand injuries
• Organ damage
• Permanent disabilities
• Spinal cord injuries
• Road burns
• Lacerations
• Road rash

A truck driver, car driver, bus driver, or another motorist responsible for causing a Florida motorcycle accident can be held liable for personal injury or wrongful death.

Motorcycle Accident Facts
• The Federal Highway Administration says that in 2007 there were 7.1 million motorcycles riding on US roads.
• The Insurance Information Institute says the number of motorcycle deaths have increased every year over the last decade.
• 13% of all traffic deaths and 4% of all occupants who were hurt in 2007 motor vehicle crashes were motorcycle riders.

Crash kills motorcyclist on I-95, Miami Herald, May 5, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Outlaws Motorcycle Club

Motorcycle Crashes, Insurance Information Institute

Federal Highway Administration

Florida state motorcycle laws, American Motorcyclist

Continue reading " Florida Man Killed in Fort Lauderdale Motorcycle Accident on I-95 was Run Over by Three Motor Vehicles " »

In Florida, the estate of a man who died while operating an all-terrain vehicle is suing the decedent’s father for wrongful death. David Jason Irby died on April 21, 2007 after he crashed an ATV into a Chevron sign.

The Florida wrongful death lawsuit accuses the 28-year-old’s father, David Wayne Irby, of negligence for allegedly allowing his son to operate the ATV even though he knew his son had been drinking. The older Irby had been hosting the party where his son drank. The complaint was filed by the decedent’s mother, Bonnie McCabe, on behalf of her son’s estate.

McCabe’s Florida wrongful death lawyers say that McCabe wants any money received from the lawsuit to go toward her son’s children, Chase, now 5, and Gavin, who was born after his father’s death. They contend that David Jason Irby’s blood alcohol limit was about three times above the legal limit of .08% when he got behind the wheel of the ATV and that allowing him to operate the all-terrain vehicle was like letting him get behind the wheel of a regular motor vehicle while drunk. The estate also plans to sue the ATV owner for Irby’s wrongful death.

In Florida, a person or business can be held liable for serving alcohol to a driver who is visibly drunk and/or for allowing him to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Even if the drunk motorist doesn’t sustain injuries as a result being involved in a drunk driving accident, other parties who are injured as a result of the drunk driver’s negligent behavior can file a personal injury claim or wrongful death lawsuit against the social host responsible for serving the alcohol.

Steps people who are serving alcohol can take to make sure that people don’t drive drunk:

• Make sure you stay sober so you can keep an eye on how much alcohol your guests are consuming.
• Don’t let people who have had too much to drink get in the driver’s seats of their cars.
• Assign designated drivers or call cabs.
• Stop serving people alcohol when you can see that they are clearly intoxicated.

Wrongful death suit filed against father of Indiantown ATV accident victim, TCPalm, April 17, 2009

The trouble with drunk friends, Insure.com, February 13, 2009

Related Web Resources:
NHTSA

ATV Dangers, CBS42, December 26, 2008