Florida Injury Attorney Blog

According to Transportation for America, the four most dangerous US cities for pedestrians are located in Florida:

• Orlando
• Tampa
• Miami
• Jacksonville

Ft. Lauderdale did not rank far behind these four cities. In South Florida over the last two years, there were at least 329 pedestrian fatalities—that’s 22.5% of all traffic deaths in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region. 16.9% of all Florida traffic fatalities between 2007-2008 were pedestrian deaths. 490 Florida pedestrian deaths occurred in 2008. These figures are disturbing, considering that the state only spends 1.5% of its federal transportation budget on bicycling and walking infrastructure.

Pedestrians need to have the proper road safety measures and traffic laws in place to protect them from the serious injuries that can result during a Florida pedestrian accident. Better designed roads, more crosswalks, additional/wider sidewalks, more crossing lights and speed bumps, and lower speed limits can help decrease pedestrian fatalities in high-risk traffic crash areas. According to Transportation for America, although driver mistakes and pedestrian errors can be sighted as two of the leading causes of US pedestrian crashes, many of these tragic accidents happen because the roads where they occurred were “dangerous by design.”

Also, Time Magazine recently reported that hit-and-run car accidents are an all too common occurrence in Florida. In the last 10 years, there have been about 46 Miami-Dade County hit-and-run crashes. Many of the victims were child pedestrians.

In an era where walking continues to be touted as a way to stay healthy and live longer, and in a state such as sunny Florida that is filled with tourists, college kids, bicyclists, skateboarders, retirees, and people who enjoy spending time outside, it is so important that transportation safety officials and motorists act to prevent Florida pedestrian crashes from happening.

Florida's roads dangerous -- for pedestrians, Sun-Sentinel, November 29, 2009

Florida's Deadly Hit-and-Run Car Culture, Time, November 29, 2009

Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Pedestrian Deaths (and Making Great Neighborhoods), Transportation for America

Related Web Resources:
Read the Transportation for America's Report "Dangerous by Design" (PDF)

Florida Department of Transportation

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12 years after jazz guitarist Zachary Breaux drowned while trying to rescue swimmer Eugenie Poleyeff, a US District Judge has ordered Monticello Insurance Co. to pay $5 million in damages to the musician’s wife and $750,000 to Poleyeff’s family. The insurer had refused to pay the Florida wrongful death settlements the city of Miami Beach had negotiated with the two families.

According to the Breaux family’s Miami Beach wrongful death lawsuit, there were no warning flags indicating that there were dangerous rip currents in the water on February 20, 1997 when the 36-year-old jazz guitarist entered the water to try saving the 66-year-old woman. Workers at the beach who looked as if they were lifeguards were actually employed by private beach concessionaires. Breaux’s wife and three young daughters saw him drown. According to the Florida wrongful death lawyer for Poleyeff’s husband, Eugenie would never have gone swimming if the city had warned her that there were rip currents and no lifeguards on duty.

The wrongful death case sparked a 2005 ruing by the Florida Supreme Court that held cities responsible for warning beach goers when it is too dangerous to go in the water. Following this decision and the insurer’s refusal to defend Miami Beach, city officials reached Florida wrongful death settlements with the victims’ families.

Monticello wanted to the court to find that the policy didn’t cover the city of Miami Beach. The court found the insurance company’s refusal to defend the city was wrongful.

In a state known for its fabulous beaches it is important that parties who oversee the numerous areas of beachfront properly warn swimmers of dangerous conditions. Failure to exercise this duty of care can be grounds for a Florida drowning accident lawsuit citing premises liability and alleging negligence or a wrongful death complaint.

Court Denies Insurer, Upholds $5.75 Million in Miami Beach Drownings, Insurance Journal, December 16, 2009

Miami Beach drowning victim's kin gets $5M, Miami Herald, December 15, 2009

Related Web Resources:
City of Miami Beach, Florida

The Florida Supreme Court 2005 Opinion (PDF)

The widow of an 80-year-old man who died after falling from a Hollywood, Florida drawbridge is seeking unspecified damages for his Broward County wrongful death. Desmond Nolan was killed on November 22 after he fell at least 30 feet to the concrete.

He got stuck on the bridge, located on Sheridan Street, as it was raised over the Intracoastal Waterway. Nolan held onto the bridge but eventually let go. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Nolan leaves behind his wife of 57 years, Pauline Nolan, and three daughters. The couple, who are from Illinois, had been living in Hollywood, Florida during the winters for about two decades.

The Florida Department of Transportation operates the drawbridge, which has a bell, flashing lights, and gate that are supposed to prevent cars and pedestrians from getting on the bridge as it closes and opens. Police say that Nolan, who was wearing headphones, may not have heard the bells go off.

However, the Florida wrongful death complaint contends that the alarms did not go off as Nolan began walking across the bridge. The Broward County civil lawsuit also accuses Michael O’Rourke, the bridge tender, of failing to check whether there was anyone on the bridge before he opened it and not heeding the motorists who yelled at him and honked their horns to let him know that Nolan was hanging onto the bridge.

ISS Facility Services, Transfield Services North America, and C & S Building Maintenance are defendants in the Hollywood, Florida wrongful death lawsuit. The family also intends to file a wrongful death complaint against the Florida Department of Transportation.

Florida Wrongful Death
In Florida, the victim’s family has two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death complaint. The decedent’s wife or husband, children, parents, and other family members who may have depended on the deceased for services or support, such as blood or adoptive siblings, are considered wrongful death “survivors” who may be able to seek damages from all negligent parties.

Family sues drawbridge operators in death of man, 80, Sun-Sentinel, December 7, 2009

Man Falls From Drawbridge, Dies, WPLG Miami, November 24, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Florida Department of Transportation

Wrongful Death, Justia

According to the National Highway Traffic Administration, 523 motorcycle riders were killed in Florida motorcycle accidents in 2008. 52% of the motorcyclists who died were using helmets. Nationally, 5,290 motorcyclists were killed last year—a slight increase from the 5,174 US motorcyclist fatalities in 2007—while 96,000 others sustained injuries.

While overall there has been a decrease in the number of traffic deaths that occur in the US annually, the motorcyclist category is one where the number of deaths isn’t going down. This is disturbing, considering that motorcyclists are usually the least protected vehicle occupant group when involved in a traffic crash. In 2007, a motorcyclist had a 37 times more likely chance of dying in a traffic crash than a car occupant. A motorcyclist’s injury rate was 9 times more likely.

Injuries to motorcyclists are usually fatal if not catastrophic. Just last Sunday, rider died in a Brownsville motorcycle accident when his bike was involved in a collision with a Honda Accord. The sedan’s driver sustained minor injuries.

In Fort Myers last week, motorcycle rider Robert H. Cook, a Cape Coral resident, was killed when his bike collided with a school bus as the larger vehicle was turning left. No children were on the bus when the deadly Florida motorcycle accident occurred.

Motorcycle accidents are catastrophic not just for the victims but also for the liable motorist. Last week, a 26-year-old Miami woman was sentenced to 18 ½ years in state prison for accidentally killing two motorcyclists on February 29, 2008.

Dominique Brice was weaving in traffic and driving at a speed of about 87 mph when she struck two riders who were parked on I-95 at the Indian River and St. Lucie counties juncture. Motorcyclists Fritz Doucet, a 37-year-old North Miami police officer, and Raul Ortiz, a West Palm Beach computer technician, are the two men who died.

Sometimes, Florida Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is not enough to cover all of the injuries and costs sustained in a catastrophic motorcycle crash. You also may want to hold all negligent parties liable.

Motorcyclist dies in crash with car in Brownsville, December 29, 2009

Woman sentenced to more than 18 years in prison for killing two motorcyclists, TC Palm, November 25, 2009

Motorcycles, 2008 Traffic Safety Facts, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Florida State Motorcycle Laws

Hurt Report Summary

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