Florida Injury Attorney Blog

Constance Bergey has settled her Palm Beach County wrongful death lawsuit against Simplicity Inc. and Walmart. Bergey’s 2-year-old daughter Serenity was found dead in her crib on September 19, 2007.

Florida prosecutors had wanted to charge Bergey with manslaughter when in fact, Serenity had suffocated after her head got caught between the crib mattress and a drop-side rail. Two days after Serenity's fatal Palm Beach County crib entrapment accident, the crib maker issued a recall of one million cribs.

At least 11 infant fatalities are linked to defective cribs made by Simplicity, a company that is no longer in business. Over 2 million Simplicity drop side cribs have been recalled because the crib’s hardware exhibited failures that can cause the drop side to separate or detach from the crib. When this happens, a playing or sleeping child can fall into the gap, causing entrapment injuries or suffocation that can lead to traumatic brain injuries or death.

Other crib makers have had to recall their drop side cribs over similar concerns. Over 20 crib recalls have been issued in the last 3 years that have involved over 4 million cribs. Defective hardware, improper installation, inadequate assembly instructions, and missing parts have been some of the defects that can lead to entrapment accidents, suffocation accidents, and/or fall accidents. Some crib manufacturers are even recommending that a ban be placed on the manufacture of drop-side cribs.

It is obviously a very good development when a manufacturer and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission decide to voluntarily recall a defective or dangerous products. However, this move is often too little too late for the children who are injured or killed because a manufacturer or another party was negligent. If your child was hurt or died because of a defective products, you may have grounds for filing a Florida products liability case or a wrongful death complaint against a negligent manufacturer, retailer, and/distributor.

West Boca woman settles suit against crib maker, Walmart, March 12, 2010

Crib Drop-Side Recall, Simplicity for Children

Related Web Resources:
Consumer Product Safety Commission

Dangerous Crib Recalls, Kids in Danger

According to USA Today, 18-year-old Maria West died when she lost control of her vehicle while she was texting. She was partially ejected during the rollover crash and her skull was crushed. Another avid texter, 23-year-old John Bradley Breen, died in a car crash while texting with a young woman he was planning to date.

At this time, the state of Florida doesn’t have any laws prohibiting motorists, including teens and school bus drivers, from texting while driving. However, a House committee has pushed through a bill that would make texting a secondary offense. This means that a Florida cop would have to apprehend a motorist for some other reason before being able to cite him/her for texting.

Even though this distracted driving habit is legal in the state, our Miami car accident lawyers want to remind all of you of the catastrophic consequences that can result. Texting while driving is distracted driving, which is careless and reckless conduct. It increases your chances of becoming involved in a Palm Beach motor vehicle accident and it is a senseless way to die and/or accidentally kill or injure a pedestrian, another motorist, or the person riding with you.

Now, AT & T is kicking off a national campaign that warns about the dangers of texting while driving. True stories, including the last texts that were sent or received before certain tragic distracted driving accidents occurred, are part of the campaign. The messages that the wireless service provider hopes to communicate are: "Textng & Driving ... It Can Wait." and "No text is worth dying over."

AT & T hopes to especially impact teen drivers with the campaign. Teens are among those most likely to disregard the warning that texting while operating a motor vehicle is dangerous. With teens more easily prone to distraction and less experienced than adult drivers, texting teen drivers are a danger to everyone on the road, including themselves.

Texting Safety Tips from AT & T:

• Don’t text while driving
• Don’t text someone that you know is driving
• Don’t let people text while driving

AT&T Txtng & Drivng Campaign Urges Consumers That 'It Can Wait', PR Newswire, March 8, 2010

Word to youth: Texting, driving don't mix, USA Today, March 7, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Texting and Driving, AT & T

Cell Phone and Texting Laws, Governors Highway Safety Association

New data from Virginia Tech Transportation Institute provides insight into cell phone use and driving distraction, Virginia Tech News, July 29, 2009

Texting while driving puts Florida at center of national debate, Miami Herald, March 11, 2010

Continue reading " Prevent Florida Distracted Driving Collisions by Discouraging Motorists From Texting " »

One more activity has been added to the list of distracted driving activities that motorists shouldn’t do when driving: Shaving. On March 2, the Florida Highway Patrol arrested 37-year-old Megan Barnes after she allegedly caused a Florida Keys car accident while shaving her bikini area.

Barnes’ 1995 Thunderbird crashed into the sport utility vehicle in front of her as it slowed down to make a turn. Two of the people riding the SUV sustained minor injuries during the motor vehicle crash.

Barnes reportedly told trooper Gary Dunick, the arresting cop, that she was shaving because she was getting ready to meet her boyfriend. Her ex-husband Charles Judy, who was riding in the vehicle with her, held the steering wheel she shaved.

This is not the first time that Barnes has gotten in trouble with the law over her driving habits. The woman who internet punsters are calling Florida’s “Pubic Enemy” had just been convicted of driving on a suspended license (her sixth suspension) and DUI.

Following the Florida car crash, the former couple drove a little way off and allegedly tried to switch seats to make it appear as if Judy had been driving. Seeing as Judy had burn marks on his body and it was the driver’s side airbag that deployed, that alleged ploy didn’t work.

Barnes is charged with reckless driving, driving with a revoked license, driving without insurance, and leaving the scene of an accident.

Our Miami car crash law firm cannot stress the importance of staying focused while driving. Unfortunately, in Florida and the rest of the US, distracted driving continues to be a cause of many personal injuries and wrongful deaths. In January, a drowsy truck driver was charged with second-degree manslaughter for a distracted driving truck accident that left 33-year-old Judy Stratton dead. Trucker Thomas Wallace was allegedly watching porn on his laptop when the deadly collision happened.

Other Examples of Distracted Driving Activities:

• Text messaging
• Putting on makeup
• Painting nails
• Talking on the cell phone
• Surfing the Internet
• Playing board games
• Watching movies
• Reading

Cops: Woman Crashes Car While Shaving Her Privates, ABC News, March 11, 2010

Truck Driver Watching Porn Movie, Kills Mother of Two, MyFOXdetroit, January 28, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Distracted Driving, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Florida Department of Transportation

Continue reading " Woman Driver Accused of Causing Florida Keys Car Crash while Shaving " »

Opening statements have been made in the Florida tobacco litigation trial against RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. and a number of other tobacco companies. Amanda Jean Hall is suing the defendants. She claims that her husband died from lung cancer in 1995 because he was addicted to nicotine in cigarettes.

According to the plaintiffs’ attorney, Arthur Hall started smoking at age 14 and kept up with the habit for most of his life. While he tried to quit on a number of occasions, he didn’t succeed until a year before his death.

Hall’s family contends that cigarette makers failed to warn consumers that they knew that cigarettes were defective in that they were addictive and could lead to serious health issues. Hall was diagnosed with cancer in 1994. The disease was found in his lymph nodes, kidney, lungs, brain, and the paratracheal area between his lungs and throat.

In 2006, The Florida Supreme Court upheld a jury verdict holding tobacco companies liable for smoking-related deaths and injuries. However, the court said that victims would have to file individual Florida wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits to prove that they were owed damages.

Cigarette smoking can cause numerous illnesses, including:

• Coronary heart disease
• Small cell carcinoma
• cerebrovascular disease
• Pregnancy complications
• Peripheral vascular disease
• squamous cell carcinoma
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• Aortic aneurysm
• Large cell carcinoma
• Cervical cancer
• Bladder cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Esophageal cancer
• laryngeal cancer
• Lung cancer
• Cavity cancer
• Pancreatic cancer
• Tongue cancer
• Stomach cancer

You may be able to hold a cigarette maker liable for your illness or loved one’s wrongful death that was caused by cigarettes.

Wrongful death trial against R.J. Reynolds opens in Gainesville, Gatorsports.com, March 2, 2010

No Clear Winners in Florida Engle Cases, JoinTogether.org, August 25, 2009

Related Web Resources:
RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company

Questions About Smoking, Tobacco, and Health, American Cancer Society

Continue reading " Tobacco Litigation: Florida Wrongful Death Trial Against RJ Reynolds Begins " »