Florida Injury Attorney Blog

At this time, there are no restrictions against cell phone use or texting while driving in the state of Florida. This however, may change, as state legislatures are scheduled to get together early next year to consider a possible ban on texting.

Supporters of a texting while driving prohibition may get the extra boost they need following the recent recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board that all cell phone use while driving—unless the situation is an emergency—be prohibited. Although the NTSB cannot make law, its recommendations are strongly considered by lawmakers.

The safety board has even called distracted drivers a threat to public safety, and although there are other distracted driving behaviors that can also lead to car crashes, talking on a cell phone and texting while driving appear to be two habits that many people can’t seem to quit. In South Florida, our Miami personal injury law firm represents clients injured or who have lost loved ones in all types of traffic crashes.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving played a role in at least 3,092 US motor vehicle crashes last year. The federal safety agency recently released its findings from its first national survey tracking the public’s awareness, attitudes, and behavior regarding texting, cell phones, and driver decisions.

6,002 adult respondents (18 and older) took part in the phone survey. Interviews took place during the last two months of 2010. Per the survey’s findings:

• Most motorists don’t like it when other drivers text and drive, but they think that they are safe when they are the ones doing it.
• Almost 1 out of 100 drivers can be found using a handheld device to text, e-mail, or engage in some other activity at any given moment of the day.
• Most drivers don’t see anything wrong with answering a phone while operating a motor vehicle.
• More than half of those who were surveyed don’t believe that making a call with a cell phone impacts their driving abilities.
• About 25% of those surveyed felt the same way about texting while driving.
• About half of drivers age 21-24 admit that they’ve e-mailed or texted while operating a motor vehicle.

Texting and driving are not the only distracted driving behaviors that can cause injury or death. Reading a book or magazine, surfing the Internet, inputting information onto your navigation system, putting on makeup, and even eating have been known to cause motor vehicle collisions.

National Distracted Driving Telephone Survey Finds Most Drivers Answer The Call, Hold the Phone, and Continue to Drive, NHTSA, December 2011 (PDF)

Distracted Driving, National Safety Council

More Blog Posts:
NHTSA Reports 2,445 Florida Traffic Deaths in 2010, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, December 8, 2011

Teen Drivers Continue to Text Despite Knowing the Dangers, Reports Liberty Mutual and SADD Study, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, October 20, 2011

Florida Products Liability: Bill Could Make It Harder for Victims to Win Damages from Auto Manufacturers, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, May 4, 2011

Continue reading " With Safety Officials Calling For Tougher Stance Against Distracted Driving, Florida Lawmakers May Follow Their Lead " »

A Miami-Dade grand jury says that the state is not doing enough to fight Florida nursing home negligence. The grand jury issued its report, “ALFs: a Call for Greater Interagency Communication and a Cry for More Citizen Volunteers," earlier this month after a two month-investigation that was instigated following a series of articles in the Miami Herald called Neglected to Death. The newspaper reported that even though at least 70 frail elderly seniors have died from nursing home neglect or abuse in the last decade, almost all of the assisted living facilities where the deaths occurred were allowed to stay in operation.

The grand jury’s report blames the Agency for Health Care Administration for allowing dangerous assisted living facilities to stay open and not taking more effective action to protect nursing home patients by cracking down on abusers, rogue operators, and troubled facilities. The jurors said that seeing as there has been an “explosion” in the number of ALF’s in the last five years, the state needs to do a better job of enforcement to prevent Florida nursing home abuse and neglect.

Other recommendations by the grand jury (as reported by the Miami Herald):
• Don’t let operators that provide poor nursing care while maximizing profits stay in business.
• Find all ALF administrators with questionable histories and stop them from being able to move from one Florida nursing home to another.
• Impose hefty suspensions and fines for nursing home abuse or neglect and, when necessary, revoke an ALF’s license.
• Make it a third-degree felony if a caretaker punishes a resident for complaining to inspectors
• Toughen administrators’ educational requirements, which are currently among the lowest in the US

Our Miami nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers have seen firsthand the devastating effect that mistreatment and poor nursing care can have on a patient’s health and emotional well-being. The state must do everything possible to provide consequences so that negligent ALF operators buckle down and do a better job of taking care of our sick and elderly.

If you suspect Miami nursing home negligence, you should immediately remove your loved one from the unsafe environment and report what happened. Tell the authorities and speak with a Miami-Dade County personal injury law firm.

Florida must crack down on elderly abuse MIAMI HERALD EDITORIAL | Grand jury confirms lax oversight exposed in Herald’s series, Bradenton.com, December 17, 2011

Grand jury demands Florida get tough on ALF operators, Miami Herald, December 8, 2011

Neglected to Death

Read the report (PDF)

More Blog Posts:
Miami Nursing Negligence Lawsuit Claims Paraplegic Patient Was Sodomized in His Home, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, November 16, 2011

St. Lucie County Wrongful Death Lawsuit Claims Florida Nursing Home Negligence Contributed to Woman’s Fatal Drowning, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, August 4, 2010

Broward County Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Home Care Provider Alleging Elder Financial Fraud and the Murder of 89-Year-Old Woman, Florida Injury Attorney Blog, July 1, 2010

Agency for Health Care Administration

Continue reading " Miami-Dade Grand Jury Calls on State to Fight Florida Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect with Tougher Penalties " »

Laparoscopic surgery is a common procedure used to perform hysterectomies, hernia repair, gynecological surgery, gallbladder removal, and certain intestinal surgeries, including those for treating rectal prolapse, ulcerative colitis, serious constipation, diverticulitis, and Crohn’s disease. Considered a “minimally invasive” procedure that involves small incisions, the insertion of ports, a video camera, and thin instruments, laparoscopic procedures are said to result in less post operative discomfort, faster recovery time, smaller scars, and not as much internal scarring. Unfortunately, as with any kind of surgical procedure, medical mistakes can happen, which can lead to serious laparoscopic injuries. Also, laparoscopic surgery has been known to significantly up the risk of surgeon-induced injuries.

If you believe that your injuries are a result of mistakes made during your laparoscopic surgery, our Miami medical malpractice law firm would like to hear from you.

Medical errors during laparoscopic procedures can lead to:
• Bile duct injuries
• Liver damage
• Gall bladder injury
• Infection
• Trocar injuries
• Kidney injuries
• Ureteral injuries
• Electrocautery injuries
• Hepatic duct injuries
• Bile Peritonitis

Unfortunately, not all doctors that perform laparoscopic procedures are properly trained or even have the skills and experience to safely perform this type of surgery. When West Palm Beach medical malpractice happens it is the patient that suffers. For example, injury to the bile duct can leave someone a biliary cripple and he/she may require medical monitoring, additional surgeries, and possibly a new liver. Often this type injury can occur when a surgeon accidentally cuts the common bile duct because he/she thinks that it is the cystic duct. Compromising the blood supply that the duct receives during the dissection process and pinching the bile duct with the improper use of clips to the cystic duct can also cause injury.

There are steps that a surgeon can take to prevent injuries during a laparoscopic procedure. However, even the most experienced doctor can make mistakes unless he/she is careful.

Your Hollywood, Florida surgical malpractice lawyer should be familiar with laparoscopic procedures and know what evidence he/she should obtain to help build your case. Injuries from a laparoscopic procedure usually ends up costing the patient more in terms of medical bills, time off work, and the physical and emotional toll they can take. By filing a Florida laparoscopic surgery malpractice claim, you may be able to recover compensation from the responsible parties.

More Blog Posts:
Broward County Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed in Woman’s Liposuction Death, Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, November 9, 2011