Jacksonville Personal Injury Blog

For years, safety advocates and law enforcement officials have emphasized the need for at least one person to serve as a designated driver and abstain from drinking alcohol in order to drive their friends home safely after a night (or day) out on the town.

While having a completely sober designated driver sounds great in theory, a new study conducted by the University of Florida claims that in practice the reality may be far different.

The study, which was recently published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, finds that more than one in three designated drivers still drink and then drive. While a driver can still legally get behind the wheel with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) below 0.08, impairment for some can begin with a BAC as low as 0.02.

Researchers surveyed 1,000 Gainesville bar patrons over a three-month period. They asked those patrons if they had been tapped as the designated driver. If the patron said yes, researchers would ask permission to administer a breathalyzer test.

They found that 35 percent of the 165 participants who said they were designated drivers had consumed at least one drink. While half of the designated drivers registered a BAC of between 0.02 and 0.05, the other half registered above 0.05. The National Transportation Safety Board recently recommended that states lower the drunk driving BAC threshold from 0.08 to 0.05.

Continue reading "Florida Study Claims Not All Designated Drivers Abstain From Drinking" »

The medical malpractice attorneys at Farah & Farah in Lakeland have learned that a woman is suing Winter Haven Hospital for medical malpractice. She claims that the hospital failed to inform her that she had a potentially lethal bacterial infection, which caused her to have a stroke.

The lawsuit claims that In January 2012, the then 18-year-old student attending Webber International University was suffering from a 104.6 fever as well as other symptoms. Her mother took her to Winter Haven Hospital for treatment.

She was given a prescription for antibiotics and sent her home.

The lawsuit alleges that blood tests revealed that she had been stricken with a potentially deadly bacterial infection of Staphylococcus Aureaus. The plaintiff contends that staff from the hospital never informed her of the diagnosis, even though the antibiotic she had been given was an inappropriate treatment for that particular infection.

Three days after finishing the antibiotic treatment, the woman allegedly became “severely disoriented” and her mother rushed her to Winter Haven Hospital again. Once there she was informed that the bacteria had grown on her heart and that she had suffered a “massive stroke.”

She was taken to Tampa General Hospital for treatment and eventually had to undergo surgery to replace a damaged heart valve.

Continue reading "Winter Haven Hospital Object of Malpractice Lawsuit" »

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued a warning that a frozen mixed berry blend product may be responsible for an outbreak of Hepatitis A that spans six western states and has sickened at least 30 people.

So far, the food recall attorneys at Farah & Farah in Jacksonville Florida have not heard of any reported cases in Florida possibly linked to the frozen berry smoothie mix. The berry mix, sold under the name Townsend Farms Organic Anti-Oxidant Blend, was sold at Costco and Harris Teeter stores. Townsend Farms of Fairview, Ore., has recalled the frozen fruit blend — although it did so three days after the FDA and CDC announced that it suspected the product was linked to the Hepatitis A outbreak.

The Hepatitis A strain involved in this outbreak is rarely seen in North or South America, but is more prevalent in North Africa and the Middle East. An attorney for Townsend Farms admitted that the fruit blend contained pomegranate seeds from Turkey.

Hepatitis A is a liver disease caused by a viral infection. Of the 30 people who reportedly have been sickened with the Hepatitis A strain, 9 have required hospitalization. Symptoms include abdominal pain, jaundice, fatigue, dark urine and pale stool.

Continue reading "Hepatitis A Outbreak Possibly Linked to Fruit Smoothie Mix" »

Five dogs were taken into custody and euthanized after they viciously attacked a 7-year-old girl at a home in the Taft area of Orange County

A News 13 in Orlando reporter spoke to a neighbor who said that a 4-year-old lives at the house and that she had invited the 7-year-old girl in to play. The owner of the house, reportedly the 4-year-old girl’s grandmother, told reporters that she had told her granddaughter that she shouldn’t let anybody into the bedroom where the dogs were. She claims the dogs belong to her daughter.

The dogs reportedly were all black Labrador-husky mixes and all weighed at least 85 pounds. Four of the five dogs were only 10 months old. It took three men to pull the dogs off of the little girl. One of the men also received a bite on his leg.

One eyewitness reported that the child had a laceration under her arm, one or two serious bites on her back and some smaller bites on her face and shoulder. The witness also reported seeing blood coming from the little girl’s leg, but could not confirm if she had been bitten there.

Continue reading "7-Year-Old Girl Mauled By Five Dogs In Orange County Home" »

A mother is suing Bethune-Cookman University (BCU) in Daytona Beach for wrongful death, alleging that the university did nothing to stop a fraternity hazing that she says led to her son’s death.

The woman’s son was a sophomore at the time of his death in Feb 2012 and had been attending the university on a band scholarship.

The lawsuit alleges that her son and several other fraternity pledges stayed up all night to study the fraternity’s history “in fear of what would happen if they did not memorize it accurately.” The pledges studied until 4 a.m. and then were awakened a half an hour later after a fraternity member called them and told them to come to his apartment for a quiz.

The lawsuit alleges that they drove together in one car and stayed at the apartment until 8 a.m. The woman’ son was killed as the group was driving home and the driver fell asleep at the wheel. The car crashed into a utility pole. Everyone else in the car survived.

The lawsuit alleges that the crash was caused by hazing-related sleep deprivation. It goes on to say that the university and the Greek-life coordinator at the time “had direct knowledge of previous hazing activities occurring in student groups associated with BCU, including (the) fraternity, and did little or nothing to discipline the activity.”

Continue reading "Mother Sues Bethune-Cookman University Over Hazing Death" »

Each June, the National Safety Council (NSC) sponsors National Safety Month (NSM), an annual observance designed to educate and influence workers and employers to implement “best practices” for safety and wellness in the workplace.

This year, the theme for National Safety Month is “Safety Starts With Me.”

The President and CEO of NSC stated that this year’s theme is designed to influence the creation of a workplace safety culture in which both employers and employees participate together to create a safer and healthier work environment. The idea is to get everybody in the workplace on board — from management on down — to create a sense of “ownership” of his or her workplace safety. That way, everybody is a safety leader looking out for their own safety and the safety of others.

Continue reading "June is National Safety Month" »

The cruise ship injury attorneys at Farah & Farah recently reported that the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) announced that it has adopted a passenger “bill of rights” to protect passengers on cruise ships. Those protections include passengers receiving refunds and being flown back to the port of origin if a voyage is interrupted by a mechanical or power failure.

It didn’t take long for the bill to be tested.

Several days after CLIA announced the implementation of the passenger bill of rights, a fire broke out aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, forcing the captain to cancel the voyage and sail the ship to Freeport, Bahamas.

The Grandeur of the Seas, which left from Baltimore, was several days into its planned 7-day voyage when a fire broke out in the stern of the ship. It took the crew a couple of hours to knock down the blaze. Royal Caribbean officials claim that the ship never lost power. Photographs taken of the ship show a substantial amount of smoke damage on several levels of the ship’s stern.

One passenger told the Palm Beach Post that several hundred passengers had to sleep on the deck while the fire was being fought and smoke billowed from the stern of the ship.

Continue reading "Cruise Industry ‘Passenger Bill of Rights’ Gets Early Test" »

The personal injury attorneys at Farah & Farah in Jacksonville have learned that a 2-year-old boy is in critical condition after he fell into an in-ground pool at an unlicensed day care facility in Jacksonville.

Jacksonville authorities say that several children had been swimming earlier in the day and that the toddler had gone back to the pool at some point. It was unclear when he had fallen in or how long he had been in the pool when he was discovered.

According to the Florida Times-Union, the unlicensed day care facility, called Kiddie Heaven, has a tall fence surrounding the backyard pool and it touts its safety features on its website.

“The slider door to the pool has three locks to prevent the most inquisitive, intelligent and mischievous of children from accessing it unsupervised,” the website claims.

A spokesman for the Florida Department of Children and Families said that the fact that unlicensed Kiddie Heaven even has a website is “audacious.” He went on to say that unlicensed day care facilities pose a great danger for children.

Continue reading "Jacksonville Toddler In Critical Condition After Falling Into Day Care Pool" »

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which represents 25 major cruise companies, has announced that it will adopt a passenger bill of rights designed to protect the “safety, comfort and care” of cruise ship passengers.

As outlined by CLIA, the bill of rights promises that passengers will receive full refunds in the event that cruises are canceled due to mechanical failure. The bill also guarantees that partial refunds will be issued to passengers if a cruise is terminated early due to a power failure.

These provisions appear to be in direct response to several recent high-profile mechanical failures during cruises. The cruise ship accident attorneys at Farah & Farah in Jacksonville Beach point to the Carnival Triumph debacle earlier this year, in which a power failure on that ship stranded passengers in squalid and unsanitary conditions for days while the ship was towed across the Gulf of Mexico.

Miami-based Carnival is a member CLIA and has signed on to the bill of rights. Christine Duffy, the president and CEO of CLIA, admitted that the bill came partially in response to congressional pressure. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) had demanded the cruise industry guarantee that passengers be protected while on cruise ships.

Continue reading "Cruise Industry Announces ‘Passenger Bill of Rights’" »

A study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has found that about one out of every ten women who received a vaginal mesh implant suffered from mesh erosion and movement that could lead to painful and long-lasting complications.

The study looked at two kinds of pelvic organ prolapse surgery techniques and found that some 25 percent of women had recurring symptoms over time and that more than 60 percent developed urinary incontinence, sometimes as a result of the surgery.

Pelvic organ prolapse happens when the uterus or vaginal walls drop after childbirth. This drop can cause pain, incontinence and discomfort. According to experts, most women who have been through childbirth have some degree of prolapse. Some 225,000 women have surgery to relieve symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse every year.

The study, conducted by the Utah University School of Medicine, looked at surgeries involving synthetic mesh used in two different procedures: one where the mesh was inserted through the vagina and the other where the mesh was inserted through the abdomen.

Continue reading "Study: Ten Percent Of Vaginal Mesh Patients May Have Painful Complications" »

The son of a Tampa fertility doctor is facing a civil lawsuit and has been indicted for first-degree murder. He is accused of giving his pregnant girlfriend a prescription for an abortion pill and telling her it was an antibiotic.

The 28-year-old man allegedly forged his father’s signature on a prescription form to obtain Cytotec — a pill that induces labor — and reportedly went so far as to re-label the pill bottle as containing the antibiotic Amoxicillan.

The woman, who did not have insurance, was taken to her boyfriend’s father who is a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist. During the office visit it was confirmed that she was pregnant. According to the woman, she was elated and wanted to keep the baby, even if it meant raising it alone. She claims she even had given it a name.

Shortly thereafter, the boyfriend allegedly brought his girlfriend some pills, claiming that his father had told him she had an infection that needed antibiotic treatment. She took one of the pills and quickly started feeling abdominal pain and experienced bleeding.

The woman was hospitalized and lost the nearly seven-week-old fetus. Shortly thereafter, she sought a domestic violence injunction against the boyfriend.

Continue reading "Woman Files Civil Lawsuit Against Boyfriend in Abortion Pill Case" »

Holly Hill Police are reporting that up to three people may have been injured by two mixed breed pit bulls that escaped through an unsecured gate in a backyard and then went on a local attacking spree.

Police said they handled two cases that were directly attributed to the pit bull attacks, and that they later received a call from Halifax Health Medical Center that a third person, claiming to have been attacked by pit bulls, had gone to the emergency room via taxi.

The first attack occurred about 3 a.m. in the area of Walker and State Avenues. A 42-year-old pedestrian told police he came upon two mixed pit bull breed dogs that were acting aggressively. When he tried to run, they attacked.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports that the man was taken to Halifax Health Medical surgery where he underwent surgery for a severe bite to his lower leg. Police were unable to locate the dogs at that time.

The second attack occurred a couple of hours later, when the dogs also mauled a man walking to work. He suffered bites to his arms and legs and was also taken to Halifax Health Medical Center.

Continue reading "Two Dogs Go On Attack Rampage, Injure Three People" »