Jacksonville Personal Injury Blog

A Mexican worker who came to the U.S. for a better life had his life cut short Christmas Day, December 25, because of a hit-and-run driver. WTSP-TV in Tampa reports that the field worker, who picked strawberries in Dover earlier that day, was riding his bicycle on Dover Sydney Road when a car hit him. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the car stopped briefly, but then left the scene. The 20-year-old victim died at the scene. He had a baby on the way, and the television station reports friends and family say he worked hard so he could purchase phone cards and stay in touch with his family back in Mexico. He was in this country legally working for Florida Pacific Farms and had been doing so for three winters. Our condolences go out to his family and friends, and the co-workers who are said to be mourning his death.

The stretch of road where the bicyclist was killed has no paved shoulder on which to ride a bicycle and is narrow. The young man was hit and killed at 6:00 p.m. when it would have been getting dark, but Channel 10 reports there were witnesses who identified a green sedan as the vehicle involved. That car would have extensive damage to the windshield.

Florida Hit-and Run

Under Florida law 316.027, any driver involved in a crash that results in injury of any type is required to immediately stop the vehicle at the scene, or as close by as possible, and must remain on the scene to give information and render aid to the victim. That can include carrying the person to a doctor or hospital for medical treatment if requested by the injured person. (316.062). A violator is guilty of a felony of the first degree punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

You can help. The hit and run accident lawyers in Florida of the Farah & Farah law firm is a member of Hit-and-Run Reward, a national program financed exclusively by American personal injury attorneys. If you know anything about this hit-and-run driver, you will be eligible for a reward of $1,000 for anyone you turn in who is later convicted of the hit-and-run. The number for Hit-and-Run Reward (www.hitandrunreward.com) is 1-800-644-8678. Please do the right thing and get this dangerous driver off the road.

Search: http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/article/228225/8/Detectives-search-for-hit-and-run-driver;http://public.findlaw.com/traffic-ticket-violation-law/traffic-ticket-a-z/hit-and-run-laws.html; http://archive.flsenate.gov/statutes/index.cfm?App_Mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0316/Sec027.htm&StatuteYear=2009

On Christmas Eve, December 24, near Cocoa, a 44-year-old man was hit and killed by a van on U.S. 1. The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) reports that the collision happened at 7:50 p.m. near City Point north of State Road 528. The pedestrian was trying to cross west-to-east, according to a report in Florida Today, when he was hit by a 59-year-old driving a 2000 Dodge Caravan. The pedestrian was taken to Wuesthoff Medical Center-Rockledge but was pronounced dead. The driver of the van was not injured.

This was the second fatal crash this week in Cocoa. On Thursday night, December 22, a 49-year-old man from Melbourne was killed when he lost control of his 2002 Ford SUV on U.S. 1 north of Cocoa around 8:36 p.m., according to Florida Today. According to the report, the Explorer driver was trying to pass a slower vehicle, but instead went off the road on the right shoulder, overturned, and ended up on its left side. The man inside was hospitalized where he died. He was wearing a seat belt, according to Florida Today, but this crash is under investigation by the FHP. The 2002 model Ford is a few years before the automaker installed electronic stability control because these SUVs are notoriously unstable.

Our condolences go out to this friends and family of both of these men for their losses.

These are very sad tragedies to experience during the holidays. Let’s pray that the survivors recover from their injuries.

Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month

Even though we don’t know the cause of these accidents, December is part of a special month to cut down on dangerous driving. Thousands of law enforcement agencies around the country are part of the "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign which lasts through January 2, 2012. During last year’s holiday season, approximately 35 percent of the traffic deaths in our state were alcohol-related.

This is a very good time to have a designated driver, use mass transit, or call a taxi. And if you see someone intoxicated and driving, driving aggressively, or your car breaks down, call *FHP (*347) to alert the Florida Highway Patrol.

The pedestrian accident attorneys in Jacksonville with the law firm of Farah & Farah would like to wish everyone a safe and happy New Year!

Source:http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20111225/BREAKINGNEWS/111225001/Pedestrian-struck-killed-by-van-U-S-1-north-Cocoa;http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20111223/BREAKINGNEWS/111222019/Driver-49-dies-U-S-1-wreck-near-Cocoa?odyssey=obinsite

This crash had all the potential to be very serious after a 31-year-old drove the wrong way into downtown Jacksonville with police following him. The man was in a 2005 Buick LeSabre heading west in the eastbound lanes of the Arlington Expressway and the Mathews Bridge when he hit a 27-year-old female driver, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union, who was not injured. The man kept driving after the crash and was finally stopped by officers at Addison Road following the use of stop sticks, which punctured the tire of the fleeing vehicle. Inside the vehicle, law enforcement found a small amount of marijuana and an open bottle of Crown Royal whiskey. The man was charged with driving while intoxicated and driving on the wrong side of a divided highway, as well as leaving an accident scene and being in possession of an open alcohol bottle and marijuana.

Fortunately, no one was killed by this reckless driver and police used sound judgment to stop the offender before he could travel any further and put the public in danger.

The citizen group Voices Insisting on Pursuit Safety was formed after many innocent civilians were killed over the years by police pursuits. The group estimates four or five bystanders are killed every week in the U.S. as the result of police chases. Ultimately, it is up to individual police departments to establish their own pursuit policy.

While Pursuit Safety endorses police chases only for violent crimes, the group also recognizes excellence by law enforcement and its officers to apprehend a suspect without hurting innocent victims. The group was established nine years ago by family members of those who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and found themselves run over by law enforcement or the person being pursued. The survivors of these innocent civilians had nowhere to take their grief until the group was formed.

Farah & Farah encourage you to visit the website and see the suffering that can result from a department without a public safety-minded police chase policy. It gives you something to think about. If you have been injured in an auto accident that you feel was caused by the negligence of another driver, such as the woman in this police chase-related incident, the experienced car accident attorneys in Jacksonville of Farah & Farah can help you hold the negligent parties responsible. For a complimentary consultation, please call (800) 533-3555.

Source:http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-12-23/story/car-chase-leads-collision-ends-after-jacksonville-police-use-stop-sticks;http://pursuitsafety.org/

Retail giant Walmart has pulled the 12.5-ounce can of Enfamil after an infant died from a bacterial infection after consuming the product. The Associated Press reports the lot number is ZP1K7G and the product is Newborn powder formula, made by Mead Johnson Nutrition. The company can be contacted at (800) 222-9123.

Walmart pulled the product voluntarily from about 3,000 stores nationwide out of “an abundance of caution,” according to a spokesperson. The action follows the Sunday, December 18, death of a 10-day old boy from Missouri who became “gravely ill’ after drinking the formula. Tests showed he had a rare bacterial infection known as Cronobacter sakazakii. The Missouri Department of Health is investigating the death and the agency has sent samples of the formula to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is testing both the formula and the water used to make it as it’s not yet definitive which contained the bacteria. Powdered infant formulas are milk-based and Missouri health officials believe it is linked to the rare infection.

CNN reports the family said the infant was sweating profusely before he died yet he was cold to the touch. Mead Johnson says it’s confident in the safety and quality of their products.

In addition, CNN reports another infant survived being infected with the same bacteria. That case was also in Missouri, although there is no word whether or not they are connected.

The child product liability attorneys in Florida at Farah & Farah understand that the FDA recommends only a small amount of formula be made in advance and that it be refrigerated if it will be out longer than two hours. The FDA reports there are up to six cases of this infection in infants annually.

Source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/316546; http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/after-missouri-baby-s-death-from-infection-health-officials-look/article_b2e639b0-2cdb-11e1-b6d0-0019bb30f31a.html; http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/22/us/missouri-formula-recall/

They are considered a win-win for the pharmaceutical industry. A big name drug company wants to keep making enormous profits on its brand-name drug, but the patent is expiring and the generic version is eager to get into the market. The solution that seems to be working for everyone is that the big-name manufacturer pays to delay the generic’s entry into the market. It’s cheaper in the long run than losing revenue to the competing generic, and the generic likes it because it can receive payments essentially for NOT making a drug.

This pay-for-delay is a win-win for everyone except the consumer. Public Citizen’s Health Research Group reports that the consumer loses because they miss out on the lower generic price that can cost as much as 90 percent less than the high-priced brand-name. For a $300 a month drug, for example, the consumer could pay as little as $30 a month (or thousands less every year). For example, when the patent for the narcolepsy drug Provigil was expiring, drug maker Cephalon paid about $200 million to generic companies to drop their competition. The company made $4 billion.

Some of these payments to generic makers can last nearly 17 months, the citizen group reports. And Public Citizen compiled data from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that shows for six fiscal years beginning in 2004, there were 66 of these delay agreements. And it appears to be getting worse. Public Citizen reports in just the last two years, there were 59 of these agreements.

The projected ten-year cost to Americans is $35 billion.

The obvious solution from a pro-consumer perspective is to stop these deals and lower the price of drugs. Legislation is pending, but your representatives in Congress need to hear that this is an important issue to you. The legislation is Senate Bill 27, the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act.

Farah & Farah encourages you to call your representative to let them know you care about the price of drugs and want cheaper alternatives.

Whether it resulted from a generic or brand name drug, any patient who has had an adverse experience with a medical drug they are using can call the Florida dangerous drug lawyers of Farah & Farah. If the manufacturer was negligent and failed to warn the public about the dangers of their drug, they can be held legally accountable. Call (800) 670-1464 for a free consultation.

Source: Worst Pills (by subscription) http://www.worstpills.org/; http://pubcit.typepad.com/clpblog/2011/05/more-on-pay-for-delay-drug-patent-settlements.html; http://www.votesmart.org/public-statement/646912/dealmaking-in-pay-for-delay-settlements-continues-between-brand-name-and-generic-prescription-drug-makers

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has been conducting crash tests and watching out for car safety issues for a long time. Now it has issued its Top Safety Picks for 2012. The group, funded by the insurance industry, conducts tests separate from government-funded tests and found a record 115 car models that made the pick, up from 11 in 2005.

USA Today’s auto section, Drive On, says the top includes 69 cars, five minivans, and 38 SUVs. The findings include: Subaru ranks high for every model it builds; Toyota had the most in the top category with 15; General Motors followed with 14; then Volkswagen/Audi at 13; Ford/Lincoln and Honda/Acura at 12 each; and Chrysler/Fiat/Dodge at 11.

Most surprising pick is the Accord which had been off the IIHS list because of roof-strength issues, but was back on the list along with 9 other Hondas.

Generally, the IIHS tests are considered tougher than the federal government and include: a 40 mph frontal offset crash; a 31 mph side-crash test; a roof strength test requiring a force four times the weight of the car before a 5 inch roof crush is observed; and a 20 mph rear crash with head restraint tests.

Rollover Crashes

Rollover crashes account for more than one-third of passenger deaths even though vehicles roll in less than 3 percent of crashes, according to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety. A vehicle rollover is much more common in an SUV than in a car because of the high center of gravity. When the roof buckles, the occupants in the vehicle are likely to suffer traumatic head and neck injuries. An IIHS study from 2008 found that a strong roof reduced the risk of these devastating injuries in a rollover.

A new roof standard will begin to be phased in by 2013 that would require the roof to withstand the weight of the vehicle by three times with head room maintained. By the year 2017, the standard will be mandatory. If you have already been involved in a rollover crash that was possibly due to the design of the SUV, the SUV rollover attorneys in Jacksonville can help you receive compensation for your injuries. Please call (800) 603-3640 for a no-cost consultation.

Source: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/12/record-115-top-safety-picks-in-2012-model-iihs-crash-tests/1; http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/rollover.html

Generally, government is immune from personal injury claims under something called sovereign immunity, but this upcoming legislative session may make an exception.

In one case, an 18-year-old was hit by a speeding Broward County Sheriff’s deputy and suffered extensive brain damage and paralysis. His claim is for more than $15 million. He has filed the claim because, under Florida law, any state payouts for liability are capped at $200,000 without legislative approval.

Another man who spent 27 years in prison and was eventually found innocent of the murder charge is looking for compensation in excess of $810,000. The Senate President plans on making both bills a top priority as they closed out the latest legislature session without addressing either claim, even as the disabled man sat in a wheelchair with his parents watching the legislative action, or in this case, inaction.

There are other claims that have been filed with the state - one for a Florida State University (FSU) football player who died from cardiac arrest after a workout. Another involves an FSU graduate who was shot during a drug sting for which she was an informant. Claims have also been filed for more than 300 men who were allegedly abused at a reform school when they were young.

The state caps payments of $200,000 per individual or up to $300,000 per incident.
In the case of the paralyzed man, a jury awarded him nearly $31 million, but one bill authorized only half be paid, while another bill calls for the entire amount to be paid.

The Florida legislative session begins on January 10 and concludes March 9, 2012. The Florida personal injury attorneys at Farah & Farah look forward to seeing legislative action on these cases in the near future. For information on how our law team can help you, call (800) 533-3555.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/18/v-fullstory/2551748/failed-claims-bills-revived-in.html

There is a lot of tragedy to report this holiday season with a number of older folks killed on our roadways in cars or on foot. In this case, an 83-year-old Palm Coast man was killed and his wife, age 78, is in critical condition after their car left a St. Augustine road and hit a tree. The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) reports that for an unknown reason the couple’s Kia Soul drifted off U.S. Highway 1 near Shores Boulevard at the St. Augustine Shores neighborhood around 7:18 p.m. The vehicle first crashed into a concrete culvert, then a tree, before it rotated to a stop. The man died at the scene and his wife was taken to Flagler Hospital, then Shands Jacksonville.

The sad thing is that the man was not wearing his seat belt. His wife was wearing hers. There is no word in this story from News4jax.com about why the car may have left the road during the early evening hours. Our sincere condolences go out to the friends and family of this couple for their loss. Let’s all pray that the wife survives her injuries.

Florida Crash Statistics

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that more than half of fatalities from auto crashes in 2009 and 2010 resulted from single-vehicle crashes.

A single-vehicle accident can occur if a person has a medical condition or is distracted, if there is debris on the road or that falls on the road, during adverse weather conditions, or in a collision with an animal. While the assumption is often that the operator made an error or was driving drunk, it is important for an investigation to include all of the possibilities, including a determination of whether the vehicle, or some component of the vehicle, may have been faulty.

A car with a defective auto part, tire, or design may never be uncovered as the cause if the investigator doesn’t look for it. That’s why it’s so important to have an experienced Florida auto accident law firm investigator on the scene to help determine what actually caused a catastrophic crash. A St. Augustine auto accident lawyer at Farah & Farah is available anytime of the night and day at (800) 533-3555.

Source: http://www.news4jax.com/news/Crash-on-US-1-kills-Palm-Coast-man-injures-wife/-/475880/5853588/-/l5x8rq/-/index.html

A North Florida man was trapped in a retention pond and called his wife begging for help on his cell phone hours before his body was found. The 39-year-old had returned from a party early Sunday morning, December 11, and decided to leave home around 2:30 a.m. to go to the store to get some milk and stop by a friend’s house. About six minutes after leaving home he called his wife and, according to The Florida Times-Union, he yelled for her to come help him. He had apparently missed a turn at Pilar Lane and Mount Pleasant Road and driven into a retention pond.

She spent several hours looking for his vehicle but was unsuccessful in finding his car, which was eventually spotted by a landscaping crew on Sunday morning. The man was found dead in the back seat. He was reported missing about 11 a.m. Sunday. He and his wife have four children.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family for the loss of this man, husband, and father.

Escaping a Retention Pond

This is a frightening scenario and not uncommon as there are about 5,000 retention pond accidents in Florida every year. With about two minutes before the car sinks, the Florida Highway Patrol recommends carrying a spring-loaded window breaker to smash the nearest window and get out quickly, such as LifeHammer and ResQMe. The Jacksonville auto accident lawyers at Farah & Farah recommend you carry them in the glove box as well as a device to cut through a seat belt if necessary in an emergency.

Farah & Farah is ready to help with a complimentary consultation following your auto accident. Call us at (800) 533-3555.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/12/2542777/north-fla-man-calls-wife-for-help.html; http://www.news4jax.com/news/East-Arlington-man-calls-wife-for-help-after-crash-into-pond/-/475880/5289086/-/dq135jz/-/index.html

Weight loss, muscle building, and sexual enhancement are the three big areas of the supplement industry that seem to attract marketers trying to make a lot of money and quickly. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is consistently finding those areas attract all sorts of bogus products and producers. In the latest crackdown, the FDA and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have sent seven Warning Letters to companies making “homeopathic” weight loss products. The products claim to contain human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) which is found in the urine of pregnant women and in human placenta. It is approved as a prescription drug for some types of female infertility.

The letters say there are no FDA-approved uses of HCG for weight loss, according to a story by Consumer Affairs, and that it is against the law to sell the drug over-the-counter and to make unfounded claims.

The product makers claim that someone can lose 20 to 30 pounds in 30 to 40 days as the pills “reset your metabolism,” reports USA Today.

According to an FTC spokesman, there are no competent and reliable scientific studies, which consumers need to make informed decisions, that back up the advertised claims. Even the supplement industry doesn’t support the homeopathic claims for these weight loss products as the supplements don’t meet the criteria for either vitamins or homeopathy.

Unfortunately, these marketers know that even if they sell the drug for a short while, they can make thousands of dollars after a marketing blitz. The downside for consumers is that taking the drugs along with a restricted calorie diet can lead to gallstones, says the FDA.

The companies who received the letters have 15 days to announce the corrective plans they will take to correct the violations or face seizure of product and even criminal prosecution, though that rarely happens. If you or a loved one has been injured or suffered health problems due to a defective product, the product liability lawyers in Florida with Farah & Farah can help hold negligent manufacturers and producers legally accountable. For a free consultation, please call (800) 670-1464.

Source: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2011/12/homeopathic-hcg-weight-loss-products-may-be-banned.html; http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness-food/diet-nutrition/story/2011-12-06/Feds-crack-down-on-homeopathic-weight-loss-remedy/51673962/1

We often report on distracted driving of all forms, but changing clothes while behind the wheel? As if putting on makeup and eating breakfast was not bad enough, a driver in Melbourne was observed by a witness changing clothing when she drove into the back of a school bus from Viera High School in Melbourne when school was letting out December 6. According to a report by the Florida Highway Patrol, children were getting off the bus at Oak Park Drive and St. Andrews in Suntree but fortunately they were not hurt. The clothes-changing driver, a young woman, was airlifted to a local hospital.

Distracted Driving

The distracted driving injury lawyers in Jacksonville of Farah & Farah is glad that no one was injured in this bus crash that could have been much worse. In fact, distracted driving was blamed for 448,000 traffic injuries and 5,474 fatalities in the U.S. in 2009. And as traffic fatalities are declining nationwide, the number of traffic crashes related to distracted driving has increased from 10 to 16 percent from 2005 to 2009, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports the age group responsible for the greatest number of distracted driving crashes was the under-20 group.

Farah & Farah advises drivers to consider your time behind the wheel as one of intense focus. Not paying attention can mean that in a second or two your life could be over or forever altered. Driving is not downtime between point-A and point-B to be filled with busy work. We’ve seen the end result of too many casual and reckless drivers who must now try and pick up the pieces of a life they once knew and will never be the same.

Source: http://www.wesh.com/news/29937016/detail.html; http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811379.pdf

This is a story reported by First Coast News in Jacksonville that is about an unusual scenario. A hit-and-run driver is being sought after he hit an airplane on Interstate 295. The plane had made an emergency landing Saturday night, December 3, around 10 p.m. The pilot from North Carolina was not injured. The red Ford pickup reportedly hit the plane’s wing as it sat on the I-295 South ramp to Interstate 95 North, but he kept on driving.

The pilot was flying a 2004 Cirrus single engine plane, according to the news channel. He and his passenger walked away, but still suffered about $1,500 in damage to the plane.

Hit-and-Run Crash

The Florida hit-and-run auto accident lawyers of Farah and Farah remind drivers they are required to talk to law enforcement if they are involved in any type of crash. Of course if there are injuries, they are expected to render aid. To do so may mean that they could save a life. To fail to do so may mean someone dies alone on the side of the road from their injuries.

Because hit-and-run crashes are such a problem in Florida, Farah & Farah is a member of Hit-and-Run Reward. If you witness a hit-and-run or know someone who fled the scene, you can receive a financial reward of $1,000 for reporting that person to law enforcement. You may even call in the report anonymously. Farah & Farah, along with other personal injury law firms around the country, want to encourage you to do the right thing and keep a dangerous driver off of our roads. Call the number for Hit-and-Run Reward (www.hitandrunreward.com) at 1-800-644-8678.

Source: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/topstories/article/229741/483/FHP-Seeking-Driver-of-Red-Truck-That-Fled-Plane-Landing?odyssey=tab|topnews|bc|large;http://m.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-12-03/story/pilot-and-student-small-plane-had-emergency-landing-i-295

The website Carinsurancecomparison.com compiled data from federal sources, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), and the American Motorists Association to find out which states have the worst drivers. As you might expect, Florida ranks highest in the number of tickets given out, which also means auto insurance is higher than in other states with safer drivers. Florida ranked 50 on the scale, a high number that indicates the number of bad drivers. Florida ranks fourth with 37 fatalities per million miles driven, and sits in seventh place for the number of drunk drivers and at the bottom for the carelessness of drivers. Florida also hands out more tickets per capita than other states.

The insurance group concludes the further south you travel, the worse the drivers and dangers on the road are, with the southern half of the country home to nine of the 10 worst states for drivers.

The top three states are Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas.

The Tampa car accident attorneys of Farah & Farah understand too well how quickly your life can change in an instant due to someone who should not have been behind the wheel at that moment. Lives change forever and you may not know where to turn. Farah & Farah will offer a complimentary consultation on your auto accident to lay out your options to try to get your life back on track following a devastating traffic accident. Call us at (800) 533-3555 so we can get started helping you.

Source: http://www.carinsurancecomparison.com/which-states-have-the-worst-drivers/

Most people know driving tired is a problem, but that still does not keep them off the road. A recent study by AAA finds that two in five adults admitted to falling asleep while driving. Detroit is coming to the rescue with new technology to awaken a fatigued driver and hopefully avoid an accident. According to an article in MSNBC, the 2013 Lincoln MKS sedan comes equipped with a Lane Keeping System that sounds an alert if the vehicle senses the driver is drifting out of his or her lane. Not only does an alarm sound, but the steering wheel will nudge the vehicle back into its lane. If it happens again, an image of a coffee cup will flash on the dash signaling its time to pull over and rest.

In 2013, a Lexus will come with a special camera that watches for the head movements of tired drivers. Also, a Mercedes-Benz will flash a warning if it senses a tired driver through the steering wheel inputs.

Tired Driving

Because of a greater emphasis on safe driving, the number of deaths on our nation’s highways is on the decline. While drunk driving awareness and even “buzzed driving” is a recognized societal problem, the recognition of the dangers of tired driving is catching up. The AAA survey found one in 10 adults had actually fallen asleep behind the wheel within the last year. A AAA Foundation spokesman says drivers tend to underestimate the effects of tired driving and its contribution to auto accidents.

If you are tired behind the wheel, AAA suggests:

• Take a break every 100 miles, or every 2 hours
• Share the driving with someone who is more awake
• Drink a caffeinated beverage
• Understand the signs of fatigue – Signs include rubbing your eyes, yawning, feeling restless, missing traffic signals, a bobbing head, hitting the rumble strips

Though you may take proper safety precautions behind the wheel, others may not, which can endanger other motorists on the road. If you have been involved in a car accident that was caused by another driver, call the car accident lawyers in Jacksonville of Farah & Farah for a free consultation. Our number is (800) 533-3555.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/29/9089918-automakers-take-aim-at-drowsy-driving

One wrong move on the highway and two lives were lost in a tragic accident. It happened Sunday afternoon, November 27, when a couple from northwest St. Johns County was northbound on Interstate 95 with two passengers in their van. According to a story by News4jax, the 64-year-old driver and his 59-year-old wife were changing lanes to pass a pickup truck. The van hit the right rear bumper of the truck, causing the van’s driver to lose control. The vehicle then hit a tree in the median and the van rolled. The couple was killed in the crash, and the two passengers were taken to Halifax Hospital in serious condition. The crash happened just south of Daytona Beach around 3 p.m. in Osteen, Florida. The driver and passenger in the pickup truck were not injured in the crash.

Our sincere condolences go out to the friends and family members of this couple for their loss. Let’s pray that the other two injured victims have a speedy recovery.

Florida Auto Accident Causes

Statistics from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) helped identify the leading causes of crashes in the state last year. Careless driving led to 332 fatalities in Florida in 2010, which was the leading cause of auto accidents. Alcohol consumption and driving under the influence were the second leading cause of accidents that led to 265 fatalities. A failure to yield the right-of-way caused 207 people to lose their life in Florida last year, and exceeding the safe speed limit took 118 lives. We know that many people follow the car in front of them too closely, especially young aggressive drivers, and that led to seven deaths in 2010.

If you or a loved one is involved in an auto accident in Florida, you may need representation to sort out the details of an investigation. The insurance provider for the other vehicle will have an investigator on the scene, or soon afterward, to point the blame at you so you should consider being represented as well. The auto accident attorneys in Florida of Farah & Farah have offices around the state and in south Georgia, and we are just one phone call away at 1(800) 533-3555. Let us offer you a complimentary consultation on your accident.

Source: http://www.news4jax.com/news/St-Johns-couple-killed-in-crash-on-I-95/-/475880/4832760/-/576n16/-/index.html; http://www.flhsmv.gov/hsmvdocs/CS2010.pdf