Jacksonville Personal Injury Blog

Crash Avoidance Technology Sought for Jacksonville

2010-07-28T12:00:01Z

Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford has been a big advocate of installing red light cameras at some of the busiest intersections in town. A red light camera is designed to take a picture of the license plate of a red light runner who sails through an intersection, sometimes after the light has already turned red. The driver, whose license is caught on camera, would then face a steep fine of about $250, according to a Florida Times-Union article.

Florida intersection accidents are some of the most common and deadliest, and the hope is that a camera at the intersection will cut down on these T-bone and mid-intersection crashes.

Now Sheriff Rutherford says he’d like to go one step further. Rutherford wants to install crash avoidance technology at intersections as well. This technology senses when a vehicle is traveling too fast to stop and it prevents the red light from changing to green for the other side waiting at the intersection.

When Sheriff Rutherford spoke out however, the state Department of Transportation contradicted him. There is no company currently making crash avoidance hardware, said a spokeswoman for the agency. A discussion erupted in the Florida Times Union that the technology does exist and does what Sheriff Rutherford described. Nestor Traffic Systems is reportedly a company that does take photos of the intersection from several angles, which is useful when determining the at-fault party in an intersection accident.

Whether this technology is also incorporated into Florida intersections, remains to be seen, but expect the red-light cameras, at a cost of up to $5,000 per camera, to soon be installed at the 10 intersections with the most auto accidents in Jacksonville. They include Atlantic and Kernan Blvd, Blanding and Argyle Forest Blvd., Atlantic at Southside, Atlantic at Monument, and Atlantic at University, among others.

Toyota Investigated for Hiding Steering Problems

2010-07-27T12:00:02Z

Automaker, Toyota has been out of the limelight lately, following a series of recalls for runaway vehicles, but a New York grand jury has put troubled Toyota back in the news, according to a Consumer Affairs article.

Toyota has disclosed that it’s received a subpoena related to flaws with the steering system in some vehicles. This concerns auto product liability attorneys in Florida and throughout the United States. The subpoena related to a recall initiated by the company in 2005 for a faulty relay rod on pickup trucks and SUVs that could cause a loss of control in 1989 to 1996 vehicle model years.

The recall may have been five years ago, but in May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it was looking into whether Toyota had promptly informed the regulatory agency about the steering problems within five days of understanding the problem as required by law. This would not be surprising as Toyota has already paid a record $16.4 million fine for failing for four months to alert regulators about its sudden acceleration problem.

The reason NHTSA may doubt Toyota’s version of the facts, is that when the company conducted a recall in 2004 for Hilux trucks with steering relay rod problems in Japan, Toyota told NHTSA the problem was isolated to Japanese vehicles. Toyota insisted it did not know about similar problems in the U.S.

By 2005, Toyota changed its mind and agreed that several models sold in the U.S. did have the steering problem, which could cause a vehicle to lose control. The company then issued a U.S. recall.

For years, NHTSA has failed to show it has any teeth when it comes to regulating the auto industry and now it appears the agency wants to make up for lost time. Toyota is the target now, and this marks the first time Toyota has faced a grand jury in the U.S. and criminal charges could be next.

Man Dies in Clay County Single Vehicle Crash

2010-07-26T12:00:01Z

Family and friends are mourning Christopher Tucker, 33, who died in a single vehicle accident, according to an article on News4Jax.com. Tucker was the passenger in a car being driven by Meaghan Parmenter, 25 of Starke, Florida. The Keystone Heights man and his fiancé were traveling early Saturday, July 17, around 4 a.m. when the Dodge Caliber, heading south on Blanding Boulevard, left the road and hit a tree. Tucker died at the scene. Parmenter was taken to Shands Hospital in Gainesville. She is reported to be in stable condition.

Our condolences go out to the friends and family of Tucker who was also was the father of a nine-year-old boy. Our prayers are extended to that boy for his loss.

Florida Car Accident Statistics
Clay County had 1,574 crashes in 2008, a drop from the previous year. Sixteen people lost their lives in those auto accidents, a slight increase over the 15 fatalities in that county in 2008.

Crash Liability
The cause of this crash remains a mystery but blood tests were taken on the driver, Parmenter, to determine if she may have been driving intoxicated by drugs or alcohol. Others speculate that a deer might have come out of the wooded area causing the car to go off the road.

An experienced Florida auto accident attorney would want to know if there was a defective tire that might have caused the crash or seat belts that failed to protect its occupants. In that case, a product liability lawsuit can be filed on behalf of the injured or in the case of a wrongful death.

One thing we have learned through our experience at Farah and Farah is never to assume. The truth as to the cause of the accident and the at-fault party may not be obvious.

Pottery Barn Recalls Drop Side Cribs

2010-07-23T12:00:01Z

Millions of drop-side cribs have been recalled this year and now Pottery Barn Kids is recalling its version of the popular type of crib, according to a Consumer Affairs report. Eighty-two thousand are being recalled due to the dangers of entrapment. When hardware breaks, as frequently happens on the drop-side cribs, a young child can become wedged between the mattress and the crib’s frame leading to suffocation.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports the hardware of the drop-down cribs tends to malfunction with age and with incorrect assembly.

The CPSC says that there have been 36 reports of malfunctioning Pottery Barn cribs. Seven children have been injured. One child fell out of the crib and others had their legs caught. One child became entrapped but was not seriously injured.

Regardless of the model, consumers are asked to stop using the cribs which were sold from 1999 to 2010. Pottery Barn will provide consumers with a fixed-gate conversion that immobilizes the drop-side, originally designed to make removing and placing a child in a crib more convenient for the adult. Earlier this year, after millions of cribs from various manufacturers were recalled, the CPSC decided the drop-side models had design defects. Since then, the agency has called for the phase-out of drop-side cribs.

Manufacturers have an obligation to make products that are safe for children. Whether a defective design or constructed poorly of shoddy material, a defective product should never enter the marketplace, especially when those products are intended for children. When they do, a Florida child product recall lawyer can help parents determine whether they have a potential product liability claim against the manufacturer for compensation of their child’s injuries. Ultimately a product liability claim keeps other children safer if it forces the manufacturer to put out a quality, well-designed product.

The CPSC has found at least 32 children died in drop-side cribs over the last nine years. Fourteen other deaths are also being investigated that have a suspected link to the dangerous drop-side crib. Pottery Barn Kids can be contacted at 877-804-3847 or online at www.potterybarnkids.com.

Life for Ms. Jr. Wheelchair Florida Following Auto Accident

2010-07-22T12:00:00Z

Katie Mathews is just like other 20-year-olds. She wants independence, her own apartment, and is working toward attending college. But Katie is not like other young people just starting off in life. A car crash on Interstate 75 four years ago almost ended her life. For the Venice High School athlete, it did end her mobility. Mathews is partially paralyzed from the chest down.

Tampa Bay Online reports that since the car accident, life has been a series of small victories. First, she lived. She finished high school and was homecoming queen. Then she learned to dress and feed herself. She now lives in an apartment complex filled with others who are recovering from brain and spinal injuries. Mathews has accomplished something else. She is Ms. Jr. Wheelchair Florida.

"Everything in life, whether good or bad, is for a reason," she says optimistically.

Teen Auto Accidents
Florida statistics from 2009 show that auto accidents are the leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 19.

Distracted driving is blamed for the May 6, 2006 vehicle accident that almost took her life. In an SUV at 80 mph, Mathews was a passenger in a car driven by her friend Chloe West, 16. When they found they had overshot an exit, West turned suddenly but lost control of the vehicle which rolled four times.

]]> Today Mathews does a lot of public speaking about bad decision making and distracted driving. That night she was going to a party without her parents’ permission.

“I want to keep everybody, if possible, out of my situation,” she says.

It is said that kids who won’t listen to anyone, will listen to Katie.

Mathews will share her story as the keynote speaker on July 24 at the Hillsborough County annual Disability Awareness Expo. She has plans to study psychology in college. She wants everyone to understand that the disabled can live full lives. She wants the public to become comfortable with people in wheelchairs or those with disabilities.

"I want people to know (disabled persons) are people too. This doesn't make us mutants or anything."

The Hillsborough County Alliance for Citizens with Disabilities Awareness Expo will be held at the Museum of Science and Industry, 4801 E Fowler Ave. in Tampa on July 24. Go to their website at www.hillsboroughcounty.org/liaisons (click on ADA Liaison).

Obesity Drug Voted Down by FDA Panel

2010-07-21T18:00:41Z

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) holds a lot of power over drug manufacturers, and the makers of a new diet pill were disappointed Thursday, July 15. That is when an advisory panel voted 10 to 6, not to recommend a new pill that is supposed to combat obesity.

Consumer Affairs reports that the drug called Qnexa, made by Vivus, would have been available by prescription only as a weight control aid.

The FDA does not have to accept the recommendation of the advisory panel, but usually does. The experts voting against Qnexa noted the potential side effects such as psychiatric problems, birth defects, and an increased heart rate. A panel member from the University of Colorado said that no one wants to conduct a public health experiment on the population at large.

The FDA and Vivus may have dodged a bullet on that one. While obesity is a national dilemma and carries with it a host of medical problems, companies that develop weight control products, hoping to cash in on the national obsession, have found themselves at the receiving end of wrongful death and defective product lawsuits in Florida and throughout the United States.

]]> Does everyone remember the weight control drug fen-phen? It was taken off the market about 13 years ago because of its link to heart damage. Qnexa contains one part of the fen-phen formulation – phentermine. While that drug has been allowed to stay on the market, do we really need a repeat of that debacle?

The Vivus CEO says he will not give up on the drug. That is because with only four states in the country with an obesity rate under 20 percent, any weight loss drug has the potential to become a blockbuster, even if it is later found to be dangerous.

No one wants to understand that weight loss takes a commitment and a plan, usually involving exercise and diet. Taking a pill is much easier, but in the long run, it has not been easy for those permanently injured by the dangerous drug fen-phen.

Toyota Blames Drivers in Sudden Acceleration

2010-07-20T12:00:00Z

As safety investigators continue their probe into the unexplained and unintended acceleration of Toyotas, the automaker says it has reviewed nearly 2,000 cases and drivers appear to be the problem, not Toyota vehicles.

Federal officials have attributed a number of wrongful deaths to the runaway vehicles, so the outcome of this investigation has a direct bearing on those lawsuits. Toyota, not surprisingly, says it has found no problems with the electronics that control the acceleration, initially blamed for the runaway vehicles.

Adding insult to injury, Consumer Affairs reports that Toyota says it found some instances where drivers simply made a mistake, mixing-up the accelerator pedal for the brakes.

Those sentiments were echoed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which has found, by looking at the black box recorders, that no pressure was applied to brakes and the throttles were opened in a few cases of runaway cars.

Toyota has insisted since the early reports, that driver error or misplaced and heavy floor mats affected the cars’ acceleration, the basis of the Toyota automobiles recall.

Due to runaway Toyotas, a barrage of federal lawsuits has been certified as class actions around the country. Individual wrongful death lawsuits have been filed too, including one by the family of Mark Saylor. The California Highway Patrol officer and his family perished when their runaway Lexus plunged off a hill in San Diego in August 2009 after Saylor, an experienced driver, couldn’t bring the racing vehicle under control. Toyota claims that oversized floor mats trapped the gas pedal of the Lexus.

Florida Tanning Salon Workers Burned About New Tax

2010-07-19T12:00:00Z

A new 10 percent tax on tanning salons approved by the federal government kicked in last week and salon owners in Florida are angry. Florida Today reports that tanning salon owners say the federal tax will hurt their business in an economy that is already challenging. Until now, tanning salons had to tax products such as lotions sold in their shop, but they did not tax the use of the tanning beds.

The tanning tax will impact about 18,000 small businesses in the U.S. The ten percent tax could raise the cost of three months of unlimited tanning, which usually runs about $235, making it less affordable to young customers, who are primarily women.

Originally called a vanity tax, the tanning salon tax was debated in Congress before it was passed in December 2009. The vanity tax proposed a five percent tax on Botox injections and breast implants, but in the end, it was bumped to 10 percent tax on tanning and the Botox and cosmetic industry got off tax-free.

Some salon owners say tanning has therapeutic effects by helping alleve depression and fixing some skin conditions.

But the president of the American Academy of Dermatology doesn’t agree. He says the indoor tanning tax is a good public health policy because it will discourage young people from the harmful practice of tanning and the increased risk of melanoma.

The tanning tax was proposed by Congress and is expected to raise about $2.7 billion over ten years, needed to offset the cost of the national healthcare plan.

Driver Involved in Fatal Tour Bus Crash Will Not Face Charges

2010-07-17T00:43:19Z

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) has completed an investigation into the February fatal Florida tour bus crash that killed five and injured almost every elderly passenger onboard. According to a Highlands Today article, the woman who turned left in front of the bus will not be charged. Betty Adams, 81, of Lake Placid, Florida, was issued a civil infraction for improper lane change, according to the FHP.

Adams was trying to turn left onto U.S. 27 when she hit the Sunburst tour bus. Twenty-nine senior citizens were onboard, along with three others, when the bus overturned, throwing several passengers out of the windows. The bus driver was found to have a clean driving record and was not at fault for the accident. The FHP report says that Adams failed to see the approaching bus before she turned, putting her right in the path of the oncoming bus. Adams was not injured in the crash. The criminal infraction will require her to make a court appearance.

Elderly Drivers in Florida
According to the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles and Highway Safety, motor vehicle injuries are the leading cause of injury-related death among 65 to 74-year-olds, and the second leading cause of death among 75 to 84-year olds.

It is not just aging that affects driving. The side effects of medication, degenerative diseases, a compromised vision, hearing, mobility, reaction time, and cognitive function can all be affected as one ages.

]]> Many people are commenting that elderly drivers should have their ability to drive reviewed on a regular basis. Current Florida law requires a mandatory vision test for drivers age 80 and above whenever a license is renewed, once every six years.

Our sincere condolences go out to everyone involved in this tragedy. The bus passengers were from the Boston area on a week-long educational vacation trip called Exploritas, affiliated with South Florida Community College in Avon Park.

Liability Issues
A reputable Florida bus accident attorney will generally want to explore all of the contributing causes of an accident involving a bus, include road conditions, the ability of the driver, and safety of the bus. Buses are considered common carriers and owe a standard of care to their passengers. A bus being operated by a municipality may be shielded from claims by sovereign immunity, which does not apply to a private charter. Because of the high center of gravity, size, and weight, an accident rollover is likely with a bus and so is traumatic injury.

FAA to Review Air Traffic Safety

2010-07-15T12:00:01Z

The air traffic controllers who direct all flight in the Washington region have been overseeing a record number of dangerous misses. So after 22 close calls, a team from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday, July 7, began reviewing procedures at the towers at airports in the region.

The Washington Post has been leading the coverage of problems in the Washington region, the third busiest airspace after New York and Los Angeles. In one instance on June 28, a 120-seat United Airlines Airbus 319 from Chicago, being guided to land at Reagan National, narrowly missed a 22-seat Gulfstream.

When the United pilot’s warning collision-avoidance systems sounded, he pulled up hard and saw the Gulfstream pass behind him. The FAA requires a distance of three miles or 1,000 feet in altitude between aircraft.

Among the other close calls – a Continental 737 came within 3,900 feet of a military plane from Andrews Air Force Base; an 80-passenger shuttle was turned into the path of a commuter jet at National; and a Beechcraft charter jet nearly collided with a 150-passenger JetBlue Airways Airbus that was directed in front of it at Dulles.

What’s happening? The FAA believes that a new reporting procedure that relaxes punitive action and encourages controllers to report mistakes might be to blame. Still, the FAA is panicked enough to plan a top safety meeting in Washington, August 17, to address aircraft safety problems to make sure all procedures are being followed. Jacksonville aviation attorneys hope for a successful meeting and that all problems with the current procedures are remedied.

It’s also possible that the air traffic controllers who were hired in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan fired all of the controllers in a strike, are now retiring and new and inexperienced recruits are being trained to replace them.

Nationwide, there were 949 near misses last year in the Washington region. Last year there were 18 problems reported in the Washington region for the entire year.

EPA Water Testing

2010-07-14T12:00:01Z

Visitors to Pensacola are getting mixed messages about whether they can go into the Gulf waters or not during the worst environmental disaster there ever. State and local officials are pointing blame at the Obama administration for keeping secret critical safety information about the toxicity of the water from the crude oil which is continuing to leak from the BP oil rig explosion.

In one of the biggest tourist weekends in the Panhandle, the question is whether they should ban swimming altogether. The Escambia County warning stops just short of banning swimming, largely because of the area’s dependence on tourism according to an article in the Palm Beach Post.

As it stands, officials have issued a permanent warning for swimmers to stay out of the Gulf of Mexico in all 43 miles of Escambia County beaches. But they say they need more input from the EPA to know whether people can walk on the beach, get tar on their feet, or swim in waters soaked, not just with oil, but with toxic dispersant in the water to break up the oil.

It is the Environmental Protection Agency that is ultimately responsible for setting standards for the public concerning swimming, but so far the agency has failed to do so and has failed to respond to media requests for toxicology reports.

John Lanza, the top county health official says, “There is no national standard right now for swimming …I’m hoping that the EPA either tomorrow or soon will actually release those standards so we that we have some basis to make further recommendations.”

Regardless of an official explanation, common sense dictates that people avoid areas where oil and tar are present, and that pregnant women, children, and people with a compromised immune system wear shoes when walking across any Panhandle beaches.

Fourth of July Wreck

2010-07-13T12:00:01Z

A wreck on Interstate 95 in Brevard County turned deadly for a family on this Fourth of July holiday according to an article on FloridaToday.com.

Three people died in a rollover traffic accident Sunday afternoon, just north of State Road 407. It happened around 2:30 p.m. when the family swerved into the shoulder to avoid hitting a barbeque grill that had fallen into the road from another vehicle. Titusville police say the car hit the shoulder, spun, rolled, and struck a tree, killing three family members.
Jeff Cain, 60, Terri Cain, 58, and Ruth Dye 53, of Melbourne were all wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, but that did not save their lives.

Our hearts go out to the family members of the Cain’s and Ms. Dye for their loss in this tragic accident.

Law enforcement reports that charges may be filed in this case.

I-95 has just been named one of America’s most dangerous roads for the number of fatalities reported per mile, and debris in the road is a contributing factor to the death toll. The Florida Department of Transportation urges that drivers secure a load in a pickup truck or dump truck. It only takes a small piece of metal, concrete, or wood to fall from a truck to create a dangerous situation for a motorist. A survey from the AAA Auto Club South in 1999, reveals that 76 percent of club members in Florida believe that road debris is a problem in our state. The most common type of debris found on the roadsides are old tires.

The Florida Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management (1998) reported that the number of crashes caused by tire debris in Florida rose from 648 in 1993 to 931 in 1996.

If you have encountered road debris on the highway and it contributed to an accident, you may have a case to make against the at-fault driver for property and bodily damage. Police need to be called onto the scene to investigate. So does an experienced Florida auto accident attorney to make sure your rights are preserved.

Texting While Driving Bans Enacted in Six States

2010-07-12T12:00:01Z

In an effort to cut down on auto accidents from distracted driving, Georgia and five other states have just enacted new texting while driving bans.

The Department of Transportation found that in 2008, almost 6,000 people died in crashes related to distracted driving, while 500,000 others were injured.

As of July 1, Thursday, Georgia banned cell phone use for all drivers under the age of 18, and prohibited text messaging for drivers of any age.

Twenty-eight states have now adopted laws that prohibit texting for everyone behind the wheel.

Georgia violators will find themselves facing a $150 fine as well as a one point assessment against their driver’s license. It was determined a higher fine sent a clearer message to violators. Fines around the country rage from $20 to $750.

In the Florida 2010 legislative session, several bills were proposed in both the House and Senate to prohibit texting while driving and help lower the amount of cell phone accidents in Florida. All were tied up and died in committee on April 30th. Even Heather’s Law died in committee. It was named after a young woman who was killed by a texting driver and prohibited the use of a cell phone while driving except for those drivers using a headset or hands-free device.

Heather’s Law would have allowed enforcement only as a secondary offense. Even with all of those stipulations and restrictions, the cell phone lobby kept Florida in the ranks of the shrinking number of states that still allow texting while driving.

Others include South Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, and North Dakota.

Hookah Smoking - Don't Be Fooled

2010-07-09T19:17:43Z

Believe it or not, there is an alarmingly high number of middle and high school students who are trying smoking, using a hookah according to a recent article in the Florida Trend. Hookah smoking involves smoking flavored tobacco with a water pipe.

The cooler smoke gives the impression that the smoking is less dangerous, but research indicates hookah smoking is just as dangerous as cigarettes. The journal, Food and Chemical Toxicology, reports hookah smoking delivers up to four times the nicotine as a cigarette, 11 times the carbon monoxide, and 72 times the tar.

And forget the idea that the water is filtering out the toxins, says University of Florida’s department of health professor, Tracey Barnett.

When a hookah business wanted to open in St. Augustine, the city council discouraged it, saying they would close it down.

At the Casbah Café, smokers receive a warning on a card that explains the dangers of hookah smoking. It says this is a tobacco product and carries the same risks as smoking. But that has not deterred high school students.

Florida tobacco litigation attorneys are concerned about a 2009 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey that found that 14.2% of high school girls, and 17.3% of high school boys had used a hookah to smoke tobacco at least once.

Older Drivers Getting Safer

2010-07-08T18:49:15Z

A new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) finds that older Americans are becoming safer drivers, leaving middle-age drivers behind in the dust according to an article on FoxNews.com.

The IIHS looked at the rate of fatal crashes. For drivers age 70 and older, the fatal crash rate dropped by nearly half while for drivers ages 35 to 54, the fatal crash rate dropped 23 percent. That means about 10,000 older drivers who were predicted to be in fatal accidents, were not.

Crashes that result in injury were down too for older American drivers.

For those age 80 and older, there was a 34 percent reduction in the injury crash rate, while middle-age Americans had a 16 percent reduction in injury rate.

It may surprise many that the number of older drivers is on the rise. That may be due to Americans holding onto their licenses longer. The licensure rate increased 20 percent for drivers age 70 to 74. It could also be that more Baby Boomers are now moving into their senior years.

This is good news overall. Jacksonville car accident lawyers are pleased that more people are becoming aware of highway safety. It is possible that older Americans are restricting their own driving at night or avoiding high-speed highways.The safety of cars and highways has improved over the years and all new cars are made with airbags. Roof strengths are improving which is important in a rollover to avoid traumatic brain injury.

In some states, a vision test is required for license renewal. In 2004, Florida passed a requirement that all drivers age 80 and older pass a vision test before they renewed their license. The law required visual acuity in the weakest eye to be better than 20/200, and at least 20/70 in the other eye.

After that law went into effect, federal statistics showed that the death rate among drivers age 80 and up declined about 17 percent.