Jacksonville Personal Injury Blog

You might not think of a 54-year old man as old, but apparently some employees of Google, the search engine giant, thought exactly that and told him so. Google Inc. will stand trial in a lawsuit filed by Brian Reid, 54, who was called an “old man” and a “fuddy-duddy” before being fired. Reid was told his presence was a bad “cultural fit” in the youth oriented company. The California State Supreme Court ruled Thursday, August 5, that the case may go ahead and be tried after Reid presented enough evidence of a possible discrimination.

Google had tried to block the case from proceeding arguing that the slurs made by younger employees were stray remarks and not relevant to a discrimination case. In this case, the California court said that comments by the co-workers might sway upper management or reflect a company attitude toward older workers. Age is a classification protected from discrimination as is race, sex, or gender.

The ruling could help other workers who have been dismissed and are older than the average age of employees at the Mountain View, California-based company.

Reid was fired in February 2004. It will now be up to Google to prove there were other reasons he was dismissed. Expect to hear things such as “he was late,” or that he was not productive enough – anything other than he was too old.

Hired in 2002, Reid was an electrical engineering professor at Stanford University when he was hired as the director of operations and engineering at Google’s Bay area campus. He received one favorable review, which was his only written evaluation. He was reassigned a year later to a job that had no staff or budget.

Reid could ask for his job back but when his job was eliminated, he also lost stock options worth up to $50 million - no small change.

As the population ages and more of the over-50 age group choose to stay on-the-job, expect age discrimination lawsuits to increase. Also, expect corporate counsel to school the younger employees on how NOT to talk to someone who is being targeted because they had the audacity to get older.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on the Reid vs. Google issue and has the ruling from the California court.

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A major analysis by the consumer coalition, Americans for Insurance Reform (AIR), finds that a recent claim about the cost of litigation in this country is highly exaggerated and misleading. The estimate, $254.7 billion, was determined by the insurance consulting firm, Towers Perrin, now called Towers Watson.

AIR says the estimate is based on unverifiable and flawed work and is completely inappropriate in evaluating the U.S. tort system. Those who would like to limit the rights of consumers and their access to the civil justice system, frequently exaggerate the cost of the tort system to mislead taxpayers to believe they are paying the inflated cost of litigation in the form of a tort tax or litigation tax. The Towers Perrin report does not provide support for such a contention or for the tort reform agenda pursued by corporations to keep Americans from cutting into their profits in the courtroom.

The criticism of the Towers Perrin report is called “Grade F” For Fantastically Inflated “Tort Cost” Report, and is co-written by actuary J. Robert Hunter, Director of the Insurance for the Consumer Federation of America and Joanne Doroshow, with the Center for Justice & Democracy. She believes that the Towers Perrin report gives no credence to any belief that the tort costs are out of line, in particular, medical malpractice costs. Doroshow points to the fact that Towers Perrin only examined insurance losses, whether or not a lawsuit was filed, plus insurers’ guesses about what future losses could be, plus the bloated overhead of salaries, bonuses, lobbying costs and jet planes. And the actuary does not examine jury verdicts, settlements, court costs or lawyers’ fees. And it tends to exaggerate- for example, it counts as “tort” cost the transfer of money from a wrongdoer to a victim, such as $500 to fix a car door dent.

Even with all of the misreporting, the Towers Perrin report still shows that tort system costs are growing slower than medical inflation and that medical malpractice trends are completely stable. The bottom line is that U.S. tort costs are less today when compared to GDP, than they were in 1983. And without litigation we would not have safer products and saved lives that result when the civil justice system is allowed to work in the way it was intended.

Source reports: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/national-consumer-group-slams-insurer-tort-cost-report-82970327.html; http://www.insurance-reform.org/pr/100128.html

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Pilot error is blamed for last year’s deadly crash near Buffalo, New York, that killed 50 people onboard and one person on the ground. The head of the National Transportation Safety Board says the pilots’ errors show “complacency and confusion that resulted in catastrophe.”

The Continental Connection Flight 3407 was the subject of a NTSB report issued Tuesday, February 2. Unfortunately the events are something we have seen before.

Safety Issues Raised
The safety issues raised by the Buffalo accident are reported industry-wide and point out the gap between the safety of major carriers and regional ones.

Five of the six major crashes involving air travel have occurred among regional airlines since January 2001, reports the NTSB.

At the regional airports, increasingly used to fill the gaps, lower-paid pilots who must commute long distances to work often fly tired as was the case here. Capt. Martin Renfro was coming in from Florida to Newark and his co-pilot flew in the night before from Seattle, where she lived with her parents. She made less than $20,000 a year and was flying fatigued and sick.

Flight 3407 stalled on approach to the Buffalo airport, and in response to the automatic stall warning, the pilot pulled back on the controls instead of pushing them forward to gain speed. Then he pulled back three more times. The NTSB said it was at a loss to explain that action.
Safety Recommendations

In its report the NTSB Office of Aviation Safety issued 25 recommendations.

Continue reading "Pilot Error Blamed For Buffalo Crash That Killed 51" »

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Posted In: Aviation Accident , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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They owned a Florida home free and clear. Two Bedford, Massachusetts residents bought their second home in Spring Hill, Florida with cash. But now they are bringing a lawsuit against Bank of America accusing the bank of trying to foreclose on their home. The legal claims include trespass, negligence, and interference with contractual relations, defamation and libel, intentional infliction of emotional distress, conversion, among others.

False Foreclosure Claim
In July, the residents’ home was visited by representatives from Bank of America. There were there to foreclose on the home. Only a renter was home at the time. When he moved out in December, only to return in January to pick up his things, the renter and the family found that Bank of America workers were putting locks on the doors. The complaint says that the homeowner told Bank of America, BOA, that he owned the home without a mortgage. The homeowner then called the tax assessor who told him that Countrywide Home Loans Inc. had paid the taxes and gave him a number to call. BOA owns Countrywide Home Loans. When he called the number the company admitted it had made a mistake. But when the homeowner and his son drove to Florida, they found BOA had removed the family’s possessions and shut off the electricity which caused the water pipes to burst and damage the home.

This family has now amended their complaint to include everyone who participated in the fraudulent foreclosure, including employees, agents, contractors, or anyone hired by BOA to proceed with the foreclosure and get rid of their possessions. They claim BOA intimidated the renter to leave and then caused emotional distress additionally by harming the couple’s reputation.

Continue reading "Couple Sues B of A over Erroneous Foreclosure of Florida Home" »

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It is one of the most important things that hospital workers can do to keep patients safe. It is virtually no cost and can be done by anyone in the matter of a minute. The statement, “Wash your hands,” is drummed into hospital personnel during their training, through orientation, and in pamphlets. Washing one’s hands not only stops the spread of bacteria and viruses, but it can also stop deadly MRSA from spreading in a hospital setting.

Hospital Recommendations
Hospitals recommend that doctors and nurses wash their hands before seeing every patient and on their way out, but medical professionals can forget to uphold this important responsibility. In fact, only about 40 percent of health care workers in the U.S. wash their hands as often as it’s recommended. Hospitals are beginning to pay attention to this practice and are even using new surveillance technologies.

Surveillance Technologies
A new device has been installed at Baptist Princeton Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. A special badge tells hospital administrators exactly how often doctors and nurses wash their hands through information that is transmitted wirelessly. Nurses have mixed feeling about the technology. It is sort of a “Big Brother of hand washing” looking over their shoulders. Many do not care for the invasive surveillance and the message of distrust that it sends. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is using focus groups to gauge how sensitive healthcare workers are to the surveillance. But the bottom line is that the technology is being used to change behavior, not just to be punitive.

Continue reading "An Emphasis on Hand Washing - Prevent Medical Negligence" »

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An investigation is uncovering the amount of influence former NHTSA employees may have had over the current Toyota probe. Critics in Congress say that Toyota had help from two former NHTSA employees. Christopher Santucci worked as a defect investigator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator. He then got a job at Toyota, the very company he had been in charge of investigating. He worked for Christopher Tinto, who also used to work for NHTSA. Now with these two together at Toyota they helped to limit probes into Toyota records show. Together, they pointed the NHTSA probe to focus on the brief burst acceleration instead of the runaway vehicles that have led to so many accidents and deaths.

Toyota documents that CBS News obtained from 2006 show that while NHTSA wanted company documents on “a broad testing and analysis question” concerning the Camry and Solara vehicle engine surge, Toyota in negotiations with NHTSA, got the agency to “reduce the response” and essentially provide much less data. A third ex-NHTSA employee also helped Toyota, former NHTSA attorney Kenneth Weinstein. Joan Claybrook, who used to head NHTSA, characterizes it like this. “They maneuvered and manipulated and I think Bamboozled the agency.” Congress is taking the apparent conflict-of-interest question before Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Absolutely not” he said.

Continue reading "Toyota Pulls Strings Within NHTSA To Kill Probes" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Auto Product Liability , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Product Liability

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A father and son were both injured in their 1974 experimental plane that took off from Williston Florida, Sunday, February 21. The 65-year-old father and his son 40-year-old son had taken off successfully, but when they were returning to the Williston Airport Sunday morning, the plane took a nose dive, landing upside down. Both men were taken to Shands Hospital but reported to be in stable condition. According to the Levy County Sheriff’s department, the two had taken off for a Sunday morning flight in their home- built plane.

Thankfully, this plane crash did not result in deadly consequences. These two men are counting their blessings, I’m sure.

Accident Statistics
There has been a 600 percent increase in the number of homebuilt airplanes since the 1970s, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. They are much less expensive than single-engine general aviation aircraft. But the FAA allows anybody to buy the plans and assemble the parts for an aircraft. There are at least 25,000 experimental aircraft homebuilt in the U.S. though many are based on conventional design. This aircraft can be built and flown by any licensed pilot and the aircraft must be certified for flight by an examiner.

Liability Issues
Experimental aircraft can raise serious liability concerns. Small experimental aircraft don’t have the same FAA requirements as factory-built aircraft and the homemade planes are more dangerous as a result. People literally can build them in their garage. Experimental aircraft can use automotive or motorcycle engines.

Continue reading "Williston, Fl Plane Crash Injures Two" »

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This is a story that no one wants to experience, but medical malpractice in Florida and throughout the U.S. is real and far more common than the public realizes. A woman from Tampa felt there was too much bleeding after her dental surgery, and too much pain. There was a very good reason for that. Her dental surgeon had left a drill bit burr in her right maxillary sinus where it stayed for nearly a year as the 35-year-old held down a job and cared for her kids. The woman has since undergone surgery to have the drill bit removed.

We wish her a speedy recovery and the peace of mind knowing that a foreign object has been removed from her face.

Medical Malpractice
The woman in this incident has hired an attorney to try and get back some of the11-months of her life. This was not only a preventable error, says her attorney, but a simple follow-up X-ray would have detected the metal piece in her jaw. Instead, the woman was sent away and told that her healing process was normal, her lawyer says.

In order to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, a patient has to have suffered some loss and injury, and according to this complaint, the woman was experiencing numbness on her right side where the burr was, as well as dizziness. It was only when she was taken in for emergency treatment at St. Joseph’s Hospital in July, 2009, that a magnetic scan caused the object to move inside her head, something that caused excruciating pain, she says.

Continue reading "Dentist Leaves Drill Bit in Patient's Jaw" »

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Orange Park is located within Northeast Clay County and is a popular town and suburb of Jacksonville, Florida. In addition to attracting a variety of visitors throughout the year, the city of Orange Park is home to more than approximately 9,043 residents and Clay County encompasses over 180,000 individuals. As a major section of such a densely populated area, Orange Park experiences its share of bike accidents, especially with an increase in residents attempting to save money on gas and get more exercise. When a bike injury collision is caused by a negligent or distracted driver, an injured bicyclist may want to get in touch with a skilled Orange Park bike accident attorney.

It is an unfortunate reality that several motorists fail to yield the right-of-way to bicyclists, and even pedestrians and other vehicles. Statistic estimates from the U.S. Department of Transportation reveal that about 2% of all traffic accident deaths and incidents of injury involve bicycles. Whether a bike crash causing death or injury takes place in Orange Park, FL or anywhere else in the U.S., these types of accidents can impose several physical, emotional and financial consequences for an injured individual and their family to surmount. Some common bike accident injuries include broken bones, permanent scaring, disfigurement, lacerations, bruising, paralysis, brain injury, and even death. Although these injuries range in severity, many of them may contribute to steep medical bills, loss of wages, emotional trauma, and other damages.

The experienced Orange Park personal injury attorneys at Farah and Farah have dedicated many years to assisting those injured in bike accidents due to another person’s negligence. We have the legal resources and knowledge to handle any personal injury case, whether it relates to a bike accident, pedestrian injury, or another kind of automobile accident. Get in touch with Farah and Farah for more information regarding your legal rights and to schedule a free consultation by contacting us at our Orange Park, Florida office today:

(904) 264-0700
1534 Kingsley Avenue
Orange Park, Florida 32073

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Posted In: Bike Accident , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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An analysis by USA Today finds that among 15,700 nursing homes nationally, about 20% receive low marks for overall quality, and those with the lowest ratings – one or two stars – are owned by for-profit companies.

There are an estimated 1.4 million Americans in nursing homes. About a quarter-million live in the low-ranked nursing homes. But even they must satisfy the basic Medicare requirements. USA Today examined the federal government's data from the first ratings of the homes' performance. Late in the Bush administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began assigning the Zagat-like ratings based on quality, staffing, and health inspections. The Five-Star Rating System launched at www.medicare.gov.

Among the lowest rating - one star- nursing home, there was an average of about 14 deficiencies per home, including safety violations and quality-of-life measures. Unfortunately, in many states, homes with poor ratings may be the only nursing homes for miles.

Problems include infected bedsores, medication errors, poor food, and abuse and neglect of nursing home patients. About 20 percent of the more than 37,000 complaints inspectors received last year concerned abuse or neglect of patients.

Continue reading "Nursing Home Ratings - Low Overall Quality Found" »

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Posted In: Elder Neglect , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Premises Liability

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News4 in Jacksonville reports that a St. Augustine pedestrian died after he was hit by a car driving down U. S. Highway 1 near Old Moultrie Road in St. Johns County. Traffic investigators say a 57-year-old man was standing alongside the highway around 4:15 a.m. He was wearing dark clothing. A 24-year-old man was driving down U.S. 1 and didn’t see the pedestrian in time to avoid the accident. The male pedestrian later died at Flagler Hospital. The motorist was not injured and the Florida Highway Patrol reports no charges are pending.
Our condolences go out to family and friends of the deceased pedestrian.

Pedestrian Dangers in Florida
The Florida Department of Transportation reports the state’s pedestrian fatality rate during nighttime hours is double the national average. A recent review of all pedestrian accidents in the state, released in 2008, ranked Florida #2 nationwide for pedestrian fatalities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that between 1997 and 2007, more than 5,000 pedestrians died on the state’s highways, 10.4% of all pedestrian fatalities across the nation for that same period of time. A study conducted by the University of Florida points to a number of reasons for Florida’s high fatality rate: warmer weather which encourages walking during longer winter nights and urban sprawl which creates a reliance on high-speed arterial highways such as U.S. 1. These highways are not always well lighted, adding to the danger.

Continue reading "Pedestrian Killed in Early Morning Auto Accident" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Pedestrian Accidents , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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A devastating crash involving a Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy cruiser and a Honda Civic leaves an Oakland Park, Florida teenager dead and two others in the hospital. According to police and witnesses at the scene, the accident happened at the corner of Dixie Highway and Northeast 56th Street. The investigation into just what happened demonstrates how difficult it can be to find the cause of such a tragedy and how important it is to seek legal guidance to make sure justice is done.

According to police and news reports, a 21-year-old girl was driving the Honda, headed north on Dixie Highway. She was attempting to turn left at Northeast 56th Street when the police cruiser, headed south on Dixie, slammed so hard into the Honda that the back end of the car was sheared off. A 14-year-old a passenger in the Honda was thrown from the car and pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and another passenger, who is 15-year-old, were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The Sheriff’s Deputy driving the cruiser, a 21-year-old man, was also taken to the hospital where he was treated for minor injuries and released. He is new to the Sheriff’s Department and has neither commendations nor reprimands on his record. He has not been placed on leave from his job.

Our hearts go out to all the victims of this terrible accident. The loss of a child is especially difficult and our prayers are with the girl’s family and friends as they try to come to terms with what happened.

Reconstructing An Accident
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office says it may take months to determine who is at fault and as more details come to light, it is easy to see why.

First—one witness at the scene who gave an account of the accident to investigators is now accused of having lied about what happened.

Second—while witnesses claim the cruiser was driving at a high rate of speed, the Sheriff’s Office says it is unclear at this time how fast it was going. Furthermore, officials say Honda had a green light, but not a green turn arrow, which means it should have yielded to oncoming traffic.

Third—witnesses asked why the Sheriff didn’t have his emergency lights or siren on during the crash but officials say he shouldn’t have, since he was responding to a routine call at the time.

Fourth—both drivers have a record of traffic citations, both for speeding, and one for charges of improperly changing lanes and failing to wear a seat belt.

Continue reading "14-Year-Old Killed In Crash Involving Police" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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A study by Ohio State University shows the dangers of walking and talking on a cell phone. Hundreds of injuries have been reported from distracted pedestrians. Just over 1,000 pedestrians have visited emergency rooms in 2008 because they tripped or ran into something during a cell phone conversation or texting while walking. The New York Times reports on the case o a 16-year-old boy who walked into a telephone pole and suffered a concussion. A 28-year-old man trapped and fractured a finger while he gripped his cell phone. And 68-year-old man fell off his porch while talking on a cell phone.

We think of the dangers of driving while distracted, but the rate of ER visits has doubled from 2007, which doubled from 2006. And consider this – most people injured while walking and talking would not even thing to call it into a hospital if the injury is minor.

Florida is already the most dangerous state for pedestrians, with nine out of the ten most dangerous metro areas in the south, according to Transportation for America. Far too many pedestrians are killed on an annual basis in Florida. With the explosion of personal communications devices, there is no reason to believe that there will be any improvement in the dangerous practice of distracted walking. To help prevent pedestrian accidents in Jacksonville and throughout the state of Florida, please do not use your cell phone while crossing the street or engage in other distractions when doing so.

Source report: http://www.justicenewsflash.com/2010/01/19/study-talking-walking-injuries-pedestrians_201001193036.html

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Pedestrian Accidents , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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Two teenagers were killed in Ocala following a crash, Tuesday, January 12, 2010 when the BMW they were riding in collided with the rear of a dump truck. The driver of the 1987 BMW 325i was traveling at a high rate of speed, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, when he topped a hill on Northwest 100th Street, near North U.S. 441, and crashed into the rear of a Mack Granite dump truck. His passenger died an hour after the crash. The driver died on Thursday. Both teens were 18-years-old and both were seniors at North Marion High School. The dump truck driver received minor injuries.

Seat belts were in use at the time of the accident.

Our hearts go out to the families of these two young men who were best friends. The driver’s father says his son never drank or smoked and was a good son. We are sorry for your loss.

An investigation needs to determine just how fast that dump truck was traveling when the collision occurred. The FHP says that the truck was slowing for road work and that there were numerous signs along the hilly street to indicate road work was ahead. An investigation needs to confirm that information.

If there were not adequate warning signs posted behind that working dump truck, the company responsible as well as Marion County could be liable.

Continue reading "18-Year Old Killed Rear Ending Dump Truck in Ocala" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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The beginning first months of any New Year bring some new traffic laws to Florida. One specifically addresses bad drivers, sending them back to school when they are at fault in three crashes with a 36-month period. 322.0261 was enacted during the 2009 legislative session.

"In an effort to make our roads safer, those who display a pattern of poor driving ability or judgment will be required to complete a driver improvement course," says Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Executive Director, Julie L. Jones. "The new law is designed to modify the behavior of some of our worst drivers."

As many as 1,000 Florida drivers may be subject to the new requirements during 2010, especially when traffic transgressions go back as far as 2007.

Beginning in early January, those drivers who are among the worst will receive notices that they are subject to the new law. Drivers will be given 90 days to complete the approved course. If they fail to do so, they could lose their driving privileges.

Continue reading "New Law: Three At-Fault Crashes Sends You Back To The Florida Classroom" »

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A man from Fort Lauderdale is a former Florida smoker with lung cancer. He, like thousands of other Floridians, have filed lawsuits against Big Tobacco in Florida for hiding the dangers of smoking, and in fact, promoting smoking as something that was good for your health. Years later, when people were addicted and could not stop smoking, the dangers were revealed.

But has dropped his lawsuit against tobacco giant Philip Morris USA. Instead, he has accepted a $1,000 settlement against Big Tobacco. In his case, the fear of having to pay the legal fees of Philip Morris outweighed the risk of going to trial and losing. Two smokers recently had to pay the company $100,000 and $30,000.

When the Engle class action lawsuit against tobacco companies was decertified along with its $145 billion damage award, individuals were free to file their own cases. That meant that about 4,000 cases were filed in state court and about 4,000 in federal court. In the first case filed by the family of a man and a Florida jury awarded $8 million to his widow.

Based on the original Engle findings, the Florida Supreme court decided to reinstate a portion of the decision determined by the class. As a matter of fact these answers have been determined by Engle – that smoking causes certain diseases, that cigarettes are addictive, that cigarettes are defective and unreasonably dangerous, that tobacco companies conspired to conceal or omit information regarding the health effects of cigarette smoking or the addictive nature of smoking cigarettes and that they lied about cigarettes.

Philip Morris USA, a unit of Altria Group Inc. has vowed to fight the cases.

Source article: http://www.wtop.com/?sid=1818194&nid=111

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Posted In: Law & Information , Personal Injury , Tobacco Lawsuits

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The 20-year-old was a good nurse. So when she was told to show up at Jacksonville Naval Hospital’s Mayport clinic in 2005, despite the fact that she had a cold and worsening headaches, she did so. But that decision turned deadly for a young pregnant woman.

An undiagnosed sinus infection became bacterial meningitis taking her life. Monday, December 28, 2009, the government finally settled with the family. Most of the $850,000 will go to her 4-year-old daughter who was delivered seven weeks early by C-section as he mother lay dying. The child will not go without, but she will go without her mother.

Our condolences to the family for their immense loss. It is a complete tragedy, especially considering that the failure-to-diagnose case is the third settled by the family’s attorney with this hospital.

Medical Malpractice
By failing to diagnose this young woman simply by taking her temperature, determining she had a bacterial infection and treating the infection with antibiotics, the hospital committed malpractice. She had shown up at the Mayport clinic with the respiratory infection and a two-to-three day history of headaches, but told to continue taking over-the-counter (OTC) medication. Even the young woman’s mother called the clinic herself to demand they give her daughter a prescription for antibiotics. Instead the daughter received a different OTC medication.

Malpractice occurs when a standard of care is violated and that clearly happened here. By the time the bacterial meningitis was diagnosed, it was too late. She died two days later and her organs were donated. Her mother says her daughter was her best friend.

Continue reading "Navy Settles Medical Malpractice Case" »

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Posted In: Health & Information , Law & Information , Medical Malpractice , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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Some budget changes apparently are needed in Miami. But budget cutbacks have also cut back the response time of emergency personnel. In this case, a bicyclist was hit by a car on the busy South Florida causeway into Key Biscayne Sunday, January 17. The car was driven by a man who is facing DUI manslaughter charges. His driving record has previous incidents and he has been accused of battery. But it took rescue personnel 12 minutes to respond. The nearest fire rescue station at Key Biscayne is only opened part time. So Miami-Dade sent rescue personnel from its open station, which is in South Miami, which explains the 12 minute wait.

Unfortunately. that time was too much for the cyclist who did not survive the crash. Both Key Biscayne and the City of Miami Fire Rescue are closer to the scene of the accident. The family issued a statement, “Lives were changed forever, and two families are grieving and going through an extremely difficult time.” The county is launching an investigation.

Our sincere condolences go out to the family of the affected individual. The response time is a strong factor in survivability of a bicycle crash with an automobile.

Florida Bicycle and Passenger Fatalities
While bicycle and passenger fatalities decreased 2.5% from 121 to 118 in 2008, 118 bicyclists were killed in 2008 in Florida. There were also 4,380 injuries during that time period from 4,775 crashes. Unfortunately, car drivers will often tell you they did not see a bicyclist or a motorcycle. That is often because they are not looking.

Continue reading "Emergency Response to Miami Bike Accident Delayed Because of Budget Cuts" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Bike Accident , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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The Chrysler Group is recalling 24,000 Dodge and Jeep automobiles because of a defect that could cause the brakes to fail. The bulk of the recall applies to the Dodge Ram pickup truck, model years 2009-2010 as well as the 2010 Chrysler Sebring, the Dodge Avenger and Nitro, the Jeep Liberty, Commander and Grand Cherokee.

The problem is a rod-retaining clip that has been fitted incorrectly and in some Ram trucks the part has not been fitted at all. No accidents are reported as a result of the brake issue, but Chrysler says the problem with the braking system could result in brake failure without warning, “which could cause a crash.” As auto defect attorneys in Florida and throughout the U.S. are monitoring recall updates, Chrysler is working closely with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on the recall.

The auto giant is in the midst of trying to rebuild its image after going through bankruptcy last year and receiving federal bailout money. NHTSA is encouraging consumers to call Chrysler to obtain the fix.

Source report: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703837004575013263719462230.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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Posted In: Auto Product Liability , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Product Liability

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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has updated its guidance for people who work late-night in retail establishments due to the number of people killed on the job. According to federal statistics, 167 retail trade workers were killed behind the counter in 2007 with nearly half working in gas stations, liquor and convenience stories. 39 were killed in convenience stores, 32 worked at gasoline stations, and seven worked at liquor stores. And while retail outlets experience a disproportionate amount of violence in the workplace, those premises that made any changes to improve conditions is fewer than 2%.

The only good news to report here is that the number of retail workers who died at workplace violence has declined over the past 10 years from 286 in 1998 to 167 in 2007. OSHA recently updated its guidance report, Recommendations for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs in Late-Night Retail Establishments, which was published in 1998. The updated Recommendations identify risk factors and feasible solutions.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, all employers are required to provide a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. Otherwise, someone injured on the job through no fault of their own, may have a premises liability case against the owner of the place of business.

In terms of other types of dangers on the job, OSHA reports that 5,071 workers died on the job in 2008. Employers under federal law are required to report any work-related deaths or in-patient hospitalization of three or more employees to their OSHA area office or call OSHA toll-free at 1-800-321-6742.

Source report: http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=17115

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Posted In: Law & Information , Personal Injury , Workers' Compensation , Wrongful Death

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A Tallahassee, Florida man died on January 9, 2010, when he crashed into the rear of a semi-tractor-trailer rig on I-10. The 48-year-old man was traveling on I-10 just west of SR 77 near Chipley in Washington County.

The Florida Highway Patrol says he was heading east just before noon when he hit the rear of the tractor-trailer. The driver of the truck said he was on cruise control at 68 mph when he felt a large explosion. When he looked into his rear view mirrors all he saw was dust and debris. The 48-year-old man’s vehicle was actually stuck under the trailer rig. The man was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics from Washington County.

Our condolences go out to the family of this motorist.

When a fully loaded tractor-trailer weighing in at over 80,000 pounds collides with an automobile weighing about 3,000 pounds, even if it is a rear-ender, 98 percent of the fatalities occur to people in the passenger vehicles. It sounds as though there was nothing the driver of the big-rig could have done to be safer on the road.

Distracted Driving
Almost weekly we are reporting about people who collide into the back of the vehicles. Dialing a cell phone and texting can contribute to distracted driving. But also, reaching into the back seat, changing the radio, having an argument in the car, and being sleep deprived, may all contribute to a less than safe driver.

According to a study by Virginia Tech last year, dialing a cell phone made the risk of crash or near-crash event 2.8 times as high as non-distracted driving; while talking or listening to a cell phone made the risk of crash or a near-crash event 1.3 times as high as non-distracted driving; and reaching for an object such as an electronic device made the risk of crash or near-crash event 1.4 times as high as non-distracted driving.

In Florida, there were 243,342 traffic crashes in 2008, which averages 665 per day. The type of crash, rear-ending the vehicle in front, tops the list of types of crashes, according to the Florida Highway Patrol in its 2008 statistics. In that year, there were more than 29,000 car accidents in Florida of this nature that resulted in more than 74,000 injuries and 318 deaths.

Nationally, NHTSA finds that at least 25% of police-reported crashes involve some form of driver inattention. That means more than 4,300 crashes each day across the country. And many suspect that estimate is low.

Source article: http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/81075122.html

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Truck Accident , Wrongful Death

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A former patient at University Community Hospital (UCH) in Tampa underwent back surgery but instead of relief he suffered complications.

The patient, male, filed a Florida medical malpractice lawsuit against his surgeon. In order to proceed, records would be needed from the hospital. Florida law gives patients a right to access any adverse incident records of doctors and hospitals. The person requesting the records is supposed to pay a reasonable cost for their retrieval.

The Million Dollar Search
However, the hospital says it will cost the defendant $1 million to retrieve the records. Hospital officials say that searching through years of records for adverse incidents related to the accused surgeon would require manual record searches and names will have to be redacted to protect privacy.

So the patient has sued UCH in an attempt to have the records costs lowered and to determine the actual cost to produce the documents.

His lawyer says the cost is unconscionable and designed to stall and prevent patients from obtaining information on their doctors.

Patients Have Rights to Medical Records
The Agency for Health Care Administration says each hospital is supposed to keep track of how many incidents every doctor has because reporting is mandatory. The health care provider owns a patient’s medical record, but the patient has a right to see it and get a copy.

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice Record Cost Should Be Reasonable" »

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Posted In: Law & Information , Medical Malpractice , Personal Injury

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Eight people were injured Saturday afternoon, January 16, 2010, when three cars collided. The Florida Highway Patrol says a white pickup truck was traveling southbound on I-295 in Jacksonville, when it lost control. An 18-wheeler hit the truck and went into the median, spinning out of control and hitting a Cadillac that was traveling north. A van carrying eight people traveling northbound had to overcorrect to avoid hitting the collision and overturned in the median. It is reported by First Coast News that all of the injuries are non-life threatening. The injured have been taken to various hospitals.

We are very hopeful that those in the van were not seriously injured and thankful that there were no fatalities or serious injuries reported.

Big-Rigs
Large trucks, also known as tractor-trailers and semis, or eighteen-wheelers, make up only about 3% of the vehicles on the road. However, they account for far more traffic fatalities.

National statistics point to poor driver training, driver fatigue, speeding, overloaded and oversized trucks, brake failure, and poor driving conditions, the inexperience of the driver and a failure to yield the right-of-way, as a cause of trucking accidents.

But in fairness, those who drive 18-wheelers or big-rigs often complain that it is people driving in vehicles that cause accidents with big-rigs.

According to a 2002 study by the American Association of Automobiles, 80 percent of fatal truck-involved crashes are caused by passenger vehicles. A 2006 Virginia Tech analysis of two studies conducted for the Department of Transportation found that 78 percent of crashes were caused by passenger car drivers.

Continue reading "Eight Injured in I-295 Crash" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Truck Accident

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Now that the Consumer Electronics Show has come to a close in Las Vegas, NV, promises have been made that additional technology is soon coming to your dashboard, and to the dismay of safety advocates. Talk about distracted – Intel and Google are turning their attention to bringing the power of the PC to your car. Consider 10-inch screens that show high-definition videos, Web pages and 3-D maps. Expect the infotainment systems to hit the showrooms this year. Navigation systems are more likely to be standard equipment. You’ll be able to pull up a restaurant review and click on a music album with the touch of a finger.

But is this safe? Of course not and you can expect laws to follow technology. There is no question that distracted drivers cause car accidents in Florida, but the pursuit of profit over safety is driving this train. Or car.

You have to love what a Ford systems engineer tells the New York Times. “We are trying to make that driving experience one that is very engaging.” Hello! Driving itself is very engaging, especially if it is done safely.

The auto companies are making some concession to safety. Ford’s built-in Web browser works only when the car is parked. Audi says it will restrict access to potentially distracting functions. The Jaguar will allow the front-seat passenger only view the movie. But unless safety advocates become activated now, expect your car to become the most immersive consumer electronic device most of us own.

Source report: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/technology/07distracted.html?hp

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury

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The Shands Hospital nurse, who was hit by a suspect eluding police, is talking to the media about who may be at fault for her debilitating injuries.It turns out that the suspect who hit her in a crosswalk was being chased by two police officers, who, instead of rendering aid to the nurse, passed by her and continued on their chase. And the Jacksonville Sheriff’s officers did not have on light and sirens that would have alerted her to get out of the crosswalk.

The pedestrian accident in Jacksonville happened last June. Seven months later, the woman has been through ten surgeries. She still uses a walker and is likely she will not be able to return to her former job because of her inability to move, reports First Coast News.

The man who hit her has ready been sentenced to seven years in prison. He apologized to the nurse but claims he didn’t see her in the crosswalk because he was busy watching the police in his rearview mirror. The reason he was being chased – he ran a stop sign in the neighborhood- raising all sorts of questions about the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office chase policy.

We wish a continued recovery for the woman who was injured, perhaps permanently, through no fault of her own.

JSO Chase Policy
The nurse has announced that she is planning to file a lawsuit against JSO for their reckless conduct. Her lawyer has filed notice of claim with the city of Jacksonville. One of the two patrol cars should have stayed with the victim instead of continuing to case a suspect for running a stop sign. It’s called rendering aid and is the number one duty of the office besides protecting the public. JSO failed on both counts.

Fortunately for her case, there is surveillance video that leaves little to the imagination. It shows the nurse being thrown into the road. Then five seconds later, one JSO vehicle cruises past followed by the second car. They did not even slow down to help her, but one of the officers did send a radio transmission into dispatch calling units to Shands.

“There is someone that has just been fun over by a blue Hyundai sedan I’m trying to get caught up [to it] now,” said the officer.

The nurse wants something other than money – a clarification of the JSO police chase policy. Sheriff John Rutherford is calling for an internal investigation of the incident. Ultimately, the investigation will help clarify what exactly is the JSO pursuit policy, and then whether the officers followed it.

Continue reading "Woman Hit by Driver in Jacksonville Police Chase Will File Suit" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Pedestrian Accidents , Personal Injury

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This may come as a surprise to many but it appears that rural roads have more traffic fatalities than the nation’s highway system.

This information comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. With about 23 % of the population living in rural areas, 56% of the nation’s 37,261 traffic deaths occurred on rural roads, according to NHTSA. That is almost six in 10.

The difference may be explained by the fact that while there are more crashes in urban areas, fewer of them result in fatalities.

Why do more crashes in the country lead to fatalities? One reason may be that drivers are traveling faster on rural roads. They are not as well-engineered as urban highways. And an emergency responder may take longer to get to you, decreasing the chances of survival. For example in Montana, the average response time is about 80 minutes.

37% of car accident fatalities in Florida occurred on rural roads or 1,113 fatalities, compared with 2,978 statewide in 2008.

Continue reading "More Fatal Auto Accidents on Florida's Rural Roads" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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A report from the American Automobile Association is giving us a clear picture of just how many of us are texting while behind the wheel. Nearly one out of five U.S. drivers admit they have read or sent a text message while driving, even though nearly everyone in the survey considered that unacceptable behavior. And among those surveyed by the Ford Motor Co., more than 93% of 1,000 licensed drivers say they support a nationwide ban.

It’s these findings that make a ban on texting while driving a key legislative priority for AAA in state capitals.

But so far, only about a dozen states have imposed prohibitions and Florida is not among them, at least not yet. Every year, legislators try to promote some sort of legislation that would restrict wireless communication while behind the wheel, and 2010 promises to be no different. I would predict that this year will make the difference.

Behind the push are recent federal statistics that 58,790 people were killed and 515,000 injured last year in vehicle crashes connected to distracted driving. That may not be an accurate picture as the Florida Highway Patrol is just beginning to include that as a cause of car crashes in Jacksonville and throughout the state on their accident reports.

Source report: http://www.aaafoundation.org/home/

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The tragic death of a 6-year-old Jacksonville girl, hit by a car while she was in a pedestrian crosswalk, has sparked calls for justice. The attorney for the family of this young child wants to know why the driver of the truck that killed the girl wasn’t charged in the accident. And he wants changes in the law to correct what he calls dangerous, but common, misperceptions about crosswalks.

Reconstructing the Accident
According to the Florida Times Union, on December 21, 2009, the young girl, her mother and her 5-year-old brother were crossing San Jose at Kori Road and were only halfway to the median when the light at the intersection changed. All three were hit by a truck whose driver was not cited in the accident. The 6-year-old girl was killed; her brother was not injured, but her mother’s leg and some ribs were broken. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has declined comment on this story.

This is a sad story about the senseless death of a small child. Our prayers and sympathy go out to the family as they try to recover from this tragedy.

The Law Protects Pedestrians
According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, 16.8% of all traffic fatalities in 2008 were pedestrians. 500 pedestrians were killed in pedestrian accidents on Florida highways in 2008. More than half (308) were killed while crossing a street. While not all those fatalities involved pedestrians in crosswalks, the law is clear that all motorists must yield to pedestrians regardless. According to the Florida Driver’s Handbook, it is “the motorist’s responsibility to do everything possible to avoid colliding with pedestrians” (Section 3.6).

The family’s attorney says pedestrians in crosswalks are in danger because of confusion not only about right-of-way but also of how crosswalk buttons function. He says most people think pushing the button at a crosswalk causes the traffic lights to cycle. This is wrong. He says pushing the button instead serves to extend the cycle, giving pedestrians more time to cross the street. In the case of this young girl, the button was not pushed, so the green light was much shorter and the family got caught in the middle of the street.

Continue reading "Attorney Calls for Charges and Changes in Crosswalk Laws" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Pedestrian Accidents , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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A 55-year-old Kissimmee man died Sunday afternoon when he lost control of the motorcycle he was driving. The St. Petersburg Times reports the accident happened just west of Brooksville near B.W. Stevenson Road. According to the Florida High Patrol, the man was traveling east on Cortez Boulevard. He lost control of his 2000 Harley-Davidson motorcycle on a curve, hitting a concrete median and a reflective pole before the bike left the highway. The man was thrown from the motorcycle. Hernando County Fire Rescue pronounced him dead at the scene. The FHP said the man was not wearing a helmet. It’s unknown whether alcohol was a factor in the accident.

Our condolences for the loss of this man go out to his family and friends.

Motorcycle Accident Statistics
According to Florida Highway Patrol statistics from 2008, there were 9,618 motorcycle crashes that year. 17.8% of all traffic fatalities affected motorcycle drivers and their passengers. While the number of these fatalities was down from 2007 by 3.3%, 532 motorcyclists and passengers were killed in 2008. 45% of those victims were not wearing helmets.

Helmets Save Lives
In July, 2000, the State of Florida passed a law exempting adult motorcyclists (21 and older) from wearing helmets as long as they had medical insurance in the amount of $10,000. According to a study published in 2004 in the American Journal of Public Health, motorcycle occupant fatalities increased by more than 20% the year after the law was changed. Study author, Andreas Muller, PhD, concludes that “exempting adult motorcycle riders from wearing motorcycle helmets is counterproductive for motorcyclists’ health and unnecessarily increases insurance and medical care expenses.”

Continue reading "Motorcyclist Killed in Brooksville" »

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Posted In: Brain Injury , Law & Information , Motorcycle Accident , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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St. Augustine, Florida is sometimes referred to as the “nation’s oldest city” since it is home to the oldest port in the continental United States. With an estimated population well over 12,157, St. Augustine is widely known for its lovely beaches, classic architecture, and museums that reflect the life and culture of early Spanish explorers who settled in the area. St. Augustine is also a popular tourist spot in Northern Florida. Considering all that St. Augustine has to offer and its continuous growth in population, it is an unfortunate reality that birth injury takes place from time to time due to medical negligence or hospital malpractice.

A birth injury can have overwhelming consequences for a family to endure. If a medical professional fails to act efficiently and in a timely manner during the birthing process, a newborn baby may suffer serious health problems, scarring, disfigurement, and even death. The mother may also be at risk of suffering harm or injury if a doctor or nurse acts negligently. After a birth injury, a family has a lot on their mind and only wants what is best for their baby. During such challenging times, some families may find it beneficial to seek legal counsel from a skilled St. Augustine birth injury attorney who can help fully explain their legal rights and options if that is what a family decides is best for them.

Hospital malpractice may occur when a doctor, nurse, staff member, pharmacist, or technician causes a patient to suffer injury through negligent or improper treatment or care. Misdiagnosis, surgical error, abuse, and failure to treat a patient, and incorrect administration of drugs or treatment are a few examples of frequent incidents of hospital malpractice. If hospital malpractice or negligence causes an innocent patient to suffer injury, illness, or death, those responsible for such action and poor treatment may be held legally and financially accountable.

If you and your family have experienced a birth injury or another form of hospital malpractice in St. Augustine, please contact the experienced Florida personal injury lawyers at Farah and Farah. We have worked vigilantly for many years protecting the rights of injury victims and their families. Farah and Farah has achieved successful outcomes for our clients in birth injury and hospital malpractice litigation. We can help you. Get in touch with Farah and Farah today at our St. Augustine office for a free and confidential consultation:

(904) 797-7977
1301 Plantation Island Drive
Suite 206A
St. Augustine, Florida 32080

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Posted In: Health & Information , Law & Information , Medical Malpractice , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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A 30-year-old man from Fort Walton Beach is in serious condition after an argument Sunday night, January 10, led to a car accident in Florida. The 31-year-old driver from Fort Walton Beach, was heading west on SR 188 when she got into an argument with the front passenger. He reportedly grabbed the steering wheel while the car was in motion. The 2004 Nissan ran into the north shoulder and hit a tree. The passenger in the rear of the vehicle was not wearing his seat belt and flew into the front of the vehicle. The car suffered an estimated $7,000 in damages. Charges are pending.

We certainly hope the best for the recovery of the injured individuals. When one is not belted in, they can become a human cannonball thrown inside the vehicle, through a window, or into a windshield. Head injuries are the most common, devastating, and long-lasting effects from an auto accident.

Seat Belt Law
In 2008, Florida had 1,795 traffic deaths of drivers and passengers in Seat belt equipped vehicles. 60% or 1,085 of these people were not wearing their seat belts, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

And consider that air bags will generally not be able to do their job if you are not belted in.
While many argue that individuals should be able to determine whether or not they want to buckle up, the Florida Department of Transportation estimates 3 out of 5 motor vehicle fatalities are directly due to the failure to wear seat belts. That is why Florida joined 28 other states plus the District of Columbia in passing a primary seat belt law last June. An officer can now pull you over and fine you if your only offense is not wearing a seat belt.

Continue reading "Argument Led to Auto Accident" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury

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A patient goes to a doctor for a medical procedure. Unfortunately, sometimes the outcome of that procedure is less than ideal. In an even smaller number of cases, the doctor may be guilty of medical malpractice, and failing to deliver the standard of care of a professional medical doctor. Patients may find themselves permanently injured and many decide to file a claim against the doctor.

In Georgia, the CEO of a Georgia medical services company, in an opinion piece in the newspaper, suggest those already injured should have to jump through one more hoop. It is a hoop that benefits the medical profession and insurance companies, not the injured. Instead of allowing victims of medical malpractice in Georgia their Constitutional right to a trial by jury, this author suggest that victims should have to appear before a “screening panel” comprised of members of the medical and insurance industries. Reminder- those are the same industries trying to avoid compensating injured patients.

Time for a dose of reality - only a fraction of those individuals injured by medical mishap ever see a trial. First, many people do not want to be involved in litigation. Secondly, the injury must be tremendous in order to find a lawyer willing to take your case. There is another special hoop in Georgia, the patient must find a medical professional willing to publicly criticize their colleague. That person must be credentialed and willing to sign a document swearing to the malpractice. Then there is another hoop – a judge must screen the case as well.

Continue reading "Injured by Medical Malpractice in Georgia? Jump through Hoops" »

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Posted In: Health & Information , Law & Information , Medical Malpractice , Personal Injury

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A 27-year-old woman was critically injured after driving her Toyota sedan into the rear of a semi truck on Interstate 75 early Monday morning January 11. The Florida auto injury accident happened about 1 a.m. near Big Bend Road, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The injured woman is in Tampa General Hospital in critical condition, while the truck driver of Palm Bay Florida was not injured. We send her our prayers for a swift recovery.

After the woman hit the truck from behind, she spun into the grass median. The FHP will have to determine if she ever applied the brakes. If not, it is likely she was distracted or too tired to be behind the wheel.

Distracted Drivers
An investigator should begin by checking the cell phone records of this driver to see whether she was on the phone before hitting the back of the tractor-trailer. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates at least one quarter of crashes involves some form of driver inattention. Distraction is just one form of inattention and is a factor in more than half of these crashes. And distracted driving can include tuning the radio, reaching into the back seat, picking up something from the floor, drinking and smoking, texting, and putting on makeup, among other things.

Following Too Closely
Following a vehicle too closely is called tailgating and it is a form of aggressive driving that gives you few options if you need to stop suddenly.

Want to figure out how closely to follow the vehicle in front? Try the three-second rule. Select a fixed object such as a sign or tree. When the vehicle ahead passed the object slowly count ‘one-one-thousand” “two one-thousand” “three one-thousand” - making sure there is at least three seconds between you and the vehicle in front.

Continue reading "Tampa Woman Tailgating Semi in Critical Condition" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Truck Accident

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As Haitians suffer in the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, Americans are opening their wallets to give. Don’t be scammed.

A Consumer's Guide
The Better Business Bureau is advising consumers how to vet charity appeals on its Web site. Based on the group’s experience after Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in 2004, fraudulent charities seem to spring from disaster.

Consumers should go to the BBB Web site to research charities and relief organizations that are accredited by the BBB and meet the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Charity Navigator is the oldest and most reputable of organizations that check out the credibility of those soliciting donations. Please include them in any search you do.

The BBB suggests you:

• Beware of organizations that claim 100 percent of funding will go to help earthquake victims. Administrative and fund raising expenses always need to be funded.


• Be cautious about giving online. Many charities created overnight surfaced after the tsunami disaster in 2004.


• Find out if the group provides direct aid or is raising funds for others. Check out who is the ultimate recipient of funds.


• Giving clothing, food, water may not get to the intended unless the organization has people at the disaster site. Ask the charity about its distribution plans.

Continue reading "Charitable Donations to Haiti" »

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The 2010 Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws report is out.

Published by the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, a coalition of insurance, consumer, health, safety and law enforcement organizations that promote safer roads and highways, it shows that promoting 15 model laws could save lives on our highways and roads. States are graded on their performance in adopting and maintaining model traffic safety laws. The report concludes that not one state has enacted all of the recommended laws. They include:

• Adult Occupant Protection – Seat belt enforcement and all-ride motorcycle helmet laws.


• Child Passenger Safety – Child booster seat law requiring children ages 4 through 7 be placed in a booster seat.


• Teen Driving Graduated Driver Licensing – This phases in full driving privileges in a three-state process and allows for primary enforcement of the law.


• Impaired Driving - Drunk drivers would face an ignition interlock device if they have violated the law in the past. There would be mandatory blood alcohol testing in fatal crashes and an open container ban.


• Distracted Driving – A ban on text messaging for all drivers unless there is an emergency.

There are almost 40,000 fatalities and 2.3 million injuries at a cost of $230 billion every year.

Every day 102 people were killed on the streets and highways while more than 6,000 are injured.

Continue reading "2010 Highway Safety Report" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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Two men riding in a truck in Northeast Florida accidentally flipped over Thursday night and one man lost his life.

A 38-year-old Elkton, Florida man was a passenger in the Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by his friend of St. Augustine. The man who was ejected was not wearing his seat belt when the vehicle traveled into the grass median and overcorrected before it flipped around 9 p.m. There is no word on why the vehicle drifted off the road except that that’s where the road curved. The driver, also not wearing his seat belt, was seriously injured and taken to Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol report, alcohol was involved in the auto accident which occurred on State Road 207 in St. Johns County, south of Meadowbrook Road.

Our condolences go out to the family of the men involved.

Personal injury attorneys in Florida will tell you that wearing a seat belt is essential to saving lives. Whenever we hear a vehicle occupant was ejected, the first question we ask is, was he wearing a seat belt? More often than not, an ejected passenger will suffer a head injury which could ultimately be fatal.

A new survey shows that seatbelt use in Florida is at an all-time high - 85 percent - exceeding the national average of 84 percent. That may be due to the primary seat belt law that went into effect in June. It allows law enforcement to pull drivers over solely for not wearing a seat belt.

Back in 1998, only 57 percent of drivers buckled up.

Continue reading "North Florida Man Killed After SUV Flips" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury

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It was an unbelievable fall at a Jacksonville Beach strip mall.

A 7-year-old boy plunged through a skylight on the roof, falling 14-feet to the ground. A witness said she heard the child cry and the boy’s mother and sister were also on the roof.

The child was transported by air ambulance to Shands Jacksonville and is reported to be in serious condition. The skylight was a dome made out of soft plastic and not glass and it is reported to be flexible, which likely prevented the boy from severe lacerations.

The property owner says no one is supposed to be on the roof. Our prayers go out to the little boy for a swift recovery.

Under Florida law, the first step is to understand the specific legal category the injured person occupies. Unless the mother owns the building or had some reason to be there, she could be cited for illegally trespassing. Did the landlord want them up there? Was there some good reason they might be on the roof, such as easy access and an attraction?

Under normal Florida premises liability law, the owner of a building has the responsibility to make sure that it is in good working condition for everyday use, which in this case might be shopping.

When he boy fell, he complained of back and arm pain. Some people complain (rather cynically) that the mother will likely find a personal injury attorney to represent her for financial gain. What’s interesting here is that unless this woman had a reason to be on the roof – there may be a limited application of premises liability law here.

In order for this mother to file a premises liability case, her attorney must prove that the property owner knew or should have known of the dangerous condition, that a person could likely encounter the condition, whether invited or not, and then failed to correct this condition.

The duty to a trespasser is a lot less, but trespassers too are owed a duty to prevent injury, especially if they are children. Generally that applies to attractive nuisances such as swimming pools, deserted car, trampolines, or refrigerators.

Continue reading "7-Year-Old Falls Through Mall Skylight" »

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Posted In: Law & Information , Personal Injury , Premises Liability

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A single-car wreck in Jacksonville has left one person dead and three injured, including a baby. None of the automobile occupants was wearing a seat belt. The accident happened on Edgewood Avenue and Valley Forge Road Monday morning.

Police report that the three people were heading west when their vehicle suddenly hit a sign and a telephone pole about 6 a.m. and then went airborne, during which time all three occupants were ejected. A 20-year-old woman was taken to Shands Jacksonville where she was pronounced dead.

We know there was fog on the road at the time of the accident and the roads were wet. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is asking for any witnesses to help with information on the case by calling 904-630-0500, or call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS and you can remain anonymous.
In an accident, the insurance company for the other side will argue that there should be little or no liability because the individuals were not wearing a seat belt. The driver’s attorney can argue that wearing a seat belt in this case would not have increased the chance for survival or avoiding injury.

In 2008, The Florida Highway Patrol reports that there were 1,795 traffic deaths of drivers and passengers in the state, 60% or 1,085 of these people were not wearing their seat belts.

And 68 % of the children up to age 17 killed in auto accidents in Florida last year were not using safety equipment such as seat belts or child restraint systems.

Continue reading "Young Woman Killed in Single-Car Wreck" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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Need to get a driver license in the New Year?

You will need to be aware of the new documentation requirements by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Beginning January 1, 2010, those who need a new license, or who have changed their name or are there to replace a lost or stolen license or ID card must bring the following: 1) identification, 2) a Social Security number and 3) two items that show your residential address.

If you simply need to renew the license, you can do so via the Internet or by mail one time between office renewals in a state driver license office or a participating tax collectors office. The state has created a Web site www.GatherGoGet.com to help you with what is required and provides drivers with a list of local driver license offices.

Continue reading "New Requirements to Get Florida Drivers License" »

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A trucker is dead after an early morning accident on I-95 in northern Flagler County, two miles south of the St. Johns County line in North Florida.

The accident happened after the driver of a tractor-trailer rig was trying to pull back onto I-95 from the emergency lane where he was stopped to check for a problem. Heading south, he was struck from behind by another semi pulling onto the highway. The Florida Highway Patrol says the second truck was pulling onto the highway and the first vehicle just pulled in front of him.

Damage to the first rig was estimated at $100,000. The driver who died was wearing a seat belt. No tickets have been issued in the accident.

Continue reading "I-95 Trucking Death in Flagler County " »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Truck Accident

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They are a lot like the Amber Alerts. Since Florida began the Silver Alert program a year ago, 136 alerts have been issued for missing Florida seniors from ages 54 to 94. Some have Alzheimer’s or dementia. Many wander away from their homes. The alerts are also sued for younger adults who have developmental disorders.

In October of last year, Gov. Charlie Crist established the Silver Alert program that uses the media outlets, electronic message boards, and local law enforcement to help find missing persons, and find them fast.

Enlisting the help of the community is crucial when someone is missing. Every minute counts and the Silver Alerts engage motorists to be on alert. So far motorists have found about 15 percent of the state’s total cases.

“The Silver Alert is one of those resources you hope you never have to use, but when you do need it, it is a tremendous safety net for the elders covered by the alert,” says Jon Peck, the communications director for the Florida Department of Elder Affairs.

Continue reading "136 Silver Alerts Issued in First Year" »

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A 20-month old little Florida boy was attacked and killed by a Rottweiler after dropping his cookie on the floor, according to law enforcement authorities in New Port Richey, Florida. The baby was visiting his aunt’s home during a party Saturday night. The boy went to grab the cookie when the dog went for him.

Panicking, family members tried to pry the dog off the child, but it was too late. He died in the hospital. Animal control took the dog, which under law they have to keep for 10 days during which time the owner may request a hearing.

When a dog is in the hands of animal control and they are considering putting him up for adoption, one of the tests is to see if he is food aggressive. They try and remove the food while the dog is eating. If the dog goes for the person, he is considered unable to be put up for adoption.

Surely the owners of this dog would have known they had a problem with a large animal that had food aggression. Nonetheless, our hearts go out to this family for their tragic loss.

Generally, the owner of an aggressive dog that bites a person is liable for damages suffered by persons bitten. However, if there is any negligence or contribution by the person bitten, it reduces the liability of the owner. For example, if you are trespassing and are bitten by the dog that is there to protect the property, the liability of the owner is reduced. If a child provokes the dog, it could be considered the cause of the accident, reducing his recovery of damages.

However, if the child is under the age of six, it is presumed he is incapable of committing such negligence. Parents still have the responsibility of controlling and adequately supervising their child. If they fail to do so, it too could reduce the compensation payable by the dog owner if there is a bite.

Continue reading "Rottweiler Kills Toddler" »

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Jacksonville, Florida is one of the more desirable points of interest in the Sunshine State. As the 12th most populated city in the United States, Jacksonville has a population of approximately over 800,000. Covering a span of 874.3 square miles, Jacksonville is home to a diverse collection of vacationers, tourist-attractions, cultural spots, residents, and businesses. When considering the busy population of Jacksonville and its sizable amount of commuters, several businesses and employees contribute to the city’s financial stability. Multiple employees working in Jacksonville would like to think that illness or injury never arises out of or in the course of different kinds of employment; however, the reality is that work accidents and injuries do happen.

Sadly, even though safety regulations and rules of procedure are initiated by federal and state entities, some employers, managers, or contractors fail to create and maintain a hazard-free work setting. This type of negligence may contribute to workers suffering severe illness, injury, and even death. If an employee endures an injury or develops an illness due to an unsafe working environment, their physical and emotional health, as well as their financial security, may be jeopardized. Workers’ compensation benefits may not be substantial enough to fully compensate injured victims and their families. However, a personal injury attorney may be able to help an injured worker file for other viable claims while holding negligent employers legally responsible.

When taking on an employer or a large group responsible for a work-related injury or illness, the legal knowledge and skill of a Jacksonville workers’ compensation attorney may be required. At Farah and Farah, we have assisted many injured individuals obtain compensation to help pay for past and future lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering, and much more. Contact Farah and Farah today for a free and confidential consultation at our Jacksonville office:

(904) 396-5555
10 West Adams Street
Jacksonville, Florida 32202

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Six people have been arrested for stealing vehicles stripping them for parts or changing their identity for resale. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested the six as part of what’s commonly known as a “chop shop.”

As part of Operation Blue Crush, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office cracked down on the salvagers who bought a stolen car from undercover sheriff’s deputies. In all of the 10 different salvage operations that were visited, two businesses bought the cars without title of ownership.

The Florida legislature recently passed a new law making it illegal for salvage companies to accept a car for scrap metal or to strip it for parts unless it has the title to the vehicle.

Continue reading "Jacksonville Arrests For Stolen Car Scam" »

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Florida is known for its sunshine and now it’s in the national spotlight for a dubious distinction.

Florida is in the No. 2 spot nationwide for having the second highest foreclosure rate in the country in November. The sunshine state beat out California for the distinction. The statistics come from RealtyTrac, and are reported by the South Florida Business Journals.

That means one out of every 165 homes is receiving a foreclosure notice filed in November.

California is not far behind with the third-highest rate at one in every 180 housing units receiving a foreclosure notice in November.

Ahead of them all - Nevada – with one in every 119 housing units receiving a foreclosure notice in November, a number that is 3.5 times the national average.

For a while it looked as if things were improving. After two monthly decreases, the Florida foreclosure rate increased slightly in November. As for actual notices, RealtyTrac says that 52,935 Florida properties foreclosed, up eight percent from one year ago.

Areas especially hard hit include Cape Coral-Fort Myers, which came in fourth among metropolitan areas in Florida. The Orlando-Kissimmee area came in at No. 8; Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach was ranked at No. 13; and Palm Beach County ranked 18th with Broward County ranked fifth.

Continue reading "Florida Second in Nation for Foreclosures" »

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A Sarasota man has died after a motorcycle wreck in Jacksonville this week.

The 40-year-old was hospitalized after the wreck on New Berlin Road in Jacksonville on Tuesday.

The man reportedly lost control of his Kawasaki, while traveling north around 2:15 p.m. He was wearing a helmet say police and there were no other vehicles involved in the crash. The man hit a guard rail and was thrown from the bike. He was pronounced dead at the hospital Thursday night.

In another motorcycle accident in Jacksonville a motorcycle and car collided Thursday night. A 59-year old man was on his Harley when it collided with a Honda Civic at New Kings Road and I-295. Police report the vehicle turned in front of the motorcycle as it was attempting to enter I-295. The rider was thrown from the motorcycle. He was not wearing his helmet. He is listed in critical condition at Shands. The driver and passenger in the Civic were wearing their seat belts and were not injured.

Continue reading "Motorcycle Crash" »

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Beginning January first, it is not going to be as easy as it has been in the past to renew or replace your driver’s license in Florida’s St. Johns County.

It’s all part of the Real ID Act that was passed by Congress on May 11, 2005. Previously, the rules were not as stringent, but now residents will have to provide their Social Security number, prove their identity, and address.

The Act was passed to help prevent fraud and identity theft and to make it more difficult for terrorists to easily assimilate into the general population. Remember 18 of the 19 Saudi nationals that hijacked planes had valid U.S. driver’s licenses.

Here is what you will need to bring with you as a form of identification – a certified U.S. birth certificate (a hospital birth certificate is not acceptable); a valid U.S. passport; a Certification of Naturalization; or a Consular report of birth abroad. You may have to contact the vital statistics department in the state you were born.

Continue reading "Tougher License Requirements January First" »

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A San Diego woman lost her ability to walk after her Ford Explorer rolled over and its roof collapsed on her spine, crushing it. She was awarded $369 million by jurors who sat and listened to the evidence against Ford. That amount was later whittled down to $83 million by an appellate judge.

The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the punitive judgment to stand Monday rejecting an appeal from lawyers for Ford Motor Co. They had argued that punitive damages were unfair and unconstitutional since the design of the Ford Explorer met all safety standards set by the government and industry.

It seems that almost weekly we are reporting on Ford Explorer rollovers.

It was an Explorer filled with high school students who rolled on a Jacksonville road killing four of the teens in the Florida SUV rollover accident on the last day of school in June.

Notoriously unstable, until stability control was added, and with a high center of gravity, the Ford Explorer also had an insufficient roof strength that allowed it to collapse. In hearing the case, the jury heard that Ford could have strengthened the roof and avoided catastrophic head injuring for about $20 per vehicle.

Ford was joined by its friends at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in the appeal. The Chamber usually sides with big business no matter what the issue and no matter how morally questionable the product made by the industry (asbestos, cigarettes etc).

Continue reading "$83 Million Judgment Against Ford for Rollover" »

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Because of Florida’s weather, we are a perfect place for off-road vehicles.

There are two-passenger motorized vehicles designed for drivers 16 and older that look like a golf cart, go a lot faster, and with a roll cage, resemble a miniature Jeep. Known as ROVs or off-road recreational vehicles, the consumer Product Safety Commission has decided that these vehicles have so many potential problems that mandatory rules will be written to oversee the vehicles.

This comes after more than 100 deaths since 2003, many of them teenagers and young children.

The makers of ROVs proposed their own voluntary regulations, but the CPSC says they fell short. The Consumer Federation of America believes that the industry has been dragging its feet even when facing well-documented hazards caused by these products.

Continue reading "Off-Road Vehicle Increased Oversight" »

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Many banks are continuing to add fees and increase rates on your credit cards just because they can.

New and more stringent law are set to take place in February and just under the gun, the largest bank issuers are still using many of the tactics that led to the new regulation in the first place.

The Pew Health Group’s Safe Credit Cards Project finds some 400 credit cards from the nation’s 12 largest bank issuers engaging in unfair and deceptive practices. What are they?

The majority - 99.7 percent - allowed issuers to hike the interest rates on the outstanding balance, up from 93 percent who were doing that in December.

Have you ever seen a bank penalty rate of 28.9 percent? That was the median rate and again the majority of bank cards - 90 percent - had hikes that were triggered by one or two late payments in a year.

Continue reading "Credit Cards and Deceptive Practices " »

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Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has come out with a Legislative wish list for 2010. He clearly stated he is in favor of a ban on texting while driving this upcoming year, adding new momentum for the state Legislature to finally adopt some bill in 2010 after repeated tries in recent years.

At a Cabinet meeting the governor even prodded the head of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to also support a ban.

“We support limiting texting and driving,” Julie Jones said.

The Department of Transportation estimates 6,000 died on the roads last year in part because of distraction from cell phones. It may be a generational issue.

A study by Vingo Corp. of Massachusetts finds that 60 percent of teens admit to at least reading an incoming message while driving. It’s now the primary way teens send messages. An unbelievable 54 percent say they send more than 500 text messages every month, much more use than making a phone call.

In a recent AAA survey, over two-thirds of respondents admitted they had talked on a cell phone and 21 percent admitted to reading or sending a text while driving.

Continue reading "Crist Supports Texting Ban this Leg Session" »

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Married for 33 years, a couple, both 67-years-old, were looking forward to spending their retirement in the Palm Coast area of Florida between Daytona and Jacksonville. But that was not to be. On November 13, 2009, a Circuit Court jury in Flagler County granted the husband $5.1 million in the wrongful death of his wife. Back in 2006, she was killed instantly in a wreck between her Honda minivan and a fully loaded tractor-trailer. Her husband suffered a pelvic fracture.

The lawyer for the husband presented evidence that the tired trucker ran a stop sign at a well-known, isolated intersection in the southwest part of the county known as Cody’s Corner. The driver of Palatka was driving for McMaster Sod LLC of Bunnell, Florida.

An attorney argued that the county shared part of the fault for the accident because there was poor signage at the intersection, and there were worn rumble strips just before the stop sign. But the jury didn’t agree, placing 60 percent of the blame on the trucker, and 40 percent on McMaster and no blame on the county.

Some of the most compelling evidence included a Valentine’s card from the first year of the the couple’s marriage that said, “Our happiness is our wealth.”

Our hearts go out to the widower for his loss. No amount of money will replace his wife, whom he obviously adored.

Unfortunately, we are hearing more often about tired truck drivers. With the cost of fuel going up, and jobs scarce, many drivers are pushing beyond the legal limits on time behind the wheel and hiding those hours by keeping a second set of books so they are not fined. Then there are the added distractions on the road today. To stay in touch with their dispatchers and family, the cab of a truck is often filled with electronics so the driver doesn’t have to stop.

Continue reading "Widower Awarded $5 Million for Trucking Accident" »

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A 42-year-old St. Augustine, Florida woman was killed Friday night after authorities say she walked in front of a moving car. She was crossing Florida 207 when she was hit by a Honda sedan about 6:20 p.m. The driver was identified as a 55-year-old female from St. Augustine by the Florida Highway Patrol.

In a separate pedestrian accident in Florida about an hour later, a man was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries Friday night after he was hit by a car in Northwest Jacksonville. The unidentified man was standing near the center of West Moncrief Road near Raines Avenue waiting for the traffic to clear, said the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Then the driver said the man just darted into traffic about 7:30 p.m. where he was hit. The man was taken to Shands Jacksonville hospital. Charges will not be filed against the driver.

On Tuesday, a pedestrian was struck and killed by an SUV at the rain-drenched intersection of North Main Street near 53rd Street. Police say the man was trying to cross the street when he walked in front of the vehicle.

The Times-Union reports the man’s relative identified him and that he didn’t have a car and walked everywhere he went. He later died at the hospital. No charges have been filed in that case.

Our condolences go out to the family members of these pedestrians, who have every right to cross a street as a car does to drive down one. We are sorry for your loss.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, in 2005 there were 576 pedestrians killed in the state, nearly 8,000 crashes that injured pedestrians and 8,626 pedestrian crashes.

Continue reading "Three Pedestrians Hit in Separate Accidents" »

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The number of lawsuits by employees in Florida is on the rise, hitting record levels in Jacksonville. That’s because the recession, although supposedly over, continues to be seen in continuing layoffs and high unemployment numbers.

The Jacksonville numbers mirror a growing trend nationwide of employers that want to hang onto every cent in these trying times.

Unfortunately for them, there are laws protecting the employee. The New Deal legislation drafted during the Great Depression outlaws child labor and sets a minimum wage that is guaranteed. Amendments guaranteed employees a right to overtime pay.

Many disputes involve overtime.

When a man was hired at a 185-bed Youth Academy in Hastings, Florida, as a therapist, he was told he was a salaried employee. When he worked fewer than 40 hours a week, his pay was docked. But when he worked overtime hours, more than 40 hours a week, as he often did, he was not paid overtime.

The man complained, as did other case managers, and when that didn’t work, he sued. He says the company owes him tens of thousands of dollars. His law firm believes that he is not alone and is exploring whether the employer violated the law with other employees.

Starbucks has also been sued by Florida employees for failing to pay overtime in violation of federal law. The case has been granted a conditional class-action status because there are so many Florida Starbucks managers with the same claim. Starbucks has already had to pay $100 million in unpaid tips and interest to workers in California last year.

Working “off-the-clock” is a common scam that employers use to avoid paying overtime. If you are ordered to perform work-related tasks either before clocking in or after clocking out, you also may be eligible to file a lawsuit, as the employer is violating the law.

For the hourly worker, the standard is 40 hours a week. The minimum wage set by the state January 1, 2009 was $7.21 an hour. On July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage rose to $7.25 an hour. That means Florida employers must compensate their workers at a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour as well. Paying them less is illegal.

Continue reading "Overtime Lawsuits Thrive in Jacksonville" »

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There is a very bad proposal coming from Georgia’s Republican U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss as a way to keep health care costs down. Chambliss is known to be a friend to big business and his proposal shows it.

Chambliss is co-sponsoring legislation he says would cut down on so-called “frivolous” malpractice lawsuits.

Instead of capping the jury awards to the injured, cruel in itself if a truly injured person wins their case before a jury and is then told, “Sorry, state law caps what the jury wanted you to have.” Equally cruel, Chambliss has been joined by Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, in supporting a so-called “loser pays” legislation that would require those involved in a medical malpractice claim to enter nonbinding arbitration to try and resolve their differences.

Only if that did not resolve the dispute could they go to court, but if the injured loses, he or she would be on the hook to pay the opponents’ legal fees which easily could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Chambliss defends the proposal, called the Fair Resolution of Medical Liability Disputes Act of 2009.

Now remember this would apply, even if the person is successful before a jury but has their case turned over on appeal. That means all a deep-pocketed corporation has to do is keep filing appeals to higher courts and eventually the injured will run out of funds or their lawyer will. That’s how corporations use the courts to stomp on people and make them go away.

So ultimately the physically injured can become fiscally injured. The end effect will be no lawsuits are filed because no one wants to take the chance on what an unpredictable jury will do. And that’s the point.

In a statement Chambliss said, "While no one with a valid claim for medical malpractice should be denied his day in court, those who bring frivolous lawsuits raise the cost of health care for everyone, ‘Loser pays' should go a long way toward discouraging such junk lawsuits and lowering the cost of practicing medicine."

Folks - there are no frivolous lawsuits that I’m aware of filed by most big law firms. No one wants to put out the couple of hundred of thousands in lawyer time and hiring expert witnesses unless there is a case. Period. It just doesn’t make financial sense.

Continue reading "Loser Pays is a Bad Idea" »

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If you are driving a Toyota, I hope you are aware of what is going on.

Last month, Toyota announced it was planning its largest recall ever of nearly four million vehicles over the issue of loose floor mats that may be interfering with the accelerator pedal, causing the car to speed out of control.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has conducted an investigation into a high profile crash in California and is raising questions as to whether the floor mats are the only culprit in Toyota and Lexus models.

Last August, a Lexus ES 350, speeding out of control, killed an off-duty California Highway Patrol Officer, his wife, their daughter, and brother-in-law. All four died when the 2009 Lexus in which they were riding, a loaner car from the dealer, plummeted over an embankment in suburban San Diego at more than 100 mph before it burst into flames. The family was able to contact a 9-1-1- operator to say they couldn’t stop the ES 350. The brother-in-law, said the Lexus had no brakes.

Bob Carter, Toyota’s U.S. brand chief told the annual Reuters Summit recently said that speculation about a troubled fuel delivery system, braking, or runaway accelerator system is inaccurate.

"There's no evidence to support any of that," Carter said, adding that the automaker was working closely with the U.S. government to address the planned recall of up to 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles reports Reuters.

Since then, Toyota has warned consumers to remove the driver-side floor mats from eight Toyota models as a safety precaution, including the Prius.

These models are affected by this consumer alert:

• 2007-2010 Camry


• 2005-2010 Avalon


• 2004-2009 Prius


• 2005-2010 Tacoma


• 2007-2010 Tundra


• 2007-2010 ES 350


• 2006-2010 IS 250 and IS350

Continue reading "Toyota's Ongoing Problems" »

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Home to the longest-standing port in the continental U.S., the city of St. Augustine is often called “the nation’s oldest city.” Surrounded by beautiful beaches and museums, St. Augustine is home to approximately 12,157 residents and caters to many visitors passing through Northern Florida. As a well traversed area, St. Augustine is situated 60 miles north of Daytona Beach just 5 miles east of Interstate 95, and 40 miles south of Jacksonville.

With the immense population of St. Augustine taking to the road and local highways, it is an unfortunate reality that accidents, injuries, and even death take place due to defective vehicles. Whether these catastrophic incidents are brought on by incompetent auto manufacturing standards or the negligence of a particular auto maker, the failure of auto components can impose many negative consequences on drivers and passengers.

15-passenger vans are one of the most controversial vehicles when it comes to auto product liability issues. The U.S. Department of Transportation has repeatedly warned consumers about potential dangers associated with the inefficiency of 15-passenger vans. These vehicles are improperly designed in that they have a particularly high center of gravity which creates a propensity to “fishtail” and overturn. Problems with tire inflation are also an issue of concern with 15-passenger vans because this can contribute to a rollover accident.

Anyone who has endured injury due to a defective vehicle or poorly designed auto part has legal rights and may be able to obtain recompense from negligent parties based on auto product obligations under the law. The experienced St. Augustine auto product liability attorneys at Farah and Farah have devoted many years to helping defective vehicle injury victims receive the restitution that they deserve. Whether you believe your auto accident and subsequent injuries were caused by a defect in a small passenger vehicle, truck, or 15-passenger van, our personal injury attorneys can help. Contact Farah and Farah today at our St. Augustine office for a free and confidential consultation of your case:

(904) 797-7977
1301 Plantation Island Drive
Suite 206A
St. Augustine, Florida 32080


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In 2007, a 39-year old woman from San Francisco was the happy mother of 3-year-old twins.
Doctors put her on the Yaz birth control pill. Four weeks and one day later, she suffered a stroke.

Today it’s obvious to see part of her skull has been removed. Doctors had to operate to accommodate the brain swelling following her stroke. Her IQ is 77. She has chronic pain and has no short-term memory. She can no longer drive.

The injured woman was in the hospital for six months and returned to her twins a different person. They are getting help coping with the condition of their new mother, who walks, talks and looks different, with the help of a counselor.

Her doctors told her it was Yaz that caused her stroke and she has filed suit against drug maker Bayer HealthCare.

In addition, a 34-year-old history teacher and mother of two is also suing. She developed blood clots in both lungs in 2007 after starting Yaz. That resulted in partial loss of her right lung.
Yaz and Yasmin are made by Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals. Yaz is the newest sister to drug Yasmin and Yaz contains less estrogen. Ocella birth control is the generic version that is sold by Teva Pharmaceuticals.

All three oral contraceptives are among the most widely used and involve a combination of ethinyl estradiol with a new type of progestin, drospirenone. It has been linked to health problems including strokes, heart attacks, deep vein thrombosis, gallbladder disease, pulmonary embolisms, and death. The drug label says that the presence of drospirenone can increase potassium levels and may present a risk for heart problems for women who have liver or kidney problems.

Courthouse News Service reports that Bayer is facing more than 125 lawsuits over Yaz, and up to six new cases a day are being filed around the country, claiming that Bayer didn’t thoroughly research the new progesterone ingredient, drospirenone before marketing it.
Class actions are forming in New Jersey, where Bayer is headquartered, in East St. Louis, and in Pennsylvania state court.

Amazingly the drug is still on the market. Bayer may have failed to warn about side effects, but it does know how to market.

Yaz is the top-selling birth control pill in the U.S. partially due to the multimillion- dollar ad campaign by Bayer that promotes the pill as a quality-of-life treatment that improves acne and severe premenstrual depression.

The go-to drugs for women under the age of 35 generated sales of about $1.8 billion for Bayer last year.

Continue reading "Yaz Yasmin Oral Contraceptives Lawsuits Growing" »

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Posted In: Defective Drug , Health & Information , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Pharmaceutical Litigation , Product Liability

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One important element of health care reform that’s often not mentioned is the cost of medical errors and specifically errors involving prescriptions.

Medication interactions, a pharmacy mix-up, or the inability to read the doctor’s handwriting, can all lead to drug dosage errors which cost us all about $4 billion a year, not to mention lives and injuries.

Now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it is trying to identify how 1.5 million prescription errors happen every year, according to the Institute of Medicine.

It is astonishing and even FDA commissioner, Margaret Hamburg, who is a doctor was stunned by the numbers. She announced a new plan called “Safe Use Initiative” by saying it “doesn’t require a new scientific discovery or a budget appropriation.”

The FDA will be holding public hearings and gathering information from the public.

Every week we hear of the adverse events from prescription medications, even when they are used as directed or prescribed. Consider Tylenol that can cause liver damage when taken in excess, and the current controversy about oral contraceptives Yaz and Yasmin, still on the market, but likely to eventually be pulled off because of the links to heart attack, strokes and blood clots.

Public Citizen’s Dr. Sidney Wolfe says part of the problem is that information is missing from warning labels about 99.5 percent of the time.

Continue reading "FDA Will Probe Medication Errors" »

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A 25-year-old Orange park woman lost her life on I-95 Saturday and it was a scene we’ve seen all too often.

The Florida Highway Patrol reports that the woman was heading south on Interstate 95 in Flagler County when she lost control of her 1999 Ford Explorer SUV and crashed Saturday afternoon around 3:15 p.m. The FHP report says that the woman changed lanes to pass slow traffic and that’s when she moved to the shoulder of the road and lost control of the vehicle rolling it several times. The woman was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the Explorer and taken to Halifax Hospital where she was pronounced dead. No one else was reported to be in the SUV and no other vehicles were involved in the auto accident in Florida.

Our hearts go out to the family of this young woman whose life was cut short too soon. This accident never should have happened and I wish we could turn back time for the woman who lost her life.

When I read about this accident I was reminded of the Ford Explorer SUV that was overloaded with young people on the last day of school in June 2009. When a tire blew as the kids from Ed White High School were on their way to the beach, the driver lost control of the Explorer and with none of his passengers wearing their seat belts; all were ejected. Four teens lost their lives that day. That horrific accident is being blamed, at least partially, on the tire which blew out.

An accident investigator is going to want to check the tires on the vehicle involved in the Flagler County accident. There may be a cause of legal action if indeed the tire is determined to be the reason the woman lost control of her vehicle.

The second problem is the earlier model of Ford Explorer.

Continue reading "I-95 Accident Kills Young Woman" »

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The city of Brunswick is situated in southeastern Georgia approximately 30 miles north of Florida. Brunswick is well-known for a variety of reasons, a few of which include being home to the fourth-largest automobile port in the eastern United States and being the center of Georgia’s shrimp and crab industries. Brunswick’s estimated population was 16,235 in 2007 and it had a metropolitan population of 101,792.

In encompassing the twelfth-largest metropolitan area in the state of Georgia, Brunswick residents rely heavily on personally owned automobiles as transport throughout the vast counties of Glynn, Brantley, and McIntosh. With its immense population taking to the road and local highways, it is an unfortunate actuality that accidents, injuries, and even death take place in Brunswick due to defective vehicles. Whether these tragic incidents are caused by incoherent auto manufacturing standards or the negligence of a specific auto maker, the failure of auto components can have detrimental consequences on drivers and passengers.

At the forefront of auto product liability problems, the U.S. Department of Transportation has continually warned consumers about the danger and inefficiency of 15-passenger vans. These vehicles are defectively designed in that they have a high center of gravity which provides a propensity to “fishtail” and overturn. 15-passenger vans also have shown issues with tire inflation which can lead to a rollover accident.

Individuals who have suffered injury due to a defective vehicle or poorly designed auto part have rights and may be able to seek compensation from negligent parties based on auto product obligations under the law. The skilled Brunswick Georgia auto product liability lawyers at Farah and Farah have acquired many years of experience assisting defective vehicle injury victims in obtaining the restitution that they deserve. Whether you believe your auto accident and subsequent injuries were caused by a defect in a small passenger vehicle, truck, or 15-passenger van, our personal injury attorneys can help. Contact Farah and Farah today at our Brunswick, Georgia office for a free consultation of your case:

(912) 466-8896
4216 Coral Park Drive
Suite 107
Brunswick, GA 31520

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Nine deaths are now blamed on highly flammable women’s robe sold by Blair LLC and the company is expanding its recall. Made by a Pakistani manufacturer, Blair LLC of Warren, Pennsylvania has been working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to widen the recall.

So far about 300,000 chenille robes have been recalled including a full-length robe, a chenille jacket, lounge jackets, and chenille tops. Earlier this year there were five reports of death linked to the robes.

What generally happens is that women wear the chenille robe in the kitchen near the stove where they catch fire. The garment has failed to meet federal flammability standards so are particularly dangerous if near an open flame.

Most of the victims have been in the 70s and 80s, according to the CPSC.

This robe from Pakistan is the not the only product under a federal probe. Other chenille robes and chenille products also made by A-One Textile & Towel of Karachi, Pakistan are being looked at.

"This robe is highly flammable, flames travel quickly up the robe," said Scott Wolfson of the CPSC. "It's a deadly risk to women."

The recalled products were sold in Blair catalogs, online and at Blair stores in Warren, Pa.; Grove City, Pa.; and Wilmington, Del., from July 2000 through April 2007.

Continue reading "Recall of Flammable Robes" »

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With a population of about 10,800 as of July 2007 estimates, Palatka, Florida has a population density of about 1,553 people located within its 6.96 square mile, city limits. Located in Putnam County, Palatka is a city of commuter residents, with only about 20% of its residents both living and working within the city limits. As such, traffic in Palatka is an issue that all residents have to deal with. Unfortunately, with such an influx of traffic entering and exiting Palatka, vehicular accidents are bound to occur. Motorcycle accidents are one type of accident in particular that afflicts a large number of motorists each year. Fortunately though, a skilled Palatka motorcycle accident attorney can assist an injured individual with all aspects of their personal injury case.

More often than they do in passenger car accidents, catastrophic injuries can render motorcycle accident victims forever impaired. When catastrophic accidents result in brain injury, injured motorists can experience significant setbacks. Hospital fees, physical therapy costs, and even wages lost, both past and future, may be sought from negligent parties that caused the accident. In such instances, it is critical that experienced Palatka brain injury attorneys are consulted so as to protect the rights of injured motorists in a court of law.

If you have been injured in a Palatka motorcycle accident, legal help is available. Don’t hesitate to contact the personal injury law firm of Farah and Farah. Our skilled motorcycle accident attorneys will examine the circumstances of your accident, and will see to it that your rights are not trampled upon in a court of law. If your injuries are catastrophic, our Palatka brain injury lawyers will seek compensatory damages on your behalf to help assist with the costs associated with your accident. If you are injured in Palatka, please contact Farah and Farah for a free consultation of your injury case:

(386) 328-2889
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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Brain Injury , Law & Information , Motorcycle Accident , Personal Injury

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The push is on to ban texting while driving in Florida, one of 32 states where it is still legal to do so. AAA Auto Club is calling for a nationwide ban so that Florida can join 18 states where the practice is illegal.

Expect the 2010 legislative session to have at least two bills introduced by Florida lawmakers. Once again for the third year, Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton plans to push for a prohibition on texting while driving when the legislature convenes in March. And Rep. Doug Holder, R-Sarasota has filed HB 41 for the 2010 session to address the practice.

So far a ban has been unsuccessful and it’s beginning to be not only embarrassing for Florida, but more important, deadly. Five bills to ban the practice were filed in 2007 and in 2009, 11 bills were sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate, but thanks to some pretty heavy lobbying, none passed. The Miami Herald calls the Florida Legislature the handmaiden to the telecommunications industry.

You would think after what happened to Heather Hurd, Florida would wake up. Heather’s Law, as it’s been proposed, is named after one of two Polk County women who was killed in an eight-car pileup caused by a tractor-trailer driver who was texting.

While the Florida Highway Patrol does not have a way to tally up those who die in the state from texting thought the state is beginning to reformat its crash reports to include that information. The best estimate was that in 2008, 15 people were killed in Florida and 1,400 were injured by distracted drivers.

Continue reading "Texting Ban in Florida Finally Considered" »

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The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has a new Web site to focus on the state’s most at-risk drivers – teenagers.

Gov. Crist attended a Teen Driver Safety Summit this week where teen drivers and law enforcement exchanged ideas on how to create the safest possible driving environment for your young drivers.

Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the number one killer of teens. While teens make up six percent of drivers, they are involved in 14 percent of fatal crashes.

The Department has development a driving guide and Web site for parents and teens to use as a resource. The new web site is www.flhsmv.gov/teens.

It describes the state’s graduated license law and offers a log where drivers can add up their minimum of 50 hours of supervised driving before they get their license. TakeTheWheel.net is a Web site by teens that talks to teenagers in an interactive forum for teens to share their driving experiences.

Inexperience behind the wheel, a feeling of invincibility, alcohol, not wearing seat belts – all contribute to the high teen death rate behind the wheel.

The Department reports that the crash rate for teenagers 15 to 19 is 399 per 10,000 drivers, twice as high as their parents, and three to four times higher than their grandparents.That may surprise some.

Continue reading "Teen Driver Safety Week" »

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Even tobacco executives acknowledge these days that smoking is an environmental risk for cancer. According to the American Lung Association, more than 400,000 American lives are lost each year due to smoking or from secondhand smoke shared with babies and spouses.
Chantix sounded like a lifesaver when it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in May 2006.

Also known as Varenicline Tartrate, Chantix is made by Pfizer and given to end smoking addiction. The FDA reportedly reduced its usual review time from 10 to six months.

Here’s how it works. Instead of using nicotine, which many smoking cessation therapies include, Chantix reduces cravings and decreases the pleasurable effects of smoking. But side effects reported include nausea, headaches, abnormal sleep, and Chantix dreams, vivid wild dreams.

It’s estimated about 5 million prescription have been written.

In November 2007, the FDA began investigating reports of suicidal behavior among users. 37 reports had come in of suicides and hundreds with suicidal behavior. Pfizer was forced to add a stronger warning on the drug’s label.

Pfizer has suggested that Chantix-induced psychotic episodes are actually due to nicotine withdrawal, but the FDA notes that even people who keep smoking and are taking Chantix have the same episodes.

After ABC News published the story of Carter Albrecht, who, after taking his first 1 milligram Chantix tablet, assaulted his girlfriend, and was shot and killed by a neighbor who thought he was a burglar. ABC received over 200 comments from people describing similar erratic behavior.

By November 2007, the FDA issued a release about Chantix confirming there were an increasing number of reports about radical changes in behavior and suicidal thoughts among users of Chantix. As a result the FDA recommended that healthcare workers monitor Chantix users for behavior and mood changes. Pfizer continues to say that Chantix is a real breakthrough medicine even though by February, 2008, the FDA was saying that after a continuous review of adverse event reports there was likely an association between Chantix and serious neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Continue reading "Chantix Reports of Suicide Keep Coming In" »

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Posted In: Defective Drug , Health & Information , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Pharmaceutical Litigation , Product Liability , Wrongful Death

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We put computer chips on dogs to find them when they are lost. Your new Blackberry may have a Global Positioning Satellite or GPS. Why do we not have some tracking devices attached to our most precious gift – our children?

The need was made painfully clear in Orange Park near Jacksonville this week when the body of a little 7-year-old was found discarded in a Georgia landfill. The girl had disappeared while walking home from her Orange Park, Florida elementary school.

The young child and her family are in our prayers. No one can rest until this monster is found.
There are about 115 children kidnapped by strangers every year in the U.S. and entrepreneurs have been frantically working to come up with devices that allow us to track our children.

Many people think that microchips, put under the skin, help you find a child. But when put into our pets, they allow shelters to run a scanner and obtain information on the owner. They are not tracking devices.

The VeriChip Company makes a version called VeriKid, which is used in Mexico. VeriKid can only find children when scanners are put in public places kidnapped children may travel.

Wherify GPS Personal Locator combines GPS and digital wireless technologies to pinpoint a wearers position within a few feet. Parents can view satellite or street map or call an 800 number. Cost is $800 and more each month for monitoring. Parents lock the bracelet onto the child’s wrist.

Amber/AlertGPS is a small gadget that tells parents where their child is at all times. It features a button your child can push when they are in trouble sending out an SOS signal to five preselected people on their mobile phones and email addresses and can be placed in their pocket or backpack. You can set areas like a quarter mile around home or school you automatically gets an alarm, can also be used for speeding teenagers. At a cost of $379 with tracking plans ranging from $10 to $60 a month, it’s a little too costly for most parents.

Continue reading "Abducted Child's Body Found - What Can Parents Do?" »

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The Ford Motor Company is issuing a recall for 4.5 million vehicles because of a faulty switch that can overheat and catch fire.

The action comes after an 18-month federal investigation that has Ford recalling more than 14 million vehicles in eight recalls over a decade over the faulty switch and the potential for fires.

The problem switch is made by Texas Instruments and sold for about $21. The cruise control deactivation switch can leak hydraulic fluid, overheat and then burn risking fire, even when the car is parked in your garage. The Windstar vans have an elevated risk, said a Ford spokesman.
The Detroit News, reports that Ford stopped using the switches in early 2003, but not before they were linked to at least 1,500 complaints and 550 vehicle fires.

At least one person died when the vehicle caught fire in their garage.

A 76-year-old man died August 14, 2007 when a fire started in his 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis parked in an attached garage in San Antonio, the Detroit News reports. Police reported it as an electrical malfunction in the engine compartment of the car.

You are advised to park your vehicle outside until it can be serviced.

Ford drivers should look for anything that appears to signal a fire danger such as malfunctioning cruise control and brake lights, antilock braking systems and brake light warnings on the dash. Another warning sign is difficulty in getting the vehicle out of the park mode.

Continue reading "Ford Recall Involving Faulty Switch and Fire Danger" »

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This is a tragic story that serves to remind us of the dangers that can lurk, even at home.
A Palm Bay, Florida married couple and their son were all putting up a ham radio antenna in their back yard. The couple and their 15-year-old son were on the ground holding the antenna. Meanwhile a friend was on the roof.

Tragically, the antenna fell and struck a low-hanging power line that had 13,000 volts of electricity. The voltage shocked the family, killing them.

Our condolences go out to the friends and family of these poor individuals.

This story underscores how everyday premises can present a danger. Who would have thought that something so random and tragic could happen? The same sort of unexpected tragedies can happen on premises that do not belong to a homeowner.

Sometimes called “slip and fall,” the owner of a premise has the highest duty to keep those on the premises from harm, whether the individuals are invited or not.

Individuals under this definition may include business customers (shoppers at Wal-Mart), visitors to public places (museums or parks), and guests (social gatherings). Generally, if the property is open to the public and the property owner invites the public inside, the public is considered an “invitee.”

But a landowner is not responsible for a slip and fall accident if the person who fell is considered a trespasser.

But the property owner has certain legal responsibilities regardless of the status of the person entering upon the property. Some of these responsibilities include:

1. proper notice of any dangerous conditions of which the property owner may be aware;


2. keeping the property in a reasonably safe condition;


3. proper posting of “no trespassing” signs or warning of harmful or dangerous conditions regarding the property; and,


4. not creating a dangerous or harmful condition on the property, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Continue reading "Electrocution Death of Three in Palm Bay" »

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Posted In: Law & Information , Personal Injury , Premises Liability , Wrongful Death

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She will spend the next four years in prison for DUI manslaughter. Many are saying she got off lucky. It was bad enough when last April, the 25-year-old woman side-swiped a van on I-295 near San Jose Boulevard. But instead of staying at the scene of the early morning wreck, police say she drove away.

She might have gotten away with it, but when she left the scene, she kept driving and then lost control of her pickup truck on Crown Point Road and struck a tree. As often happens with people who are driving while under the influence of alcohol, she was uninjured, but her 30-year-old male passenger died at the scene. Despite the death of her passenger, the woman took off on foot and was eventually tracked down by K-9 teams.

The woman pled guilty to DUI manslaughter. This week she was sentenced.

We wonder how the family of her passenger feels about her four years behind bars. According to state guidelines, the woman could have received 15 years for a felony in the second degree. Leaving the scene, in this case twice, bumps the sentencing to a first degree felony.

The driver of any vehicle involved in a crash that results in the death of any person is required by Florida law 316.027 to immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the crash or as close as possible, and remain at the scene.

You are required to stay and render aid and give information to any officer investigating the scene and to give aid to anyone injured at the scene including getting them to a doctor or hospital if that is requested by the injured person.

Continue reading "DUI Hit-and-Run Driver Sentenced" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Drunk Driving Accident , Hit-and-Run Accident , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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Doctors may finally be getting the message about the dangers of Johnson & Johnson’s fentanyl patches. Sales are down worldwide 20.5 % equating to roughly $200 million dollars. The drop comes after a series of deaths and lawsuits and at least two J & J recalls in the last two years.

Just last month, the painkiller was prescribed to a 15-year-old boy who died of an overdose following a tooth extraction. The Seattle teen was autistic and for some reason was prescribed the patch usually used for chronic pain in cancer patients and is generally prescribed for people who have developed a resistance to opium-based painkillers.

Since the 15-year-old was unable to speak and communicate to caretakers, it complicated his reaction and anyone’s ability to help him.

A civil suit has been filed because the boy was given the highest dose available, says his attorney. The hospital says it erred in prescribing fentanyl to the teen patient. Wrong prescriptions of the fentanyl patch are not an uncommon problem across the country.

A Sanford, Fla., jury in October 2008 awarded $13.3 million to the family of a 34-year-old woman who died after undergoing back surgery and using the Duragesic patch (fentanyl). The jurors decided that two J & J subsidiaries, Janssen and Alza, were responsible for her death.
J & J face about 60 other lawsuits over the Duragesic patches.

Part of the problem with fentanyl, whether by J & J or generic, is that it is delivered through a patch allowing the drug to pass through the skin and entering the blood at a constant rate. When someone takes a pill, the level of drug rises and falls in the blood, giving the body somewhat of a rest.

Transdermal patches don’t give the patient’s body a rest and they may end up getting too much of the drug.

There have been five Duragesic/fentanyl recalls since 1994. Watson Pharmaceuticals issued a recall for its leaking fentanyl painkiller patch in August and the company said that exposure to fentanyl exposure may lead to respiratory depression and possible overdose.

In 2005, the FDA said that there had been 120 reports of death related to the fentanyl patch.
Most recently, in December 2008, a division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen a company under Johnson & Johnson recalled defective fentanyl transdermal patches. The company said some patches had a slit along one side creating the possibility that the fentanyl get could leak out of the package exposing both caregivers and the patient to an overdose.

The last official move by the FDA earlier this year came in a letter sent to the six manufacturers to demonstrate that the drug’s benefits outweigh the potential risks. While the drug has a real benefit for those suffering from so-called “breakthrough pain,” especially from cancer, the FDA notes that the number of accident overdoses is increasing.

Continue reading "Fentanyl Patch Dangers" »

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Posted In: Defective Drug , Defective Medical Device , Health & Information , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Pharmaceutical Litigation , Product Liability , Wrongful Death

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California will begin testing a requirement that drivers convicted of DUI install a device in their vehicle that stops the car from starting if alcohol is detected on the driver. The driver’s breath gives him away. A breathalyzer will be installed in the car for five months under the law. Any detection of alcohol and the interlock device will keep the car from starting, even a small amount of alcohol. This is a six-year test pilot project.

A similar law went into effect in Florida in 2003, mandating that some drunken drivers have the ignition interlock device installed in their car.

Florida’s legal intoxication blood-alcohol level is 0.08 or more grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or a breath-alcohol level of 0.08 or more per 210 liters of breath.

Repeat DUI offenders and first-time offenders with a BAC over .15 would have to install the devices. The law would also apply to those who drove under the influence with a child in the car.

The law states that the lock will be installed for six months for first offenders and the lock will not allow the car to start unless the driver's blood alcohol content (BAC) is under 0.05.

With a second conviction, the driver must have an ignition interlock device operated or owned by the convicted person. A third conviction and they get a mandatory placement for a period of not less than two years. A third violation can bring you up to 12 months in jail and the mandatory placement for at least two years. Fines go up from there.

The law also states that for a third or subsequent violation, the offender must complete a DUI treatment course.

If you are pulled over and you do not have an approved interlock device, you will be subject to arrest for violating your driver’s license restriction.

Continue reading "Ignition Devices Could Stop Repeat DUI Offenders" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Drunk Driving Accident , Law & Information , Personal Injury

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Located in Northeast Clay County, Orange Park is a suburb of Jacksonville situated just south of Jacksonville, Florida. As a lively community rich in history and culture, Orange Park has a great deal to offer. Clay County, which Orange Park is located in, is also a bustling region of Florida. With a population in excess of 180,000 and a high population density, hundreds of residents and visitors take part in the pleasure and thrill of riding motorcycles. Similar to many densely populated cities, Orange Park is not immune to motorcycle accidents that are caused by negligent motorists failing to yield to motorcyclists or even see them on the road.

At Farah and Farah, our skilled Orange Park motorcycle injury lawyers have devoted many years to protecting the rights of motorcycle accident victims. When another driver’s negligence causes a motorcyclist to suffer serious injuries, the motorcyclist may be able to seek compensation to help pay for loss of wages, pain and suffering, medical treatment, and many other financial burdens brought on by a serious injury.

Motorcycle accidents in St. Augustine can have catastrophic repercussions on a motorcyclist, significantly affecting an injured victim’s quality of life for many years, if not indefinitely. Brain injuries are one of the most recurrent injuries that affect motorcyclists when collisions take place. The experienced brain injury attorneys at Farah and Farah have been assisting motorcycle victims and other personal injury victims receive the compensation they require to obtain appropriate medical care and rehabilitative attention after a brain injury.

To learn more about how the attorneys at Farah and Farah may be able to help you receive compensation for the physical suffering, emotional grief, or property damage caused by your motorcycle accident or brain injury accident, contact us at our Orange Park office for a free and confidential consultation of your injury case:

(904) 264-0700
1534 Kingsley Avenue
Orange Park, Florida 32073


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St Johns County Sheriff’s Officer, Col. Art May of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Department says he is seeing it more and more. Often it presents as a swerving car. In the past, he would have pulled the driver over assuming they were drunk.

These days he quickly ascertains more often than not that the driver is texting.

Now the St Johns County Chamber of Commerce is joining forces with the AAA Auto Club South. It developed the idea of getting businesses involved to sign a safe-driving pledge to guarantee their employees will not text and drive.

Chamber President Robin Burchfield feels it is a natural to represent businesses in the community in a positive way.

The movement is not limited to Jacksonville. All of the chambers in Florida will be invited to join in the effort to get businesses to sign the no-texting-while-driving pledge.

Ultimately AAA hopes to put pressure on the Florida Legislature to finally pass a law that bans texting while behind the wheel. At the present time it is legal for drivers to text and drive, but an officer like May can cite you for careless driving.

So far no bills have passed in the Legislature and though one was introduced this year, lawmakers adjourned without voting. Expect it to come back again in 2010 when the session convenes on March 2, including Heather’s Law which would prohibit the use of handheld cell phone while driving.

Continue reading "Florida Focus on Dangers of Texting While Driving" »

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A husband and wife were pulled over for speeding when the woman was going into labor last March. She later gave birth to their son.

News Channel 4 caught up with them recently. It turns out a Jacksonville Sheriff’s officer ticketed them for speeding as they rushed to get to the hospital. The woman was only 20 weeks into her pregnancy, a very dangerous time for her water to break. Doctors told the couple to get to the hospital fast!

On nearby Kernan Boulevard, where the speed limit is 30 mph, they were pulled over for going 39 mph. When they told the officer about the pending emergency, instead of showing compassion and driving the couple to the hospital, or at least accompanying them, he held them up further by writing the ticket. Today they are angry with that JSO officer, who they say took his time writing the ticket.

The husband even went to court to fight the ticket but lost and ended up paying. Instead of the birthday of his son, spending it with him in the hospital, he was in court for two yours. He lost.
JSO began an internal investigation in June into the actions of the two officers involved following the Nordman's complaint. Both officers claimed they were never told that the woman was pregnant or that she needed medical attention and said they were only told by the husband that they were on their way to the hospital.

Continue reading "Couple Speeding, Ticketed On Way To Hospital" »

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Researchers believe that two separate and fatal cases of Lou Gehrig’s Disease in young girls following the Gardasil injection may be related to the vaccine. Gardasil is injected in girls beginning at age 9 through age 26, to protect against two types of virus that cause cervical cancer and two that cause genital warts. It’s estimated 7 million young girls and women have received the vaccine, delivered in a three-shot series.

In both cases the young women died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), and the disease progressed rapidly. Merck, the maker of Gardasil, does not believe that Gardasil could have caused the events.

But the two cases are very similar and researchers are suspicious that ALS in young people, affecting just one in 2-3 million, may be related to the vaccine.

Here’s what we do know. One of the girls was 14-years-old when she received Gardasil. Months after her third shot in the three-booster Gardasil series, she began tripping over easy hurdles in gym class. Soon both legs and her arms became weak, she began to limp and had trouble gripping objects and she felt pins and needles in her feet. Her muscled atrophied. Within a year she was paralyzed, a quadriplegic and used life support to help her breath before she died. The degenerative disease did not harm her mind, which Web MD reports was as sharp as ever.

The girl’ parents want people to know they are not anti-vaccine. After all, they had their daughter vaccinated with Gardasil. The girl was 15-years-old when she lost her battle with the rapidly degenerative neurological disease on March 15, 2009.

Another girl, 20-years-old had a rapid progression of ALS in a similar way within four months of her first Gardasil shot. She died 28 months later.

Our hearts go out to the parents and family and friends of these two young women.

The link between the symptoms and the shot is very suspicious to researcher Dr. Catherine Lomen-Hoerth at the ALS Center at University of California San Francisco Medical Center. First, the symptoms progressed very rapidly, more so than in a typical ALS patient. And both girls had an inflamed spinal cord she said to doctors at the American Neurological Association, which is not normally seen in ALS.

And one doctor, Yadollah Harati, a neurologist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, says he will now ask his young ALS patients if they received the Gardasil vaccine. He didn’t think to ask before, he tells Web MD. The parents of the 14-year-old are asking anyone who visits their Web site in their daughter’s honor, Jenny’s Journey, to forward any cases of muscle paralysis following a Gardasil injection to their Web site so they can make sure that it is registered on the federal VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System). They fear other cases may not be reported since VAERS is not generally known to the public and there are no requirements to post adverse events, though hospitals and doctors are encouraged to do so.

Continue reading "Two Girls Die of Lou Gehrig Disease Following Gardasil" »

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Hulk Hogan, professional wrestler and Florida resident, is suing his lawyers over his son’s auto accident. You may recall that Nick Bollea, the son of Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan) was involved in a serious car accident when he was 17 years old. Bollea was speeding on State Road 60 through Clearwater when he lost control and hit a raised median. The car flipped and hit a palm tree. Bollea’s passenger and friend were permanently injured. In fact, he just got out of the hospital, but is wheelchair bound.

After the accident, the Hogan family found that their Progressive Insurance had a limit of $250,000 coverage. That is too low. Everyone should carry uninsured motorist coverage and a personal umbrella insurance policy. The cost is very inexpensive. Be aware that not all umbrella policies include Uninsured Motorists/Underinsured Motorists. Carry the limits as high as you can afford. $1 million is not too much to protect you in case you are involved in a catastrophic accident with a third party who has no insurance or insufficient insurance.

Now is the time to learn from this mistake and take a moment to review your own coverage.

In the case of Hogan, he failed to notify Progressive of the accident and instead hired lawyers to protect his family against any civil claim. He didn’t understand that Progressive was on the hook to cover all necessary costs. Instead, he paid the law firm about $550 an hour and ultimately paid the law firm about $1,500,000 in fees and costs. His suit says the firm failed to notify him of that fact, even though Progressive says it tried to communicate with him over the accident, and instead kept charging Hogan excessively high rates.

Continue reading "Do You Have Adequate Uninsured Motorist Coverage? Hulk Hogan Didn't" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Insurance Claims , Law & Information , Personal Injury

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Toyota generally enjoys a good reputation among auto owners. It has had one of the early gas-saving hybrid vehicles, the Highlander. And the car is generally considered reliable. But a lawyer who used to work for the company is putting an entirely different PR spin on Toyota. The 46-year-old man who worked for Toyota from 2003 to 2008 said that his job was to manage electronic records for Toyota litigation. But he quit, or was fired, depending on who you believe, after a breakdown over what the company had him do – destroy engineering and testing evidence in more than 300 Toyota SUV rollover and roof crush cases.

That is very serious, but the allegations are coming out in the man’s lawsuit against the company charging federal racketeering. He says that when he learned that electronic data, such as e-mails, were being withheld by the company, he tried to collect and preserve the information.

Among them was the rollover of a Toyota that left a 6-year-old a quadriplegic and dependent on a ventilator.

Continue reading "Toyota Cases May Be Reopened After Insider Blows the Whistle" »

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A recent federal review is not happening fast enough for patients who have been hurt by defective medical devices in Florida and throughout the nation that reports say should never have been put on the market.

A federal study will take the next two years to look at a FDA program that provides an easy fast-tracked method for medical device makers to get their product into the marketplace. The process is known as – 510 (k), and it amounts to an exchange of paperwork seeking approval from the Center for Devices and Radiological Health to market the device.

Note – the device makers claim that the catheter or defibrillator is “substantially equivalent” to another device already on the market. Unfortunately many of these devices are implanted inside patients, some permanently, and they have not undergone pre-market approval for safety.

Besides bandages and wheelchairs, 510 (k) devices can include pacemakers, heart valves, and synthetic surgical mesh.

3,600 products apply for the 510(k) designation every year. About 90 percent are given the okay.

The $1.3 million review by the Institute of Medicine (part of the National Academies) is better late than never. However, for those who have been harmed by medical devices that were never reviewed for safety, waiting another two years for it to be complete, slated for March 2011, opens the door to more abuse of the system.

A Truth in Medicine founder and patient advocate who is suing Ethicon over its synthetic surgical mesh which remains implanted in her, says two years is too late.

“Thousands and thousands will be injured before they complete the review process,” says Miami-based patient advocate. She and thousands who have contacted her Web site, say they never should have been implanted with synthetic surgical mesh for hernia repair and urinary incontinence. Many say their lives have been ruined because the mesh migrates, perforates organs, and is difficult if not impossible to remove.

Continue reading "Federal Review of Dangerous Medical Devices Finally Underway" »

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A Westside family is making funeral plans for a 19-year-old woman and her unborn baby who died in a collision between two pickup trucks Tuesday afternoon.

A pregnant 19-year-old was reportedly riding in the bed of the pickup truck traveling east on Normandy Boulevard, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. That’s when a late-model blue truck made an illegal turn into a mobile home park and collided with a red truck going west. The pregnant woman was riding in the back of the blue truck and was ejected when it turned in front of the other at the intersection with Parrish Cemetery Road. She was a quarter mile from their home. Today flowers mark the spot where the accident occurred.

The woman was seven months pregnant but the baby could not be saved. Fortunately, her one-year-old was in the truck in a car seat sitting next to the woman’s brother who threw himself over her during the collision. Neither was seriously hurt.

Our hearts go out to the family of this pregnant woman. There are many questions that go unanswered in media reports such as – was there a glare in the windshield of the truck? What were the road conditions at the time and was there rain? Were they speeding? Even 50 mph in a post 50 mph area in the rain is too fast for the conditions.
The Florida Highway Patrol says charges are pending.

Florida Statute 316.2015 says it is unlawful for a person to ride on the exterior of a vehicle, such as the bumper, fender, hood or truck of a car. And it is unlawful for the operator of a vehicle to allow a minor (under the age of 18) to ride within the open body of a pickup truck, unless the person is wearing a seat belt and sitting in secure seating.

Continue reading "19 Year Old Pregnant Woman Dies in Wreck" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Truck Accident , Wrongful Death

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By now we’ve all seen the video on YouTube that aired on British television. It shows four girls driving a vehicle and texting, all staring at the screen just before a head-on collision.

The public service announcement should be seen by all teenagers who are close to the driving age, or presently driving. A warning – it is a gruesome, and not for the faint of heart. Parents may want to watch it first. But it is real and everyday drivers distracted by texting are doing exactly what the teens in this video are doing.

Now a group of Florida teens from Parkland, Florida (population 24,000) is taking the public service message and other videos of the dangers of texting and driving and trying to do something about it.

The teens are donning white t-shirts that carry an anti-texting message. And they’ve taken their campaign to city hall to convince the city commissioners to ban texting while driving in their town.

Wisely, the teens know it is kids who influence other kids, so sophomores, who are just getting their driving permits, have had the most influence on other kids in school.

Continue reading "Teens Rally Against Texting and Driving" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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After it was revealed in an analysis of 42 clinical trials in May 2007 that patients taking Avandia to treat Type 2 diabetes faced a 43% greater risk of having a heart attack, concern spread relating to the failure of manufacturers GlaxoSmithKline and the FDA to properly warn consumers about its cardiac risks. Based on a recent report, Avandia is now considered to pose more risk than Actos and a study revealed that senior citizens are the group most at risk of suffering from heart failure and death as a result of using Avandia. According to the article, in analyzing almost 40,000 records of patients 66-years-old and above, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre researchers in Toronto found that for every 93 patients given Avandia as opposed to Actos, there would be one additional cardiovascular event or death each year.

Even though new warning stating the specific risks of myocardial ischemia was added to Avandia’s boxed warning information in November 2007, other serious risks have been brought to the surface, such as liver failure. A Consumer advocacy group, Public Citizen, published the research that revealed Avandia’s risk of liver toxicity and noted that its risks “far outweigh its benefits.” And as skilled Jacksonville, Florida Avandia lawyers, we couldn’t agree more. It is utterly tragic when medication that is supposed to help treat a serious disease or ailment ends up making a condition worse or creating new health problems for an innocent patient to endure.

Continue reading "The Many Dangers of Avandia: Study Reveals Heightened Risk for the Elderly" »

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Posted In: Defective Drug , Health & Information , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Pharmaceutical Litigation , Product Liability

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The New Chrysler has reversed itself from its previous stand of refusing to accept any auto product liability lawsuits resulting from the 30 million vehicles still on the road. The automaker has agreed to cover product liability claims that result after the company emerged from bankruptcy protection on June 10.

In a company letter sent to Congress last Friday, Chrysler says that future car accident victims, who believe their injuries resulted from a defective, seat belt, roof, side air bag, or any other auto part, will be able to sue the new company. However, 300 or so claims that were pending before Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy will not be covered.

Victims like a man who lost both legs after an accident in a defective Chrysler and filed before the company declared bankruptcy, will not be able to have their day in court. Instead they will become a creditor and stand in line to receive assets from a bankrupt company.

There are about 300 individuals who had Chrysler lawsuits pending and about 1,500 more with pending claims against General Motors which also declared bankruptcy and wiped out their cases. You can read about their cases in a special report prepared by the Center for Justice & Democracy – Victim Cases Wiped Out. (http://centerjd.org/archives/press/2009/GM-Chrysler%20Victim%20Stories.pdf)

Chrysler is known to have collapsing seat backs that in a collision, collapse backwards into rear passengers. The defect exists in over 10 million vehicles model years 1990 to 2009.
Since 1994, Chrysler has produced over two million Grand Cherokee SUVs with roofs that tend to buckle or cave in, resulting in traumatic head injuries and paralysis.

Continue reading "Chrysler Accepts Liability for Future Accidents in Defective Cars" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Auto Product Liability , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Product Liability

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The Florida Highway Patrol reports that two people were injured last Wednesday when a pickup truck driver lost control of his vehicle and rolled, landing on its roof. According to FHP, a 21-year-old man was driving on SR A1A around 1:19 a.m. at the intersection of Grandview Road near St. Augustine Beach.

The driver was taken to Shands Jacksonville with serious injuries after being thrown from the pickup and through a privacy fence. His passenger, also a 21-year-old male, was trapped in the truck and taken to Flagler Hospital.

A blood alcohol test will be conducted and charges could be filed depending on the result. We wish these young men the best for a speedy recovery. The responding officers did a great job in getting the second man out of the vehicle and to the hospital.

I wish we knew more information such as, what kind of car was involved. Was a cell phone found at the scene and had the driver been texting? Were the occupants wearing their seat belts? What speed were they traveling and what were the road conditions at the time?

We hope these young men pull through, but speeding or road conditions and any of the above, including alcohol consumption, just doesn’t mix with driving.

Florida had more than 22,000 alcohol related crashes with more than 1,100 alcohol related fatalities across the state in 2008. Additionally there were more than 15,700 alcohol related injuries. Labor Day weekend in Florida is reported to be among the deadliest for drivers. Last year 36 people lost their lives on Florida roads and alcohol contributed to 12 of those deaths.

Continue reading "Two Hurt in Single Vehicle Wreck" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Drunk Driving Accident , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Rollover Accident , Wrongful Death

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The United States is serious about China taking some responsibility for the drywall problems that homeowners in Florida and elsewhere are facing. That was the message that Florida Sen. Bill Nelson brought to China in a recent trip there to determine the level of cooperation forthcoming from the country.

His trip was followed by a delegation from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), investigating hundreds of complaints from homeowners about the defective high-sulfur content drywall that is emitting a rotten-egg smell, making them sick, and corroding electrical wiring, metal plumbing components, HVAC systems, and appliances.

Sen. Nelson says he plans to make sure that the drywall issue is on the agenda when Chinese President Hu Jintao meets with President Obama this fall.

So far we know from the Environmental Protection Agency that the Chinese-made wallboard contains strontium ten times the level as American drywall and sulfur compounds as well as organic compounds that are generally found in acrylic paint. The wallboard was imported from China when the U.S. had a shortage after hurricanes from 2004 to 2006.

The CPSC says it has more than 850 reports of Chinese drywall problems, now including two new states, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. In all, 23 states are involved with Florida (658) and Louisiana (105) particularly hard hit. Many homeowners have decided to vacate their homes rather than live in what may be a dangerous environment from these product defects in Florida. Some folks report headaches, sinus and respiratory ailments, eye and skin irritations.

Continue reading "Sen. Nelson Looks to China for Cooperation on Drywall" »

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A Florida resident has called President Obama to come over to her custom home in Port St. Lucie and see for himself what Chinese drywall is doing to her, according to a report. She has organized a number of people, organized from the internet, all living in homes constructed with the defective drywall that emits sulfuric odors and gasses responsible for corroding wiring and who knows what else.

She is part of a new trend – homeowners who are rattling some cages to try and get federal and immediate help so they can move out of their homes. She has contacted hundreds of people who she hopes will join her in her campaign to get the White House interested in these defective products in Florida.

Florida Sen. Bill Nelson has suggested the President create a “one-stop’ federal drywall assistance center, where homeowners can go for the latest information on the problem and resources to try and find a solution.

About 100,000 households were built with drywall from China between the years 2000 to 2008, and their insurance policies have decided not to cover them. Unless they can afford to move out, while the federal government concludes dozens of investigations, they must stay put, or sleep in a tent in the yard, not knowing what the corrosive qualities of the sulfur might be doing to their family’s health.

Continue reading "Florida Chinese Drywall Victims Call on Washington" »

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The Jacksonville newspaper, the Florida Times Union takes a complete look in an article at the crisis of property insurance in the state. All it could take is for one major hurricane to hit a large metropolitan area, such as Miami, for the state to boost taxes on insurance policies and take out billions in debt as our state-backed insurance plans fall short.

Funding that kind of debt would be difficult, causing an increase in taxes on almost everything and a debt that could take years to repay. Some even predict bankruptcy from a major hurricane.

A little background – The reinsurance market prices have skyrocketed by 75 percent in recent years following the more damaging storms of 2004 and 2005. When that happened in 2006, private companies passed that onto their customers.

State Farm Florida says it is leaving the state because the insurance commissioner says it can’t raise its rates 47 percent. Gov. Charlie Crist said ‘good riddance.’

If State Farm leaves, it would force nearly one million policy holders into new insurance carriers including Citizens, the state insurance plan that at the present time could be strapped if it had to pay out millions. Citizens is the largest insurer in the state with State Farm Florida being second. State Farm is trying to stay, and by eliminating discounts to some customers, it boosted rates an average of 28.4 percent.

Continue reading "Who Will Insure Florida if a Hurricane Hits?" »

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Posted In: Hurricane Insurance , Insurance Claims , Law & Information , Personal Injury

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According to a report, one man is in critical condition in North Florida following an all terrain vehicle crash Sunday morning. St. Johns County deputies are trying to figure out what caused the recreational vehicle (or all terrain vehicle, ATV) to overturn on a private dirt road on Bartram Air Park property off County Road 13 in northwest St. Johns. Apparently, all three men were riding an Arctic Cat when it rolled. Emergency crews responding to the scene do not know who was driving.

A 39-year-old man of St. Augustine was the most seriously injured. He was taken to Shands Jacksonville and is in critical condition. We sincerely hope he pulls through from his injuries and he is in our prayers.

One person was treated at the scene and a third man from St. Augustine was taken to Flagler Hospital by emergency crews. At this time it is suspected that alcohol may have been a factor in the all terrain vehicle auto crash in Florida and none of the men was wearing his seatbelt.

Even the manufacturers warn that riding an ATV can be dangerous. The ATV industry encourages riders to always wear proper protective gear, including a helmet, eye protection, and protective clothing. You are told not to carry passengers unless the ATV is specifically engineered to accommodate them. And of course, excess speeds, stunt riding, unknown terrain, drugs or alcohol are all discouraged as part of the safety basics when you purchase one of these ATVs.

If indeed alcohol was involved and three men were riding on one vehicle, this accident could well be due to negligent operation.

Continue reading "St. Johns County ATV Accident Injures Three " »

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Posted In: ATV Accidents , Auto Accidents , Auto Product Liability , Law & Information , Personal Injury

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A Jacksonville Beach police officer will have to give up 50 hours of vacation time as his punishment for causing a motorcycle accident that seriously injured the rider. According to a story, the motorcycle accident in Florida happened on Florida A1A last May. The officer who has worked for Jacksonville Beach for 20 years was found to have violated police policy by failing to yield the right of way to the motorcyclist. The man was ejected from his motorcycle and fractured his left leg. The officer said he just failed to see the motorcycle in the left lane.

When the accident occurred, the officer has just concluded six months of probation for showing up off-duty but intoxicated at the police department. Police Chief Bruce Thomasson says, “It was clear that your actions were both negligent and careless.” Thomasson says that the officer has positives on his record as well.

Five days of vacation is equal to 50 hours because police work in ten hour shifts.

Continue reading "Jax Beach Police Officer Discipline after Series of Accidents" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Motorcycle Accident , Personal Injury

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There is still a lot of confusion out there over the “Cash For Clunkers” program, primarily whether it is still alive. First Coast car dealers seem to be moving ahead with the program despite the question about depleted funds, according to an article.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be administering the program and the official website you can check to see if your car qualifies.

New car buyers are receiving anywhere from $3,500 to $4,500 credit on their old gas guzzlers, presumably to trade the vehicle in for a more gas efficient vehicle. Early reports were that the $1 billion program was tapped out, but the government has approved more money to extend the program.

In Jacksonville, Duval Ford employees are reportedly working late into the night submitting documents to the Department of Transportation. The dealership received about 25 clunkers last weekend alone, all rated at 18 miles per gallon or worse.

One of the top cars for trade-in is the Ford Explorer. In fact the top four spots on the list of trade-ins are taken by the Ford Explorer - 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999. 1995 and 1994 help round out the Top 10 list.

Not only is this a good idea because of the gas guzzling engines, but up until 2005, the Ford Explorer was a very unstable car. In late 2005, the Explorer SUVs came equipped with Roll Stability Control, featuring roll-rate sensing and correcting capability to allow drivers to more easily maintain vehicle control during extreme maneuvers such as correcting the steering wheel when the car was drifting off the road. Stability control debuted on the 2003 Volvo XC 90 and Lincoln SUV in 2004.

Continue reading "Cash for Clunkers: Good Riddance Rollover Cars" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Auto Product Liability , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Rollover Accident

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This is a dubious distinction for the city of Jacksonville.

Our city is one of three in Florida that tops the list for deadly crashes involving teen drivers. A recent study from Allstate puts Jacksonville third behind Tampa and Orlando as the cities with the deadlines teen drivers, most of them texting, talking, changing a CD, or the radio, all made up 77 percent of deadly crashes involving young drivers. Of course, you don’t have to be young to be a distracted driver, but more experienced drivers are likely to resist the novelty of electronic communication.

Because car collisions in Jacksonville are the number-one killer of teenagers, Allstate is initiating Action Against Distraction driving course for Jacksonville to teach teen drivers how to stay focused on the road. As part of the course, teens are told to talk on the cell phone, listen to loud music, even eat a pack of Oreos as they drive – all to illustrate distracted driving.

One 17-year-old male who totaled his father’s car a few months ago decided to take the course. He tells the Florida Times-Union, “Everybody’s driving needs improvement”. As part of the improvement, he learned to weave through a line of cones that had been made part of an obstacle course at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. He was also asked to read a text message as he drove through the cones at about 10 mph. It was more difficult than all of the dozen teens thought it would be. All vowed no more texting or eating while driving.

Continue reading "Jacksonville Among Top Cities for Distracted Teen Drivers" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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As if the problems with the foul smell coming from Chinese drywall is not enough to drive some Florida residents from their homes, now we learn that the state Fire Marshal’s Office and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are testing to see if the toxic drywall contributes to fires, based on a story. The source of two fires is in question and tests are underway by the state. We already know that as a defective product in Florida, the odorous drywall corrodes electrical wires and air conditioner coils.

The CPSC has received 608 incidents reports from 21 states about the Chinese drywall, most of the complaints coming from Florida, Louisiana and Virginia as we now find out in a CPSC status report on Chinese drywall in this country.

It finds that some of the drywall was made with a radioactive phosphorus substance—phosphogypsum—that is banned for use in construction in the U.S. and the health risks of phosphogypsum are uncertain. The analysis of content should be completed by the Environmental Protection Agency by August 21.

CPSC staff is currently pressing for approval to visit China, including specific mines and manufacturers.

The CPSC has asked China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine for a list of all drywall producers that used the LuNeng mine, which is located in the ShanDong province.

Continue reading "Is Chinese Drywall Flammable? " »

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Posted In: Health & Information , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Product Liability

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Jacksonville, Florida is the 12th largest city in the nation of any major U.S. city with a population of at least 100,000 people. The largest city in the state of Florida, Jacksonville has a population of 805,605 and stretches a total of 874.3 square miles in size, the largest land area of any city in the United States.

One of the more popular tourist destinations in the state of Florida, with its sprawling beaches and sublime weather, Jacksonville not only houses a large number of people, but hosts a large number of visitors each year as well. Consequently, a wide array of products, from automobiles to kitchen appliances to camping equipment to children’s toys, all are a part of the daily lives of Jacksonville residents. In the event of a defective product causing an accident, serious injury, or wrongful death, it is important to know that a skilled Jacksonville product liability attorney is available to assist all victims in the Jacksonville area.

Product manufacturers have an obligation to make and sell products that are free from defects and safe for consumer use. If manufactures fail to adequately provide safe products for consumers, such as those consumers in the Jacksonville area, then those manufacturers become liable for all accidents associated with their products. Experienced Jacksonville defective product lawyers can hold negligent manufacturers accountable for their actions, and seek monetary damages on behalf of their clients.

At Farah and Farah, our product liability attorneys and defective product lawyers will fight for you, holding manufacturers responsible for providing the public with dangerous products. Contact us today and we will examine the details of your case in order to surmise the best possible actions needing to be taken. Please don’t hesitate to call us for a free consultation at our Jacksonville office location:

Phone: (904) 396-5555
10 West Adams Street
Jacksonville, Florida 32202

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Posted In: Auto Product Liability , Defective Medical Device , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Product Liability , Wrongful Death

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You can’t go down the road without seeing someone behind the wheel talking on the phone, doing their make up or eating breakfast. That’s what makes this news so upsetting. In 2003, officials at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) halted a plan for a large-scale look involving 10,000 drivers to see whether cell phone use behind the wheel was risky, according to a report. It also withheld research warning about the dangers of talking on the cell phone while driving.

What’s most upsetting is what the information said. It was revealed that drivers talking on cell phones caused 955 fatal accidents and 240,000 car accidents in 2002. And that was when approximately 6 percent of drivers were on the phone at any time. Now cell phone use has doubled.

The information was not easy to obtain. Public Citizen and the Center for Auto Safety had to file a freedom of information lawsuit to pry the information from NHTSA.

Why was the information withheld? The former head of NHTSA told the New York Times that officials at the Department of Transportation wanted NHTSA to gather safety data. Period. Any other information would be considered lobbying the states. How can saving lives be considered lobbying? NHTSA had found that not only talking on cell phones, but even using hands-free devices caused distraction.

Continue reading "Government Hid Distracted Driver Statistics" »

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There are an estimated 300,000 public pools in hotels, schools, camps and parks and thousands of public pools may be in violation of a new federal safety rule, says a national consumer group, putting many children at risk for personal injury in Florida and across the county.

The National Swimming Pool Foundation (NSPF) estimates about half of the pools your child is using this summer may have failed to install the new required anti-entrapment devices. Named for Virginia Graeme Baker, who in 2002 died when suction from a hot tub drain kept her pulled to the bottom and she drowned. The NSPF estimates about half of the public pools that are supposed to be retrofitted with the new dome style drains have not been updated.

George Pellington of the Pool Safety Council told CBS in a report that he’s seen the unsafe drain covers in many pools that have not yet complied with the law.

The problem is that a body can actually seal off the covers which then create hundreds of pounds of suction that cannot be broken. The problem has been three-fold because there is not enough enforcement, there are not enough drains, and not enough pool owners understand the new code.

What can parents do?

Parents can look for drain covers that are dome or pyramid shaped. Parents can also inquire if there are new pool drain covers that are recognized by any one of three organizations that conduct testing on drain covers and issue certification. They are: the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), and the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF).

Continue reading "Swimming Pools May Be in Violation" »

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State Farm Insurance has done a lot of threatening lately. The insurance giant wants to leave Florida because of the downside of having to pay claims in case there is another hurricane this season.

State Farm proposed a 47 percent statewide rate increase in property insurance to stay in the state, according to an account. Last week the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee upheld a decision last December to reject that outrageous hike, joining the state Office of Insurance Regulation.

State Farm had already been granted a 52 percent increase in 2006. Right after that State Farm said it would take its business out of the Florida property insurance market, even though they got the rate increase. That would mean one million hurricane policies would not be written by the insurance giant.

State Farm would like the state-run insurer, Citizens, to take over the policies. An appeal is set to be heard in October as to what terms State Farm can withdraw from Florida. Negotiations are still possible and probably the best outcome for consumers. Let State Farm hike rates slightly in exchange for continuing to write hurricane coverage.

Continue reading "State Farm Rejected Rate Increase" »

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Posted In: Hurricane Insurance , Law & Information , Personal Injury

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A new law in Florida should make our roads safer from individuals who just don’t take driving seriously.

According to a report, beginning January 1, any driver who is convicted of three moving violations that led to a Florida car crash during a three-year-period will lose their license. Once that happens, the motorist will be able to get their license back if they pass a $500 education course and pay another $48 to take and pass the driver’s test.
Drivers be warned - the clock does not start ticking on this new law January 1. Any crashes in 2008 and 2009 will count, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

How many of you have wished there was a “refresher course” for some drivers, especially the ones who follow too closely behind someone, text while driving, and pass on the right in your blind spot?

Continue reading "Three Wrecks and You’re Off the Road" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury

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State Farm’s property insurance division has been threatening to leave the state and homeowners without options, while leaving the more lucrative auto insurance business in the state. Now, according to an article, Florida’s Insurance Commission says State Farm may not leave Florida. Commissioner Kevin McCarty said Thursday it was his “gut feeling” even though the insurance giant was not allowed to raise its rates by up to 67 percent last January by an administrative law judge.

This news leaves 1.2 million Floridians with a huge unanswered question – where will they turn? The more insurance options there are to choose from, the better competitive pricing options one generally has. Gov. Charlie Crist was considering allowing a property insurance bill to become law which would have allowed property insurers to charge anything they want to insurer properties against hurricanes, but last month he vetoed the bill, citing the new smaller insurance companies that have come in to assume about 400,000 homeowner policies. State Farm is pinning its hopes on an override of the veto, which would have to be done in a special session of the state legislature.

Without that, State Farm says it plans to leave the property insurance business in Florida within two years. Expect others to follow suit or to reduce their exposure for coastal properties. McCarty is looking to a national catastrophic fund that would pool money from many states to help property owners along the coast recover property damage when a hurricane or natural disaster strikes. In the meantime, let’s cross our fingers – hurricane season ends in October.

Continue reading "Is State Farm Staying? " »

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Posted In: Hurricane Insurance , Insurance Claims , Law & Information , Personal Injury

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Last week Florida joined 25 other states that have made wearing seatbelts a primary offense which allows law enforcement to pull a driver over. Previously, there had to be some other reason to pull a driver over, with the seat belt violation as a secondary offense. Now an officer can write you a ticket for $100.

Seatbelts save lives and there is no debate on that point. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration believes that 1,700 serious injuries and 140 lives will be saved in Florida due to the primary seat belt law. This new enforcement will not only save lives, but also millions in associated costs which taxpayers ultimately pick up.

Florida’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports that in 2007, nearly 2,000 people were killed in crashes and 61 percent of them were not wearing a seat belt.

A seat belt saved the life of a Jacksonville woman and the three children she was watching, according to an article. Two weeks ago, her Ford Explorer was traveling south on 9A when the traffic in front of her suddenly slowed, she swerved, then overcorrected and rolled the Explorer twice, landing it atop an overpass with the wheels dangling 40 feet above the road. She and the kids were belted in. One child received a scraped knee.

Compare that to another auto accident in Florida in a Ford Explorer, two weeks ago, when four high school students, cutting school, were thrown from their SUV since none of them were wearing seat belts. Four teens died.

Continue reading "Florida’s New Primary Seatbelt Law " »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Auto Product Liability , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Product Liability

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For almost 20 years, Wendell Potter worked inside giant insurance companies, most recently as the VP of Corporate Communications for the CIGNA Corporation. He has left and now is speaking out. Watch him Friday night on Bill Moyers Journal tell secrets the industry would rather you not know. Potter also has a blog (Wendell Potter’s Blog) and is a Senior Fellow on Health Care with the Center for Media and Democracy, a nonprofit group dedicated to uncovering the public relations influences over government, opinion, and public policy.

Potter was the spokesman when CIGNA denied a transplant to a 17-year-old teen who needed one to live. Because of the bad publicity, the insurance giant caved in, but it was too late, Nataline Sarkisyan died, according to an account. That was part of Potter’s transformation as was seeing a giant health fair in Virginia, where the nonprofit group, Remote Area Medical, brings doctors and nurses to remote areas to help the uninsured and underinsured. They were being treated at state fairgrounds in cleaned out animal stalls. Welcome to health care in America where about 50 million people do not have health insurance.

If you have ever been treated badly by Big Insurance, please spend some time learning what happens from this insider who recently testified to Congress about what he has seen. ( Potter Testimony Transcript- Senate Commerce Committee, June 24, 2009)

Continue reading "Insurance Insider Blows the Whistle on Practices " »

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Posted In: Insurance Claims , Law & Information , Personal Injury

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If you’ve got the boat ready for a weekend on the water, the Coast Guard has a warning for you- Wear a Life Jacket!

The Coast Guard says the July 4th holiday is the deadliest holiday for boaters, so they and Florida Fish and Wildlife units will be out patrolling the waterways this Independence Day holiday in 12-hour shifts, according to a report.

For the same reason you wear a seat belt in a car, a life jacket is a must when there are more people boating, especially at night when it’s difficult to see. Not everyone is likely to be paying attention with the fireworks going off, so it’s always a good idea to have a second observer paying attention to where you are going and looking for any hazards in the water.

Another thing to remember- just like driving a car, don’t drive a boat drunk. Alcohol is a known factor in about 20 percent of fatal boating accidents, so if you plan on drinking, name a designated driver.

Our waters can be very shallow and unpredictable, especially in Intracoastal waters, and tides and currents can make boating a challenge on the St. Johns River.

When out in deep water, running out of gas is a problem for some who are not paying attention. The Coast Guard will be bringing extra fuel containers onboard for those boaters this weekend. And after ten hours on the water – don’t forget about the drained batteries you will need to get back home.

Continue reading "Buckle Up Onboard for 4th of July Weekend" »

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Posted In: Boating Accident , Law & Information , Personal Injury

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We’ve all seen drivers who take chances like running a yellow light and passing through a busy intersection after the light has turned red. Not only do they risk being injured and injuring others in a Florida auto accident, but they put pedestrians in danger as well. This is usually when you with law enforcement officers were around. Well in Orange Park in North Florida, you’ve got your wish.

According to an article, cameras will soon catch red-light runners at busy intersections. That was voted in by the city council.

The camera is triggered when the car enters the intersection after the signal changes and records the time of day, the vehicle speed, and license plate. If you enter within a half second you will probably get a break because of the limits of the technology.

The state legislature would like to mount cameras at busy intersections statewide, but failed to figure out how to divide up the proceeds. Each ticket, which the offender receives in the mail, generates about $125.

Cameras have been shown to substantially reduce red light running, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. When they were installed in Fairfax, Virginia and Oxnard, California, cameras reduced red-light running by about 40 percent, and reduced intersection crashes by up to 30 percent.

Some suggest that they are primarily a revenue generator for a city, but often the ticket revenues don’t even pay for the purchase of the cameras and the billing system that generates the tickets.

Continue reading "Traffic Cameras in Orange Park" »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury

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A fight between doctors and consumer groups has been settled by Gov. Charlie Crist. He signed a bill into law Wednesday that requires insurance companies to send a payment directly to an out-of-network doctor, instead of first to the patient.

Doctors’ groups and insurers supported the measure. BlueCross and consumer groups opposed sending the payment directly to an out-of-network doctor, bypassing the consumer.

According to an article, the governor believes this move is good for consumers as it will encourage the out of-network doctors, who are sometimes a bit hard to access depending on your medical coverage, to accept insurance without demanding payment from the patient on the spot.

But consumer groups are concerned that Senate Bill 1122 will undermine the cost-savings that insurers negotiate. Generally your preferred provider networks or PPOs demand that doctors provide a discount in exchange for the business. With a direct payment, you are removing any incentive to discount, according to the Florida Public Interest Research Group, and that means consumers may be unpleasantly surprised when they get a bill from a doctor who is out-of-network.

Continue reading "Governor Health Insurance Bill in Florida" »

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It is a standard that hasn’t been updated for 35 years, despite the fact that every year about 10,000 passengers die in rollover crashes.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has now agreed to double the requirement for the roof strength that a vehicle must be able to withstand to three times the weight for cars that weigh up to 6,000 pounds. This is essential if a passenger has any chance to survive a rollover accident. It is also an improvement from the 2.5 times a vehicle’s weight, which was previously proposed.

The proposed improvement should save lives and prevent at least 1,000 injuries a year, according to federal estimates. Previously, the law required the roof withstand only 1.5 times its weight.

Consumers may not understand it, but before the final rule was issued, very restrictive language was included that would have preempted or restricted lawsuits filed in state courts against automobile manufacturers. That language was removed from the final rule.

And while dynamic testing was left out of the rule - that is, testing roof strength when the car is in motion- the testing protocol will now include both sides of the car. Previously a test was conducted in less than real-world circumstances with a metal plate pressed against the vehicle’s roof on one side, then the other. Experienced Florida car accident attorneys understand from the cases they’ve seen that this is not what happens when a vehicle rolls. When a vehicle leaves the road and begins to roll, the pressure hits one side and weakens the roof causing it to crush in; then as the vehicle continues to roll, the other side receives the pressure, leading to the roof crush.

Continue reading "Car Roof Strength Standards Updated " »

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Rollover Accident

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Kids and their cell phones have taken pictures in schools of everything possible- just use your imagination.

But now schools in Northeast Florida are considering banning the use of cell phone pictures after one student captured something that has Duval County schools embarrassed - what appears to be a teacher choking and holding down a 16-year-old-student.

According to a report, the incident actually happened at the end of May before school was let out, but is just coming to light now. It’s currently under investigation by the school district and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

At the end of school, the teacher, Michael Brown, was removed from the classroom. But it doesn’t end there. In a move that appears like a shift away from transparency, the school district is considering banning all photography by cell phones or any video cameras in school. This has the attacked student’s mother furious. Tina Wilson, mother of Clyde Wilson, says without the camera in the classroom, she would have never known what happened.

Continue reading "Duval Teacher Caught on Cell Phone Video Choking Student: A Ban on Taking Pictures May Follow" »

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Almost a week doesn’t go by when we report on a child who has been injured or killed by an SUV. These vehicles offer terrible rear vision and are the cause of too many car accidents and pedestrian accidents in Jacksonville. With no cameras or safety audio beeps, children are accidentally run over in cities and neighborhoods across the country, and often it is a member of the drivers’ own family.

To be proactive and keep kids safe, Safe Kids of Northeast Florida staged a demonstration to prove just how limited your vision is behind an SUV. Channel 4’s reporter backed up while a woman held the hand of a two-foot high mannequin. This is one of those demonstrations that television loves, but in this case, it is effective.

The reporter couldn’t see the mannequin eight feet behind the car and not again at 16 feet when relying only on mirrors. Bottom line - do a quick walk around your car before you back up. It takes five seconds and could save the life of a child or a pet, not to mention children’s toys that may be in the driveway that get destroyed or mangle your car.

You never want to have to go through the guilt of running over someone you love, or for that matter, a neighbor or stranger. You may want to even consider purchasing a back-up camera system for about $100. They are small enough to plug into a cigarette lighter for power, and when the camera is wired to the reverse light and attached to the license plate, the price is well worth the peace of mind of knowing there isn’t a child or animal behind you.

We would much rather you be safe than need the services of an attorney for this largely preventable accident and we hope that everyone has a safe summer. However, if you or someone close to you has been injured in a car accident or pedestrian accident involving an SUV or any other vehicle, Jacksonville’s skilled auto accident lawyers will launch a thorough investigation and help you hold those accountable for causing injuries or property damage. Call Farah and Farah today at 800-533-3555 for a case evaluation.

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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Imagine actually being there throughout the first year that your child drives. It has come close to happening. Parents have more parental control with new Ford innovation “My Key,” which debuted in Detroit, according to a report.

Here’s how it works. A special key allows the parent to limit the speed the car can travel, control the stereo volume and freeze the car from operating until the seat belts are fastened. Obviously this is not great news for teenage drivers, but it does allow some control to limit the extremes they might exhibit on the road.

There may be one problem – in some circumstances, car accidents in Jacksonville are caused when someone cannot get out of the way of a collision they see unfolding. Generally an experienced driver might be able to avert an oncoming out-of-control vehicle for example, or pull away fast if they are about to be hit from behind. If a teen cannot put the pedal to the metal, there are certain limited circumstances where they might be in danger, even though they are not an experienced driver.

Teens- don’t worry too much- the maximum speed is 80 mph. The radio maximum volume is about 44 percent of the maximum limit.

By the end of this summer the Ford Focus will be the first model with the “My Key” technology, then expect to see it in the Escape, Ford-150 and Lincoln MKT crossover before being available in all models.

Remember- car accidents are a leading cause of death for young drivers, so encouraging seat belt use, limiting speed, and reducing distractions, can all help save teenage lives. Please do everything you can to keep your kids safe and remind them that driving is a privilege and not a right.

If you or your teen has been in a car accident in Florida caused by another driver’s negligence, the experienced Jacksonville auto accident lawyers at Farah and Farah can help you receive the compensation you deserve. Our personal injury attorneys will work together to give your case the dedication and resources it needs. Call us today at 800-533-3555.

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With more people deciding to go green and take a bicycle instead of a car, there are some careful considerations. Statistics show about 120 bicyclists died in Florida in 2007. That means the nation was led that year by fatal biking accidents in Florida, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Statistics are just in for last year. In Florida there were 113 cyclists killed on our roads in 2008. That is more deaths than California had, which amounted to 109.

In a little more than one month, three people died from Florida bicycle accidents in Palm Beach County alone. And last month in North Florida, Chastity Rettinger, 36 was hit by a driver and killed while riding her bike on Old St. Augustine Road in Jacksonville during her lunch break.

Florida is one of six states that have seen an increase in pedestrian and cycling deaths.

Our condolences go out to the families of these people who were trying to do a little good by taking a bicycle.

Many of our roads simply do not accommodate cyclists, forcing automobiles to either try to pass, or just reduce their speed until another lane opens up. Adding more bike lanes is great and needed. More counties, cities and municipalities are establishing bike lanes as well as creating bike trails through woods and parks.

In some instances, cyclists share in some of the blame. Many need to educate themselves to the rules of the road. Riding the wrong way on streets, running a red light, failing to yield the right-of-way, all contribute to cyclist deaths.

The law says they are supposed to keep up with traffic, but the sticking point is speed.

Under law, a bicyclist is supposed to travel at about the same speed as other traffic. If not, they are supposed to ride as close to the curb or road edge. If the road is very narrow and passing is too dangerous, the cyclists is entitled to use the entire lane, but should stay to the right half, to discourage the motorist from passing. And bicyclists are not supposed to be wearing headsets so that music blocks out the audio clues to detect traffic.

An accident will need to be investigated to determine who is at fault and what actually happened. Whether it involves interviewing witnesses, measuring skid marks and the damage, only an experienced Florida personal injury lawyer can, with the help of an accident investigator, collect the information necessary to make your case and establish liability. Call Farah and Farah today for a free evaluation of your pedestrian accident, bicycle accident, or auto accident in Florida.

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Bike Accident , Law & Information , Personal Injury

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According to a report, we should expect some changes in how Jacksonville Beach police patrol the beach in their SUVs. This is an update to a story we told you about last week.

A sunbather, Anne Marie Giffin, 41, is recovering from critical injuries after she was run over by a Jacksonville Beach police Trailblazer. Giffin, suffered a head wound and broken bones when the vehicle backed up and turned around over her, never seeing her under his vehicle in this Florida personal injury incident.

It will take this accomplished pianist, who has performed with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, a long time to heal, but she did survive the accident and we wish her a speedy recovery.

She will also have extensive medical expenses which the city must realize it is liable for. If not, no one would fault her for seeking compensation so she does not have her life further ruined with the cost of medical and rehabilitative care.

Jacksonville Beach Mayor Fland Sharp wants to review all of the police vehicles that travel the beach to find out what happened, why, and to make sure it never happens again.

Sharp said that, after the accident he expects policy changes on which city vehicles are driven on the beach and why, the Florida Times Union reports.

"That's absolutely going to happen," Sharp said. "Once we get all the reports done, the city manager [George Forbes] is going to do that and they'll bring it back to us...I expect some modifications to driving on the beach. But you can't take all the vehicles off the beach."

Sharp points out that lifeguards, trash collectors, public works vehicles all travel the beach and he’s surprised this hasn’t happened before.

If we knew there was a potential for a problem, shouldn’t we have tried to fix it proactively?

Were there some incidents that put the police department on notice that this could happen and chose not to do anything about it?

The city needs to make alternate transportation a priority. Other municipalities have turned to ATVs to patrol or using three-wheeled scooters as they do in Hollywood, Florida, while others have banned motorized traffic on the beach during certain hours to minimize harm to civilians. Many unsettling questions remain to be answered, but for right now, a professional musician has to concentrate on getting well. We can only hope the city is doing all it can to assist her without being forced to do the right thing.

Whether you have been injured on the beach or on the roads in a pedestrian accident, bike accident, or car accident in Florida, the experienced Jacksonville personal injury attorneys at Farah and Farah can help you. Call us today for a free consultation.

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , Law & Information , Pedestrian Accidents , Personal Injury

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When Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti died in separate auto accidents more than a decade ago, their parents hoped they could find some meaning in their loss that others could learn from.

Neither young woman was wearing a seat belt when they were killed.

Legislator and father, Irv Slosberg tried for 13 years to push a bill that would allow officers to ticket someone for not wearing a seat belt. As a primary offense, the officer could pull a motorist over for no other reason.

Until now, Florida only allowed a ticket to be written if an officer notices that, in addition to the reason the person was pulled over, they were also not wearing a seat belt.

Irv Slosberg was all thumbs up Wednesday after the Florida house passed a bill (SB344) that makes a seat belt violation a primary offense. Gov Charlie Crist is expected to sign it into law which would go into effect in June, according to a report.

The law carries a fine of $30, which is not exactly an incentive. Also no points are added to a driver’s record, unless you child is not in their car seat.

What may be behind the bill this year is money for cash strapped Florida. The law is expected to bring in another $35 million in federal highway revenue.

Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Safety Belt Law mean that you will soon be able to be pulled over for not wearing a seat belt in Florida.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, making a seat belt offense a primary offense is predicted to save about 124 lives in Florida every year and prevent more than 1,700 serious personal injuries.

"Every time I hear my daughter's name, it's emotional," said Slosberg, 61. "It's a great day for Floridians. We have a better, safer place to live."

Our condolences go out to the young lives that were lost and led to this new law and hope that drivers and passengers buckle-up.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident in Florida, the experienced Jacksonville car accident attorneys at Farah and Farah can help you during this challenging time. Our lawyers have the knowledge and skills to investigate your personal injury case and defend your rights for compensation. Call us today for a free consultation.

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Florida is trying to crack down on illegal prescription use, by following the lead of all but a dozen states. The bill would stop the practice known as ‘doctor shopping’ that is visiting various physicians and accumulate prescriptions, according to a report.

Presently, addicts come to Florida because the state doesn't have a prescription tracking system like other states that with the help of computers, can track addicts and drug dealers through a state system. Someone looking for oxycodone, for example, can visit a variety of clinics and obtain prescription in Florida and no one will know it.

It’s estimated an average of nine people a day, addicted to these drugs, are overdosing because of the lack of regulation.

The bill requires pharmacies to report to the state within 15 days who received the drugs. Pain clinics would have to be registered with the state and be subjected to inspections. Obviously, those concerned about privacy are concerned that SB462 would violate privacy.

Somehow 38 other states have figured out how to implement some sort of tracking system while Florida remains the largest state that has failed to do so. Unfortunately some doctors are not above dispensing narcotics and the state has just suspending the license of an Orlando physician for doing so. That is a step in the right direction.

It can seem alarming how many people abuse prescription drugs, and it is also shocking how often manufacturing pharmaceutical defects occur. No one should use prescription drugs for purposes beyond what a doctor recommends, but even when medicine is rightfully acquired, sometimes dangerous side effects can occur and raise the issue of product liability in Florida and throughout the nation.

If you or someone close to you has suffered injury from adverse reactions to prescription drugs, it is vital to seek medical attention to figure out the medications causing harm. It may also be in your best interest to call Jacksonville’s experienced pharmaceutical litigation attorneys at Farah and Farah to see if you have a case that could help you attain compensation for injury caused by a manufacturer’s negligence. Call 800-533-3555 today for a free evaluation.

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Posted In: Law & Information , Pharmaceutical Litigation , Product Liability

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This proposal to tighten seat belt requirements has never passed in the Florida Legislature before.

In Florida, not wearing your seat belt will bring you a $30 fine for an adult, and a $60 fine for a child not properly restrained. The law applies only to the front seat passengers and to cars manufactured since 1968.

You will receive that ticket only if you are pulled over for another reason. Seat belts alone are not enough of a reason to pull someone over, which is referred to as a primary infraction.

Now a number of proposals are on the table for Florida to join the 25 other states that consider not wearing a seat belt a “primary” enforcement law- meaning an officer can pull you over and give you a ticket just for not wearing your seat belt.

On the surface, it’s tough to argue with. Everyone knows seat belts help save lives when Florida car accidents occur. Backers of primary enforcement say an estimated 124 lives will be saved every year and 1,700 serious injuries.

But there is another good reason to make the failure to buckle up a primary enforcement – about $35 million good reasons. The federal government will withhold highway dollars from Florida without the primary enforcement law.

Florida has until June 30th to comply. Two bills are in the legislature that will change the law and perhaps save some lives.

Continue reading "Florida Seat Belt Enforcement May Get Tougher " »

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According to a report, the 17-year-old girl was driving in the Ortega area of Jacksonville. She says she was “just glancing at” her cell phone which was on the car seat.

She was not injured in the accident that followed, but 44-year-old Anthony Merrett is in critical condition after she pinned him against a wood chipper. He was working with a tree trimming crew along the side of the road when he was hit in this pedestrian accident in Florida.

Teens are notorious for texting, talking on the phone, and generally being distracted by anything on the console. They do not have the reaction time or capabilities of an experienced driver. Teens don’t want to hear that, but it’s true.

Charges may be filed in this very serious case.

Last month, a bill was introduced in the Florida legislature that bans texting while driving. In fact, it bans reading, manually writing, or typing and sending messages on cell phones.

Continue reading "Jacksonville Pedestrian Accident Caused by Cell Phone Use Injures Man" »

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A bill in the Florida legislature, HB 903, would limit the amount a trial attorney could take home when the action is brought by the state.

In a high profile case such as a Jacksonville tobacco lawsuit or pharmaceutical litigation in Florida, the state Attorney General’s office will bring in outside firms to help.

The proposed bill would cap attorney’s fees at $50 million, while outside law firms helping with a case would be capped to 24% of the first $10 million, 20% of the next five million and 15 % of the following five million.

The lawyer would be paid at the end of the day, but remember, these trials never take a day, or a month, or even a year. Sometimes they take decades of expensive litigation that is not compensated until the case is finally resolved.

Continue reading "Limit Fees on Attorneys- Is It a Good Idea?" »

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A tragic Florida pedestrian accident occurred Sunday afternoon when an unlicensed teenager got behind the wheel of the car.

The 16-year-old was asked by his family to move the family car after a church service at the Summerville Baptist Church near downtown.

The teen accidentally struck his three-year-old nephew when he rolled backward onto the sidewalk. He hit the child and then hit a fence. It turns out the driver’s seat latch broke, putting the seat in the reclined position, causing the teen to lose control of the car. The toddler was taken to Shands Jacksonville with life-threatening injuries.

We wish the family the best and hope the baby makes a full recovery.

This story is reminiscent of another unlicensed teen auto accident two years ago in St. Petersburg. A 42-year old mother let her unlicensed 15-year-old boy have the keys to drive his friends home. The Florida Highway Patrol determined the unlicensed teen was going 70 mph in a 40 mph zone. During his joy ride, he was involved in a crash trying to overtake another car. A 14-year-old cheerleader was killed.

Continue reading "Florida Toddler Struck By Unlicensed Teen Uncle" »

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We’ve all heard the term medical malpractice. There are an estimated 100,000 medical errors caused every year and often it is the same doctor who hurts patients.

In an ideal world, the medical profession would have tighter oversight over doctors who are not professional. But instead, doctors would just like you to stop talking negatively about them online.

A new service, Medical Justice, forces dissatisfied patients to keep quiet.

When you sign up with a new doctor, look for the form in the pile you are asked to sign. It’s called the “Mutual Agreement to Maintain Privacy” form, and the patient promises they “will not denigrate, defame, disparage, or cast aspersions upon,” the doctor on the Internet and will prevent friends and family from doing so as well.

Nationwide, about 2,000 doctors have joined Medical Justice, a Greensboro, North Carolina company that provides the forms to doctors for their patients to sign.

Medical Justice founder and neurosurgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Segal, formed the company in 2002 to prevent so-called “frivolous lawsuits.” a favorite phrase of the business-backed tort reform campaign.

Continue reading "Doctors Don’t Want Patients Talking Online" »

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Was your used car in an auto accident before you bought it? Might the odometer have been rolled back? Was it used in the commission of the crime?

On January 30, the U.S Department of Justice put an auto database online to help consumers uncover automobile fraud, a report states. The system will allow the state department of motor vehicles, law enforcement, and consumers to check a car's title and history. Best of all, law enforcement can track the car from state to state by logging onto the nationwide system.

Continue reading "Auto Fraud Database Now Online" »

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Until now, Florida was one of seven states that did NOT have a salmonella outbreak. But now, a North Florida resident has shown signs of salmonella poisoning, according to a Florida Department of Health report issued on February 5th. There are very few details about the person or what they might have eaten to make them sick, but Florida is now the 44th and most recent state to have residents who have been sickened with the same type of salmonella that came from the Blakely, Georgia peanut processing plant. Salmonella Typhimuirium has sickened more than 550 and killed eight.

This time the resident of Bradford County was temporarily hospitalized. The city of Starke is in that county, but no other information on his/her location except that he had the same DNA match of salmonella Typhimuirium involved in the food recall.

Continue reading "Florida Joins 43 States With First Salmonella Case" »

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Posted In: Food Recall , Health & Information , Law & Information

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You might not realize it when you plan your dream cruise, but many have died at sea and their death remains a mystery. Passengers leaving from many of the cruise ports in Florida must be prepared consumers.

The latest involves a Florida woman Jennifer Ellis-Seitz, 36, a Central Florida journalist who was on a Christmas cruise with her husband of one year when she plunged off the 15-story Norwegian Pearl, into the waters off Cancun.

Seitz apparently had everything to live for. She had married a year earlier, had just lost 130 pounds, was anxious to start a family, and had lined up a new job.

A surveillance camera captured someone wearing a bathrobe falling overboard 8 p.m. Thursday night, but it was eight hours later before Ellis-Seitz’s husband reported her missing.

Then there is the couple who told the Today show, that the husband was headed to the casino with a bag of coins that night to “see if he could change his luck.”

Another delay – The FBI began investigating when the ship docked in Miami Sunday, beginning with an interview with the husband, who has a domestic battery charge for head-butting his wife.

The problem with a crime at sea or someone falling overboard is that you are basically on your own. Too much time passes generally before anyone knows there is a problem and a search begins. In this case, Seitz disappeared Thursday night and the FDA began its investigation when the ship docked Sunday.

There was reportedly an 11-hour gap between the fall and efforts to find her at sea.

There were no announcements or cabin checks on board. Passengers learned of the death when they saw the news onboard.

There is no one watching surveillance cameras and no alarms that go off when someone goes overboard.

Ships are all registered to foreign countries so they do not have to follow U.S. law or regulations. This is not an accident – it is intentional and a way to avoid liability and lawsuits from medical malpractice or emotional distress.

Cruise lines are not required to report deaths, though with approximately 10 million passengers who have a great and safe time each year, there were 97 cruise ship deaths reports by the Broward County Coroner’s office during the last decade, and 33 reported during a three year period by Miami-Dade County. Many of these people died from natural causes.

Planning a cruise vacation? Ask many questions and read and understand the fine print on your ticket. That is the only recourse you are likely to have if something goes wrong.

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For missing adults over the age of 60 who are suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s, there is a new program in Florida to find them quickly.

“Silver Alerts,” managed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, alerts the public quickly about mentally impaired elderly who wander off. Florida has more than its share of elderly Americans, so this new Florida program is good news for many care givers.

The missing person must be age 60 or older and have diminished intellectual faculties. Younger people may qualify if they have irreversible mental deterioration and law enforcement has determined the individual lacks the capacity to consent.

Silver Alerts also contact the media, just like an Amber Alert, with a description of the vehicle, a tag number, and a description of the person.

And the Florida program sends an automated phone call to every resident within a one mile radius of the missing person’s home. So far 19 people have been found since Florida adopted the system in November.

Charlie Brownlee, 76, was one of them.

The man wandered away from his sister’s Miami home one day last month. Brownlee got behind the wheel of a car, even though he suffers from dementia. Apparently no one remembered to give Charlie his medication that day.

When family alerted police they immediately issued a Silver Alert and found Charlie on his way back to his own home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, thinking it wasn’t far away.

In the case of Brownlee, about 5,000 automated calls were made. If a missing person is behind the wheel, the Florida Department of Transportation flashes a physical description of the person on road signs, the kind that normally alert drivers to traffic detours and conditions.

Florida, Georgia and about a dozen other states have adopted similar programs and legislation is pending in Congress to create a national program.

With Florida a mecca for more than four million Americans over the age of 60, and about a half-million probable Alzheimer’s cases, this is a very valuable service for our vulnerable population.

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Farah and Farah Partner Has Got You Covered In The West

The Florida personal injury lawyers at the law firm of Farah and Farah has some exciting news to share with the residents of North Florida.

Because we are expanding our network around the country, we have the opportunity to partner with the law firm of Chris Davis in Seattle, an attorney who devotes 100 percent of his practice to personal injury.

This is important to those of us who call Florida home because many people might travel or work in the Seattle area and find they are involved in an accident.

What do you do if you aren’t close to home? Say you rent a car and are in an accident, or are hit by a bus in a pedestrian crosswalk. Maybe you need to see a doctor and are the victim of medical malpractice. What would you do and who would you call?

Continue reading "Florida Personal Injury Attorneys Expand to West Coast" »

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Jacksonville Link To Adam Walsh Killer

27 years is a long time to look for closure. It finally came today from the Hollywood, Florida police chief who announced that the 1981 murder of Adam Walsh had been solved, according to this news article.

Adam was never seen alive after his mother lost him in a mall Sears store. Reportedly the 6-year-old had gone to look at the video arcade just as a 17-year old guard told all of the kids to leave.

Adam’s head was found in a Florida canal two weeks later. His body was never found. His father, John Walsh went on to become the host of the Fox show, “Americas Most Wanted,” and an advocate for children’s rights and for curtailing the rights of perpetrators, especially pedophiles.

Continue reading "Adam Walsh Killer a Jacksonville, Florida Man" »

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Safer U.S. Vehicles in 2009

If you happen to be car shopping, you’ll want to visit the Top Safety Picks list from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The list for 2009 has more domestic cars that ever before. 72 vehicles are on the list, double the number from last year.

“The sheer number of this year’s winners indicates that automakers have made huge strides to improve crash protection,” said Institute president Adrian Lund.

Ford and its Volvo subsidiary are now at the top of the annual list of safest vehicles. Together they won 16 awards. Ford, which had experienced years of unstable SUV Explorers that tended to roll, has now equipped them with electronic stability control (ESC) which makes the vehicles much more road worthy in sudden turns.

At Farah & Farah, we’ve seen too many accidents that result in a rollover and death from an unstable SUV. ESC is a much needed improvement.

Continue reading "Auto Product Liability Lawyers Applaud Domestic Car Makers" »

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It makes sense. Cigarettes cost the state of Florida about $6 billion a year in exorbitant health care costs associated with heart disease, cancers and hospitalizations, according to the Alliance for Healthy Florida Campaign.

Productivity on the job decreases among smokers too. This creates a financial deficit for all Floridians.

Nationally, the CDC estimates smoking-related illness costs all Americans more than $75 billion a year. About 14 percent of all Medicaid expenses are for smoking-related illness. Since cigarette sales contribute the bulk of the state’s tobacco tax income – increasing the tax may offset some of the burden of cigarettes and smoking.

The American Lung Association estimates that a $1 tax increase on a pack of cigarettes would cause four percent to quit smoking. The state’s youth would likely not start because of the cost, at least fewer would.

Continue reading "Florida Tobacco Tax Proposal" »

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The father of a son who committed suicide on the Internet this week is “appalled” by the audience that watched his son die and is calling for regulations to oversee the Internet, according to an ABC News Report.

Abraham Biggs, 19, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, took an overdose of medication for bipolar disorder, while a virtual audience of an unknown size egged on the teen. His father now blames the Website operators and those who watched and did nothing.

"I think they are all equally wrong," he said. "It's a person's life that we're talking about. And as a human being, you don't watch someone in trouble and sit back and just watch."

The college student died in his father’s bed Wednesday after he told the Internet community that he planned to take his own life.

Some who watched him take a fatal overdose thought Abraham was kidding because he had threatened suicide on the site before. Eventually some people did notify police and Abraham was found by police 12 hours later after his address was tracked down by the Web site.

Abraham Biggs Sr. was at work during this time. He says his son was crying out for help but no one listened, highlighting the need for online regulation.

It’s just another case of a young person sharing his life with an online community, who don’t hesitate to hurt you anonymously.

Consider the precedent setting case underway in Beverly Hills this week of 49-year-old Lori Drew. The case will center on whether Drew violated the rules of MySpace, that say you cannot use the service to intentionally harass and abuse another, but jurors could send her to prison for up to 20 years in jail for her actions that lead to the suicide of 13-year old Megan Meier, according to an ABC News report.

Drew should have known better when she got a teenage friend of the family to pose as “Jose Evans” and befriend Megan Meier, 13, a depressed, suicidal, lonely girl. When “Josh” after several weeks told Megan the world would be a better place without her, she committed suicide.

With a dead teenager, and a community shocked that an adult woman could be so cold and calculating, dropping to the level of a young teen to hear online gossip, prosecutors should have no problem proving criminal intent here.

Continue reading "Internet Crimes: Cyber-bullying" »

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