Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer Blawg

Maybe it is because I am a Fort Lauderdale injury attorney that I seem to be particularly aware of an apparent traffic law violation that is occurring more frequently; but it seems as though more and more drivers in South Florida are failing to yield the right of way at an intersection.

Florida traffic laws, as well as laws throughout the United States were created to insure the safe flow of traffic on our public streets and highways. Since vehicles are inherently dangerous and in fact described as dangerous instrumentalities, and whether it be car, van, bus, trucks, motorcycles, ATVs and the like, unless the operator of a motor vehicle is exercising due care and complying with Florida's Traffic Law Regulations it is likely that a vehicular accident will occur.

Lately it appears that more and more operators of motor vehicles are turning left at intersections without having a steady green signal - in the face of oncoming traffic. It is this writer's observation that this behavior is likely responsible for more and more traffic accidents. An examination of F.S. 316.075 dictates that vehicles turning either right or left at an intersection must yield the right of way to either other vehicles or pedestrians, in, or adjacent to the intersection. Does that wording create confusion for new vehicle operators who deem their authority to turn left in front of vehicles or pedestrians by some convoluted definition of adjacent to, or are we witnessing a new segment of our society that might be so inconsiderate of others that they are carelessly and negligently risking their own lives as well as the lives of other motorists by doing so?

Florida common law and now Florida Statue Section 768.O755 have essentially copied the Restatement of Torts II Definition of Constructive Notice.

The issue for the Fort Lauderdale trier of fact in court is essentially whether the property owner/supermarket should have known that the dangerous element existed on its flooring, circumstantially.

Fort Lauderdale injury lawyers have the task of demonstrating and proving constructive notice in order to prove that a property owner that is allege to have caused a Fort Lauderdale slip and fall injury will be liable for the slip and fall injury accident victim's damages. There are many ways of attempting to establish a property owner's constructive notice.

Florida courts, and therefore our common law, have generally held property owners to a duty of conducting reasonable inspections during reasonable intervals of time in order to detect cleanup or repair and thereby prevent slip and fall accidents. Florida courts have generally adhered in the past to a 15 minute existence standard before charging a commercial property owner with having had constructive notice or knowledge of a foreign substance on their premises. So in other words, if a Fort Lauderdale injury lawyer representing a slip and fall injury accident victim can establish (in pre-suit or at trial) that the property owner allowed the foreign substance to remain on its flooring for more than 15 minutes the courts would have generally instructed the jury to find that defendant guilty of negligence. So then comes the task of how do you date the proverbial banana peel that is somehow brought into evidence sometimes 3-4 years after the date of the Fort Lauderdale slip and fall accident to have been 3 years and the necessary notice period of 15 minutes old.

The more common manner of proof is by demonstrating that the property owner neglected to inspect each area of the store on the quarter of the hour and I submit to you that that type of reasonable inspection is rarely carried out.

Most of the time it is very difficult for a Fort Lauderdale, Florida food or convenience store to have actual knowledge of the existence of a foreign substance on its floors.

The effort and expense to insure perfection for actual notice would render such an objective overwhelmingly expensive and therefore by definitions an "unreasonable duty of care." Considering the vast number of shoppers that enter a grocery store or supermarket such as Florida's Publix or Winn Dixie or Albertsons or Sedanos or Whole Foods Market, would almost require hiring an employee or safety investigator to follow each and every shopper throughout the store and virtually throw themselves upon the first sign of something being dropped on the floor to insure and avoid all slip and fall injuries.

In addition, even if the task was assigned to video surveillance there could be a delay from the moment the incident occurs where the food or liquid or detergent hits the ground - and clean up occurs, that still would not prevent a slip and fall accident from occurring. And based upon surveillance videos that we have reviewed and what the risk managers from these various supermarkets tell us, the video quality is too poor to actually detect whether something is suddenly appearing on the ground.

Therefore, it only made sense that the law would assign the reasonable duty to all property owners to conduct reasonable inspections and to either have actual knowledge or notice such as if another patron reports something on the floor or as what it is referred to in the law as "constructive notice."

Accutane came to the market as a medical miracle drug for sufferers of severe acne. The drug was available for both adolescent as well as adult acne sufferers and typically produces extraordinary results after a five month course on the medication, sometimes requiring a second five month regiment.

The FDA's black box of warnings has soundly warned against a number of the known complications of Accutane usage and has severely warned against usage by pregnant women. Accutane (isotretinoin) is the first drug in the history of medicine for which a woman has to sign a consent to read the warnings.

Accutane comes with a laundry list of warnings and advisories against certain protected classes of users and the lists of potential side effects, which they claim are limited to an extremely small percentage of the population of expected users. Nevertheless, below is a list of some of the additional complications which have been known to arise from even a single trial period of the usage.

If you or someone you care for has been experiencing unusual side effects after taking Accutane you may want to consult with not only your physicians, but also the Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyers to determine whether or not an action may exist for products liability. Generally speaking, in order for a the various drug manufacturers to be liable for your injuries there has to be a determination of either negligence on the part of the manufacturer or a justification for a finding of strict liability as defined by the Fort Lauderdale, Florida courts.

Only those Accutane users that have suffered serious unanticipated side effects should consider whether they have the right to bring a lawsuit against the manufacturer.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Accutane Users Considering A Potential Products Liability Lawsuit" »

One of the difficulties most retail establishments have in maintaining their premises reasonably safe is being on actual notice of something on the floor that could cause an unsuspecting patron to slip and fall. In most situations businesses would like to trust that their employees would act quickly once they actually observe a foreign object on its floors and either immediately remove the dangerous element or place appropriate warnings such as a warning cone in close proximity to the foreign substance on the floor to alert an unsuspecting shopper of the danger lying ahead.

This law firm currently represents a victim of a slip and fall accident who fell in a local chain grocery store which we allege could have been prevented had the store employees acted more swiftly to remove the foreign substance from the ground. In our clients factual situation, she was walking down the aisle of a West Broward County, Florida grocery store and suddenly slid; due to a substance which was allowed to remain on the floor even after a store employee was allegedly aware of it and that the spill was allegedly captured on video tape. The Fort Lauderdale grocery store employee admitted to our client that she had seen the slippery substance on the ground and was able to identify it before our client slid and suffered serious injury. This is an example of having actual notice of a dangerous condition.

In fact, even after the fall occurred the negligent grocery store employee still neglected to place a warning cone or stand guard at the site of the spill until it was cleaned up; which could have caused another unsuspecting store patron to slip and fall.

Continue reading "Preventable Fort Lauderdale Slip and Fall Accidents" »

On June 30, 2010 a pedestrian was struck by an neighbor's vehicle in the quiet neighborhood of Sunshine Ranches, Broward County, Florida while he was otherwise taking a leisurely stroll with his wife after dinner at approximately 9:18 in the evening. One minute the victim is strolling alongside his loving wife and in the next minute she witnesses her husband violently struck, and thrown against the windshield; suffering a severe skull injury and then propelled in a violent, grotesque fashion down the road.

Based upon the immediate investigation the operator of the vehicle that struck the pedestrian had reached down to retrieve a water bottle that fell from his lap and therefore did not notice the couple strolling. To the driver's credit he had acted responsibly by not only remaining at the scene but for using his cell phone to assist in summoning emergent help; which were able to provide immediate emergent care at the scene.

The pedestrian victim was air lifted to a local hospital where he had undergone multiple surgical procedures to nearly every corner of his body. His skull injury required approximately 57 sutures to close after apparently making contact with the windshield and thereafter, the roadway. The investigating agency, The Broward County Sheriff's Office, initially prepared their report as though it was a homicide investigation due to the apparently overwhelming serious, multiple injuries. The wife had been severely traumatized by the accident.

The victims shall be rightfully seeking compensation for all their injuries and damages suffered as a result of this unfortunate accident.

Continue reading "Sunshine Ranches, Florida Pedestrian Couple Injured By Neighbors' Car - Near Fatal Injuries" »

Clients often ask the question, if the wrongdoer in my Fort Lauderdale car, van, pick up, truck or motorcycle accident did not receive a traffic ticket or was issued a traffic citation in the accident are they still liable or will they automatically be liable in a civil court of law for a victim's injuries and damages . Generally speaking, accident cases are tried in civil court, usually in the circuit court for the particular county where the accident occurred. For instance, all injury accident cases which occur in Broward County that have alleged value in excess of $15,000, shall be brought in the Circuit Court for the 17 Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, Florida. In contrast, most traffic violations are heard in the County Court and are considered to be a criminal violation of the law.

A traffic violation trial generally does not adjudicate whether the alleged violator caused a Fort Lauderdale accident, they are tried to determine only whether the individual issued the citation violated a very specific Florida Statue. For instance, in any give accident, one or several of the operators of vehicles involved may be issued traffic citations; such as: careless driving, for failure to signal, failure to obey traffic control device, failure to have head lamp, or appropriate reflectors on the vehicle or motorcycle, or failure to use due care.

Nevertheless, if one is found guilty of violating one or all of those specific traffic violations, not only does it not necessarily mean that person will also be found guilty of negligence in civil court, but in fact, pursuant to Florida's evidence code which essentially mirrors the Federal Evidence Code unless the defendant pleads guilty in open court for the purpose of admitting guilt and not for the convenience of a plea, the traffic citation is not admissible in the civil proceedings at all.

Continue reading "Does A Fort Lauderdale Florida Accident Traffic Ticket Determine Fault?" »

On August 11, 2010 our client Craig Whitfield was otherwise safely motoring down westbound I-595 in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida in the far left lane. The next memory he can recall at this time is hanging upside down suspended by his seat belt while diagonally teetering on the north side retaining wall just east of SR 441, while partially resting on the hood of another vehicle.

Mr. Whitfield recalls unbuckling his seat belt and painfully dropping upside down. Mr. Whitfield, at this time, has no recall how he emerged from his vehicle and has no recall how he ended up in t his precarious position inches from his vehicle falling off the side of I-595 into the swampland some 100 feet below. Reports have emerged that Mr. Whitfield's vehicle was caused to roll over several times before coming to rest upside down on the north side retaining wall of I-595 in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida. Photographs currently available indicate the vehicle Mr. Whitfield was operating sustained significant intruding, into the passenger compartment, roof damage on the passenger side; which would have likely caused severe, if not fatal, injuries if there were a passenger sitting beside him.

Rescue and police officers repeatedly questioned whether Mr. Whitfield had a passenger in the vehicle at the time the accident occurred. In fact, rescue workers were scouring the area below where the vehicle he was operating was teetering on the edge of the highway looking for a potential victim who may have been ejected in the accident.

Contrary to reports by the news media, Mr. Whitfield's injuries were hardly minor and he will be justly seeking compensation.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Vehicular Accident Leaves Victim's Vehicle Perched atop I-595 retaining wall. " »

(Continuation from last article) We do this subconsciously, but it is a very precise calculation that our mind performs. We have determined over time that if there is even the slightest deviation in the height of one step from another while we're descending a staircase our conscious awareness is surprised, which causes many people to lose their balance, stumble, and fall. The most common injury that results from a deviation in the height of steps is a fractured ankle, likely to produce a bi- or tri-malleolar. Of course, if someone continues down the staircase there can be additional injuries to any part of the body and could include a brain injury that could even result in death. 3) Recently mopped floors that are left wet, but are allowed to be walked over without appropriate barricading or warning signs, or when food or store products are allowed to fall on the floor in grocery or retail stores. 4) Handicap ramps which are in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 5) Building codes and good construction practices demand that a flooring maintain a reasonable degree of friction so as to prevent a person from slipping. One would ordinarily expect to immediately slip if standing on ice, but if a floor was polished or manufactured with a finish similar to that a fall would be almost certain to occur. There are devices that measure the co-efficiency of friction on a surface and standards are likewise maintained within the building and flooring industry to prevent someone from walking over an overly slippery surface. 6) A depression in a grassed area can catch a pedestrian unsuspecting while walking through a parking lot grass median, commercial lawn, or playing field. 7) A past client fell backwards and broke her wrists while an overly exuberant and inattentive personal trainer had pushed her too far in an unfamiliar repetitive stepping exercise. 8) Hiking and running can be inherently dangerous and prone to cause falls.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Slip and Fall Injury Accidents Part II" »

Victims of Fort Lauderdale slip and fall injury accidents are all too familiar with how seriously one can be injured.

People can trip due to a variety of conditions and circumstances, such as: 1) deviations in the elevation of the flooring; 2) due to differentiations in the height of a series of steps; 3) due to foreign substances on the flooring or staircase; 4) due to inappropriate elevations in ramps; 5) due to the surface of the flooring being inherently slippery or lacking the appropriate co-efficiency of friction; 6) due to hidden or trap-like conditions such as a inconspicuous depression in a grassy area; 7) while performing exercise routines such as by falling while using a treadmill or attempting to complete continuous steps onto a platform; 8) while participating in sporting activities; 9) or for simply no good cause.

Examples of each of the above are as follows: 1) a fall caused by an inordinately raised paver in a walkway created from concrete sand based pavers or stones; 2) most municipalities and counties throughout South Florida, and in particular Fort Lauderdale, Miami-Dade, Broward County, Weston, Tamarac, Sunrise, just to name a few, have specific building codes, which require the height of each step in a staircase or stairway or movie theater or in most buildings and homes to be the same height as the preceding or following step. The purpose for this is that when we are negotiating a staircase our mind automatically anticipates the following step to be precisely at the same height as the one we just left. (To be continued)

Continue reading "Victims of Fort Lauderdale slip and fall injury accidents Part I" »