Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer Blawg

Traffic was backed up for more than 20 miles on Florida's I-75 on June 25, 2010 shortly after 4 pm due to what appeared to have been a single vehicle accident. The vehicle appeared to have been a cargo van carrying an excessive load of lumber. Apparently the van skidded across all three lanes of the southbound traffic before leaving the roadway into the swale on the west side of I-75. The cargo van suffered extensive damage mostly to the roof in the area above the driver's seat, leaving much concern about the fate of the driver.

The roadway displayed gouge and yaw marks cutting across all 3 southbound lanes at an almost 45 degree angle to the path of travel.

It seemed as though the van may have been overloaded with building lumber and that the load of lumber may not have been properly secured or evenly distributed inside the van; although this is preliminary speculation.

Our immediate concern was whether the driver could have also been impaled by the load of lumber which appeared to have been 2"x4"x8's, which appeared to have been stacked to the height of where it would meet the rear of the driver's skull. Furthermore, the cargo van did not appear to have been equipped a barrier wall separating the driver from the cargo area that might have possibly retained the load from striking the front seat occupants in the event of a sudden stop or crash.

Continue reading "OVERTURNED VAN ACCIDENT ON FLORIDA'S I-75 JUNE 25, 2010!" »

But what if a Fort Lauderdale driver crashed as a result of either striking the debris in the roadway or while attempting to avoid it? Who could be responsible?

Well, one could argue that whoever lost the debris in the roadway was careless in the operation of their vehicle and therefore should be liable for the ensuing accident. One could also argue that if the identity of the owner of the product that was in the Fort Lauderdale Broward County roadway or the driver and owner of the vehicle transporting the product that ended up in the roadway could not be discovered then the accident victim should be entitled to seek benefits under his uninsured motorist coverage of his own policy. This would be predicated upon the sensible argument that the loss of product coming off a Fort Lauderdale vehicle is by definition, the careless operation of a vehicle; and if the identity of the wrongdoer cannot be discerned, Florida law permits a claim for uninsured motorist benefits against an unknown or "phantom" wrongdoer.

This Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Law Firm represented the victim of just such a set of facts, which went to trial in 1992. In that case our client was driving northbound on I-95 in Broward County, Florida and suddenly discovered a large furniture box blocking his path just over the crest in the roadway. While he predictably swerved to avoid striking the box not knowing what might lay inside and how much damage it could have done, he lost control of the vehicle and struck the retaining wall as well as guardrail suffering knee and back injuries which required surgery. Allstate Insurance Company denied his claim for uninsured motorist benefits from his policy for the damages caused by a phantom vehicle, stating that his accident did not fall under the definition of an uninsured accident because there was no other vehicle involved and therefore, he was not involved in an automobile accident; but a Broward County Circuit Court jury of his peers ruled otherwise on the issue of coverage. In fact, the Court was obliged to award Attorney's fees against Allstate pursuant to F.S.627.428, because of Allstate's wrongful denial of insurance benefits.

To learn more about this and other unusual ways of "rightfully" obtaining compensation for injuries as a result of Florida automobile and trucking accidents please feel free to contact the Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Attorneys at The Schulman Law Group.

The renegade driver of an 18-wheel truck suddenly cuts off a Fort Lauderdale worker forcing the utility van he was operating into the retaining wall on I-95 in Broward County, Florida. The accident was significant enough to cause the engine block to shift against the driver's leg causing him to suffer injuries to his lower extremity.

If is not for the extraordinary contribution of a Good Samaritan the renegade truck driver, who immediately left the scene would have gone without responsibility.

Fortunately, for the victim this witness followed the truck for a great distance until they were able to identify the owner identity on the truck's cab, so that the investigation could be turned over to Florida's Highway Patrol.

Nevertheless when contacted by FHP, the owners of the truck vehemently denied their drivers involvement and quite discourteously refused to cooperate with the FHP's investigation. In fact, the trucking company continues to ignore this matter and not only refused to accept service of process of a lawsuit but continues to refuse to cooperate with its defense attorneys assigned to it by their insurance carrier.

One can easily draw an opinion that the same indifference that caused the accident continues throughout the case in the defendant's carelessness or lack of consideration to the well-being of others.

Fortunately there is a civil justice system in Broward County, Florida that allows victims to avail themselves to seek just compensation from liable wrong doers.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Florida Trucking Accident Forces Van Into I-95 Retaining Wall!" »

#4 in a series of discussions on Florida's Motor Vehicle No-Fault

If you have been a victim of a car or truck accident in Florida and have suffered injuries or someone you care for has suffered a wrongful death and have by the significance of those injuries met the threshold requirement of F.S. 627 - Florida's No Fault Statute, you will then most likely be dealing with an car or trucking company's insurance carrier in order to recover your monetary losses and damages. The difficulty you will then face is in dealing with the insurance company that functions for the benefit of its profit margin as opposed to the absolute best interests' of the injured victims of a Florida automobile and trucking accident. Let there be no mistake in your perception that the auto insurance company is committed to avoiding and or reducing its liability for its negligent insureds on each occasion there is a claim made against a wrongdoer whom they insure.

As is true for each and every profit centered business entity, an insurance company must be responsible to two simple principles: 1) increasing its cash flow; i.e., collecting our premiums; and 2) reducing and/or minimizing its expenses; i.e., by the avoidance of voluntarily making full claim payments for car accident cases.

The insurance company employs well trained adjusters, claims specialists and defense attorneys who are committed to the best interests of the insurance company and not yours, even if it is your own insurance company that you are making your claim with. Many, if not all, of the employees of an insurance, company as well as their defense attorneys actually operate with an unspoken belief that they are doing a righteous task, not only by protecting the insurance company's bottom line profits, but by defeating the interests of Florida's automobile and truck accident victims.