Automobile Accidents

• Road Rage Preparedness

  Bob Carroll | June 26, 2006 7:18 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Florida Today provides us with some thoughts that may keep us from becoming injured victims of road rage. Take the high road on the highwaysCool heads key to avoiding road rageAlthough road rage might not be considered a legal term, it is recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as an intermittent explosive disorder, a very real behavior pattern that occurs when...

• Taxicabs Required To Have Financial Responsibility

  Bob Carroll | June 25, 2006 6:48 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  The Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers continues to work hard for the people of Florida. This time, its strong lobbying efforts have produced a law of great benefit for those injured by taxicabs within the state. Governor Signs Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Legislation That Includes Taxicab Financial Responsibility is the headline.As of October 1, 2006, financial responsibility of an owner...

• Drunk And Headed South In Northbound Lanes

  Bob Carroll | June 09, 2006 7:34 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Even when the traffic is headed in the right direction on U.S. 19 we all know that the highway can be a real challenge. Insert a drunk driver traveling in the wrong direction and it can be a disaster. The Tidwells, who were injured and taken to the hospital, did the best they could to avoid Teresa Mascow who was probably not even bruised. Woman charged with DUI after driving wrong wayA...

• Waste-Hauling Gypsy Truckers Not A Good Business Plan

  Bob Carroll | June 03, 2006 5:23 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Fewer gypsy truckers may be on the highways because of a ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court. If your business is the hauling of materials on the highway why should you be permitted to use uninsured, unregistered, uninspected, poor driving "independent contractors" (gypsy truckers) to start with? But, if that is the way you run your business, why should you avoid legal liability for the...

• Running A Portable Generator Indoors Would Be A Fatal Mistake

  Bob Carroll | May 25, 2006 8:17 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Do not share your home with a portable generator. Using a generator indoors will kill. That is the strong message from the Consumer Product Safety Commission as reported in the St. Pete Times.Generators to carry a warningAfter a record number of carbon monoxide deaths, federal regulators require a label for gas-powered portable generators.Portable generators can be a lifesaver in the aftermath...

• When Did The Jury Turn Against This Driver?

  Bob Carroll | May 20, 2006 4:58 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  This will be a test of your ability to spot the moment in this trial when the Defendant, Donald Clawson, lost the jury. Fort Myers woman wins $1 million in DUI court caseA Collier County jury awarded the victim of a drunk driving accident a little over $1 million Friday.Kimberly Carpenter, 37, of Fort Myers won the $1,050,979 verdict against Donald Clawson of Naples, after a four-day...

• Beware Of Drunk Driver Who Is Eating A Hamburger And Using A Cell Phone

  Bob Carroll | May 07, 2006 1:48 PM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  A foreign news report reminds us that cell phones are not the only distractions that contribute to automobile accidents.Jury out on cell phones Calls are growing for a ban on cell phone use while driving, after a crash killed a cyclist in Chilliwack this week. The woman was hit by a 17-year-old motorist who was reportedly looking down at her cell phone.The tragedy follows the 2004 death of...

• Close To Home Is Where The Traffic Crashes Are

  Bob Carroll | April 25, 2006 4:32 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Less than a week ago I was having a conversation with a relative who thought it would be economical and good for the country for her to buy a very small electric car, about the size and weight of a golf cart, to use for all of her family's local driving. She felt that 95% of her time on the road was spent no more than 5 miles from home.It would be a wonderful idea if virtually all of the other...

• Multitasking Drivers Are Multicrashing On Our Highways

  Bob Carroll | April 21, 2006 6:45 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  A new study by the government has confirmed what all of us have expected for some time. Study: Distraction Behind Most Car Crashes Cell phone use while driving a car is a major cause of accidents. Ditto any other activities that take a driver's attention from the roadway ahead.My clients have been injured by multitasking drivers in over half of my automobile collision cases for the last...

• Another Ejection, Another Death On Highway

  Bob Carroll | April 20, 2006 6:35 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Remember the word association games where you say a word and I have to say the first word that pops into my head. After representing injured persons for 37 years there is only one association that tragically jumps into my mind whenever I hear that someone was ejected from an automobile in an accident - death or very serious injury. And, sadly, the ejection is almost always because the person...