Automobile Accidents

• St. Petersburg Now Sees The (Head) Light

  Bob Carroll | February 18, 2006 5:33 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  A case the city attorney's office initially tried to settle for $25 ended with a jury award of $650,000 for a man injured in a car accident with a St. Petersburg police officer. The St. Pete Times tells us why a police office driving at 2 a.m. without headlights on Central Avenue is a definite no-no.ST. PETERSBURG - Delon Walton, 28, and his friend, Ricardo Robinson, 29, were leaving the...

• Roads Are For Pedestrians Too

  Bob Carroll | February 15, 2006 5:28 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Today, while reading a news report, I remembered a tragic death in Pinellas County a few years ago. I represented the family of a wonderful women who was killed while trying to walk across US 19 in Palm Harbor. She was returning home from work and was crossing the roadway at an intersection which did not have a crosswalk or traffic signal. It was in a stretch of US 19 without any nearby...

• Sometimes The Road Is The Problem

  Bob Carroll | January 30, 2006 5:22 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  When a motor vehicle leaves the roadway and crashes the common assumption is driver error. But,in a surprisingly high percentage of cases a roadway design defect contributed to the crash and, therefore, to any injury or death. An unsafe road may create legal liability for damages on the part of public entities. An article in TRIAL Magazine reminds us of many of the defects that exist on our...

• Teen Drivers Kill Others

  Bob Carroll | January 20, 2006 10:16 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Every parent worries that their teenager who drives could be killed in an automobile accident. It turns out that the teenage driver is far more likely to kill pedestrians or other drivers. The full story is reported in the Star-Telegram:Nearly two-thirds of the victims in fatal crashes involving young drivers are passengers, pedestrians or people in other vehicles, according to an analysis...

• Fault Tree Analysis Needed When Truck Crashes Into Interior Of Bank

  Bob Carroll | January 13, 2006 11:14 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  A news report on TBO.com tells of another tragic accident caused when a motor vehicle entered the interior of a building. News of similar crashes seem to happen more and more frequently. Each requires a special effort to determine what is called the fault tree.A truck has crashed through the windows of a SunTrust bank branch in New Port Richey, injuring the driver and at least two people...

• Safer Backing Of Vehicles Could Be Around The Corner

  Bob Carroll | January 10, 2006 6:56 PM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Soon, we may be able to back our vehicles more safely. "The Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida is conducting research into rear view vision systems on vehicles." Tampa Bay Business JournalThe Safe Accountable, Flexible Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users has authorized $800,000 for the study. One of the systems being evaluated is PowerLinx...

• Snowbank Saves Florida Man From Serious Injury

  Bob Carroll | January 05, 2006 6:52 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  If you are not going to wear a seatbelt you may want to drive only in snowy conditions. A Florida man was ejected from his vehicle in a head-on collision and managed to land in a snow bank. Bryan Wieland, 20, who suffered only minor injuries, was able to walk out of a hospital just hours after the crash. The Hartford Courant has the full story of the snowbank landing and one lucky Floridian.

• Rear-end Collision Not Always Fault Of Just One Driver

  Bob Carroll | January 03, 2006 5:42 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  A Floride appellate court opinion has again reminded us that sometimes the lead vehicle in a rear-end collision can bear some, even most, of the legal responsibility. It appears from the opinion that a jury actually determined the lead driver was more at fault than the rear driver. Because of the doctrine of comparative negligence that jury decision would significantly reduce the damages...

• Hot Pursuit Deaths Become Hot Issue

  Bob Carroll | December 20, 2005 3:42 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  A few years ago I represented the survivors of a father and his married daughter who were killed when a police hot pursuit ended tragically with a violent head-on collision. It was clear in that case that the police had violated the internal Police Department policies against hot pursuits of non-violent subjects. Now, two more needless deaths have occurred in the Orlando area as a result of...

• Falling Debris Causes Death On Florida Highway

  Bob Carroll | December 18, 2005 11:18 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  A tragic death occurred in South Florida this week. Jon M. Herskowitz, Esq., Miami Personal Injury Lawyer, reports on the facts. "Jennifer Green, 49, was killed Wednesday when debris fell from an overturned tractor trailer and landed on her car. The truck had overturned on the overpass ramp and dumped some of its load (constuction debris and tree roots) on the highway below, smashing into...