Automobile Accidents

• Distracted Drivers Growing In Numbers

  Bob Carroll | January 24, 2007 11:02 PM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Driving While Distracted is rapidly replacing Driving Under The Influence as the most serious driving misbehavior in the country.80% of Drivers are Guilty of DWD; Be Careful Out ThereYou've seen them in your rear view mirror or in the car next to you. Sometimes they're putting on makeup while steering with their knees, punching text messages into a phone without ever looking up at the road, or...

• Pedestrians Do Not "Materialize" In Path Of Vehicles

  Bob Carroll | January 19, 2007 5:36 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  A news item about a pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle reminds me of some past experiences in similar situations.Teen in critical after being hit by carSt. Petersburg, Florida - A girl struck by a car on Wednesday night has been identified as an 18-year-old Largo High School student.St. Petersburg Police say a driver didn't see Alicia Tergeson until she was right in front of the car. Tergeson...

• Suit Against Bars Permitted In Some Cases

  Bob Carroll | January 13, 2007 8:31 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Florida law makes it difficult to sue a liquor-serving establishment for the act of serving a patron even an excessive amount of alcohol. By statute bars, taverns and restaurants are given immunity in most cases. However, there are some situations which still can result in legal liability for the serving of alcohol. One would be the circumstances described in this out-of-state report.Mass....

• Drivers Using Cellphones Involved In More Accidents

  Bob Carroll | January 13, 2007 8:15 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Cellphones and motor vehicles continue to be a bad combination. Nobody has found a way to allow a driver to talk on a cellphone and be properly attentive to the hazards of the roadway. When the cellphone conversation starts some degree of distraction occurs. The odds of being involved in a crash increase by 400% when using a cellphone.Canadian insurance companies are trying to do something...

• Civil Justice For Florida's Injured Snowbirds

  Bob Carroll | December 18, 2006 7:23 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Last week I was working on a personal injury claim on behalf of two Canadian citizens who were visiting in Florida when they were involved in an automobile accident. This week I believe my calendar shows two matters involving injured snowbirds from northern states. The fact is that Florida, perhaps more than any other state, has lots of out-of-state residents on its roads. And, as a result,...

• Complications Created By Two Auto Accidents

  Bob Carroll | December 14, 2006 7:51 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Time to learn a little Florida law. A very recent Appellate Opinion underscores some of the problems and issues created when a victim experiences two automobile collisions separated by a short period of time. STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant, v. JOHN ROBERT WILLIAMS, Appellee. 1st District. Case No. 1D06-1354 (31 Fla. L. Weekly D3104d)In the first accident, a vehicle...

• A "Vision" Of Safer Driving And Fewer Injuries

  Bob Carroll | December 04, 2006 5:53 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Of all the skills and capabilities required for safe driving vision could be the easiest to measure. It does not seem to be too much to ask that a driver submit periodically to a relatively simple and short vision test.Keeping Our Eyes on the Road: A State-by-State Analysis of Vision Screening Requirements for DriversSource: Vision Council of AmericaFrom press release: "States with lax vision...

• President Bush, The Trucker-In-Chief, Does Deregulation Better Than War

  Bob Carroll | December 03, 2006 5:20 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  The death of Dorris Edwards around Thanksgiving in 2004 when her SUV was crushed by a tractor-trailer can be traced to the cozy relationship between the trucking industry and the Bush Administration.As Dorris Edwards slowed for traffic near Kingdom City, Mo., on her way home from a Thanksgiving trip in 2004, an 18-wheeler slammed into her Jeep Cherokee.The truck crushed the sport-utility vehicle...

• A Seatbelt Saved Me

  Bob Carroll | November 15, 2006 7:17 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Buckling up is something we do with little thought. Except for those of us who have survived serious automobile crashes because we were wearing our seatbelts.Seatbelts Save Lives In Car AccidentA car hit a guardrail and launched over it - plummeting 30 feet into a shallow stream. This car accident occurred on Providence Road in Northbridge Thursday. Luckily the driver and two passengers...

• Getting Home For Christmas Costs $15 Million And An Amputated Leg

  Bob Carroll | November 10, 2006 8:37 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Trying to get home for Christmas a truck driver falsified his daily log. When his driving caused a serious accident in which a man lost his leg, a jury awarded $10 Million in punitive damages. Jury awards $15M to truck-wreck victim Tucson, Arizona - A Bowie man who lost his leg after being hit by an 18-wheeler on Christmas Eve four years ago was awarded $15 million Wednesday by a federal jury....