Florida Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

As Florida Lawyers specializing in car accidents in Palm Beach County, we are continually amazed at the carelessness of drivers as they disregard roadside warnings, and hit and injure roadway workers. Today, a roadside construction worker was struck by a truck and suffered serious personal injuries, while he worked along a road in Palm Springs.

According to The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Ernest Howell, who took the precaution of wearing a traffic vest, was struck while working in a marked construction zone, when a driver disregarded traffic cones. Mr. Howell was working on a crew which was resurfacing the roadway. Mr. Howell's injuries required him to be transported by helicopter to a Delray Beach hospital.

In the spirit of the "move over" law which was enacted to protect emergency workers from injuries along the side of roadways, we encourage all drivers to pay particular attention to, roadside construction workers. For further information, please follow link to www.FloridaCarAccidentHelp.com.

As Florida personal injury and car accident attorneys practicing in Ft. Lauderdale, we applaud the Florida Legislature for enacting a new seat-belt law, which will allow police officers to ticket drivers solely because they are not wearing seat-belts. Considering seat-belts prevent serious injuries and wrongful deaths, we believe all actions taken to insure their use is not only appropriate, but necessary.

Previously, police officers were only allowed to ticket a driver for not wearing a seat-belt, if they stopped that driver for another violation. The law, which Governor Crist signed, is named after Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti, both of whom lost their lives in car accidents while not wearing seat belts.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that the new bill will save 124 lives and prevent over 1,700 serious injuries every year in Florida. That statistic speaks for itself.

As Florida Attorneys we are always saddened when we hear of a family suffering the wrongful death of a loved one due to the carelessness of police officers. Today, a 23 year-old wife and mother of three died in a car accident when her car was hit by a Miami-Dade Police Officer who claimed to be following a speeding car.

The car accident occurred in Miami in the vicinity of N.W. 103rd Street close to I-95, while police were "following" a vehicle earlier seen driving at close to 100 miles per hour. The police cruiser, which was driving without any overhead lights or sirens engaged, went through an intersection slamming into the seat-belted victim. Police claim, that despite following the speeding vehicle for more than 11 blocks, they were not in pursuit, so that, as they claim, the did not have to have their lights and sirens on.

Considering the protection afforded police departments in Florida, we are disappointed that this family will be limited to the minimal recovery provided under Florida's sovereign immunity, that is, unless the Florida Legislature enacts a claims bill.

As Florida Attorneys we are always sorry to hear about tourists who are injured in bus and car accidents caused cruise line tour operators in foreign countries. Unfortunately, another preventable accident happened this week, when fourteen passenger traveling on the Celebrity Cruise Lines Summit, were injured, many critically, when the tour bus type vehicle they were in, crashed outside of Roseau, Dominica's capital.

The tour bus driver, working for a Celebrity Cruise Line vendor, claimed the brakes on his vehicle failed, causing the wreck. The injured passengers were flown to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami on two air ambulances.

Incredibly, these types of serious accidents are easily preventable. However, cruise lines are too interested in the profits they make from such excursions, rather than insuring that the companies they do business with are operated properly. Considering most cruise ships are registered under foreign flags, such accidents will continue to happen, until the United States Congress passes laws requiring cruise lines operating from American ports of call to take the necessary safety precautions to protect their paying passengers.

As Florida Attorneys, we are distressed at the alarming number of people who are driving on Florida roads with suspended or revoked drivers licenses. Those same motorists, which in 2008, alone, totaled more than two million, caused almost 20 percent of all car accidents resulting in wrongful deaths, according to a AAA study.

According to a recent investigation, since 2004, more than twenty thousand drivers in Palm Beach County received a second or third ticket for driving with a suspended or revoked license. And, incredibly, a recently enacted law reduced penalties for repeat suspended license offenders. Amazingly, when many of these scofflaws finally go to court to deal with their suspensions, they actually drive there.

The law passed last year, reduced jail time for drivers whose licenses are suspended or revoked because they failed to pay tickets. We can only hope that the Florida Legislature reverses the current law, and provides greater penalties, which can only serve to protect everyone traveling on Florida's roads.

As Florida Lawyers, working in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, we are saddened when tourists, those coming to our city to enjoy themselves, are wrongfully killed by the carelessness of speeding motorists. Unfortunately, such another tragedy happened today when two British tourists were killed in a hit-and-run car accident outside of the Marriott Hotel in which they were staying.

A white Porsche, which witnesses say was speeding, and which police suspect was racing another car, struck the victims as they were walking along State Road A1A near the beach, on Seabreeze Blvd. Shortly after the collision, police found the Porsche deserted along I-95 in Ft. Lauderdale.

Considering the area in which this collision occurred, is one that is heavily traveled by pedestrians, we can only hope that local law enforcement will take a more proactive response to hopefully prevent such needless tragedies from occurring.

As Florida Lawyers who represent injured victims of car accidents, we are concerned about a recent report from an insurance research group indicating that the country's current financial recession will result in a sharp increase in uninsured motorists, particularly in Florida, by 2010.

According to the Insurance Research Council, there is a correlation between the percentage of drivers who choose to forgo car insurance and each state's unemployment rate. The report indicates, based upon unemployment rate estimates, that the percentage of uninsured motorist will increase by 15% over the next year. This is not good news for Floridians, as we already have the distinction of being one of the top five states with uninsured motorists, at an estimated 23%.

Having witnessed too often, the pain an injured victim endures when they learn the person who caused their damages had no insurance, we cannot stress strongly enough that everyone should make sure they have uninsured motorist coverage. While most insurance agents will tell their insureds that this coverage is not needed, particularly if you already have health insurance and/or disability insurance, it is truly the most valuable coverage you can buy, because it protects you and your family.

As Florida Lawyers who handle serious injury and wrongful death car accidents, we are truly distressed by the tragic story of a mother of eight who died today due to the recklessness of an unlicensed and drunk driver, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. Phyllis Henzel was on her way home in Lake Worth when the alleged drunk driver slammed into her car on B street.

To make matters worse for this family, their mother's tragic wrongful death comes just over thirty years after one of her sons was struck and killed by a car, unbelievably, also on B Street.

Too often, due to too many unlicensed drivers, particularly in South Florida, families must endure these types of tragedies. We only hope the increased traffic fines being imposed by the legislature will cause the police to take greater vigilance in helping get these individuals off our roads.

As Florida Lawyers, we are sad to report that last evening was one of the deadliest in memory, as three different car accidents resulted in the wrongful deaths of four people. The collisions included an accident in which two vehicles erupted in flames.

The most tragic collision occurred overnight on the Sawgrass Expressway, west of Ft. Lauderdale, when, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, a car driving the wrong way, collied with a pickup truck, killing both drivers. Workers closed the highway for four hours after the accident.

The highway patrol also responded to a deadly motorcycle accident on I-95 in Fort Lauderdale, in which the driver allegedly lost control and struck the rear of a truck, and was ejected onto the highway.

Finally, the Town of Davie Police Department handled another late night single car accident on Flamingo Road in which the driver died.

We urge all drivers, particularly those driving in the late evening, to be extra vigilant. Having represented too many families who lost loved ones in similar accidents, we express our thoughts and condolences to the families involved in these losses.

On the heals of being informed that Ft. Lauderdale is one of the aggressive driving capitals of the State of Florida, in which too many people suffer wrongful deaths in car accidents, the Broward Sheriff's Office announced a law enforcement agreement which permits any police officer to cite aggressive drivers everywhere in Broward County. The hope is that such aggressive enforcement will prevent car accidents and save lives.

What makes this policy unique is that any police officer, even one outside of his jurisdiction, may issue such a citation. The focus of this enforcement are drivers who tailgate, put on their high beams, and speed to pass other motorist who are obeying the law.

As Florida Lawyers practicing personal injury law, we congratulate the Sheriff for his efforts and warn Florida motorists that, as stated by the Sheriff, "you are twice as likely to be killed in a traffic accident in South Florida as you are in a homicide."

In an unusual series of circumstances, a multi-vehicle car accident, in which one of the cars collided with a Broward County Bus, forcing another one of the cars into a bus bench, resulting in injuries to seven people, who were taken to Broward General Hospital.

The early morning car accident which occurred at the intersection of U.S. 1 and 4th St. in Ft. Lauderdale, was apparently caused when the driver of one of the cars, ran a red light. The force of the impact unfortunately caused another vehicle to strike a bus bench, where a man was seated.

As Florida Accident Lawyers, we remind the public that even momentary lapses in judgment or attention behind the wheel of a moving vehicle, can put a series of events in motion, which can injure many harmless victims.

In what we can only imagine is the beginning of an alarming trend, drivers who cause car accidents in the Town of Davie, Florida, a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale, will be billed close to a $1,000.00 by the Town for expenses supposedly incurred in their handling of those car accidents. The expenses are associated with the alleged cost of police and emergency medical responders having to attend to the collision.

The proposal was opposed by the Town's Mayor, who said such billing should only apply to crashes on major highways. However, the ordinance, in its current form, applies to all car accidents on all roads in and around Davie, which require the Town to provide such emergency assistance.

According to the Town, most car insurance companies have agreed to be responsible for such charges. Regardless, considering the amount of property taxes Florida Residents pay toward police and fire rescue services, forcing insurance companies to reimburse these publicly funded services certainly will only cause the insurance companies to increase local residents' premiums. as they always pass along such charges.

Aside from the obvious insurance issues, we are concerned as to what type of due process allegedly negligent drivers have to challenge their fault, which is ultimately a concern for all of us.

Finally in some good news for Broward County residents, police are reporting a seven percent decline in car and motorcycle deaths this year, compared to 2007. This makes the second consecutive year of such decline. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, car and motorcycle accident wrongful deaths are decreasing monthly.

Reports indicate the drop in such car accident related deaths is associated with the apparent decrease in vehicle traffic in South Florida. This trend mirrors national statistics in the reduction of vehicle traffic, possibly tied into the dramatic increase in the cost of gas, which also has drivers speeding less, in an apparent effort to save fuel.

Unfortunately, there still were 134 traffic deaths in Broward County this year, a figure that in our opinion remains too high. We only hope Florida driver, particularly those in Ft. Lauderdale and the surrounding area, continue to take precautions such as slowing down, and wearing seat belts, to continue with this trend.

Broward traffic deaths in the same period of 2008

In what is certainly bad news for those injured in car accidents caused by the negligence of rental car drivers, Federal Law now definitively prevents any such personal injury cases against those rental car companies. While the United States Congress previously enacted the so-called Graves Amendment, a number of lower courts in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale had found the amendment to be unconstitutional.

However, yesterday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which essentially oversees all cases in the Southeastern United States, issued a ruling that the Graves Amendment is constitutional. This ruling, for all intensive purposes, puts an end to all such personal injury and wrongful death cases against all rental car companies.

Considering the number of out-of-town and international drivers operating rental cars upon the roadways of the State of Florida, it is truly disappointing to inform our severely injured clients and surviving family members of such deadly accidents, that they will be without any recourse, unless the renter of the car actually took out additional liability insurance. We can only hope that the new congress will rethink this law, which only serves to protect an industry which profits significantly from those out-of-town drivers, many of whom are unaware of, or disregard, the dangers of driving on our roadways.

In what we consider to be the most tragic, and preventable, type of wrongful death, an early Sunday morning car accident in Miramar, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, left a less than one year old baby dead. Unbelievably, the baby was in a baby carrier which her mother failed to secure. The single car accident occurred when the mother apparently fell asleep and hit a concrete sign along Miramar Parkway.

Not surprisingly, according to police, alcohol was apparently a factor in the collision.

According to the police spokesman"besides being a law that a child has to be securely fastened inside of a vehicle, it's every parent's responsibility to make sure this sort of tragedy doesn't happen," we could not agree more. Having had the unfortunate opportunity to represent many families whose children have died in similar accidents, we can only hope all parents and caregivers take a firm stance to protect those unable to protect themselves.

In their annual effort to remind Florida motorists of their need to comply with the "move over" law, the Florida Highway Patrol is beginning a strict enforcement policy this week. The increased police effort is to hopefully prevent needless roadside car accidents, which, on too many occasions, lead to the wrongful death of an emergency worker.

Florida's six year old law provides that when a police officer, ambulance or fire rescue vehicle is stopped on the side of the road with its emergency lights on, that oncoming drivers move over a lane or decrease their speed to 20 m.p.h. below the speed limit. In those instances where the speed limit is 20 m.p.h. or less, motorists must drive a maximum of five m.p.h. when approaching an emergency vehicle

Thankfully, according to The Highway Patrol, only officer has died in such an accident since the law went into effect. However, more than 1,800 other emergency workers have been injured, including more than 270 police officers last year alone.

Drivers should also remember that the law requires similar preventative efforts to protect road rangers and tow trucks.

Consider this one as a wake up call for all Florida drivers to avoid being distracted by car accidents they drive past. Today, four separate car accidents occurred along I-95 in Boynton Beach, due to drivers taking their eyes of the road.

The car accidents happened when, as described by the Florida Highway Patrol "people started slowing down to see [a] wrecked [Fort Lauderdale Police Department] patrol car on the road and they were hitting each other." All of the other accidents happened within twenty minutes.

Thankfully according to the Florida Highway Patrol, there were no serious injuries, although one person was taken JFK Medical Center.

While human nature compels us to look at such collisions on the side of the road, we certainly hope everyone will remember that driving a car requires your full-time attention to your surroundings, in particular, the cars traveling in front and behind you.

The University of Miami School of Law lost a pillar of it's community, when a Sunday morning car accident outside of downtown Miami claimed the life of Professor Alan Swan. Professor Swan died from injuries suffered in the collision which occurred Sunday morning on northbound S. Dixie Highway. Swan's wife also suffered seriously injuries in the collision.

According to police, the car accident happened as the Swans were driving up US 1 to I-95 when another vehicle, speeding along US 1, struck Swan's vehicle, sending it out of control. Police charged the other driver with leaving the scene of a deadly accident.

As attorneys working in Miami, we send out condolences to Professor Swan's families and urge his former students to recall the memorable experiences and lessons he passed along to them.

A car driving against traffic on Interstate 95 caused a car accident which left one person dead and injured two others in Boca Raton Friday evening. The car, identified as a Jaguar, was going the wrong way on I-95, just north of Yamato Road, when it caused an SUV to overturn.
The passenger who died was thrown from the SUV. Two other occupants of the SUV were transported via air rescue to Delray Medical Center.

Even though the Jaguar caused the tragic accident, it did not stop, until it continued down the road and crashed into another car a half a mile away. Although the driver of the Jaguar was not identified, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, the vehicle is owned by a resident of Lake Worth, a suburb of Palm Beach.

Unfortunately, these collisions are a continuation of an unfortunate trend of wrong way car accidents on I-95. According to the Highway Patrol, at least 21 people from Palm Beach County and the surrounding areas have died in such car accidents over the last 15 years. We certainly hope the appropriate agencies take the necessary steps to turn the tide against such tragedies.

The city of Hallandale, which is just south of Fort Lauderale in Broward County, is hoping that installing red-light cameras at busy and dangerous intersections will, in the words of Police chief Tom Magill, "reduce the risk of injuries to our citizens," by reducing, if not preventing, car accidents.

The City Commission gave initial approval to install such cameras at various intersections, including the intersection of Hallandale Beach Boulevard with Dixie Highway, Sixth and Eighth Avenues. Violators of the ordinance will face a fine, but would not be subjected to points on their drivers licenses.

Given the number of drivers who try to "time" or beat yellow lights, putting everyone else on the road at risk, we applaud the City's effort to reduce dangerous inter-sectional car accidents. It seems this is a growing trend among cities, which we certainly hope continues.

In what should be a lesson to all parents, a father and two children, none of whom were wearing seat belts or child safety seats, suffered critical injuries in a Sunday morning car accident on I-95 in Boca Raton. Fire Rescue took the injured to Delray Medical Center.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the single car accident happened on the southbound lanes of I-95 near Congress Avenue. Witnesses told the highway patrol that the vehicle was speeding when it lost control, ran off the interstate and rolled over.

Thankfully another child in the vehicle was uninjured, due to the use of restraint, as reported by the Highway Patrol.

We cannot stress strongly enough the importance of the use of seat belts and child safety seats. While many adults choose to risk their own lives by failing to use an available seat-belt; the decision of whether to place a child in such a restraint is not be a choice, but rather, a requirement. We hope all parents and care givers take the time and show the care to protect their children.

A Coral Springs Man died when his car was unable to clear the railroad crossing on West Atlantic Blvd., in Ft. Lauderdale, and was struck by an Amtrack Train. The train, which was traveling from Miami to New York, was going approximately 80 m.p.h. when it had the accident with a car driven by Shawn Crowell.

According to reports, the crossing gates were down and even though the the train conductor apparently engaged his emergency brake, the train tragically slammed into the car. Per the Sheriff's Office, witnesses said the crossing gates and flashing lights appeared to be working. Crowell apparently had started crossing the tracks, but was apparently unable to move due to heavy vehicle traffic.

We have too often seen these types of deadly accidents, and given the number of railroad crossing in South Florida, we urge everyone to be particularly aware of their vehicle's location in and around railroad crossing. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Crowell's family.

According to a report release today by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, new mid-size cars fared much better, than prior year's testing, in protecting victims of side-impact car accidents. The tests were done to determine what type of injuries, serious or otherwise, occupants involved in a variety of accidents would suffer.

While testing demonstrated improvements in side-impact crashes, which are mainly attributed to side-impact air bags becoming standard equipment in most vehicles; unfortunately, the same vehicles did not perform as well in preventing injuries, such as rib fractures and internal organ injuries, in rear-end accidents. Rear-end collisions are more likely to occur in stop and go commuter driving, such as most of us face in Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties.

The Institute believes better head restraints, and seats which work better with those restraints, would go a long way in protecting occupants. As the Vice President of the Institute said "it is not a major feat of engineering to design seats and head restraints that afford good protection." We could not agree more.

Given the increasing number of police officers injured and killed in car accidents, while they are involved in traffic stops along Florida highways, the Florida Highway Patrol and the Broward County Sheriff's Department are starting a zero tolerance initiative to enforce the State's "Move Over" law.

Florida's "Move Over" law mandates drivers leave the lane nearest to a stopped emergency vehicle, whether it is a police officer, fire truck, Road Ranger or tow truck, or if they are unable to move over, motorists are required to drive 20 m.p.h. below the posted speed limit. The Florida Legislature initially passed the law to protect police officers, of whom more than 150 wrongfully die annually while attending to other motorists on the shoulders or sides of roadways.

We too often represent police officers and tow truck drivers, or in many tragic situations, their surviving families, who, while providing a necessary public service, are struck down in the line of duty due to the carelessness or inattentiveness of a driver. We urge all Florida motorists to pay attention to emergency workers and give them the protection they deserve.

In what we truly consider the epitome of a wrongful death and clearly a tragedy, a 19 year old from Oakland Park, a city adjacent to Ft. Lauderdale, who was wearing her seat-belt, died in a car accident Sunday evening.

The accident which occurred on the ramp heading from southbound I-95 to 595, was caused when a "phantom vehicle" swerved into the 19 year old's lane, causing her to take evasive action and strike a large sign post. The vehicle rolled over and the driver died at the scene.

A "phantom vehicle" is what we refer to as a vehicle which causes or contributes to a car accident but leaves the scene of the accident without being identified. The vehicle is a "phantom," rather than a hit and run, because there was no contact between the two vehicles.

We can only pray for the driver's family, as their daughter did everything she could to protect herself. And, we hope that others will not be dissuaded from using their seat-belts, because of this senseless tragedy.

Friday was a deadly night on the MacCarthur Causeway, the main roadway from Miami to South Beach, as a three car accident resulted in the wrongful death of an occupant of one of the vehicles. The accident occurred when a Toyota sports car collided with a Chevy Blazer and then rolled over.

According to police, they are still trying to determine who was driving the Toyota, because, unfortunately, the occupants of the Toyota were not wearing their seat-belts. The other occupant of the Toyota was taken by Fire Rescue to Mercy Hospital in Coconut Grove.

We are truly saddened by the continuing failure, particularly of young people, to wear their seat-belts. While some serious injuries and deaths occur even with the use of seat-belts, many more lives would be spared with the constant use of such life saving devices.

In a wake up call for Florida drivers, a student on his way to class at Hallandale High School, located in a suburb of Broward County, was the victim of a serious car accident, when a van, driven by an unidentified female, struck him. According to police and witnesses, the student was within the school zone when the van struck him.

Witnesses characterized the impact as significant, as they said the van was driving in excess of the school zone's speed limit of 15 m.p.h. , which is why the driver was arrested. Given the force of the impact and amount of blood loss suffered by the student, it is unfortunately likely he sustained a spinal cord or brain injury. The student was taken by emergency medical services to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.

In our practice we have represented many families whose children were struck by vehicles speeding in and around schools, including the Bustillo family. We remind all drivers that our children are precious, and it is imperative that everyone obey school zone speed limits and pay particular attention while driving around schools.

In a wake-up call for pedestrians, separate car accidents resulted in the wrongful death of a 71 year old woman in Delray Beach, a suburb in Palm Beach County, and critical injuries to a man in Ft. Lauderdale. Both accident victims were pedestrians.

An SUV being operated by a driver with a suspended license struck the Delray Beach victim. As we see too often in our practice, the driver had multiple prior violations; in this case, her was license suspended on six prior occasions. Clearly, this is an example of how the leniency of the traffic court system allows habitual traffic offenders to freely drive and endanger other Floridians.

The most disconcerting fact about this car accident is the fact that the pedestrian was within the crosswalk. According to the investigating traffic homicide police officer, two witnesses saw the pedestrian in the crosswalk, and indicated that the SUV driver should have easily seen her. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's office referred the matter to the State Attorney's Office for further investigation into criminal charges.

As for the Ft. Lauderdale victim, police found him in the street and transported him with critical injuries to Broward General Medical Center.

A family trip ended tragically when a head-on car accident in Deerfield Beach resulted in the wrongful death of one driver and spinal cord injuries to two others.

The accident, which happened at the 300 block of S.E. 10th Street, in northern Broward County, occurred when the driver of one of the cars veered into oncoming traffic. The injured driver and passenger, who were returning from Disney World, were taken to North Broward Medical Center.

In our practice we too often see such catastrophic injuries from preventable car accidents. With New Years Eve almost upon us, we again caution everyone to be overly careful. And, while this tragedy does not appear to have been the result of intoxication, with the biggest night for drunk driving almost upon us, we plead for everyone to use a designated driver, so we may all have a healthy and happy new year.

In a wake up call for pedestrians throughout the State of Florida, a man from Davie, a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale, died after being involved in a truck accident this past weekend. The pedestrian was attempting to cross West Stirling Road when he was hit by an SUV.

According to the Davie Police Department, who investigated the evening truck accident, the pedestrian, who was wearing dark colored clothing, was not walking within the marked cross-walk. The pedestrian was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, and later pronounced dead.

In our practice we see these types of deadly results too often. Unfortunately, many pedestrians wrongfully believe that drivers will automatically yield to them, regardless of where they are crossing the road. We urge all pedestrians and bike riders to be mindful of vehicle traffic, and further urge them to obey all traffic control devices and use marked cross-walks, which are purposefully intended to warn drivers of people possibly crossing a roadway.

In continuing with our last entry about local alcohol related accidents, two South Florida residents, one from Miami and the other from Sunrise, died in separate car accidents when each of them were struck by cars driven by apparent drunk drivers.

The first victim was a tow truck driver who was attempting to help some motorists, who themselves had an accident. Despite placing warning cones on the roadway, essentially closing off two lanes of the Palmetto Expressway, a driver ignored the cones, drove through them, striking and killed the defenseless tow truck driver. The motorist violated Florida's "move over" law which was implemented to try and prevent police, rescue and tow truck drivers from being injured or killed while helping others on the side of the road.

The second accident occurred on the Gratigny Expressway when a motorist drove the wrong way, against westbound traffic, striking another vehicle head-on, killing the other driver.

We again remind everyone that during this festive time of the year, to use a designated driver to help prevent senseless tragedies such as these.

In some great news for Florida drivers, the Florida Supreme Court held that homeowners may be liable for personal injuries and wrongful death from car accidents which are caused by the landowner's failure to prevent their landscaping from overlapping into a public right of way and obstructing other traffic or traffic signs and signals.

In reviewing the case of a 1997 truck accident, which claimed the life of a driver, the Supreme Court extended the liability, which already exists for commercial property owners, to homeowners who improperly allow their trees and bushes to extend over their property-line and into a public right of way. As South Florida personal injury attorneys, we believe that this codification of the law will truly benefit all those traveling on Florida roadways.

The minimal costs and effort now mandated upon private landowners, is greatly outweighed by the life saving benefits to Florida drivers. Finally, victims of Florida car accidents, whose cases were previously denied as unavoidable, now have the right to collect damages from private landowners who disregard the growth of their landscaping. On Thanksgiving, this is certainly something for which all Florida drivers should be thankful.

Due to a disproportionate number of deadly car accidents involving commercial trucks, the Florida Highway Patrol is heightening enforcement of aggressive tractor trailer drivers in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. The so-called "Operation Safe Ride" is part of the state's ongoing efforts to reduce wrongful deaths and personal injuries on Florida highways.

According to the Director of the Florida Highway Patrol, due to the size and weight of those commercial vehicles, drivers of smaller vehicles are at a greater risk for mass destruction and serious injuries. While commercial trucks are involved in about eight percent of all Florida roadway crashes, they are involved in almost thirteen percent of all deadly collisions.

On behalf of our numerous clients who were unfortunately seriously injured as a result of the recklessness of some tractor trailer operators, we applaud the highway patrol's efforts, and wish them success in their battle to safe the lives of our fellow Floridians.

Florida drivers are urged to be extra cautious today, the seventh annual "Put The Brakes on Fatalities Day." The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, in an effort to help reduce the more than 3,365 wrongful deaths which result from car accidents in Florida each year, is joining in the national observation of this special day.

Considering nine people die each and every day on Florida roads, we willingly promote initiatives like this to help educate Florida drivers about the dangers associated with driving a car, and how some additional driver responsibility will help safe lives. The initiative includes educating drivers about keeping their cars in good working condition, not using cell phones while driving and always using seat belts.

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, there are more than 43,000 people who die in car accidents every year in the United States. Hopefully, initiatives such as "Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day" will help reduce this horrific loss of life.

You can file this one as more news than my opinion, this afternoon the Florida Legislature passed a new version of the so called "PIP," personal injury protection law, which will apply to all Florida drivers and car accident victims effective January 1, 2008. As everyone, particularly in Miami, Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale, which was the focus of complaints regarding alleged fraud, are probably aware, the PIP law "sunset" on October 1, 2007.

The new law provides many of the same provisions previously mandated in Florida. Apparently, the most important differences include a medical fee schedule which will limit most medical providers reimbursements to 200% of Medicare's reimbursement rate; and a require $5,000.00 of the medical benefits be initially reserved for hospitals and their doctors who treat injured car accident victims.

Of course, due to the fact that from October 1, 2007, through January 1, 2008, there will be no PIP, anyone suffering a personal injuries in a car accident during that time will be entitled to pursue their claims under a strict tort system. Rather than being limited to the "no fault" threshold, apparently those injured car accident victims will not have to prove they sustained a permanent injury. As we already have a number of such injured clients, it will certainly be interesting to see how the courts will handle those who fall into this new category.

In what we can only describe as great news for Florida car accident victims, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which covers Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, declared a Federal Law, which prohibited personal injury lawsuits against car rental companies, as unconstitutional.

The law, known as the Graves Amendment, which the U.S. Congress passed in 2005, gave rental car companies immunity if one of their renters injured someone in a car accident. The amendment was contrary to Florida Law which had always allowed personal injury cases against car owners, if the person they allowed to drive their car, negligently caused an accident, this doctrine is known as "dangerous instrumentality."

We in Florida are particularly affected by the Court's ruling, given the high number of foreign tourists who rent cars, do not pay for insurance, and drive carelessly on our roadways seriously injuring and, in too many occasions, killing others.

In some good news for most of Florida, the death rate for victims of car accidents on Florida Highways fell to new low in 2006. According to the State of Florida Motor Vehicle Department, this is the first time in the last ten years that deaths from car accidents deceased. Unfortunately, both Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties saw an increase in car accident fatalities.

In 2006, there were 3,365 deaths throughout the State of Florida due to traffic related accidents, including car accidents, bicycle accidents, motorcycle accidents. As we unfortunately expected, more than a third of all such deaths involved alcohol.

Our greatest concern and disbelief is that there was an almost 30 percent increase in the number of children who were killed in such car accidents while not using seat belts or safety seats. As the executive director of the Motor Vehicle Department succinctly stated "even one...fatality, is one too many." We could not agree more.

In tragic car accident, a Miami Man, who was not wearing his seat-belt, was run over, when he was thrown from his SUV after it rolled-over on the Florida Turnpike. The SUV swerved several times, and rolled-over at least twice, when the driver was ejected onto the road. Unfortunately, the driver of another car did not see the ejected man on the roadway and struck him.

Too often in our personal injury practice, we see horrific accidents, in which lives may have been saved, if only the drivers and passengers wore their seat-belts. Although Florida Law requires all car and truck occupants to wear their seat-belts, as evidenced by national and state studies and statistics, too many drivers ignore the known risks associated with car accidents, and fail to wear their safety belts.

Of greater concern, are the parents and custodians of young children who disregard their own children's safety by either not using child seats or boosters, or by failing to properly use them. While every adult has the right to make choice, albeit bad ones, which affect their lives, they should be held to a higher standard when making such poor choices for their unknowing children.

In some good news for Florida car accident victims, Governor Crist just signed into law, a bill which will require all drivers convicted of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, to carry a minimum of $100,000.00 in bodily injury liability insurance and $50,000.00 in property damage insurance.

This new law, known as Florida House Bill 359, significantly increases the amount of car accident insurance convicted drunk drivers are required to have, as the old law only required $10,000.00 in bodily injury liability insurance. This new law will further protect Floridians, by requiring the convicted drunk driver to keep this insurance in effect for a minimum of 3 years, assuming they have no other similar drunk driving issues.

In our practice, we have had too many occasions to represent the innocent victims and surviving family members of such car accidents. Having seen our clients suffer brain injuries, personal injury and death, we are all too familiar with the escalating medical costs and damages caused from these types of accident. We are certainly thankful that the Florida Legislature took up this matter and mandated this increased protection for all Floridians.

Many of our client's are surprise to learn that anyone injured by the negligent actions of any employee of the State of Florida, any of its political subdivisions, including those employees of a County or City, is limited, regardless of how seriously they are injured, to a maximum recovery of $100,000.00. This limitation or cap, which applies to car accidents, slip and falls, and even medical malpractice occurring at a County run hospital, is known as sovereign immunity.

The Florida Legislature passed this law, known as Florida Statute section 768.28, to shield governments from paying for all of the damages caused by their employee's negligence, while allegedly giving accident victims a source of recovery. Unfortunately, for Florida accident victims, especially those who are catastrophically injured, the $100,000.00 cap is woefully inadequate.

Only in the rarest of circumstances does the Florida Legislature entertain, much less pass, a "Claims Bill," which may provide an accident victim with a greater recovery, only if the Legislature and the Governor enact a specific law to help a specifically injured person. Even when the governmental entity, which caused the catastrophic injury, wants to pay the accident victim more than the $100,000.00 cap, the victim must go through the difficult process of pursing a Claims Bill.

We represented an unfortunate boy who sustained a near drowning, resulting in him being in a coma and ultimately dieing. Despite the agreement of the school district responsible for his brain damage, to pay an increased amount, the Florida Legislature delayed our client's recovery for more than 2 years.

We strongly believe this law and the procedures necessary to pursue claims against the government, needs to be changed.

A motorcycle accident in Coral Springs left one person dead and another in critical condition. The driver who was performing a wheelie when he lost control and hit a tree

We can't understand why so many people continue to endanger themselves and others by driving motorcycles in an irresponsible and dangerous manner. In this case, as you can imagine, neither the driver nor passenger were wearing a helmet.

Florida law allows a motorcycle rider not to wear a helmet if they have $10,000.00 in medical coverage insurance. With numerous motorcycle accidents resulting in catastrophic injuries, such as in this situation, the minimal insurance required barley covers the bills of even a emergency room visit.

While many Floridians enjoy riding responsibly, it is the activities of riders such as these which cause such tragic losses and compel non-riders to think all motorcycle riders are careless, which is certainly not the case.

A Palm Beach County Jury found a driver, who was talking on her cellphone at the time she rear-ended another vehicle, responsible for causing a multi-vehicle collision which resulted in the death of a Lesley Beers, a wife and mother.

The verdict, of just over 21 million dollars, clearly demonstrates the jury's disapproval of the driver's cellphone use, and how its accompanying distraction caused the collision. This is yet another example of the public's continuing outcry that too many car accidents are the result of inattentive drivers using cellphones.

While cellphones certainly are a convenience, we agree with the sentiment of the jury's verdict, that is, that too may drivers concentrate on dialing and texting rather than watching the roadway. We have a number of seriously injured clients whose car accidents could have easily been avoided if the other driver was not using their cellphone.

This verdict is one of a growing number of verdicts which not only compensates seriously injured victims, but also seems to punish a driver on a cellphone. We can only hope that drivers, and those companies whose employees drive extensively, pay particular attention to not only this verdict, but the roadway.

We can't believe it, but due to the Florida Legislature's inactions, the requirement that Florida drivers have car insurance, to pay their medical bills and to protect others involved in car accidents, will expire on September 30, 2007. On that date, the so called, Florida "No Fault" law is going to expire, as the legislature has not re-enacted it, nor have they passed a replacement law.

For more than the past 20 years, all car owners and drivers in Florida were required to have a minimum of $10,000.00 of insurance coverage for personal injury protection (PIP) and property damage. But now, unless the Florida Legislature has another special session to address the issue of car insurance, Florida drivers will not have any such requirement.

What does this mean to you? First of all, unless you have health insurance, it will be more difficult to find a doctor who is willing to treat your injuries following a car accident, as the person who caused the accident will not be required to pay anything until your case is settled. This means, doctors may not want to treat car accident victims because they will have to wait an extended period of time before they are paid.

Secondly, and of greater concern to all Floridians, is the loss of revenue that all trauma hospitals will suffer due to the lack of payments from automobile insurance companies.

We can only hope that the Florida Legislature does something to correct this impending crisis, otherwise, we suggest all Florida drivers purchase as much uninsured motorist coverage as they can.