February 15, 2008

Motorcycle Accident Leaves One Dead in Miami

Thursday night, which is a popular night for high performance motorcyclists in Miami to cruise the streets, was a deadly night, as a twenty something year old male died this morning when he had an accident after losing control of his high performance motorcycle in Miami. The driver struck a wall outside of a Dollar Store on Flagler Street, was thrown off his motorcycle, struck a palm tree and died instantly.

According to the investigating police officer, the driver was rapidly accelerating at the time he lost control. The officer indicated that the type of motorcycle involved in the accident was capable of driving at speeds approaching 180 m.p.h.

Unfortunately, this was not the only motorcycle accident last evening, just about an hour after the deadly collision, another motorcyclist suffered a fractured leg when he struck a car in southwest Miami.

We cannot understand why so many young people continue to lose their lives by recklessly operating these types of high speed motorcycles. In our practice we have too often had to console families who lost parents and children due to these types of deadly accidents. We can only hope that others will think twice before acting so recklessly, thinking of those loved ones they might leave behind.

December 4, 2007

Motorbike Accident Leaves Two Dead in Ft. Lauderdale

In the unfortunate start of what appears to be another deadly holiday season for accidents on Florida roadways, two Broward County residents, one from Davie and the other from Miramar, died this week when they fell off of a motor scooter, landed on US1 and were run over by other cars.

The motor scooter's driver and passenger apparently were not wearing helmets. Usually it is tourists, and not residents, who fail to realize the dangers associated with operating a scooter, which are the same as riding a motorcycle, and consequently fail to use helmets.

Not surprisingly, since the mandatory helmet law was repealed in 1999, there has been an alarming increase in motorcyle accident related deaths. In fact, according to State statistics, the number of motorcycle fatalities have risen every year since the requirement to wear a helmet ended. As a personal injury firm dedicated to helping Florida families, we hope the current Governor will push the legislature to re-institute the mandatory helmet law.

November 7, 2007

Palm Beach Jury Finds ATV Owner Liable for Accident

A West Palm Beach Jury held the owners of an all terrain vehicle (ATV) responsible for the wrongful death of a 13 year old Boca Raton child and ordered them to pay the grieving parents $3.6 million dollars. The child was driving the ATV when she lost control, struck a tree and died.

The personal injury case centered around the owner's negligence in allowing an unqualified, too young child to operate the ATV. The owners of the ATV ignored the vehicle's warning labels, which stated that the vehicle should not be operated by anyone under 16 years of age, and allowed the 13 year old to operate their ATV.

This case serves as a tragic-wake up call to parents that they should only allow licensed drivers, and other mature young adults to operate their ATVs and other such vehicles. In our practice we too often see the life altering consequences of what seem to be fun family activities. We agree wholeheartedly with the organization, Concerned Families for ATV Safety, in saying that hopefully this result will help save the lives of other children.

August 7, 2007

Two Miami Motorcycle Accidents Result in Death

Sunday evening was a deadly night for motorcycles in Miami, as two separate motorcyle accidents ended in the wrongful deaths of a passenger and a driver.

The first accident occurred on I-95 when a drunk driver struck a motorcycle from behind, killing the passenger. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the passenger was not wearing a helmet. The second accident happened a few hours later on another Miami-Dade County expressway, when a speeding driver could not manage a turn onto a highway ramp, crashed and died.

In our practice, we have represented too many families who needlessly lost loved-ones in motorcycle accidents. Considering the number of drunk and careless drivers on Florida roadways, we cannot understand why motorcycle drivers and passengers ride without wearing helmets. As indicated in The Journal of Trauma, the medical costs associated with unhelmeted motorcycle riders involved in accidents is almost 50% higher than than for those riders who were wearing helmets when their accident happened.