Bike Accidents

Bicycle Accidents and Personal Injuries on the Rise Across Florida

September 1, 2015 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

With the growing number of people who are turning to cycling for commuting to work and for recreation and exercise, Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer Joseph Lipsky expected that the number of bicycle accident and injuries would also increase. Now, a new study by The Journal of the American Medical Association, based upon the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, which evaluates data from emergency rooms across the United States, confirms that the number of bicycle riding related accidents and injures increased over the last seven years.

Of particular concern is the great number of injuries involving bike users over the age of forty-five. Those riders saw an almost 100 percent increase in their number of injuries requiring a visit to an emergency room. The number of injured riders outpaced the increase in total bicycle use, which rose just over 20 percent since 2001. Sadly, more than 700 people lose their lives in bike accidents annually across America.

As expected, the leading causes of bike accidents and personal injuries were collisions with cars, falling down and riding on roads which were not in good condition. Having represented dozens of bicyclists injured due to potholes and misaligned roads, Florida personal injury attorney Joseph Lipsky, knows too well the dangers caused by communities and cities not properly maintaining the roads they know cyclists use.

Scooters Are A Leading Cause of Child Injuries

December 2, 2014 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

As the holidays are quickly approaching and many parents are looking for fun gifts for their children, Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Attorney Joseph Lipsky reminds his fellow gift givers of the dangers associated with some of the most popular toys. According to the Journal of Clinical Pediatrics, one toy in particular, a kick scooter, is directly responsible for an astounding forty percent rise in child related personal injuries over the past ten years.

While injuries from other gifts, including pretend guns, are also on the rise, injuries caused by falls from these scooters are the most often cited cause of injury. In fact, the number of emergency room visits due to such child toy injuries is almost 200,000 annually. The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s annual report demonstrated that there were over fifty two thousand personal injuries, and sadly one wrongful death, due to scooter related accidents last year.

Due to the steady rise in toy related accidents, especially fractured wrists, there is a renewed push to remind parents and children that wearing a helmet and using wrist guards while riding on a scooter or skateboard should be a requirement. Considering there were more than a quarter million bicycle accident related injuries, helmet use while riding should also be mandatory for children. Also, parents should resist the urge to buy age inappropriate gifts for their children. While we want to see our kids have fun, it is important to make sure that they are both physically and mentally ready for the types of dangerous situations which may arise while using kick scooters.

Bicycle Accidents on the Rise in Palm Beach County

September 4, 2014 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

As a personal injury attorney helping injured victims of bicycle accidents in Palm Beach County, including an ongoing case against Palm Beach County and its contractors, attorney Joseph Lipsky is certainly encouraged that public servants are finally taking a further look at making our roadways safer for cycling enthusiasts.

We know too well that bike accidents in Palm Beach County rose by about twenty percent over the past couple of years. Those increasing number of bicycle accident statistics become too real as our office has seen an increase in the number of injured bicycle accident victims across Palm Beach County over the past 2 years. In hopes of stemming the rising tide of bicycle accident injuries, in addition to common sense solutions such as mandating helmet use and requiring lights on bikes, the county is contemplating increased marking of bike lanes and greater police enforcement of those laws already on the books.

While Florida’s laws demand bikes to have a head light type lamp and wheel reflectors, front lamp and reflectors, many cyclists choose not to follow the laws which are there to protect them. Other laws which many bike riders need to know of, which may too prevent personal injuries, include riders under 16 having to wear a helmet and the prohibition against using headphones. And contrary to many people’s beliefs, riders may use the sidewalk, but must yield to pedestrians.

Broward County To Make Roads Safer for Pedestrians and Bikes

March 3, 2014 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer Joseph Lipsky knows, having represented hundreds of pedestrians and bicyclist who have been seriously injured by careless motorists, that our local roadways aren’t always meant to be shared. For that reason, we are happy to report that the Broward County commission recently implemented its Complete Streets policy, which requires future roads to be designed with increased safety measures to reduce the number of pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents.

Some of the expected roadway improvements will include wider pedestrian and bike lanes, and open medians. According to the recently enacted rules, roads in Broward County will be constructed “to enable safe, convenient, and comfortable travel and access for users of all ages and abilities, regardless of their mode of transportation.” This needed trend toward protecting pedestrians follows similarly implemented rules by the Town of Davie and the cities of Sunrise, Pembroke Pines and Hollywood.

In order to facilitate wider bike lanes, car lanes will be narrowed, thereby providing bicyclists with an additional 3 feet of protection. Wider roadway medians will give pedestrians a safe place to wait for traffic to pass, if they are unable to fully cross a street before a light changes color.

Increase in Bicycle Accidents and Injuries in Fort Lauderdale

December 9, 2013 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

As a Miami bicycle accident attorney, Joseph Lipsky is sad to report that the number of bicyclists in Miami, Miami Beach, Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale injured while riding on our roadways has risen in the past two years. In fact, the number of bide riders who suffered personal injuries in accidents over the last 2 years has increased more than 40 percent in Broward County and by more than 20 percent in the Palm Beaches, according to data released by the FDHSMV.

Those percentages equal more than 750 bike riders in Broward County and more than 400 injured bike riders in the Palm Beaches. Part of the reason for the increase can be attributed to more bike riders on the road, for both exercise and as a primary means of transportation.

According to statistics, the amount people riding bikes to more has risen by more than 10 percent each of the last couple of years, with an almost 60 increase in Florida over the last 7 seven years. In fact, metropolitan Fort Lauderdale ranks within the top twenty nationally of cities with the greatest amount of bicycle riders commuting to work.

Two Bike Riders Die in Separate Car Accidents in Fort Lauderdale

January 6, 2011 | by Joseph I. Lipsky

As attorneys practicing personal injury law in Fort Lauderdale, we are again shocked by the deadly combination of bicycle riders, motorists and darkness. Sadly, two different early morning car accidents in which bike riders were struck resulted in the wrongful deaths of 2 cyclists.

Given the number of active bike riders in South Florida, it is not surprising that at least 20% of all wrongful death traffic accidents in Broward and Palm Beach Counties involved either pedestrians and cyclists. These recent fatalities occurred at or near Sunrise Blvd., west of Ft. Lauderdale.

Police urge bike riders to wait for the sun to rise before heading out on their bicycles. Given the vulnerability of cyclists in collisions with cars, we too urge those choosing to ride their bikes to exercise the utmost caution.