Articles Posted in Motor Vehicle Accidents

| by

Palm Beach motorcycle accident lawyerWhen it comes to pursuing financial compensation for motor vehicle crashes, those involving motorcycles are unique in several respects. But one thing that is the same whether we’re talking about a Florida motorcycle accident or a car accident is that you can still recover monetary damages even if you were partly to blame.

As our Palm Beach motorcycle accident lawyers can explain, it comes down to a legal doctrine called pure comparative fault (also sometimes referred to as pure comparative negligence or contributory fault).

Outlined in F.S. 768.81, the idea is basically that someone whose negligence causes injuries should only be financially responsible for their own percentage of fault. Lots of Florida crashes involve multiple negligent parties responsible by varying degrees for what happened. When there are multiple defendants, each one might be assigned only a portion of the blame – and they’re only liable to cover their fair share of the damages. If it’s the plaintiff who is partly to blame for the accident or exacerbating the injuries, their payout will be reduced in proportion to their own fault.

While lots of other states cut off the possibility of a payout if a plaintiff is somewhere between 49%-51% responsible for their own injuries, Florida (currently) doesn’t have any such rule (though state lawmakers have been considering enacting one at the behest of insurance lobbyists).

That means that if you’re injured in a South Florida motorcycle accident and it was 99%  your fault, you can still collect 1% damages from the other at-fault party. Of course, that’s not an ideal outcome. Let’s say your damages were $100,000 and you can only collect 1% of damages. That’s only $1,000 – probably not worth the trouble of pursuing a claim. But this shows why the question of comparative fault is so fiercely contested in crash cases.

Florida Motorcycle Accident Statistics

South Florida has long been a popular destination for bikers, particularly with annual events like Bike Night Broward, Daytona Bike Week, Palm Beach Bike Week, etc. But the state has also historically had some of the highest rates of fatal motorcycle accidents in the country.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, motorcycle accident deaths are 29 times more common than those involving car occupants (when factoring vehicles miles driven). Motorcyclists just don’t have the same physical protection as others on the road, and they’re less likely to be seen and respected by other drivers. They’re also more susceptible to weather and road conditions, though the majority of fatal motorcycle crashes occur when the weather is reported as “clear.”

In 2020, nearly 5,600 people died in motorcycle crashes throughout the country, accounting for 14 percent of all motor vehicle deaths. In Florida, there were 550 motorcycle accident deaths reported in 2019. There are 590,000 registered motorcycles in Florida – not to mention that hundreds of thousands of tourists flock to the Sunshine State annually specifically for the great weather and long, flat stretches of open road.

According to an analysis by the U.S. Department of Transportation, motorcycle crash causation factors include:

  • Roadway design or maintenance issues
  • Unsafe acts by the motorcycle operator
  • Other drivers operating too close to motorcycles
  • Alcohol impairment (both in motorcyclists and other drivers)
  • Motorcyclist inexperience
  • Other drivers’ inattention (70 percent involved an inadequate visual “traffic scan” by the other driver)

Special Considerations for Florida Motorcycle Injury Claims

Continue reading

| by

In many ways, the true impact of Florida car accident losses is immeasurable. After all, how can one possibly quantify the death of a loved one? Or the crushing reality that permanent injuries have forever foreclosed on the possibility of doing things that once gave you so much joy? Palm Beach car accident lawyer

But when we do look strictly at those black-and-white numbers, the staggering ripple effect of Florida car accident losses is thrown into stark relief.

Almost 3,400 people die in Florida car accidents annually, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Another 250,000 are injured. If we’re solely focused on medical costs incurred as a direct result of Florida car accidents, it’s a $46 million price tag every year (per the CDC). Work loss costs? $4.35 billion.

Broadening that scope, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) just released a new 300-page report that examined the full scope of costs for traffic crashes across the U.S. in a single year.

Among their findings:

  • 36,500+ people died.
  • 4.5 million+ people were injured.
  • 23 million+ vehicles were damaged.
  • $340 billion+ is the cost America as a whole pays for motor vehicle crashes. This includes medical bills and work loss, but also taxes, congestion-related costs, excess fuel consumption, insurance premiums, emergency services costs, legal and court costs, lost productivity. $55 billion of that is in medical bills and lost wages alone.
  • That $340 billion breaks down to $1,035 for every person currently living in this country.
  • $1.4 trillion+ is the cost America pays for motor vehicle crashes when quality of life valuations are considered.

Quality of life valuations are the consideration of the cost when a serious injury or death means that no amount of medical care is going to fully restore the victim. Those who have died – they’re robbed of the entire rest of their lives. Their surviving loved ones will be impacted the rest of their lives as well. Even for those who survive, sometimes there can be lifelong disabilities, physical pain, disfigurement that sometimes prevents them from being independent in even the most basic life functions. Continue reading

| by

No one sets about their day intending to be involved in a car accident – which is why those involved often appear shell-shocked at the scene. Unfortunately when you’re not thinking clearly, it can lead to mistakes that have larger consequences. One such possibility in Broward car accident cases is accepting money on-the-spot from the at-fault driver. Broward car accident lawyer

There are many reasons why this is bad idea.

Our South Florida personal injury lawyers understand it can be tempting, especially if you don’t think you’re hurt badly and your car seems mostly fine. But it’s important to think about why someone would offer you cash or try to arrange for private payment on-the-spot. There are several possibilities – none of them beneficial to the injured or wronged party.

Why Would a Driver At-Fault Offer Cash at a Broward Car Accident Scene?

If someone offers you cash at a crash scene, that should immediately raise some red flags. To be fair, there is nothing illegal about a driver offering you a cash settlement right away, but it’s highly suspicious.

Among the reasons a negligent driver might be eager to settle matters immediately:

  • They don’t want their insurance premiums to spike. This is understandable, and all of us can empathize. After all, even the driver who’s not at-fault may see a slight uptick in their premiums after a claim. But the main problem with this is that you simply do not know the full scope of your property damages and/or injuries in the middle of that moment. If you accept a cash offer in exchange for not reporting the incident or exchanging information, you could be effectively foregoing whatever chance you may have had to be fully compensated.
  • They are uninsured or underinsured. In these situations, the at-fault driver may be concerned about statutory penalties, as Florida imposes a fine of between $150 to $500 for driving  uninsured. Or they may be concerned that legal action could result in direct legal action against them that could lead to wage garnishment, etc.
  • They want to avoid the accident becoming part of their driving record. This may be understandable, but consider that if their existing driving record has them so concerned about a few more points, it may be in the best interests of all road users if they’re held to account.
  • They have a suspended license. In Florida, per F.S. 322.34, driving with a suspended license – or one that is revoked, canceled, or disqualified – is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Penalties can be even more serious if it’s a repeat offense. Not only that, but if their license is suspended, they also are likely not insured.
  • They are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Driving under the influence (DUI) is a crime on its own, but the punishment increases if they’re impaired and cause an accident – especially if someone is injured. They may make a compelling case in the moment about what they have to lose if you summon authorities, etc. But consider that statistically speaking, the average drunk driver has driven impaired 80 times before their first arrest, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. They are a danger not only to themselves but to others with whom they share the road, and even if you’re physically Ok, the next person who encounters them may not be so fortunate.
  • They want to avoid paying more in a legal claim. As mentioned before, it’s almost impossible for crash victims at the scene to accurately tally the full scope of damages. But there is a good chance that whatever they are offering upfront in cash is less than what you’d likely receive if you’re filing a claim.

Risks You Run Accepting Cash at a Florida Crash Scene

Continue reading

| by

We all know distracted driving is deadly, claiming more than 3,100 lives a year, according to the NHTSA. And yet, rideshare drivers have something of a built-in distraction with the need to multitask on the road. They rely on a driver app that must be checked constantly for customers, directions, mileage, and payments.West Palm Beach car accident lawyer

A precedential South Florida product liability lawsuit slated for an upcoming trial alleges a ridesharing app creates an unreasonable danger that puts the public at risk of injuries. Although the case stemmed from a South Florida car accident, it’s filed as a product liability lawsuit on the basis of strict liability. In the legal world, a personal injury lawsuit alleging strict liability allows a defendant to be held legally responsible for the outcomes of their actions – regardless of whether the person was at-fault or negligent.

The upcoming Florida rideshare injury lawsuit, pending in the Palm Beach Circuit Court, accuses Lyft, a California company, and its Florida subsidiary, of creating/using an app is unreasonably dangerous and distracts drivers to the extent it causes crashes. In this particular case, the January 2019 crash on State Road A1A resulted in another driver suffering substantial and lasting brain injuries.  The victim was leaving work at a local resort when the Lyft driver allegedly struck her at an intersection. She spent more than a month in the hospital after the crash, and for a time after that, required 24-aid and attendant care. She also underwent extensive occupational therapy, physical therapy, and other specialty care.

Hertz is also named in the injury lawsuit, as a partnership between Lyft and Hertz allows rideshare drivers to rent Hertz rental cars for their rides.

The original complaint notes that drivers are required to constantly monitor their apps for financial gain (obtaining rides that generate revenue). In addition to a claim of strict liability defective design, plaintiffs allege direct negligence in hiring an independent contractor.

Are Florida Rideshare Drivers Inherently More Distracted?

Continue reading

| by

As Palm Beach personal injury lawyers, our clients are those who have been impacted by the negligence or wrongdoing of others. However, we have occasionally heard of incredulous third-party defendants who wonder how they could possibly be held liable for someone else’s misdeeds. But there are quite a few instances in Florida injury law wherein statute allows for vicarious and third-party liability. Car accident cases may be among these. West Palm Beach injury lawyer

In general, there are three ways third parties can be liable for Florida car accidents:

  • Drunk driving accidents. In drunk driving accidents, third parties, such as bars or social hosts, can be held legally responsible per F.S. 768.125, if they either served alcohol to the impaired driver prior to the crash – knowing they were either under the age of 21 or habitually addicted to alcohol. This is called “dram shop liability.”
  • Employers of negligent drivers. If a tow truck driver is on the job and runs a red light, crashing into another car and causing serious injuries, the tow truck driver’s employer may be held liable – even if the company technically did nothing wrong. Employers can be held vicariously liable for the negligence of their employees if the workers were acting in the course and scope of employment at the time of the incident. This is based on a legal doctrine called respondeat superior, which is Latin for “let the master answer.”
  • Vehicle owners. This is where we sometimes hear the question, “Can I be sued in South Florida if someone else wrecks my car?” And the answer is: Yes. Florida is a little unique in this because of its recognition of the dangerous instrumentality doctrine. Basically, it was established in the 1920s by the Florida Supreme Court that motor vehicles are recognized as inherently dangerous instruments. As such, if you own one and you allow someone to use it (with express or implied permission) and that person goes on to operate it in a way that is negligent and causes harm to others, YOU can be held legally responsible. This is another example of vicarious liability for someone else’s negligence. However, it only applies if you have given that driver permission. If someone steals your car and then wrecks it, you would not be vicariously liable in that instance.

Sometimes, vehicle owners can be found directly negligent too – even if they weren’t operating the vehicle. As our Palm Beach personal injury lawyers can explain, there may also be grounds for negligence as well. Continue reading

| by

Florida motorcycle accidents differ from other types of vehicle crashes for a number of reasons – not the least of which being how civil claim attorneys pursue damages for injuries. motorcycle accident lawyer

In educating motorcyclists and passengers about these differences, our hope is they can make smart choices about insurance coverage – as well as what to do after a Palm Beach motorcycle accident to protect their best interests.

Florida is among the most popular – and deadliest – states for motorcycle enthusiasts. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports more than 5,000 motorcyclists nationally lost their lives in crashes in a single recent year. Of those, nearly 600 died in Florida. While this is one of the largest states with a rapidly-growing population, that’s not the sole explanation. There are far more motorcycle accidents in Florida than in California or Texas – both of which are bigger and have much larger populations.

How Florida Motorcycle Accidents Are Different Than Other Crashes

In truth, any auto accident has the potential to upend your life. Motorcycle accidents, however, are uniquely hazardous.

In one recent analysis published in the medical journal CMAJ, researchers examined data on 27,000 motorcycle accident patients and 282,000 car accident patients. What they found was the injury rate for those in motorcycle crashes was triple the rate of injury for those in car crashes. Severe injuries were 10 times more likely in motorcycle accidents. The cost of treatment for those involved in motorcycle crashes was double that of car accident survivors.

One explanation for this is that motor vehicle safety has improved substantially over the last two decades. As the NHTSA notes, newer cars are safer cars, with standard three-point seat belts, reengineered air bags (and the addition of side airbags), electronic stability control to reduce spinouts and plow-outs, rearview backup cameras to prevent back-over crashes, blind spot detection, and driver assistance. Motorcycles, however, have remained largely unchanged.

Meanwhile, driver distraction has become increasingly common, putting motorcyclists at even higher risk of drivers who often overlooked them even before smartphones and dashboard systems became ubiquitous.

The greater severity of injuries in South Florida motorcycle accidents means these are going to be higher-stakes civil claims. Insurers know this. They’re often eager to settle these cases quickly, for as little as possible – if they don’t deny them outright. This is where working with an experienced Palm Beach motorcycle accident lawyer is to your benefit. We recognize right off the bat what these cases are worth. When we commit to advocating on your behalf to ensure you receive the compensation to which you’re entitled, we do not allow insurers to bully our clients into an unfavorable settlement.

It’s worth noting that compensation in motorcycle crashes is not going to include PIP (personal injury protection) coverage. That’s another major difference compared to car crashes. Continue reading

| by

Recently, a 29-year-old car accident victim was awarded $16 million+ following a protracted Florida legal battle against her own auto insurance company. Although multi-million dollar verdicts are not the norm for most Florida crash cases, our Palm Beach car accident attorneys are sometimes asked about what type of damages one can expect in a typical crash case.Palm Beach car accident lawyer

It’s important to note that every auto accident case is different. Still, factors that can play into the amount a person expects to receive can include:

  • The severity of injuries involved.
  • Who was at-fault (and to what extent – if at all – the plaintiff/injured person shares fault).
  • Whether the at-fault parties are adequately insured.
  • How many victims there were (the more victims, typically the less money available per victim).
  • Whether the injured parties are covered by uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

Now let’s look at the facts of the recent $16 million car accident verdict, as detailed by The Florida Times-Union. Continue reading

| by

Good Samaritan laws have been enacted throughout the country with the initial intention of protecting medical personnel from legal liability for rendering aid to someone in a medical emergency outside a traditional hospital setting. Here in Florida, F.S. 768.13 protects not only health care providers and those licensed to practice medicine but any person from liability when they gratuitously and in good faith rendered emergency medical care or treatment either in direct response to an emergency situation or arising out of a declared public health emergency. West Palm Beach injury lawyers

While a health care professional’s code of ethics might compel them to offer medical assistance in an emergency situation, the state’s Good Samaritan law does not require anyone to help others in an emergency situation. However if they choose to do so, they must exercise reasonable care. The law will impose liability when someone’s failure to exercise reasonable care exacerbates the risk of injury to another person. It doesn’t apply in cases where the victim rejects help or when the volunteer is somehow compensated for their help.

But what happens when the Good Samaritan is the one injured?

As South Florida car accident lawyers, we’ve come across this scenario more than once. Recently in Riverview, Florida, a Good Samaritan in his 20s was killed while assisting others just after a multiple vehicle crash on I-75 just before 3 a.m. Local news outlets reported a 19-year-old in a Toyota swerved out of his lane, striking the back of a semi-truck before overturning in the outside lane of the highway. The semi truck driver, who was not hurt, stopped and pulled over on the shoulder to assist. The driver of a third vehicle then slowed down to pull over onto the shoulder when a fourth vehicle failed to slow down and rear-ended the third vehicle. Then the Good Samaritan approached and pulled over to help the other motorists. Just then, a semi truck carrying plywood approached, struck the first vehicle that was turned over on its side, then the back of the next car which was shoved into the next car. The Good Samaritan was struck by that third vehicle. The semi truck pulling the plywood crashed into a guardrail, where the load separated and fell into a ravine. The Good Samaritan was the only one killed. Continue reading

| by

Florida personal injury lawsuits are efforts to compel a negligent party (defendant) to pay monetary compensation for causing some preventable harm to the person who was hurt (plaintiff). There are, however, a number of legal defenses that can be raised to either prevent the defendant from being found legally responsible (liable) or reduce the amount of money they have to pay. One example is called the “alcohol defense.” It was recently raised in the case of Mainstreet Entertainment Inc. v. Guardianship of Jacquelyn Faircloth before Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeal. The court tossed a $28 million+ verdict against two bars because the lower court improperly prohibited one of them from asserting the alcohol defense.Florida injury lawsuits

As West Palm Beach injury lawyers can explain, the alcohol defense is outlined in F.S. 768.36. It states that in civil actions, a plaintiff can’t recover for any damages for loss or injury if the court finds that at the time the plaintiff was injured:

  • They were under the influence of any alcohol or drug to the extent their normal faculties were impaired OR their blood alcohol level was 0.08 percent or higher AND
  • As a result of that intoxication, the plaintiff was more than 50 percent at-fault for their own injuries.

This is especially noteworthy in Florida because our courts otherwise abide by a system of pure comparative fault, per F.S. 768.81. What that means is a plaintiff’s financial damages will be reduced by whatever percentage of the fault they shared – up to 99 percent. So if you’re 75 percent liable, you can still collect damages for the other 25 percent that is someone else’s fault. Many other states won’t let a person recover any damages at all if they are more than 49-51 percent liable for their own injuries. A few states won’t let you recover anything at all if you are even 1 percent at-fault. In Florida, you can theoretically be 99 percent at-fault and still recover on that 1 percent of damages (though that scenario isn’t ideal).

The alcohol defense, however, can eliminate your right to compensation entirely if you 51 percent or more at-fault for what happened because of alcohol or drug intoxication.

So that brings us to the Mainstreet Entertainment case. This was a drunk driving tragedy involving two young people – one a pedestrian and one behind the wheel – both allegedly intoxicated. The question was apportionment of liability. Continue reading

| by

Drunk driving injuries can be horrific, perhaps the more so because they are always wholly preventable. For this reason, people who have suffered West Palm Beach DUI injuries may be entitled to pursue punitive damages on top of regular (compensatory) damages. This is noteworthy because very few types of Florida injury cases allow punitive damages.West Palm Beach DUI injury lawyer

As our Palm Beach injury lawyers can explain, compensatory damages are intended to indemnify a person for specific losses or injuries. It replaces what’s lost (medical bills, lost wages, etc.) or in the case of intangible losses (i.e., emotional distress, pain and suffering, loss of life enjoyment, etc.), it provides some measure of monetary relief. There is no special process to ask for compensatory damages.

Punitive damages are different because they aren’t solely to compensate someone for losses, but rather to penalize the person who caused the damage and/or deter future acts of wrongdoing. You must specifically ask the court to seek punitive damages, and they’re only allowed in certain instances. DUI injury cases are one of those.

This matters because punitive damages can substantially increase the dollar amount of compensation to which you are entitled. While Florida law specifically caps punitive damages at three times the compensatory damages OR up to $500,000 (whichever is higher),  DUI damages are specifically exempted from this cap.

Continue reading

Contact Information

1615 Forum Pl #3-B
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Toll Free: 877-425-2374Phone: 561-616-3000Fax: 561-688-0775

Available for Consultation
Throughout Florida

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2016 – 2024, Halberg & Fogg PLLC
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design