Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer Blog

Sometimes it takes a tragedy such as a bicycle death before recognized safety concerns are acted upon. This was the case with the recent bicycle death of a Boca Raton man who died when an SUV collided with his bicycle. At the time of his fatal accident he was riding his bicycle to his home from a friend's nearby house. The collision occured near the intersection of Camino Del Mar and Camino Real in West Boca Raton, Florida. The intersection was very busy and did not have a traffic light to control cars and pedestrians crossing the roadway.

A traffic light is now being installed at the intersection of Camino Real and Camino Del Mar. In addition, the wheelchair ramps and tie-ins to cross the street, and stripping on the crosswalks are also being installed according to the Palm Beach County Traffic Division.

Several people who were upset about the fatal accident contacted the County to request that a new traffic study be performed at the dangerous intersection. A friend of the cyclist who was with him just before his fatal ride drove out and looked at the site. "You have to dash for your life if you're walking or on a bike." He checked out a website detailing the traffic flow there. The friend was shocked to discover that a traffic study hadn't been done for five years.

The County was able to justify the installation of the light because of the traffic studies and also because of new laws concerning the limitations of seniors as they make right-hand turns in their cars.

Under Florida law it is difficult, but not impossible, to sue a municipality, a county, or a governmental agency, for not installing a traffic light at a particular location. While issues of this type have been extensively litigated in the courts, the general rule is that the initial decision by the government of whether to install a light or other traffic control device such as a sign is discretionary and hence there is no liability for an accident even if the intersection is known to have an unusual amount of accidents. There have exceptions carved out to this rule, but these are beyond the scope of this entry.

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The Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel reports that a landlord arguing with the father of one his tenants was chased down by the irate father in his car and run over. The incident was captured on an outdoor surveillance camera.

Police said the driver threatened the victim and stated: "I am going to get you, mother f-----!" The victim can be seen on the videotape running for his life, falling near the sidewalk before being run over by the Ford Taurus, which stopped on top of him.

The man remained trapped under the car until officers arrived to rescue him. Police had to ask bystanders to help lift up the 1992 Ford Tauras to free the man. Fortunately, in addition to the police, a weightlifter was available to help pull the man out from under the car. The man survived the impact and paramedics took him to the emergency room at Broward General Hospital.

The driver was criminally charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of assault for getting into fights outside the car. The video shows the driver fleeing the scene and then fighting with one bystander, later entering the a grocery store where he punched a 24-year-old woman.

Because of the obvious intentional nature of this incident, even if the driver here had purchased liability insurance on his car, any claim would probably be denied by his insurance company. Most liability policies have an "intentional acts" exclusion which states the policy will not pay for damages caused by a driver who deliberately tries to injure someone while operating his car. The driver can still be sued for battery (an unlawful touching) and even for negligence under the theory that somehow the impact wsa just an "accident," but it will be very difficult to get paid under the driver's policy. If the landlord owned his own car and had purchased uninsured motorist coverage, he might be able to recover for his damages under that policy. Although these types of cases are very unusual, this illustrates the importance of purchasing uninusured motorist coverage for you and your family.

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A man was killed on his motorcyle Sunday in Pasco County when he took evasive action to avoid hitting three motorcycles he was riding with in a group, the Florida Highway Patrol reported. Stephen Kopilchak from Forstproof, Florida was declared dead at the scene when his 2006 Harley Davidson went down.

Kopilchak had been riding his motorcycle together with three other motorcycles when a car in front of the group slowed to enter a private driveway. The three other motorcycles in front of Kopilchak took "evasive action" to avoid the car, but Kopilchak, who was wearing a helmet, was unable to avoid the three other motorcycles and lost control.

Although the rider had been wearing a helmet, this failed to protect him. This tragic case raises the issue of how to safely maneuver a motorcyle when riding in a group. Frequently, bikers are forced to take quick action to avoid making contact with other vehicles on the road who don't see them. Not surprisingly, the most important safety maneuver a biker can make while riding in a group occurs long before the sudden emergency. When riding in a group of motorcycles, adequate spacing between you and your fellow riders is critical from the get go.

Sudden emergencies are just as the term implies -- situations which occur without warning requiring an immediate response. If you are too close to other motorcyles, your options are limited. The end result may be that your bike may goes down. All sorts of scenerios can rapidly present themselves on group rides, ranging from debris on the roadway to a flat tire on one of the other motorcycles. Bikers need to be aware of this and to space themselves accordingly.

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In the early morning of October 30, 2009, a high-school student and his two friends rode their bicycles from one boy's Miami Shores house to another's home in North Miami. The cyclists believed they were safe at night because their bikes had front and rear lights.

Their safety lights did not help them. As the student rode his bike along Biscayne Boulevard he was struck and killed by a car his friends say was speeding. ``The bicycle was pinned down under the front tire of the car,'' according to a witness who arrived at the scene shortly after the accident.

On November 27, 2009, the monthly Critical Mass ride -- organized by cyclists demonstrating for their safety -- was dedicated to this boy. From the usual starting location at Miami-Dade County Hall in downtown Miami, the ride proceeded north on Biscayne Boulevard to 113th Street, where the student was killed. There his friends and family gathered to place a memorial in his memory.

This case represents another cycling fatality in the state of Florida which has the most in the country. Florida law classifies bicycles as vehicles, giving cyclists the right to use the roadway. After dark, cyclists are required to have bike lights front and rear.

Like other cities, Miami has seen an increase in the popularity of cycling despite streets widely regarded as dangerous to bicyclists, in part because many roads are designed for fast motorized traffic and lack marked bike lanes.

Cycling activists have, without success, requested the Florida Department of Transportation, which manages Biscayne Boulevard, to add bike lanes on that road which is a major north-south cycling route in eastern Miami-Dade County.

This tragic case reminds us that cyclists should always wear helmets, although I am not sure that it would have made a difference here. Even with flashing lights and reflectors on bicycles, a lot of motorists still do not see cyclists on the road. Unfortunately, when a collision occurs between a car and a bicycle, the end result is usually very serious to the cyclist. One of the ways that a cyclist can financially protect himself from the adverse consequences of a collision with a car is to make sure that if he owns an automobile, that he has purchased uninsured motorist coverage. This coverage may extend from the automobile to your bicycle in the event that the at-fault motorist does not have any, or does not have enough, liability coverage for the damages incurred.

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The State of Florida has the highest drowning death rate in the US for children ages 1-4 years (8.9/100,000) and during 1999-2003 recorded 356 unintentional drowning deaths among children in this age group according to the Florida Department of Health.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, pool drownings for young children have increased dramatically. Nationwide, an average of about 300 children under 5 years old drowned in pools nationwide annually. Most of these deaths occurred in the summer months. Drowning is the second leading cause of death to young children after motor vehicle incidents. Another 2,700 children are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year for near-drowning incidents. Most of these cases involve residential pools.

Unfortunately, these tragedies can, and do occur all too quickly -- many times before parents and caretakers are even aware that their toddlers are no longer in the house. Whenever a pool is nearby, constant adult supervision is vital. Even if a young child has been taught to swim, it is still necessary for an adult to be watching.

The key to preventing these tragedies is to have multiple levels of protection. This includes placing barriers around your pool to prevent access, using alarms on doors that access the pool, installing child proof locks on all doors leading to the pool and being prepared in case of an emergency. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has specific recommendations to reduce the incidence of childhood drownings.

Pool drowning cases present unique issues for attorneys representing parents. Frequently, they involve death or brain damage to the child. Although others may be responsible for their child's drowning, most parents tend to experience feelings of guilt. Accordingly, these cases need to be handled in a manner designed to minimize the trauma to the family and to provide closure.

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A foreign visitor has died and at least two other people have become sick after staying at the Epic Hotel in downtown Miami, Florida. Health officials are blaming an unusual type of pneumonia called Legionairres' disease.

Legionairres' disease typically occurs after inhaling an aerosol containing Legionella bacteria. Such particles could originate from any infected water source. When the surface of the water is disrupted, small water droplets can result which quickly evaporate. If these droplets contain bacteria, the bacterial cells remain suspended in the air, invisible to the naked eye but small enough to be inhaled into the lungs. This has been found in inadequately ventilated areas such as prisons where a condensating air conditioner can spread it throughout the entire room, infecting anyone not immune to the strand of bacteria. Potential sources of such contaminated water include cooling towers used in industrial cooling water systems as well as in large central air conditioning systems, evaporative coolers, hot water systems, showers, whirlpool spas, architectural fountains, room-air humidifiers, ice making machines, misting equipment, and similar disseminators that draw upon a public water supply. The disease may also be spread in a hot tub if the filtering system is defective.

Guests at the Epic Hotel have been relocated to nearby Miami hotels to prevent further contact with the water, according to the Miami-Dade County Health Department. It has been reported that Doctors say there is no cause for alarm because only three cases of the bacteria have surfaced in the past two months.

One guest, a foreigner who stayed at the hotel this fall, died as a result of the disease. Case such as these can involve negligent maintenance by the hotel. If this should occur, the surviving family members may have a wrongful death case against the hotel, if they can prove that the death resulted from the negligence of the hotel. As to any other guests who may have become ill because of this, they may have a premises liability lawsuit for negligence against the Miami hotel.

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Scott Rothstein, the gawdy Fort Lauderdale attorney who ran a $1 billion investment scam while acting like a tycoon straight out of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, was arrested by FBI agents on a federal racketeering charge.

Rothstein has been cooperating with federal prosecutors detailing his Ponzi scheme which involved the sale to investors of make-believe structured settlements in sexual abuse cases. The FBI and IRS searched his Fort Lauderdale law office and are confiscating his waterfront home and other assets.

It appears that Rothstein has worked a deal with the feds and will plead guilty. Prosecutors have charged Rothstein with RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) violations which was a federal law enacted to battle organized crime. Rothstein, who was disbarred last week by the Florida Supreme Court, is accused of mail, wire and bank fraud, along with money laundering. If convicted, Rothstein is looking at 20 years in prison and forfeiture of the fortune he stole.

Rothstein's maintained a high profile, being seen with the likes of Governer Charlie Crist and Miami Dolphins retired quarterback, Dan Marino. Rothstein who donated millons of dollars to charity from money received from investors, was seen at the swankiest of establishments and drove around town in enough fancy cars to open up his own Toy Store.

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