Florida Injury Victim Lawyer Blog

A 33-year-old Florida woman was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer while she was standing beside Interstate 75 and was attempting to put gas in a sport utility vehicle. The fatal accident occurred at about 12:40 p.m. Tuesday beside the northbound lanes at the Southwest 20th Street overpass, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The FHP has identified the victim was Aymee L. Tanis.

Witnesses told FHP troopers that a blue and white 1990 Ford Bronco was stopped in the emergency lane and the victim was pouring gasoline in the tank. Her back was turned to the traffic.

A tractor-trailer bearing the name CV Transport, of Georgia, was heading north in the right-hand lane and crossed the outside white line and struck her, according to troopers at the scene. The woman’s body was thrown 120 feet and landed in the emergency lane. She was dead on the scene.

The truck driver, Earl Bullock, 42, of Georgia, had been driving back after delivering empty egg crates to Tampa, according to the FHP. It was an accident, said Bullock, who appeared very upset after the crash. “It is something that I’ve got to live with for the rest of my life. If I could, I would give her life back.”

David Angry, who works for Safelite AutoGlass, said he witnessed the accident. He was in the center lane and the truck was in the outside lane. All of the sudden, he saw the tractor-trailer veer into the middle lane, Angry said. “I knew what had happened when I saw the truck started veering.” The truck came to a halt about 200 yards from the Bronco.

As a Florida personal injury attorney I have represented many victims of truck accidents. Truck accidents like this underscore the many dangers Florida residents face every day when traveling on Florida's roads. While trucks are necessary commercial vehicles they are dangerous vehicles that are capable of traveling at high speeds and are more difficult to control and take much more distance to stop than your average personal motor vehicle. For this reason truck drivers are regulated and are required to obtain a special license that allows them to drive a truck in Florida.

News Source: Austin Miller, Star-Banner

Posted by James Payer | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Truck Accident

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A motorcycle accident claimed the life of a Florida motorcyclist when he plunged from the Interstate 95-State Road 84 ramp. The accident has renewed calls for authorities to make the I-95 ramp safer.

Errol Michael Etosha Dodd, 24, of Miramar, suffered a fatal fall from the ramp at about 3:30 a.m., when he attempted to head from southbound I-95 to toward the New River bridge, just north of westbound State Road 84, on his Honda motorcycle, Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Earl Brown said.

Dodd was in the right outside lane of I-95, approaching the New River bridge overpass at the State Road 84 exit, when he tried to pass a white Cadillac Escalade, Brown said. Instead, Dodd struck the SUV's right side, lost control of his bike and plowed into a concrete barrier wall.

After the impact Dodd, who was wearing a helmet and a motorcycle jacket, fell 60 feet onto the riverbank below, Brown said. He died at the scene.

"It seems unreal," Dodd's mother Georgia Fyffe said Sunday. "They need to put something there to prevent motorists from falling."

The fatality is one of several that have occurred at or near the multiple ramps at I-95 and State Road 84 this year. In April, Shawn Montero, 30, hopped over the low-lying barrier wall to relieve himself, apparently not realizing there was nothing to stop his fall. In June, William S. Wehner, 57, was driving north on I-95 when he crashed at the State Road 84 exit ramp. In February, three men died when their car vaulted the elevated exit ramp and plunged onto I-95 below.

Florida Department of Transportation officials recently began reviewing the ramp design and were improving lighting and signage, authorities have said. Earlier this month, the DOT announced workers would install a 4-foot chain-link fence atop the barrier walls of I-95 near the New River overpass. They are expected to be finished by December.

Authorities have said no matter what they do to make the road accident-proof, ultimately, drivers must look out for themselves.

"It's a tragic event," Brown said of the accident that killed Dodd. "We're always promoting and trying to educate the public on traffic-related safety, especially with motorcycles."

Dodd's friends and relatives said he loved his red bike. After brushes with the law as a juvenile, he got a job at a thrift store, stocking and driving. He lived with his mother and brother in the 7500 block of Grandview Boulevard and rode with other motorcyclists.

He'd been riding around downtown Fort Lauderdale with a few others the night of the deadly crash, Fyffe said.

"He was always a safe rider," said Reagan Arjoon, 24, whose older brother and Dodd often rode together. "They know that when you ride a bike, you gotta respect the bike. "

News of Dodd's death drew many friends to his home Sunday. They called him "Smiley Dodd" or "Dollar" because he always friendly and respectful, someone who watched out for others.

"Everybody on the block feels it," neighbor Sharon "Mama Soul" Belnavis said. "They've got to do something about that railing, it could've been anybody. It's enough, too many deaths already."

Source: Macollvie Jean-François, South Florida Sun Sentinel

Posted by James Payer | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Motorcycle Accident

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Florida crane accidents and deaths have mounted recently, with 6 deaths nationwide within the past six weeks alone. On March 25, 2008 a Miami crane accident killed two and left five others injured when a portion of a crane fell over 30 stories to the ground and crashing through an occupied building. A few weeks later another crane toppled over in Aventura, Florida severely injuring two construction workers who were attempting to lift heavy insulation onto the roof of a high-rise condominium. Also, this March a crane collapse at a construction site killed seven people in New York City.

These recent crane accidents have caused Democrats in the United States Congress to push for enhanced federal safety standards and put more pressure on the agency overseeing workplace safety. Recently, nine Senate Democrats sent a letter to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, urging her to issue a new safety standard for cranes and derricks. The letter, which was signed by Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, said it was "unfathomable" that the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is responsible for maintaining worker safety, including inspecting cranes, hadn't implemented recommendations made in 2004 by industry and labor to issue a new standard to improve crane safety. Sharon Worthy, an OSHA spokeswoman, said regulatory and legal requirements slowed the rule-making process. She said OSHA is sending more inspectors to its training-institute class that focuses on crane safety and organizing training events with local unions and industry groups.

So far this year, at least 18 construction workers have died in crane-related accidents in the United States. That figure doesn't include bystanders' deaths. Industry and safety experts haven't come up with a central cause for the accidents, although some cite a shortage of inspectors and an increase in inexperienced contractors and workers who flooded the industry during the recent construction boom.

OSHA estimates there are 96,000 cranes used in construction each year in the United States but couldn't say Thursday whether the numbers of cranes in use has increased this year. Also, developers and contractors are under increased pressure to complete projects, as delays can be costly and the market is already suffering from the weak economy. This is, of course, never a valid reason for putting construction workers and others at risk of severe injury or even death.

Between 1992 and 2006, there was an average of 22 construction-worker deaths a year involving cranes, according to an analysis of government statistics by the Center for Construction Research and Training, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO. The leading cause of death was electrocution while operating a crane, for example from contacting a power line, followed by crane collapse.

The recent string of fatalities follows a series of construction accidents involving cranes earlier this year in New York, Las Vegas and Miami, which led to a hearing in June by the Democrat-led House Committee on Education and Labor on construction-industry safety.

Among those attributing the accidents to a shortage of qualified crane inspectors is Frank Burg, a safety consultant in Woodstock, Ill., who is chairman of a committee with the American National Standards Institute that sets safety standards for cranes. "You don't have enough qualified people to inspect cranes," he said. Mr. Burg said he believes that it will never be possible to inspect all of those cranes and that companies need the threat of large fines to upgrade crane-related maintenance and safety practices on their own.

As a Florida personal injury attorney I have represented many injury victims involved in crane accidents and am very familiar with the many legal issues that they will most likely encounter. Due to the inherent danger of cranes as well as the extreme heights involved these crane accidents result in serious injury and are frequently fatal. Crane accidents can be caused by a construction or crane company's failure to follow safety procedures, improper installation, faulty equipment, negligent operation or maintenance. Legal cases involving injuries sustained in crane accidents are usually very complex and can result in the injury victim and their family having several different causes of action. If the injured party was working at the time of the accident they may have a case under Florida's Workers' Compensation laws. They may also have a negligence claim against the company or companies, who negligently constructed, installed, maintained and/or operated the crane. If you or a loved one has been injured in a crane accident you should consult with an attorney who is familiar with crane accidents in order to protect your rights and maximize the compensation for your injuries.

Posted by James Payer | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Construction Accident

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A 50 year old motorcyclist was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident when he was struck by a car while making a left turn in Polk County, Florida Saturday afternoon. Gerald Pitts of Winter Haven was riding a 2007 Honda motorcycle and was attempting to turn left on a green light when James Hill ran a red light striking Mr. Pitts. As a result of the impact Mr. Pitts was pinned underneath another car that was also attempting to turn left. Hill fled the scene but witnesses were able to get a partial tag number. Police found Hill about an hour later in a parking lot having repairs made to his truck's front tire, the Highway Patrol said. Hill has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident with serious injuries.

Having represented Florida accident victims for many years I have seen the devastating impacts of people running red lights and stop signs. These collisions can severely injure or kill the occupants of a motor vehicle, truck or motorcycle. The likelihood of personal injury to motorcyclists is greater because of their physical vulnerability. There is simply no excuse for ignoring traffic control devices when the results can be so devastating.

Failure to obey traffic control devices is a major problem in Florida. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has identified intersection safety as the number one high-risk area of highway safety. FHWA reports that, each year, more than 2.8 million intersection-related crashes occur in the United States, representing more than 44 percent of all reported crashes. Intersections are prone to serious traffic crashes simply because they place motor vehicle operators in an environment where motor vehicles directly cross paths, directly exposing drivers to traffic crashes in which little space is available to avoid the serious consequences of poor driver choices such as disobeying traffic signals, failing to stop at red lights, or “assuming” the right of way.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety* (IIHS) reports that more than 900 people a year die and nearly 2,000 are injured due to vehicles running red lights. And red lights are, of course, used at intersections. About half of these deaths are pedestrians and occupants in other vehicles who are hit by those drivers who run red lights. The Federal Highway Administration (FHA) reports that 96% of drivers fear being hit by a person running a red light at an intersection, while 55.8% admit to running red lights. And what is the most widely used excuse for red light running? “I was in a hurry.” Though this may be a reason, it is certainly not an excuse. There is no excuse for believing that your time is any more valuable than anyone else’s time or that your time is more valuable than your safety or the safety of others. Obeying traffic control devices is easy to do and would make our roads a much safer place to travel.

Posted by James Payer | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Motorcycle Accident

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