Panama City Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Today's world of communication has changed significantly since the explosion of social media sites likes FaceBook, Twitter and MySpace. It is not uncommon for someone to have 1,000 or more 'Friends' listed on their account. In fact, many strive to get in the hundreds of friend and consider it 'the norm'.

Then there are the posts. They vary in topics, from family photos to what one may have had for dinner. They may even express an opinion on a variety of topics. All seem harmless until this information is used against you.

More agencies are using social media sites to investigate individuals. A few months ago, I referenced a case in the New York Supreme Court where a woman claimed she fell off a chair that had a defective design and she suffered serious and permanent injuries. Her MySpace posts, including family travel photos, were used against her in the case as they contradicted the woman's claim that she was homebound.

More recent are seminars and webinars being offered on the ethics of using social media sites as a research tool. Research has even been done on potential jurors. Posts are used to get a more in depth view of how that person may react to a certain case type.

Would you pass a social Media background check? Employers are using these social media sites to research potential job applicants. The posted photos of one's heavy alcohol consumption or compromising photos may lead a potential employer to question your decision making or reliability to show up to work.

These sites can be great for business and expanding your network of friends but use common sense. If you have 1,000 friends, do you really know who these people are? Are you using your account for business or pleasure? This may be one area to reiterate that business and pleasure generally don't mix. Be critical of the photos or status' you post and how they may be perceived by others. Privacy settings should be utilized to ensure just that - your privacy.

All drivers will experience these scenarios: (1) a kid chasing a ball darts from between parked cars directly into the car's path, (2) a bike rider wobbles in front of a passing car; or (3) at night, a drunk pedestrian tries to cross the road in a vehicle's path. A collision occurs between the driver and the darting kid, the bike rider, or the drunk pedestrian. Various prices will be paid for the collision. The injured person pays with life or limb. And a legal price may be paid by the driver's insurance company in some circumstances. Let's examine them.

The specific facts of a case determine which laws apply. In the darting child case, the child chasing the ball into a street is obligated to stop and watch for traffic if he's old enough to exercise such judgment. Under the law, that's at about age 6. While an older child can be partially at fault for his injury, so can the driver if he or she was inattentive, speeding, or should have known that the event could be in the making.

Foreseeability is an important concept in negligence law. If the driver saw kids playing ball near the street, the argument is that he should have thought that a kid, concealed by the parked cars, might come out to get an errant ball. Since this scenario is reasonably foreseeable, the driver must slow down to whatever speed is necessary to avoid injury. If he doesn't, and the child is hurt, the driver's insurance company will pay the price. But if children weren't playing near the street and the injury occurred in a non-residential area, the driver has a good defense to a negligence claim. The injury was not foreseeable, so the driver has an excuse under the law. You see the arguments that can be made by both sides. They are equally applicable in the examples I gave about the bike rider and the drunk pedestrian. Foreseeability of injury is the key to success or failure of these cases.

If you've been injured in any kind of accident, call me for a free DVD that will answer frequently asked questions about your rights.

More people are resorting to walking than driving these days due to the increasing cost of gas. They are walking on roadways that were not designed for the increased foot traffic resulting in more injuries and fatalities. Some groups of individuals do not have the income to afford a car and adequate insurance forcing them to either walk or use any available public transportation. This means walking to and from the designated stop locations.

In Panama City and many surrounding areas, many roads are in rural settings. The roads may be only 2 lanes with no room for pedestrians to walk along the side of the roadway. In more populated settings, the road still may not provide adequate space to safely walk alongside a highly traveled roadway.

Many injuries and deaths could be avoided by improving the design of the roads. In fact, 12-percent of the roadway fatalities are the result of pedestrian deaths. Florida State ranks the worst when it comes to pedestrian safety listing 4 major cities on the Pedestrian Danger Index (PDI) for 2011.

What can you do to help improve the safety of our roads? As a driver, be more alert! Watch for pedestrians exiting from the trolley's or other methods of public transportation. This is one of the most dangerous situations. They don't stop at intersections often resulting in people darting across the road. Be prepared to stop!

As a pedestrian, follow the rules! Florida pedestrian laws are clear and are mainly common sense. Wearing bright colors, crossing at a crosswalk and walking either on a sidewalk or as far off the roadway as practical are among many rules that are meant to keep us safe. Don't take chances and cross while traffic is coming assuming they will stop for you.

As a citizen, write to your congressman or representative and voice your concern for the safety of our roadways. Budgets of every state are under pressure. If enough citizens voice their concern, it may help to identify their priority.

The morning hussle and bussle will increase come Monday morning as students resume classes for the 2011/2012 school year in Bay and Washington counties. Teachers have been preparing their classrooms this week for a year full of excitement and learning. Many students may still be in the summer-time mode and may not be paying attention as they wait on the corners for their bus to arrive, ride their bycycles, drive their cars or walk to their school. Make sure you allow a little extra time for your commute. Stay alert of the added traffic on our roadways.

Texting while driving is never a good thing as your attention is taken away from the road reducing your reaction time by 18%. This is enough time to pass a red light or stop sign. It could also affect your response in the event a student steps into your path on the road.

Pay attention to the reduced speed limits in the school zones. These tickets come with a hefty fine as well as moving violation points on your drivers license usually followed by increased insurance premiums.

Keeping our students safe only takes a few extra minutes of your time. Avoid tailgating, speeding and distractions that take your eyes off the road. Be prepared to stop at all times. Practice being a courteous driver and signal when you are changing lanes. Avoid road-rage and allow those not-so-courteous drivers to merge into the lane even though they should've merged a half-mile back.

Be safe and have a good school year.

Recently, I asked, "When's the last time you reviewed the Florida Drivers' Handbook?" That's the little book you can get at the Department of Motor Vehicles drivers' license offices. It's filled with good information about driving safety tips. Go in to get a free booklet, learn some of the surprising things you, like everyone else, has forgotten and, then, return it to the office.

Let's go through some of what's discussed in it. I'll add a few things I've learned in thirty years of helping injured people in accident cases. About seat belts, I've heard every excuse for not wearing one. Fear of fire, fear of drowning if trapped in a car that goes into a drainage ditch. Come on. People are five times as likely to be killed if they're not wearing a seatbelt than if they are.

The front seat driver and passengers are required by law to wear them. How you wear a belt matters a lot. Don't tuck the shoulder portion behind the back. That allows jack knifing across the belt into a steering wheel or the dashboard with the head. Put the belt below the iliac crests. Those are the hip bones. That will keep the belt from digging into your abdomen and causing paralysis by compression of your spinal cord. Wear the belt snugly. If you're in a wreck, there's a moment before the belt locking devices will work, and the belt itself will give slightly. Both allow for more forward movement of the body toward the windshield, dash, or other hard objects in the car. By wearing the belt snugly, this forward motion is reduced.

On another note, leaving children unattended in a vehicle violates the law and can be very dangerous. One study found that with the windows up and the outside temperature at 94 degrees, sunlight caused the inside to be at one hundred twenty-two degrees in thirty minutes and one hundred thirty-two degrees at one hour. Those temperatures can be severely damaging or fatal for children. Animals left in vehicles can suffer the same fate in a short time. Follow the law, and use common sense.

You study a state's drivers' handbook to take the driver's license test, but consider using it one other way. That is, as a source of information to periodically remind you of the driving laws and highway safety. I'll concentrate on Florida's laws today.

First, who is required to have a Florida license? If you are a Florida resident or have moved to Florida and have a license from another state, you must get a Florida license within thirty days of becoming a resident. The definition of "resident" can be trickier than it sounds. You're a resident if you enroll your children in public school, register to vote, file for a homestead exemption, accept employment, or live here for more than six consecutive months. Major exceptions are members of the armed forces and their families (although there are exceptions to that) and non-residents who attend school in Florida.

Those laws are pretty mundane, so let's consider some laws and ideas that can help you avoid a wreck, an expensive traffic ticket, or jail. One thing that comes to mind immediately involves passing. Passing on the right on a two-lane road, typically signifying that you're passing on the shoulder, is illegal. Why? Presumably the car you're passing has slowed or stopped to turn left. If that driver decides to cancel that left turn and proceeds straight ahead or turns right, you're going to hit that car or get hit. Instead of passing on the right, have patience. Stop if necessary.

Our Florida driver's manual has important sections dealing with vehicle control. It may be comfortable to steer with one hand or a wrist thrown over the steering wheel, but if you hit a pot hole or have to swerve, control can be lost. Once an emergency arises, it usually takes too long to get the hands in position to regain control. The manual also reminds us that all kids five and younger must wear an approved restraint while riding in a vehicle. The number one killer of young children in the United States is wrecks in which children were completely unrestrained. Be safe. I'll discuss more safety laws soon.

Luck was certainly on the side of a Navarre family who escaped serious injury in a boating accident earlier this week. Returning in the late hours of the night from a day of fishing, they struck a sand bar resulting in their 23-foot boat to run aground and overturn. Miraculously, none of the 4 passengers were injured. A minor child was taken to Sacred Heart hospital with minor injuries.

We are in the height of the boating season here in Florida. The hot weather has made it even more enticing for boaters to get out and cool off but let's not forget basic boating safety rules. Be sure you are well aware of the waters you will be boating in. There are several online resources to help plan your day of boating. It will provide alerts for various points of the waterways to changes that may have been published in prior maps.

NOAA also publishes a Nautical chart on-line viewer for various waterways that you can download the review if you and your family are planning a day out on the water. Taking time to review the charts to become familiar with the waterway can help keep your trip accident free. Boating during the day is much different than boating at night. Approaching object can easily seen and evasive action can be taken whereas night trips make this much more difficult. Front spot lights and slower speeds should be practiced, particularly in waterways in which you may not be familiar.

I have been representing accident victims for over thirty years. People like to handle their own affairs when they know how to, but most are wise enough to call an attorney for help in automobile accident and hospital and nursing home malpractice cases.

The going gets tough very fast in these complicated matters. Most people correctly decide to get professional help before they mess up their cases beyond repair. Why? An attorney with experience representing personal injury victims and negotiating and trying these cases knows what information to get, how to analyze it, and how to successfully present it to an insurance company or a jury. Anything less than that is unacceptable unless the victim wants to be a victim twice, the first time being the victim of a careless driver, doctor, or nursing home staff and the second time being the insurance company's victim.

Adjusters work for the insurance company. Period. Their job is to settle an injury claim for the lowest possible expense to the company. Critical analysis of evidence proving fault, present and future medical expenses, decreased earning potential, and lost wages, often for the remainder of life, is essential. People untrained in these things invariably miss key elements that greatly weaken or destroy their cases. And they usually miss finding insurance policies and coverages that apply to their cases. Often they don't know that if they accept one type of coverage without getting appropriate authorization from their insurance company, they can waive huge benefits that would be provided by their own policies.

Even if they settle their cases by themselves, everything can be taken by lawful lien holders such as their health insurance companies or Medicare or Medicaid authorities unless they have taken proper protective steps. Get help if you are hurt. Call a professional. It will pay dividends. And call me to get a card that lists the things you should and shouldn't do if you're in an accident. I'll send it today, and you can put it in your glove box or your wallet.