Panama City Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Local community members are asking many questions about the safety of our area roadways following a series of Florida car accidents last Sunday on Interstate 75 that took the lives of at least ten Floridians. Those driving in the area probably noticed that heavy smoke and fog blanketed large stretches of the highway, making visibility for drivers close to impossible. The fog was caused by a fire that had started in the Paynes Prairie area south of Gainesville. According to a report in the USA Today, it wasn't long before the weather led to a three-vehicle accident. One motorist was severely injured in that collision and a stretch of the highway was temporarily closed.

Shortly after the road re-opened following that initial crash, an incredible eighteen vehicles were caught in a chain-reaction collision instigated by the poor visibility. More than a dozen cars and at least six tractor-trailers were involved. When all was said and done, at least ten travelers were killed and many others were injured--some severely. Our Florida auto accident lawyer has worked on these motor vehicle cases for years and understand that this tragedy is one of the worst pile-ups in decades.

The Panama City car accident attorney at our firm knows that in the aftermath of these accidents the legal issues related to the event are far from the minds of the victims. Medical recovery and dealing with the grieving process are of paramount concern. However, there will eventually come a time for very serious questions to be asked about what caused this accident, how it could have been prevented, and what steps need to be taken to avoid a repeat occurrence. When it comes to potential legal liability there are two big issues to sort through:

1) What individual acts of negligence led to the pile-up? Subsequent legal actions filed on behalf of victims would try to parse out the series of events that actually caused the chain-reaction to occur. For one thing, the source of the fire must be determined, as the fire is likely one of the main causes spurring the accident. The overall analysis will rely heavily on the results of investigations into the collision by law enforcement officials. Similar legal principles will apply whether the suits are filed by injured victims or whether they are Florida wrongful death lawsuits filed by family members of those killed in the tragedy.

2) Do public bodies which allowed driving in the dangerous stretch of road in the middle of such challenging weather conditions bear some responsibility? Interstate 75 has had its share of road tragedies in the past, and one local paper has referred to the stretch of highway between Ocala and Gainesville as a "Bermuda Triangle." Should public officials have better warned drivers of the danger of the area? Officials had the power to close the highway, particularly because there had already been a serious three-car accident before the larger eighteen-vehicle collision. Officials may have been able to do more to prevent the pile-up. Over the years many have actually called for a truck bypass to be built in the area to avoid tragedies just like this one.

Whatever the case, there is undoubtedly much more to this Florida road tragedy. Everything must be done to ensure the victims (and their families) are provided as much support as possible. Other motorists should also take note and use the incident as another reminder of the risks that exist whenever one travels and the need to take every possible precaution to remain safe on the road.

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Four-Vehicle Panama City Car Accident Takes Life of Resident

Don't Let Your Friends Drive Drunk

Panama City car accidents strike with shocking frequency. While these incidents are referred to as "accidents," in almost all cases they are not truly accidental--they could have been prevented had drivers acted reasonably while behind the wheel. Fortunately, the law provides an avenue for recourse for all those hurt by the misconduct of others on the road. Many local families receive the resources they need to fully recover following an accident by visiting with a Panama City car accident lawyer and getting legal help.

Day in and day out local residents are hurt in roadway mishaps, often through no fault of their own. For example, last week the Walton Sun discussed a tragic four-vehicle crash at the intersection of U.S. 98 and Moates Avenue. According to the report, for reasons yet to be ascertained, a vehicle stopped in a lane for no apparent reason. Those involved speculate that the car was making a right hand turn but was not in the turning lane. The car traveling behind the stopped vehicle rear-ended it. This lead to a chain-reaction crash with four vehicles ultimately involved.

As often happens in these situations, the damage was severe. One of the vehicles was overturned and the other three were severely damaged. Sadly, the personal consequences were even worse. There were two passengers in the car immediately behind the stopped vehicle. One of those passengers, Michelle Milton, was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Unfortunately the wounds were too severe, and she died later that day. Two other passengers were treated at the same hospital and another was treated at the scene and released.

The attorney at our Panama City injury law firm believes that these tragedies occur far more frequently than they should. They also present a range of unique legal issues. For example, if a lawsuit results from this accident, the liability will likely hinge on what the investigation into the situation specifically finds out about the accident. As with all civil car accident cases where potential negligence is involved, what matters is the conduct of each driver before the accident.

When another driver's unreasonableness causes an accident then legal liability should attach. In this case, for example, the driver who was improperly stopped in the middle of the road likely acted negligently which contributed to the accident. Other potential factors include the speed of the other cars, whether drivers were distracted, and similar issues. Of course, in many cases, particularly those where multiple vehicles are involved, there is the chance that different drivers could share in the responsibility. In this case the first vehicle might have been inappropriately stopped in the wrong lane while, at the same time, the driver behind the stopped car might have been traveling a bit too close or going too fast.

It is important for all those in this situation to realize that even if they were not driving perfectly, that does not mean that they cannot recover. Florida is known as a "pure" comparative fault state. That means that in these situations each negligent party will be assigned a percentage of fault. Any damage award is then reduced by the percentage of the plaintiff's fault. Our Panama City car accident attorney understands that many local car accidents victims remain unsure of their rights and confused about whether or not to seek out legal help. But at the end of the day there is nothing to lose from talking with one who has been working with these issues for decades. We urge all residents in these situations to take the time to get professional assistance in the aftermath of an accident.

See Our Related Blog Posts:

Don't Let Your Friends Drive Drunk

Important Thinks To Do and Not Do After and Accident

A week ago I was in Cuba. It was a fascinating trip to a place frozen in the 1950s. I was fortunate to have been included in a small legal research group to investigate Cuban law. Cuba has been a Communist police state since Fidel Castro and his band of revolutionaries overthrew the government of President Batista in the late '50s, but I felt no danger even in the outer provinces far from Havana. The greatest danger seemed to be from a potential wreck in one of the ancient taxis, which in combination with ox carts and wagons, are still main conveyances in Cuba. The old cars, many from the late 1940s and early to mid-'50s, had no seat belts or padded dashboards.

Although Cuba has a constitution that provides for a national assembly, something like our Congress but consisting of only one house instead of our two, all power is really vested in one person, the president. Due to declining health, Fidel gave up the presidency a couple years ago, and now his brother, Raul, is president.

Private ownership of property under Cuba's strict communist doctrine has been impossible, but Raul has made some gradual reforms in the law. A limited number of houses can be bought from the Cuban government and owned by individuals. Selling them is another matter. They can't be sold unless the sale is back to the state itself. Upon death, a house passes to the owner's heirs.

Wage and hour laws to protect workers are nearly non-existent today, but some small positive changes are occurring. At the present, an average monthly wage is $30. Yes, $30 a month. Overtime is not paid. Taxi drivers are forced to limit their hours of work to accommodate other drivers who want to earn money. Employment discrimination is not supposed to be possible, but the law is not enforced.

In Cuba, the rule of law has not yet developed. In this beautiful country, change is occurring in that direction under Raul but very slowly. The law is constrained by the iron boundaries of Communism, but I will share some of its nuances and more interesting aspects with you soon.

Ten percent of us are hurt every year, usually due to someone else's carelessness. Last week, I talked about setting goals for successful completion of your legal case if you were in that group hurt last year. Today, I'll add to the list of things you can do to help your attorney and, therefore, yourself in a meaningful way.

1. Don't talk to anyone except your attorney and immediate, trusted family members about your case. That is especially true when the insurance adjuster for the at fault party calls you to get facts and take a recorded statement. You will be on thin ice if you talk to that person.


2. Keep and give to your attorney every item that comes into your possession that may be evidence in your case. That includes oral statements and written ones, like letters, made by the defendant at the scene or later. It also includes things like parts of equipment that failed and hurt you, shoes if you slipped and fell, and any foreign substance that you slipped on in a store.


3. If possible take photographs of the accident scene, damage to vehicles, wounds and surgical sites, and pieces of equipment or appliances that may have injured you. Give them to your attorney who may use them as evidence to support your case.


4. Since lost wages is an important part of any injury case, keep track of the time you have lost and the wages you were earning. If you were injured so badly that you cannot return to your old job, make a list of places where you seek new employment, the dates you apply, who interviews you, and the results you get. Jot down the reason you are given for not getting the job, such as, "We can't use someone who has a hurt back." That kind of statement is very important to prove the harmful effect of an injury on future employability.

The following is a guest post from Rick Console, a New Jersey personal injury attorney from Console and Hollawell, PC.

When it comes to a personal injury case, social media will only work against the plaintiff. It would be very difficult to find a post online from the defendant admitting fault, which leaves social networking as a resource that can only be used by the defense attorneys and insurance companies. Most personal injury lawyers know of the risks posed by these websites and will warn their clients, but sometimes that is not enough.

During discovery, the defense attorney will most certainly request the login information for all of the plaintiffs online social networking accounts. Of course the attorney will object to this and fight it rigorously, but more times than not this information will have to be disclosed. The information on these sites could be misconstrued and used to dispute a client's claim.

If a case does make it to trial, chances are that the jury will be more understanding than the defense attorneys about what the plaintiff posted. They will know that a life-altering injury does not mean you should not be able to attend your nephew's third birthday party, but they will be able to understand that someone with a serious back injury should not be in a limbo contest. The problem with this is that many times the case does not make it to trial so this tolerance will not be found.

It is important for personal injury lawyers to find out what their client has been posting online because even if they insist the client shut down all of their sites, the defense may win a motion to obtain the login information. For example, in one recent Pennsylvania case a defense attorney won their motion to obtain the plaintiff's Facebook login because her page was public and had information contradicting her claim. This ruling will no doubt be used as evidence that Facebook is a definite well of information, but the court did explain that this will not be a hard-and-fast rule.

The court stated, "The Court does not hold that discovery of a party's social networking information is available as a matter of course. Rather, there must be a good faith basis that discovery will lead to relevant information." The court went on to explain that since her information was already public it was appropriate and just for the defense to have that information.

New Jersey personal injury lawyer, Richard Console explained that he always urges his clients to shut down their social networking sites when they file a claim, but sometimes it's not enough. "Despite disabling their accounts the defense can still request information from these social networking profiles. It is a hard situation because the information found can be so subjective that it is misconstrued as proof that the claim is not valid."

The role of social networking in personal injury claims becomes larger each year as more and more people join and share information on these sites. As it stands now, most jurisdictions will evaluate these requests on a case by case basis, but a firm rule on whether or not social networking sites are public domain could be made in the near future.

It's time to set goals for 2012. If you are one of the roughly ten percent of the population injured last year and that injury was caused by someone else's carelessness, putting your legal case on track for successful completion should be a major goal. Here are some things you can do to achieve it.

1. Have patience. It takes time to get medical care to determine the extent of injuries, which are permanent, and how they will affect your future. It also takes time for your attorney to complete the investigation. That includes ordering all of your medical records and bills.


2. Tell your attorney about all injuries and medical problems both before and after the accident. Good cases can be destroyed if this information is concealed or forgotten. Insurance companies use an indexing system that will discover injuries and claims.


3. When you visit the doctor treating you for an injury, list all the problems you are having. If those complaints don't show up in the medical records, they don't and never will exist in the minds of insurance adjusters or jurors.


4. Notify your attorney if you change doctors, go to the emergency room because of pain, are admitted to a hospital, or are discharged from care. All these things will influence the course of a case and will determine when the law firm should order medical records and bills.


5. Keep a diary of your experiences following the accident or injury. Record important matters like pain levels, activities that you can't do or do only with pain because you have no other choice. Maybe you don't have help, so you have to work despite the pain. Describe it in your notes. Pain isn't always physical, so describe any emotional pain such as your feelings about not being able to lift your child.


6. Finally, keep a list of out-of-pocket expenses.

Doing these things will put you well on the way to successfully resolving your injury case. I'll add to this list next week.

I have been helping injured people in Florida for more than 30 years and all too often the cause of wrecks are due to the other driver consuming alcohol. Statistics provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that 10,839 people were killed in 2009 in alcohol-related crashes. This number accounts for 32% of all traffic-related deaths in the United States. 181 children up to the age of 14 were killed as a result of a drunk driver. More than 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of either drugs or alcohol in 2009. These numbers are staggering.

New Year's Eve is only days away. Drinking and having a good time is on many agendas for the night. If you're among those out having a good time, designate a driver who will not be drinking. Keep your friends safe and don't let them drive if they've had too much to drink. You've heard the commercials. Buzz driving IS drunk driving. Getting stopped and ticketed is very costly. But it's even more costly if your impairment should hurt or far worse, kill someone when you lose control of your vehicle.

There are several taxi services providing FREE rides for New Years should someone consume too much alcohol and realize they cannot safely operate a vehicle. MillerCoors is the exclusive sponsor of 1-800-TAXICAB that dispatches a taxi wherever and whenever needed. Even if you have to pay for it, it's worth avoiding the risk of being involved in an alcohol-related car accident. Take advantage of this valuable service and don't drink and drive.

Best wishes from The Pittman Firm, P.A. to all for a safe and happy New Year and a prosperous 2012.

In 1980, Candy Lightner gave a speech about a 13-year-old girl who was killed by a drunk driver with several previous arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol. The audience gasped when she said, "That little girl was my daughter." Her speech launched the organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving, MADD. It became a high profile advocacy organization against drunk driving, weak prosecutors, and lenient judges. Her daughter, Cari, was the catalyst for the reshaping of American thinking about drunk drivers who until then had been thought of as rebels or comic figures. Her death at the hands of the driver who had 4 prior DUI arrests, one just 2 days earlier, catapulted American thinking into the modern era of classifying drunken drivers as criminals.

Around the same time, Journalist Doris Aiken investigated the deaths of two teenagers caused by a drunk driver in New York. She found that the drunks routinely received slaps on the wrist even when they had prior convictions and had killed someone. The drunk driving incidents were routinely characterized as "accidents" instead of negligence or homicide, and the victims were seen as having been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Fed up with the "one for the road" mentality, Aiken formed the organization called RID, Remove Intoxicated Drivers. It and MADD replaced the old mindset with the belief that "Friends don't let friends drive drunk."

By 1985, the annual number of deaths from drunk driving had decreased precipitously. Yet, there is more to do. For my part, I sue drunk drivers and, similarly, drivers who are impaired by other drugs, who hurt my clients. I want them to pay for my clients' injuries and to forever remember that drunk driving will have financial consequences. You, too, can help. Call 911 when you spot a driver weaving in traffic. Together, we can and will save lives.

Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter might be fun, but if you have a legal case, beware of discussing it or anything that might be an issue in it there. Your potentially damaging statements might find their way to your adversary or his legal representatives through others. But the greater and more realistic fear is that your statements, which can be used against you in court, will be the focus of formal discovery proceedings.

For example, in personal injury cases, it is common for my injured clients to be asked during deposition if they have a Facebook or Twitter account. If they do, the defense lawyer then is able to ask for information which opens up that account for a search for discussions about things the client might have said to others about his or the other party's fault in a case or what he or she can and cannot do. Trouble arises when during deposition or in the answers to written questions sent by the defense, he says he cannot fish, because the rocking of a boat causes pain to his injured back. Obviously, on a given day, he might feel pretty good, go out fishing for the first time in 8 months, and brag on Facebook about the fish he caught. The insurance defense lawyer can use that one posting dealing with only one episode of fishing on a day when he felt better than usual to portray the injured client as a liar.

In an Illinois town, a couple on a motorcycle was struck by a car. The car's driver had posted on his Facebook page a photo of his prized car with a caption. The caption read, "Ready to drive at 90 mph." The injured couple's attorney is using that statement, probably made in an unthinking moment, as evidence against the car's driver. Every case of whatever kind has the risk of being damaged by social media messages, so if you are about to be or are involved in a legal case, silence is golden.

Did you know that on our roads at every moment there are many vehicles that have been cut apart and put back together without any blueprints, testing, or safety analysis? We don't know when one of these is approaching us on the highway, because they have been beaten to fit and painted to match. In other words, they look just fine. Even the owners of these cars, trucks, and recreational vehicles don't know how their vehicles were created.

Most vehicles on the roads are OEM, original equipment manufacturer, that is, made by recognized, quality manufacturers like Ford, General Motors, and Toyota. But the ones I'm talking about have been modified from their original status. They are stripped down, cut apart and reassembled as something else like handicapped accessible vehicles, RV's, limousines, off-road vehicles, and conversion vans. Usually, they aren't required to comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards. In many cases, the companies that create these vehicles fail to observe basic safety standards. For example, they may not have an engineer on staff; no engineer was consulted in the design; no testing was performed, and there were no quality controls.

Who pays the price for this shoddy work? Maybe the owner who is injured in a crash, because the vehicle was not structurally sound. I have seen a number of cases like this where the people in modified vehicles were horribly injured in wrecks that people in similar, unmodified vehicles would have easily survived without serious injury or death. Sometimes, though, it's the innocent people in the oncoming vehicles who are the victims. Maybe a steering problem or a suspension problem in the modified vehicle caused the problem. Those are the common culprits.

Continue reading "No Engineering, No Testing, Yet They Are On Our Roads" »

Although we try to avoid them, car and truck accidents do happen. We wish they wouldn't, but when they happen, it is important for you to know what to do then and in the next few days.

Of course, responsible drivers will stop and identify themselves. And police and medical services will be called. If you are not disabled by injuries at the scene, get witness names and phone numbers, because those people go on their way after a few minutes. Most witnesses leave before the police arrive and have a chance to identify them for accident reports. Make no statements at the scene that can be construed to admit your fault. Save those discussions for your insurance company, not the other driver's, or for your attorney.

At your first opportunity, notify your insurance company even if the claim appears to be small. Settling a claim by yourself is dangerous. Recognize now that if you are in a wreck and are hurt, settling with a powerful insurance company in a scenario orchestrated by an adjuster, who is trained to lead you down a dangerous and unhealthy path, is going to be disastrous for you unless you get legal advice. Right after the wreck, you are likely to get a call from the other driver's insurance company. You aren't obligated to talk to that adjuster, so refuse. Giving a recorded statement to that adjuster often leads to disaster.

For your car, get even minor damage repaired. If you don't, the depreciation in value will cost you a lot more in the long run. When you get it repaired, don't accept just any old parts the insurance company wants to throw your way. Get OEM, original equipment manufactured, parts that come from the car company itself. They are the best quality and will provide better structural integrity for your safety in most cases. Finally, for today, exercise your right to decide which shop will repair your car. Don't allow an insurance company to dictate that choice to you.

Continue reading "Important Things To Do and Not Do After an Accident" »

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.

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.

August 1st marks the anniversary of the first coast to coast trip made in an automobile. As you can imagine, driving an automobile that distance was difficult and a daring achievement. H. Nelson Jackson, a physician and businessman from Burlington, Vermont joined by Sewall K. Crocker, a mechanic, drove from San Francisco to New York. It took them 63 days and there were many challenges. The trip is detailed in 'Crossing the Country'. It is an interesting piece of history.

Making this 2,500 mile trip today would take roughly 40 hours or about 4 days. You would certainly not encounter the road conditions they experienced back in 1903. Automobile safety and mechanics have changed significantly as well. Today's cars are equipped with anti-lock brakes, seatbelts, a windshield and wipers just to name a few improvements that didn't exist then. Government and consumer groups perform many safety tests and rate cars for their crash and rollover safety. It's important for you to do your research before buying a car your family will be driving or will be a passenger in. One good source is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Defects and Recalls are documented and published. However, the reports often don't reach the car owners that need this information. Websites such as www.safercar.gov provide resources to identify specific recalls as well as tips of being a safe driver. You owe it to yourself and your family to be informed. They are relying on you to keep them safe.

The modern 3-point restraint system was designed by my late friend, Nils Bohlin, for Volvo in Sweden. Nils was a great engineer who used a simple idea to save many thousands of lives. I enjoyed our trips together to auto safety conferences and to his farm near Stockholm where we would spend countless hours discussing seatbelt geometry and latching mechanisms. Unfortunately, car and parts manufacturers sometimes put substandard systems and parts in vehicles.

A case in point is that of a young man, who I represent now, paralyzed as a result of a seat belt latch that failed just days ago. His car went out of control at low speed, and he hit a pole. The latch came loose, and he ended up on the floor paralyzed. This is not a rare event. Just a week ago in a neighboring state, a jury awarded $40 million dollars in a similar incident. The seatbelt manufacturer's parts failed, and the seatbelt came loose.

When such a wreck happens, it is important for the people involved to find an attorney knowledgeable about seat belts and their correct design and manufacturing standards to investigate the case. Delay is dangerous, because evidence is lost if the vehicle is bought by the insurance company and sent to a salvage yard. The latch, belt, and attachment points and D-ring must be inspected and photographed before they are destroyed. Evidence of loading against the belt by the body is crucial to establish the fact that the injured or deceased person was in fact wearing the belt at the time of the accident.

I have investigated hundreds of cases involving seat belts and can say with certainty that preservation of the evidence is a critical component of a successful product liability case.