Panama City Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

It was love at first sight, America and the automobile. As the years progressed, the love became dependence. With each decade that passed, Americans came to rely more and more on their cars. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the country's highways saw approximately 2.8 trillion vehicle-miles in the year 2000, an almost four-old increase in mileage since 1960. We place our trust in our automobiles, assuming that manufacturers comply with strict safety standards. When this trust is misplaced and a defective car causes injury or death, our Panama City defective car lawyer can help.

Manufacturers Recall Three Million Vehicles for Air Bag Defect
Air bags began to appear on the commercial market in the 1980s. Since that time, they've become a standard safety feature and they have saved many lives. Last week, as detailed in an Associated Press report carried by the Northwest Florida Daily News, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan announced a recall of more than three million vehicles due to an air bag defect that might cause the passenger side inflator to burst, sending plastic pieces flying into the vehicle. Affected vehicles are believed to be spread across the globe, with North America, Latin American, Europe, Japan, and Africa among the regions impacted by the recall. The recalled vehicles include an estimated 1.7 million Toyotas, 1.1 million Hondas, and approximately 480,000 Nissans. Other auto makers may also be impacted by the recall.

The recall is focused on air bags manufactured by the Takata Corporation in Japan. Akemi Ando, a Honda spokesman, reported that the problem stemmed from two cases of human error. The first instance involved a worker neglecting to activate a switch for a system that weeds out defective products. The second error involved the improper storage of parts, an issue that exposed the parts to humidity.

The Auto Recall System: A Brief Overview
In the U.S., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA") has the power to issue a recall when a motor vehicle or a piece of motor vehicle equipment fails to meet federal safety standards or otherwise includes a safety-related defect. The NHTSA discusses the recall system in a booklet titled "Motor Vehicle Safety Defects and Recalls." Since the recall power was created in 1966, more than 390 million vehicles, 66 million pieces of equipment, 46 million tires, and 42 million child seats have been recalled in order to fix safety defects. Often it is the manufacturers themselves who initiate the recalls. In other cases, the recall is the result of an NHTSA investigation or an NHTSA-obtained court-order.

When the NHTSA finds that a vehicle contains a safety defect, the manufacturer has the option to repair the vehicle at no cost to the consumer, replace the vehicle with an identical or substantially similar automobile, or refund the full purchase price. Where the defect is in a piece of equipment, the manufacturer has the option to either repair or replace the item. The law does include some limitations on remedies based on the vehicle's age.

Recalls and Civil Lawsuits: Two Different Tools, One Commitment to Safety
Recalls are one important safety tool, but they do not exist in a vacuum. Recalls do not alleviate the manufacturer of all legal responsibility for their products. In the recall booklet, the NHTSA specifically addresses the question of whether an individual may still take independent legal action for injuries after a recall has been initiated. The agency replies "Yes," affirming that recalls exist in addition to (versus in the place of) other legal remedies. This means that a civil injury claim can still exist even when a recall has been announced.

As a Panama City personal injury lawyer, Attorney Pittman has experience in both car accident and product liability cases. These areas of expertise combine when automobile defects lead to injury-causing crashes. If a defective automobile led you to suffer injury or caused the death of a loved one, Attorney Pittman can help you pursue and recover monetary compensation. Call to schedule a free consultation.

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Panama City Product Liability Attorney Comments on Tread Separation as Michelin Recalls Over 840,000 Tires

The Threat of Dangerous Roads in Panama City

(Photo by Jon Smith)

Our Panama City accident law firm believes in preventing car accidents in Panama City and throughout our region. We hope that reading this blog helps our fellow Bay County community members be safe behind the wheel and also as a passenger on area roadways. We've written about the danger of using mobile communication devices while driving previously but it is a topic worth revisiting. The issue was also the subject of a recent article on WJGH.com. According to the report, the nationwide American Trauma Society found that twenty percent of all traffic accidents in 2009 that led to injury were the result of distracted driving. On Wednesday May 16, Trauma Awareness Day was observed by trauma centers across the country. Part of the day's agenda was to remind the public to consider safety before using a mobile device or engaging in other distracting behaviors behind the wheel.

At the local level, Bay Medical Center Trauma officials are working to raise awareness of the danger of distracted driving, including texting while driving in Panama City. Dr. Glenn Summers, a surgeon and the Trauma Medical Director at Bay Medical Center, says too many patients end up on the surgery table unnecessarily. He referenced one patient who was at the side of an area road on his motorcycle when he was hit by a driver who was texting at the time of the crash.

Florida law does not currently contain a prohibition against either using a cell phone or text messaging while behind the wheel. Such provisions are the subject of nationwide debate. Proponents of statutory prohibitions against texting while driving applaud the measures as one more way to make the roads safe for all drivers and passengers. Other commentators note that distraction can come in many forms including eating while driving or simply changing the channel on the radio. These opponents of distracted driving statutes believe that you can't cover all distractions and generally can't force common sense.

At the local level, Tyndall Air Force Base is focusing on the issue of cell phone use while driving. Base officials recently launched a campaign titled "You Talk, You Walk...Hands-Free Devices Only While Driving." The measure seeks to eliminate the use of cell phones by those driving on the base. Anyone caught and cited for driving while using a cell phone without a hands-free device while driving will lose the privilege of driving on the base for seven days. A second offense will increase the penalty to a thirty day suspension of driving privileges on base.

If you have been harmed due to someone else's negligence in Panama City, including injuries suffered in an accident stemming from distracted driving, please contact our experienced Panama City personal injury lawyer. The Pittman Firm can help you receive the compensation you deserve. Representatives are available 24/7 to take your call and an initial consultation is free. Most injury cases are handled on a contingency fee basis so we only get paid if you recover damages for your injury or financial loss.

See Related Blog Posts:

Distracted Drivers: Texting and Driving

Panama City Woman's Club Spreading the Word About Distracted Driving

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

As car manufacturers become more competitive with one another, they are rolling out cool new features while also ensuring that standard features, such as engines and transmissions, steering, and braking, are well up to par. The fact is it's difficult to buy a bad car these days. But that doesn't mean it can't be done.

Forbes recently developed a list of vehicles to avoid, based on ratings from J.D. Powers & Associates surveys. For the most part, the vehicles that made this list had new technologies or features that, while intending to make the life of the driver easier, simply introduced new problems and issues. So, these manufactures earn an A for effort, D for execution. If you're interested in one of these vehicles, you might want to wait until the kinks are ironed out. The cars that made Forbes list include:

1. Jeep Liberty/Dodge Nitro. A rough ride, underpowered transmission, and poor interior comfort gave this vehicle bad grades. In addition, customers were displeased with one of the vehicle's options, a unique sliding canvas roof.
2. Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon. These smaller pickups are okay for recreational use, but buyers found the five-speed transmission crude in everyday use.
3. Nissan Armada. This incredibly large vehicle is outdated and outclassed by smaller crossover vehicles. Plus, its size makes it a real nightmare to parallel park.
4. GMC Sierra/Chevy Silverado 2500. These are great if you want to tow 17,500 pounds, but less than ideal when tooling around town. If you're transporting horses, this could be the vehicle for you, otherwise it got rough ratings for everyday use.
5. Dodge Caliber. Customers noted that its continuously variable transmission (CVT) was unresponsive and whiny, and that the interior was dull and cheap. With many other crossover wagons offering style, sophistication, and performance, this is one wagon not to consider.
6. Nissan Titan. Despite the large cash rebate offered to buyers, this full-sized pickup truck just doesn't get the performance ratings of its American competitors.
7. Smart ForTwo. It's a good idea and has terrific fuel economy, but this tiny vehicle simply doesn't have the performance to make up for it. Buyers say the transmission is slow and sloppy, and also claim that the premium gas it requires negates its good gas mileage.
8. Kia Sedona. It's not necessarily a bad choice, yet lags a bit in performance and sophistication, not to mention family-friendly technology that makes minivans competitive.
9. Volvo XC90. This luxury crossover is hard to handle and steer, and the 3.2-liter engine takes a while to get a vehicle this heavy up to speed. While the third-row seat sounds like a good idea, it's difficult to access and only comfortable for smaller children.
10. Mercedes Benz R-Class. The performance is sufficient and the interior is okay, but it certainly doesn't live up to the hype--or price--of a luxury minivan.

Continue reading "Avoid These Lemons" »

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.

A lot of people ask me, "What is the safest car I can buy to protect my family?" Just as there is no perfect car, there is no perfect answer to the question. But some generalities can be helpful, and websites provide research and comparisons of the relative safety of vehicles.

In my prior post topic 'Whiplash', I described to you the differences in stiffness between the platforms or chassis in various car makes and models and why that is important for your safety. The platforms designed by some manufacturers are relatively soft, allowing more crushing of the vehicle to occur in order to dissipate the crash forces before that force is transmitted to occupants. Occupants of these cars and trucks usually have fewer injuries than those in vehicles that are stiffer. A stiff vehicle platform and stiff surrounding structures reduce crush, thereby resulting in less property damage to the vehicle but, more importantly, typically much greater damage to the driver and passengers in that vehicle. Why? Because more force from the impact is sent through the body of the occupant since it wasn't dissipated during the crushing of as much metal. We call that dissipation of energy a "ride down."

If you're looking for a car to buy, you want one that has plenty of metal around you and that is soft enough to absorb the energy of a wreck by crushing appropriately to save you, not the vehicle itself. Another factor that affects your safety in a wreck is the geometry of the head rest. For example, is it close enough to your head to catch it quickly in a rear end collision, and does it go to the top of your ears so that your head won't be forced back over it? These are important considerations. Sit in a car and check the position of the head rest in relation to your head to see if it's geometry fits the criteria just mentioned.

Other factors affecting safety are things you can't so easily check like the number and quality of the roof welds, the design of door latches, side impact protection devices, if any, and seat belt geometry. All seat belts are not designed the same. Some have the anchor points on the floor so far forward that they fail to give adequate protection. Others permit a passenger's body to submarine under the lap part of the belt. That can cause terrible organ damage and paralysis. You can't sit in a car and effectively test these factors, but you can go to research sources. Some are very good. My favorite is Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a non-profit research group that gives very good safety comparisons for vehicles. Another excellent source is The Center for Auto Safety. And don't forget about the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website.

In the end, remember that the fine appearance of a car's style doesn't equate to safety. It's beauty may be only skin deep.

Continue reading "What is the Safest Car You Can Buy for Your Family? " »

After more than a week of Toyota's gas pedal issue and the halt in production being headline news, there seems to be a fix. The article published in CNNMoney.com states that Toyota has developed a fix and is already shipping the new parts to dealers. Toyota has recalled 2.3 million vehicles in addition to halting production of its bestselling car, the Camry. In this article, it also states that Toyota has been aware of the 'unintended acceleration' issue for about 10 years. It took a major car dealer, which is a top seller of new cars, 10 years to find a fix to a problem that has already been suspected to be the cause of 19 deaths. How many accidents occurred in the 10 years that did not result in a death? Why does it take so long to find the cause and fix the problem? One would have to wonder if the cost of admitting there was a problem and finding the solution was higher than the cost of paying for injuries and deaths. After the first reported death, I would suspect a team of investigators would analyze the crash details to determine if the cause was due to mechanical failure or driver error. Maybe the results did not confirm either cause, but what about after the second death or the third or the tenth?

The most horrific and most widely publicized car accident related to a gas pedal issue was the death of an off-duty state trooper and 3 members of his family. The Lexus they were in sped out of control due to the gas pedal getting stuck on the floor mat, another issue Toyota has been aware of for several years. Why does it take a family being devastated by an accident in order for a manufacturer to take proactive steps to prevent this from happening to anyone else? This pattern seems to be prevalent in auto product liability cases.

Other manufacturers have had similar problems. Back in the 70's, Ford made headline news surrounding the gas tank explosions in the Pinto models. Again in the 90's, Crown Victoria's experienced the same gas tank explosion issue blamed on faulty design. With all the crash testing performed by the manufacturers, one would think that these issues would have been identified long before these models went into production.

Continue reading "Auto Recall Information: Your Safety and the Car Manufacturer" »