Fort Lauderdale car accident

Published on: August 14, 2020

Why Do You Need Collision Coverage on Your Car?

I am forced to have uncomfortable conversations regularly with clients and potential clients wherein I inform them that the party that caused their car accident does not have insurance, and that as a result, their chances of making a recovery for their damages is slim to none. An Insurance Research Council study, Uninsured Motorists, 2017 Edition, examined data collected from 14 insurers representing approximately 60 percent of the private passenger auto insurance market in 2015. The result was that Florida led the nation in uninsured drivers with 26.7%!

Collision coverage is the type of coverage that you purchase to protect your own car from property damage resulting from an accident, regardless of who is at fault. When another party is responsible for damaging your vehicle that party is supposed to address your damages. In fact, Florida requires that every driver on the road carry Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and at least $10,000 in Property Damage (PD) coverage. Property Damage coverage protects you in that it covers damage that you cause to the property of another. Due to Florida’s requirement that everyone carry PD coverage, many people with older vehicles that are owned outright (no financing) choose to remove collision from their policy in an effort to save money. Many people feel that they are safe drivers and will “self-insure” against damage they cause and hold someone else responsible should that person be at fault. This sounds like a great way to save money… in theory. In reality, it is a mistake that costs Florida drivers untold sums of money every year.

If a person hits your vehicle and they do not have any insurance coverage, your only remedy is to sue that person individually and obtain a judgment against them. A judgment is essentially just a piece of paper that says what you’re entitled to. Next comes executing that judgment and actually trying to collect money. This is where it gets ugly. This process can take many months and you could easily end up spending more than the cost of the repairs to your car in legal fees and costs alone. You might find yourself in a situation where your car is totaled and you are not in a position to purchase another vehicle.

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Published on: April 4, 2016

Roddey v. Wal-Mart Stores – Car Accident Lawsuit May Proceed

By Dean Freeman

Typically when a driver is injured or killed while fleeing or eluding efforts to detain them for criminal wrongdoing, there may not be strong grounds to pursue civil litigation. But as the recent case of Roddey v. Wal-Mart Stores shows, it still may be a possibility worth exploring.

This was a South Carolina Supreme Court case that dealt with the death of a woman in a car accident that reportedly occurred while she and her sister were fleeing from a retail store after an alleged shoplifting excursion.

Decedent was waiting in the vehicle for her sister, who attempted to shoplift several items of clothing from a retail store. However, a customer service manager realized what was happening and alerted another manager, as well as an on-duty security guard, hired by a separate firm. Continue reading →

Published on: January 18, 2016

No Car, Bike or Pedestrian Accidents Goal of Vision Zero

By Dean Freeman

City leaders and safety advocates in Fort Lauderdale have a goal: Zero traffic deaths.

No one dying on bicycles. No one killed in car accidents. No one fatally struck while crossing the street.

It’s a lofty one, considering Fort Lauderdale has a horrible track record when it comes to traffic safety. In the last five years, there have been nearly 41,000 auto accidents, 134 deaths and 1,450 injuries just of bicyclists and pedestrians, according to state and federal data. Continue reading →

Published on: November 10, 2015

Wood v. Wood – Suing a Family Member After an Auto Accident

By Dean Freeman

Even with Florida’s no-fault auto insurance system, it’s common for those injured in a traffic accident to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver or other responsible parties. This occurs when damages and costs for injuries exceed a certain amount.

Occasionally, it becomes necessary for crash victims to take legal action against close friends, relatives or even spouses.

That whole notion strikes nerve with people, many of whom insist they don’t want to be in a court battle with someone they love. However, what’s important to keep in mind is these actions are truly not personal. Rather, taking this route is sometimes the only way a person who is injured can recover the necessary insurance benefits to which they are entitled. But individuals can’t sue an insurance company directly for an insured’s wrongdoing. Insurers are only added to the action later, once liability has been established. Continue reading →

Published on: October 3, 2015

Nissan Motor Co. v. Maddox – Punitive Damages in Car Accident Case

By Dean Freeman

If a person is seriously injured or killed as a result of the negligence of another, the injured person or surviving loved ones can seek damages in civil court. There are two types of damages: Compensatory and punitive.

Compensatory damages are those meant to indemnify a person for a particular loss or injury. There is no special process for obtaining these damages, as they are intended to replace what was lost. Punitive damages, on the other hand, are supposed to punish a defendant for grossly negligent acts and to deter similar behavior in the future.

Punitive damages are not available in all cases, as F.S. 768.72 points out. Requests for punitive damages have to be approved by the trial judge, and there has to be evidence of gross negligence, such that there was a lack of disregard for human life or safety, a lack of care by defendant who was consciously indifferent to it or intentional violation of the victim’s rights. Continue reading →

Published on: July 19, 2015

Zaldivar v. Prickett – Vicarious Liability, Negligent Entrustment

By Dean Freeman

The recent case of Zaldivar v. Prickett, before the Georgia Supreme Court, dealt with issues of vicarious liability and negligent entrustment as they relate to car accident litigation.

Vicarious liability is a kind of strict, secondary liability that originates from the doctrine of respondeat superior. That isthe responsibility of a superior for the tortious acts of a subordinate. A person or business can be vicariously liable even if they haven’t actually engaged directly in any negligent behavior.

Negligent entrustment, meanwhile, is a direct form of liability that asserts one party negligently provided another with a dangerous instrumentality, and the person entrusted with that dangerous instrumentality caused injury to a third party with that instrumentality.

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Published on: May 3, 2015

Auto Insurers Sued in Florida for Substandard Accident Repairs

By Dean Freeman

Dozens of auto insurers are facing a federal lawsuit brought in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Orlando by hundreds of auto shops in 36 states alleging the insurance industry forces unfair, illegal and unsafe auto repairs for consumers in order to reduce expenses.

Insurance industry representatives insist they are doing nothing wrong, and say they are simply trying to save on repair costs, which in turn keeps customers’ premiums at a reasonable level.

But according to the 92-page complaint, insurers insist that auto repair shops use replacement parts that are off-brand, after-market, used, recycled or, in some cases, even counterfeit, on any repairs made. Of course, this does keep costs down. The concern, however, is that those parts won’t provide the same degree of protection as manufacturer replacements. Beyond that, customers usually have no idea the parts used may be substandard.

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Published on: March 31, 2015

Townsend v. Pierre – Liability of Property Owners For Obstructive Landscaping

By Dean Freeman

In order to operate their motor vehicles safely, drivers need to be able to see what’s in front of them – and coming at them from the side.

Part of this is the job of traffic engineers and city planners. However, it’s also up to property owners, both commercial and private.

When overgrown shrubs, tree limbs or other landscaping features obstruct the view of motorists and result in a crash, the property owner may be held liable for damages. However, it must be proven that the landscaping feature was a known (or knowable) hazard as well as a proximate cause of the crash.

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Published on: January 20, 2015

Robinson v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth. – Bus Injury Litigated

By Dean Freeman

The Broward County Transit has been operating for years, deploying 300 buses to cover more than 400 square miles with connections to both Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, as well as the Tri-Rail.

This is a lot of area to cover daily, and for the most part, drivers do a good job of getting passengers safely to their destination.

However, sometimes accidents occur. In 2013, a 14-year-old boy trying to get to school was left permanently brain damaged when he was trying to board and the bus accelerated before the doors had completely closed and prior to all passengers taking their seats. While prosecutors did not find the action rose to the level of culpable negligence or recklessness (as required for a criminal prosecution), there was evidence to support findings of inattentiveness and carelessness – violations of the Bus Driver Administrative Code.

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