Orlando wrongful death attorney

Published on: September 24, 2018

Motorcoach Accident Deaths Blamed on Faulty Tire, Windows, Lack of Seat Belts

Much of the focus of motorcoach accidents in Florida and elsewhere have focused on operator error. These are valid concerns as a number of motorcoach and tour bus crashes in recent years have been caused by drivers who were too tired, too inexperienced, too distracted or too careless. However, the condition of the bus or motorcoach itself is worth examining because it can point to potential liability of the bus owner, operator or manufacturer.

This is allegedly the case for a pending wrongful death case in Texas against a tire manufacturer and a tour bus operator that allegedly installed bus windows that failed to comply with local, state and federal regulations or industry standards and further failed to install seat belts on the bus. They are seeking more than $1 million in damages.

According to the 23-page complaint filed on behalf of wrongful death lawsuit complainants, defendants are the tour company, the motor carrier and the tire manufacturer. Although tire failure, particularly on commercial vehicles, is often the result of failure to replace old, worn tires (which of course are expensive but extremely dangerous). In this case, however, the faulty tire in question was reportedly just manufactured and sold several months before this bus accident occurred – yet it sustained “catastrophic tread-belt separation” while the bus was in motion, resulting in the driver losing control. Plaintiffs allege defendant manufacturer had several other tires of similar dynamics that are less safe and prone to tread separations. Continue reading →

Published on: September 22, 2016

Distracted Driver Problem Weighed by Researchers, Florida Legislators

By Dean Freeman

Although the distracted driving problem appears to have remained steady from 2014 to 2015, researchers with the NHTSA say there is one area of concern: Young drivers who visibly manipulate their electronic devices.

That’s according to the latest research by federal analysts with the traffic safety administration, which reaches conclusions based on researcher traffic counts, as well as anonymous driver surveys. Analysts physically sat at intersections across the country and observed and recorded driver behavior for 11 hours at a time. Researchers looked to see whether there were visibly manipulating their phones, talking on visible headsets or holding phones to their ears. They also cross-compared this data with the surveys and scaled the data to a national level.

What they discovered is that while overall, the texting-and-driving/ visible manipulation of electronic devices fell slightly (2.2 percent, a statistically insignificant amount), there was an increase of .5 percent total. In fact, 5 percent of those 16 to 24 were seen doing this, as were 2.1 percent of those 25 to 69. This might not seem like a lot but consider another figure: The rate of drivers holding phones to their ears. That fell from 4.3 percent in 2014 to 3.8 percent in 2015. That sounds like good news, until you consider that this still means 542,000 passenger vehicles were being driven by someone using a handheld cell phone at any given moment of a typical day in 2015. That’s alarming. Continue reading →

Published on: January 27, 2016

McFadden v. Dept. of Transp. – Negligent Highway Maintenance With Pavement Drop-Off

By Dean Freeman

Plaintiff in McFadden v. Dept. of Transportation has won the right to continue pursuit of her wrongful death claim on behalf of her husband’s estate, alleging state liability for negligent highway maintenance involving a pavement drop-off. The decision was recently handed down by the Iowa Supreme Court.

The case highlights an important roadway defect that can cause serious problems for motorists – especially motorcycles and other small vehicles – on Florida’s fast-paced roads.

Pavement drop-offs and shoulder edge drop-offs are road conditions where there is a significant change in elevation or uneven pavement from one travel lane to the next or from the travel lane to the shoulder. It’s a characteristic that is known to be dangerous to drivers, and it’s generally seen as a highway engineering flaw. Continue reading →