South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Space Coast Area Transit Sued for Florida Wrongful Death Lawsuit After Bus Driver Left Pastor Who Had Just Undergone Dialysis Unattended

March 15, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

The family of Rev. Owen O. Human is suing Space Coast Area Transit for Florida wrongful death. The 75-year-old died after he was allegedly left unattended on a bus.

Human, who required the use of a wheelchair, took the Space Coast Area Transit to the Titusville Dialysis and Kidney Center on September 11, 2008. After undergoing dialysis treatment, the bus driver helped him get on the bus. She then allegedly went back into the building. The Florida wrongful death lawsuit contends that when she returned, Human was face down on the floor, bleeding, and unresponsive. He died three days later.

Human’s family contends that because he was left unattended on the bus for at least 20 minutes, he was injured in a Florida fall accident, hit his head, lost a great deal of blood, stopped breathing, and died. Their Florida injury lawyer contends that dialysis treatment can make someone weak and that Human therefore shouldn’t have been left alone. The plaintiffs are also seeking wrongful death damages from the Brevard County Commission.

2008 Car Crash Victim Files St. Lucie County Personal Injury Lawsuit Over His Severed Foot That Was Stolen

March 9, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Karl Lambert is suing is suing a former St. Lucie County Fire District firefighter-paramedic for Florida personal injury. Lambert lost part of his leg and his foot in a 2008 traffic crash. He wants compensation from Cynthia Economou, who admits that she did take the foot from St. Lucie County car accident site on I-95.

Economou took the foot, which was trapped in the wreckage, to help train her dog in body recovery. She says that the foot was “unrecognizable” when she found it and that she considered it unusable, which is why she didn’t give it to her commander.

However, Lambert contends that if the found body part had been delivered to the West Palm Beach hospital, the possibility of reattachment could have at least been explored. He is also suing the St. Lucie County Fire District for Florida personal injury on the grounds that it was “vicariously liable” for Economou’s actions while on the job.

Miami-Dade County Car Crashes on I-95 Kill Four, Injure Three

March 6, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

In a tragic series of events on Saturday, four people were killed on Interstate 95 close to Miami Shores. The victims appear to have gotten out of their vehicles to check on another traffic crash. A fifth pedestrian who was with them was taken to Jackson Memorial Ryder.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the first of multiple Miami-Dade County car crashes on I-95 occurred at around 4:45 am when a vehicle drove into the concrete median wall close to 103rd street. A Ford auto then pulled over on the shoulder. Not long after, the driver of a Honda, who was in the express lane, swerved to avoid hitting the first car but then ended up striking the five pedestrians and the Ford. The Honda’s driver and its passenger were also transported to Jackson Memorial Ryder. Police are trying to determine exactly what happened.

Miami-Dade Traffic Crashes

Will US Supreme Court’s Revival of Seat Belt Defect Lawsuit Against Mazda and Window Defect Case Against Ford Pave the Way for More Florida Auto Products Liability Cases?

February 28, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

The US Supreme Court may have just opened the door to more Florida auto products liability plaintiffs. Today, the high court ordered a lower court to take a second look at its ruling barring a lawsuit blaming Ford Motor Co. for window design defects that allegedly proved fatal during a 2002 rollover crash.

James Lloyd, a passenger in the 1997 F-150 pickup, died after he was ejected from the vehicle, which went off the road and rolled over several times. Lloyd’s mother, Mary Robyn Priester, filed an auto products liability lawsuit against Ford accusing it of breach of warranty because of its use of “inappropriate glazing materials” on the truck’s windows.

The trial court granted the car manufacturer’s motion for summary judgment on the grounds that the products liability claim was pre-empted by the motor vehicle federal safety standard that gives automakers the option to decide what kind of tempered glass to use on side windows. The state’s Supreme Court upheld this decision. Now, however, the US Supreme Court, in light of its ruling last week to reinstate the seat belt defect lawsuit against Mazda, is saying that the lower court should reconsider its decision to bar the auto products liability case against Ford.

In the wrongful death case against Mazda, the Supreme Court said that the lawsuit against the car manufacturer over its lap belt design can proceed. The defective seat belt lawsuit claims that Mazda’s failure to install lap-and-shoulder belts in the back seat of a 1993 minivan caused the death of Thanh Williamson during a 2002 car crash.

Citing federal safety regulations, Mazda wanted the wrongful death case dismissed on the grounds that federal vehicle safety regulations pre-empt such lawsuits. The Supreme Court said that this was not the case.

Florida Auto Products Liability
Car manufacturers can be held liable if an auto defect contributed to a victim’s death. Examples of common, serious auto defects and safety issues:

• Seat belt defects
• Sudden unintended acceleration
• Air bag issues
• Poor roof design
• Engine defects
• Tire blowouts caused by tread separation or worn tires
• Window defects
• Seatback collapse
• SUV rollover issues

Suit Against Ford to Be Reconsidered, The Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2011
High Court Revives Mom’s Suit Over Ford Windows, Courthouse News, February 28, 2011
Supreme Court: California family can sue Mazda over seat belt death, DailyNews, February 23, 2011
Williamson v. Mazda Motor of America, Supreme Court.gov (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Supreme Court of the United States

Products Liability, Nolo

More Blog Posts:
Five People Killed in West Palm Beach After Tire Blowout Causes SUV Rollover, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, October 20, 2008
$8.4M Palm Beach County Motorcycle Accident Verdict Awarded In Florida Wrongful Death, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, December 14, 2010 Continue reading

Man Files Florida Personal Injury Lawsuit After Losing Penis In Industrial Accident

February 27, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Edgardo Toucet Echevarria is suing Future Foam Carpet Cushion for Florida personal injury. The 44-year-old contract worker is seeking compensatory and punitive damages after a “peeler machine” he was working with severed his penis on January 13, 2010.

Echevarria, who is employed by Spartan Staffing, contends that he wasn’t trained to run the machine, which employs a steel blade to cut blocks of carpeting foam. In his Florida injury complaint, he states that the “surgically sharp steel blade” cut through his pelvis, severing his penis and testicles, and “virtually cutting his body in half.”

Echevarria says that he was injured while removing a “foam core” from the machine at the request of supervisors and that this maneuver activated the machine. He claims that employees improperly took off the machine’s protective guard and that Future Foam knew of prior instances of workers getting hurt or dying when this type of machine lacked the required protections. He is arguing that Future Foam “had a duty” to not act in a way that would likely result in a worker’s injury or death.

Miami-Dade Sex Abuse Lawsuit Names Retired Catholic Priest

February 24, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Rev. Neil Doherty, a former Roman Catholic priest who has already been named in 25 sex abuse complaints, has been named once again in another case. This one is a Miami-Dade County clergy sex abuse lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Miami.

The complaint accuses Doherty, who is retired and behind Bars in Broward County, of abusing the plaintiff over a 3-year period beginning when he was 8 during the early 90’s. The accuser claims that Doherty, who was with Holy Redeemer Church in Liberty City at the time, would wear his priest’s collar and ride his car through the neighborhood. The plaintiff says that the priest abused him and gave him drugs more than 50 times.

The alleged victim is also claiming the Archdiocese of Miami knew that Doherty had been abusing boys since the 70’s but did not keep the priest away from young kids. Last November, Doherty was arrested on charges he violated the terms of a pretrial release related to his arrest on 2006 on Miami child sex abuse charges. The former priest, who had been under house arrest, was ordered to jail after his GPS device became disconnected for the 8th time since 2009.

Preventing Palm Beach Car Accidents: Dangers of Distracted Emphasized During Simulated Display

February 21, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

It is no longer a secret that texting and surfing the Internet while driving can be dangerous. Yet people continue to get hurt and die because someone was looking at the phone, checking email, sending texts, or surfing the Web rather than paying attention to the road. As our Palm Beach personal injury law firm has mentioned in the past, the US Department of Transportation reported 5,474 distracted driving crashes in 2009 alone. Not only that, but 11 teens a year are killed because of texting while driving. Also, the National Safety Council reports that 28% of traffic crashes that occur involved drivers talking on the phone or texting.

At Palm Beach Atlantic University yesterday, participants were given the opportunity to experience virtually how catastrophic texting while driving can become when they tried texting while on a virtual course. The simulated program, run by PEER Awareness road manager Robert Tower, travels to different schools to help educate teenagers about the dangers of texting combined with driving. The program also includes news footage of interviews with families who lost loved ones in distracted driving accidents involving drivers who were text messaging.

Hopefully, education and awareness will discourage teens and adults from texting or doing anything that keeps them from watching the road. Recently, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against a woman accused of updating her Facebook while driving. The pedestrian who died was a 70-year-old man. Also, another man accidentally drove his car through a bridge guardrail and into a river because he was texting.

Unlike in a number of US states, in Florida there is still no ban on texting while driving even though 17 bills have been introduced pushing for this. That said, this does not mean that texting while driving is not negligent driving when injury or death occurs as a result.

Program exposes the dangers of texting and driving, Sun-Sentinel, February 21, 2011
Ban on Texting while Driving Urged for Florida, First Coast News, February 9, 2011
Representative says texting while driving ban could fail in FL, WZVN, February 21, 2011
Suit: Woman in fatal crash was updating Facebook, Chicago Tribune, February 15, 2011
Man who was texting behind wheel drives off Danvers bridge and into river, police say, Boston.com, February 22, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Distracted Driving, National Safety Council
Distraction.gov, US Department of Transportation
Distracted Driving, Peer Awareness Continue reading

Drunk Driver in 2009 Miami-Dade Truck Crash that Killed Three Kids Could End Up in Jail for 45 Years

February 18, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

It’s been a little over two years since a Miami-Dade truck accident claims the lives of three young siblings. Now, Gabriel Delrisco, the drunken trucker who rear-ended the minivan they were in, has pleaded guilty to three counts of DUI manslaughter. He now faces up to 45 years in prison.

Delrisco was driving at speeds over 60 mph and with a blood alcohol content that was three times above the legal limit when he collided with the Serrano family’s vehicle that was stopped at a red light near Homestead on January 25, 2009. Killed in the Miami-Dade motor vehicle collision were Hector, 10, Esmeralda, 7, and Amber, 4.

Delrisco has apologized for his actions, and his attorney says that they don’t believe there is a “viable defense to the case.” The children’s parents, Hector and Mirian, say it is too late for an apology and that that their lives have been destroyed. Hector was in the minivan with the kids on the night of the fatal Miami-Dade auto crash.

Baby Deaths and Injuries Prompt Recalls of 1.7 Million Summer Infant Video Baby Monitors and 500,000 Bassinets by Burlington Basket Company

February 16, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently announced two major recalls involving infant products. The most recent recall, which was announced today, involves 500,000 bassinets by Burlington Basket Company.

Our Miami products liability law firm is glad to hear that the product is being recalled. Already there are two reports of minor injuries, so hopefully, the announcement will keep more babies from getting hurt.

The bassinets are considered a fall hazard. The safety issue can arise if the legs cross-bracing rails are not fully locked into position. This can cause the bassinet to collapse and the baby to fall out. There have been 10 reports of the bassinet’s legs not locking into place. Consumers are urged to stop using the bassinets immediately.

Man Files Florida Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed Against Hospital Over Wife’s 2008 Wrongful Death

February 12, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A little over 2 years after the death of Janet Ann Jones, her husband Daniel Jones is suing the University of Florida Board of Trustees and Winter Haven Hospital for medical malpractice and wrongful death. Daniel contends that his wife wasn’t given the proper medical care when she arrived at the hospital’s emergency room at 9:43pm on December 20, 2008. At the time, Janet’s blood pressure was low and she was throwing up blood.

Four hours after she was admitted, she went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated both times. At around 4am, Janet was admitted to the ICU. Her blood pressure remained very low. At 7:45 am, she was taken off the ventilator. Janet died on December 28, 2008.

While her immediate cause of death is listed as massive gastrointestinal bleeding, Daniel’s Florida wrongful death complaint claims that medical negligence contributed to his causing wife’s passing. Alleged acts of medical negligence include the staff’s failure to attend to his wife immediately upon her arrival at the hospital, not ordering a full blood count and other related studies when treating her, failure to immediately consult with a gastroenterologist about her care, and failure to immediately give her an interavenous tube for blood and saline.