car accident attorney

Side Impact Collision: How Palm Beach Car Accident Lawyers Determine Fault

June 25, 2024 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

As West Palm Beach car accident lawyers, we’re closely familiar with the outsized danger posed by side impact collisions. Even though side impact crashes tend to be less common than front impact crashes, they tend to be much more serious. Determining fault requires analysis of right-of-way, traffic signals, speed, and road conditions (inclement weather, debris, low visibility, etc.). Other factors include driver impairment and distraction and whether the injured person was wearing a seatbelt. Palm Beach car accident lawyer explains fault in side impact collisions

Side impact collisions are a type of motor vehicle crash where the side of one or more vehicle is impacted.

Sometimes referred to as T-bone accidents, we often see these at intersections, parking lots, and in scenarios where two cars or other vehicles pass each other on a multi-lane road.

Why Side Impact Crashes Are So Serious

According to a 2016 study, side impact collisions accounted for about 30 percent of total crashes, but 35-45% of passenger fatalities and serious injuries, compared to 55% in head-on collisions. Even in newer, safer cars and at lower speeds, side impact crashes still tended to have higher injury rates.

Factors that can make side impact collisions more serious:

Fewer built-in protections. When a car is struck head-on or even in a rear-end crash, both the driver and passengers have greater distance and structural protection from the point of initial impact compared to a side-impact crash – particularly for those on the side that is struck directly.
More vulnerable body parts impacted. Most rear- and front-impact crashes tend to result in serious injuries to the legs and feet, while side impact crashes tend to hit the chest and head harder.
Minimal avoidance action. A driver who is struck on the side by another may not even see the other car coming – and therefore may take little evasive/avoidance action to minimize the crash.
Vehicle size disparity. More than half of all new vehicles purchased in 2021 were SUVs. Anytime passenger cars collide with light trucks or SUVs, it’s former that usually sustains the greatest damage – regardless of which was the striking vehicle. But when a smaller vehicle is struck on the side by a larger vehicle, the damages tend to be very significant.

According to one study by the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, rear seat occupants were most likely to suffer the most serious injuries in side impact crashes. Continue reading

Secure Your Load on the Road to Avoid Penal Code Episode

July 10, 2019 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Whether we’re talking about a tractor-trailer or merely the junk in your trunk, failure to properly secure loads to your vehicle is a crime in Florida. That means it has to withstand the wind, railroad tracks, a pothole-pocked roadway – all the common things can loosen those items and turn it into road debris if it isn’t properly strapped down. unsafe trucks

Falling or shifting cargo such as ladders, furniture, tools, tarps and building materials can cause serious South Florida crashes resulting in catastrophic injuries and even death.

AAA reported that over a recent four-year stretch, more than 200,000 crashes were caused by unsecured debris on U.S. roads. These resulted in approximately 39,000 injuries and 500 deaths during that time frame.

Of those incidents:

37 percent of all deaths were caused by drivers swerving to avoid the object, typically overcorrecting and causing the driver to lose control.
One-third occurred between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. – when many are hauling/moving heavy items like construction equipment or furniture.
Most occurred on Interstate highways, which makes sense given that driving at increased speeds heightens the risk for vehicle parts to become detached.

Distracted Driving Costs Lives – And It’s Worse Than We Thought

April 20, 2019 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Distracted driving leading to South Florida car accidents has long been a serious problem, especially since smartphones have become so ubiquitous. But while government data puts the number of distracted drivers at roughly 660,000 a day, a recent analysis by Zendrive says it’s 100 times worse. The revelation isn’t exactly stunning to our West Palm Beach car accident attorneys, but it’s nonetheless concerning.

In a study of 2 million drivers traversing some 4.5 billion miles of road over the course of the three months, Zendrive (a motorist behavior analytics firm) concluded that:

60 percent of drivers use their phone at least once daily while operating a vehicle.
40 percent of drivers do so every hour.
69 million drivers use their phones every day.

What’s more the number of drivers distracted by smartphones has increased 10 percent in the last year. Most drivers – nearly 9 in 10 – agree distracted driving is a serious issue, but only half admit to engaging in this behavior. In fact, 90 percent consider themselves safe drivers. Analysts determined those considered “heavy phone users” – those who spend three times more than the average – engaged in phone use while driving – spent nearly one-third of their time ignoring the road. Continue reading

Failure to Name All Defendants Can Put the Brakes on Your Crash Injury Lawsuit

May 21, 2018 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Suing the at-fault driver responsible for your South Florida car accident injuries is really just the first of what could be several legal options. The other driver might be liable for negligent operation of that vehicle, but the vehicle’s owner might be vicariously liable. So too might the driver’s employer, if the driver was acting in the course and scope of employment when they crashed. If the crash was caused in whole or in part due to a defective vehicle or faulty vehicle part, the product designer, manufacturer and/ or marketer could be held responsible too. Palm Beach car accident attorney

Thoroughly investigating the case and identifying and naming potential defendants is imperative because failure to do so could result in you not receiving all the compensation to which you would otherwise be entitled.

In any injury or wrongful death lawsuit, the court will be asked to apportion fault. The defendant driver shares a percentage (sometimes all) of the fault. Sometimes you, the plaintiff, will be assigned a percentage of fault (known as comparative fault, though thankfully in Florida, F.S. 768.81 does not bar you from collecting compensation, even if your damages will be proportionately reduced). Other named defendants may also be apportioned fault, and they will be responsible for paying their fair share. However, if the court finds that a non-party is responsible for some percentage of the blame, you may not be able to collect their share of the damages.

However, there is a bit of good news for plaintiffs who acknowledge there is another potential defendant, but don’t know his/ her identity. (We see this in hit-and-run crashes and so-called “phantom vehicle” cases). The saving grace there is uninsured motorist coverage (UIM) benefits. Continue reading

Rear End Collision Creates Rebuttable Presumption, Not Immune From Challenge

January 30, 2018 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Courts in Florida have established a legal concept known as “rebuttable presumption” when it comes to rear-end collisions. The rebuttable presumption is that if a vehicle strikes another from behind, the rear vehicle was presumptively negligent, though that can be rebutted. There are some specific exemptions to the rule, and motorists filing claims should pay attention to these. car accident lawyer

This rebuttable presumption can make it easier for plaintiffs in these cases to prove liability, and it can also make it tougher for the defendant to prove comparative fault. Florida is a pure comparative fault state. That means whatever percentage of fault is shared by the plaintiff will proportionately reduce the amount of damages paid by the defendant – up to 99 percent. So for instance, if you were 40 percent at-fault for a crash and the defendant was 60 percent at-fault, defendant would only be responsible to pay 60 percent of your total damages.

Some of the grounds on which the rebuttable presumption can be challenged (per the 2007 ruling in Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles v. Saleme) are:

Evidence of mechanical failure by the rear vehicle (in which case, the vehicle manufacturer may be liable);
Evidence/ testimony of an unexpected or sudden stop or lane change (drivers must anticipate these scenarios to an extent and maintain a safe distance from vehicles ahead; defendants must prove the stop or lane change truly both sudden and unexpected);
Evidence the vehicle was not stopped legally on the roadway.

Drowsy Driving is a Killer on Florida Roads

December 21, 2017 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

In the midst of the bustle of the holidays, it’s not uncommon for drivers to sacrifice sleep to get where they’re going. While there is a great deal of (deserved) focus on distracted driving and drunk driving during the holidays, drowsy driving is another – often overlooked – catalyst for car accidents in Florida that deserves some attention. car accident attorney

A study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reveals that 21 percent of all fatal crashes involved a driver who was fatigued, as did 13 percent of all car accidents in which a person was hospitalized for personal injury. That amounts to 109,000 injury crashes and 6,400 deadly crashes every single year attributed to a sleepy driver.

Although a number of states have enacted laws that classify drowsy driving as a criminal offense when it results in a death, Florida is not among those. However, drowsy driving can still be considered negligence if the individual knew or should have known they were too tired to drive. That’s because every motorist has a legal duty of care to other drivers to use reasonable caution behind the wheel. Driving while tired can be considered a breach of that duty because it is a failure to use reasonable care. Still, such claims can be difficult to substantiate, which is why it’s important to have an experienced South Florida injury attorney on your side who can carefully assess the merits and strength of your case. Continue reading

Bankruptcy of Negligent Driver Does not Negate UIM Insurer’s Liability

October 15, 2017 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Roughly 3 million people are injured annually in car accidents across the U.S. Meanwhile, there are approximately 800,000 bankruptcies filed every year, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. In some instances, people who cause car accidents soon thereafter file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Except in cases of drunk driving injuries, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy can effectively releasing a negligent driver from the obligation to pay for personal injuries they caused prior to the bankruptcy filing. car accident attorney

However, as a recent case weighed by the Alabama Supreme Court illustrates, that does not mean injured crash victims are without options. Although this is an out-of-state case, there is the potential for similar cases to arise in Florida, and justices are known to look to sister court rulings when weighing similar legal issues.

According to court records, a husband and wife (plaintiffs) were injured when their vehicle was rear-ended by a vehicle driven by defendant driver. Plaintiffs sued defendant, alleging her negligence caused the crash and their injuries. Their complaint also named their own auto insurer, as they sought to recover underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits. Continue reading