South Florida injury 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

Florida Premises Liability Claims Often Hinge on Claimant’s On-Site Role

May 10, 2023 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Florida personal injury claims for premises liability – that is, the duty owed by property owners to those who enter – often hinge on the role of the claimant. That is, were they invited as a member of the public or for the financial benefit of the property owner? They’re invitees, owed the highest duty of care. Were they welcomed or allowed onsite as a social guest or of their own volition for their own convenience? They’re licensees, owed a moderate duty of care. Or were they trespassers? With the exception of some situations involving children, these individuals are owed the lowest degree of care. Florida premises liability lawyer

So while property owners do have a responsibility to keep their site reasonably safe, measuring the reasonableness of their actions (or lack thereof) usually comes down to what the injured party was doing there in the first place.

Invitees would include shoppers at a grocery store, fans at a rock concert, a package delivery person, or residents attending a city council meeting. The specific duty of care owed to invitees in Florida is to maintain the property in reasonably safe condition AND to warn of any known hazards that could cause harm. This includes taking reasonable steps to discover and fix any dangerous conditions on the property. As our West Palm Beach injury lawyers can explain, property owners are expected to exercise ordinary care in maintaining the premises, which means acting in a reasonably prudent manner to prevent foreseeable injuries to invitees.

Licensees are those who enter a property with the owner’s permission, but for their own purposes. As noted in the 1953 Florida Supreme Court ruling in Stewart v. Texas Co., the owner owes no duty to licensees beyond not willfully or wantonly causing harm or setting traps or intentionally expose them to danger. Property owners do not have a duty to keep the premises safe for those who come there solely for their own convenience or pleasure, yet aren’t expressly invited or induced – even though entry is permitted. Active vigilance to keep the property safe isn’t required of property owners for licensees.

Trespassers, similarly, are not owed a duty of care beyond not being intentionally exposed to harm. (The exception is young children under the attractive nuisance doctrine, occurring when a feature of the site is attractive to youths who don’t fully understand the danger.)

It’s important to note that the specific circumstances of each case can affect the application of the duty of care. Different types of properties, such as residential, commercial, or recreational, may have varying standards of care depending on the nature of the premises and the activities taking place. Continue reading

South Florida Negligent Security Claim Targets Store, Storage Unit Owner

January 30, 2022 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

South Florida negligent security lawsuits involve allegations that a property owner failed to use reasonable care to protect lawful guests from foreseeable harms – including crimes committed by third parties. The occurrence of a criminal act resulting in injury on its own doesn’t open the door to a civil lawsuit against the property owner. Some very specific boxes need to be checked to proceed with this type of premises liability claim. Palm Beach negligent security lawyer

One recently-filed negligent security claim accuses a store and storage unit of failing to protect a South Florida surgeon who was kidnapped, beaten and threatened with death by two attackers.

According to the civil complaint, the incident occurred three years ago. His kidnappers, armed with guns and tasers, accosted him at a Hallandale Beach store parking lot, stunned him with a taser and then threw him into the rear of a cargo van before driving him to a local storage unit. There, he later told law enforcement, he was bound to a rolling chair and burned with metal cutters heated by blow torches, slapped, punched, threatened, coerced into giving his home access code and forced to drink alcohol until he passed out. The motive, authorities say, was robbery. The two assailants dumped him – tied up – in the back seat of his car early the next morning. That’s where police found him.

One of the men was sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal kidnapping and conspiracy charges. The other, whose estranged wife was a patient of the doctor’s, was extradited from Spain and convicted last month on the same charges as the other. He faces a possible sentence of life in prison.

But as our South Florida negligent security attorneys can explain, that’s not the end of the ordeal. Entirely separate from the criminal proceedings is the civil case, which alleges both the store and the storage unit failed in their legal duty to take reasonably prudent measures to protect people on their respective properties. Plaintiff asserted both businesses had a history of prior violent crimes on site and failed to take adequate measures to keep people safe. Continue reading

How Serious Does My Injury Need to Be to File a Florida Injury Lawsuit?

April 5, 2021 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Personal injury litigation is the most common type of civil action in Florida courts. Car accident claims in particular are ubiquitous. Many of these will be settled prior to trial, but it’s important to understand that unless your degree of injury meets something called the “serious injury threshold,” your case won’t gain much traction. South Florida injury attorney

Florida is one of the few states that adheres to a no-fault system when it comes to car insurance. Vehicle owners are required to purchase personal injury protection (PIP) coverage, as outlined in F.S. 627.736. This provides up to $10,000 in coverage for medical bills and lost wages incurred in a crash, regardless of who caused it. Property damage liability coverage is separate.

For minor car accidents, PIP coverage may be more than enough. But if someone suffers serious injuries, that amount won’t go very far. Still, Florida law sets a serious injury threshold for personal injury recovery in car accident cases. In other words, your injuries must meet certain criteria in order to pursue damages against the at-fault driver. Some bruising on your arm and face probably won’t cut it, but if you’ve suffered broken bones or torn tendons, it might. Continue reading

Should I Sue for Florida Sexual Assault? Civil Injury Lawyers Can Advise.

March 3, 2021 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Florida has two sets of legal justice systems: Criminal and civil. The sole purpose of the criminal justice system is to punish the offender. Prosecutors represent the government in pursuing charges. In criminal sexual assault cases, the survivor is a witness. In the civil justice system, the survivor is the driving force, with the primary goal of compensation to the victim for physical harm, emotional damages and other adverse impacts. In some cases, survivors can compel third parties (schools, hospitals, sports programs, etc.) to compensate them for any negligence that created an opportunity for the assault to occur. Civil actions can also result in third parties being ordered to to take certain actions to prevent future assaults. Florida sexual assault civil lawyer

As South Florida sexual assault attorneys, we represent survivors as they work their way through the civil justice system. We can also help protect their interests if there is a pending criminal case. We do believe that if someone else’s criminal or negligent actions caused you physical injury, pain and suffering and mental anguish, they should be accountable for it.

We fully recognize that no amount of money is going to erase the awful realities of what happened. But damages can help to offset the cost of things like medical bills, trauma counseling and the wages you have lost while trying to piece your life back together. It’s also a measure of justice for the loss of intangible things, such as your mental health and the damage to your personal relationships.

The decision to move forward with civil litigation is a substantial one, and shouldn’t be made lightly. It’s very important that you review the strength of your claim, the potential emotional impact and the best and worst case outcomes. Continue reading

5 New Year’s Safety Tips From Our South Florida Injury Lawyers

December 20, 2020 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

New Year’s celebrations are all about new beginnings – and many this year are especially eager to start the next chapter! South Florida injury lawyer

To help ensure 2021 starts on a bright note, our West Palm Beach injury lawyers are offering 5 Tips on New Year’s Eve Safety. This list is gleaned from our years of observing the top causes of preventable injuries in South Florida around this holiday. Continue reading

Florida Negligent Security Lawsuit: Apartment Owners Ignored Danger to Tenants, Guests

June 15, 2020 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A woman has filed a Florida negligent security lawsuit against owners of an apartment complex whom she says failed to protect her from a shooting that occurred after more than 1,100 calls for police assistance to the site.

The Ocala Star Banner reports plaintiff was one of two innocent bystanders injured in a shootout that left one man dead and another arrested on charges of second-degree murder. Florida negligent security lawsuit

Although it’s fairly early in the civil case, our South Florida premises liability attorneys know the history of crime at this complex will likely be central to the plaintiff’s success.

Local police department records reportedly indicate more than 1,100 calls for police assistance to the in the years prior for a range of crimes, including aggravated assault and battery, auto burglaries, auto thefts, robberies, drugs, child abuse and sexual offenses. Of those, more than 900 came from police presence from foot patrols the company requested and security details the company paid for. It’s not clear whether the apartment owner took any other additional security measures. Whether those security measures were adequate in light of the prior crimes will be a question for the jury. Continue reading

Liability for Gross Negligence Can’t be Waived in Release Form

January 30, 2020 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A waiver of liability is an increasingly common way for businesses to throw up a shield against legal responsibility for patron injuries. They are especially common where activities might pose a higher-than-average risk. Examples might be trampoline parks, jet skiing or skydiving. South Florida injury lawyer

However, as our West Palm Beach injury lawyers can explain, signing a waiver of liability won’t absolutely sabotage the legitimacy of your injury claim. If you can prove the waiver failed to meet certain legal criteria or if there is evidence of reckless or intentional wrongdoing, you may still be able to pursue your claim for damages. The same goes for many claims involving children involved in commercial activities, as noted by the 2008 Florida Supreme Court decision in Kirton v. Fields.

While it’s true that waivers of liability can insulate organizations and businesses from legal responsibility for acts of negligence (i.e., lack of reasonable care) they can’t protect against gross negligence. Gross negligence is the deliberate disregard for someone else’s safety by an act or omission the defendant knew or should have known would put another in danger. Continue reading

Social Media and Your Florida Civil Injury Case: Be Careful What You Post

April 6, 2018 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

By the end of last year, more than 2 billion people were actively using Facebook on at least a monthly basis. Instagram, meanwhile, serves about 800 million active users a month. Users of Snapchat upload approximately 10 billion videos daily. WhatsApp has about 1 billion users a month. So what does all this have to do with your South Florida injury lawsuit? personal injury lawyer

A lot if you have posted anything pertinent to:

The incident in question;
The people involved in the incident;
Any element that pertains to the incident;
Your mental/ physical condition or well-being prior to and after the incident.

Because a serious injury resulting from something like a car accident or a case of medical malpractice or a criminal attack is something that – of course – affects us very profoundly, it is understandable that many people share those details online. It’s almost become like second nature in this increasingly digital age.

But as the recent Congressional hearings of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reveal, there is an increasingly limited expectation of privacy regarding what we share on our “personal” pages – even when we limit privacy settings and contact lists. Continue reading

Florida Hot Tub Injury Results in $7.5M Damage Award

February 20, 2018 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Florida consistently has one of the highest percentages of properties with pools and hot tubs, with the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals reporting nearly 335,700 hot tubs in the state as of 2015, with an additional 9,400 being added annually. Many of these are prominent features at resorts, hotels, condominium complexes and other locations frequented by Florida tourists, snowbirds and residents. injury attorney

Swimming pool injuries and hot tub injuries can run the gamut, whether due to unreasonably slippery surfaces or lack of gates or barriers or improper construction or poor maintenance. Determining who was at-fault and whether you have a claim to pursue compensation for your injuries will depend on exactly how and why the injury happened. For example, if a residential pool owner fails to ensure an appropriate barrier, alarm or other protection feature is in place, as required by F.S. 515.29, they could be held liable for child drownings or other injuries proximately caused by that.

In a recent case out of Pinellas County, the Tampa Bay Times reports a man was awarded $7.5 million in a South Florida personal injury lawsuit verdict stemming from a fall inside a hot tub at a resort where the spa was partially drained and unlit back in 2008. It’s being deemed one of the largest injury verdicts ever in that county’s civil court. According to news reports, the man suffered permanent back and neck injuries after the fall. Continue reading