Wrongful Death Lawyer Blog

The concept of uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is missunderstood by most people. It is maybe the most important insurance coverage you should carry to protect yourself and your loved ones.

To register a car, Florida drivers are only required to purchase $10,000.00 in property damage coverage and no-fault coverage. The property damage coverage pays up to $10,000.00 for the property damaged (car, tree, fence, etc.) in an accident caused by you or the driver of your car. The P.I.P. Benefit (Personal Injury Protection Benefit), also known as no-fault benefit, pays 80% of medical bills and 60% of any wages lost by you or a family member, up to $10,000.00 minus any applicable deductible.

No bodily injury (B.I.) coverage is required in Florida. This means that if someone else injures you in an accident they cause, they do not have to carry insurance to pay for your injuries. This is very important because the only way you can protect yourself and your loved ones, is to have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM).

UM/UIM Coverage Explained

When you purchase uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage you have your own insurance company stand in place or in addition to the coverage carried by the person who caused the accident. Florida law establishes that your own car insurance company must offer you UM/UIM coverage up to the limits of the BI (Bodily Injury) coverage that you choose. This means that if you purchase bodily injury coverage for your car of 25/50 ($25,000 per person/$50,000.00 per occurrence) you are automatically allowed to purchase up to $25,000/$50,0000 in UM/UIM benefits. Also, if you have more than one car, you can purchase "stackable coverage" in which case you would have $25,000 in coverage for each car in your household. It is an inexpensive way to protect your family.

Continue reading "Why Carry Uninsured//Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM/UIM)?" »

Car accidents happen everyday. No one wakes up one morning expecting to have a car accident that day. And when accidents happen, they usually cause injuries and shock. I believe it is important to offer people guidance on what to do after a car accident to protect their rights and preserve the evidence. After being involved in a car accident, you or someone near you should:

1. Unlock your doors and turn off your engine.

2. If you can, check how are the other occupants of your car. If someone is hurt, ask them not to move and if you can, make sure they are immobilized.

3. If someone is bleeding, try to apply a tourniquet or compress the wound to stop the bleeding.

4. Call or ask someone to call 911 for you. Make sure to request the police and rescue.

5. As much as you can, preserve your calm and remain oriented. Answer as clearly as possible all questions asked by emergency rescuers.

Stay Put

Sometimes after an accident, a person is not in pain and responsive. Adrenaline and other factors may contribute to this. Should you find yourself in this situation, try not to move around unnecessarily. If you can, try the following:

a. Give your insurance information to the other driver and ask for their's. Also, give that information to the police.

b. Try to obtain the name, addresses and phone numbers of people who have witnessed the accident

c. If you can, take photographs or videotape the scene. This can be done either with a camera or, thanks to current technology, a cell phone.

d. If you are hurting or not feeling well to any extent, ask to be taken to an emergency room.

e. Tell the physician or emergency room doctor, nurse or paramedic, where it hurts. Give a detail account of everything that hurts, from the top of your head to your toes. Don't refrain from telling them about any condition and let them decide what's relevant or not.

f. Follow the orders from your healthcare providers. After all, they are the experts and for them to be able to effectively help you with your injuries, they must know as much as you can tell them about your past medical history. This also applies to your attorney. Tell him or her everything about your past so that he/she can properly represent you.

Continue reading "Now That I Had a Car Accident, What Should I Do?" »

Here we go again! Another South Florida pedestrian is struck down by a motor vehicle, this time as he was getting on a public bus.

Elderly Man Hit as He Was Getting on Bus

Although the driver that struck this pedestrian could not drive away in his vehicle, he simply walked off while others helped the victim. The victim was a 91 year old gentleman trying to board a bus. Apparently, the driver lost control of his SUV, went on to the sidewalk and hit the elderly pedestrian. The victim was taken to Jackson Memorial's Ryder Trauma Center, where he remains in critical condition.

Continue reading "One More Pedestrian is Run Over in South Florida" »

As dangerous as "blind spots" are when changing lanes in a car, more so are they when changing lanes in a bike. The thundering noises surrounding those who ride in cruisers with an open helmet, as well as the lateral visibility blocked by the closed helmets of those who ride sport bikes, are factors that contribute to accidents that happen when riders change lanes without noticing a vehicle in their blind spots. Hence the need for all (drivers and specially riders) to turn their heads and check for vehicles in those spots before changing lanes.

New Safety Technology

Thankfully, new safety technology for bikers is on the way. According to a recent B.B.C. article, new safety systems that alert riders of vehicles in their blind spots, as well as other hazards, will soon be available in motorcycles. For example, one feature included in these systems warns riders when they are traveling to fast to safely negotiate an upcoming curve.

Continue reading "New Safety Features for Motorcycles" »

Contrary to common perception, not all young riders are reckless when riding their bikes. Our client, a 20 year old young man, was riding his motorcycle in a six lane road in Miami when a motorist suddenly decided to change lanes and cut him off. The young rider swerved trying to avoid a collision, but lost control of his motorcycle and fell. As a result, he suffered severe "road rash", scarring (likely to become permanent), bruising and possible fractures.

Be Careful When Changing Lanes

The Florida Drivers Handbook clearly states that all drivers must look for other vehicles when changing lanes and signal their intentions to others with sufficient time before moving over. Being aware of other cars close to yours is essential for the safe operation of a vehicle in our roads. Rear and side view mirrors are there to help drivers check for those other cars. However, as the handbook reminds us, it is also important to check for blind spots next to our vehicle when changing lanes. A driver changing lanes must not only check his rear view mirrors and indicate his intentions with his turn signals, but turn his head to check for vehicles in his or her "blind spot" (i.e., spots not covered by the mirrors where there might be another vehicle next to us). This is specially necessary when the vehicle next to you is a motorcycle, which is smaller and therefore more difficult to spot. Many motorcycle crashes are caused when motorists fail to see motorcycles around or approaching their paths.

Continue reading "Motorcycle Accident in South Florida" »

More than 4,000 people died in motorcycle crashes in the United States last year, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report in which it urged all states to make helmets mandatory for motorcycle riders. The 4,400 motorcycle crash deaths last year are more than all aviation, rail, marine and pipeline wrongful deaths combined. The report also states that, although other traffic fatalities have declined over the past decade, motorcycle deaths have increased steadily.

The National Transportation Safety Board also states that the United States has far more traffic fatalities than other wealthy countries. Other nations have seen their traffic fatality rates drop considerably due to programs such as speed cameras and speed measuring devices, sobriety checkpoints and mandatory motorcycle helmets which have been vehemently opposed in the United States. It is believed that, if these or similar programs were implemented here, thousands of lives could be saved.

Use Care Riding in Palm Beach
Not all states currently have mandatory helmet laws. Florida does not require a motorcycle rider to wear a helmet if they carry the minimal $10,000 in insurance to cover the medical bills. This is particular troubling as head injuries and traumatic brain injuries are the leading cause of death in motorcycle crashes.

Continue reading "Motorcycle Deaths Rise in Palm Beach County, Nation" »