Wrongful Death Lawyer Blog

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" »

An elderly woman was killed early this morning when an SUV struck her while crossing the intersection of Melaleuca Lane and Wiggins Road in Lake Worth. The victim, Fatemeh Kazemishahmirzadi, had just crossed in front of a vehicle in the lane closest to the median when she was hit by the vehicle in the next lane, apparently because the driver did not see her.

Under Florida Law, motor vehicles must yield to pedestrians, specially when the latter are crossing at an intersection. This rule applies whether the crossing is marked or not. However, such is not the only factor considered when determining who was at fault in accidents like this and the investigation continues to find facts, like whether the light was green and/or whether the driver could have seen the pedestrian.

According to the Florida Traffic Crash Statistics issued by the Florida Department of Higway Safety and Motor Vehicles, pedestrians between the ages of 75 and 84 account for 22.22 percent of all pedestrian fatalities that occurred while the pedestrian was crossing at an intersection in this State.

Continue reading "Woman killed in pedestrian accident in Lake Worth" »