The benefits of ridesharing services are well-known to many people who use Uber or Lyft to get around Miami, but you may not give much thought about the advantages from the perspective of the driver. BuildFire, a mobile app developer, reported some interesting statistics that provide insight:
There are more than 31,000 people hurt in Miami-Dade County car accidents every year, according to the Crash Dashboard website maintained by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Though their injuries may range from mild to life-threatening, that means tens of thousands of victims are left confused, overwhelmed, and in pain in the immediate aftermath of an auto collision. If you are one of them, you are probably wondering what to do next and how you can protect both your rights and your health.
While you should trust a medical professional to take care of your health, a Miami car accidents lawyer will tell you that it is possible to accomplish these two goals by getting treatment as soon as possible. Some background information can help you understand why.
Top Two Reasons to Get Medical Attention Right Away
Rear end car accidents are among the most common types of collisions in Florida and throughout the U.S. According to data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, these types of incidents account for 29% of all crashes. As you might expect, the majority – 88% – of these accidents involve the rear vehicle colliding into a vehicle in front of it, rather than the lead vehicle backing into the vehicle behind it. Rear end collisions are usually the result of driver carelessness, inattention, or other preventable misconduct.
Under the circumstances, it can be almost impossible to avoid a rear end crash if you are driving or riding in the lead vehicle. Fortunately, you do have rights if you were injured, and a Miami car accident attorney can assist you with the legal process. However, you might benefit from knowing the reasons rear end collisions occur and a few tips on avoiding them when you can.
Causes of Rear End Accidents
The term “personal injury” usually brings to mind car accidents, but this broad legal term is associated with a number of different injuries resulting from any type of negligence. Medical devices that are defective, negligence on the road or in a long-term care facility, and even improper instructions on how to handle dangerous chemicals could come into play in personal injury cases.
If you or a loved one have experienced a personal injury or wrongful death related to any type of negligence, you may want to find an attorney that can help you obtain the compensation you and your family deserves. The Miami personal injury lawyers at Gerson & Schwartz, PA provide FREE initial consultations to discuss cases involving such accidents. Simply call (305) 371-6000 or toll free at (877) 475-2905. You can also contact us online at info@gslawusa.com.
The Role of the Plaintiff in Personal Injury Lawsuits
In many cases, someone who is injured as a result of another’s negligence may not have physical injuries, but rather, emotional injuries. There are many examples where mental anguish or trauma may be even more significant than any physical harm that could have been sustained.
Although we live in an age where mental health awareness is more prevalent than ever, the law has been slow to adapt to mental injuries that don’t stem from physical ones. There has long been concern that allowing people to recover for only mental distress, with no physical injury or impact, will lead to false claims, and is too difficult for a defendant to disprove.
When preparing for a personal injury trial, it’s easy (and important) to focus on the evidence and testimony that will be presented. But what many personal injury attorneys often forget is a process that is perhaps the most important part of the personal injury trial: picking a jury.
Jury selection has its own very complex set of rules and laws. And while everyone is in theory guaranteed a jury of their peers, that right is balanced with the right of parties to strike jurors, and challenge jurors, with and without cause.
Florida’s liability system is based upon what is known as comparative fault, or comparative liability. What this means is that if you are injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, a jury at trial can reduce your award by any amount that you were negligent—that is, the extent that you were responsible for your own injury.
This often comes into play in a slip and fall, where a defendant may claim that you should have been looking where you were going, or in an auto accident, where a defendant may allege that you could have avoided the accident. But a negligent defendant in a recent case argued a novel theory, attempting to prove that the kind of shoes a woman wears allows a court to apportion liability to her.
When someone suffers a heart attack, we normally think of that as a natural occurrence, unpreventable by anything that anybody could have done. However, while it certainly is a natural occurrence, more and more, law is evolving to recognize that certain property owners have an obligation to have working, operational defibrillators, and to provide training to those who may need to use them.
A tragedy during an athletic contest has now lead the Florida Supreme Court to expand significantly the instances where a defibrillator may be required.
This tragic injury story happens all too often in South Florida: Someone is served alcohol, gets drunk, drives, and kills or injures someone on the road. We all know this kind of behavior is illegal. But often the question becomes what liability the bar has for serving the alcohol when the patron drives away and injures someone. (Note that the laws apply to any establishment serving alcoholic drinks, but for ease, we’ll just call them collectively, “bars.”)
A patron has consumed loads of alcohol, and maybe even displays signs of intoxication. Yet, the bar continues to serve alcohol, knowing that someone has had too much, and will likely be getting into a car shortly. Is the bar liable if that person injuries someone?
In all kinds of cases, witnesses can provide vital information that can lead a jury to enter a verdict for damages in favor of an injured person. Witness information is of particular importance where facts are disputed. A single witness, especially neutral witnesses with no stake in the outcome, can be the difference between recovering for an injury and being left with nothing.
In many cases, witnesses voluntarily come forward. For example, someone who witnesses a car accident may remain on the scene, and provide their contact information to an investigating police officer, or a treating doctor may be expected to be called as witnesses.
But what about witnesses that may not have come forward voluntarily? Or aren’t even aware they have information to provide? How does someone who is injured get their information to call them to testify at an injury trial?
Miami Accident Lawyer Blog