Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Florida - Spinal cord injuries have long been a part of thoroughbred racing. In fact, jockeys risk their lives in every race.

Over the years, jockeys have suffered death and paralysis (quadriplegia or paraplegia) as a result of injuries sustained in horse races. The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, which has long been involved in research aimed at improving the lives of people who have suffered spinal cord injuries in various types of accidents including car accidents and construction site accidents, is now specifically studying ways to help those injured in horse races.

The Miami Project's scientific director, W. Dalton Dietrich, Ph.D., heads up their research on using hypothermia in the treatment of spinal cord injuries. He addressed the joint annual meeting of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations (TRA) and Harness Tracks of America in St. Petersburg, Florida on Tuesday and spoke mainly about the developments in hypothermia treatment of certain neurological injuries and the need for sports facilities to be adequately prepared to handle the situation when this type of injury occurrs..

Continue reading " The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis Studies Spinal Cord Injuries in Jockeys " »

Columbia County, Florida - An accident involving the collision of two semi trucks ignited a fire that engulfed one semi on I-10 in Columbia County early Tuesday. Our Florida personal injury lawyers handle truck accident cases throught the state of Florida so I am very familiar with I-10 and the accidents that frequently occur there.

Florida Highway Patrol reported that 43 year old Terence L. Daniel of Ellenwood, Ga., was charged with careless driving following the truck accident which occurred just east of U.S. 441 on I-10 shortly before 1 a.m.

According to FHP, Daniel was traveling westbound approaching another westbound truck but did not slow down in time and hit the other vehicle in the rear. The other semi truck left the roadway and ended up in a ditch. Apparently, one of the sidesaddle fuel tanks on Daniel's truck became dislodged in the crash and ignited, engulfing the semi in flames.

Both Daniel and the other driver, 26 year old Jacksonville resident, William R. Taylor suffered minor injuries in the crash.

Continue reading " Columbia County, Florida Truck Accident: Tractor-Trailer Wreck and Dislodged Side Saddle Fuel Tank Cause Vehicle Fire on I-10 " »

Palm Beach County, Florida - Several violent crimes, including a double murder and an armed robbery at an ATM have occurred at the Town Center Mall in Boca Raton, Florida since March of last year. Similarities in the way the crime victims were restrained in each incident has police looking into the possibility that the attacks are related.

The Florida personal injury lawyers at our firm have represented many crime victims in negligent security or inadequate security cases throughout the state of Florida. We have seen patterns like this too often. Security experts and law enforcement officials will tell you that crimes like robbery and rape (and the murders that often accompany them) are usually crimes of opportunity. Simply put; criminals commit this type of crime at places where security is minimal or all-together absent. That gives them the best chance to avoid apprehension.

The facts surrounding these incidents suggest that the mall needs to increase its security.

On August 7, 2007, a woman who had been shopping at the Town Center Mall in Boca Raton, Florida was abducted and forced to drive to a nearby ATM and withdraw $600 while her 2 year old son was held at gunpoint.

About 4 months later on December 12, 2007, the bodies of 47 year old Nancy Bochicchio, and 7 year old Joey Bochicchio-Hauser were found lying in a blood soaked car idling in the parking lot of Town Center mall. The mother and daughter had been shopping in the mall just hours earlier. Both had been shot in the head.

Boca Raton Police and The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office formed a joint task force and are investigating the crimes which they believe may be connected due to similarities including the way the victims were restrained and the use of blacked-out swimming goggles to blindfold the victims.

Continue reading " Boca Raton, Florida - Negligent Security Maybe to Blame For Double Murder and Abduction at Town Center Mall " »

Miami, Florida - An auto accident involving an SUV that hit a Miami Fire-Rescue truck occurred Thursday morning. The rescue truck was transporting an injured patient to Jackson Memorial Hospital when the SUV crashed into it. The accident happened just after midnight at the intersection of Flagler Street and Northwest 12th Avenue in Miami, Florida.

While engine 24 of the Miami Fire Department was northbound on Northwest 12th Avenue with its lights and sirens on heading to Jackson Memorial Hospital, it was hit by a Jeep Liberty SUV that was westbound on Flagler Street. The impact caused the Jeep to flip onto its side and slide along the sidewalk.

Paramedics extricated the 60-year-old female driver from the Jeep.

The SUV driver was taken to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson in stable condition for treatment of a head injury.

None of the paramedics involved in the crash were injured.
The driver of the SUV was cited by Miami police for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.

Continue reading " SUV Crashes Into Fire-Rescue Truck in Miami, Florida " »

OCALA - The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal truck accident that took place on the northbound ramp of I-75 at State Road 40 on Sunday.

The accident occurred when a van struck a semi tractor trailer, which was parked on the side of the road but was partially blocking the on-ramp. After the initial impact, the van collided with another tractor-trailer. The van driver was killed.

FHP may decide to file criminal charges against the truck driver but won't know until additional witnesses are interviewed and the vehicles have been inspected.

Neither Richard E. Johnson of Ocala, the driver of the parked truck, nor the driver of the other truck driver, William T. Luke, of Hawkinsville, Ga. were hurt.

Tony Rodriguez, a spokes person for F & R Trucking, the company that employs Johnson, said the truck was headed to Atlanta to pick up freight.

According to the accident report, the accident occurred at 4:40 p.m. when James J. Harding drove a 1996 Dodge van onto the northbound ramp, preparing to merge with traffic that was northbound on I-75. That's when he hit a 2001 Freightliner, whose driver's side wheels and a portion of the truck were blocking the lanes of travel on the ramp.

The van rear-ended the trailer and ended up in the path of a 2001 Peterbilt that was hauling cars.

The 42 year old Harding was thrown from the van onto the median of I-75 and was pronounced dead at the scene. The traffic report indicates that Harding was not wearing a seat belt.

Troopers said Johnson parked his semi truck along the roadway in order to fill out his logbook at the start of his shift.

Continue reading " FHP Investigating Fatal I-75 Semi Truck Accident in Ocala, Florida " »

Panama City, Florida - A car / motorcycle accident left one man dead in Wakulla County, Florida just before 8:00 am Monday morning. The accident happened on Highway 98 at Wakulla Beach Road.

A Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson said Crawfordville resident, Gary Wade Blake was killed when a car turned left and crossed into the path of his motorcycle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Blake was 58 years old.

Troopers said the other driver, Tallahassee resident, Junior Michael Johnson, was arrested and charged with D-U-I Manslaughter and driving with a revoked license.

The Florida accident lawyers at our lawfirm handle all type of motor vehicle accidents, including motorcycle accidents, throughout the state of Florida and we know how devastating they can be to the families of those injured or killed.

Continue reading " Panama City, Florida Traffic Accident Fatality " »

Marion County, Florida - The number of people who have been killed in traffic-related crashes (including automobile accidents, truck accidents and motorcycle accidents) in Marion County so far this month is startling.

Eight traffic related deaths have been reported already this month by the Florida Highway Patrol and the Ocala Police Department. There were only five fatalities during the entire month of February last year and only six in during that month in 2006.

The Florida Highway Patrol has recorded 18 deaths arising from motor vehicle accidents from Jan. 1 through Feb. 14. They only recorded seven fatalities between January 1st and February 15th in 2006 and 12 in 2007.

FHP Captain Jeff Succi said that there was no pattern to the fatal crashes and no specific location where they occurred.

Captain Succi was reminded of 2003 which was a particularly bad year for traffic homicides. In that year, 15 people were killed in vehicle crashes within the county during the month of February. Traffic related fatalities reached a record 119 that year.

Succi said, drivers and passengers should always wear seat belts because they can reduce the severity of injuries in the event of an accident. He also cautioned that drivers should avoid being in a hurry.

Continue reading " Numerous Traffic Accident Fatalities in Marion County, Florida Raise Concerns " »

Dania, Florida - A Hollywood man riding a motorcycle was killed early Friday morning in a hit and run motor vehicle accident police are describing as "bizarre".

30 year old Larry Grampa was riding his motorcycle at approximately 2 a.m. on I-95 near Griffin Road in Dania Beach, Florida when he ran into a vehicle and was sent flying off his red Suziki, Florida Highway Patrol officials said.

Grampa, who had initially suffered minor injuries when he was thrown to the shoulder on the side of I-95, was able to walk over to his motorcycle in the center lane of I-95. That's when the other car struck him.

Florida Highway Patrol is now searching for the other vehicle involved.

Continue reading " Biker Dies in Hit and Run Accident on I-95 in Dania, Florida " »

Naples, Florida - A Naples woman was killed in an automobile accident when a drunk driver hit her late Monday night as she rode her bicycle along US-41, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The driver fled the scene.

The hit and run accident occurred just south of Imperial Golf Course Boulevard shortly after 11 pm.

An FHP spokesperson said Maria Alba Alvarez-Hernandez was riding southbound in the bicycle lane when she was struck by a pickup truck driven by 33-year-old Robert James Bacon of Naples.

The impact threw Alvarez-Hernandez onto the sidewalk. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Continue reading " Drunk Driver Kills Bicyclist in Naples, Florida Auto Accident " »

Brevard County - Spokespersons for a road construction company denied that ongoing road construction was to blame for any of the six, separate motor vehicle accidents that occurred early Monday morning in or near a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 95 that is the subject of a major road widening construction project.

Six auto accidents, including one involving an overturned semi tractor-trailer truck, occurred Monday on I-95 in Brevard during rush hour. Several motorists were injured.

The first two accidents occurred just south of the construction zone - a stretch of I-95 spanning about 10 miles from Fiske Boulevard in Rockledge to State Road 528 in Cocoa which is being widened from four lanes to six.

The first crash was reported after 3 a.m. at mile marker 195, just south of Fiske. The right northbound lane still was blocked at 6:30 a.m. Bottle-necking and backup at that wreck may have contributed to cause a second crash, this one a head-on collision, occurring approximately 20 minutes later near the Viera Boulevard overpass. That crash resulted in injury to two people who were rushed to the hospital for emergency medical treatment.

Continue reading " Motorists Injured When Six Auto Accidents Occur on I-95 in Brevard County, Florida Construction Zone " »

POLK COUNTY | Another tractor-trailer accident occurred on State Road 60 at Armour Road in Bartow, Florida early this week sending the truck driver to the hospital with injuries.

Unfortunately, truck accidents like this one (Please refer to my earlier post "Polk County, Florida Truck Accident Causes Injury to Local Motorist") are becoming more and more common in Bartow and other parts of Polk County - many of them causing serious injury or death.

State Road 60 is a major route for many large, commercial trucks hauling cargo between Florida's East and West coasts and it takes these trucks right through Bartow and the surrounding areas. Unlike most interstates, much of SR 60 has only two lanes, leaving little room for error on the part of truck drivers who are often pushed to drive long distances on little rest by trucking company supervisors concerned only with on-time deliveries and company profits.

Continue reading " Bartow, Florida Semi Truck Accident Closes SR 60 " »

LAKELAND - Jody Franks was injured in a major truck accident today in Polk County, Florida. He was sitting at a red light in his pickup truck in the southbound lane of DeCastro Road at the intersection of SR 540, when a fully loaded garbage truck weighing about 49 tons attempted to make a right turn and overturned onto his vehicle. The pickup immediately caught fire with Franks trapped inside.

Fortunately, several other truckers were in the vicinity of the crash and were able to put out the fire with their fire extinguishers. A large, heavy-duty wrecker was needed to get the garbage truck off the pickup and the Jaws of Life were needed to get Franks out of the crumpled pickup.

Polk County sheriff's deputies said Franks appeared to have no life-threatening injuries. He was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center.

Continue reading " Polk County, Florida Truck Accident Causes Injury to Local Motorist " »