Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Broward County, Florida - A Broward County truck accident claimed the life of a Palm Beach County Fire Rescue lieutenant Saturday evening.

Forty-three year old Tony Falzarano of Plantation was killed when his 2008 Mini Cooper collided with a tractor-trailer on the Sawgrass Expressway according to FHP.

Falzarano was a rescue lieutenant with Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue.

The fatal truck accident occurred just after 7 p.m. Saturday in the northbound lanes of the Sawgrass Expressway just south of Atlantic Boulevard.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the truck, had pulled over onto the shoulder because of a blown tire. The truck driver, 38 year old Ricardo A. Duran Parra, of Loxahatchee called his supervisor and was told to drive the truck to the Atlantic Boulevard exit and wait there.

Duran Parra told investigators that he checked for traffic and pulled back into the right lane. He said he didn't see the Mini Cooper, and ''all he felt was the impact upon traveling in the right lane,'' FHP said.

The front of the Mini Cooper collided with the left rear of the tractor-trailer. Falzarano's injuries proved to be fatal.

Falzarano had worked for fire-rescue for approximately 9 years, most recently as a rescue truck supervisor, according to Palm Beach County fire-rescue Captain Don DeLucia.

There were no witnesses to the crash.

Continue reading "Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Lieutenant Killed In Truck Accident On Sawgrass Expwy." »

Interstate 595 was the scene of a Fort Lauderdale truck accident involving two other vehicles. The driver of one of the two passenger cars involved in the wreck died according to a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol.

Investigators will not release the driver's identity until his relatives have been notified.

The driver was behind the wheel of a 2006 Ford Fusion when it crashed into a 2008 Dodge Dakota in the eastbound lanes of I-595 at about 4:50 a.m. The multi-vehicle crash was caused when one of the vehicles hit the rear wheel of a 2003 Sterling tractor.

Police are still investigating the Ft. Lauderdale car accident to determine whether one of the vehicles was traveling the wrong direction in traffic and which vehicle it may have been.

The Fusion's driver was transported by Fire Rescue to Broward General Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Two others involved in the crash were taken to that hospital -- Jose Pages-Segrera, 46, and Jose A. Pages, 20. Both are still hospitalized and are in serious condition. They are from Myakka City, a small town just east of Sarasota in Manatee County.

The tractor-trailer was a fuel tanker which, fortunately, was empty when the accident occurred.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Truck Accident Leaves One Dead" »

Moore Haven, Florida -Six men were killed in a Glades County, Florida truck accident when a tractor-trailer crashed into the van they were riding in.

The tractor-trailer apparently ran through a stop sign on SR 78 around 6:30am and hit the passenger side of the van.

At least two of the six occupants were ejected from the van. All six were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

The negligent tractor-trailer driver was transported to Lee Memorial Hospital for emergency medical treatment. Authorities have not yet released his name.

The investigation continues.

Continue reading "Glades County Truck Crash Kills Six Men" »

Ocala, Florida -- Hundreds of friends and family members gathered to say goodbye to 13 year old Frances Schee at an emotional memorial service yesterday.

Schee was killed last week in a truck accident when the school bus she was in was rear-ended by a tractor trailer and burst into flames.

Her school band played one final song for her at the community service.

"We are going to miss her greatly,” said Jerome Brown, the principal of North Marion Middle School. “Sweet little girl, very quiet, very cute, always did the right thing, always smiling."

Eight other students were injured in that crash including 11 year old JaSena Humber, who was seriously injured in the truck accident.

Charges were filed against the truck driver and the investigation into the crash is pending and is expected to last for several weeks.

For more on this tragic, Florida truck accident, see my earlier post "Marion County, Florida Truck Accident Blamed On Driver's Cell Phone Use Just Before Hitting Bus".

Continue reading "Hundreds Attend Frances Schee's Memorial Service In Marion County" »

Citra, Florida - A Florida truck accident turned tragic Tuesday afternoon when a tractor trailer crashed into the rear of a school bus.

The truck driver who caused the Florida truck accident told investigators he was on his cell phone just before the impact with the bus. A 13-year-old student was killed and several other students were injured.

According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, Reinaldo A. Gonzalez, 30, of Orlando, admitted having been on the phone just before his 1991 Freightliner slammed into the stopped bus. The report lists contributing causes as driver distraction, careless driving and possible faulty brakes. The Florida truck accident occurred on U.S. 301 south of Citra.

Investigators plan to review, among other things, Gonzalez's driving log to learn how long he had been behind the wheel and Department of Transportation records indicating his truck had been placed "out of service" by the DOT just hours before the crash for having faulty brakes.

According to investigators, there was no indication the truck was over loaded which can make stopping difficult.

A preliminary accident report showed that Gonzalez's truck had been inspected at a weigh station on I-95 at 3:30 a.m. and was taken out of service for brake problems. Florida Department of Transportation rules require that when a truck is taken out of service, the violation must be fixed before the vehicle is allowed to go back on the road. FDOT spokesman Lt. Jeff Frost offered no comment about the truck other than to say that the brake inspection was part of their ongoing investigation.

This is not the first time Gonzalez's truck was taken off the road due to safety violations.

According to DOT records, Gonzalez's truck was placed out of service on April 12, 2007, for having a broken head lamp and three bald tires.

Witnesses to the Florida bus accident said it didn't look like the truck even tried to stop before crashing into the bus.

Gonzalez later told another truck driver that he didn't see the school bus.

Gonzalez had several other DOT safety violations since 2005 when he obtained his commercial driver's licence and began driving tractor trailers, none of which resulted in his vehicle being placed out of service.

In the past, the DOT has cited Gonzalez for three counts of failing to display proper truck identification on his vehicle, again cited for failure to properly display vehicle identification tags on his truck, and for not keeping his driving log current. The driving log allows DOT to track whether the driver has had the required amount of rest.

Federal trucking regulations allow truck drivers to drive 11 consecutive hours without a break or 15 nonconsecutive hours before resting at least 10 hours.

Continue reading "Marion County, Florida Truck Accident Blamed On Driver's Cell Phone Use Just Before Hitting Bus" »

Miami, Florida - A woman in her mid 30s who was walking up U.S. highway 441 Thursday morning wearing only a sheet was critically injured when she stepped in front of a pickup truck.

Miramar police are attempting to identify the woman, who was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to Bill Robertson, a spokesman for Miramar Police Department.

The woman was seen crossing County Line Road and heading from Miami-Dade County into Broward County on U.S. 441 about 5 a.m. shortly before being hit by a Dodge pickup truck in the left turning lane.

The truck driver stopped to help the woman, who was seriously injured in this unusual Maimi car accident.

The woman did not have any identification so investigators took her fingerprints, but that will only help if she has a past arrest.

The victim was described as a black woman in her mid-30s, approximately five feet tall, weighing about 175 pounds with brown eyes and a short black Afro. She did not have any tattoos or scars and wasn't wearing any jewelry.

While there are a variety of reasons this woman could have been wandering the streets wearing only a sheet, it is likely that she was not fully competent. It is likely the result of some type of brain injury, mental illness, alcohol or drug use.

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for brain injured patients to wander away from rehab facilities where they are being treated for their neurological deficits. Often, hospital or nursing home patients suffering from mental illness or dementia wander away from those facilities as well.

Those who provide medical services or other care for patients with brain damage, alcohol or drug dependency or mental illness have a duty to ensure that they are not permitted to wander off. Indeed, there are many options available to caregivers to prevent this type of tragedy.

Continue reading "Miami-Dade - Truck Hits Woman On U.S. Highway 441" »

Jackson County, Florida - 63 year old Lillie Conyers of Crestview, Florida was seriously injured in a truck accident on I-10 Monday morning in Jackson County.

Also injured was 39 year old James Conyers, also of Crestview.

According to Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), Lillie Conyers was driving westbound on Interstate 10 and struck a semi that had overturned in front of her. The Conyers were transported to the Jackson Hospital for emergency medical treatment.

The 2006 tractor-trailer had also been traveling westbound on I-10 when it left the roadway. The truck driver, 29 year old Michael Dufur of Ocala, Florida, over-corrected causing the truck to overturn blocking all of the westbound lanes of I-10.

Dufur and his passenger 36 year old Guertho Lemorin of Tampa, Florida, received only minor injuries in the crash.

Too often, truck drivers like Dufur are pressured by the trucking companies they work for to drive longer hours than Federal Regulations allow. When that happens, truck drivers are forced to drive 80,000 pound tractor trailers on our roadways while they are fatigued and, at times, inattentive. Fatigue one of the most common causes of truck accidents.

Continue reading "North Florida Truck Accident Leaves Two Seriously Injured In I-10 Crash" »

Oakland Park, Florida - A truck accident yesterday resulted in the closing of the exit ramp on southbound Interstate 95 at Oakland Park Boulevard yesterday because of a diesel fuel spill.

The Florida Highway Patrol is still investigating to determine what caused a tractor trailer to jack-knife on the I-95 ramp, although no injuries were reported.

While this tractor-trailer accident was not an "injury crash", most do result in catastrophic injury or death. This is primarily because these large commercial semi trucks can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds. That is often 20 to 30 times heavier than the passenger car involved in the collision. A typical passenger car weighing approximately 3000 pounds is just no match for one of these eighteen wheelers or "big rigs".

Approximately 400,000 large truck accidents occur in the U.S each year. The Miami personal injury lawyers at our law firm handle serious injury and wrongful death cases arising out of truck accidents throughout the state of Florida.

Truck accident cases are more difficult to litigate than the average car accident case. Indeed, there are State and Federal laws which regulate the trucking industry.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale - Truck Accident Causes Fuel Spill " »

Polk County, Florida - The list of people who have been killed in truck accidents in Polk County continues to grow. This time, Peter C. Rogers, 47, of Davie was outside his Volvo tractor-trailer on the shoulder of I-4 in Polk County when he was struck and killed by a passing truck at about noon Tuesday according to an FHP spokesperson.

Law enforcement officials said that Rodgers had pulled his truck onto the shoulder of the eastbound lanes of Interstate 4 near Mile Marker 49 and was struck while near the driver's-side door by a Freightliner tractor-trailer driven by 46 year old Donald L. Bush, of Largo.

No further details about this traffic fatality have been released; however, There are over 400,000 accidents involving large commercial trucks each year in the U.S. and
truck accident statistics show that driver fatigue is the number one cause of truck accidents. This is often because irresponsible trucking companies regularly pressure their drivers to operate their tractor-trailers for dangerously long periods with little rest in order to make deadlines and improve profits.

Continue reading "Polk County Truck Accident - Passing Truck Kills Man Outside Vehicle On I-4 " »