Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

The Gainesville Sun is reporting that a 24 year old woman was tragically hit by a car and killed Monday night on Archer Road in Gainesville.

According to police, the accident occurred at 6:45 p.m. while the young woman was walking south in the 2300 block of Archer Road. Apparently, she was not walking in a crosswalk when an eastbound driver moved into the center lane of the three-lane roadway to avoid a group of pedestrians, and hit her. Police spokesman said it appeared the left front bumper of the car struck the pedestrian, who rolled on top of the hood. She was pronounced dead a short time later at the trauma unit at Shands at the University of Florida.

Alachua County traffic homicide unit officials do not believe that was due to drug or alcohol impairment.

Although it is probably not the first priority on their minds today, the victim’s family may have a claim for wrongful death against the driver. Generally, under Florida law, Wrongful Death actions are lawsuits that arise after an individual dies as a result of the negligence of another. In Wrongful death actions, a lawsuit must be filed within two years of the accident, instead of the usual four years that is required in other civil lawsuits. It is for this reason that it is so important for families who have lost a loved one e due to the negligence or carelessness of another, to contact an experienced wrongful death attorney promptly to discuss their case—otherwise, they may lose the ability to assert a claim.

Continue reading "University of Florida grad tragically dies in Gainesville Car Accident" »

As reported by the Hernando Times, a local VFW commander and family man was driving his truck home and lost control, slamming the vehicle into a tree. According to the Florida Highway Patrol this single-car fatality is still under investigation, but preliminary notes show the accident to have occurred around 1 a.m.

It is not uncommon in single-car fatality crashes to learn that not all vehicles suddenly go out of control. If an investigation or reconstruction shows that a motor vehicle car crash is as a result of another driver or flaw in the road construction, design or engineering, than a Wrongful Death action could begin.

Often times, people ask, how you can make a financial recovery for a grieving family when a loved one dies at the hands of an unknown driver? Who do you sue? Simply put, this is exactly why when purchasing car insurance, one must purchase under or uninsured motorist protection or also called UM or UIM. For instance, in the above mentioned fact pattern, should it be learned that this driver was merely avoiding another driver who was traveling on the wrong side of the road, then by definition an action could be brought on behalf of the Personal Representative of the Estate of the deceased individual. Because we do not know the identity of the other driver, he is by definition underinsured or uninsured – in the injury legal community, we refer to this driver as a Phantom Vehicle.

In addition, there have been matters brought due to the lack of maintenance or the poor engineering of a road in a single car accident. These are more conventional legal actions, as the Florida Department of Transportation or the local County or Municipality will have hopefully have insurance for their roads and maintenance and engineering.

Continue reading "Hernando County Wrongful Death Attorney News Update: Hernando Beach, Florida Man Dies in Single Car Accident" »

Hernando County was stunned when 42-year old Captain Scott Bierwiler was struck and killed in a head-on collision with a Hernando County youth while driving to work.

Reports indicate that the Hernando County law enforcement official was traveling to work at 5:45 a.m. when a 16-year old driver crossed over the median with his parent’s Mitsubishi Montero. The accident occurred on Powell Road, just south of Brooksville, in unincorporated Hernando County.

Legally, a Wrongful Death action could be filed by the Personal Representative of the Estate of Captain Bierwiler against the family of the driver of the Mitsubishi vehicle. It is also possible that a potential Worker’s Compensation claim could be made against Hernando County Worker’s Compensation carrier.

Continue reading "Hernando County Wrongful Death Lawyer News Update: Hernando County Sheriff’s Captain Killed in Car Crash" »

A Brooksville, FL woman was killed when she was struck by a Hernando County motorist traveling on US 41. According to the Hernando Times, the Florida Highway Patrol is conducting a traffic fatality investigation and has yet to charge the Spring Hill, FL man who struck the 33-year old Brooksville woman as she attempted to walk across the busy street. Fatality investigations can take weeks or months to conclude.

On this same evening on the other side of Hernando County there was another fatal car accident, involving an 18 year old Spring Hill woman who was tansported to the hospital for injuries sustained whne she lost control of her motor vehicle while traveling on Mariner Blvd. in Spring Hill, Florida. Hernando County law enforcement estimated that that crash involved $25,0000 in property damage.

In all auto injury and wrongful death matters, a complete investigation must be conducted to assess the who is liable for the accident, applicable insurance coverage and the totality of the damages. The sooner a Hernando County Personal Injury Attorney is contacted, the better the car accident investigation will be.

Continue reading "Hernando County Auto Accidents injures one and leaves another dead " »