Articles Posted in Truck Accident

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Recently, a state appellate court issued an opinion in a Florida personal injury case involving an accident that occurred on the Daytona International Speedway. The case required the court to determine whether the plaintiff was prevented from pursuing a claim against the Speedway based on a release of liability waiver she had signed before the accident. Ultimately, the court concluded that although the waiver was valid and enforceable, it did not cover the specific claim made by the plaintiff.

The Facts of the Case

The court’s recitation of the facts was brief; however, it appeared from the court’s discussion of the facts that the plaintiff was a pit-crew member for one of the racers. Before the plaintiff was allowed onto the racetrack, the Speedway asked that she sign a document that was a release and waiver of liability. By signing the document, the plaintiff agreed that she was aware of the risks involved with standing on the racetrack, and that she agreed not to sue the Speedway if she was injured. The document explicitly stated that it applied to “all acts of negligence.”

According to the court’s opinion, one day the plaintiff was standing in a restricted access area when she was run over by a tow truck that was backing up into the area. Evidently, the tow truck driver was being directed into the area by two employees of the Speedway.

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The judge plays an extremely important role in any Florida personal injury case. Among the major duties of the judge during a trial is to make all evidentiary rulings. These may come up in a pre-trial motion in limine or throughout trial when a party attempts to elicit or present certain evidence that the opposing party believes is objectionable and should be excluded.

Florida judges are guided in these decisions by the Florida Rules of Evidence, which are quite complex and cover many of the situations that may come up during a trial. Perhaps the most basic rule is stated in Rule 90.402, which explains that “all relevant evidence is admissible, except as provided by law.” Thus, the party attempting to admit evidence must first establish that it is relevant. If that party can do so, then it is up to the opposing party to explain why the evidence is otherwise excludable.

Some of the reasons why relevant evidence may be excluded are that the evidence is based on hearsay testimony, the evidence has not been properly authenticated, or the evidence relates to a privileged matter. One of the most commonly cited rules to keep out relevant evidence is Rule 90.403, which states that “relevant evidence is inadmissible if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of issues, misleading the jury, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.”

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Semi-trucks are among the largest, most dangerous vehicles on the road, and as a result are involved in more than their share of Florida automobile accidents. Indeed, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reported that in 2016 there were 293 fatal Florida semi-truck accidents. Also concerning is the fact that as a percentage of the total number of accidents, Florida semi-truck crashes continue to rise.

One type of semi-truck accident that has been getting significant attention over the past few years is an underride accident. An underride accident occurs when another vehicle gets wedged underneath a semi-truck during a collision. This normally occurs when a motorist rear-ends a stopped or slowing semi-truck at a significant speed; however, underride accidents may also involve a vehicle being dragged underneath the front side of the truck as well.

Trailer manufacturers have long been required to install rear underride guards on their trucks. These guards reduce the likelihood that a vehicle will get dragged underneath the rear of the truck in the event of a rear-end collision. However, more recently, lawmakers have been pushing to require trailer manufacturers to install front- and side-underride guards as well.

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Earlier this month, a Florida auto accident between a car and a dump truck claimed the life of a mother and her eight-year-old daughter. According to a local news report, the accident occurred on John Young Parkway at around 3:50 in the morning.

Evidently, the mother was traveling northbound on the Parkway when she entered the right-turn lane. However, as she did so, she ran into the rear of a dump truck carrying a load of asphalt that had been parked on the road shoulder but was partially extending into the lane of traffic. No one was in the truck at the time, and it has not yet been determined why the vehicle was left partially obscuring a lane of traffic.

Tragically, the young mother was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. The child was transported to a nearby hospital, but doctors were unable to save her life. The accident is still under investigation.

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The highways of South Florida see a large number of commercial trucks every day. As a result, it isn’t surprising to learn that there are a significant number of truck accidents across the state. Indeed, according to a recent government study, there were nearly 300 fatal Florida truck accidents in 2016 alone. Miami-Dade and Broward Counties see the highest number of fatal Florida traffic accidents each year.

Due to the dangers presented by large trucks, Florida truck drivers are required to obtain a special license prior to operating a large truck. In order to obtain a commercial driver’s license, an aspiring truck driver must pass several written tests, as well as a pre-trip inspection test and a road test. In addition, truck drivers who plan on carrying hazardous materials, school children, or extra-long trailers must obtain additional endorsements.

When it comes to determining whether a truck driver can be held liable for an accident, courts apply the law of negligence. Essentially, to establish that a truck driver is liable for injuries related to an accident, the accident victim must prove that some negligent action taken by the truck driver resulted in the accident victim’s injuries. This is normally broken down into four segments:  duty, breach, causation, and damages.

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Every person on the road has to be wary of other drivers, especially those drivers who are fatigued and may not be safely operating a vehicle. A recent news article highlights the dangers associated with the transportation of agricultural workers, a danger all Florida drivers face.

In a Florida auto accident involving a truck and a bus, four people were killed in an early morning collision near St. Marks. According to federal investigators, the crash highlighted problems with safety regulations concerning the transportation of migrant farmworkers. The crash occurred at around 5:00 AM and was deemed to be the fault of the bus driver. The bus was being driven by a migrant farmworker who had finished a day’s work picking crops.

Investigators determined that the bus company failed to adequately oversee the driver. It also found there was a lack of effective oversight by the Department of Labor and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. In addition to the four people killed in the crash, 29 others were injured. The investigation thus far shows that the driver failed to stop at a blinking red light and stop sign at an intersection.

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Last year, a Tesla car equipped with auto-pilot technology was involved in a fatal accident with a semi-truck. According to news reports released shortly after the accident, the car was traveling straight on the highway when a semi-truck pulled out in front of the car. Both the driver of the vehicle as well as the vehicle’s auto-pilot system failed to detect the bright-white side of the semi-truck, and the car collided with the side of the truck at full speed.

In the wake of the accident, many questions arose not just about the safety of self-driving cars but also regarding the many legal issues that the use of self-driving cars brings up. For example, when a person is operating a self-driving car in auto-pilot mode and a collision occurs, is the manufacturer liable for any injuries to a third party? What about the “driver” of the self-driving car?

These questions are no closer to being answered today than they were at the time of last year’s accident; however, as cases involving self-driving cars work their way through the court system, eventually courts will have to come up with answers to these questions.

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According to an October 12, 2016 CBS News article, the number of teenagers involved in deadly car crashes is rising for the first time in nearly a decade. In 2015, there was a 10-percent increase in teen driving deaths. “In fact, teenage drivers are more than one-and-a-half times more likely than adults to be involved in a deadly crash,” said personal injury attorney Erick Santana, a founding partner at Cecere Santana.

To help prevent fatal accidents involving teens, Santana and Cecere Santana co-founder Michael Cecere share the following three tips:

No. 1: Always wear your seat belt. “Of the teens who died in passenger vehicle crashes, approximately 55% were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash,” said Cecere. “Research shows that seat belts reduce serious crash-related injuries and deaths by about half.”

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Insurance contracts can be confusing. Often, the party purchasing the insurance only reads the “declarations” page, which is only a very brief overview of what their coverage entails. However, the actual insurance contract itself is often much longer and much more complicated, and it may even contain seemingly contradictory clauses.

When an insurance contract contains a clause that seems contradictory, the court system often must step in to resolve the conflict if the insured and the insurance company cannot agree. In most cases, if the court determines that there are contradictory terms, the conflict will be resolved in favor of the insured. However, the plaintiff does have the initial burden to prove that a contradiction exists. If no contradiction exists, the court will likely interpret the contract as it was written, even if this seems unfair because the insured thought that they were entitled to more coverage. A recent case decided by a federal court of appeals illustrates how a court may be asked to make a final interpretation of an insurance policy.

ACE Fire Underwriters v. Romero

Romero was the executor of an estate belonging to a man who was killed after he was involved in a tractor-trailer accident. There was no dispute that the operator of the tractor-trailer was at fault. However, since the accident was caused when the tractor became disconnected from the trailer, the issue arose of what the insurance pay-out limit was. Specifically, Romero claimed that it was $2 million, $1 million for each of the two vehicles involved. The insurance company, on the other hand, claimed that the policy maximum was $1 million, regardless of how many vehicles were involved.

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Earlier this month in Miami-Dade County, a Florida Highway Patrol ranger was killed when he was struck by an out-of-control dump truck. According to one local news report, the accident took place on the Florida Turnpike near Southwest 120th Street. The accident took place at around 12:30 in the afternoon.

According to one local news source, the accident occurred in the northbound lanes of the Turnpike, as the ranger was assisting the occupants of a Ford Mustang that had broken down. The ranger was standing in or near one of the northbound lanes of traffic, attempting to get drivers to slow down for the occupants of the Mustang. However, not long after he arrived on the scene, a dump truck traveling in the northbound lanes lost control of his brakes as he attempted to slow down.

The dump truck struck a nearby light pole and then came careening towards the ranger. Although the ranger attempted to get out of the way of the truck, he was unable to do so and was struck and killed by the force of the collision.

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