Handling Accident

The law that controls the 14 day rule in PIP is Florida Statute 627.736, also known more widely as, the Florida No-Fault Statute. It reads; 627.736 Required personal injury protection benefits; exclusions; priority; claims.— (1) REQUIRED BENEFITS.—An insurance policy complying with the security requirements of s. 627.733 must provide personal injury protection to the named insured, relatives residing in the same household, persons operating the insured motor vehicle, passengers in the motor vehicle, and other persons struck by the motor vehicle and suffering bodily injury while not an occupant of a self-propelled vehicle, subject to subsection (2) and paragraph (4)(e), to a limit of $10,000 in medical and disability benefits and $5,000 in death benefits resulting from bodily injury, sickness, disease, or death arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle as follows:          (a) Medical benefits.—Eighty p...

A single social media post can ruin your personal injury case. Your credibility matters more than anything else when making a claim for personal injuries. In order to show your ongoing pain and suffering, there is usually not a continuing broken bone or bloody limb to which we can point. Instead, most of the time, people silently suffer with an aching back or chronic pain. So, your credibility is paramount in a personal injury case. It is the job of the insurance company’s attorney to attack your credibility. If you are claiming that as a result of the accident, you have daily back pain, yet you post a picture of yourself bowling with your friends and family, the defense attorney will argue that you are not in fact injured as you claim to be. Any social media post, taken out of context, can and will be used against you in your personal injury case. What the online bowling post doesn’t say, is that you paid dearly for the night of bowling and pizza with your family, with increased pain...

On Saturday, January 30, 2016, a collision occurred at approximately 9:23 p.m. in the area of County Road 1 and Burnham Lane in Dunedin, Florida.   First responders arrived on scene to find a 38-year-old man seriously injured after being ejected from his 2005 Honda VT Motorcycle in a vehicle crash.   Bayflite was immediately requested to rapidly transport the victim to a local trauma center due to the extent of his injuries.  According to Cristen Smith, Public Information Officer at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), the motorcycle rider later died [1] from his injuries at the hospital. According to investigators, the 40-year-old Clearwater driver of a 2004 Dodge Durango was traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of County Road 1 when he hit a motorcyclist head on.   The investigators also reported that the motorcycle rider was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.   The vehicle driver showed signs of i...

On December 17, 2015, a driver involved in a Clearwater crash [1] with a school bus at Missouri Avenue and Lotus Path died as a result of their injuries.   The crash happened around 7 a.m. as two school buses were heading south on Missouri.    The second bus stopped behind the first, and a 92-year-old man driving a Mini Cooper, ran into the back of the second bus.   The driver of the vehicle was taken to Morton Plant Hospital, where he later died. There were no students on the second bus.   The bus driver, who was not injured, had completed her high school run for the morning and was en route to pick up elementary school students. Pinellas County School Bus Accidents According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, 19,000 Americans are injured [2] in bus accidents in the United States every year. About 100 buses a year are involved in a fatal accident, often involving more than one fatality and many injuries. The...

It may come as a surprise to many, but conversations that you have with your lawyer may not always be protected under the attorney-client privilege. When can this come up in your personal injury case? Two times. The first time is when you are giving your deposition. The second time is at the time of trial. Both times happen when you are providing testimony to the other side concerning your case. We are all familiar with a person getting on the witness stand at the time of trial. However, you may not be familiar with the deposition process. A deposition is simply a question and answer session concerning your case. The testimony you give during a deposition is similar to what you would do at the time of trial, in that you swear an oath to tell the truth. However, what you say at your deposition can be used against you at trial.  A deposition generally takes place in a more relaxed setting than a courtroom. A deposition is usually scheduled in the conference room of the opposing part...

On January 19, 2016, a 43-year-old resident [1] of St. Petersburg was driving a 2004 Infinity FX35 westbound on 18 th Avenue South at approximately 3:35 a.m.   The driver was approaching 49 th Street South at a high rate of speed when he crossed over 49 th Street, failing to stop at the stop sign and driving over the sidewalk onto the grass on the west side of 49 th Street, along Tangerine Avenue.   The vehicle continued through the grass and struck a tree causing the vehicle to overturn and causing fatal injuries to the driver.   Clearwater Single Vehicle Accidents The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Highway Loss Data Institute provides that there were 2,228 fatal crashes in the State of Florida in 2013, resulting in 2,407 deaths.   Of those, 1,362 involved single-vehicle accidents [2] .   The driver in a single-vehicle accident is oftentimes at fault based upon any number of factors including: •       ...

On Wednesday, February 3, 2016, a 74-year-old pedestrian was struck [1] and killed by an 86-year-old driver.   The accident occurred at approximately 6:36 p.m. at a time when the pedestrian was crossing Gulfport Boulevard, east of Beach Boulevard, in Gulfport, Florida.   The driver was traveling eastbound at the time of the incident. Florida Pedestrian Fatalities Double the National Average Based on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Traffic Safety Facts reports, Florida had the highest pedestrian fatality rate [2] among all states in 2011, 2.60 pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 persons. Further, according to the Florida Pedestrian and Bicycle Strategic Safety Plan, prepared by The Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of Southern Florida, the 2011 Florida pedestrian fatality rates were nearly double the national average. In Pinellas County alone there were 483 accidents [3] involving pedestrians resulting i...