Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Palm Beach County - A 6-year-old boy was injured last month after being struck by a car as he was being dropped off at school. After being struck, the boy became stuck under the car. The boy was rescued by three police officers from Boca Raton, who lifted the car. The driver, Liliana Gonzalez, will not be charged, according to police. Dominic DeRoberts's injuries include a severed ear and slightly punctured lung. He is expected to return to his elementary school in the near future.

According to statistics, approximately 7,000 children were injured during a one-year period while being dropped off at school. To learn about safety rules from the U.S. Department of Transportation, please visit this site.

The Law Office of Cytryn & Velazquez helps injured people involved in car accidents throughout South Florida, including the cities of Coral Springs, Margate, Pompano Beach, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Pembroke Pines, Lauderhill, Davie, Plantation, Weston, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami.

We are experienced trial lawyers with a 'quality vs. quantity' philosophy, meaning we are very selective about the cases that we handle. This allows us to devote the time and effort necessary to pursue each case to its fullest.

Continue reading "Car Accident Lawyer: Boca Raton Accident Injures Boy, Police Lift Car to Rescue Child " »

Broward County - A pedestrian was hit and injured by a pickup truck in Tamarac on September 27, 2011. The pedestrian accident happened around 8:40 pm and led to the pedestrian being "badly injured," according to reports. Further information on this accident has not been released.

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles accident statistics show that 482 pedestrians were killed, and 7,676 were injured in 2009. 18.8 percent of all traffic deaths in 2009 involved pedestrians. According to the report, 232 pedestrians were killed while crossing the street, but not at an intersection, while 65 pedestrians were killed while crossing at an intersection.

Continue reading "Car Accident Attorney: Tamarac Accident Injures Pedestrian " »

Miami-Dade County: A man was killed last month in Miami after attempting to cross a busy road in Miami. 53-year-old Jose Aviles-Vasquez was struck by several cars in this pedestrian accident. According to reports, the first driver who struck the pedestrian stopped for help, but the other drivers did not stop.

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach area was recently ranked as one of the highest-risk areas for pedestrians in the U.S., according to the New York Times.

As Coral Springs personal injury lawyers with experience handling pedestrian accidents in South Florida, we are familiar with the complexities involved in these types of accidents. In pedestrian accidents involving hit and run, having uninsured motorist (UM) coverage is very important. UM coverage helps protect you in the event of an accident caused by a driver with no insurance. We recommend checking your auto insurance policy to make sure you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. For more information on uninsured motorist coverage and why it's important, visit our website.

In pedestrian accident cases involving the death of a pedestrian caused by the negligence of a motorist, the pedestrian's family has the right to pursue a wrongful death claim against the at-fault driver. An experienced wrongful death lawyer will help you understand your rights and fight for justice.

Continue reading "Miami Pedestrian Accident: Man Struck by Multiple Cars, Killed" »

After coming across some news stories regarding flip flops and car accidents, as Coral Springs personal injury lawyers, we thought it was important to share this information with our blog readers. Florida's year-round warm climate translates into flip flops being a common choice of footwear. However, driving while wearing flip flops may be dangerous, as illustrated by the following news stories:

In August 2011 in New York, three pedestrians were killed after the driver of a Toyota Highlander SUV driven by a female driver ran them over, eventually crashing into a church. It's possible that the driver's foot or flip flop got stuck on the gas pedal, according to police.

Another flip flop-related car accident happened last summer in New York, when a female driver hit another vehicle after her flip flops got caught between the brake and gas pedals in the car she was driving. A male passenger inside the other vehicle suffered cuts to his head.

Continue reading "Coral Springs Car Accident Lawyer Warns Drivers About the Potential Dangers of Driving with Flip Flops" »

Coral Springs injury lawyers understand the dangers pedestrians face on Florida roads, so it comes as no surprise that four Florida metropolitan regions are ranked as some of the most dangerous areas for pedestrians in the U.S., according to a recent New York Times article.

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach ranked 4th as the most dangerous metropolitan areas for pedestrians in the country. Orlando topped the list, followed by Tampa and Jacksonville. This research comes from Transportation for America, a nonprofit group focused on pedestrian and transportation safety in the U.S.

According to Transportation for America, over 47,700 pedestrian fatalities occurred in the U.S. from 2000 to 2009. In addition, over 688,000 pedestrian injuries happened in that same time period, which means a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle every 7 minutes. Pedestrians make up about 12% of the total number of traffic fatalities in the U.S.

In addition to Transportation for America's report, research from the Governors Highway Safety Association also ranked Florida as one of the most hazardous places for pedestrians in the United States. According to a recent report, Florida had the second highest number, in the U.S., when it came to pedestrian deaths in 2010.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Pedestrian Accident: Miami-Ft Lauderdale Ranked as One of the Most Dangerous Places for Pedestrians in the United States" »

Two women were killed in a Miami car accident on August 2, 2011, when an elderly man lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a Miami boutique. A 33-year-old pregnant woman, who was the boutique owner, and her friend, were killed. According to the Sun Sentinel report, the driver hit the gas pedal by accident as he was trying to park his SUV. Police are investigating the accident.

As Coral Springs personal injury lawyers, we are aware of a similar Palm Beach car accident which took place on July 29, 2011, when a 24-year-old man lost control of his car and struck a shoe store. Thankfully, the accident did not injure any pedestrians or bystanders. The driver of the car, however, was hospitalized.

In reading about other accidents nationwide involving drivers who crashed into businesses or public places, we found that some of those accidents were caused by distracted drivers. In late July, for example, a woman was struck by a distracted driver at a gas station in Washington state and almost lost her right foot. The driver was reportedly having a cell phone conversation before the accident.

Continue reading "Miami Car Accident Kills Two Women" »

An 34-year-old male pedestrian was killed in a Fort Lauderdale freight train accident on August 2, 2011. The accident happened shortly before 1:30 pm in Fort Lauderdale's Downtown Himmarshee area and resulted in the temporary closure of nearby streets. An investigation is ongoing to determine why the man ran from his burning Ford F-150 before being struck by the train.

Coral Springs train accident lawyers are familiar with the causes of train accidents, which include derailments, failure to properly maintain the train tracks, inoperative warning signals, speeding, train operator distraction, fatigue, or intoxication.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Train Accident Kills Pedestrian, Closes Several Streets" »

Three Palm Beach car accidents took place over the weekend, leaving a total of three injured and one dead.

On Friday, July 22, 2011, a Lake Worth woman hit two people sitting in a bus stop after losing control of the vehicle she was driving. One of the victims had minor injuries, while the other suffered a head injury and broken bones.

A man was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident on Saturday near West Palm. The motorcycle and a car collided at Summit Road and Military Trail. The man was taken to Delray Medical Center.

On Saturday night, a 20-year-old woman from Lake Worth lost control of her car and died near Lake Osborne. According to investigators, alcohol or drugs may have played a factor in the accident.

Continue reading "Lake Worth Car Accident, Motorcycle Crash, and Death Make for Deadly Palm Beach Weekend" »

A female pedestrian was injured after being struck by a vehicle on Thursday, July 14, 2011. The car accident, which happened in Pembroke Pines, caused the pedestrian serious but not life-threatening injuries.

Approximately 11 pedestrians in the U.S. were killed every day in accidents involving motor vehicles in 2009, according to NHTSA statistics on walkinginfo.org. 59,000 pedestrians were injured that same year. A large majority (72%) of pedestrian deaths take place in urban areas.

Florida is one of the most dangerous states for pedestrians. According to a recent Governors Highway Safety Association report, Florida ranked second in the country for highest number of pedestrian fatalities in the first six months of 2010. Forty-one percent of pedestrian deaths in the U.S. come from only four states - California, Florida, Texas, and New York.

Continue reading "Pembroke Pines Car Accident Injures Pedestrian" »

A Fort Lauderdale man was struck by a vehicle in a Broward County car accident last weekend. 37-year-old Juan Herrera died from injuries sustained after being hit by a 1999 Lexus. The driver of the Lexus, Jaime Valderrama, attempted to abandon the scene of the accident, but police stopped him shortly after. No charges have been filed against Valderrama.

If the evidence shows there was negligence on the driver of the vehicle, odds are, with him driving an older model Lexus, that he didn't have a large insurance policy. In the event of a hit-and-run accident, this is where having uninsured motorist coverage plays an important role.

If the accident was caused by a driver without auto insurance, or without enough insurance to cover damages, having uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on your policy will help protect you. Even if the driver of the vehicle that caused the hit-and-run is never found, your uninsured motorist coverage will protect you for damage caused by the driver that leaves the scene of the accident.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Pedestrian Killed by Near Hit-and-Run" »

Palm Beach County police are investigating a hit and run accident that killed a pedestrian close to Boca Raton on Thursday, May 12, 2011. Guadalupe Corrizales was struck by an Infiniti G35 sedan. The driver has not been charged and his name has not yet been released. According to investigators, the vehicle was speeding.

The above story is another catastrophic case of an irresponsible driver crashing into an innocent victim, and then fleeing the scene. According to a Governors Highway Safety Association report, there were more pedestrian accident fatalities in 2010 than in the previous four years. The report, which contains statistics for accidents nationwide, shows that Florida had the second largest rise in pedestrian deaths in the country.

On many occasions, such as the story cited in this blog, hit and run accidents are responsible for causing pedestrian injuries and deaths. According to a USA Today report, the number of deaths resulting from hit and run accidents has gone up by 20 percent since 2000.

This is precisely what uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is for. Family members and relatives should be able to collect under the family's underinsured/underinsured motorist coverage for the victim of this horrific accident. Many times persons who flee the scene do so because they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Other times they flee the scene because they're doing something wrong, such as speeding.

Oftentimes these "speeders" have little or no insurance coverage. Don't be caught without adequate insurance coverage.

If you are the victim of a hit and run crash, that is where your uninsured motorist coverage comes into play. Even if you never find the vehicle that fled from the scene of the collision, your uninsured motorist coverage will cover you for damage caused by a car or other motor vehicle that flees the scene. Tip: purchase uninsured motorist coverage at least equal to your bodily injury limits. We also recommend that you purchase stacking coverage if you have multiple vehicles in your household. This will multiply the amount of coverage that you have available to you if you are in one of these "stack" cars at the time of the car crash. If you do have multiple vehicles, you can stack the coverage of all the vehicles in the household for any resident relative, most of whom will be covered in such an incident.

Continue reading "Coral Springs Auto Accident Attorney Discusses Hit and Run that Killed Pedestrian" »

Miami and the surrounding metropolitan area has been ranked the third most dangerous location for pedestrians in a recent study conducted by Transportation for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership.  The third most dangerous location for pedestrians includes the areas of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and their suburbs.  The Miami metropolitan area ranked just behind two other Florida locations -- Orlando-Kissimmee and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater -- which ranked first and second, respectively, as the most dangerous areas for pedestrians to walk.  Major Florida cities took four of the top five spots on the list with Jacksonville, Florida, ranking as the fourth most dangerous area for pedestrian traffic.

The study entitled Dangerous by Design looked not only at the number of pedestrian deaths in a given year, but rather focused on the ratio of pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people to the percentage of pedestrians walking to work.  The study found that even though relatively few people choose to walk in these Florida cities compared to other cities, the people that do are at a much greater risk of being killed or injured after being hit by a car. 

The report focuses on the design of modern roadways and communities as the cause of the dangerous conditions faced by South Florida walkers.  With sprawling suburban areas and arterial roads built to move the greatest amount of vehicular traffic at the quickest possible pace, often times sidewalks, crosswalks, and crossing signals are designed out either because of space or budget restrictions.  These reductions coupled with the increased speed at which vehicles are allowed to travel create serious dangers for pedestrians on Florida roadways.  As the report points out, the survival rate for pedestrians struck by a vehicle traveling at 20 mph is 95% but drops drastically to 55% when the vehicle is traveling 30 mph and even lower to 15% when a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle traveling 40 mph.  When you combine these considerations with the ever-growing distractions facing drivers, you have a serious recipe for disaster.

Dangerous roads and sprawling communities also have an effect on the desire of South Florida residents to walk.  No one wants to walk in areas that do not provide proper sidewalks and crossing assistance or in areas where they face such a high risk of being injured or killed by a vehicle.  This not only creates more road congestion by forcing more people to drive upon our roadways to locations accessible by foot, but also forces people to walk less and get less exercise which is a serious health concern.

Continue reading "Miami, Florida Pedestrians Face Serious Danger on Roads" »