Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

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" »

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" »

A multiple vehicle accident in Hollywood, Florida, last night closed the southbound lanes of I-95 during the evening rush hour until approximately 10:30 p.m.  According to reports, the driver of an SUV sideswiped two vehicles and attempted to flee from the scene.  In this attempt, the fleeing driver struck another car and finally crashed into another SUV that was stopped in the emergency lane.  Both SUVs burst into flames, trapping and killing the driver of the stopped SUV.  The alleged at-fault driver of the SUV and the occupants of the other vehicles were transported to local hospitals for treatment of their car accident injuries.

This deadly car accident, while tragic, also serves as a reminder of the importance for South Florida drivers to carry uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage.  Uninsured/underinsured motorist policies provide coverage from your insurance carrier when you are involved in an accident and the negligent driver either has no insurance coverage or not enough insurance coverage.  Uninsured/underinsured insurance policies also usually cover accidents that involve a hit-and-run, or phantom, driver that cannot be identified after the accident.

Although the identity of the at-fault driver is likely known in the Hollywood, Florida, car accident, often times negligent drivers flee the scene of an accident and are never identified.  Many times, negligent or reckless drivers flee the scene of an accident because they do not have insurance.  Regardless of whether the driver flees or remains at the scene, if he or she is underinsured or uninsured, your UM/UIM policy will contribute to your compensation for the accident if you have elected such coverage.

Continue reading "Hollywood, Florida Car Accident Ends in Fiery Tragedy" »

Aracely Mendoza of Miami was killed in an auto accident on I-95 in Broward County on March 27, 2009 after her car was struck by Davydson Soares of Pompano Beach, Florida in what ultimately constituted  a hit-and-run car crash.  Three other occupants of the vehicle Mendoza was traveling in were hospitalized and treated for their car accident related injuries.  Soares is now wanted for manslaughter while driving under the influence.  Police said that Soares's blood alcohol content was 0.16, twice the legal limit, approximately an hour and a half after the accident.  Unfortunately, Soares, who was not arrested at the scene because troopers needed to gather more evidence, is now nowhere to be found.

This case and other recent cases of hit and run accidents underscores the necessity of purchasing uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance.  Uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance policies provide coverage to individuals that are injured in a car accident caused by another driver that either has no insurance at all or does not have enough insurance coverage to pay for the damage caused by the accident.  In Florida, hit-and-run drivers that are not identified are considered uninsured motorists.  Although in the above-mentioned car accident the driver has been identified and fled only after the accident investigation, there is still the possibility that he may be uninsured or underinsured.  In fact, our personal experiences demonstrate that a person who is driving under the influence is substantially more likely to be an uninsured or underinsured motorist than a driver who is not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In fact, many of these impaired drivers do not even have a valid driver's license.

An uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance policy allows Florida drivers to protect against accident injuries that exceed the protection provided by personal injury protection (PIP) and irrespective of other drivers' insurance decisions to drive uninsured or with minimum coverage.

The Insurance Information Institute (III) estimated that 23% of Florida motorists were uninsured in 2007.  Their estimates place Florida fifth highest in the nation for uninsured motorists.  However, our recent experiences with motor vehicle accidents reflects a much higher total of uninsured motorists, especially as the recession deepened and more and more people cut out many things except for what they considered to be absolute essentials of life.  Based upon our experiences, we would estimate that perhaps as many as 50% of Dade County and 1/3 of Broward County drivers are uninsured.  Many more are what would be termed underinsured, that is, they are driving around with the minimum $10,000.00 in insurance coverage that is usually inadequate to protect the average person injured in a car accident.

Continue reading "Oakland Park, Florida Car Accident Kills Passenger" »