Car Accidents

July 15, 2015

Four Killed in U.S. 27 Crash in Frostproof

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Four people are now dead after a crash Sunday night in Frostproof.

Around 10:15 p.m., a 29-year-old Avon Park man is believed to have lost control of his Dodge sedan on southbound U.S. 27 between County Road 630-A and U.S. 98, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

The Dodge exited the roadway, struck a concrete culvert and came to rest in a drainage ditch.

First responders found two passengers dead: a 38-year-old Frostproof man and a 28-year-old Eustis man.

The driver and another passenger, a 33-year-old Frostproof man, were airlifted to Lakeland Regional Health. One man passed away the same day and another died Monday.

Police believe a second car may have been involved. They suspect a 1990s black Honda with a light-colored left-front fender may have been in the area. The car would have been heading south on U.S. 27. Anyone with information about this vehicle is asked to call Deputy Sheriff Johnnie Wombles at 863-297-1109.

Across the United States, on average, a person dies in a car accident every 12 minutes. Car accidents are the leading cause of death for all people under 35.

Most auto accident fatalities are entirely preventable, resulting from driver negligence. When one driver’s negligent actions behind the wheel causes the death of another person, survivors of the victim are entitled to make a claim for financial compensation for the wrongful death of their loved one.

While no amount of money can compensate for the loss of a human life, making a wrongful death claim for an auto accident fatality is not really about the money, it’s about accountability and making careless drivers face up to the tragedy they have caused a family. Nothing can bring the person back, but holding the wrongdoer accountable can be of some comfort and possibly prevent future similar accidents.

July 10, 2015

Tampa Boy Hit By Car While Riding Bike

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

An 8-year-old boy was seriously harmed after being struck by car while riding his bicycle, according to Tampa police.

The crash occurred at about 2:15 p.m. at the intersection of Linebaugh and Taliaferro avenues.

Police believe the boy was riding his bicycle north on Taliaferro Avenue when he rode into the vehicle’s path. Witnesses claim the driver was not speeding at the time.

Police allege the boy was not wearing a helmet at the time, and that some of his injuries appear to be from hitting his head on the pavement.

The boy is currently being treated at Tampa General Hospital.

Bicycle accidents typically involve a drunk or distracted driver. Sometimes these accidents are the mistake of an inexperienced motorist. The sad reality is that bicycle collisions with cars account for a large amount of catastrophic injuries and wrongful deaths on Florida roadways. Driver negligence often plays a part in these crashes, usually consists of running a stop sign, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, failing to yield to the biker or being inattentive while backing out of a driveway.

A bicycle accident can cause severe emotional trauma in addition to physical injury. A human body on a bicycle is hardly a match for a powerful automobile or impact with hard pavement. Even the most experienced bikers can be injured in one of these accidents.

If you have been injured in a bicycle accident in Florida, you could be entitled to financial recovery for:

Medical bills
Lost Wages
Loss of Earning Capacity
Pain and Suffering
Emotional Distress
Disfigurement

July 2, 2015

Fourth of July Road Dangers

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Fireworks are definitely dangerous, but they are not the only dangers to avoid this Fourth of July weekend. The roadways are especially hazardous during the summer holidays. When you are traveling to or from an Independence Day party this year, please remember to be on the look out for reckless drivers.

Here are a few dangers to try and avoid this Fourth of July:

Drunk drivers. Think about it, almost every Florida Independence Day celebration will have alcohol. Partygoers who are drinking at parties and such should not get behind the wheel of a car. If you see a car weaving or dodging in and out of traffic, keep your distance. If you have a passenger with you, consider notifying authorities.
Drowsy Drivers. Many holiday drivers are travelling lengthy distances to get to their final destination. Those who have been driving for hours may be feeling fatigued. Drowsy driving is often as dangerous as drunk drivers, so stay alert.
Distracted Drivers. Keep in mind that many travelers on Florida roadways are from out of town and have never been to the area before. Taking your eyes off the road for just a few seconds to look at a navigation device can have devastating results. Avoid being a distracted driver by staying off your cell phone and having other passengers check your GPS or phone for you.
Speeding Drivers. People that are anxious to get where they are going may decide to speed or drive recklessly. Make sure you obey the posted speed limits and monitor your speed if there is heavy traffic.

June 19, 2015

GM Adds More than 243,000 Cars to Takata Airbag Recall

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

General Motors is adding more than 243,000 compact hatchbacks in the U.S. and Canada to the growing number of already recalled vehicles for airbags that can explode with too much force.

The company said Friday that the expanded recall for passenger air bags covers the Pontiac Vibe from 2003 through 2007. The cars were designed by Toyota and made at jointly owned factory in California.

The Vibe recall comes after Takata Corp. of Japan agreed to double the size of its air bag inflator recall to 33.8 million in May, thus marking it the largest automotive recall in U.S. history.

The propellant in some Takata inflators can burn too quickly, blowing apart a metal canister and sending shrapnel into the passenger compartment. The problem has been blamed for at least seven deaths and more than 100 injuries.

Just last month, Takata declared many of its products defective due to pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The company agreed to double the number of air bag inflators being recalled.

The giant recall covers driver and passenger airbags in cars and trucks made by 11 automakers. Takata, the automakers and the NHTSA are still trying to pinpoint what exactly causes the inflators to malfunction.

Owners can find out if their car is part of the giant recall by going to https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/ and typing in their vehicle identification number. The number is located on many state registration cards and is stamped on the dashboard near the bottom of the driver’s side windshield.

May 26, 2015

Largest Recall in US History: Takata Declares 33.8M of its Inflator Mechanisms Defective

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Japanese airbag manufacturer Takata recently announced that the initial recall of its exploding airbags has been expanded to nearly 34 million vehicles. Thus marking Takata’s current situation as one of the largest consumer products recalls of all time. According to ABC News, nearly one in seven cars on the road are being impacted by this recall. The airbags in question could unexpectedly deploy and explode, shooting shrapnel at the faces, neck and chest region of drivers and passengers in impacted cars. At this time, six deaths are being attributed to the exploding airbags with many more injuries being reported.

Automakers Are Being Held Accountable

Last year, there were record-breaking recalls on vehicles across the country. While we are only partially through 2015, it looks like 2015 could give 2014 a run for its money. In the past, federal safety regulatory agencies have been way too easy on automobile manufacturers. However, as it stands now, the government is taking great strides to hold automakers accountable for dangerous faulty and defective parts.

April 24, 2015

Nissan Introduces “Driver Attention Alert” to Detect Drowsy Driving

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A number of automakers acknowledge that drowsy driving is a big problem amongst American drivers. Recently, many have now begun investing in technologies that are designed to detect when a motorist is too tired to be operating behind the wheel.

Nissan has announced an exciting new technology that the company claims will help reduce the risk of drowsy driving accidents by detecting fatigue or drowsiness in a motorist.

According to statistics by the AAA, nearly 40 percent of drivers have said they have fallen asleep at the wheel at some point while driving, while 11 percent reported dozing off while driving in the past year alone. In the United States, drowsy drivers are responsible for more than 300,000 accidents, and account for over 6,400 fatalities every year.

Nissan has recently shared a new drowsy driving detection system that will be featured on its new models. This system is designed to analyze driving behavior, and look for signs of driver fatigue. The system can detect when the driver is too tired to operate safely and flashes a coffee mug symbol in the center of the instrument panel along with an audible warning.

The system detects drowsiness by monitoring steering input patterns of the driver using sensors, which it then compares to patterns of subsequent driving. When it finds behaviors that are typical of a drowsy motorist, it then immediately delivers a visible and audible alert.

April 17, 2015

Cycle Safely: Bike Fatalities On the Rise

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Bicycling has been a growing trend in the United States over the past few years, mostly in urban metropolitan areas. Many urban cities in the state of Florida and throughout the rest of the country have been bicycle-friendly for years and have been proactive in designing bike lanes and bike paths to give cyclists safer ways to travel alongside motor vehicles. In order for bicycling to remain as a safe alternative to driving a motor vehicle, cities will need to continue to stay focused on ways to reduce the number of cycling accidents and fatalities.

Since the late 70’s, there has been a decline in bicycle fatalities. However, a recent report conducted by the Governors Highway Safety Association shows that bicycle fatalities have been on the rise these last few years. Between 2010 and 2012, there was a 16 percent increase in the number of cyclists who were killed in accidents with motor vehicles.

Total Number of Bicycling Fatalities from 2010-2012

2010 – 621 fatalities
2011 – 680 fatalities
2012 – 722 fatalities

The GHSA report revealed that the states with the most bicycling fatalities were Texas, California, New York, Florida, Michigan and Illinois. Why these states? Florida and the other five states are all densely populated with multiple urban areas, which can lead to an increase in the number of bicyclists on the road, providing more opportunity for collisions with motor vehicles. The statistics do not lie – nearly 70 percent of all bicycling fatalities occur in urban areas and more than 33 percent take place at intersections.

Accidents involving motor vehicles can be very dangerous to cyclists, mostly because bikers are relatively unprotected. There are actually a number of things that bicyclists can do to protect themselves from injury and to prevent a tragedy.

Wear a Helmet
Follow all Traffic Laws
Never Bike Under the Influence of Drugs and/or Alcohol
Exercise Extra Caution When Approaching and Crossing an Intersection
Use Designated Bike Paths, Lanes and Trails when Possible

April 8, 2015

U Drive. U Text. U Pay Campaign by NHTSA Underway

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has publicized their annual Distracted Driving Awareness safety campaign. The month of April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month so the NHTSA’s U Drive. U Text. U Pay. campaign will focus on the financial consequences and expenses of texting from the driver’s seat. The U Drive. U Text. U Pay. campaign has been funded by grants totaling up to $8.4 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation. This year’s slogan is “If you’re texting, you’re not driving.”

What’s the average time texting takes your eyes off the wheel? Five seconds. While that might not seem like a lot, if you are travelling at 55 miles per hour, that’s equivalent to driving the length of a football field blindfolded. You can’t drive and text. You’re either driving or you’re texting. Even just reading a text message is enough to cause an accident resulting in an injury or fatality.

Distracted Driving Key Facts

3,154 people were killed in distracted driving crashes in 2013
An estimated 424,000 people were injured in accidents involving distracted drivers in 2013
3,328 people were killed in distracted driving crashes in 2012
27 percent of the distracted drivers in fatal crashes are drivers in their 20s

Texting while driving has become an epidemic in Florida and across the nation. Drivers of all ages have been known to engage in distracting driving behaviors behind the wheel. The good news is that most states now have distracted driving laws. Law enforcement agencies will be enhancing enforcement efforts throughout the country this month in order to combat this nationwide epidemic.

What to Do After a Distracted Driving Crash

April 1, 2015

6 in 10 Teen Car Accidents Caused by Distracted Driving

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety conducted a study that has some pretty disturbing results. The study actually determined that more than half of all teen car crashes involve some type of driver distraction.

The results show that distracted driving is a factor in 58 percent of teen crashes. Nearly 6 out of every 10 moderate to severe accidents involving teens also involved some type of distraction behind the wheel.

The most common distractions for teens are not surprising – interacting with other passengers and cell phone usage. The study analyzed around 1,700 dashboard camera videos. Researchers observed and recorded the behavior of the teen drivers in the moments leading up to the accidents.

The following facts were determined from the study:

6 out of 10 teen accidents involve distracted driving.
15 percent of those crashes involved drivers interacting with one or more passenger.
12 percent of those collisions involved cell phone usage.
10 percent of those wrecks involved looking at something in the vehicle.

Teens that were found to be using their cell phones were said to have taken their eyes off the road for about 4.1 seconds out of the final 6 seconds leading to a crash.

Distracted driving is an epidemic involving teen and adult drivers across the country. AAA reports that teen drivers have the highest crash rate of any other driver age group.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has established a set of guidelines called “5 to Drive” in order to attempt to combat the teen distracted driving problem.

No Cell Phones
No Extra Passengers
No Speeding
No Alcohol
Always Buckle Up

March 25, 2015

Graco Slapped with $10 Million Lawsuit for Delay in Recalls of Defective Child Seats

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Graco Children’s Products has agreed to pay $10 million to settle claims that it failed to recall about four million child car seats with a defective buckle that could make it difficult to free a child in an emergency, according to federal regulators.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Graco would pay a $3 million fine and spend $7 million developing safety programs.

Recently, Graco had insisted that the only problem with the buckles was caused by children spilling food or drinks on them. However, parents told federal regulators that they had to cut the straps to free a child, and regulators dismissed the contamination explanation, saying such a problem was foreseeable.

In January 2014, the NHTSA demanded a recall. Graco originally refused, but relented about a month later.

Federal regulators opened an investigation in December into whether the company should have recalled the seats earlier than it did. That investigation started due to a review of Graco documents that showed that parents complained to Graco about the buckles in 2009.

In 2012, the company was telling parents how to clean the buckles and arguing that there was no safety issue.

Federal regulations require that once a manufacturer is aware of a safety problem, it has five business days to inform the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of its plan for a recall or the company will face a civil fine. The maximum penalty is $35 million.

In a statement issued on Friday, Graco said the company had “evaluated the issue in a timely manner.” Graco acknowledged that “it did not provide the required notice to N.H.T.S.A.” They additionally stated, “we fell short of N.H.T.S.A.’s expectations for data collection and reporting procedures.”

Graco will be required to submit an independent audit showing how it spends the $7 million, which is to be used on programs like “identifying potential safety trends affecting car seats industry wide and launching a child safety awareness campaign.”

If you believe your child’s injury may have been caused by a defective or flawed child safety seat, our Florida Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can help. Car seats are supposed to keep children secure in the event of a traffic accident, which means the device must work properly and be free of any defects or malfunctions that could prevent it from doing its job. While the safety seat should keep a baby or young child secure during a collision, it should also be easy to remove the child from seat without much delay.

Manufacturers can be held liable under Florida products liability if their defective product caused injury or death. If a negligent driver played a role in causing the crash that led to injury or fatality, there may also be reason for a Florida auto accident lawsuit.