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Preliminary data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shows that already in 2023 Florida has seen 3,863 motorcycle crashes resulting in 219 deaths and 3,341 injuries.

In 2022, Florida saw 9,153 total motorcycle crashes resulting in 590 fatalities and 7,863 injuries.

These staggering statistics tell us that is important to protect yourself in the event of an unfortunate motorcycle accident. Accidents of any kind frequently occur when you least expect them, including motorcycle crashes. You could be driving to work or you might just be running out to get gas or grab a quick dinner for the family. According to the NHTSA, more than 52% of all motor vehicle accidents happen within five miles of where they live, and 69% happen within ten miles. It is best to always drive defensively and anticipate the unexpected.

Your heart will be racing and you might be in shock immediately following an accident. While it is important to know what to do after a motorcycle crash, it is equally important to know what not to do to keep yourself safe.

Below are 3 Things to NOT Do Following a Motorcycle Crash:

1. Do not worry about calling lawyers, worry about yourself. Our team of attorneys at Whittel & Melton hope you are riding with someone because when your bike goes down after a crash, you are probably very hurt and unable to make important decisions. This is why you need to prioritize your health and safety and get the medical care you need right away.
2. Do not call insurance companies at the exact moment of your accident. When you are down on the ground injured, this is not the time to call an insurance company. This the time to call police to respond to the event or an ambulance to get you to the hospital.
3. Do not speak to an insurance company about your accident right away. Whether it is your insurance company or the other driver’s, just know that you do not have to answer any of their questions until you speak to your lawyer.

@jasonmeltonesquire

#motorcycle #bikers #bikerlawyer #motorcyclelawyer @BikersWin @TVBikerDad @Namil.Org

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The juncture of Northwest 39th Avenue and 13th Street in Gainesville may appear to be your typical residential intersection, but during rush hour, this crossroad seems more like crash racing at a Demolition Derby show.

This busy intersection has been the site of 358 collisions from Jan. 1, 2014, to May 31, 2022. One of these crashes in June 2021 took the life of an 18-year-old Gainesville High School student.

There are 26,500 westbound vehicles and 20,400 eastbound vehicles that pass through the intersection of Northwest 39th Avenue every day of the year, which is more than any other road in the northern Gainesville region, according to Florida Traffic Online.

However, there are proposals to make the intersection safer from the Florida Department of Transportation. The proposed improvement, if given the go-ahead by the FDOT later this summer, would cost close to $300,000 and would not be finished until 2025.

The Northwest 39th Avenue left turn lanes would be extended to 13th Street and a new median would be built along those lanes in both the east and westbound directions. The medians would be 350 feet long in total. The only thing separating the lanes from the opposing-direction traffic now is a thin, flat median.

While this intersection is considered one of the most dangerous in Alachua County, it is surpassed by Northwest 39th Avenue and 34th Street, which saw 51 sideswipes, 147 rear end collisions, and 17 pedestrian and bicyclist accidents from Jan. 1, 2014-May 31, 2022, according to FDOT.  More than 100 people were injured in car crashes surrounding the center of the intersection, which is the size of a neighborhood swimming pool.

In the first 20 days of 2023, the intersection saw six accidents.

In May 2022, Metric Engineering Inc., an engineering consulting company, conducted a safety analysis for the intersection in order to obtain crash data for the previous eight years and make field observations of the crossing.

According to the analysis’s data, left turns were to blame for 19% of the intersection’s 358 collisions that have been reported since 2014.

The safety analysis proposes the installation of traffic separators to block vehicles from executing left turns across Northwest 39th Avenue.

The safety analysis estimates that the planned improvements will cost $289,000 in total.

If allowed, temporary barriers would be installed on Northwest 39th Avenue in the fall of 2023.

Permanent concrete would be poured for traffic dividers in the fall of 2024, with construction wrapping up in the spring of 2025. Continue reading

From 2017-2019, there were 8,792 fatal crashes in the state of Florida. MoneyGeek analyzed these collisions in order to identify the deadliest roads that make up the 275,376 miles of road in the Sunshine State.

County Results:

Most Deadly Road in Hillsborough County – US-41

Most Deadly Road in Pinellas County – US 19

Most Deadly Road in Pasco County – US 19

Most Deadly Road in Hernando County – US 19

Most Deadly Road in Citrus County – US 19

Most Deadly Road in Alachua County – I-75

Most Deadly Road Levy County – US-27

Most Deadly Road Marion County – SR-40

Most Deadly Road Lake County – US-441

Most Deadly Road Sumter County – US-301

Most Deadly Road Palm Beach County – I-95

Most Deadly Road in Miami-Dade County – US-1

Here are the 10 Deadliest Roads in Florida to Date:

1. US-19: Denton Ave. to San Marco Dr. located in Pasco County

Total Distance: 4.9 miles

Crashes Per Mile: 5.1

Fatalities: 25

Fatal Crashes: 25

2. US-41: 23^rd to Pearl Ave. located in Bradenton

Total Distance: 4.7 miles

Crashes Per Mile: 4.7

Fatalities: 23

Fatal Crashes: 22

3. US-41: N. Macdill Ave. to N. 40^th Street located in Tampa

Total Distance: 4.8 miles

Crashes Per Mile: 4.4

Fatalities: 21

Fatal Crashes: 21

4. US-19: 54^th N. to Queensboro Ave. S. located in St. Petersburg

Total Distance: 4.7 miles

Crashes Per Mile: 4.3

Fatalities: 20

Fatal Crashes: 20

5. SR-816: NW 35^th to NE 8^th Ave. located in Oakland Park, Wilton Manors, and Lauderdale Lakes

Total Distance: 3.7 miles

Crashes Per Mile: 4.9

Fatalities: 19

Fatal Crashes: 18

6. SR-580: Webb Road to W. Waters Ave. located in Tampa

Total Distance: 4.8 miles

Crashes Per Mile: 3.7

Fatalities: 18

Fatal Crashes: 18

7. US-19: Lake Tarpon Dr. to Royal Blvd. located in Pinellas County

Total Distance: 4.4 miles

Crashes Per Mile: 3.8

Fatalities: 21

Fatal Crashes: 17

8. US-19: Royal Blvd. to Lake Tarpon Dr. located in Pinellas County

Total Distance: 4.4 miles

Crashes Per Mile: 3.8

Fatalities: 21

Fatal Crashes: 17

9. US-19: Embassy Blvd. to Marine Parkway located in New Port Richey and Port Richey

Total Distance: 4.4 miles

Crashes Per Mile: 3.9

Fatalities: 19

Fatal Crashes: 17

10. SR-50 East Colonial Drive: Old Cheney Highway to Lake Downy Dr located in Orlando

Total Distance: 4.8 miles

Crashes Per Mile: 3.3

Fatalities: 16

Fatal Crashes: 16

Other Key Findings:

• Drunk Driving caused more fatalities (1,888) than speeding (829) and distracted driving (662) combined
• March saw the most fatal accidents – 846 within 2017-2019
• Miami-Dade County had the most fatal accidents (US-1 is the city’s deadliest road)

Injured in a Car Crash in Florida? Call Us Now at 866-608-5529 Continue reading

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to get together with friends, family, and neighbors and share food, drink, and be thankful for all the blessings of the year. This is also a time where injuries can arise easily, so our Florida Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton have compiled a list of the most common holiday accidents so that you can be prepared and take appropriate precautions.

Car Accidents

According to a report from the National Safety Council, the 2022 Thanksgiving holiday period of Wednesday, November 23-Sunday, November 27 will see an estimated 518 road deaths. If this estimate holds true, this year will be the most Thanksgiving traffic fatalities since 2007. The Thanksgiving holiday sees an increase in crashes and fatalities due to increased congestion on the roads as many people are travelling at the same time and alcohol consumption.

Follow these tips to avoid a car crash this Thanksgiving holiday period:

• Travel at the posted speed limit
• Avoid distractions
• Never text while driving
• Wear your seatbelt properly no matter how short the distance you are travelling

Fires and Burns

Fires and cooking accidents are very common during the holidays. The biggest reason for fires on Thanksgiving can be traced back to unattended cooking. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that 49% of all home fires and 42% of all home fire injuries can be linked to cooking mishaps Cooking accidents are also responsible for 20% of all home fire deaths.

Here are top cooking safety tips to remember this Thanksgiving:

• Turkey fryers that use cooking oil are not safe and can cause devastating burn injuries. Consider using an infrared fryer, air fryer, or electric turkey fryer if you wish to “fry” your own turkey. You can also purchase a store-bought fried turkey or one from your restaurant of choice.
• When cooking on a stove top, stay in the kitchen to keep an eye on the food.
• Stay in your home when cooking a turkey, and be sure to check on it often.
• Keep children away from stoves, hot food, and hot liquids.
• Make sure knives are kept out of reach of children.
• Do not leave lit candles unattended.
• Make sure your smoke alarms are in working condition. You can test them by pushing the test button.

Slip and Falls and Trip and Falls

The grocery stores are busy during the Thanksgiving holiday season. You can easily suffer a slip and fall or trip and fall injury at the grocery store grabbing the necessary items to prepare your feast. Wet floors, uneven surfaces, poor lighting, clutter, and more can all lead to grocery store slip and fall accidents. Parking lots filled with cars and busy shoppers can also lead to serious injuries that require medical attention. You can also suffer and slip and fall or trip and fall accident at your own home, friend’s house, or relative’s home this Thanksgiving, so make sure floors stay clean and dry and are not cluttered with the kid’s toys are other belongings that could be hazards.

Food Poisoning

Thanksgiving revolves around turkey and other food items – and when a turkey or other meat is handled improperly then food poisoning can happen quite easily. When other food items are left at room temperature for too long, they can also develop bacteria. To prevent food poisoning, make sure you cook all food thoroughly and check the temperature to ensure it is safe to consume. You also want to throw out any foods that have been sitting out for more than two hours, per the USDA. Reheating something that has been left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours will not be safe from bacteria.

Whittel & Melton Wishes You a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving! Continue reading

Whatever method of transportation you prefer, car, bus, motorcycle, train, etc., at some point in time, you are a pedestrian.

The sad reality is that pedestrian accident rates resulting in severe injuries and death remain high. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 2020 saw 6,516 pedestrian fatalities and another 55,000 pedestrians suffered injuries across the U.S.

Motorists have the duty to maintain safe speeds and exercise other safe driving habits in order to create and keep better walkable communities for everyone.

In order to create safer walking environments, we must go back to the basics.

Below Are 8 Safety Tips for Drivers:

1. Always keep a watchful eye out for pedestrians.
2. When driving in bad weather that makes it harder to see, like when it is raining or at night, exercise extreme caution.
3. When you are turning or entering a crosswalk, be prepared to slow down or stop.
4. Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, and make sure to stop at a far enough distance so that other cars can see the approaching pedestrian and stop as well.
5. Never pass other vehicles that are stopped at crosswalks. There could be pedestrians crossing that you are unable to see from where you are positioned.
6. Always refrain from driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
7. Always follow the posted speed limits, especially in in school zones and in neighborhoods where children are nearby and in places where there are lots of pedestrians on the streets.
8. Before backing up and in the process of doing so, keep a close eye out for pedestrians that could be approaching behind you.

Below Are 8 Safety Tips for Pedestrians:

1. Always obey all traffic signs and signals that are in place for your protection.
2. Always use sidewalks when they are available.
3. If no sidewalk is present, then remember to walk facing traffic and stay as far away from traffic as possible.
4. Use crosswalks or intersections when you need to get to the other side of the street. Before crossing, look for approaching vehicles from both directions, including cars that may be turning left or right.
5. If there is no intersection or crosswalk available for use, then be patient and wait for a large enough gap in traffic that will allow you enough time to cross the street safely. As you cross, continue watching for traffic in all directions.
6. When walking in your neighborhood or in parking lots, watch out for cars backing up.
7. Avoid drugs and alcohol when walking as they can impair your ability to make sound decisions.
8. Walking is a healthy form of transportation, so be vigilant and get moving!

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Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, 91, has been accused of sexually assaulting a teen boy in Massachusetts in June of 1974, making him the highest ranking church official to face charges of this nature. 

He was charged Wednesday with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child over the age of 14 in Dedham District Court by the Wellesley Police Department. This is his first criminal charge since he has been accused of abusing seminary students in New Jersey years ago. 

The charges stem from an incident at a wedding in June 1974 in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

According to records, the accuser was 16 at the time of the incident and was also abused at other locations in Massachusetts and in other states, including New Jersey.

McCarrick ranked among powerful officials in the Catholic Church for decades until he was removed from ministry in 2018 after the church found abuse allegations against him to hold merit. He was defrocked a year later following accusations that he abused children and adult seminary students.

While the man has been sued several times by men in New York and New Jersey who claim he abused them as children, the statute of limitations has kept authorities from proceeding with any criminal charges. 

But now, under Massachusetts law, the statute of limitations would have been suspended when McCarrick, who worked in the New York Archdiocese at the time, left the state after the wedding.

McCarrick was the bishop of Metuchen in the 1980s and the Archbishop of Newark from 1987 to 2000. He was then promoted to be head of the Washington, D.C., Archdiocese even though Pope John Paul II was investigating allegations against McCarrick for abusing adult seminary students at a New Jersey shore home for many years.

A Vatican report issued last year alleged that several New Jersey bishops lied in letters to the pope about what they knew about sexual abuse allegations against McCarrick, which helped him have his promotion approved.

McCarrick is accused of abusing children in other pending lawsuits that were filed in New Jersey under a law that suspended the civil statute of limitations on sex abuse complaints for two years, starting Dec. 1, 2019.

McCarrick is currently residing at the St. John Vianney Renewal Center in Dittmer, Missouri, a home for clerics who have committed sexual abuse and other troubled priests, according to reports. Missouri records apparently show that eight registered sex offenders, including two from New York, live at that address.

If you or your son, daughter, stepchild, niece, nephew, or grandchild were sexually abused by a member of the Catholic church, then you may be able to pursue a lawsuit against the perpetrator of the abuse as well as the Church itself. The diocese has an obligation to keep children and others safe from their employers and should conduct a background check on its employees to make sure that priests and other employees are cleared to be around children. Likewise, any allegations made against priests or other employees should be investigated thoroughly to prevent further sex abuse complaints. If the diocese failed to conduct a background check or knew that a priest had a history of child sex abuse complaints against them or had any other indications that raised any red flags, then they can be held liable for their negligence.  Continue reading