Orlando Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Handling Orlando car accidents we have been contacted by many car accident victims who have been denied representation because "they received the ticket." Oftentimes we suggest these callers send us the police report only to find serious questions about the validity of the citation. Whenever the investigating officer obtains only one version of the accident without considering the physical evidence it is easy to form the wrong conclusion. Usually this occurs when the injured party is unable to communicate. Often, these car accident victims have been transported by ambulance for emergency medical care, leaving only the offending driver to tell the officer "what happened."

Having many law enforcement officers in my family as well as personally working for the Legal Advisor to the Boston Police Commissioner, I have the greatest respect and admiration for law enforcement. Officers are trained to determine from all available sources of information how an accident occurred and to cite the party at fault for the accident. However, not being professional engineers nor accident reconsructionists, it is understandable that the most commonly relied on evidence of who was at fault for the car accident is the information from the drivers involved.

Although the fact that a driver received a traffic citation is inadmissible at the civil trial for personal injury, the significance is that Orlando car accident lawyers should not be mislead into believing that the ticketed individual is always at fault. It is important to look beyond who received the ticket before denying someone representation. It is simply too easy for busy personal injury lawyers to assume that if a driver received the ticket that that person was actually at fault.

To be sure, a majority of the time the ticketed individual turns out to be the liable party and we do decline representation. However, we suggest that injury or wrongful death cases involving Orlando car accidents and car accidents throughout Florida deserve meaningful consideration by lawyers handling these injury cases.

Posted by Tony Caggiano | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents

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Joining Orlando injury lawyers and personal injury lawyers throughout Florida, the Florida Health Association has thrown its support behind efforts to extend the no-fault personal injury protection law, or PIP. This car insurance law is scheduled to die on Oct. 1, 2007 absent legislative action.

As reported by the Miami Herald the FHA, which represents hospitals and doctors, converged on Tallahassee to lobby for passage of Senate Bill 1450, which extends PIP through 2010. Allowing it to die would create a $350 million shortfall at a time when hospitals are too ill to handle it, the FHA said.

Created in 1971, PIP requires auto insurers to cover up to $10,000 of driver medical expenses without regard to who was at fault in an accident. But the auto insurance industry says PIP's loose guidelines have created too many opportunities for fraud. Car insurers seek to kill any effort to extend this important protection to those injured in Florida car accidents.

While no system is perfect, the FHA is correct that Florida hospitals are already stretched thin by federal cutbacks and spend significant amounts on uninsured patients. Allowing PIP to die now would only add to their problems.

As I discussed in an earlier post, this isn't the only PIP proposal floating around the Capitol. Sen. J.D. Alexander, a Republican from Lake Wales, is sponsoring a bill that would replace PIP with mandatory medical payments coverage. Senate Bill 2626 would require up to $25,000 per person or up to $50,000 per accident to cover injuries to drivers or accident victims.

With so many uninsured drivers in Orlando and state-wide, Florida needs mandatory car insurance to provide payment for auto accident related medical and hospital expenses. Otherwise, many blameless drivers and their passengers who can not afford and do not possess health insurance may suffer great financial hardship. The legislature should seek to avoid such an unjust result.

Posted by Tony Caggiano | Permalink | Email This Post

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As Orlando car accident lawyers most of our clients have never sued anyone. Before the car accident which brought them to our Orlando office, they were going about their own business, working hard and caring for their family. Suddenly, the car accident throws them into a situation that they didn’t create and they need help. Unfortunately, the other driver who caused this Orlando car accident may not have insurance.

It is difficult for many to imagine, but when you have a serious injury, you may be out of work, unable to pay your bills and your medical expenses may be piling up. All the while you have family that is depending on you. This heavy burden is what most of our Orlando car accident clients carry when they ask for our help. Of course, we must determine what avenues of recovery are available.

Sadly, our Orlando car accident investigations increasingly lead to the discovery that the careless driver or the drunk driver has little or no car insurance to cover our clients' serious injury or wrongful death . Car accidents are more punishing when caused by uninsured and underinsured drivers who recklessly travel our Central Florida roads and highways. Yet, Florida's insurance and traffic laws allow these very circumstances to occur.

In fact, these tragedies involving uninsured and underinsured drivers occur so frequently that our legislators are trying to do something about it. This year the Florida legislature is considering changing the law to require more adequate car insurance to protect innocent people who suffer injury or wrongful death in car accidents in Orlando and elsewhere in Florida. These proposals would require at $25,000 of automobile liability insurance to pay for another person’s medical bills and damages. While this would be a good start, it is still important for people to buy uninsured motorist insurance. This insurance will pay for your medical bills and damages if the other driver who caused the car accident does not have enough liability insurance to pay for all your damages in the accident.

Posted by Tony Caggiano | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents , Car Insurance

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An Orlando car accident involved a fatality, a professional golfer and allegations of street racing. As Orlando car accident lawyers, we find this incident troubling and further evidence of a growing problem of street racing by older drivers. Personal injury and wrongful death resulting from careless driving will happen, but intentional street racing causing serious injury and death should never occur.

In this case, professional golfer Arjun S. Atwal was seen speeding on Orange County Road 535 with another vehicle driven by an Orlando businessman who was killed in what authorities said was an apparent street race between the two men. Witnesses told investigators from the Florida Highway Patrol that the cars appeared to be racing at speeds greater than 100 mph. John Park lost control of his 2006 Mercedes-Benz coupe on a turn and hit a tree, and Atwal's 2006 BMW sedan spun out. Troopers reported that the Orlando car accident turned fatal when Park's Mercedes-Benz basically disintegrated after hitting the tree. He never stood a chance of survival. Atwal was not hurt.

By itself, engaging in a street race is a misdemeanor. But if a race turns deadly, a driver can face serious criminal charges. Jerrod Abbott of Umatilla went to prison on vehicular-homicide charges in one of Central Florida's most notorious street-racing car accidents. He was released this year. Abbott was racing Dwight Samples, whose car accidentally slammed into a car his mother was driving, killing her and her friend.

According to law enforcement street racing has become a high-profile problem. Sadly, you would not expect this kind of activity on public roads. Certainly, you would not expect a PGA Tour player and a mature Orlando businessman to be participating. While the facts of this fatal Orlando car accident are still to be determined, we do know that street racing does happen. We must all remain alert to avoid serious injury or death.

Posted by Tony Caggiano | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents

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