Car Accident Blog

In the case of Sanchez v. Martin, Case Number 4D17-1731 (Fla. 4th DCA June 6, 2018), Florida’s Fourth DCA reversed a $1.5 million jury verdict over the improper use of a jury instruction regarding the aggravation of a pre-existing condition or injury. Not An...

In the case of Travelers Home and Marine Insurance Company v. Gallo, Case Numbers 5D16-3158 and 5D16-4214 (Fla. 5th DCA June 1, 2018), Florida’s Fifth DCA revisited the inquiry for determining the sufficiency of race neutral reasons suggested by lawyers in exercising peremptory...

In the case of Nieves v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Case Number 5D17-893 (Fla. 5th DCA May 25, 2018), State Farm challenged all of the damages awarded to the plaintiff with a “remittitur” and ends up getting a new trial just on the narrow issue of the...

In the case of Robert Walerowicz v. Mandy Nicky Armand-Hosang, Case Number 4D17-1900 (Fla. 4th DCA)(May 23, 2018), the Fourth DCA held that a “combination of [the] Plaintiff’s testimony and [a] surgeon’s testimony, coupled with the introduction of the medical...

In the case of Dominos Pizza, LLC v. Wiederhold, 5D16-2794 (Fla. 5th DCA 2018), an injured person got married after becoming injured but before his death.  After his death, his surviving spouse sued the driver (and Dominos Pizza for vicarious liability) for causing the accident...

In the case of Jervis v. Castaneda, Case Number 4D17-332, GEICO sought to enforce a UM rejection form that was “electronically signed” by the plaintiff. The Fourth DCA held that electronic process used did not comply with Florida’s UM statute and was void. In...

In Faris v. Southern-Owners Insurance Company, Case Number 5D16-4037, the Florida Fifth DCA threw out sanctions ordered by the trial court against a plaintiff who underwent spinal surgery after being ordered to postpone his surgery so that the insurance company could obtain a...

If you need to sue for a car accident caused by a pizza delivery driver (i.e. Dominos, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, Hungry Howies, etc.), then you will likely face multiple legal challenges for which there are no easy answers. Employee v. Independent Contractor-An Issue Of Fact For...

The Tampa Bay Times reports that Ricky Melendez feels “betrayed” by GEICO, his own insurance company, after GEICO paid policy limits to the families of teenage boys who stole a Ford Explorer before crashing into him at over 100 mph.  Melendez is quoted as saying that...

There is more technology than ever available to buyers of new cars in 2017. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety conducted a study on drivers using in-vehicle technology including voice commands and touch screens. The study found that drivers were visually and mentally distracted...

The summer of 2017 was a hot time for appeals on proposals for settlement in Florida. In Dowd v. GEICO General Insurance Company (3D15-1725)(June 28, 2017), the Third DCA lets a plaintiff injured in a crosswalk accident off the hook for responsibility while the Fourth DCA in Sherman...

Trinity Hamilton, 11 years old, was struck by a pickup truck driven by William Ray Hull on Idlewild Street on September 1, 2017.  Hull’s pickup truck was white with a black stripe down the middle and struck Hamilton from behind after she had gotten off of the school bus....

Jeffrey T. Wells was struck by a pickup truck at approximately 5:45 a.m. on August 23, 2017 near the intersection of Forest Park Street and Harden Boulevard in Lakeland, Florida. Wells died from the trauma of the collision. Mr. Wells was hit as a pedestrian walking eastbound across...

In GEICO v. Macedo (Case No.: SC16-935), the insurance company was ordered to pay the plaintiff’s attorney fees and costs after the insurance company chose to defend a car accident case through trial rather than settle. Facts Of The Case GEICO’s insured caused a car...

A hit and run accident in Frostproof, Florida on July 7, 2017 took the life of Jerry Dean Walker.  The Ledger reports that Walker was in the road and was carrying beer with him.  The accident happened on U.S. 98 near the intersection with Avon Park Cutoff Road at...

A majority of headlights in small and mid-size SUV’s were rated as “poor.” The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) tested 21 small SUV’s and 37 mid-size SUV’s with deficiencies found in more than half of all models tested. Why Aren’t All...

The CDC reports statistics that six teenagers are killed in car accidents across the country on average every day.  Many of these accidents are due to distracted driving. The Impact Of Teenage Driving Touches Everyone Most of us become better drivers through many years of...

The Journal of Pediatrics published a study done on the impact of child restraints in car accidents and the impact on pediatric mortality.   “Unintentional injury” was listed as the leading cause of death to children in the United States with motor vehicle...

In the case of Ward v. Morlock (Fla. 5th DCA Case Number 5D16-1641), the Fifth DCA held that the dangerous instrumentality doctrine in Florida should apply to a car accident between Florida residents in South Carolina. Facts Of The Case Mr. Morlock (A Florida resident) was on...

Ray Brewer sustained serious injuries when he was pinned in between two cars after the vehicle that he was riding in pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway. Two Separate Collisions This case involves two collisions.  First, Kyle Keating was driving a 2007 Ford E350 when he...