Item: Flaxman Law Group
Rating: 5
Author: Clara Barman

Could Food Trucks Contribute to Florida Truck Accidents?

Published on: March 23, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

Now that the weather is getting more pleasant and tourists are trickling into Florida in greater numbers, South Florida has seen a rise in the number of mobile food trucks around the area. According to some reports, there are many as 40 of these trucks in the area, serving food to customers in parking lots. While customers like the cheap food and fun names these trucks offer, others are concerned about safety and noise issues.

Many trucks have been fined for lacking the required licensing, even when they have the permission of parking lot owners to congregate and set up business. Area residents where these trucks set up voice concerns over pollution, noise, litter, and the potential for truck accidents. Local restaurants are not always happy about food trucks, which do not need to pay leases and can therefore charge low prices.

Others worry about the safety of the trucks – many are older vehicles equipped with deep-fryers and large propane trucks. Some area residents worry about the potential for fires and injuries as a result of the trucks. A few people have voiced concerns about food safety in the here-today-gone-tomorrow world of mobile food.

The truck owners note that they run affordable and legitimate businesses. Many of them would want to see more cooperation from communities. Currently, restaurants in Florida need a $550 license as well as $200 food manager’s license. Both can be complicated to acquire and mobile food truck owners believe that such licensing does not apply to them since they provide no sit-down areas for patrons and are therefore not “restaurants.” Some municipalities require special events permits or peddler’s permits – often used by ice cream trucks. These, too, are expensive to secure. South Florida communities are now looking at new legislation which would regulate the food trucks.

So far, no official Florida truck accidents or traffic accidents have been reported to be caused by the food trucks, but some residents are worried that it is only a matter of time. The trucks attract large crowds of pedestrians to parking areas and the truck themselves are large and move often, increasing the risk of accidents. According to food truck owners, however, the vehicles are less likely to be in accidents because they are stationary for such long stretches of time. If there was an truck accident in South Florida caused by one of these vehicles, however, it would likely cause serious liability issues, especially given the concerns over licensing and vendor permits.

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Why It’s Important to Get Help If You Have Been in a Florida Truck Accident

Published on: March 21, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

Each year, almost half a million truck accidents occur across the country each year, resulting in serious burn injuries, spinal cord injuries, and even fatalities. When commercial truck accidents are Florida car accidents involving a passenger car, the injuries to the passengers in the passenger vehicle are often severe. While the truck driver may walk away from such an accident unharmed, in many cases the other passengers in the other vehicle suffer severe injuries. Many Florida spinal cord injury, burn injury, and brain injury patients sustain their injuries in traffic accidents.

Unfortunately, many injury victims assume that their car insurance will cover all costs and do not seek out professional or legal help after an accident. This is unfortunate because in many cases Florida truck accidents involving commercial trucks are quite complex. There may be a few liable parties as well as several contributing factors to the accident and its injuries.

When patients sign any documentation from an insurance company they often sign away at least part of their rights to pursue legal action. All truck carriers have teams of attorneys to help companies avoid expensive litigation. What many patients do not realize is that they may be entitled to more compensation and more coverage of their injuries.

In too many cases, Florida truck accident victims receive less than the full cost of damages from insurance carriers. While immediate hospital care may be covered, for example, long-term care, counseling, and other treatments may need to be paid out of pocket. It is often difficult for injured parties without legal training to truly appreciate the liability of an accident or to calculate the full cost of an injury.

This is why consulting with a Florida personal injury attorney is so crucial. An attorney can investigate the causes of an accident, find all liable parties, and aggressively pursue a fair recovery for the patient. In many cases, this recovery can help the patient pay for lost income, medical treatment, car repairs, and any related costs. As well, an attorney can help the victim understand and take advantage of all their rights.

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What Else Can be Done to Reduce Florida Truck Accident Rates?

Published on: March 16, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

According to both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and The American Trucking Association (ATA), fatal truck accident rates continue to drop, as do personal injuries resulting from truck accidents. In 2009, there were 1.17 fatalities involving trucks per 100 million driven miles, the lowest rate since 1975. According to the NHTSA, there were 3 380 truck accident fatalities across the US in 2009, compared with 2 245 in 2008.

According to The American Trucking Association, statistics show that the trucking industry is getting safer, but agree that more can be done to improve overall safety. For example, the ATA is currently asking the government to allow programs which give incentives to truck companies that install safety technology. Tax incentives and other incentives, the ATA argues, would encourage carriers to install the latest technology that can help prevent accidents. Some of this technology, for example, creates alerts when truck drivers drive too fast or drive too long without taking breaks. This alerts carriers when drivers break the rules and makes it harder to circumvent federal rules which are designed to make trucking safer.

The ATA also recommends creating a national clearinghouse to streamline blood alcohol and drug test results. According to the organization, this would help coordinate information, so that drivers with poor records could not simply move to another state in order to avoid career problems in their home state. A national clearinghouse, according to the ATA, would help the industry track drivers with drug and alcohol problems, offer better treatment, and help catch repeat offenders.

Further, the ATA recommends advanced notification systems to target drivers with problems. Current systems, according to experts, allow drivers with repeat offenses and repeat problems to find themselves on the road again and again. Drivers and carriers sometimes go to great lengths to ensure that drivers remain on the road. Advanced notification systems, the ATA argues, could help alert carriers and authorities when a driver has multiple near-misses, multiple accidents, or other problems. These problems could then be addressed before the driver is allowed to return to the road.

Florida, too, could make changes to help make trucking safer in the state. Legislation is already proposed to ban texting and driving, which could help prevent Florida car accidents involving trucks caused by distracted drivers. As well, Florida could work on legislation which could help support federal efforts to prevent Florida truck accidents and accidents across the country.

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Could Safety Devices Be Causing Florida Truck Accident Fatalities?

Published on: March 4, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

Studies conducted by The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) show that a popular truck device used to increase safety may actually be causing hundreds of fatalities each year. According to the study, truck safety guards may actually be causing fatalities through decapitation in car accidents involving trucks.

The unusual thing is that truck safety guards are in fact designed to help prevent the very accident them seem to be making worse. The guards are designed to help prevent underride accidents, or accidents in which a car slips underneath a truck. The guards are supposed to ensure that cars cannot slide under the truck and the guards are approved to help prevent injuries by the US.

Despite this, the IIHS study found that in three of six tests, truck safety guards in fact lead to decapitations and other serious injuries in an underride accident. According to the IIHS, the study shows that the trucking industry needs to make changes to prevent these accidents. In some cases, researchers found that the guards actually made the accidents much worse and effectively ensured that in an underride accident there would be no survivors.

Part of the problem, according to researchers, is that truck safety guards are attached to a truck with hardware. In some tests, this hardware appeared to fail, so that during the force of an impact, the hardware did not hold, rendering the guard ineffective. As well, the study found that the NHTSA mandates no testing of truck safety guards, which means that trucking companies can have faulty guards with no inspections and no consequences.

The IIHS researchers made a few recommendations as a result of the study. For example, they recommended that the NHTSA institute rules ensuring that truck safety guards are strengthened and new hardware or new systems for ensuring that the guards are securely attached to trucks. Some trucking industry experts are supporting the proposed changes. Currently, the NHTSA is reviewing its rules regarding truck safety guards, but the review may not be complete until next year.

Across the country, over 400 people die annually in underride accidents – the very accidents which truck safety guards are designed to prevent. Many Florida truck accident and Florida car accident fatalities are also attributed to underride accidents. Such accidents may be preventable with better truck safety guards, as even high safety-rated cars tested by the IIHS tested poorly with the problematic guards, All cars are currently vulnerable to these types of accidents.

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Proposed Changes to Truck Driver Restart Period

Published on: February 25, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

Truck drivers must adhere to many rules of service regulations which are designed to ensure that drivers do not drive fatigued. One of the basic concepts of the hours of service regulations has to do with the restart period, which refers to the start of a new on-duty cycle. After a truck driver has taken 34 consecutive hours off-duty or more, he or she can restart the on-duty cycle. However, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed changes to the restart cycle – and the trucking industry does not agree with the changes.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, research has shown that it would be beneficial to mandate two rest periods (each between midnight and 6 am) during the 34-hour restart rest period. The research is based on a study from Washington State University.

The study was conducted in two parts and overseen by Gregory Belenky and Hans Van Dongen of the Sleep and Performance Research Center. The first part concluded that the current 34-hour restart gives does not adequately allow nighttime drivers to rest before starting on duty again. The second part of the study found that the rest break of the restart period was more effective when nighttime sleep was mandated. This study led the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to make its proposed changes to the restart period.

However, the American Trucking Association (ATA) objects to the proposal, stating that the studies may not be accurate. Among the issues at hand, according to the ATA is that the second part of the study has not yet been reviewed. As well, the study sample of the second part included just 12 people, none of them truck drivers. Even the study’s authors, notes the ATA, believe that more study is warranted.

The FMCSA and the authors of the study have defended the findings, arguing that the study was done under carefully controlled conditions and the findings – as well as the proposal that comes from them – could help prevent truck accidents and car accidents.

However, could Florida truck accidents be prevented by this change in the restart period. It is true that driver fatigue has been linked to many Florida car accidents involving trucks. As well, truck drivers work long and irregular hours, which can help contribute to driver fatigue and unsafe driving. Further studies could help us understand more about the best ways to ensure drivers get a safe amount of rest.

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Statistics Suggest That Florida Truck Accident Numbers Will Not Decline

Published on: February 18, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

According to new statistics released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2010 saw more than 500 000 commercial trucks and large trucks involved in accidents across the country. More than 100 000 individuals suffered serious injuries as a result of these crashes, which also claimed more than 5000 loves. The statistics represent an increase over 2009, when only 3200 deaths were attributed to collisions involving commercial trucks and large trucks.

Experts predict that the number of Florida truck accidents and national truck accidents will continue to rise, in part due to increased demand for truck transport. Industry experts estimate that 20% more trucks will be on the roads by 2012 when compared with today.

Florida car accidents involving trucks cause devastating injuries to passengers and entire families. Due to the size and force of large trucks and commercial vehicles, collisions between these large vehicles and passenger vehicles usually results in fatalities for the occupants of the smaller car. Survivors of such accidents often face serious injuries. Many Florida spinal cord injury patients and brain injury patients sustain their injuries through traffic accidents.

Unfortunately, although Florida laws and insurance providers are designed to help victims recover, in many cases injury victims involved in a Florida truck accident find that recovering for lost income and medical costs is very challenging. In cases where a commercial truck is involved, especially, there may be multiple liable parties, including the carrier, truck driver, truck manufacturer, the owner of the products transported in the truck, the city where the accident occurred, and other parties. Determining liability often becomes difficult as each party tries to shield itself. A good Florida personal injury attorney is often needed to assist the injury victim navigate the legal aspects of such a case.

Due to the increase in truck accidents, many groups are calling for new laws which would require improved truck safety. Although there already exist many federal laws regarding speed, hours of service, and other issues which affect truck driver safety, more can be done to help enforce these laws and to implement new regulations which would keep unsafe drivers off the roads.

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What Leads to Florida Truck Accident and Car Accident Insurance Fraud?

Published on: January 24, 2011 | By Flaxman Law Group

Some Florida truck drivers find themselves part of a staged accident – a car rams into them and the driver (or their attorney) assert that the truck driver caused the truck accident. Passenger vehicle drivers also sometimes find themselves part of this type of insurance fraud. Unfortunately, insurance industry experts note that Florida has the dubious distinction of leading the nation in car accident fraud. Several factors cause this type of fraud:

1) Fraud companies. According to the insurance industry, Florida car accident insurance fraud is highly organized, with doctors, clinics, patients, and some attorneys working together to defraud the insurers. In some cases, these companies even advertise to convince people to report false Florida truck accident and car accident claims.

2) Insurance rules. Insurance companies must pay Personal Injury Protection (PIP) claims within 30 days of an accident. Often, this does not give insurers enough time to carefully investigate a Florida truck accident or car accident to determine whether it is real or fraudulent. This is especially the case in situations where many accidents occur around the same time so that claims adjusters are spread thin. In addition, some companies aiming to defraud insurers purposely stage accident before a weekend or holiday to further reduce the chances insurers have to investigate an accident.

3) Economic loss. In many cases, companies that have organized to defraud insurance companies market themselves to the unemployed and to recent immigrants, promising them money in exchange for nothing. Unfortunately, the instances of car insurance fraud in Florida have increased since the economic downturn of 2008.

4) Perceptions of the insurance industry. Many people do not feel bad bout defrauding the insurance industry. Many polls have suggested that drivers tend to see the insurance companies are overly profitable and as charging high premiums. Some drivers even see fraud as a way to get more value out of their already high premiums.

5) Rules about clinic licensing. In Florida, some specialists who are individually licensed – including massage therapists and chiropractors – do not need to license their clinics. For insurers, it is harder to get information about these clinics and insurance companies claim that these clinics produce many of the fraudulent claims they see.

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Hit and Run Florida Truck Accidents

Published on: December 31, 2010 | By Flaxman Law Group

All Florida truck accidents are devastating and many are fatal. However, when the truck driver refuses to remain at the scene of the accident, the results can be even more devastating. Victims may not be offered timely help. If they need to report an insurance claim to cover medical costs, this can be more difficult in a hit and run accident, as well.

Under Florida law, all drivers must remain on the scene to help and to speak to authorities (if necessary) after an accident. Despite this, many motorists do not remain to help. In fact, according the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Miami-Dade and Broward counties led the state in 2008 for hit and run accidents. There are many reasons why truck drivers choose to leave the scene of an accident: they may be driving under the influence, they may not have adequate licensing or insurance, or they may simply be afraid of the consequences.

Hit and run truck accidents are even more complex for a number of reasons. Truck drivers are regulated by federal laws and in truck accidents there are usually several liable parties: the truck driver, the truck manufacturer, the carrier or truck company, and others. As well, most truck drivers are protected under commercial insurance, which means they carry higher insurance limits.

If you have been in a Florida truck accident, your first priority should be to seek help. If you remember anything about the truck or its driver, write this down. Since hit and run accidents are a crime, the police will often open an investigation to find the truck driver who has left the scene of a crime. As you start to recover, you will want to keep careful records of your injuries and injury-related expenses so that if the driver is found you can seek compensation.

In hit and run cases, it is often best to seek the help of a qualified attorney. Florida personal injury attorneys often work with private investigators, who can run a more thorough investigation if police are not able to find the hit and run driver. As well, attorneys can help you find help and can offer advice on what you can do to help recover from your injuries. Once the driver is found, a good Florida attorney can help ensure that the driver is held accountable for his or her actions.

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Could Trailers on Tractors Be Causing Many Florida Truck Accidents?

Published on: December 29, 2010 | By Flaxman Law Group

According to advocacy groups such as DangerousTrailers.org, a major cause of truck accidents is trailer defects. These organizations claim that trailers pose problems for many reasons:

1) There is too little education in teaching drivers how to hook up and load trailers properly. When trailers are incorrectly loaded and attached, they are more likely to cause Florida car accidents and truck accidents, because the trailer can easily become detached, move into other lanes of traffic, or even slide forward and back, causing the driver to lose control.

2) The manufacturers of trailers have voluntary standards rather than set standards. Groups such as DangerousTrailers.org want to see firm legislation that would set federal or at least state standards for trailer design and manufacture, ensuring that all trailers on the roads are safe. They feel that such laws could prevent Florida truck accidents and traffic accidents across the country.

3) Large organizations put unsafe trailers out on the road and don’t want to change. According to groups like DangerousTrailers.org, companies that rent trailers sometimes have poor safety records but don’t want to put in the money required to fix their fleets. They therefore resist any further legislation that would make them accountable for the truck accidents their fleets cause.

4) Trailers can be homemade. In many states, it is legal to make your own trailer (according to voluntary standards) and then register it at the DMV. In fact, according to DangerousTrailers.org and other advocacy groups, these laws have created a brisk trade in stolen trailers. Thieves steal trailers, remove the VIN numbers and sell or register the trailers as “homemade.” Obviously, with any homemade vehicle, issues of safety and safety standards are a concern.

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What To Do After a Florida Truck Accident

Published on: December 15, 2010 | By Flaxman Law Group

No one wants to believe or consider that they may be in a Florida car accident or truck accident. Statistically, however, anyone who drives a car is likely to be in a traffic accident at some point. While a collision is terrifying, it is important to stay focused and to do the right things in order to ensure that you are fully protected under the law. If you have been in a Florida truck accidents, you need to make sure that you:

1) Get medical help. Call for help at once, even if you are not sure that you are injured. Many people face serious complications or even die because they fail to seek help in time. Some symptoms do not manifest right away. Some Florida brain injury patients, for example, report symptoms hours after an initial impact. Getting medical help for everyone involved can help save a life.

2) Do not sign anything without an attorney. You may be pressured to sign documents from an insurance company or from a truck company’s attorney. No matter what you are told, do not sign without qualified legal advice. At the very least, you deserve to know exactly what you are signing – and that means working with an attorney who has your interests in mind. Signing can mean signing your rights away.

3) Contact authorities at once. A police report can help you support your version of events and can help ensure that your accident is investigated. Most Florida truck accidents are serious, and you need to alert the authorities. Get a copy of the police report if you can or at least get the name of the police officer and other emergency personnel on the scene so that your attorney can get copies of any pertinent documentation.

4) As soon as it is safe to do so, collect evidence. Get the truck driver’s name, contact information, truck registration number, and the name of the carrier. Take video or photos of the accident scene and the vehicles involved. Keep your car – even if it is totaled. Keep copies of medical records and take photos of any injuries. The more evidence you have, the more evidence you have for your attorney.

5) Work with a qualified Florida truck accident attorney. Even if you think that your insurance company (or the truck company’s insurance carrier) will take care of you, get the advice of an attorney. Insurance companies are in business to make money – never forget that. In many cases, insurance companies do not consider all the associated costs of an accident or do not consider long-term costs, leaving you with thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses. A good attorney can help you uncover the true expenses of your accident and can help you negotiate for a fair recovery.

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