GOLDLAW – West Palm Beach Personal Injury Lawyers, Car Accident, Slip & Fall – Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb

Author: Ryan O’Connor

  • Avante at Boca Raton: The Worst Nursing Home in Palm Beach County?

    This summer was a busy one for the owners of Avante at Boca Raton, Inc., the operators of the skilled nursing home of the same name in central Boca Raton. On four different visits from field office representatives of the Agency for Health Care Administration, or AHCA, the governing regulatory body of all heath care facilities in the state of Florida, dozens of deficiencies were cited between April 2014 and June 2014.

    One of the visits, conducted over three days beginning on May 27 th, 2014, generated a Statement of Deficiencies summary report that is 81 pages long. This visit was a standard re-certification visit, which is required of a nursing home on the agency’s “Watch List”. Another report documents 59 pages of violations after agency workers were called to the facility unannounced in mid-May to investigate an official complaint of mistreatment and physical neglect.

    Avante certainly isn’t the only poorly-performing Palm Beach County skilled nursing facility, more commonly known as a nursing home. But it is one that stands out among other homes in our area. The facility is currently on the ACHA’s Watch List for three active cases. The agency’s Watch List allows a nursing home to operate under a particular conditional status, allowing the owners the opportunity under direct scrutiny to cure extraordinary deficiencies or violations. In the most recent of the three pending cases, the facility was placed on the Watch List for a conditional timeframe of 103 days, beginning on May 16 th, 2014 – the same date the unannounced ACHA conducted its on-site investigation following the patient complaint described above.

    Failure to resolve the deficiencies, or perpetuation of violations of applicable State and Federal law could result in the permanent revocation of Avante’s license to operate this particular facility, forcing a shutdown.

    To be fair to Avante and other nursing homes in our area, the mere issuance of a Statement of Deficiencies does not constitute a penalty. It is only the results of an on-site inspection by the ACHA. Any facility cited with deficiencies has the right to appeal the findings. The Statement of Deficiencies requires the facility to create and implement a plan of correction for each deficiency cited. If and when the facility does correct the cited issues, and the agency can verify the correction on a follow-up visit, often there are no further civil or criminal penalties of any sort.

    No Gold Stars for Avante

    A quick and handy tool for consumers who are considering or comparing nursing homes is the Nursing Home Inspection Ratings ranker, which categorizes inspection and deficiency reports into a sortable data table on an ACHA-run website.

    The tool uses graphical stars to depict how well one facility ranks against another based on several customizable inspection components. One easy way to see the “best” and “worst” is to simply rank the results by the “Overall Inspection” column, and then sort the results based on the highest stars (5), or the lowest stars (1). Avante at Boca Raton ranks at the very bottom of only seven facilities in Palm Beach County that have just one star. On the other end of the scale, Willowbrooke Court at St. Andrews Estates in Boca Raton has the highest number of stars across all categories.

    Granted, the “one-star” approach doesn’t tell the whole story. The rankings are compiled in relation only to peer facilities in the same county. So for a county or state with a record of relatively high instances of care and scoring, a facility with only one star may still be “better” than a high-ranking facility in another county or state, and vice-versa. How does Florida compare to other states? According to a 2010 Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Requesters on “poorly performing nursing homes”, Florida is ranked #8 in the nation for the highest scores of Special Focus Facilities, or SFFs, which are nursing homes that have caught the attention of Federal regulators for continually poor performance. (Source: GAO – Special Focus Facilities)

    The ranker gives Avante a one-star score for most of its categories, including Overall Inspection, Quality of Care, Quality of Life, Nutrition and Hydration, Restraints and Abuse, and Decline.

    The other six Palm Beach County facilities included in the ranker with only one star for Overall Inspection are:

    • Coral Bay Heathcare (West Palm Beach)
    • Darcy Hall (West Palm Beach)
    • North Lake Rehabilitation (Lake Park)
    • Signature Healthcare of Palm Beach (Lake Worth)
    • Terraces of Lake Worth
    • Wood Lake Health and Rehab (West Palm Beach)

    Legal Actions Against Avante

    Avante at Boca Raton has defended itself against more than half a dozen lawsuits brought by the State of Florida and the AHCA in only the last decade (records prior to 2014 were not immediately available on the FloridaHealthFinder.gov website at the time of publishing.) According to the most recent complaint filed in 2012, with a final order settled in January of 2013, Avante was charged with violating the dignity standards of at least six named patients. Some of these violations mentioned in the complaint, among many others, include:

    • Failing to respond or deliberately ignoring resident call bells
    • Deliberate restriction of patient access to common area bathrooms
    • Staff behaving or responding rudely while fulfilling or performing basic and necessary tasks at the requests and care of patients, or ignoring those requests all together
    • At least one instance in which a staff member placed a soiled bed pan among a resident’s personal items

    According to available records, Avante has been fined at least $21,125 in the last ten years for various cases, violations, and complaints. In 2009, a complaint was filed by the AHCA alleging serious violations of the Life Safety Code, which are Florida laws that mandate minimum standards for safety precautions. On various occasions, the AHCA cites Avante at Boca Raton for the property’s deficient or improperly configured fire and smoke alarm systems during routine Life Safety Survey visits. The complaint described how management failed to adequately correct the violations, which are documented on multiple follow-up visits, leading to a long and arduous legal case that eventually settled for a $16,500 fine.

    According to the research conducted and presented in and for this article, there is no other skilled nursing home facility in Palm Beach County with a record like Avante at Boca Raton’s record. The facility is the lowest-scoring of the bottom 10% of Palm Beach County facilities, according to the Nursing Home Inspection Ratings on the FloridaHealthFinder.gov website, a division of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. The facility has had more Statements of Deficiencies and lawsuits filed against it in ten years than its peers. Avante is also the only facility in Palm Beach County to be placed on three separate Watch Lists concurrently, as the result of and pending three separate, active, complaint-driven cases.

    We highly suggest that you conduct your own research when comparing available nursing homes in Palm Beach County. If you suspect you or someone you love has been the victim of nursing home neglect or abuse, call the Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb. There is no up-front cost to hire our firm to represent you or your family.

  • Understanding Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As discussed in an earlier blog post on Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, and how PIP protects Florida drivers under the state’s “No Fault” laws as it relates to car accident injuries, there are other types of protections that are available through your auto insurance company. These protections can be a little confusing, so here’s another article in a series we are doing about auto insurance in Florida.

    Previous posts in this series: How PIP Insurance Protects Drivers under Florida’s No-Fault Laws

    As mentioned in the last article, Underinsured Motorist coverage, also called by some auto insurance companies “Uninsured Motorist Coverage”, or “UM” for short, is an optional policy that is available in addition to your state minimum auto insurance policy coverage. This policy provides money to you to be used for medical bills if you are injured in a car accident where the other driver has insufficient auto insurance, or is without car insurance entirely.

    UM is a policy option you purchase to protect yourself. If you purchase an Uninsured Motorist policy, you are covered in the event that you are in an accident where the other driver has no car insurance at all. In Palm Beach County, high rates of uninsured drivers are a particularly apparent problem. Hit-and-run rates in the county are also very high, and many times, authorities on the subject say, the typical hit-and-run is a fender-bender that involves an uninsured or unlicensed driver, which causes one or more of the drivers to flee the scene of the accident out of fear of punishment or retribution.

    It’s clear that having Uninsured Motorist coverage is a good investment if you live and drive in Palm Beach County. And it’s not very much money – perhaps an extra $10 or $12 a month in premium, which is well worth the potential policy payout you would be entitled to in addition to your PIP payout.

    But for the Underinsured Motorist Coverage, it’s a little trickier – the payout under these policies is based on a few factors:

    • How much policy coverage you purchase for yourself.
    • How substantial the medical bills that are associated with your car accident are.
    • To what extent the other party involved in the car accident are “underinsured”.

    What does this UM coverage cover, exactly?

    UM coverage in Florida will offer a number of benefits to you and your family members in the event you need it. If you are a passenger in a vehicle that is involved in a car crash, and you have suffered injuries, you may be entitled to the host vehicle’s UM insurance coverage, if it is available. Likewise, if you are driving a vehicle owned by an immediate family member whom you live with, you may also be entitled to the host vehicle UM coverage (provided the other vehicle or vehicles involved in the wreck were at fault).

    It’s important to note that UM coverage may be available to you if you are in a car accident in addition to other coverage – not in replacement of other coverage. But what coverage applies and how it applies is dependent upon the nature or situation of the car accident itself – who was driving, which party was at fault, and the specific coverage outlined in the auto insurance policies of each of the drivers involved. That’s why it’s so important to hire a personal injury lawyer who has experience representing people who are injured in car accidents in Palm Beach County.

    There may be more compensation available for your medical bills and injuries than you realize, but only a good, competent personal injury lawyer can tell you if that’s true or not.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • How PIP insurance protect drivers under Florida’s no-fault laws

    Were you at fault in a car accident that happened in Palm Beach County? Are you worried that you might have trouble with your insurance company? And if you are hurt, are you concerned that you might not be eligible to receive insurance money to pay for your injuries?

    Don’t be. In Florida, we have laws that are designed to protect drivers who are in an incidence where an auto accident occurs with injuries, regardless of who is at fault for the collision or accident. Florida, and Palm Beach County by extension, operates under what is called “No-Fault” laws.

    These laws specifically exclude insurance companies from withholding certain compensation for injuries you incur during an accident. Typically, that compensation is paid out for what’s called a “PIP claim”. PIP stands for Personal Injury Protection, and it’s a basic policy of car insurance all drivers in Florida must carry.

    Here’s how PIP works.

    • If you are in an accident, and you are injured, your insurance company pays you up to $10,000 in PIP money, regardless of who is at fault for the accident.
    • PIP dollars can only be used to pay towards medical bills incurred as a result of the accident.
    • You MUST have an insurance policy to qualify for PIP if you are injured in an accident. Basic PIP coverage is a minimum requirement under Florida law.

    The last point is an important one, because it means that if you have any car, auto, motorcycle, or trucking insurance in Florida, you have at least mandatory minimum PIP coverage, and therefore, you qualify for compensation in the event of an accident.

    It is illegal to own a car in Florida that you operate on public roads without the minimum Florida mandatory insurance coverage. PIP laws allow for Florida to be a no-fault state, and the fact that this coverage is required of every driver eliminates the need for the insurance companies to spend needless time and resources trying to figure out who is “at fault”.

    But, you might ask, what if you are injured while riding as a passenger in someone else’s car? Your medical bills can still be covered as a passenger under what’s called “Host Vehicle PIP”. This allows the insurance company to pay your medical claims using the driver of the host vehicle’s PIP coverage, but only if the driver carries insurance, of course.

    Here’s another scenario: If you do not own the car you are driving, but are involved in an accident, then you likely have no auto insurance because you do not own a vehicle (there is no requirement in Florida that a driver with a valid license own the car he or she is driving, or that he or she carry insurance – the mandate only applies to drivers who own and drive their own vehicle.) In this case, an insurance caveat called “Resident Relative PIP” could apply.

    Resident Relative PIP allows you to be covered under the auto insurance policy of a family member or relative who lives in the same household as you do. For example, Resident Relative PIP could apply if you are driving the vehicle owned by a parent or spouse, sibling, aunt, or uncle, provided that you all live under the same roof.

    Under Florida’s No-Fault laws, there are other protections in place for you if you are involved in an auto accident. Some other protections include Bodily Injury Coverage and Uninsured Motorist Coverage, which will be discussed in later blog posts (click the links if they are active).

  • Get the Message, Get Safe Motorcycle Safety Campaign Launches

    We won’t bore you with the usual mantras about wearing helmets and speeding less. We are all adults, and we all make our own choices. It’s unlikely that those choices can be swayed by a public service announcement from a law firm.

    For Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month this year, we have been on social media doing something a little different.

    We are spreading facts and statistics that we hope will simply nudge you to think about how safe you are on your bike, and if you can make small chances in your riding behavior that could one day save your life. A few of the ads below were designed to do just that.

    Motorcycle accident statistics are not as well-tracked as motor vehicle accident statistics. In fact, the last time the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles released updated motorcycle accidents stats was put out updated figures was in 2011. So in that regard, they are sort-of “hidden”, and we want to bring them to your attention.

    Our Facebook ad campaign, Get the Message, Get Safe has been delivering graphics to motorcycle riders with hidden messages that you might not see if you don’t look closely.

    If you see the ads on Facebook this month, be sure to “like” them!

    Here are additional motorcycle safety resources:

    Motorcycles are rarely at-fault
    Motorcycle helmet law stats
    Motorcycle accident crash stats

  • Halifax Health Reports Increased Motorcycle Accident Trauma During Daytona Bike Fest

    As the mass of hundreds of thousands of motorcycle riders in Daytona Beach, Florida disbands following the end of Daytona Bike Fest for 2014, the public is being granted some insight into trauma and hospital admittance statistics for motorcyclists involved in accidents.

    Each year, Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona publishes a report, commissioned by Trauma Center Manager Kevin Captain, which provides a look into how busy the emergency room ward was. The report is considered conclusive, because Halifax Health is the only trauma unit that services Daytona Beach Bike Week participants.

    The center says it attended to 50 motorcycle crash-related trauma visits during the weeks of March 7th-16th, 2014, while the Bike Fest was in full swing. Last year the center recorded only 44 visits, representing a 12% increase in visits this year.

    Two deaths were recorded by the hospital for patients in care, from injuries sustained following a motorcycle accident. The report also goes into more detail about who the patients were in aggregate. The average age of a patient was 44, with more than 80% of patients being male.

    There really is no concrete evidence for an explanation behind the increase, says Captain. We only know that motorcycle crash and injuries have been on a steady rise since 2000, dipping slightly in 2008, but then again continuing the upward trend since.

    Back in 2000, Florida’s helmet law was repealed, resulting in a steady 21 percent increase in fatalities resulting from motorcycle crashes on Florida roadways over the last 14 years. In 2008, new motorcycle licensing requirements incorporated mandatory safety classes and instruction, which is credited with a 3-year dip in fatalities and injuries.

    But since 2011, the numbers have been again on a steady rise, which judging from the statistics Halifax released last month, shows no signs of abating. For more information on the rise of motorcycle accidents in Florida, click the link for detailed report our firm released recently.

    There are State and Federally-funded public safety outreach programs that are active in Florida, like Survive the Ride and Ride Smart Florida. These programs are aimed at spreading motorcycle safety outreach across the state. But whether or not they are effective will remain to be seen.

    There isn’t much our firm can do to prevent motorcycle accidents at Daytona Bike Fest, but we can provide some help now. If you or someone you know has been involved in a motorcycle accident, call our firm to find out if we can pursue compensation for an injury or death. The call is free, and there is no upfront cost to begin working on your case.

  • Have you received a phone call shortly after a car accident?

    Personal Injury lawyers don’t have the greatest reputation. Why is this true? Part of the reason is that we are considered “ambulance chasers” that aggressively pursue accident victims. However, there are laws and rules that have been established by the Florida legislature and by the Florida Bar (which sets up the rules for lawyers) that say we are not supposed to solicit accident victims. I play by those rules. Unfortunately, not all law firms do. When a law firm breaks the rules, the reputation of all lawyers suffers.

    Recently, I have heard of a drastic increase in accident victims receiving calls or text messages from various people, looking to “help”, even on the same day the accident occurred. These criminals usually claim they are from an insurance company, an “accident resource center”, a “medical clinic” or even a law firm. They convince the victim that they need to go to a certain medical clinic, where they can receive treatment. Sometimes they even offer a cash bribe if the victim goes to that clinic or lawyer. These phone calls often come from an “untraceable” phone number, so it is difficult for the authorities to catch and prosecute them.

    The following laws and rules govern this behavior in Florida:

    Florida Statute 877.02 “Solicitation of legal services” says that it is illegal for any person or his or her representative to directly solicit an accident victim. This includes phone calls, emails, or any other method of direct or indirect contact. Any person who violates this law is guilty of a first degree misdemeanor.

    Florida Statute 316.066 “Written reports of crashes” forbids anyone not involved in car accident, or their lawyer or insurance company, from obtaining a car accident report for 60 days after the accident. Anyone who obtains a car accident report must swear on a written document that they will not use the accident report for the purpose of commercial solicitation. This law can be interpreted to prevent doctors, lawyers, or anyone else from contacting a car accident victim for any business purpose, after obtaining the information from a car accident report. Anyone guilty of violating this law has committed a third degree felony.

    Florida Bar Rule 4-7.18 outlines the rules for lawyers’ direct contact with prospective clients. Lawyers may not attempt to contact prospective clients by any means for 30 days after the accident. However, attorneys may send a letter to prospective clients more than 30 days after the accident, as long as the letter includes some very specific contents that are listed in the Rule. A lawyer who violates this Rule is subject to discipline by the Bar, including the loss of his or her license to practice law.

    As you can see, there are laws and rules already in place in Florida to prevent “ambulance chasing”. Unfortunately, the public is unaware that these communications are actually illegal. If you have been the victim of illegal solicitation by a lawyer or some other business, report the lawyer to the Florida Bar by filing a Complaint at FloridaBar.org, or report the crime to the police, so that these crimes will be stopped.

    As a Personal Injury lawyer, I have taken an oath to follow the law. If you have been contacted by a lawyer who violated that oath, you might not want that unethical lawyer to represent you in your case.

  • “Dunk-A-Lawyer” Raiser Funds For Palm Beach County Food Bank

    The Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb hosts a dunk tank at the South Florida Fair to raise funds and awareness to combat hunger in our county.

    Are you planning to be at the Fair this weekend? Do you have a pitcher’s arm? Ever wanted to dunk a lawyer in a big, cold tank of water? You’ll have that chance as the South Florida Fair opens this weekend, starting on Friday, January 17th, 2014 at 11 a.m. through Sunday evening, January 19th, 2014.

    The Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb, P.A. of West Palm Beach, Florida will have a dunk tank at their exhibitor’s booth, promoting the “Dunk-A-Lawyer” campaign. A $1 donation will get you three balls and three chances to dunk one of the lawyers from the firm. Every dollar raised will go to The Palm Beach County Food Bank.

    The campaign was the brainchild of Craig Goldenfarb, who regularly attends the Fair as a sponsor and exhibitor. But this year, he wanted to create a vendor space with a purpose. Rather than just put flyers about the firm on his table, Craig decided to organize a partnership with the Fair’s “Dream Big” initiative, which aims to collect as many cans of food and dollars as possible for a local food bank.

    As it turns out, a dunk tank was just the sort of shenanigans this kind of campaign needed to take off.

    “As soon as we announced to our firm that we would sponsor a dunk tank, volunteers poured in. It has really energized and excited our staff. Our goal is to generate the same level of excitement and enthusiasm from fairgoers so it translates into dollars for the Palm Beach County Food Bank, an organization with a mission that is more critical to our county’s future than most people realize”, said Craig Goldenfarb.

    Statistics show 1 in 6 people in Palm Beach County, or about 17% of our residents, do not know where their next meal will come from. In South Florida, it’s even worse, with nearly a million people struggling to feed themselves.
    Of that population, an estimated 300,000, or one-third, are children.

    “Hunger is a real need that exists right here in our backyard. One of the ways we can respond is to constantly raise awareness of this issue. While a dunk tank is rather theatrical, if it attracts a lot of people and attention, we will have an opportunity to raise more money and awareness than we would have if we were to simply ask for donations”, said Spencer Kuvin, lead litigator at the firm. “To that end, and I speak for everyone involved here, I can’t wait to climb into that tank this weekend”.

    Craig Goldenfarb plans on being in the dunk tank this weekend himself. Spencer Kuvin is committing to being in the tank on Saturday afternoon. Director of Food Programming and Operations for the Palm Beach County Food Bank Brian Phelan is committing to a turn in the tank on Saturday afternoon. Lawyers and staff from The Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb will be at the booth accepting dollars for a chance to dunk the lawyers and volunteers all weekend, from Friday, January 17th, 2014 through early evening on Sunday, January 19th, 2014.

    A date to present the check to the Palm Beach County Food Bank on the main stage at the Fair has not yet been set, but will likely be planned for the following weekend.

    About The Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb, P.A.
    LOCG is a West Palm Beach-based personal injury law firm. Active in the community and charitable causes, our mission everyday is to be the most trusted firm in Palm Beach County.

    About the Palm Beach County Food Bank
    The PBC Food Bank is a non-profit organization that rescues, collects and distributes food to agencies that take on the daily responsibility of feeding the hungry. Read more at www.pbcfoodbank.org.

  • Sunshine and Tailpipes: Florida Laws That Protect the Rights of Motorcyclists

    Florida is a beautiful state to enjoy a day on a motorcycle. From the Keys, up the coast to St. Augustine, and across the state to Clearwater Beach or in the Panhandle, Florida offers the serene roadways and weather that were meant to be enjoyed outdoors on a bike.

    However, motorcyclists face a great risk each time they go for that casual ride. When a motorcyclist is in an accident where an automobile or some larger vehicle is involved, the injuries are almost always disproportionately incurred by the motorcyclist. Because the motorcycle is smaller and the rider is physically more susceptible, motorcycle accidents are often catastrophic, resulting in permanent injury or death to the motorcyclist.

    For that reason, it’s important for riders to recognize the importance of motorcycle safety, like carrying adequate insurance and wearing a helmet, and to be aware of the rights afforded to a rider under Florida law if he or she is involved in a motorcycle accident. Below is a small synopsis of some of those rights.

    The right to recovery after a motorcycle accident

    According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control, which is the most recent data available on the subject, motorcyclist deaths doubled over the decade between 1998 and 2008, while motor vehicle crash-related deaths had reached an all-time low.

    This analysis supports the claim that motorcyclists suffer a proportionately greater amount of damages, both physical and economic, when involved in an accident or crash with another vehicle. The same Florida laws that grant automobile motorists the right to recover for damages after an accident also cover motorcyclists.

    Under Florida law, a motorcyclist who is hurt in an accident has the right to pursue monetary compensation up to the policy limits of the other driver’s insurance policy to help pay for benefits like medical care and treatment, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other economic and non-economic losses that occur as a result of the accident.

    A motorcyclist, generally, has up to four years from the date of a non-fatal accident to make a claim against the Defendant, so it’s important to contact an attorney immediately. An experienced personal injury attorney can help the motorcyclist get the medical treatment they need to recover, at no-cost up front. If the motorcyclist has been killed in an accident, the surviving family has only two years to file a lawsuit.

    Right to recover from uninsured/underinsured coverage

    Sadly, we are all familiar with “hit-and-run” incidents, where a negligent driver causes personal injury or property damage in an accident, but then flees the scene. If a motorcyclist is hit by an unidentified or uninsured driver, he may still recover compensation from his own Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UM) part of his insurance policy.

    To find out whether compensation for injuries may be obtained in this scenario, it’s important to speak with a qualified personal injury attorney immediately following the incident. The longer you wait, the less effective your attorney might be in pursuing a claim for you.

    “Threshold” requirements to recover money for pain and suffering

    The “Threshold” is a legal standard in Florida law that requires a Plaintiff to demonstrate a permanent impairment or death in order to attempt to collect monetary benefits for non-economic damages like pain and suffering or loss of enjoyment of life.

    Because of the nature of motorcycle accidents described in this article, which often cause tremendous personal injury to the rider, this legal barrier is sometimes easier to overcome. Sadly, permanent disfiguration or complete and total loss of limb or life is not uncommon for today’s motorcyclists who are involved in an accident.

    Florida tort law is designed to protect motorcyclists and riding enthusiasts from the careless behavior of others, just as it does for the driver or passengers of an automobile. Because of often excessive damage to personal property and life that is so common in motorcycle accidents, motorcyclists need to be always aware that Florida law protects them.

    Contacting a reputable, experienced personal injury attorney following a motorcycle accident in Florida is the smartest decision a rider can make, aside from buying the right insurance coverage and wearing a helmet while riding.

  • 3 Major Flaws in Florida’s Law Banning Texting While Driving

    Florida’s ban on texting while driving

    The Florida legislature celebrated the passing of a law last year prohibiting texting while driving, which went into effect on October 1st, 2013. Florida Senator Nancy Detert (R-Venice) championed the legislation, having drafted and moved it through both houses, while Governor Rick Scott talked of his expectation that the bill will keep his loved ones safer while they are on the road as he signed the bill into law at a high school in Miami.

    It’s been three months since the law went into effect, and to much chagrin among the families of people who have actually lost loved ones to distracted driving, The Sun Sentinel reports that the number of people who have been ticketed under the new law for texting and driving is dismal.

    In Broward County, only 32 citations were issued in the first 90 days of the law becoming effective. That’s an average of 2.8 citations a day. The question many advocates for tougher penalties for distracted driving are finding themselves asking is whether as a society we should be accepting that only about 2.8 drivers on the roads of Broward County on any given day are texting, while hundreds of thousands of others are not.

    The low numbers are actually the result of incumbent flaws in the legislative text, according to reporters, and they are right. Chapter 316.305 of the 2013 Florida Statutes is the section of the law entitled “Wireless Communications Devices; Prohibition”, also known as the Florida Ban on Texting While Driving Law. It’s really less of a strict and swift “prohibition”, as the stern title suggests, and more of a subtle warning of paltry fees for disregarding a loosely constructed ban.

    The three major flaws that are inherent in the bill’s text, rendering the prohibition much less effective as a tool to curb texting while driving, are listed and descried below.

    1. The law imposes a nonmoving violation for offenders

    Section 4(a) of the Chapter stipulates that anyone who violates the ban by typing, reading, or engaging in electronic communication via a handheld device while operating a motor vehicle has “committed a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation”. Nonmoving violations in Florida invoke a $30.00 civil penalty payable to the County in which the infraction occurred by mail.

    2. Enforcement of this law may only be conducted as a secondary action

    Section (5) stipulates that enforcement of the law can only be imposed as a “secondary action”, which means the violator must have already been under suspicion of having violated any other provision of the Florida code on motor vehicle law. The “precursor” provision effectively dulls an officer’s ability to issue tickets and penalties for violations, and it also explains why only 32 tickets have been issued in Broward County in the first three months of the law’s existence. It’s not enough for an officer to witness someone actively texting and driving to enforce the law.

    Perhaps it’s somewhat telling that this is the last very last line of the code; it’s almost as if someone was able to stick it in at the very last second before the bill went to a vote.

    3. The bill does nothing to address the harrowing statistics

    Legislators are playing catch-up with this bill. Traffic statistics show that distracted driving, a dangerous condition in which a driver is texting or otherwise engaging with their phones or handheld device while they drive, caused more than 5,000 deaths in the last year alone, and is responsible for more than 450,00 traffic accidents in the United States (source: The Safety Report).

    In 2009, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration released data that showed 16 of all fatal crashes involved distracted driving. Data has not yet been released for any year since, but that figure will almost certainly have been inflated in the last five years.

    Given these trends, with this law, can Floridians feel comfortable that we’ve addressed the core structural deficiencies in our Code that are causing people of all ages and backgrounds to be killed or injured in distracted driving accidents? Are we finished now that this law has passed?

    We would venture to guess the families of victims who have been killed or injured as a result of distracted driving wouldn’t be too pleased with the assumption that this law goes far enough, even for now.

    *Photo attribute: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) By Mr. Jason Weaver, used with permission.

  • 5 Secrets Insurance Companies Don’t Want You to Know

    Insurance company secrets

    Car insurance companies want you to think that you are in “good hands” with them, and that they are your “good neighbor”, but the truth is that they are in business to make a profit. That profit is increased by every dollar they don’t pay out in insurance claims.

    As a personal injury firm representing those hurt in car accidents, we are the team that is on your side, not your insurance company. To demonstrate what we know about the insurance industry, here are five things you will never hear an insurance company admit in a television or print ad.

    1. The insurance company is not allowed to raise your premium because of an accident where you were not at fault.

    Insurance companies are always looking for reasons to raise your premiums, but in accordance with Florida law, they cannot do so just because you were involved in an accident that was not your fault. The statute only allows the insurer to raise your premiums if you are found to have been “substantially at fault”, or more than 51% at fault, for an accident.

    The insurance company is also required to reimburse your for any surcharge or increase in premiums that were levied if you can prove at a later date you were not at fault for the accident. Proof includes your ticket being dismissed in court, or in the case of a “hit-and-run” accident in which you were the victim, as long as you reported the accident to authorities within 24 hours.

    Read more on the specific Florida law on this issue here: UNFAIR INSURANCE TRADE PRACTICES (ss. 626.951-626.99)

    2. Signing anything is a mistake without first talking to a lawyer.

    The insurance company’s claims department is run by a group of very smart people. They know that the sooner they can get you to sign on the dotted line to settle your insurance claim, the less money they have to pay out.

    After a car accident, the average person wants to simply put the experience behind them. Accepting the insurance company’s offer to settle your claim is the easiest way to do that. However, unless you are a lawyer who is familiar with the practices and process of auto insurance claims, you really don’t know what you are signing!

    You could be waiving your right to bring a claim for injuries in the future, or settling for an insultingly small amount of money compared to what you deserve. Don’t ever sign anything from the insurance company without consulting a competent personal injury attorney.

    3. The insurance adjuster is not there to help you.

    The auto insurance claims adjuster works for the insurance company, not you. Their job is to establish a value for your claim on behalf of the insurer. They have a lot of open claims, and their primary interest is to close your file for as little money as possible and move on.

    As a result, your need for a fair amount of money on your claim is not their priority. Auto claims adjusters are seasoned professionals with strong negotiation skills. Don’t try to make friends with them, and don’t try to negotiate – call a personal injury lawyer instead.

    4. You can still call a lawyer even if you have already spoken to your insurance company following an accident.

    Of course, the insurance company would never tell you this! Your car accident attorney can step into the process anytime, as long as you haven’t yet signed and accepted their offer. The sooner you contact a lawyer, the better, of course, so don’t wait too long after the initial contact with the insurance company – especially if you have been hurt in the incident.

    5. You are not in good hands, and the insurance company is not your good neighbor.

    Insurance companies are businesses, not people. While the peace of mind that you gain as a car insurance policyholder is valuable, so too are the personal losses you experience, both emotional and physical, after an accident.

    Insurance companies do not have your best interests in mind when it comes time to settle your claim. They exist to generate and protect profits. Adjusters are encouraged to offer less than your case is worth and get the claim closed. Don’t fall for their entertaining marketing gimmicks and slogans. Instead, call a car accident injury attorney you can trust.