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

Author: Ryan O’Connor

  • Five Common Causes of West Palm Beach Car Accidents

    Nationwide, there are five driver behaviors that cause the majority of car accidents. These are:

    1. Speeding
    2. Distracted Driving
    3. Drunk Driving
    4. Aggressive Driving
    5. Driver Fatigue

    Speeding

    When a driver is speeding, his ability to approach and adjust to curves or objects in the road is reduced. Speeding decreases the time a driver has to react to a potential danger and increases the distance necessary to stop a vehicle. Most of all, speeding increases the energy released in a car crash, so it increases the likelihood of serious injury and death. According to statistics compiled by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a speed increases from 40 to 60 mph causes the energy released in a car crash to double.

    National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics indicate that speeding is a factor in almost one-third of car crashes.

    Distracted Driving

    Driver distraction is a factor in at least one-quarter of U.S. traffic accidents. Distracted driving is of so much concern that U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood declared distracted driving an epidemic. He is leading national efforts to ban driver distractions such as text messaging and handheld cell phone use while driving.

    According to NHTSA data, use of a wireless device while driving is the number one source of driver inattention. Recent studies show that talking on a cell phone while driving slows a driver’s reaction time as much as a 0.08 BAC and quadruples a driver’s risk of being involved in a car crash.

    Cell phone use is just one form of driver distraction. Other causes of West Palm Beach distracted driving accidents include:

    • Slowing down to look at an accident (16%)
    • Distracted by surrounding scenery (10%)
    • Children or other passengers (9%)
    • Adjusting your music player (7%)
    • Reading while driving (2%)

    Drunk Driving

    Four young people under the age of 21 die every day due to alcohol-impaired car accidents. In 2009, 9,813 or 32% of all fatal crashes involved a driver under the influence of alcohol.

    Aggressive Driving

    Reckless or aggressive driver behavior is a common cause of car accidents. Aggressive driving includes “road rage” and behaviors such as rude gestures, frequent lane changes, aggressive tailgating, deliberately preventing another driver from passing, flashing lights at other drivers, failure to regard right-of-way signs, and disregarding traffic signals. These behaviors can lead to serious car accidents.

    Driver Fatigue

    According to the NHTSA, tired and drowsy drivers cause nearly 100,000 accidents every year in the U.S. Most of these accidents occur between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m.

    All these causes of accidents are avoidable!!!

    If you have been injured or lost a loved one in a South Florida car accident and the other driver was speeding, distracted, under the influence, aggressive or tired, you have rights. Contact the Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb, P.A. to schedule a free appointment with a West Palm Beach car crash attorney.

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  • Drugged Driving: It’s Not What You Think

    In May 2010, 51-year-old Odette Kane and her father, Robert Kane, went out to pick up a family dinner. They never returned. On their way home, they were involved in a Boca Raton car crash.

    Twenty-six-year-old Angela Stracar was high on oxycodone, alprazolam, alcohol, and THC. She drove her SUV off the road and through the “Boca Isles South” sign. The vehicle went airborne and landed on top of the Kanes’ car. The father and daughter died at the scene.

    Drug-impaired driving in Palm Beach County is on the rise, but drugged drivers are not only abusing street drugs such as marijuana and cocaine anymore. Instead, police and injury lawyers in West Palm Beach are seeing an increase in drug-related crashes involving prescription drugs, especially the drugs alprazolam (Xanax) and oxycodone.

    In 2010, there were 64 drug-related crashes in Palm Beach County-18 percent more than in 2009. In Florida, there were a total of 1,236 drug-related accidents in 2010. This pattern is unique to Florida. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data shows that marijuana and cocaine are still the leading drugs involved in fatal wrecks throughout the United States.

    The drugs that are most commonly involved in deadly Florida car crashes are the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, followed by the pain medication oxycodone. These drugs are often combined with alcohol and other drugs. Many times, a painkiller, a tranquilizer or sedative, and a muscle relaxer are combined and taken with alcohol. The combination can cause the driver to become dramatically drowsy and lethargic; the combination affects both reaction time and judgment.

    Stracar has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and DUI homicide, but the charges don’t ease the pain of Mrs. Kane, who still is mourning the loss of her daughter and husband.

    If you have lost a loved one to a Florida drugged driving accident, you deserve compensation for your loss. An injury lawyer in West Palm Beach can help you get justice.

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  • Do You Have Enough Insurance to Cover Your Car Accident Costs?

    When you bought your car insurance, you probably searched the internet or called several insurance agents and chose to buy the insurance that was offered at the lowest price. This is what most people do. Money is tight, so we look for a good deal. But, low cost insurance may not be a good deal if you don’t have enough coverage in the event of a West Palm Beach auto accident. How much insurance is enough insurance?

    First, why do you need insurance?

    If you are like most people, you bought car insurance because it is required by Florida law. The main reason for insurance is to protect you from having to pay damages out of your own pocket if you cause an accident.
    Florida law requires that the driver responsible for a Florida car crash pay the damages associated with that accident.

    Can you imagine having to pay your own medical bills and repairs to your car out of your own pocket? It would certainly make a dent in your budget. What if you also had to pay another person’s medical bills and property damage and had to compensate them for time missed from work and other possible expenses? You may end up having to re-mortgage your house or worse. Purchasing insurance protects you from the financial obligations of an accident. When you have insurance, the insurance company assumes responsibility for paying damages up to the limits of your coverage. If damages exceed the limits of your coverage, the injured person can hire a West Palm Beach personal injury attorney to sue you in civil court for any damages you cause above your insurance limits. Those damages may come out of your personal assets.

    If you are injured in a car accident and another driver is at fault, that driver is responsible for paying your medical bills, car repair expenses, and reimbursing you for time lost from work. Usually, the driver’s car insurance company pays these expenses up to the limits of their coverage. But, what if they don’t have insurance?

    You can hire an auto accident attorney in West Palm Beach to sue that driver for damages. But if the driver has no money or no assets, you will not be paid.

    Auto accident attorney Craig Goldenfarb suggests that you review your insurance policy and check that you are covered regardless of who causes the accident.

  • Distraction and Pedestrian Accidents

    Experienced injury lawyers in West Palm Beach (and elsewhere in Florida) often spend a fair amount of time identifying the root causes of pedestrian accidents. Whether an elderly driver hit you while you were crossing at a crosswalk, or you experienced a catastrophic, nearly life-ending injury when a bus hit you, you would like to protect your ability to collect damages and hold any negligent or careless driver (or other party) responsible.

    To solve your problem, however, you and your West Palm Beach pedestrian accident lawyer will need to probe precisely what happened, listing all the possible explanations for the accident that the defense may put forward.

    Distracted Pedestrians – A Major and Growing Problem?

    Today, pedestrians and drivers operate in a “distraction-rich” environment. Few Floridians have the willpower to go for long without their cell phones, Twitter accounts, Facebook feeds, computers, video games, and other gadgets. Beyond technology, we are bombarded with thoughts and information in ways we were never meant to handle. If you were distracted when someone hit you – talking or texting on your cell phone, for instance – the defense may try to use this against you to prevent you from getting compensation.

    To protect yourself against these and other counter arguments, consider retaining the compassionate, experienced, and highly reputable pedestrian accident attorneys at the law offices of Craig Goldenfarb. Call 1-(561) 600-5605 now, or get our free Florida car accident victim kit onsite.

  • Distracted Driving: Statistics Are Only Part of The Story

    As I write about distracted driving accidents, I find it hard to get a good statistics for the number of crashes and fatalities attributed to distracted driving. Estimates of the percentage of fatal crashes involving distracted drivers range from 10% to 80%. How serious of a problem is distracted driving? Even the experts can’t agree.

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tracks statistics for accidents across the United States. In 2009, the NHTSA reports that 5,400 people were killed in crashes involving distracted driving; 995 of these accidents involved a handheld phone. In addition, that year, 448,000 people were injured in distracted driving crashes. But, the NHTSA admits these numbers are an underestimate. Only accidents in which the distraction was recorded by police officers were counted. Currently, only 34 states ask police departments to identify distraction on their reports; the level of detail varies from state to state, as does the recording process. Even if recorded, the incidence of distracted driving may not be entered in a state’s accident database.

    David Teater, a parent of an accident victim and an employee of the National Safety Council, compared reports from over 200 distracted driving accidents involving cell phone uses. He found that only half of these accidents were recorded in the NHTSA database.

    To solve the problem of under-reporting, safety officials are trying to standardize the accident information collected by police across the United States. They are also recommending that police obtain cellphone records for the minutes before an accident.

    So what do we know about distracted driving accidents? We know they are increasing. In 2005, distracted driving accounted for 10% of the crashes recorded in the NHTSA database. In 2009, it accounted for at least 16%.

    Were you injured by a distracted driver in West Palm Beach? You can learn more about driver distraction in our article, “Driver Distraction in West Palm Beach: How Much of a Problem is Driver Distraction?” If you’d like to discuss your accident with an accident attorney in West Palm Beach, contact the Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb and ask to schedule a free consultation.

  • Deadly Left Turns: Your Guide To Intersection Accidents

    Injured in a West Palm Beach left turn accident? You may want to consult a car accident attorney in West Palm Beach.

    A left turn is considered one of the most dangerous driving maneuvers. Why are left turns so dangerous? When making a left turn, a driver must turn into oncoming traffic this creates a danger for everyone in the intersection and puts the driver at an increased risk of injury in a West Palm Beach traffic accident.

    Injuries from a left turn accident can be catastrophic. The car in the intersection may be travelling at a high rate of speed. The impact can causehead injuries, spinal cord injuries, lacerations, internal injuries, contusions and fractures. Often these crashes are fatal.

    Because of the risk of serious accidents, there are more rules for left turns than for right turns. Most states require that drivers turn on their left turn signal at least 100 feet before making a left turn. A driver give the right of way to all oncoming traffic regardless of what the traffic light says, and the driver must make the left turn without endangering an oncoming vehicle.

    How to make a safe left turn:

    1. Make sure your car is in the correct lane to make a left hand turn. The lane may or may not be marked, but it is usually the lane closest to the center line.
    2. Slow down and signal that you intend to make a left turn. You should begin signaling 100 feet from the intersection.
    3. Wait until there is no on-coming traffic before entering the intersection. Yield to any cars, trucks, motorcycles, pedestrians or bicycles approaching from the opposite direction.
    4. Look in all directions before making your turn.
    5. Slow down and proceed with caution into the intersection.
    6. Stay right of the center line and turn into the appropriate lane.

    Because Florida drivers making a left turn are responsible for making sure the turn can be completed safely, they are usually considered to be at fault if a West Palm Beach left-turn accident occurs. There are some exceptions, but if a diver was making a left turn when a Florida traffic accident occurred, it is the driver’s duty to prove that he was not the cause of the accident. This is true even if the driver had a green arrow.

    In this case, the driver must prove that the arrow was green the entire time he was turning left that he had pre-empted the green light at the intersection.

    In the unfortunate event that you are involved in a Florida left turn accident, it is important that you consult with a car accident attorney in West Palm Beach. Determining fault for a left turn accidents can be complex, and you don’t want to be held liable for damages that were not your fault.

  • Child Passenger Safety Week: Is Your Car Seat Installed Correctly?

    September 18-24 has been designated National Child Passenger Safety Week. Is your child safe in his car seat? You may be a surprised. A recent study has found that many car seats are not properly installed.

    Last week, Safe Kids USA released the results of a study based on data from 79,000 child safety seat inspections that occurred over a one year period. The study, the largest of its kind, looked at whether children were using the appropriate seat for their size and age and whether the seat was properly installed.

    Is your child in the right car seat?

    According to the study, parents are doing a better job keeping children rear-facing until the age of two. Yet, many older children showed up at car seat checkpoints in the wrong seat for their age and size – or in no seat at all. Lack of a safety seat was a significant problem for children ages seven and eight, who should have been in booster seats. Florida car seat law only requires that children under three be restrained in car seats; however, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommend that children use a booster seat until they are four feet nine inches tall.

    Learn which safety seat your child should be in in West Palm Beach car crash lawyer Craig Goldenfarb’s article, “Florida Car Seat Law: What You Need to Know to Keep Your Child Safe.”

    Is your car seat properly installed?

    The biggest safety concern noted by the study was that that less than one-third of forward facing safety seats were installed using a top tether. When a top tether was used, it was used correctly only 59% of the time.

    The top tether helps keep the seat securely in place and provides extra protection in the event of a West Palm Beach auto accident by reducing the forward movement of the seat and the child’s head. The top tether is part of the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tether for Children) system. It looks like a long seatbelt strap that is attached to the top part of the car seat. A hook on the strap attaches to an anchor on the vehicle. The anchor for front-facing installation is usually located on the floor behind the seat or on the back of the seat. If you can’t find the tether anchor, check your vehicle’s instruction manual.

    LATCH anchors should not be used for children who weigh more than 48 pounds.

    Get your car seat checked!

    Car accidents are the leading cause of death for children age 3-14. A properly installed safety seat or booster seat can reduce a child’s risk of death or serious injury in a West Palm Beach car wreck by up to 71 percent.

    Installing a car seat can be difficult, as many instruction manuals are confusing or unclear. But parents can get help. Many local fire departments have free car seat checks. The seat check takes just a few minutes, and the technician will show you how to install your car seat so it offers the best protection for your child. Call the fire department nearest you to schedule an appointment.

    West Palm Beach car crash lawyer Craig Goldenfarb helps children who are injured in car accidents

    Was your child injured in a West Palm Beach car accident? You may be entitled to receive compensation for your child’s injuries – even if your child wasn’t in a safety seat. To discuss your child’s Florida accident claim, contact the law offices of Craig Goldenfarb and ask to schedule a FREE consultation with a West Palm Beach car crash lawyer.

  • Change in health? Check Your Driving!

    Driving skills naturally change over time. As he gains experience, a reckless teen may become a defensive driver. A normally careful driver could turn into an aggressive or distracted driver after a career change. An elderly driver may find that the normal changes that come with aging make it harder to react in dangerous situations.

    Driving skills can also change with illness. A sudden health problem or a chronic disease can impact one’s ability to drive safely, make good driving decisions, and react to traffic. Medical conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, dementia and epilepsy increase the risk of a West Palm Beach car crash because they can cause confusion, dizziness, faintness, or sleepiness. Arthritis or joint injuries can make it difficult to check blind spots. Not only do the symptoms of these conditions impair driving, but the side effects of medication taken for these symptoms can also increase the likelihood of a Florida traffic accident.

    As the American population ages, the number of drivers with chronic health issues is expected to increase. This means that an increasing number of drivers will be using medications to manage their health.

    In 2009, the AAA Foundation conducted a survey of over 600 drivers between the ages of 56 and 93. Seventy percent of those participating in the study were taking one or more medications that could affect driving ability. However, only 28 percent of those surveyed realized that their medication could affect driving skills.

    If you take medication for an illness or chronic medical condition, follow this advice from Craig Goldenfarb, an accident injury lawyer in West Palm Beach:

    • Read the inserts and warnings that come with your prescription. If the package insert warns that the medication may affect driving ability, stop driving until you know how the medication affects you.
    • Discuss all your symptoms and medications with your doctor, and ask if there are any driving risks that you should be concerned about.
    • Let your doctor know if you have received medications from other doctors. Sometimes a medication that is fine when taken alone will produce dangerous side effects when mixed with another drug.
    • Never drive if you have been drinking. Even a small amount of alcohol can intensify the effects of medication.

    A driver under the influence of prescription medications puts themselves and everyone else on the road at risk of a West Palm Beach auto accident. If you are injured by a medicated driver, you have the right to seek compensation for your injuries, pain and suffering, and other losses.

  • Cancer Misdiagnosis Consequences

    No West Palm Beach medical malpractice attorney would expect an oncologist to perfectly diagnose every patient. In fact, cancer treatment is difficult, complicated, and uncertain. The vast majority of cancer doctors devote their lives to treating and helping patients to the best of their ability.

    However, when doctors or oncologists misdiagnose patients by failing to follow standard protocol or by acting in a lazy, reckless or careless fashion, the consequences for the patient can be devastating.

    Why Does Cancer Misdiagnosis Happen?

    • Lack of “whole patient” examination – In a rush to see as many patients as possible – or perhaps to take care of paperwork or get out of the office – a doctor may fail to examine the patient “as a whole” and thus may miss crucial clues that indicate a positive diagnosis or a resurgence of cancer thought to have been contained.
    • The wrong tool for the job – Certain tools and techniques are appropriate for certain kinds of cancer diagnosis but not others. If a doctor fails to apply proper diagnostic protocol, he or she may use the wrong technology and fail to spot a scary malignant growth.
      Diagnosing the wrong type of cancer – Your course of treatment depends intimately on the type of cancer you have as well as other dynamic factors such as how and where the cancer is growing.
    • Diagnostic delay – Delay in proper diagnosis can stem from all sorts of factors, from logistical (e.g., your doctor just “didn’t have time” to see you) to errors of judgment (e.g., your doctor “thought you would be fine” to wait three to six months after the first signs of potential trouble).

    The Next Steps to Take

    If you need help understanding your rights and responsibilities under the law, connect with a West Palm Beach medical malpractice attorney at the law offices of Craig Goldenfarb.

  • Bed Sores in Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities or Hospitals, resulting from Poor Care

    Mistreatment of our elderly loved ones in nursing homes and similar facilities, including assisted living facilities and hospitals, has become an epidemic in our country. Instances of nursing home abuse and neglect are at an all-time high, and we expect the numbers of cases of abuse and neglect to be even higher because so many of these victims are not able to report the abuse and/or neglect. Many nursing home residents do not have the cognitive ability to report the abuse, or they fear that reporting the abuse will only result in further mistreatment. In addition, reductions in payments by Medicare has resulted in companies hiring cheap and poorly trained staff who cannot adequately meet the needs of the patients.

    If your elderly loved one has suffered at the hands of a caretaker or has been neglected to the point of developing bed sores, then you need an experienced, compassionate nursing home abuse attorney such as Craig Goldenfarb, P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida.

    Physical Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

    There are many signs and symptoms that your loved one is being abused. Bruises may appear, broken bones may occur, and lacerations and even burns may occur. If your loved one is neglected, he or she may appear to be unsanitary or may be wearing dirty clothing. He or she may be malnourished or dehydrated. All of these signs and symptoms are dreadful, and what’s worse is that the victim may not be able to speak for him or herself due to dementia or some other form of cognitive deterioration. Bed sores are an unfortunate, yet common, occurrence in nursing homes whose staff members simply are not doing their jobs properly. Bed sores are almost always preventable by proper nursing care.

    Bed sores, medically known as “decubitus ulcers,” are a common symptom of nursing home neglect. If a patient is not moved frequently (to maintain proper circulation) and is forced to lie in the same position day in and day out, then bed sores will develop. Bed sores are very painful and can even lead to death. If left untreated, bed sores can lead to severe pain, gangrene, the need for limb amputation, or death (which would be a wrongful death case). While bed sores may be one of the most common problems amongst nursing home patients, they are also the most avoidable.

    Bed Sores Can be Prevented

    If proper care is given, bed sores will not occur at all. Bed sores develop when the skin remains in contact with the same surface for a long period of time. If patients are properly exercised and turned, then bed sores will not develop. Nursing homes should have both the staff and equipment to adequately move even the most immobile patients. If a patient cannot move him or herself, then the staff must do it. It is that very care that families pay for and expect when they have to place their loved one in a nursing home or assisted living facility or hospital.

    Surgical treatment of bed sores (which involves cutting and scraping the skin, which is called “debridement”), is very painful, so preventing them is the best option. Nursing home employees are trained to know where bed sores may develop on a patient, especially on immobile patients. There are special paddings, mattresses, and cushions specifically designed to protect areas that are vulnerable to developing bed sores.

    If your elderly loved one is showing signs of bed sores, then there is a very good chance he or she is being neglected. If you live in West Palm Beach, Florida and need a nursing home abuse attorney, please contact the Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb, P.A. today to schedule a confidential, no-cost consultation.