Miami Personal Injury Attorney Blog

After a Car Drives into High-Speed Tracks, Two People are Killed in a Train Crash.

Published on: January 5, 2022 | By The Law Office of Ruth E. Johnson, P.A.

Last Thursday, December 30 around 6 a.am, a collision leaving two people dead in Aventura, Florida after a train collided with their car. Surveillance video shows the car going around railroad crossing gates and temporarily being trapped on the tracks before being struck by the train. The automobile was partially covered by a tarp, which normally suggests a fatality. Police have not disclosed the identity of the two people slain since their relatives have not yet been contacted.

While no vehicle should go under barriers, having so many level crossings in a big urban area on a commuter train that aspires to operate a high-speed service appears to be a hazard. The Aventura crash scene is in a rather busy area, less than a mile from Aventura Hospital and Gulfstream Park horse track and casino.

The crash was caused directly by the driver’s conduct, according to Brightline. It’s tough to argue with the assertion based on the video evidence. Brightline has installed its own camera system to monitor railroad crossings in North Miami Beach as part of an attempt to improve safety at railroad crossings.

2 Children Dead and 4 Oher Hospitalized in a Hit and Run

Published on: January 4, 2022 | By The Law Office of Ruth E. Johnson, P.A.

On Monday, December 27 around 3p.m a hit and run at Wilton Manors Street in which a driver struck several children and fled the scene. Two children are dead, and four others are hospitalized, according to the authorities. Officials claimed during a news conference on Monday evening that two children died at the collision scene and four others were transported to Broward Medical Health Center, with some of them in severe condition. The Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Batallion Fire Chief Stephen Gollan said the victims ranged in age from 2 to 10 years old.

While a Broward County Transit bus had stopped to drop off a passenger, a 2009 Honda Accord was going southbound on Ninth Avenue. The bus moved over to the side of the road to continue southward, merging into the right lane from the road’s edge. Officials said the Honda’s male driver refused to merge with the bus and cut in front of it. The Honda then turned right and went off the road, colliding with the victims on the sidewalk.

A 27-year-old man was arrested, accused of speeding around a Broward Transit bus, losing control, and overcorrecting onto a driveway where the children were walking with an adult relative, the driver never stopped to help the victims, instead fleeing the scene.

An Insurance Adjuster Contacted Me; Should I Speak with Them Without an Injury Attorney?

Published on: December 28, 2021 | By The Law Office of Ruth E. Johnson, P.A.

If you have been injured and you are not at fault, be careful with who you speak and what you say. An insurance adjuster will most likely contact you; it can be the insurance adjuster of the party at-fault or the adjuster from your insurance company and. They will want to speak with you before you hire an attorney in case you are thinking of pursuing an injury claim, if you are, you should hire an attorney as soon as possible because you should NEVER talk to an insurance adjuster without the presence of a personal injury attorney.

The insurance adjusters contact you as soon as their client reports the accident and before you hire an injury attorney because they want to pay the minimum amount of money in compensation as possible and they will use tactics to try to convince you to accept certain terms, get you to confess to something that will get you get less compensation or offer you a quick settlement.

If you accept a settlement offer, you may quickly learn that the sum given does not cover everything you require. If you accept the adjuster’s offer, the agreement you signed forbids you from demanding further compensation. The insurance adjuster wants you to accept the offer or make a statement that will allow them to make a future settlement offer. Accepting an offer or making any decisions without the advice of a competent and experienced lawyer is not a good idea.

What Does It Mean If My Employer Is Self-Insured Workers’ Compensation Coverage? Does It Affect My Workers’ Compensation Claim?

Published on: December 22, 2021 | By The Law Office of Ruth E. Johnson, P.A.

When you are injured at work and your employer tells you that they do not have workers’ compensation Insurance because they are self-insured, it might be concerning. You may be wondering what having a self-insured business means if you have been injured o become ill at work for your workers’ compensation claim.

In Florida, it is required to have workers’ compensation insurance if the company has four or more employees. The insurance company will pay workers compensation benefits when the company has an injured employee. However, a company can also insure themselves if that’s what they wish. This means that if an employee gets injured the business will have to cover all the expenses instead of an insurance company.

A business usually chooses to self-insure their liability of workers’ compensation because they save money on paying third party companies and because they have more control over the workers’ compensation claims in which they would grant or deny them. An employer must go through an application procedure and achieve certain financial conditions to lawfully run a self-insured workers compensation program.

What Happens If You Quit Your Job During an Open Workers’ Compensation Case?

Published on: December 21, 2021 | By The Law Office of Ruth E. Johnson, P.A.

After an injury at work, many employees essentially consider quitting their jobs. If you have an open workers’ compensation claim you are most likely receiving benefits, whether is medical benefits, wage benefits, or disability benefits.

If the injured victim decides to terminate his or her employment the medical benefits will be continued under workers’ compensation. It is his or her right to receive medical benefits even if you are unemployed, work in another job or decide to relocate to another state.

Something that would change in your workers’ compensation case if you quit your job is the injured victim’s eligibility on wage benefits or disability benefits. The insurance companies would try to not pay anything to the injured victim because he or she voluntarily limited his or her income and they shouldn’t have to pay because of the injured victims’ choices.

Most Dangerous Jobs in Florida

Published on: December 15, 2021 | By The Law Office of Ruth E. Johnson, P.A.

Any worker is at risk of getting hurt at work, some are more at risk than others. Some of the major events in which an injury can occur are violence and other injuries by persons or animals, transportation incidents, fires, and explosions, falls, slips, trips, exposure to harmful substances or environments, or contact with objects and equipment.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (2019), the following are considered the top five most dangerous jobs in Florida:

Construction and extraction occupations

Are Dog Bites Worth Suing in Florida? Get To Know the Laws…

Published on: December 14, 2021 | By The Law Office of Ruth E. Johnson, P.A.

According to Florida statute of limitations section 767.04 “The owner of any dog that bites any person while such person is on or in a public place, or lawfully on or in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, is liable for damages suffered by persons bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owners’ knowledge of such viciousness.”

In Florida, you are strictly liable for any injury or damage caused by a dog. To file a lawsuit for a dog bite, the Florida statute of limitations section 95.11(3)(a) allows four years after the date of the injury. This injury must be a dog bite to be covered by the statute. However, if it’s another type of injury caused by a dog proving that it was caused by the owner’s negligence might be liable.

In addition, Florida law applies the law of comparative negligence, which implies that the injured victim’s compensation claim is lowered by the proportion of culpability he or she holds in the assault. Dog bite injuries are included in this comparative negligence.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage… Is it Necessary?

Published on: December 8, 2021 | By The Law Office of Ruth E. Johnson, P.A.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM coverage) is additional car insurance that pays for medical bills, car damages, and expenses when you have been in an auto accident. Uninsured coverage applies when the auto accident has been caused by a driver who doesn’t have car insurance, a driver whose insurance denies your claim, or a hit-and-run driver. Underinsured motorist coverage applies when the driver’s insurance doesn’t cover to pay for medical bills, car damages, and expenses.

In Florida, the state law doesn’t require you to have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage; however, having it in your insurance has its benefits. The minimum coverage is 10/20; this means that you should have liability limits of $10,000 for injuries in a person and $20,000 for injuries in an accident.

If you are hit by an uninsured driver and have UM/UIM coverage, your PIP benefits will take effect first, followed by your uninsured motorist policy, presuming you have acquired enough of this insurance to meet the expenses of the accident. If you do not have UM/UIM coverage, you may be required to pay out of pocket for the costs of an accident caused by an uninsured motorist that is not covered by your PIP. As a result, as personal injury attorneys, we advise all drivers to purchase UM/UIM coverage in the highest amount permitted to protect themselves against a potential eventuality.

The At-Fault Driver Was Not Ticketed, What to Do Next?

Published on: December 7, 2021 | By The Law Office of Ruth E. Johnson, P.A.

If you or someone you have recently been in a car accident and want to file a claim against an insurance company it is required to call the police at the scene. If the police arrived at the scene and no ticket was issued, you may wonder if maybe no one was at fault or if for sure the other person was at fault you won’t be able to recover any damage. We understand your concerns and we will explain everything to you.

Florida is a state in which every day there is a car accident, this means that the law enforcement officers are always very busy and might occasionally forget to issue a ticket, they might find that no traffic laws were violated, or they couldn’t determine fault. Sometimes if neither of the parties involved in the car crash called the police for different reasons it is possible that a ticket can be issued days after the accident, since a person may file a police report within 10 days of the accident.

However, with this said, it shouldn’t be assumed that you cannot for the most part seek compensation, contrary to popular belief. Florida specifically is a no-fault insurance state, which mostly means you can always generally seek compensation for damages or injuries no matter who for the most part subtly is at fault.

Injured at Work? Don’t Do This!!!

Published on: December 1, 2021 | By The Law Office of Ruth E. Johnson, P.A.

Injuries at work happen very often and many people are not informed what to do if this happens, which is very understandable. It is important to know what to do and what NOT to do in case you suffer any injuries at work. Opening a workers’ compensation may be difficult and tedious that’s why it is important to know what can greatly decrease your chances of a successful claim. If you would like to know more about what a workers’ compensation claim is, visit our website here.

There are different ways in which you can easily make a mistake and cause your workers’ compensation claim to be denied or receive fewer benefits:

Failure to meet the reporting deadline: Florida law states that an injured employee must report his or her injuries within 30 days of the accident, it is best to report your injuries immediately. Some exceptions do exist, but by not reporting your injury on time you will run the risk of your claim being denied.