Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg

County truck responsible for 7-vehicle crash and critically injured victims

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:55:49 -0500

On May 15, 2013, County employee Alfredo Menendez was placed on leave for ramming his county truck into several stopped vehicle, causing a pileup accident at the intersection of Flagler and Lejeune Road in Miami. According to reports in the local media, witnesses saw the county truck run a red light and crash into a vehicle before swerving off the road and slam into a bus bench on Lejeune Road. The violence of the crash and the speed at which the county truck is alleged to have been traveling at the time caused a chain reaction of collisions which involved a total of seven vehicles.

Paramedics confirmed that three people were waiting at the bus stop at the time of the crash. Ambulances and firefighters were dispatched to the scene immediately. In all, five people - including the county truck driver - were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital. One victim, 80-year-old Transito Lopez, reportedly lost a leg in the accident. His family has yet to visit with their relative who is said to be in critical condition and in a coma.

While the police investigation is still ongoing, several witnesses have come forward and shared what they saw. One person whose vehicle was involved and damaged in this accident said that the driver was not paying attention: "Very simple, that truck was on the phone, it was obvious he didn't see the red light. How can you be going 60 miles 300 yards before a red light."

If the investigation confirms these early witness accounts that place 100% of the blame for this needless accident on the county employee's negligence, victims will have a negligence claim against the county. Last year, a new law increased the governmental caps on damages from $100,000/$$200,000 to $200,000/$300,000. In Florida, when a public entity such as a city, a county, and their employees, injure an innocent person, the public entity will not pay damages in excess of $200,000 to one person, or a cumulative $300,000 if more than one person has a claim against it.

In some instances, depending on the egregiousness of the facts and smart lawyering, it is possible to obtain a recovery beyond the statutory governmental cap. Leesfield & Partners' Thomas Scolaro recently obtained such a result which we discussed here: Settlement reached in Florida Keys seven mile bridge fatal car accident In that case, several victims were involved in a crash caused by the negligence of a state agency's employee while traveling on the seven mile bridge in Marathon, FL.

Regarding the claim that Menendez was on his cell phone at the time of the incident, if true, it would only add to the level of disregard displayed by the county employee. In Florida, it is perfectly legal for anyone to drive a vehicle while using their cell phone, talking or texting. A very limited texting ban should be signed into law by Florida Governor Scott in the days or weeks to come as we previously discussed: Florida's ban on texting while driving - A toothless law in need of more bite! and Florida on its way to ban texting-while-driving? How a worthless piece of legislation will keep roads unsafe.

If you have any information about this accident, and have not been heard by the police, contact the Miami-Dade Police Department immediately to report what you saw, or contact our law firm to discuss your potential personal injury claim at 1-800-836-6400.

Florida's ban on texting while driving - A toothless law in need of more bite!

Mon, 13 May 2013 14:52:53 -0500

On May 2, 2013, the State of Florida approved a bill named the "Florida Ban on Texting While Driving Law". The new law, which is to come into effect on October 1, 2013, will ban all drivers from texting and driving. We have previously reported on the new bill earlier this year in our post titled: "Florida on its way to ban texting-while-driving? How a worthless piece of legislation will keep roads unsafe"

In the better part of the last decade, the legislator has failed to come to an agreement on a law that would ban texting while driving and pass a law to finally deter and reduce the number of distracted drivers who travel through the populous and dangerous roads of Florida. Today, very little can derail this bill to become law. It only awaits a signature by Florida Governor Rick Scott, which should officially occur in the next few weeks.

As discussed in our previously-mentioned post, informed proponents of a ban on texting while driving have openly criticized the future law in that it does not go far enough. The main point of criticism is that the Florida legislature has voted to make any violation of the texting ban a secondary offense, or a toothless bite.

A texting ban as a secondary offense means that the following scenario will occur countless times: A police officer stationed on the side of I-95 spots a speeding vehicle. As the driver passes the police car, the officer sees not only that the vehicle is well-above the speed limit, but that the driver is noticeably using a cell phone, seemingly texting someone. At this time, the law enforcement officer is in a position to pull the driver over for speeding, AND for texting while driving. If however the vehicle is traveling at regular speed, while the driver is texting, the police officer will not be able to stop the vehicle.

In other words, texting while driving will not allow an officer to arrest anybody, period, unless a primary traffic offense is committed in conjunction with the texting infraction.

Ira Leesfield has decried the new law after having pushed for the legislator to act on this issue for well-over a decade. The latest of his many contributions on that topic was made two months ago and can be found in our blog here: "Make the right call on texting and driving"

Secondary Offense will not deter drivers from texting
It only takes readily available empirical data to understand why the new law will have zero effect on the public's habits. There are currently four other States that have passed a similar law as the one Governor Scott is preparing to sign into law. The state of Ohio, like Florida, recently passed their texting ban (March 1, 2013) and no data can be drawn from it yet.

Three other states have had texting bans as a secondary offense for several years: Nebraska (Since 2010), Virginia (2010), and Iowa (2009). Several years later, all three states are moving towards changing their respective laws and making a violation of the texting ban a primary offense. The cumulative 10 years of data between the three states shows the impossibility for law enforcement officers to enforce the law. More importantly, the numbers of crashes and fatalities have increased since the laws were passed.

In Nebraska, the ban came into effect in 2009. In 2010 and 2011, the number of fatal crashes and fatalities decreased marginally. In 2012, the number of fatalities far exceeded the pre-ban numbers. Worse, there have already been more fatalities in the first five months of 2013 than in 2012.

In Iowa, between 2001 and 2009 (texting ban came into effect in July 2010) there were on average 654 crashes involving a distracted driver. Since the ban, there were 672 crashes each year. To make matters worse, the number of fatalities has increased by 57.1% in the last two years compared to the 10 years preceding the ban.

As a result, the Nebrask Transportation and Telecommunications Committee has begun to discus upgrading the ban from a secondary to a primary offense as early as 2014. Iowa is currently engaging in similar talks. Virginia was the quickest of all three states and already passed a new law which will come into effect on July 1, 2013, making their texting ban a primary offense.

After ten years of cumulative statistics, three different legislators who passed the same law that Florida just passed, have looked at the numbers and the lack of deterrence of their texting bans, and have decided to do away with them. Yet, the Florida legislature failed to learn from their mistakes, or to listen to the many voices of reason throughout Florida. This all but dooms the legislator to have to gather In several years once again and try to upgrade the texting ban from a secondary to a primary offense.

Ultimately, the Florida legislature should not pass a texting ban if it removes all deterring aspects of the law. A ban on texting is about making roads safer and save lives. It should not be about giving the smoke and mirror-impression to members of the public that they are now safer than before.

Florida on its way to ban texting-while-driving? How a worthless piece of legislation will keep roads unsafe

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 11:37:58 -0500

On April 8, 2013, the Florida Judiciary Committee approved by unanimous vote a bill (SB 52) that would ban texting while driving statewide for the first time in Florida. The bill cleared The Senate Transportation Committee last February, cleared the Senate Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities Committee in March and this week cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill can now be taken to Florida's Senators for a final vote.

If the bill passes the Senate and the House, this will mark the first time that a ban on texting while driving becomes in effect (on October 1, 2013) after several years of futile attempts to ban texting behind the wheel.

While any ban on texting and driving is a step in the right direction, the proposed law is so meaningless in its reach that it will sadly create absolutely no incentive or deterring effects to dissuade drivers to stop texting while driving throughout the State.

Texting statistics are staggering: There are 320 million wireless subscribers in the United States. 184,300,000,000 texts are sent every month, which means that the average American wireless subscriber sends 576 text messages each month. Concretely, this means that a significant group of people texts not only all the time, but everywhere, including while they are driving. For that group to be deterred, a ban on texting while driving must be as tough and without nuance as possible.

Unfortunately, the proposed Florida ban is neither. The proposed Florida law is not a handheld ban (unlike the current law in 10 other states). The proposed Florida law is not a ban on any kind of cell phone use. The proposed Florida law is the least restrictive and least deterring piece of legislation that can be technically called 'a ban'.

Proposed Florida Law:
The new bill would prohibit a person to operate a motor vehicle while manually typing or entering multiple letters, numbers, symbols, or other characters in a cell phone, or sending or reading data on the cell phone for the purpose of non-voice interpersonal communication. The bill specifies further that for the purpose of this new law, a stationary vehicle (stopped at a red light for instance) is not considered an operated vehicle, and therefore the prohibition does not apply. In other words, any driver can text while behind the wheel as long as their vehicle is not moving.

As redacted today, the law does not impose a handheld ban throughout the State of Florida. This means that a driver can lawfully enter a phone number while stopped and carry on a conversation while driving with one hand. The law also fails to impose restrictions for the use of handheld device by any groups. 35 States have banned the use of handheld devices for novice drivers (which typically means drivers under the age of 18 or drivers with a learner or intermediate's license.)

A Secondary Offense?
As limited as the proposed ban is, its greatest shortcoming are the penalties associated with any violation of the legislation:

A penalty for a first violation of the prohibition is a non-moving violation with a fine of $30. If a person commits a second violation of the prohibition within 5 years after the first violation, the penalty is increased to a moving violation resulting in 3 points being assigned to the person's driver license and a fine of $60.

The overarching limitations with the new law is the decision by Senator Nancy Detert, who introduced the bill, to define a violation of the ban as a secondary offense as opposed to a primary offense. Among the 39 States with a text messaging ban, only 3 have made a violation of the law a secondary offense.

What is a secondary offense? A secondary offense is not a traffic violation that allows a police officer to pull over a driver. To be pulled over, a person must have committed a primary offense. In other words, the new law would not allow a police officer to pull over a person who is blatantly texting or typing on their cell phone while driving if they are not doing anything else that would warrant a police officer to pull them over (such as speeding or rolling a stop sign, etc.)..

The USDOT has drafted a sample texting while driving law which imposes much greater penalties for offenders, including repeat offenders. More importantly, in the USDOT sample law, if an offense results in death or a serious injury

In other words, a person who openly violates the ban will never be deterred from changing their behavior because the police cannot stop them for texting while driving alone. If the ban is voted as redacted today, it will be utterly inefficient, will not change the behaviors, and will ultimately fail to make the roads any safer.

Ira Leesfield has been at the forefront of this issue for years, having represented multiple people and their family who fell victim to a distracted driver, too busy texting or reading someone on their phone. Read Ira Leesfield's latest article on this issue: Make the right call on texting and driving.

Article published in the Miami Herald: Texting and driving a costly business risk

Speech written and delivered at the American Association for Justice in 2010: Driving + Cell Phones = Bad Call

Click here to read our past blogs about this very issue and the Courts have dealt with defendants who caused serious accidents secondary to texting while driving.

What are the responsibilities of a resort towards guests who use the resort's swimming pool?

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:27:29 -0500

Florida law is clear. The owner of a resort owes its guests the duty to exercise ordinary care in providing a safe and proper place to bathe or swim.

In the exercise of ordinary and reasonable care, the owner of a resort which offers swimming pools as attractions or amusements are required to furnish a reasonably sufficient number of attendants or lifeguards for the protection of bathers, and the total absence of lifeguards at a public swimming pool may be negligence.

Last Sunday, a young teenager drowned in the pool of Disney's Pop Century Resort near Orlando, FL. On Tuesday, the Sheriff's Office advised that the 13-year-old, Anthony Johnson, had passed away. The Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg first reported the event yesterday: 13-year-old boy drowns at Disney's Pop Century Resort in Central Florida

Details of the actual reason for the death of Anthony have not been made public by the authorities. We know that at approximately 9:30pm, Anthony was found at the bottom of the 4-feet deep swimming pool and pulled by his cousin. Immediate attempts to resuscitate were made by the child's father, as well as a firefighter who was vacationing at the resort and who was present when Anthony's body was pulled out of the water.

Rescue arrived moments later. According to other guests' testimonials, resuscitation efforts lasted for almost an hour before Anthony was put on a stretcher and transported emergently to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than 48 hours later.

Disney released a statement indicating that the lifeguards at the resort are on duty until 8pm every night. The pool where Anthony drowned, however, remains open past 8pm and swimmers are swimming at their own risk. Disney further advised that signs are posted throughout the area to alert swimmers. It is also important to note that Disney advertises its pools to be for "Preschoolers, Kids, Tweens, Teens, Adults, All Ages."

An investigation into this tragedy will aim to answer several questions. If it is ascertained that the incident occurred at a time where lifeguards were not on duty, one must look into the reason for the pool to have remained open past 8pm. One can understand that any resort would want to keep its pools open for guests to use at their own discretion, but then why not man each pool with human security? In other words, why not extend the duties of lifeguards by several hours, like it is customarily done in other resorts?

Secondly, despite the absence of any lifeguards at the time Anthony was in the pool, was the resort equipped with mandatory life-saving and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in case a drowning were to occur? Not only that, was a staff person trained in the use of AEDs on duty at the time this incident took place?

Unfortunately, this tragedy is not the first of its kind. Several years ago, parents have endured the loss of their 6-year-old boy who drowned in one of the Disney's swimming pools. While the circumstances of that tragedy were a bit different, Disney did agree to an out-of-court settlement with the family who had lost their loved one. The lawsuit, in part, alleged that the single lifeguard posted at the pool failed to adequately supervise the guests who were using the pool. The family also alleged that Disney should have had more than one lifeguard on duty at the time because of the large crowd of people using the pool.

13-year-old boy drowns at Disney's Pop Century Resort in Central Florida

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:05:54 -0500

Last Sunday, 13-year-old Anthony Johnson was rescued by his family from drowning in a Disney Resort pool near Orlando, Florida. Yesterday, the Orange County Sheriff's Office announced that Anthony had not survived and had been pronounced dead two days later.

Anthony, from Springfield, Missouri, was spending spring break vacation with his family in Central Florida. On Sunday evening, Anthony and friends were playing in the pool of Disney's Pop Century Resort. Moments later, Anthony was found by his cousin at the bottom of the pool, in just 4 feet of water. Anthony's father performed CPR until paramedics arrived on scene and took over the resuscitation efforts.

It is unclear at this time what may have cause Anthony to drown. Local news ABC15 reported that there were no lifeguards on duty at the time of the incident and signs "swim at your own risk" were posted. The Sheriff's office investigation has just begun and could reveal some important elements of answers to explain the family who just lost their young son what may have caused him to drown.

This terrible tragedy marks the second death of a young child in a Central Florida resort this year. Last June, an 11-year-old girl was killed at Orlando / Kissimmee Resort after she attempted to retrieve a golf ball from a pond while playing miniature golf with friends. Leesfield & Partners represents the little girl's family against the Resort in a lawsuit currently in litigation.

Last year, Leesfield & Partners settled the case of a 14-year-old boy who was left brain damaged after nearly drowning in a small pool at another Orlando Resort. In that case, the young child was trapped at the bottom of the pool/jacuzzi due to a broken suction grate. The boy was suctioned and trapped at the bottom while his family desperately tried to save him. At first family members and guests tried to forcefully pull the child, but the force of the suction system was too strong to free him up. They then performed mouth to mouth while he was at the bottom of the pool until they could get the attention of the resort to empty the pool.

While we have yet to know what caused Anthony Johnson to drown last Sunday, we do know that Disney had left its pool open to the public at night without any security. Disney, like every resort in business in Florida, is well aware that drowning is the number one cause of death of young children in Florida. There have been multiple cases tried in Florida where resort owners have tried to escape liability by showing that "swim at your own risks" signs had been posted. However, while these signs might show some level of comparative negligence in a minority of cases, they certainly do not absolve resorts from their primary obligation and duties to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition. Some resorts will post lifeguards until the late afternoon hours, and not in the evening hours. Yet resorts will not close the pools until late in the evening, sometimes as late as midnight. Resorts knowingly keep pools open to the public without any human surveillance or trained rescuers in case someone drowns after hours. Courts have regularly held that a "swim at your own risk" sign is insufficient for resorts to dodge liability.

The Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg will continue to monitor the Sheriff's Office's investigation in this terrible event. To read more about our firm's Resort Tort practice, you may visit our Resort Tort page on our main website.

Make the right call on texting and driving

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 13:56:47 -0500

TEXTING AND DRIVING
Make the right call on texting and driving

By Ira H. Leesfield

After years of false stops and starts, a bill to curb texting while driving is finally building momentum in the Florida House. The current bill would impose a $30 fine for anyone texting while driving, and a $60 fine for doing so again within the same five-year period. Texting would still be allowed when stopped or at a red light.

While the bill does well to raise awareness about such a critical public safety hazard, it doesn't go nearly far enough. Florida is currently one of only five states without any type of texting while driving restriction. It is far time that Florida enacts a real and meaningful bill that does more than pat our legislators on the back but, rather, actually saves lives.
Through its lack of substantive action, the Florida Legislature continues to trivialize a grave and serious issue -- flying in the face of overwhelming data and empirical evidence that texting while driving is the leading contributor to one in four motor vehicle collisions. Numerous sources, including the Insurance Information Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), report the carnage and loss of life visiting Florida's roads and which justifies immediate action to bring our state in line with the rest of the nation.

On June 7, 2012, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), released a study indicating that one-third of all high school kids admitted to texting or emailing while driving. One such teenager, Aaron Deveau, 17, faced trial for criminal charges for a head-on collision with a pick-up truck, killing a father of three in Massachusetts. He was charged with driving while using a mobile phone or sending electronic messages in violation of Massachusetts law. If this homicide occurred in Florida, there would be no criminal action or deterrence.

The overwhelming body of evidence demanding legislative action is well understood by Florida lawmakers, but politically ignored. Anecdotally, and by statistical data, government studies and a large body of literature, it is now undisputed that cell phone driving/texting is a dangerous and well-recognized hazard. Every one of us can recall a time where we had to swerve in reaction to an inattentive driver weaving through lanes of traffic as they aimlessly play on their phone.

The Florida Legislature's failure to act is bad for consumers, bad for business, and bad economics. Business owners will continue to be legally held responsible for the negligent cellphone driving behavior of their employees. Verdicts are on the rise, as is expanding liability, against every business owner who encourages or, more importantly, fails to discourage cell phone/texting use. The employee on the phone in his car is now equivalent to an employee in the workplace or office if the conversation is business related.

Last year, Americans sent more than 600 billion text messages, 10 times the amount sent three years ago. For the year 2010, an estimated 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries resulted from driving while using a cell phone. The numbers are rapidly growing. Inattention blindness resulting from driving while distracted (DWD) is a recognized cognitive impairment by the medical, scientific and human factors community. Studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine and the British Medical Journal confirm that talking on the cell phone while driving increases the risk of having an injury-causing accident fourfold.

In a recent civil legal proceeding, a young woman driving and using a cellphone struck and killed a child. The defendant broke down in tears, explaining that her cellphone call was unimportant, social and unnecessary. It was, she said, "the worst call I ever made." Her cell phone intoxication resulted in a needless loss of life. The very worst call was to the parents of the deceased child.

Action by Florida law makers is long overdue. Now is the time for them to make the "right call" -- stop wasting taxpayer time by debating useless bills and craft one that will actually make a difference.

Ira Leesfield is founding partner of Leesfield & Partners, personal injury law firm.

Jack3d at center of lawsuit filed by family for son's wrongful death

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 09:51:43 -0500

Last year, we reported on the military investigation into the death of two soldiers during on-base exercises and the link with the two men's ingestion and consumption of a dietary supplement called 'Jack3d' (pronounced Jacked)

This week, the parents of 22-year-old Michael Sparling, who died on the morning of June 1, 2011, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Dallas-based manufacturer of Jack3d, USPlabs, and GNC, the store where Michael purchased the product.

In its lawsuit, the family alleges that USPlabs was negligent under several theories of liability including defective design of the product, failure to warn its users, breach of warranty, and unlawful business acts and practices in violation of California law.

The wrongful death lawsuit was filed on the heels of a report coming out of the UK condemning Jack3d and linking the supplement to the death of Claire Squires. Last April, Clair Squires, 30, was ending her run in the marathon of London when she collapsed near the finish line. The young hairdresser suffered a cardiac arrest and despite administering emergent treatment at the scene and at the hospital, she never regained consciousness.

It was later discovered that Claire had dissolved Jack3d supplement in the water bottle she took with her and ran with during the race. Her boyfriend explained that she did that in case she were to "hit a wall" during the grueling event. The coroner, Dr. Philip Barlow, wrote in his report that "the combination of the DMAA (contained in Jack3d) with extensive physical exertion caused cardiac failure which resulted in her death."

Last December, a team of researchers investigating in the death of the two military servicemen published their conclusions in Military Medicine, published by the Journal of the Federal Health Professionals. The report also links the supplement and its controversial ingredient DMAA with these tragedies: "We present case reports for two soldiers who were taking commercially available dietary supplements containing multiple ingredients to include the sympathomimetic, 1,3-dimethylamylamine (DMAA); both collapsed during physical exertion from cardiac arrest and ultimately died. . . . Our cases highlight concerns that DMAA in combination with other ingredients may be associated with significant consequences, reminiscent of previous adverse events from other sympathomimetic drugs previously removed from the market."

The Sparling family alleges in its complaint that USPlabs failed to appropriately test pre- and post-market is own products while representing to the general public that Jack3d had been thoroughly tested and was safe for consumption.

The lawsuit was filed in San Diego County, California. Under California law, USPlabs and GNC have 30 days from the date of service to respond to the allegations.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning kills elderly woman in Miami

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 17:10:39 -0500

After being alerted by the landlord that something was wrong, Paulette Campbell arrived at the apartment of her grandparents, Wylene and Bobby Floyd of Miami Gardens. Upon entering their home, she discovered the body of her grandparents. Wylene had already succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning. Her grandfather Bobby was still alive, but needed immediate medical attention. Bobby was transported emergently to Jackson Memorial Hospital where his condition is unknown at the present time.

The Miami personal injury attorneys at Leesfield & Partners have led the legislative battle in the State of Florida which gave birth to a new law finally requiring that commercial buildings be equipped with CO detectors. More information on the Florida legislation pertaining to Carbon Monoxide exposure can be found here.

On average, 60,000 Americans suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning every year. The grave danger associated with carbon monoxide is the nature of the deadly gas itself. Carbon monoxide is odorless, colorless and slightly lighter than air. Undetectable to humans, it is highly toxic and can be deadly when leaked in high concentration.

Investigators who are still looking at the source of the carbon monoxide leak in the Floyd's apartment were made aware by Paulette that a new gas stove had recently been installed in their apartment. Wylene was 77 years old.

When exposed for too long to a high concentration of carbon monoxide, the nervous system of a person is at risk of shutting down. At first, symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are similar to those of the flu, or food poisoning, which is why many people will not seek medical attention, thinking they have caught a cold or simply feeling nauseous.

At low levels of exposure symptoms of Carbon Monoxide poisoning can include shortness of breath, mild nausea, or mild headaches. At moderate of exposure, symptoms of Carbon Monoxide poisoning include severe headaches, dizziness, mental confusion, nausea, and fainting.

Visit our Carbon Monoxide Poisoning page to obtain more information on symptoms associated with CO exposure.

Recently, our Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Lawyer Thomas Scolaro resolved a complex case involving the carbon monoxide poisoning of a family vacationing in Key West. Should you have more information regarding the tragedy that struck the Floyd family today, contact the authorities immediately and do not hesitate to contact our firm at 305-854-4900.

Fatal Plane Crash in Florida linked to engine and oil pressure problems

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 08:58:13 -0500

On January 4, 2013, a small airplane carrying three passengers crashed into a Florida home approximately located one mile south of the Flagler County Airport. Investigators and Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board were on scene on the day of the crash. While findings have not been made public thus far, the communications between the pilot and the Air Traffic Controllers moments before the crash were relayed.

We now know that the 1957 Beechcraft H35 Bonanza took off from Port Pierce, FL and was on its way to Knoxville, TN. There were three people on board: Duane Shaw (59) from Albany, KY, Charissee Peoples (42) from Indianapolis, IN, and the pilot Michael Anders (57) from Albany, KY (right). The three occupants had actually stopped in Fort Pierce on their way up from the Caribbean where they had been vacationing.

Shortly after takeoff, Anders contacted the Air Traffic Controllers and notified them of a problem with the airplane. The small aircraft was vibrating, oil pressure was inadequate, and the cabin became engulfed with smoke. "I need some help here" Anders told the ATCs. When asked, he advised there were "three souls on board". According to FHP, the airplane also flew into bad weather at some point, even though it is too early to say whether bad weather played a role in the plane's demise.

Below is an edited transcription of LiveATC.net communications between Michael Anders and Daytona Approach:

Pilot: Daytona, This is 375 Bravo. We've got vibration in a prop. I need some help here.
Approach: 375 Bravo, Roger, the closest airport is 12 o'clock, 12 to 1 o'clock and five miles and are you IFR capable and equipped?
Pilot: Yeah, I'm IFR we are just, we are getting a little vibration, we got oil pressure problem, we are going to have to drop quickly here.
Approach: November 375 Bravo is clear to Flagler, it be radar vectors, descend and maintain 2000 on your present heading.
Pilot: 2000 on present heading, 375 Bravo. Thanks for your help.
Approach: You're welcome. 375 Bravo. How many people on board and how much fuel you got?
Pilot: Three souls on board. We've got plenty of fuel.
Tower: Ok, I just need a number.
Pilot: Ah, four hours, three people on board and four hours of fuel
Approach: Roger that, 375 Bravo and which engine I'm sorry you said is the vibration in your engine, is that correct?
Pilot: That's correct. We got a propeller or something going. I'm backing it up here to see.
Approach: November 375 Bravo. Continue your present heading again. We are going to put you close to the Flagler County Airport for runway two niner. We are going to try to get you as close as we can to the airport. Right now they are showing broken 900 foot ceiling, so an instrument approach is going to be necessary to get in there. What are your intentions?
Pilot: Roger, give us the localizer please.
Approach: Ok, the best we can do is an RNAV at that airport or we can reverse course back to Daytona is the only precision approach we have in our air space for the ILS is Daytona.
Pilot: We don't need a precision approach. Is there anything with a localizer or anything VFR.
Approach: No, all of our airports right now are IFR. All ceilings are hovering right around 900 to 1000 feet.
Pilot: We'll take the nearest one and try to break out at 1000 but I don't have RNAV capability.
Approach: 35 Bravo, Roger we can do a surveillance approach and guide you in to the airport. Are you OK with that?
Pilot: I'm lovely with that.
Approach: 375 Bravo, Roger, descend and maintain 2,000 feet and contact Daytona approach
Pilot: Thanks for your help.
Approach: You're welcome.
Tower: 375 Bravo, Daytona Approach descend and maintain 3,000
Pilot: 3,000 current heading
Approach: 375 Bravo turn right heading 060
Pilot: This is 375 Bravo. We've got zero oil pressure but we've got cool cylinder heads.
Approach: 375 Bravo Turn right heading one five zero
Pilot: Right turn, one five zero for 375 Bravo, (not clear or inaudible)
Approach: November 75 Bravo turn further right now to two six zero.
Pilot: Two Six Zero. We are beginning to see the water here.
Approach: 75 Bravo your five miles southeast of the field. .. Turn further right two seven zero.
Pilot: Two seven zero on the heading. I'm at 1,600.
Approach: November 75 Bravo turn right, two niner zero That's going to put you four miles straight in. two niner zero and you could descend to your minimum descend altitude. Again the published minimum descend altitude for ... two nine is 560.
Pilot: Roger that we are at 1,200
Approach: November 75 Bravo, Roger now you are going through final just slightly turn right 310, 310 for your four mile straight in
Pilot: 310. Four miles straight in
Approach: November 75 Bravo Advise when you have the airport in sight...Flagler advises cleared to land runway two nine.
Approach: November 75 Bravo. Heading 320 ... advise when you have the airport in sight.
Approach: ...Bravo heading 320 two miles from runway
Approach: Five bravo you still with me?
Approach: Three seven five Bravo, Daytona?

The entire communication lasted less than 11 minutes.

Small plane carrying three passengers crashes into Florida home

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 16:34:37 -0500

Today, a small aircraft plunged into a home on Florida's northeast coast. Deputies who immediately responded to the accident said the three people who were inside the house at the time were able to escape the flames relatively unharmed. At this time, three of the five occupants of the small plane were confirmed dead. The other two passengers have yet to be found.

According to reports, the planed crashed into the home at 2:22 p.m. Friday on Utica Path, about 1 mile east of the Flagler County Airport, off State Road 100. The house exploded and flames could be seen several thousands of feet away.

As reported by Bay News 9, the Flagler County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the pilot of the plane declared an emergency around 2:10 p.m., saying the plane was severely shaking.

The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) confirmed on its end that the plane was a single-engine BE35 aircraft en route to Downtown Island Airport in Knoxville, Tenn. It was not immediately known where the plane departed from before the crash.

After the pilot reported the mechanical problem, the Air Traffic Controller diverted the plane to Flagler County Airport before it crashed about 1 mile east of the airport.

While traveling by plane is universally known as the safest mean of transportation, small planes tend to crash at an alarming rate when compared to its jumbo jet counterparts. In the past two years, the NTSB has reported 1766 small airplane accidents in the USA. As a result, 538 people were killed, and today marks the first small aircraft fatal accident of the new year.

The NTSB will be leading the investigation into what caused the small airplane to crash into a Florida home. While it is too early to list hypothesis, the radio transmission from the pilot to the Air Traffic Controller that the plane was shaking uncontrollably is certain to be a very serious lead in what could have been a mechanical malfunction of one of the plane's equipments, which lead to the fatal crash.

The aviation attorneys of Leesfield & Partners have litigated several small aircraft accidents cases. The most recent result involved the crash of a small airplane that killed the pilot and his mother. The investigation revealed that the several parts had malfunctioned or were not appropriately installed, resulting in a $2,850,000 settlement. Click here to read more information on this products liability claim.

Should you have more information on this claim, or if you or a loved one have been injured as a result of small airplane crash, contact one of our aviation accident attorneys immediately at 1-800-836-6400.

Multiple fatalities in bus accident in Miami

Sun, 02 Dec 2012 12:50:53 -0500

A normal traveling day at Miami International Airport turned into a surreal and deadly scene when an 11-foot-bus crashed into an 8-foot 6-inches overpass. The bus crash killed two of the passengers while several others were taken to Jackson Memorial's Ryder Trauma Center and remain in critical condition.

The bus driver, Ramon Ferreiro, made a wrong turn off Lejeune Road and entered the airport by error. Ferreiro continued on, passing several road signs warning tall vehicles to stop and turn around. Seconds later, the 11-foot tall bus approached an overpass which it could not clear and the bus crashed at full speed with the concrete-overpass.

Among the 32 bus passengers, 13 were critically injured, and 17 were transported to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Serfin Castillo, an 86-year-old Miami resident was killed on impact. 56-year-old Francisco Urana died from his critical injuries shortly after arriving at the hospital.

The bus is owned by 'Miami Bus Service Corporation', a Miami business owned by Mayling and Alberto Hernandez. The bus company sells bus trips between Miami and Gainesville. Its customers are typically UF students.

Mayling Hernandez, one of the owners, told The Miami Herald that passenger safety is her primary concern. "My job is to worry about the safety of the passengers who are our clients. What we do requires a lot of responsibility. I didn't know the passengers but that doesn't mean I'm not suffering" she said.

While traveling by bus is still a very popular mean of transportation, especially for students and elderly people, bus accidents are among the most dangerous. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, between 1988 and 2008, there have been on average 13,000 bus accidents every year. Bus accidents result in over 22,000 injured passengers every year.

The dangers inherent to bus accidents are multiple. One of them resides in that, by definition, a bus carries multiple passengers and a single bus crash will impact all passengers aboard. More importantly, buses are not the safest vehicles. In many of them, the type of passenger safety found in a bus pales in comparison to passenger safety in a regular car. More often than not, buses are not equipped with seat belts, and even low-speed impacts can result in serious injuries to passengers.

The lack of seat belts, among other factors, were the cause of a bus accident that occurred on February 22, 2010 in Highlands County, Florida, which Leefield & Partners is currently litigating. In this bus accident, a bus was traveling on Highway 27 at Lykes Road near Lake Placid, when it collided with another vehicle. Several passengers made of elderly people were killed in the accident and several others were critically injured.

The latest Miami bus accident over the weekend is a reminder that bus passenger safety must remain the priority. Investigators will turn to how this deadly bus crash could have occurred despite the warning signs. Was Ferreiro not paying attention to the road signs, or was he distracted by something else, such as being on a cell phone? How fast was Ferreiro truly going for him to fail to stop the bus in time or avoid the overpass altogether?

Once the police and potentially, the criminal investigation, concludes, victims and their families will have to look into the safety and crashworthiness of the actual bus in which they were traveling that day. Was the bus manufacturer compliant with the regulations at the time? Leesfield & Partners bus accident attorneys have several decades of experience representing victims of bus accident and investigating whether driver negligence is only one of the many claims available to the victims.

Construction Site Accident in Doral: Collapse of Parking Garage Results in 2 Fatalities

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 09:31:15 -0500

At around noon on Wednesday October 10, 2012, a large portion of a five-story building collapsed without warning, killing 2 construction workers, injuring several others, and another man is still missing at this hour.

The cause of this tragic incident is not yet known, but the police, construction investigators, and code experts are currently on site to determine what may have provoked the under construction parking garage at Miami-Dade College in Doral, Florida, to fall like a house of cards.

Last night around midnight, rescuers found a worker who had been trapped under the rubble for almost 12 hours. Attempts were made to extract the man, but the decision was made at around midnight last night to amputate both his legs in order to save his life. About one hour later, the man was cut above both knees, freed from under the collapsed concrete and rushed to the local hospital by ambulance.

Rick Rutigliano, an electrical supervisor who was on site at the time of the collapse, was on the other side of the building when he began to hear and feel a loud rumble. He ran to the other side of the building and saw the destruction that had just occurred. He later told the authorities that the collapse seem to have started after a crane set down an expansion beam on top of another beam. It has yet to be determined whether this was the cause or even a contributing factor to the incident.

It is believed that the two workers who lost their lives, as well as the 7 injured and one missing person are all construction workers employed by the garage contractor, Ajax Building Corporation, headquartered out of Tallahassee, Florida, and doing construction work in all southeastern States.

The garage was scheduled to open to the public in less than two months. It was a $22.5 construction contract which came to a tragic halt yesterday. Below the parking garage, office and classroom space were also built to house stores and students on campus.

This marks the second garage collapse in less than a month in South Florida. Unfortunately, fatalities related to construction accidents if far from uncommon. In 2011, construction work is the leading industry in the entire country with the most fatalities, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Masseur at Fontainebleau Hotel arrested for sexually assaulting guest

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 16:35:49 -0500

Francisco Araica, 26, was arrested this week for sexually assaulting a guest at the Fontainebleau Hotel where Araica works as a masseur.

Last Sunday, a female guest, who was a habitual visitor of the Lapis Spa at the hotel was sexually assaulted during a massage. The victim told police that the assault happened in the middle of the massage. Apparently the victim was in too much fear that Araica would become more violent, she confronted her assailant after the assault had stopped. Approximately 10 minutes later, Araica left the room. She immediately left the room as well and contacted police. Through his attorney, Araica surrendered and was charged with one count of sex battery.

This morning, the alleged molester paid his bond and was seen leaving the Miami-Dade County jail with a jacket over his face, not to be seen by cameras.

While the Fontainebleau Hotel was quick to issue a press release to assure its guests that safety is the primary focus of the Hotel, the known facts on this case so far point to the Hotel's civil liability.

Cases of sexual assaults during massages are not that uncommon. Leesfield & Partners personal injury lawyers are currently representing the victim of a sexual assault perpetrated during a massage at a Miami spa owned by the massage chain Massage Envy.

Driving and Texting finally recognized as Reckless and Offensive by Florida Court

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:26:33 -0500

Texting and driving has been and continues to be one of the leading causes of fatal car accidents in the State of Florida. Easily explaining the reasons for the situation is the ever standstill of the Florida legislator on this issue. For several years Ira Leesfield and the personal injury lawyers at Leesfield & Partners have argued in favor of, and pushed legislators to pass a ban on texting while driving. Last week, despite a House and Senate either ignoring the reality of distracted driving, or incapable of coming to a sensible piece of legislation, a Broward County Judge allowed punitive damages in a civil negligence lawsuit for the first time in the State of Florida.

We have reported multiple times in the Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg the calamitous reality in Florida. As explained in our recent post "Florida still refuses to ban texting while driving", Florida remains one of only six states without any limitations on cell phone use while driving. Every other State has either a total ban or a partial ban on texting and driving.

Over the years, Ira Leesfield has been a spokesperson for greater safety and common sense in the law. His experience fighting for the rights of innocent victims injured by the negligence of others has flourished in the passage of many important laws during his career as a personal injury attorney in Miami, Key West, throughout the State of Florida and the rest of the nation.

On the topic of driving and texting, Leesfield has been leading the charge, arguing and pushing elected officials to make Florida roads safer. Having spoken on numerous occasions on the subject at several American Association for Justice (AAJ) conventions, Leesfield spear-headed the subject by writing and publishing "Driving + Cell Phones = Bad Call". Recognized for his legal forward-thinking in the community, Ira H. Leesfield published an article in the Miami Herald entitled "Texting and driving a costly business risk - Cell phones and driving don't mix.". Most recently, he gave a speech on cell phone litigation and discovery entitled "Cell Phone, Smartphone, and GPS
Discovery in the Computer Age." This speech will soon be included in the next Treaties "Litigating Major Automobile Injury and Death Cases" published by Thompson West.

The common denominator of every single stone Leesfield & Partners brings is the need for greater safety. Unfortunately, when it comes to distracted drivers. the leaders of our community have fallen on deaf ears, and today, Florida lags in making its roads less dangerous when compared to the vast majority of the other States.

With his ruling last week, Broward Circuit Judge Richard Eade may have finally sent a message to the Florida House and Senate by granting a motion for punitive damages and ultimately allowing a jury to decide whether the defendant driver ought to pay exemplary punitive damages. This decision was reached in a case where the defendant driver admitted to the police she was texting at the time of the accident. The distracted driver veered off her lane, collided with a van, which caused the van to be forced off the roadway and crash into trees on the side of the road, resulting in severe and permanent injuries to one of the occupants.

Judge Eade had no choice after Plaintiff secured the affidavif of Shelley Lippencott, who witnessed the accident. In her affidavit, she stated that she saw the defendant driver texting when the incident occurred. She added that the woman "continued to text on her cell phone and swerved almost hitting my vehicle." After the collision, the defendant driver continued to drive and Lippencott "drove up to her and forced her to pull over, thereby preventing her from fleeing." The witness added that after she stopped her car, the defendant "was still in her car texting."

While this latest development occurred in a courtroom in South Florida, all Floridians should hope that it reaches the legislators sitting in Tallahassee and that a ban is finally voted on during the next legislative session.

Awareness of Florida Resort Torts heightened in fatal electrocution case of young child

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 14:30:12 -0500

Ira Leesfield pushes for national attention as he appeared on Nancy Grace.