Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Miami, Florida - Drunk Driving Proves Fatal in Burlington County

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:06:47 -0500

Burlington County, Pa. - Our Miami, Florida personal injury lawyers have handled many cases where a car accident caused by drinking and driving left a wake of devastation. In this case, a man from Burlington County was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after he caused a fatal car accident on I-295 Saturday morning. A spokesman from the state police said that 21 year old Timothy Reese of Mount Laurel hit and killed Michael Thomas, 52, of Willingboro, who was standing behind his car, which he had pulled partially onto the left shoulder near Milepost 31 in Lawnside Borough about 4:25 a.m.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a drunk driving motor vehicle acident, contact a Miami, Fl accident lawyer today for a free consultation about your case.

Miami, Florida Car Accidents Increase When Drivers Sending Text Messages

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:56:56 -0500

Our Miami, Florida car accident lawyers know that distracted drivers mean more carnage on our roads. The chances of an accident skyrocket when a driver is texting. Juries are taking notice. A Miami-Dade County jury recently awarded $8.8 million to the victims of a Miami motor vehicle accident where the negligent driver was texting while driving down a busy residential road.

As in many cases, the Miami accident lawyers were able to obtain the driver’s cell phone records which revealed that more than 100 text messages had been either sent or received by the driver on the day of the accident. One text was even sent two minutes before paramedics were called. To combat this growing problem, the National Transportation Safety Board recommends a complete ban on the driver’s use of cell phones.

As experienced Miami, Fl. car accident attorneys, we know that texting and driving is a serious issue that can have a significant effect on a verdict if presented to the jury properly.

If you or a loved one has been injured because of the negligent conduct of another, and you would like to speak with an experienced Miami motor vehicle accident attorney, please contact us to speak to a lawyer at Hannon & Boyers, for a free consultation about your legal rights.

Miami, Florida - Defective Toys Cause Injury or Kill Children

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:46:22 -0500

Miami defective product lawyers know how devestating defective child products or defective toys can be. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 250,000 children were injured in toy-related incidents last year. 17 of those children died from toy-related injuries. Parents should be aware that some products shipped from overseas do not satisfy the rigorous safety standards applied in the United States and carry significant risks for injury.

For example, Kinder Eggs, a chocolate egg with a small toy in its center, are a particularly hazardous choking hazard. These toys are banned in the United States. Some other toys do not present such obvious risks. Some Hannah Montana backpacks and Dora the Explorer lunchboxes are imported from China and Peru. The threshold for lead in these countries is not as stringent as the United States requirement.

The World Against Toys Causing Harm or “WATCH” publishes a list of toys to avoid. Experienced in products liability cases involving toy manufacturers, the attorneys at Hannon & Boyers, P.A. urge you to be safe this holiday season and shop carefully.

If your child has been injured because of a defective toy or defective child product, contact an experienced Miami defective toy lawyer at Hannon & Boyers, for a free consultation about your legal rights.

Miami, Florida - Rape of Passenger Committed Aboard Royal Caribbean Ship

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:11:14 -0500

Miami, Fl. - Two passengers aboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas were arrested for the rape of a 15-year old passenger from Iowa. A teenage Royal Caribbean passenger allegedly lured the young girl from a teen dance club on the ship and into a private room where the victim believed she would be meeting friends. There was another man in the room and noone else. When she tried to leave, the two man raped her.

As experienced Miami, Florida cruise ship rape attorneys, the lawyers at Hannon & Boyers know that passengers often let their guard down while on board because they believe they are in a safe environment. Cruise ship passenger are the victims of rape and sexual assault far too often.

Royal Caribbean and all cruise lines have a duty to implement reasonable measures for the safety and security of their passengers and to protect them from foreseeable criminal attacks. Their duty and responsibility is heightened when the criminal attacks are perpetrated by crew members.

Tort Reform Not The Answer to Healthcare Crisis

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:07:26 -0500

Miami, Florida injury lawyers know that tort reform is not the answer to the problems we face in our healthcare system. Florida Tort reform is a widely debated topic that comes up every few years. Touted by many Republicans as one of the answers to the health care crisis, at least some conservative experts are rethinking this approach. Although Republican presidential candidates criticize “Obamacare” at every turn, they do not seem to have an answer of their own. Expert Henry Aaron told reporters that tort reform is not the solution to overall health care costs. He’s right.

As experienced Miami, Fl. medical malpractice attorneys, we understand that legitimate claims will always exist and the public needs knowledgeable attorneys to obtain justice for the victims of medical malpractice. Reforming the system to exclude legitimate claims serves neither the health care industry nor the citizens of this country. A solution to the health care crisis exists, but it does not include removing accountability from the equation. The tort system exists to help hold negligent corporations, professionals and individuals accountable for the harm they cause.

If you or a loved one has been injured because of the negligent conduct of another, and you would like to speak with an experienced Miami medical malpractice lawyer, please contact us to speak to a lawyer at Hannon & Boyers, for a free consultation about your legal rights.

Boca Raton, Florida- Wrongful Death Case Settled - Anthrax Widow to Receive $2.5 Million From US

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:08:41 -0500

Boca Raton, Florida - Maureen Stevens and her three children received a $2.5 million settlement for their Palm Beach County, Florida wrongful death action against the United States government. As Miami, Fl. wrongful death lawyers, we appreciate the relief and closure this type of settlement can bring to a family. The law suit alleged inadequate security at a US Army biological lab allowed someone to steel the deadly anthrax used in the attack. Our Miami Fl. negligent security lawyers handle cases involving death and serious injury as a result of inadequate security throughout the atate of Florida and have recovered millions of dollars in Miami Florida crime victim's compensation.

Maureen’s husband, Bob Stevens, was working for American Media Inc. in Boca Raton when he fell victim to a deadly anthrax attack. Seventeen other employees, including his co-worker Ernesto Blanco, also suffered from anthrax terrorism in the fall of 2011. Although the government denied liability, an FBI investigation named a government employee as the sole person responsible for the biological attacks.

If someone you know has been injured or killed anywhere in Florida as a result of negligent security, contact one of our Miami, Florida inadequate security lawyers at Hannon & Boyers today for a free consultation or call (800) 545-9100 to speak with an attorney.

Miami Beach, Fl Auto Accident - Two Miami Beach Sunbathers Hit By Beach Vendor Truck

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:40:27 -0500

Miami Beach – Two people sunbathing on Miami Beach Sunday afternoon were struck by a Ford F-150 pickup truck driven by an employee of beach vendor Boucher Brothers.

As Miami, Fl automobile accident lawyers, we know that Boucher Brothers will be held responsible for anyh injuries caused as a result of the negligence of its employee truck driver.

The accident occurred at around 4:13 p.m. according to the vendor and city officials. Police said the driver of the truck, Jorge Monje, was in the process of collecting chairs and packing up beach cabanas when he struck the beach-goers as they were laying on the sand at Seventh Street. The victims, Orlando Jimenez, 37, and Denise Moure, 28, both Miami Beach residents, were taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center where they were recuperating Monday. The nature of their injuries has not been disclosed.

The driver was cited for careless driving. The owner of the beach vending company, Perry Boucher, stated that he was very concerned about the victims. He added that he is cooperating with police and plans to launch his own investigation into what happened.

Miami, Fl - Car Accident Kills 68 year old Grandmother - UM Student Charged with DUI Manslaughter

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:21:28 -0500

Miami – 19-year-old University of Miami student Ivanna Villanueva spent the summer partying at trendy South Beach night clubs Wall, LIV and Arkadia. However, last month the college freshman’s nightly escapades turned deadly when her car collided with another vehicle, killing the driver, 68-year-old McDonald’s manager and grandmother Eyder Ayala. Our Miami, Fl. car accident lawyers, know how to locate critical evidence to prove this type of case.

Receipts show that at 2 a.m. on the night of the crash Villanueva purchased two shots of Patron silver tequila at Arkadia night club. Court documents show that earlier in the evening she was at Sugarcane Raw Bar in Midtown. Prosecutors say she had also been to LIV, a swank night club located in the Fontainebleau known for attracting celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan.

Villanueva headed home at nearly 4:30 a.m. on Sunday Oct. 2. Her 2011 Audi Q5 sped down Le Jeune Road in Coral Gables at over 80 mph, 40 mph over the posted speed limit. At the same time, Eyder Ayala was returning home from working the night shift as a manager at McDonald’s in her Ford Focus.

Ayala was driving in the inside lane on Le Jeune Road when police say Villanueva crashed into her with such force that the trunk of Ayala’s Ford was crushed into the passenger compartment. The impact was so strong that the cars were propelled 400 feet past the point of the collision.

Ayala’s car was completely crushed so that witnesses could not open the windows or doors to attempt to rescue her. By the time emergency vehicles arrived, Ayala was dead due to excessive trauma to her forehead.

Villanueva’s blood alcohol level measured .231; over three times the legal limit. Police also found a fake driver’s license and what they suspect to be a bag of marijuana in her car.
Villanueva was arraigned on Oct. 25 and has been charged with DUI manslaughter and a third-degree felony count for carrying a fake ID. She faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Villanueva pleaded not guilty and remains under house arrest with a tracking ankle bracelet. She is permitted to attend classes at UM where she is a Communications major.
Ayala’s family has hired Miami, Fl wrongful death lawyers to file a lawsuit.

Florida ranks third in the nation for DUI fatality rates for both adult and underage drivers. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the probability of a fatal accident rises significantly after the 0.05 blood alcohol level is reached. Furthermore, drivers under the age of 21 are more vulnerable to the impairing effects of alcohol than older drivers, increasing the chances that a collision with a teenager driver under the influence of alcohol will be fatal.

Miami Nursing Home Abuse - Finding More Caretaker Abuse, State Moves to Shut Assisted-Living Facilities (ALFs)

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:54:35 -0500

Miami, Vero Beach and Port Charlotte – At an assisted-living facility in Vero Beach, a 300-lb caretaker was accused of pulling an 89-year-old woman from her wheelchair, shaking and throwing her onto a bed and ultimately shattering the woman’s hip. In Miami, caretakers refused to call the police after a resident who suffered from mental illness complained that she had been raped by another resident in her room. At an assisted living facility in Port Charlotte, a resident languished in bed for weeks. His bedsores became so deep and infected that he died from the wounds.

Allegations like these have prompted state officials to conduct the longest crackdown on Florida’s assisted living facilities in a decade. For five months, state officials have probed three dozen care facilities, bringing the state’s harshest actions against the worst offenders, and forcing the shutdown of the 10 most troubled. The Miami, Fl. nursing home abuse lawyers at Hannon & Boyers are experienced in holding neglectful or abusive nursing homes accountable for the harm they cause to residents.

Both the Miami and Vero Beach facilities have been closed.The state is now moving to revoke the licenses of 34 assisted living facilities after finding that residents were in danger. Inspectors have investigated complaints including caretakers starving residents, failure to administer crucial drugs, and one report of a resident being beaten by a caregiver.

Miami Florida Shooting - Second One In Weeks at Secrets Nightclub

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:48:46 -0500

Miami, Florida - premises security lawyers like those at Hannon & Boyers represent the victims of violent crime and their families when the criminal conduct was a result of inadequate security.

Early Wednesday morning, Secrets nightclub in Northeast Miami-Dade County was once again the scene of a shooting. This time one man is dead and another was injured.

According to reports, at approximately one o'clock in the morning, two men came out of an adult nightclub known as Secrets located on Biscayne Boulevard and 113th Street, when shots were fired at them.

It was thought that there was more than one shooter. The assailants fled.

One of the victims was pronounced dead at the scene. The other crime victim was shot in the foot and transported to a nearby hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Incredibly, just a few weeks earlier, a young man and his girlfriend were shot in the parking lot of Secrets nightclub after a patron tried to run them over.

Nightclubs are frequently the scene of violent crimes along with gas stations, ATM machines and any business establishment or apartment complex that does not have adequate security.

Manatee County Nightclub Shooting Incident Leaves 2 Dead, 22 Wounded

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:21:44 -0500

Palmetto Florida - Two people were shot to death and 22 others were wounded in a shooting incident early Saturday outside of a Tampa area nightclub known as Club Elite located at 704 10th St. W. Our Florida negligent security lawyers are experienced in representing victims and their families in cases involving nightclub shootings.

Twenty-five year old Trayon Goff of Palmetto was found dead outside the club’s front door. Another victim who was also killed by gunfire, 38 year old Gwenette Matthews of Bradenton, was found inside the club, according to the Palmetto Police Department. Of those wounded, the six with the most serious injuries were taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. 16 others were treated at Manatee Memorial Hospital.

One of the victims who was taken to Bayfront was listed as being in critical condition in the intensive care unit as of Saturday afternoon. According to Margaret Ballou, administrator on duty at Bayfront, two other victims were listed in good condition, and three others had been discharged.

Lt. Scott Tyler of the Palmetto Police Department said “We are pretty sure the shooting took place outside of the club,” said . “We believe there were at least two shooters and we are aggressively working on some leads.”

Police preserved such evidence as the shell casings, witness statements, and blood trails, and also obtained a surveillance video from the club.

Club Elite was the scene of another shooting in December that left one man dead.

Anyone with information about the crime can call the Palmetto Police Department at (941) 723-4587 or Manatee County Crime Stoppers at (866) 634-8477.

North Miami Bicyclist in Critical Condition After Hit & Run

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:40:50 -0500

N. Miami - A 51-year-old North Miami man was in critical condition yesterday after a his bicycle was struck by a van in a hit and run car accident in northeast Miami-Dade.

Our Miami accident lawyers are experienced in representing victims of negligence like Patrick Johnson who was riding a bicycle near the intersection of North Miami Avenue and Northwest 148th Street when, according to Miami-Dade police, a van ran a red light and hit Johnson as he crossed the street.

Following the impact, the van made a U-turn and left the scene. Johnson was transported to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital where he was in critical condition.

The van was described to police as light gray or white, with damage to the hood and windshield.

Anyone with information about the accident should call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/30/2382917/police-bicyclist-in-critical-condition.html#ixzz1Wdbw1pQu

Dangerous Cribs - New Study Shows Cribs Responsible For Many Injured Babies

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:27:33 -0500

Parents rely on cribs as a safe haven - a secure place to leave babies unsupervised while they tend to other responsibilities. According to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, cribs are not nearly as safe as we think.

Cribs, playpens and bassinets are responsible for injuries to 26 babies each day (9,500 every year) in the United States. Those figures do not take into account the approximately 100 crib-related infant deaths ("crib death") that occur each each year.

The author of this study, Gary Smith is also the director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He says that “cribs are unique among other children's products. Parents expect to be able to place a child in a crib and know when they walk away that child will be safe. We need to hold cribs to much higher safety standards as opposed to baby equipment you are supposed to only use with parental supervision.”

The study focused on the number of injuries in children under the age of 2 who were treated in hospital emergency rooms for crib-related injuries between 1990 and 2008. It's authors relied on data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. Many more children are treated in doctor's offices or urgent-care centers and those cases are not even included in the study.

Five Injured In Disney Bus - Tractor Trailer Crash

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:24:43 -0500

Orlando, Florida - Five people were injured early this morning when a bus owned and operated by Walt Disney World collided with a tractor trailer.

The Disney Magical Express bus was on Boggy Creek Road in Orlando when the accident happened according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The injured victims, including the bus driver, were taken to a local hospital.

The Disney bus takes people back and forth to Orlando International Airport.

A sixty-nine year old tourist from Massachusetts was killed after he walked in front of a bus at Walt Disney World last December. FHP records indicate that Robert Krueger stepped in front of the bus in the parking lot of Disney's Port Orleans resort. He was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center where he later died.

In another tragic Disney bus accident in April 2010, a boy from St. Petersburg was struck and killed by a bus while riding his bike at the Fort Wilderness Resort campground on Walt Disney World.

Miami-Dade Teens Injured - Two Others Killed When Tractor-Trailer Crashed Into Their Cars On U.S. 27 In Weston

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 12:33:01 -0500

BROWARD COUNTY — A tractor trailer crashed into two parked cars along U.S. 27 killing two and causing serious injuries to four others early this morning according to Florida Highway Patrol.

The two cars, a 1998 Acura Integra and a 1994 Honda Civic, were apparently stopped side by side when the truck hit them and crushed the rears of both cars according to investigators.

The accident happened about 12:30 a.m. and closed the roadway to northbound traffic for more than 6 hours.

Witnesses are being interviewed and a detailed investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the deadly crash.

FHP Sgt. Mark Wysocky said they are "investigating to see if there was some sort of racing going on." Police have not yet released the identity of the two people who were killed in the truck accident.

Anthony Perez, 19, of Miami was air-lifted to North Broward Medical Center in critical condition. Raymon Garcia, 18, of Virginia Gardens was taken to Broward General Medical Center in serious condition. Angel Lazo, 18 and Matthew A. Forman, 19, both of Miami Springs were transported to Broward General Medical Center in serious condition.

All of the occupants in both cars were wearing seatbelts, according to investigators.

The tractor trailer driver, Placid Ferdinand, 42, was not injured and his passenger, 47 year old Sandy Kay Ferdinand was treated at the scene for minor injuries.