Articles Posted in Car Accidents

Due to the Florida climate, outdoor activities in the state are common all year round. Swimming pools are common in Florida homes and apartment complexes. In fact, many community associations attract buyers and renters with swimming pools on the property. In some cases, the swimming pool is private, and other times it is shared between multiple units. Robert Dixon is a highly experienced Miami personal injury lawyer who has helped numerous clients resolve their accident cases when the injury involved a swimming pool.

In the case of Southern Owners Insurance Company v. Cooperativa v. De Seguros Multiples, etc., the Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeals held that an owner within a condominium association is not covered under the association’s insurance in a case claiming negligent supervision that ended in a child’s death through drowning.

The facts of the case are as follows. The decedent was a seven-year-old boy who was in the care of a homeowner who lived in a private and gated condominium association. The boy was using the association’s shared swimming pool at the time he drowned. Subsequently, the boy’s mother filed suit against the condominium owner under the theory of negligent supervision. The mother also sued the association for negligence. Continue Reading ›

In most cases, determining where you should file your lawsuit is pretty easy to ascertain. The matter can become much more complicated, however, if one party is not from the state. Florida is a tourist hub, which means there are lots of travelers from other places on the road at any given time. Often, automobile accidents occur because people are not familiar with the area or local driving rules. When parties in an accident are from different jurisdictions, the process of filing a lawsuit can be quite complex. In Branch v. Selmo, the court addressed the issue of car accidents involving international drivers.

The facts of the case are as follows. The plaintiff was seriously injured in a car accident while she was in Florida on a business trip from Barbados. The plaintiff was not driving. She was a passenger in the car while her co-worker operated the vehicle. The co-worker was at fault for the car wreck. The plaintiff’s employer was a bank in Barbados. The plaintiff subsequently sued her co-worker and the bank she worked for in Barbados but did not pursue the case any further. Instead, she filed a lawsuit against the same defendants in the state of Florida a year before the statute of limitations was about to expire.

The case progressed in Florida over the next few years until a trial was set. At that time, the co-worker filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming that Barbados was the appropriate forum to litigate the matter. The co-worker further reasoned that if the verdict was not favorable to the plaintiff in Florida, she would still be able to pursue a lawsuit in Barbados. In this way, the plaintiff could seek a “double recovery.” Continue Reading ›

Rear end accidents happen frequently in the state of Florida and throughout the United States. In some situations, state law presumes that a rear end auto accident is caused by the rear driver in the accident. This assumption arises due to the idea that the rear driver should leave ample room between his or her car and the car ahead so that there is enough room to stop without causing an accident.

In Sorel v. Koonce, the plaintiff was rear ended by a driver who was operating a Comcast van. The plaintiff was in the car with her husband, who was driving the car, and her child, who was seated in the backseat at the time of the accident. According to the plaintiff, they were about to make a left turn when an oncoming driver ran a red light, prompting them to suddenly hit the brakes. This is when the Comcast van driver rear ended their vehicle. The plaintiff subsequently sued the driver as well as Comcast for her injuries.

The trial court denied plaintiff’s request for a directed verdict. The jury ultimately concluded that the Comcast van driver’s negligence did not cause the plaintiff’s injuries. The plaintiff then filed a motion seeking a new trial. Continue Reading ›