Pensacola Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

With Tropical Storm Bonnie threatening, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is urging boat owners to secure their vessels properly before the storm arrives. Unsecured boats can cause pollution, damage waterway infrastructure, interfere with navigation, and cause costly, dangerous or even deadly boat accidents.

"Vessels that break free can cause problems to waterways by causing fuel and oil pollution, drifting into bridges, docks, seawalls and piers, and interfering with navigation," said Capt. Carol Keyser with FWC's Boating and Waterways Section in a news release.

"Now is the time to properly secure your vessel to make sure it doesn't break free and cause damage to property or result in people getting injured."

Florida law can hold you responsible for costs and damage caused by unmoored or abandoned vessels. Unfortunately, the state is often overwhelmed with lost and damaged vessels after significant storms.

Jose Maisonet-Maldonado was wanted for stabbing his girlfriend to death. He had admitted doing it, and Orlando police were hot on his trail.

Catching sight of him in east Orange County, they chased him for nine miles through busy streets on a Saturday night in April. The cars were going nearly 100 miles an hour as they reached downtown Orlando.

That high-speed chase ended abruptly and fatally that night when Maisonet-Maldonado's vehicle slammed into a car carrying two young radiology technicians, Amanda Taylor, 28, and Fransesca Jeffry, 22.

The families of the two best friends are now suing the Orange County Sheriff's Office for wrongful death.

When Are Police Chases Considered Negligent?

Police officers have a great deal of latitude to perform their duties before they are subject to lawsuit. However, if the officer was negligent or reckless about the decision to pursue a high-speed chase, the officer and the municipality can be held responsible for the harm they cause.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, two people were hospitalized Wednesday morning after separate incidents: a car-bicycle crash and a motorcycle accident. The motorcyclist was seriously injured, but both of the victims are expected to survive.

The motorcycle accident occurred around 9:15 at the 5000 block of North Palafox Street at Carolyn Way.

According to the FHP, Shannon Johnson of Pensacola was driving her four-door Ford sedan along Carolyn Way. She turned right onto U.S. 29 just as motorcyclist Thomas Grimm of Pensacola changed from the middle lane of U.S. 29 to the outside lane. The front of Johnson's Ford struck the rear of the motorcycle.

Grimm, age 70, was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in serious condition. He remains in the hospital today in fair condition. After the motorcycle accident, Johnson was ticketed for violating the right of way in a situation with a stop sign. Neither Johnson nor her passenger was injured.

A recent strategy being used by advocacy groups working to reduce injures from dog bites is a push to require at least some dog owners to buy dog bite insurance. Although neither Pensacola nor Florida is currently considering that, you may still be wondering whether buying dog bite insurance could protect you financially.

Dog bites can cause serious injuries to children and adults alike. According to some estimates, nearly 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs in the U.S. every year. Of those, approximately 800,000 need immediate medical treatment. Emergency room reports estimate that around 1,087 people are brought in for dog bite injuries every single day.

With statistics like that, you can see why it's essential for every dog owner to carry insurance that covers dog bite claims. The vast majority of people whose dogs bite someone probably never expected it to happen. Even negligent dog owners who should have known their dogs were aggressive are often caught off-guard when a dog bites occurs.

Unfortunately, even if the dog's owner feels honor-bound to pay reasonable medical expenses for the injury, many people wouldn't be able to afford to do so without insurance.

Pensacola and the Gulf Coast have already been hit hard by the Gulf Oil Spill -- Escambia County is the hardest hit area in Florida. The last thing we need is additional pain -- such as boat accidents or injuries in the cleanup zone.

That being said, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) Boating and Waterways Section is asking all boaters to slow down in areas where oil cleanup is underway. Boaters should maintain a slow speed within 300 feet of any oil-containment booms or other cleanup equipment.

Large, cumbersome oil-skimming equipment is restricted in its ability to maneuver, so exercise extreme caution and comply with all navigational rules. Boaters need to employ proper lookouts for obstacles such as unmanned containment booms and be prepared to stay clear of booms and vessels.

The FWC warns that failure to operate at a slow speed in the cleanup zone could result in boat accidents, which could mean injuries and damage both to vessels and to containment booms.

Equally important, the wake from a vessel operating at anything above a very slow speed can swamp deployed booms and reduce their effectiveness, resulting in increased environmental damage.

The Florida Highway Patrol is still investigating after a tragic motorcycle accident on Saturday in Pace. No charges have been filed, but a vehicular homicide investigation is underway after the fatal crash over the Independence Day holiday weekend.

The motorcycle accident occurred near U.S. Highway 90 and Diamond Street in Pace. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the motorcyclist was traveling eastbound on U.S. 90 at the time of the accident. A Chevy pickup truck driven by 23-year-old Ryan Johnson of Century, was heading northbound on Diamond Road but was stopped at a stop sign.

When Johnson tried to turn left onto westbound U.S. 90, he drove into the path of the motorcyclist, who struck the pickup truck and was ejected. The motorcyclist and the bike came to rest on the eastbound lanes of U.S. 90.

The injured motorcyclist, an unidentified male, was taken to West Florida Hospital and then later transferred to Sacred Heart Hospital. He succumbed to his injuries on Sunday, July 4th.

The motorcyclist is not being identified until his relatives can be notified.

Johnson and the two passengers in his truck were not injured. Depending on the outcome of the Florida Highway Patrol investigation, Johnson could face charges vehicular homicide as well as a wrongful death claim, as is the case in any fatal car accident.

Related Resource:

"Motorcyclist dies after Sunday crash with pickup in Pace" (Pensacola News Journal, July 5, 2010)

According to a report released last week by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, traffic fatalities dropped by 14 percent last year, reaching the lowest rate o record. 2009 was the fourth consecutive year of decreases. Motorcycle accident fatalities plunged by a whopping 24 percent over the same period.

The report, called the "2009 Florida Traffic Crash Statistics Report," summarizes information submitted by state and local law enforcement agencies.

"The report shows that we are moving toward the Department's vision of a safer Florida," the DHSMV's executive director, Julie L. Jones, said in a recent WCTV story.

"While multiple factors influence the numbers, the declining trends are a testament to the emphasis that law enforcement agencies, safety advocates and businesses have placed on saving lives on our roadways."

Reductions in Fatal Motorcycle Accidents and Teen Fatalities a Happy Surprise

Driver and passenger fatalities due to motorcycle accidents dropped by 24 percent in 2009, which is a welcome development. When Florida repealed its helmet law in 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated a study of motorcycling fatalities, showing a steady upward trend through 2003.

Police are unsure of the cause of a motorcycle accident on Sunday, June 27, that claimed the life of 26-year-old John K. Hodges, III, of Pensacola. The wreck occurred at approximately 8:40 p.m. on U.S. 98 just west of Fairfield Drive in Escambia County.

According a Florida Highway Patrol news release, Hodges may have been speeding as he rode his 1997 Suzuki motorcycle westbound on U.S. 98. He was described as traveling at a "high rate of speed." He was also not wearing a helmet.

Jason Sheridan, 28, also of Pensacola, was driving his 2004 Ford pickup eastbound on U.S. 98 when he attempted to turn left into a driveway. Unfortunately, he made his turn in front of Hodges motorcycle, which struck the passenger side of Sheridan's pickup. The FHP has said that Sheridan failed to yield the right of way when making the turn.