Articles Posted in Car Accidents

MIAMI, FL—An 18-year-old Miami girl was killed when the motorcycle she was riding on the back of collided with a car on the Florida Turnpike on the night of September 14. According to information provided by NBC Miami, the fatal motorcycle wreck, which also caused left the 21-year-old Miami man who was driving the bike to suffer critical injuries, occurred in Broward County at approximately 11:30 p.m.

Troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) told reporters that Renzo P. D. Arrigo was behind the wheel of a Ford Taurus, traveling along the northbound lanes of Florida’s Turnpike in Broward, when his vehicle crashed violently into the back of a 2006 Yamaha, which was being operated by Yasciel Sanchez Sainz at the time.

Both Sainz and his female passenger, Idairis De La Cruz were ejected from the motorcycle on impact. While De La Cruz succumbed to her traumatic motorcycle accident injuries at the scene of the Florida Turnpike crash, Sainz was rushed to Hollywood-based Memorial Regional Hospital. The Miami motorcyclist was listed in critical condition upon transport. Arrigo, who sustained non-life threatening injuries in the South Florida collision, was also taken to the hospital for treatment.

While the cause of the car-motorcycle accident remained unclear, the Florida Highway Patrol was expected to conduct a full investigation. No charges appear to have been filed in connection with the Florida Turnpike crash as of yet.

According to statistics provided via the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), which was created by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a total of 4,595 motorcycles were involved in fatal traffic accidents throughout the nation during the year 2009. Of those motorcycles, 431 were involved in fatal Florida crashes.

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MIAMI, FL—An arrest warrant has been issued for the Miami driver who was inebriated when he became involved in a violent 5-fatality crash that occurred on Interstate 95 in March 2011. According to information provided by the Miami Herald, 24-year-old Carlos Augusto Lacayo, the South Florida drunk driver charged with five counts of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide in connection with the fatal I-95 accident, could potentially serve up to 75 years in prison if he is convicted.

Lacayo was behind the wheel of a 2010 Honda Accord (which Miami-Dade court documents indicate belonged to his mother), traveling in the highway’s express lane, when his vehicle abruptly swerved onto the shoulder. Upon doing so, the Honda crashed through a concrete barrier and subsequently slammed into several Miami drivers and passengers who were situated on the shoulder. Those individuals were apparently awaiting the arrival of Miami-Dade Police officers following a previous minor accident with an immobilized vehicle at the time.

Reports indicated five of those Miami car accident victims lost their lives in the violent Florida I-95 accident. Authorities said four of the crash victims, whom were identified as 23-year-old Emerson Michael Kastenholz, 22-year-old Antuan Fernandez Perez, 57-year-old Evidia Rodriguez and 48-year-old Mirtha Queipo, were pronounced dead at the scene of the fatal highway crash. The last victim, 38-year-old Ana Belkis Gomez, was initially rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital, though her injuries ultimately proved fatal five days later.

Lacayo was given a toxicology test four hours after the Miami wreck occurred, as he was receiving medical treatment for unspecified injuries. Toxicology results indicated Lacayo had a blood alcohol content level (BAC) of .127. Furthermore, the Miami driver reportedly told one of the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) troopers who responded to the scene that he had consumed alcoholic beverages at a nightclub before the horrific I-95 car crash occurred.

Reports noted that accident victim Emerson Michael Kastenholz’s family filed a lawsuit, likely claiming wrongful death, in connection with the deadly South Florida collision. The pending litigation names both Carlos Augusto Lacayo and his mother, Claudia as defendants. The owner of the immobilized car involved in the first minor crash was also named as a defendant.

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MIAMI, FL—Authorities have found a person of interest in the ongoing investigation into the unfortunate April 30, 2011 hit-and-run accident that claimed the life of a 14-year-old Miami Gardens boy. According to information provided by the Orlando Sentinel, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) identified their person of interest as 40-year-old Odingo K. Walden, who was caught on camera driving a pickup truck strikingly similar to the one involved in the fatal Miami-Dade County car crash.

Reports indicated Andre McCarthy was trying to cross Northwest 27th Avenue when an unspecified red pickup truck slammed into him in the northbound lanes, near Northwest 194th Street. It was not clear if the teenage crash victim succumbed to his severe injuries at the scene, or if emergency medical services (EMS) rushed him to a hospital beforehand.

The hit-and-run driver, on the other hand, subsequently fled the scene. FHP troopers relayed witness reports, which described a red pickup striking the teen upon turning out of a parking lot. Surveillance photos show Walden behind the wheel of a red Dodge Ram pickup truck moments before the deadly collision occurred.

Earlier this month, our firm along with the the Florida Justice Association traveled to Tallahassee, FL to lobby the the Florida legislature. One proposed bill of particular interest would increase the minimum amount of automobile insurance coverage a convicted felon would be required to carry while operating a car or other motor vehicle in Florida.

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A private road may only be open to certain drivers, but when it is inadequately designed and constructed, danger isn’t choosy. Our client, a 71-year-old truck driver, suffered a skull fracture
— resulting in hospitalization, rehabilitation, and an enormous workman’s compensation lien — in a 2005 accident on a private road used by contractors hauling fill material to a construction site.

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Questions still remain about Florida’s No Fault Insurance Law. Under the previous legislation, which expired on October 1, 2007 Florida drivers were required to hold $10,000 of personal injury protection on their car or automobile insurance policies. Under the existing law, individuals who sustain injuries in a car or automobile accident were covered for the first $10,0000 of the medical bills regardless of who causes the crash.

The effects and future of this legislation will have a significant for those who are injured in car and other automobile accidents. Florida was one of only twelve states to carry this legislation. Charlie Christ has included the scope of the legislative special set session of Florida law markers by adding no-fault auto insurance to the agenda.

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No renewal of no-fault before Oct. 1
As Florida’s no-fault insurance law ends its three-decade run Oct. 1, the state’s highly competitive automobile insurance market may be ready to enjoy a new dawn — or enter a new Dark Ages, depending on who you talk to.Hospitals fear being stuck with unpaid emergency room bills. Insurance agents are puzzling over what to advise their clients — no-fault protection won’t go away all at once but rather as policies come for renewal in the coming months. And consumers are often confused that the only plan for the future seems to be allowing no-fault to sunset and letting the chips fall as they may.

The only consensus among lawmakers and various business interests is that the current law invites fraud. There’s no agreement on any kind of solution.The Legislature is now supposed to meet for a budget-cutting session Oct. 3, rather than Sept. 18 as originally projected. Many lawmakers anticipated a last-minute effort to extend or even reform no-fault during the earlier date.Now that the target is Oct. 3, it’s certain that no-fault will expire — and there’s no word on whether the special session order that should be published this week will contain any agenda item other than the budget.

It’s a PIP

The centerpiece of no-fault is its mandatory $10,000 personal injury protection coverage, which pays 80 percent of medical expenses and 60 percent of lost wages plus miscellaneous household expenses that might be caused by an accident — for example, hiring cleaning or yard service while convalescing.

PIP has been effective in providing quick settlements of legitimate medical expenses, especially emergency room bills.But it’s also spawned many outpatient “PIP clinics,” mainly in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. These medical facilities are noted less for the effectiveness of the treatments they provide than for the speed with which they can file claims totaling $10,000.”Our no-fault system was by no means perfect. You are never going to come up with a perfect system as long as there are people out there looking to play the system and defraud the system,” said Jim Nolan, president of Nolan Family Insurance. “It drives auto insurance costs for every consumer up by hundreds of dollars every year.

“The ripple effects from this are going to be heard for years to come,” he said.

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