2010 September Archive

A major investigation by the Center for Public Integrity and the Carnegie-Knight Journalism Initiative paints a scary picture of our federal regulations when it comes to traffic safety.

The investigation finds that the National Transportation Safety Board, which is in charge of examining accidents, has essentially abandoned 1,952 of its safety recommendations. In fact, only one of every six recommendations has made it into law since 1967. It is taking longer than ever to put new laws into place – from 3.4 to 5.4 years over the past decade.

Airline safety is not doing much better with more than 2,300 people dying on runways from ice buildup, faulty aircraft repairs, and tired pilots. The NTSB has tried to address the tired pilot problem by issuing 138 fatigue-related safety recommendations since 1967. So far, only 68 have been implemented, even though more than 320 accidents have occurred that were a result of fatigue.

Concerning the U.S. rail system, the investigation finds that had more than 780 rail accidents may have been averted if automated train control technology had been installed.

“America’s transportation safety apparatus is badly broken,” said Bill Buzenberg, the center’s executive director. “Recommendations ignored; cases closed without resolution. Our joint investigation clearly shows what’s wrong with the system. It’s mind-boggling to think how many lives could be saved if we just did things right.”

As this report demonstrates, the safety of travelers is of extreme importance and Florida is no exception. As Jacksonville personal injury attorneys, we have seen far too many serious injury and wrongful death accidents occur due to a person’s negligence. It is crucial for all motorists and operators of public transportation to uphold their responsibilities and follow the law to help prevent accidents.

The Breakdown: Traveling Dangerously in America report is available on the Center for Public Integrity’s Web site.

A Trinity, Florida man was taken into custody by the Florida Highway Patrol Tuesday, September 21, for causing a crash that killed his wife, according to Tampa Bay Online.

Philip Billitteri, 58, had a blood alcohol level of 0.194, more than twice the limit for impairment, when he was in a Florida car accident on April 30. FHP charged him with DUI manslaughter in the crash that killed his wife, Sherry, 66.

Troopers accuse Billitteri of driving his Chrysler PT Cruiser and turning from Trinity Boulevard onto Tamarind Boulevard. He is alleged to have cut off a pickup truck which hit the right side of the cruiser. The Chrysler was sent spinning and Sherry Billitteri was partially ejected from the vehicle. She was not wearing her seat belt. She died about three hours later in Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg.

Her husband was wearing his seat belt and had minor injuries. The pickup truck driver also had minor injuries.

Billitteri was taken to Land O’ Lakes Jail on Monday on charges of DUI manslaughter which is a second degree felony and can carry a 15 year prison term. He was also charged with DUI and two counts of DUI with property damage.

The Florida Highway Patrol reports that alcohol-related fatalities decreased from 1,169 in 2008 to 1,004 in 2009.
About one-third of the more than 3,000 road deaths in our state annually involved alcohol and the FHP estimates the number could be closer to 40 percent.

If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident with a motorist who was driving under the influence, you may seek compensation for medical costs, property loss, expenses, and lost wages from the at-fault party. Call an experienced Florida wrongful death accident attorney to answer your questions.

These are not good days for GlaxoSmithKline and its diabetes drug, Avandia. The Food and Drug Administration has decided Avandia can stay on the market but must have additional warning labels and be restricted to those patients for whom other drugs do not work. Other GSK products containing rosiglitazone also face the same limitations.

The problem with Avandia may be its link to cardiovascular risks such as heart attack and stroke.

The FDA came very close to pulling Avandia off the market last July during an advisory panel meeting. The experts meeting did stop an Avandia trial called TIDE, which compared Avandia to Actos, a rival drug.

According to an FDA news release, the restrictions allow Type 2 diabetics, who are currently taking Avandia, to continue its use while use will be restricted to new patients only if they cannot control their blood sugar while on other medications and cannot take Actos.

Avandia is in a class of drugs known as thiazolidinediones or TZDs.

GSK will have to set up the limitations and doctors will have to confirm a patients’ eligibility. GSK will also have to assemble an independent group of experts to review the clinical trial known as RECORD which is completed to determine the safety of Avandia compared to other diabetes drugs. The cardiovascular safety question will be key.

It is very possible if GSK has shown bias in its study methods or results, the FDA could remove Avandia from the marketplace. If you or a loved one has taken Avandia and suffered a cardiovascular event, you should know that an experienced Florida defective product law firm will review your case at no cost to you.

Car owners who have had their image snapped at intersections by cameras designed to catch red-light runners are challenging the new rule, according to a report on News4Jax.

When the camera goes off, the owner of the vehicle will receive a ticket and a $158 fine in the mail. Allegedly, drivers took advantage of a yellow light and rushed through an intersection, or completely ran a red-light at a busy intersection. In July, the state decided to mount cameras at Florida’s busy intersections and sent tickets to alleged offenders.

So far, 26 lawsuits have been filed throughout the state. The basic principle of the criminal justice system is that law enforcement has to prove the owner of the vehicle is really at fault. In the case of red-light cameras, there is no witness to the offense such as a law enforcement officer who personally testifies as to what he or she saw.

The argument is that the burden to prove they are innocent falls on the driver, rather than the assumption they are innocent until proven guilty. The owner of an automobile captured by the red-light cameras does not even get a chance to prove he or she was not behind the wheel of the vehicle at the time of the offense.

The National Motorist Association (NMA) objects to the use of photographic devices to issue tickets and argues they can make our roads less safe. The group, which says it believes in rational traffic laws, states that the claims of safety come from companies that sell ticket cameras to municipalities and there is no independent verification that photo enforcement makes our roads safer.

Also, the group says the devices discourage the synchronization of traffic lights, which decrease congestion, pollution and fuel consumption.

Whatever your take is on red light cameras, it is important for all motorists to remember their responsibilities of driving safely. Anyone that has been involved in an accident caused by a negligent driver has legal rights that a Jacksonville car crash lawyer can protect.

An investigation is now complete into the death of a four-year-old British girl in a beach driving crash in March. The driver, Barbara Worley, of Elberton, Georgia, accidentally stuck Ellie Bland of Nottingham, England, March 20. Investigators now say she will not be charged because she was not at fault. The traffic homicide investigation took six months to complete.

Investigators conclude that the little girl ran in front of traffic and caused her own death on the beach.

Daytona is one of the few beaches in Florida that allows cars to travel on the sand. On that day, Ellie was walking and holding the hand of her great-uncle. They were trying to cross the driving lane. Worley showed some hesitation when she saw the pedestrians, but when she was yelled at by other drivers, she hit the accelerator and accidentally ran over the child.

So far this year, two young children have been killed in beach driving accidents in Volusia County. Another child, Aiden Patrick of Deltona, was killed on New Smyrna Beach in July. Beach driving is a tradition in Daytona that is reconsidered every time there is a tragic accident. In the last five years, more than 40 people have been hit by vehicles on the beach and half of those injuries have been serious.

If you or a loved one has been in an accident with a motor vehicle on or off the beach, the experienced Florida pedestrian accident attorneys at Farah and Farah will always offer a free and comprehensive consultation on your case.

A report has been issue detailing the dangers of parasailing that led to the death of a Georgia woman on vacation in Clearwater Beach.

Alejandra White, 27, and Shaun Ladd were parasailing above the beach on Sunday, September 5, when the tether connecting their harness to a towboat broke, according to WRDW. Ladd fell into the water and White was dragged by the runaway parachute into the beach area and onto a volleyball court where she hit a post. She was hospitalized but died days later. Ladd was not injured.

White and Ladd, who were engaged, were from the Atlanta area.

Bay News 9 reports the parasailers were about 50-feet above the water when a winch attaching them let loose and they slipped to the end of the line. That’s what caused it to snap according to a preliminary report from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Fortunately for Ladd, he was able to release himself from the line.

The U.S. Coast Guard is also investigating and has the parasail vessel and all equipment involved secured as part of its investigation.

Parasailing Accidents
The Parasail Safety Council estimates that in the U.S. over the last 10 years there have been 384 accidents which resulted in 22 deaths and 78 serious injuries.

In 2001, on Clearwater Beach, a mother and her teenage daughter were killed when the line broke in a storm and in 2007, a teenage girl died in south Florida.

That highlighted the fact that the industry falls under little regulations concerning, for example, when not to take customers out on the water. In this case, witnesses report there was a big storm filling the horizon accompanied by strong winds.

As we write this story, the head of the Parasail Safety Council, Mark McCulloh, writes, “I no longer believe that voluntary regulations are working, or will ever work.”

This is not the last we will hear about this industry and certainly not the last we will hear about this Florida wrongful death.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s office is looking for answers to the mysterious death of a young woman. The body of Delia S. Diaz, 22, was found inside a car that was partially submerged in a pond at an apartment complex, according to a News4Jax report.

The car was found at the Wimberly at Deerwood Apartments in the 9700 block of Touchton Road, Sunday afternoon, September 12. Police were alerted to the car by residents of the apartment complex. When a firefighter went into the water, he found the body in the submerged Saturn.

Jacksonville Fire Rescue dive team members helped remove the body and recover the car.

Police believe the vehicle had been in the water since Saturday night.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.

Our condolences are extended to the family and friends of Ms. Diaz for her sudden passing.

Submerged Vehicle Dangers
The Florida Highway Patrol reports about 4,800 cars end up submerged in Florida’s many canals and ponds every year when motorists drive off the road. AAA reports that about 300 people die in submerged vehicles nationwide every year.

What do you do if your car skids into a pond or lake?

Forget opening your door. It won’t open because the water pressure keeps it closed. Windows offer the best exit. It is best to roll down the window the minute the car hits the water and quickly get out. Some products such as LifeHammer are designed to break a passenger window in an emergency. Do not smash the windshield as too much water will come in and sink the car even faster. LifeHammer and ResQMe are sold at Ace Hardware for about $10 to $15 and they also cut through seat belts.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is reviewing the best child booster seats for the third time and finds consumer choices are increasing. Consumer Affairs reports that booster seats are used on four to eight year olds who outgrow child car seats, but who are still too small to be securely held safely by a seat belt, which is engineered for the adult body.

In all, researchers looked at 72 booster seats based on how well they fit the existing seat belt in the vehicle. A belt too high could cause a child to harm his neck in a Florida car accident. A shoulder belt that is uncomfortable often ends up behind the child where it does absolutely no good.

A good booster seat will route the lap belt across the upper thighs of the child and the shoulder belt at mid shoulder. A crash test does not give any information about how well the booster seat performs, so crash tests were not conducted. This is the first time that the number of Best Bet or Good Bet booster seats outnumbered the poor performers.

“Now more than ever manufacturers are paying attention to belt fit, and it’s showing up in our ratings,” said Anne McCartt, the Institute senior vice president for research. Last year only nine of the 60 seats evaluated earned a Best Bet nod.

Thirty-six of the booster seats however fell in the middle range because they don’t consistently fit well in a variety of cars, including SUVs and minivans. What should parents look for in assessing a Best Bet? The Institute says a bad fit is when a lap belt rides up on the stomach and the shoulder belt rubs against a child’s neck or falls off the shoulder.

Consumer Affairs has a list of Best Bets, Good Bets and those not recommended.

The recent closure of a Jacksonville nursing home highlights the fact that revoking a nursing home license is a rare occurrence in the state, according to research done by the Florida Times Union. Glenwood Nursing Center was the second nursing home in the state to have its license revoked in the past decade after years of poor reviews for the care it delivered, quality of life, and dignity.

106 residents called Glenwood home. The nursing home is fighting the state action.

The Agency for Health Care Administration has gone after other nursing homes for safety violations. In the past decade, 22 state nursing homes have received petitions to revoke their licenses, but in most cases, the state works with the home to improve conditions rather than close the doors, a situation where no one wins.

Three of the nursing homes that were petitioned, closed their doors on their own.

In Georgia, the past decade has seen six nursing homes close after they were terminated from the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs. For many nursing homes, federal money is what keeps the doors open.

Unfortunately, there are not enough nursing homes around that accept Medicaid, which reimburses for services at a lower rate than other types of insurance or private pay.

Closing a nursing home also raises concerns about the trauma a resident can experience when he or she is transferred from a nursing home they have known as their home and whose residents become their family. Many do not survive the trauma of a transfer.

If you think a loved one is suffering nursing home abuse in Florida, call the Florida Department of Children and Families Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873 or the police if the situation merits immediate intervention.

Florida Statute 400, the Nursing Home Residents’ Bill of Rights establishes basic dignity and treatment of the elderly to include:

1. Reasonable access to health and legal services
2. To be transferred or discharged only for medical reasons
3. To be free from mental and physical abuse, corporal punishment, seclusion, and physical and chemical restraints
4. To be treated courteously, fairly, and with the fullest measure of dignity
5. Privacy
6. To receive adequate and appropriate health care

When nursing home profits are more important than compassion toward our elderly, the Jacksonville nursing home neglect attorneys at Farah & Farah will launch an investigation to determine who should be held accountable.

The Department of Transportation reports that traffic deaths are on the decline nationwide, dropping to the lowest levels in 50 years. This is partially due to new technology, enforcement of drunk driving laws, and a more safety conscious public.

Florida led the nation with 422 fewer deaths in Florida auto accidents than the previous year and Texas was down 405 fewer deaths. In all, 41 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico saw a decline in highway fatalities.

Deaths from traffic accidents fell 9.7 % in 2009 to total 33,808. The previous year, an estimated 37,423 people died on our nation’s highways.

Besides more safety conscious motorists, more cars come complete with side air bags and stability control to prevent rollovers. Also many more states are focusing their efforts on curtailing drinking and driving. Jacksonville car accident lawyers and citizens alike also recognize that the economic downturn is also a factor as people are not driving as many miles collectively to work or to go out to bars and restaurants.

Motorcyclist deaths also fell 16 percent after 11 years of increases. In 2009, 4,462 motorcyclists died on our roads compared to 5,312 the previous year.

The use of seat belts is at an all-time high with about 85% of Americans now buckling up, and that is a factor sure to save lives. In Florida it is also the law.

The decline in traffic deaths occurs at a time when the estimated vehicle miles traveled last year actually increased by 0.2 percent over 2008.