Miami Injury Lawyer Blawg

A Hollywood woman, not wearing a helmet, was killed in a Motorcycle crash on Interstate 95.

Cheryl Aletta Adams, 38, of Hollywood, was the passenger on a motorcycle being driven by Mustafa Filiz, 39, of Miami.

The motorcycle was traveling north on Interstate 95 at Hallandale Beach Boulevard at about 11:45 p.m., when it slammed into the rear of a road maintenance vehicle. Both Adams and Filiz, who were not wearing helmets, were ejected from the motorcycle. Adams died at the scene and Filiz was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital, where he is recovering from serious injuries.

Continue reading "I-95 Motorcycle Accident Kills Woman Who Was Not Wearing A Helmet" »

Bicycle Accidents usually occur when a cyclist is hit by a vehicle. However, a large number of accidents are caused by faulty equipment. In a recent blog I wrote about Trek Steer Tubes and a number of riders that had problems with broken steer tubes. How a company goes about acknowledging a problem and preventing future problems can go a long way in both preventing injuries and gaining goodwill.

The debate has been around since the days of the Ford Pinto, and the leaking gas Tank. A company will decide whether it is more cost effective to recall and replace all of the defective parts on the market or simply sit back and wait for the injuries to occur and pay the lawsuits as they come.

I recently had my own experience in dealing with two popular companies.. The first was with TREK. A company everyone knows because of Lance Armstrong. A large company, with a long history of producing bicycles. A client requested I call Trek for a warranty issue because his frame was clearly cracked. Despite the obvious signs of a cracked frame Trek refused to honor the claim, and refused to warranty the bike. Trek insisted the problem was cosmetic. My client, rightfully so, is scared to ride his bicycle. Similar to the reaction with the broken Steer Tubes, TREK refused to accept responsibility.

On the opposite end of the spectrum was my dealings with EDGE composites, a small wheel and component manufacturer in Utah. I purchased a set of Edge wheels and rode them in a race in North Carolina. The heat from the braking caused the wheels to warp. This was a known problem with clincher wheels, but this particular set was a tubular.I contacted Edge and sent the wheels to them for inspection. Edge immediately acknowledged the problem, and offered to refund my money, send me another set of tubulars , or even better-Acknowledged a potential defect and said they were testing out a new set of carbon Tubulars, and they would send me a pair of carbon clinchers to ride until the new tubulars were out on the market.

Edge created Goodwill and avoided a potential injury by taking a defective product off the market.

Continue reading "How Bicycle Manufacturers Can Prevent Bad Accidents" »

On July 15, 2010, Mike Lasche Legislative Chairman Florida Bicycle Association met with Aaron Nevins, the aide to Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, whose district 91 includes coastal areas of Palm Beach and Broward County. He explained to Lasche that they are interested in removing the bike lanes from approximately a mile of A1A, where it runs in front of Birch State Park, from Sunrise Boulevard north to where the beach high-rises begin again. The purpose of this would be to reduce the roadway width by 10 feet and add 10 feet to the sidewalk which will become the future Barrier Island Greenway. Nevins said that this would benefit sidewalk cyclists whom they feel exist in larger numbers at that location.

During the conversation, Lasche asked Nevins about the recently passed HB 971, the bill which requires cyclists to mandatorily stay in the bike lane if one is provided. Nevins stated that Rep. Bogdanoff had been the legislator who inserted this language in HB 971, a bill whose language was kept secret from public view until the final days of the Legislature. Nevins said that Bogdanoff had inserted this language because a local safety activist, Jim Smith, had asked for it. Also, because the Sun-Sentinel had run two editorials against bike lanes on A1A. Also, because there had been some problems and incidents with pack cyclists on A1A impeding motorists. He also explained that another motive for HB 971 was that "it's a chess game to see if bicyclists will still want to keep the bike lanes on A1A." Cyclists have to decide "if they like bike lanes or not."

During this conversation, Nevins said that he thought that bike lanes would arise in next year's legislature. In a prior conversation, he suggested that Rep. Bogdanoff would work to change the state's laws that require bicycle facilities within one mile of an urban area so that they could have "flexibility with bike lanes on A1A."

So, in a nutshell, Bogdanoff wants a wider sidewalk on a 1 mile stretch of A1A. In order to do that, she would like to remove the bike lanes. To make that happen, she introduced the mandatory lane language in HB 971 so that cyclists would hate the bike lane and go along with removing them. And, they are considering an attack on the state law which requires bicycle facilities on roads throughout the whole state of Florida.......all for one mile of wide sidewalk. Decades of progress and Florida's bicycle future may be harmed, just to get one mile of wider sidewalk in Ft. Lauderdale.

What should be noted is that the original plans for the reconstruction of A1A included wide sidewalks on both sides but some local businesspeople objected to that, demanded that parking be placed on both sides of the road, not just the ocean side. In order to make this happen, the sidewalk widths were sacrificed. It should also be mentioned that the simple answer to widening the sidewalk is simply to widen it. The land to the east is publicly owned and some of the current sidewalk, around the shower facilities, already extends to a wider width.

All of this trouble stems from the idea that the bike lanes should be removed on A1A, in front of Birch State Park. If that was not an option, Bogdanoff would not have brought us HB 971 and would not want to change existing law which requires bicycle facilities on urban roads. So, we need to nip all of this in the bud. We need to make it clear that removal of the bike lanes is not an option.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Legislator threatens Bike Lanes on A1A and throughout State of Florida" »

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of a 16-year-old boy died after the ATV he was on collided with a wooden utility pole.

Enrique Rodriguez, 16, of Southwest Ranches, was driving the ATV, and Daniel Perez, of Pembroke Pines, was a passenger when the accident occurred in the 5400 block of Southwest 172nd Avenue just before 5 p.m. Monday, July 12, 2010. He was taken by helicopter to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where he died.

While Sheriff's traffic homicide unit investigators are looking into the cause of the accident, what is known is that neither teen was wearing a helmet.

All-terrain vehicles, which can go up to 100 mph, are not legal on public roads in Florida. To legally operate an ATV, a Florida resident must either drive on their private land or gain permission from a private land owner.

Continue reading "Southwest Ranches Teen Dies in ATV Crash" »