Blog posts of '2022' 'May'

The return to business activity and traffic in 2021 was accompanied by a rise in pedestrian deaths. The Governor’s Highway Safety Administration estimated that 3,441 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents for the first half of 2021. This was a 17 percent increase compared to that same time in 2020.

Dangerous trend

In its report, the GHSA took into consideration that large parts of the country were locked down in 2020 which could impact data on motor vehicle accidents. It included 2019 data for a pre-lockdown comparison.

The GHSA’s report, however, classified the 507 additional deaths between the two years as preventable. Pedestrian fatality rates per population and vehicle miles traveled were disturbingly high.

This increase is part of a continuing dangerous trend for pedestrians. Pedestrian fatalities rose by 46 percent from 4,457 to in 2011 to 6,516 in 2020. Pedestrian deaths constituted 17 percent of all traffic deaths during that time.

There were 2.3 pedestrian deaths per billion vehicle miles travelled for the first six months of 2021. This topped the previous record of 2.2 deaths per VMT in 2020.

Overall traffic fatalities also rose. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 31,720 people were killed in accidents in the first three quarters of 2021. This is the highest number of traffic deaths during the first nine months of a year since 2006.

Florida’s deadly increase

Florida, California, and Texas, with 27 percent of the U.S. population, had 37 percent of all pedestrian deaths during the first six months of 2021. More pedestrian traffic because of warmer climates and these states’ urban areas accounted for this statistic.

Florida was among 38 other states and the District of Columbia which reported higher pedestrian deaths for the first six months of 2021. Florida also had other troubling data:

• Florida pedestrian deaths rose from 339 for the first six months of 2020 to an estimated 444 fatalities for the same period in 2021. There were 385 pedestrian deaths for the first six months of 2019.
• Florida had a 30.97 increase in pedestrian deaths, 105 additional fatalities, from the first half of 2020 compared to that period in 2021.
• There were 1.57 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people for the first six months of 2020 which rose to 2.04 per 100,000 one year later.

Pedestrians have almost no protection against vehicles which have become larger and more dangerous. These accidents may be deadly or cause life-long and costly injuries. Attorneys can assist victims and their families with seeking compensation from negligent or reckless drivers and other parties.

Florida, as one of the most populous states in the country, sees thousands of medical treatments completed each day. Obviously, each patient hopes that the treatment they receive is top-notch. But, unfortunately, medical malpractice is more common than most people probably think. How can you tell if you might have a valid medical malpractice claim?

Standard of care

In many cases, the determination of whether medical malpractice occurred hinges primarily on one question: Did the healthcare professional deviate from the applicable standard of care for the treatment in question? Of course, boiling a case down to one seemingly straightforward question doesn’t make these types of cases simple. Medical malpractice cases can be notoriously difficult to prove.

To determine if you might have a valid medical malpractice claim or not, you will usually need to have a seasoned litigator evaluate the circumstances of your own unique case.

There are many factors at play in medical malpractice cases, including whether a doctor-patient relationship actually existed, whether the alleged malpractice is actually what caused the harm in question and whether there are actual damages to pursue, among other factors.

At our law firm, we work with Florida residents who believe that the care they have received from a medical professional was, in fact, malpractice. You may, at first, believe that there was just a bad outcome to the treatment. But, the situation may actually escalate to malpractice. For more information, please visit the medical malpractice overview section of our law firm’s website.

When it comes to receiving workers’ compensation benefits and what is and what is not covered, the rules are extremely strict. There are many people whose claims are rejected the first time around. If that happens, many people appeal the rejected claim and are eventually successful at receiving benefits.

One of the conditions that seems to be up for debate is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can occur due to many different experiences and which can be very difficult to treat. PTSD is nonetheless a very real condition and the person who is suffering deserves to get the support that they need to make their life better.

Who suffers from PTSD?

PTSD is common in people in the military (people who have either been in the military or who are currently still in the military) and first responders. It is not uncommon for a person to experience PTSD after having been involved in a shooting of some kind of violent event.

If a person suffers from PTSD, they are plagued by many emotions. The person often becomes volatile in certain situations that may trigger explosive behavior.

Solid advice from a knowledgeable workers’ compensation lawyer

If you are suffering from PTSD because of a work-related situation and have not been able to receive SSD benefits for your condition, the advice of an experienced Miami workers’ compensation lawyer may be invaluable to your case. The lawyer can walk you through the process and make sure that you understand your rights for a hopefully positive outcome.

We all take pride in putting in a hard day’s work but doing so sometimes leads to a workplace injury. While some injuries are minor and easily treated, others are major requiring extensive medical care.

Moreover, if you have a serious injury, you may not be able to work for a while. You may find yourself in a situation where you cannot pay your bills because you are too injured to go to work. For this reason, you will want to learn more about workers’ compensation benefits in Florida.

What are workers’ compensation benefits?

Workers’ compensation benefits are similar to insurance benefits. Your employer will provide you with payments if you are injured on the job and cannot work. The pay off is that if you receive workers’ compensation benefits, you cannot sue your employer for injuries suffered on the job.

What do workers’ compensation benefits cover?

Workers’ compensation benefits cover medical expenses. Your doctor will submit any authorized medical bills to your employer for payment. Workers’ compensation benefits also cover lost time from work. If you are injured and are unable to earn an income, you may receive payment for lost wages. You will only be paid for the first seven lost days of work if you are so injured that you cannot work for 21 days or more.

Workers’ compensation benefits help employees

If you are injured and cannot work, it is natural that you are concerned about how you will pay your bills. No one wants to be in a situation where they are deciding whether to pay for groceries, pay the electric bill or pay their medical bills when there is simply not enough money to go around. Workers’ compensation benefits are meant to eliminate this situation, so you can pay your bills until you are healthy enough to go back to work.