Category: <span>Florida Personal Injury Attorney</span>

Our children are valuable and precious, and despite all the care and attention we put into protecting them, they do get hurt sometimes. Understanding the injuries they suffer and the time and expense it takes to heal is necessary for children to recover physically, mentally, and emotionally.

The leading causes of injuries to children include burns, falls, poisonings, and accidents on bicycles. For infants, drownings and suffocation are leading causes for accidental death, and for children 5 to 18 it is motor vehicle accidents. Every hour in this country almost 150 children visit emergency rooms due to accidents on the road. The good news is that nationally the number of serious injuries and deaths to children have decreased due to better safety systems in cars like airbags and other restraint devices.

Bicycle and pedestrian injuries remain high, however, often with drivers hitting people because they are distracted behind the wheel. Please urge kids to be very careful and ride on bike paths rather than in the street. Wearing helmets, other protective garments, and bright reflective clothing can help. Stress to children that they should never assume the driver of a car or truck will see them because they often won’t.

Often after a serious injury the recovery period is very long, and sometimes there is permanent damage. When this is the case it is critical to fight for expenses that may very well be lifelong in nature. Settling a case for less than what will be needed for necessary expenses in the future can result in a very disappointing outcome.

It’s important to understand that a minor child cannot file a personal injury claim on their own, it must be done by a parent or guardian and Florida Statute 744.387 is the pertinent section. Sometimes there may be issues regarding parents who are divorced and who will be the one to look after the minor’s best interests. It is prudent to work with a personal injury attorney who is experienced advising parents about injuries to minors in order to fight for the best long-term results possible.

The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has worked for families with children for 27 years, helping injured kids recover and move on. We are concerned not only for the immediate needs of injured victims, but we work hard to make sure people are taken care of over as many years as it takes. Call us at (954) 356-0006 for a complimentary and confidential consultation.

People are injured all over south Florida every day, and the causes range from automobile, truck, and motorcycle accidents to workplace accidents to medical malpractice. It’s traumatic physically and emotionally to be harmed in any way but when it is due to the carelessness or negligence of someone else, the law provides a way to seek compensation for damages.

Laws can be difficult to understand and navigating the court system may seem like walking through a maze, but it can be done and most of the time, justice prevails.

What is Time Frame for a Typical Personal Injury Case?

First of all, there is no such thing as a typical personal injury case. Since 1992 we have helped victims of every conceivable injury, and none have been typical. Even after all our cases, we understand we must be prepared for something completely unique every day. This is why we are constantly studying the latest court cases and rulings.

Because there are so many different types of injuries and because their causes and circumstances vary, it is difficult to estimate the time it may take to settle. Insurance companies are often involved in mediation and litigation, and we certainly have learned that many companies are not very agreeable when it comes to seeing the reasonable side of our client’s case. This is when we have to be strong and fight for what is right.

An insurance company may try to rush a victim into accepting a quick offer that is not enough to cover a victim’s injuries as well as possible future expenses. There are cases where relevant evidence needs to be collected or witnesses need to be located and that may delay the expeditious conclusion to a case.

We do make this promise to each and every client: We will work tirelessly to get you the maximum compensation allowed by law for your injuries, pain, suffering, time lost from work, property damages, and emotional stress. We will never waste your time and we will always move as quickly as possible to resolve your case.

We also promise to tell you what to expect during the process and we never set unreasonable expectations.

The first step is to call us. We answer the phone every day, and you will speak directly with attorney Gary Lazarus. Our number is (954) 356-0006

Every young person looks forward to their first solo trip in an automobile! The feeling of freedom is overwhelming as you zoom down the highway with the windows down and your favorite song on the radio. You’re in control of the destination and the route, and it’s a day most people never forget.

When people begin to grow old, there often comes a time when it might be necessary to relinquish some freedom and leave the driving to someone else for safety’s sake. There may be no subject for a family to consider that is less stressful than asking a loved one to give up driving. A car means freedom and independence, and not having access to one means dependence on others, public transportation, or expensive trips in taxis and Ubers.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) recently completed a study that found most elderly drivers never have a conversation with their doctor or their family about the possibility of giving up their driving. Most respondents said it is simply because they fear losing their independence.

According to an article in Consumer Reports magazine, “most people under 65 are unwilling to talk to their parents about when it’s time to stop driving; in fact, 40 percent said they’d rather discuss funeral arrangements with their parents.”

Florida Class E (non-commercial) driver licenses for citizens and immigrants are valid for eight years for individuals under 80 years and six years for individuals over 79. Drivers over 79 must pass a vision test to renew. Other than the vision test there is no other screening, so friends and family of elderly drivers must speak up if there is a reasonable suspicion that a person is unable to drive safely due to some physical or mental deficiency.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has an excellent page on their website about how to sit down and have a talk about elderly driver issues and it’s better to have discussions now rather than later when a decision may have to be made or after an accident. Click here to visit the page.

Broward County Accident Attorneys

We have worked with the victims of serious car, truck, and motorcycle accidents over the past 26 years and some of them were the result of elderly drivers who were not capable to see or respond to other vehicles as well as they perhaps used to. These are preventable situations, and while we understand the serious implications of taking away an elderly individual’s ability to drive, we recommend that families at least examine the situation. Perhaps a family physician can help.

If you have questions about an accident you were involved in, please call us and we’ll do our best to help. We are available at 954-356-0006

The video below is not intended to shock anyone into an imprudent decision regarding an elderly driver, but it represents a real isolated incident involving a motorist who could have caused a very serious accident because of her confusion. 

Out there on the road drivers have to contend with other cars, motorcycles, trucks, and a variety of bicycles, mopeds, scooters, as well as pedestrians & pets. For this article on scooters we are not going to discuss the stand-up scooters that kids usually ride and move with foot power, but the larger scooters you see mixed in with traffic on the roads. (like the red one in the picture.) Mopeds have an engine size typically 50 cc or less and a top speed of about 28 mph, while the scooter’s engine size can range from 50 cc to 150 cc, achieving top speeds up to 60 mph.

Scooters are not as popular in the U.S. as they are in Europe and Asia, but in areas with beaches and large numbers of tourists (south Florida) they are very common. There are also a high number of scooters being rented, which means the people operating them are unfamiliar with the scooter, the roads, and there is a higher probability they have been out partying which means they may be under the influence of alcohol.

Florida law does not require insurance for mopeds and scooters, so even though they may seem small and not capable of a lot of damage, that is not true. Scooters often collide with groups of pedestrians and the injuries can be severe, even fatal. When a scooter is rented out, there is often no liability insurance and no head protection offered the rider or passenger. Who is responsible for damage, injuries, and deaths when a moped or scooter causes a serious accident? This can be a complicated question and the answer is not always easy.

It’s possible the driver of the scooter is totally responsible, but there may be some level of fault assigned the other parties to the accident. It’s possible the accident was caused by another driver or any number of circumstances. This is one of the reasons it’s wise to call an experienced accident attorney after an injury, so a thorough investigation can be initiated. In the end, the court may have to decide.

Fort Lauderdale Accident Attorneys

The attorneys at Lazarus Law Firm have helped hundreds of accident victims get the compensation they need to pay medical bills and other expenses while they recover. The process can be confusing which is why we are ready to speak with you when you call us a 954-356-0006 seven days a week. We’ll let you recover while we handle the hard work.

Note: The “other” types of scooters (in the picture to the right) are also very popular and also are very capable of being involved in serious accidents. Right now there is a new company – Bird Scooters – sweeping across the country renting electric scooters and they will likely be in south Florida soon. We’ll be writing about them in the near future.