Fort Lauderdale Accident Attorney
| Arleen Lazarus | 0 Comments | Fort Lauderdale Accident Attorneys

Are You Required to Render Aid at a Traffic Accident? Fort Lauderdale Accident Attorneys

You probably remember a tragic incident last year when a Florida man drown in a pond while others recorded his struggle to survive on video. The Cocoa Police Department had recommended to the state attorney’s office that the group face charges of failure to report a death.
But recently the state attorney’s office announced that the group will not be criminally prosecuted. While there is a statute requiring people to report a dead body (Florida Statute 406.12), there is not a law requiring to report a person in distress or danger.

Fort Lauderdale Accident AttorneysThe situation is different in the case of an automobile, truck, or motorcycle accident. Florida Statute 316.062 “Duty to give information and render aid” say, in part:  “…..and shall render to any person injured in the crash reasonable assistance, including the carrying, or the making of arrangements for the carrying, of such person to a physician, surgeon, or hospital for medical or surgical treatment if it is apparent that treatment is necessary, or if such carrying is requested by the injured person.”

We understand that not everyone is a trauma surgeon or nurse and no one expects you to perform miracles on an injured person, but using common sense you may be able to save someone’s life. If you are concerned about personal liability, Florida’s “Good Samaritan Act (Florida Statute 768.13) says in part: “Any person, including those licensed to practice medicine, who gratuitously and in good faith renders emergency care or treatment either in direct response to emergency………….shall not be held liable for any civil damages as a result of such care or treatment or as a result of any act or failure to act in providing or arranging further medical treatment where the person acts as an ordinary reasonably prudent person would have acted under the same or similar circumstances.”

Did you know you can visit the Broward County chapter of the Red Cross website and click “Take a Class” to sign up for CPR, first aid, and other very important classes? This kind of training and knowledge may help you save someone’s life someday, not necessarily someone involved in an accident, but someone in your own family or circle of friends!

Fort Lauderdale Accident Attorneys

If you’re involved in an accident and you have done your duty about notifying the police, helping others, notifying your insurance company, and giving information to authorities you’ll want to call an attorney. We can’t count the number of times people have told us, “I really wish I would have called you” over the years. An experienced accident attorney will help protect your rights and guide you through the process of getting compensation for your damages and injuries if appropriate. We can be reached at 954-356-0006 7 days a week.

FYI: The Good Samaritan Act also applies to giving aid to animals! So help an injured dog or cat if you see one, it’s the right thing to do.

 

| Arleen Lazarus | 0 Comments | Florida Personal Injury Attorney

The Trouble with Scooters – Fort Lauderdale Accident Attorneys

South Florida Scooter AccidentsOut 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 Scooter Accident AttorneyFort 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.