| Arleen Lazarus | 0 Comments | Scooter Safety, Uncategorized

The Scooters are Here, and so are the Problems

It was just a matter of time. As south Florida becomes more and more urbanized the number of scooters, mopeds, and motorcycles increases. It’s just easier to get to where you need to be on a smaller conveyance than a big bulky car. And when you consider the warm weather factor, it’s even more appealing to leave the gas-guzzler home and “scoot” to work or the store.

The numbers have gone up dramatically in just the past few years for electric scooters from Lime, Bird and Bolt, the three major players in the booming scooter rental and sharing industry.

Hundreds and hundreds of electric scooters are buzzing all over the city and Broward county, and they are having an impact on traffic and safety. Many residents are complaining that scooter riders are not obeying traffic signs and laws, and they are a menace to other drivers. Some scooters are riding on sidewalks, which many people feel is very dangerous to pedestrians.

Lawsuits are being filed against the three companies including one naming Lime for a very serious accident that left a scooter rider in a coma.

The big question of course is about insurance and liability. And our advice is, of course, is that it’s better to be safe than sorry. Here is something from the National Association of Insurance Scooter SafetyCommissioners:

Before you decide to rent a scooter, you should understand the insurance implications and know whether you are covered.

Some cities, like San Francisco, require scooter rental companies to obtain a permit from the city and provide proof of insurance before they can operate legally. Unless the company policy indicates otherwise, assume you are not covered in case of an accident. You should rely on your health insurance for any medical injury you sustain. In case of an accident, you might not have any coverage if you are found liable for an accident or damage.

Check your insurance policies to determine whether you are covered. Automobile insurance generally omits liability coverage for motor vehicles with fewer than four wheels, and it’s unlikely to apply to scooter rentals. Although most homeowners policies provide some liability coverage even while you are away from your residence, it may be limited or excluded because the scooter is a rental.

Like any new trend, these issues may not be specifically addressed in your policy, and coverage will depend on the carrier and the specific language in your policy.

Understanding Your Scooter Insurance Options

Scooter Insurance: Regulations and requirements vary by state — often depending on the engine size. Most scooter rental companies offer rentals with engines smaller than 50 cc. While most states do not require insurance for engines that small, they do recommend it. Scooter insurance will often cover the following:

Collision: Covers damages resulting from a collision.
Liability: Protects against damage you do to others or their property while operating a scooter.
Medical: Covers your medical costs in an accident.

We suggest if you are going to rent a scooter that you check to make sure you have coverage. We also highly recommend you wear a quality helmet and that you become familiar with how to operate a scooter before you take it out into traffic. As the number of scooters increases, so will the accidents and injuries. Please be careful.

The transmission and receipt of information contained on this Web site, in whole or in part, or communication with Lazarus Law Firm via the Internet or e-mail through this website does not constitute or create a lawyer-client relationship between us and any recipient. You should not send us any confidential information in response to this web page. Such responses will not create a lawyer-client relationship, and whatever you disclose to us will not be privileged or confidential unless we have agreed to act as your legal counsel and you have executed a written engagement agreement with Lazarus Law Firm. The material on this website may not reflect the most current legal developments. The content and interpretation of the law addressed herein is subject to revision. We disclaim all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all the contents of this site to the fullest extent permitted by law. Do not act or refrain from acting upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel.

| Arleen Lazarus | 0 Comments | Auto Accident Attorneys | ,

Keeping Children Safe in Your Car – South Florida Accident Attorneys

We have worked with hundreds of people injured in car, motorcycle, and truck accidents over the past 27 years and it is always difficult to see people suffer from serious injuries. It’s even moreChildren Safety in Cars Fort Lauderdale difficult when children are involved, and often they are too young to even understand what has happened. Over 1000 children die in traffic accidents in the U.S. each year and many more are seriously injured.

Child Safety in Motor Vehicles

Many injuries to children are preventable with proper safety precautions, including using the proper car seat, installed according to directions. Another important thing to consider is that many people are injured by objects inside their own car. When a car impacts another vehicle or a stationary object like a tree, everything inside the car becomes an airborne danger. Please keep yourself and your child safely buckled in, but also keep loose objects stored in compartments or in the trunk.

We’re including an excellent video about child safety in the car at the bottom of this article.

Another danger to children is being left alone in a parked car. We see these incidents turn into tragedies every year and we can’t understand how it could happen. In south Florida the temperature inside a parked car can reach lethal temperatures.

At 70 degrees on a sunny day, after a half hour, the temperature inside a car is 104 degrees. After an hour, it can reach 113 degrees. When temperatures outside range from 80 degrees to 100 degrees, the temperature inside a car parked in direct sunlight can quickly climb to between 130 to 172.

Please click here to read an article that describes 8 options for gadgets and apps that can help prevent these terrible incidents from happening.

The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus is dedicated to helping keep our roads safe, but when crashed happen we then dedicate ourselves to protect the rights of victims who have been injured. We will fight to see every client is compensated for their injuries, medical care, lost wages, and pain and suffering. We are proud of our reputation as compassionate, yet tenacious advocates for our clients. Please call us at 954-356-0006 if you have any questions. We will be happy to meet you at one of our offices or at a location convenient for you.

 

 

South Florida Boating Accident Attorneys
| Arleen Lazarus | 0 Comments | BOATING ACCIDENTS

Spring and Summer Means More Boating Traffic, Accidents, and Injuries – South Florida Boating Accident Attorneys

Boat Accident Attorneys in Fort LauderdaleHere’s a bit of trivia to keep and store for future use to amaze your friends: What state has the most number of boats (the Coast Guard calls them vessels) registered? Florida! That’s pretty easy, but what state ranks second? Minnesota. That’s unexpected.

What state has the most miles of coastline? Alaska. Second place is Florida.

Knowing what you know now, what state ranks number one for boating accidents, injuries, and deaths? Unfortunately, it’s Florida.

Several things contribute to make the waters in and around Florida particularly dangerous, and congestion is one. The population of Florida has gone up every year since someone started counting.

In 1960 the population of Florida was 5 million people.

  • 1970      6.8 million
  • 1980      9 million
  • 1990      13 million
  • 2000     16 million
  • 2010      18.8
  • 2019      21.3 million

Waterways, harbors, lakes, canals, and rivers are all choked with boats especially in the summer which is coming soon.

Just like we preach about safety on the road, we also preach about safe boating because a portion of our law practice is dedicated to helping victims of accidents on the water. The laws for boating accidents are similar but different. Waterways are harder to maintain “traffic control” and there may not be red lights but there are laws. If you own a boat you should know them and obey. Going out on a boat is fun but that doesn’t mean you throw common sense out the window and become reckless.

Another thing to consider and understand when you’re out on a boat is that if someone does something irresponsible and there is a collision and injuries, it takes a lot longer for medical emergency responders to reach victims. It also takes longer to be transported to the hospital for treatment of serious injuries. If you’re three miles out in the Gulf Stream you may be an hour or more from getting to a trauma center. The Coast Guard statistics for Florida boating accidents document the fact that injuries and deaths increase through the Spring months and peak in July.

The smart thing is to avoid accidents. The number one reason for serious accidents is excessive speed. Being under the influence of drugs or alcohol is also a major contributing factor according to the Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Almost half of all boating accidents involve impaired boaters.

South Florida Boating Accident Attorneys

The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has been helping victims of boating accidents in south Florida for 25 years. We understand the laws, insurance, and special circumstances that are unique to boating accidents and we work hard to get results for our clients who have been hurt. Please call us at (954) 356-0006 if you would like to speak with us about your situation. Our consultations are always free and confidential.

 

| Arleen Lazarus | 0 Comments | NEGLIGENCE

Be Reasonable! How the Reasonable Person Standard Works

Have you ever tried to reason with an unreasonable person? It’s frustrating! But you have to imagine that the other person thinks you’re the unreasonable one, so how do you come to a solution for your disagreement? The answer is, you usually don’t.

When a dispute gets to the point where you must use your constitutional right to sue in court, there are certain things that must be present in order to file a suit that stands a chance of being successful. The first is, did the person or people who caused you harm have a responsibility or “duty of care” to provide a safe environment and not hurt you? If you’re walking down the sidewalk and a brick from a building falls on your head you can’t sue the person who was sitting on a chair nearby drinking coffee. The building owner is probably the logical target for your lawsuit.

The second element that is essential is that the person you wish to sue did not exercise reasonable care or judgement, thus causing the incident to occur. There’s that word reasonable again.

The definition of reasonable is: a: being in accordance with reason, a reasonable theory. b: not extreme or excessive. c: moderate, fair.

Florida Premise NegligenceThe third essential element is “proximate cause” which means that the party you want to sue likely caused or contributed to the incident occurring, either by something they did or something they did not do. Lastly, there must be damages. These damages may be physical, mental, psychological, financial, or some other kind. But proving damages is important and sometimes difficult.

In law, especially in the area of negligence, the “reasonable person” doctrine has been used for many years to define what society will or won’t condone as acceptable behavior so that harm is not done to others. For example, if your business involves the installation of underground pipes, you wouldn’t dig a deep hole and leave it open overnight with no caution signs or barriers to warn people. If you did that then you failed to act on your duty to protect the public. On the other hand, if you were diligent about blocking the hole and used lighted signs and took every reasonable precaution possible, but a person willfully ignored the safety measures, climbed over a barrier, and he fell in and was hurt, the court would likely see that the victim was not using reasonable judgement.

When a property owner does not take reasonable steps to make sure there are no hazardous conditions, it is often referred to as “premise negligence” and if someone is hurt there may be grounds for a lawsuit. Florida uses the reasonable person concept when dealing with personal injury cases and other lawsuits involving physical, financial, or property damages. It’s important to understand that something you find to be perfectly reasonable may not be seen that way in court, and that’s why some people emerge victorious from the courthouse and some don’t. Try to wrap your ahead around the fact that no system is perfect, but ours is pretty good.

What happens if both parties in a lawsuit are unreasonable? Florida also uses a principle known as “comparative negligence” which is a way to assign blame based on the level of negligence by each party. We’ll get into that in our next blog post. Until then, be reasonable!

If you think you might have a reason to sue someone who caused you some type of damages or physical harm, we’re here to help you understand your rights under the law. Call us at (954) 356-0006 and we’ll be happy to listen to your story and talk about the best course of action.