Florida Personal Injury Law Firm
| Arleen Lazarus | 0 Comments | Florida Personal Injury Attorney | , , ,

You Don’t Have to be the President to be Impeached – Florida Personal Injury Attorneys Lazarus & Lazarus

Florida Personal Injury Law Firm

There is a lot of talk in the news about “impeachment” and yet many people don’t fully understand what the word means. In the case of an elected or other public official, impeach means to accuse them of official misconduct, but the word also means to challenge the credibility of a witness.

Our justice system operates with the basic principle that all participants must be truthful, and a person who provides testimony (a witness) is usually sworn in before speaking so they understand the importance of being completely honest. Any witness can be subjected to scrutiny, including their previous record to determine if their testimony is to be trusted. If an individual has a prior record of being untruthful, or has a criminal record, it’s possible a jury will be less likely to believe them.

Florida Statute 90.608 says, in part: Who may impeach. — Any party, including the party calling the witness, may attack the credibility of a witness by:
(1) Introducing statements of the witness which are inconsistent with the witness’s present testimony.

Florida Personal Injury Law Firm
Lazarus and Lazarus (954) 356-0006

In personal injury cases witnesses are often called to give testimony, including expert witnesses who are frequently called upon to offer opinions on a particular subject where they are highly experienced and educated. It is important that all witnesses be looked at closely to make sure they are offering valid, accurate, and truthful evidence.

If you are involved in an accident and you plan to represent yourself, the story you tell may be scrutinized not only on its substantive content, but on your own record. The opposing side in your case may look to “impeach” you as a witness for any number of reasons, and this is one of many reasons it is prudent to seek professional legal help when you are injured. A qualified and experienced attorney can guide you through the entire process and make every ethical effort to make sure the truth is brought to light.

If you are involved in a traffic accident it is important to be truthful right from the start, but it is also important to not offer information that is not asked for or necessary. After contacting emergency authorities it is a good idea to call an attorney who specializes in accidents. We hope you will consider our firm, working to bring justice to victims in south Florida since 1992.

The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus – (954) 356-0006

 

 

Package Delivery Service Negligence and Liability
| Arleen Lazarus | 0 Comments | Package Delivery Service Liability | , ,

Are Amazon Deliveries Dangerous? South Florida Accident Attorneys Lazarus and Lazarus

Package Delivery Service Negligence and Liability

“Are you aware that rushing toward a goal is a sublimated death wish? It’s no coincidence we call them deadlines.”
― Tom Robbins, Author

Package Delivery NegligenceEveryone is in a hurry. When we’re hungry we want our food fast and we want the products we purchase online to arrive on our door step just as fast. While Amazon and other big internet retailers are not quite as prompt as the pizza companies, they are trying to match them. Soon drones will drop packages on our front yards.

Online ordering is great, but are the delivery times unrealistic and do they risk our safety?

In 1973 Domino’s launched a “30 minutes or it’s free” ad campaign and it worked until lawsuits were initiated by people who were injured by delivery drivers rushing to get pies to people in an unrealistic time frame. The company continued the program for twenty years until 1993 when this happened, as reported by the Chicago Tribune: A St. Louis jury reached the same conclusion last week in the case of Jean Kinder, who was hit by a Domino’s delivery driver in 1989. The jurors ordered Domino’s to pay her $750,000 in actual damages and $78 million in punitive damages.

Today the rush is on for package delivery and Amazon leads the charge to get products delivered to customers fast. Reports are coming in about workers being injured in regional sorting facilities and drivers rushing through traffic to make deadlines.

An NBC News investigation revealed:

Some people who deliver Amazon packages have been involved in deadly wrecks. In September, ProPublica and The New York Times reported in a joint investigation that they had found more than 60 crashes since June 2015 involving Amazon delivery contractors that resulted in serious injuries, including 10 deaths. They said the tally was likely a fraction of the crashes because many people don’t sue.

The same NBC report quoted a former delivery contractor: “You don’t take your lunch break. You don’t use the bathroom. … There were guys peeing in bottles in the van,” Rowe said, adding that he did the same. “You speed. You run stop signs in a neighborhood. …You start conditioning yourself to just go as fast as possible.”

While companies may ignore proper safety procedures and precautions in the interest of higher profits, that does not limit their liability when one of their drivers causes a serious accident. Florida law is very clear about victims having the right to sue for their injuries and damages.

Companies who hire independent contractors to do their deliveries in an effort to shirk responsibility should be held accountable for damages.

If you are involved in any accident you should make sure your rights are protected. An experienced traffic accident law firm will see that the negligent individual or company is held responsible and will fight for your rights to receive justice. The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has earned a solid reputation for handling these types of cases and we can be reached by calling (954) 356-0006 seven days a week.