February 3, 2010
Pedestrian Accidents
Florida’s pleasant climate encourages walking, biking, and in-line skating — which often puts pedestrians in close proximity to cars and trucks on high-speed roadways in congested, urban environments. Too often, the results are catastrophic for pedestrians. According to the Florida Department of Transportation, our pedestrian fatality rates are among the highest in the nation.
Bicycle, pedestrian and in-line skating and running accidents often involve some type of negligence on the part of the vehicle, such as:
Driver inattention (failing to “see” the bicyclist, pedestrian, or in-line skater)
Aggressive driving, such as speeding
Failing to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks
Failing to yield to bicyclists in bike lanes
Due to the degree of impact, bicyclists and pedestrians often suffer traumatic head injuries, spinal cord injuries and fractures. Pedestrian accidents happen every day in Florida due to drunken drivers, negligent drivers distracted by cell phones, drivers running red lights, and other causes. If you or someone you care for has been struck and injured in a pedestrian accident call Philip DeBerard today to discuss your potential case.
October 19, 2009
What’s a Sense of Smell Worth?
For a Port St. Lucie woman, a sense of smell was worth $450,000. That’s the amount Stuart attorney Philip DeBerard obtained for her in an insurance settlement.
The young woman fractured a bone in her middle ear when she unbuckled her seat belt and attempted to get out of her boyfriend’s parked car. In an effort to keep her from leaving the vehicle, her boyfriend slammed on the gas pedal, accelerating instead of stopping, ignoring a stop sign, and making a sharp turn at 20 miles per hour. The force of this maneuver threw the young woman out of the car and onto the pavement, where she violently hit her head and fractured the right temporal bone in her auditory canal (middle ear).
The injury left the 18-year-old woman with anosmia — a permanent loss of smell — and a partial loss of taste. Prior to this accident, the young woman was very healthy and active, attending school and working part-time. Now, she will not be able to smell the flowers on her wedding day, the salt air at the beach, the special smell of a freshly clean and powdered baby, or even a dangerous gas leak in her house.
