Harrell and Harrell's Personal Injury law blog » Wrongful Death

Auto Insurance – Do you have the right coverage?

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:44:52 +0000

Most people have no idea what kind of insurance they have until AFTER they get into an auto accident. Every state is different when it comes to required coverages for your automobile. Florida is considered a “NO-Fault” state because of our required coverage or lack thereof. People call us all day long and tell me until they are blue in the face that they have full coverage. The definition of full coverage varies greatly from caller to caller. Have you ever heard the saying – you can never have enough insurance? What kind of insurance should you have?

The answer to that question also varies tremendously. In my opinion, the most important coverage you can carry in Florida is UM or under/uninsured motorist coverage. How do you know if you carry any or enough of this coverage? Find out BEFORE you have a car accident. Call your insurance company or agent to have them clearly explain to you what type of coverage you have and then ask them what you don’t have. Run through different scenarios in your head to double check that you have not just the state mandated coverage but the coverage to give you and your family peace of mind in the event of an auto accident related injury. If you need some help, give us a call. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard almost every possible scenario you could dream up.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Safe Driving for teens (and others)

admin — Thu, 12 May 2011 15:19:06 +0000

Stumbled across this page provided by Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. School will be out soon and more young drivers will be out on the road for summer fun. Gas prices may slow that down a bit but not completely. Please share these tips with your kids and help keep us all safer on Florida’s roads and highways by reducing car accidents and personal injury. I imagine all these tips will work for us grown ups also.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Heat and Your Health

admin — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:39:13 +0000

If you live in the South, this past weekend was a reminder of how hot it can get. Thankfully it looks like today will be our last really hot day for a bit. We all can do ourselves a favor by acclimating to the summer heat slowly. Heat illness can come on you like a ton of bricks and be fatal if not treated properly. Everyone likes to think of themselves as tough enough to work outside especially if you’ve lived down here for any length of time but in reality we are all susceptible to the heat and humidity.

Two of the more severe heat illnesses are heat stroke and heat exhaustion. I won’t bore you with my details on handling heat emergencies mostly because I’m not qualified. Here’s a great article I ran across that can explain the signs, symptoms and proper treatment of heat stroke and exhaustion.

Also, don’t forget to take precautions for your pets by ensuring they have shelter from the heat and a plentiful clean source of fresh water.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Toyota Recalls Even More

admin — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:31:57 +0000

Guess what? Toyota is recalling another 2 million vehicles for accelerator issues. They are really getting good at recalling cars. I won’t bore you with my version of the story so here’s a link .

If you’ve been injured by a faulty / recalled product, give us a call or send us an e-mail .

www.harrellandharrell.com

Not Again Toyota

admin — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:45:16 +0000

They are at it again – Toyota Motor Co that is!

Toyota is recalling another 1.7 million vehicles worldwide in addition to the huge number of already recalled automobiles over the last couple of years. Their recall is for a potentially dangerous fuel leak issue.

For further info from the manufacturer – click here. If you have been injured in any way due to the defective Toyota products or any other defective product, feel free to call us or contact us online.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Heater Safety

admin — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:39:20 +0000

Even if you haven’t been outside yet today, you probably have realized that winter cold has arrived in earnest. With temperatures expected to fall quickly below freezing shortly after sunset and bottom out in the teens possibly, everyone’s desire for warmth will be priority number one.

For those of you that supplement your heat in your home with portable electric heaters, please be careful in their use.

Here’s some info from the CPSC on the setup and use of portable heaters thst should help in the prevention of injury or wrongful death.

Portable Electric Heaters

The Commission estimates that half the deaths and one-third of the injuries resulting from electric heater fires occurred at night when family members were asleep and the heater unattended. The Commission is also concerned about the use of power or extension cords which can be too small to supply the amount of current required by the typical portable electric heater.

You should be able to respond “yes” to the following safety statements.

		*Yes*	No
1.	The heater is operated at least three feet away from upholstered furniture, drapes, bedding and other combustible materials.	___	___
2.	The extension cord (if used) is marked #14 or #12 American Wire Gauge (AWG).	___	___
3.	The heater is used on the floor.	___	___
4.	The heater is turned off when family members leave the house or are sleeping.	___	___

Recommendations:

Operate heater away from combustible materials. Do not place heaters where towels or the like could fall on the appliance and trigger a fire.
Avoid using extension cords unless absolutely necessary. If you must use an extension cord with your electric heater, make sure it is marked with a power rating at least as high as that of the heater itself. Keep the cord stretched out. Do not permit the cord to become buried under carpeting or rugs. Do not place anything on top of the cord.
Never place heaters on cabinets, tables, furniture or the like. Never use heaters to dry wearing apparel or shoes.

Stay warm tonight and stay safe. Don’t forget to check on neighbors, pets and plants.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Wear your seat belt – 10 reasons why

admin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:21:52 +0000

Besides the fact that the law requires seat belt use, here are ten reasons why you should wear your seat belt based on statistics from a James Mason University study:

One in five drivers are involved in an auto accident each year.
Auto accidents are the leading cause of death for those under the age of 45.
Close to 35,000 people die each year in auto accidents, half of whom would have been saved by the use of seat belts.
For every one percent increase in the use of seat belts, 172 lives are saved.
Seat belts reduce auto accident fatalities by 60-70 percent.
A person is 25 times more likely to die when thrown from a vehicle.
Children are often killed by being crushed by unrestrained adults.
The most common injuries to children in car accidents are head injuries resulting in brain damage, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy or death.
Over 80% of child fatalities in auto accidents would have been prevented by the proper use of seat belts or car seats. Unfortunately, less than ten percent of children are properly restrained.
Seat belts may provide the greatest and only protection against DUI drivers.

A seat belt may very well save your life in the case of a car accident. If that is not enough, it may save your child. Just as importantly, it could minimize physical injuries.There many more good reasons for wearing a seat belt and none that would suggest otherwise.

www.harrellandharrell.com

Driving in a school zone

admin — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:18:23 +0000

By now almost all of our First Coast area schools are back in session and that means lots more traffic and those bothersome school zones with those pesky blinking yellow lights and slow speed limits . Speeding through a school zone or being distracted by a cell phone is a quick way to seriously hurt or even kill someone. You’re not really going to get to work much faster than you would by being patient and observing all the traffic laws.

I was reminded of this today by reading a news article this morning of a bicyclist run over by a woman turning into a school. I’m sure neither of them wanted to be in an accident and no one intentionally tried to harm someone. A few extra seconds to make sure there is no one in harm’s way will do us all some good.

A few years back, a teacher died as a result of a car accident in a school parking lot in our neighborhood. The vehicle was going no more than 10 mph but the teacher was in the wrong place at the wrong time and landed right on her head.

At the end of last school year, I was almost an eye witness to a young elementary school girl being run over by a car while crossing in a crosswalk with our regular crossing guard holding her big red stop sign up in the air. The crossing guard always waits until traffic is completely stopped in a ll 4 directions before letting the kids come anywhere near the roadway. Not this time, she looked all 3 ways but had her back turned to the car directly in front of me when she let this poor child cross the road. As you should expect, the let’s say 3rd grader did not even look for traffic. Why ? – she thinks the crossing guard has done that just like she always does. The driver of the Ford Explorer missed this child by inches and I had my heart drop like a rock. The child, the guard and the driver all stopped in their tracks for several minutes to fully realize what they thankfully avoided. I patiently waited and said a quick prayer of thanks that I did not witness a gruesome crash.

After doing this job for 15 years, I could bore you to death with literally thousands of horrific accident stories. Let’s all try to take that extra moment, drive a little slower and make sure we look all 4 ways before proceeding through our school zones. Your day and someone else’s will be much better as a result.

Wear your seat-belt!

admin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:25:49 +0000

This past weekend we had a tragic reminder of why seat-belt use is so vital to our well-being. Two teeenagers in separate accidents sadly lost their lives on the roads of North Florida. One vehicle swerved to miss an animal and a young girl was ejected and killed. The other accident involved a young man who failed to negotiate a curve and was killed on impact.

Both of these accidents involved the wrongful death of a young teenager filled with lots of promise and potential. Neither of them were restrained by a seat-belt. I can’t say for certain if a seat-belt would have changed the outcome but my hunch is that both of these kids would still be with their friends and family enjoying the waning days of summer had they taken a few seconds to buckle up!

Don’t start the car until you and your passengers are properly restrained by a seatbelt or secured in a car seat.

DON’T BECOME A STATISTIC – WEAR YOUR SEAT-BELT!

www.harrellandharrell.com

Rampant abuse in nursing home

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:43:50 +0000

State authorities are closing a Jacksonville nursing home because of abusive conditions – a measure so rare that local authorities can’t remember it ever happening here. This facility is one in which a known sex offender raped a comatose woman and inspection reports back to at least 2008 document out-of-control patients who became violent. One recent AHCA report resulted in 257 deficiencies. But the final straw came during a February investigation, when it found some residents were hitting other residents, falling repeatedly and attempting to escape, including one resident that got as far as St. Johns County and another that attempted to climb the exterior fence.

It is saddening and truly unfortunate to hear that such extraordinary measures are being taken to stop the ongoing abuse and neglect in a Jacksonville nursing home. As a community, we need to work harder to immediately hold nursing homes responsible when there has been abuse or neglect. It is often, sadly, the most vulnerable, that need our protection. If you feel a loved one has been the victim of abuse or neglect in this or any other nursing home, please contact us…