Skip navigation.
Wooten, Kimbrough & Normand, P.A.

Call Today!
1 (800) 235-7060

Hablamos Español
236 S. Lucerne Circle at Delaney · Orlando, FL 32801



Archive for the ‘Car Accident’ Category

Happy Ending to Frightful School Bus Ride

Friday, April 6th, 2012

In this video, a young man’s actions help avert what certainly could have easily been a tragic accident. The students aboard the school bus in the video are helpless after driver suffered a seizure while behind the wheel, and the video shows just how violent the road was before the 17-year-old brought the bus to a stop. Fortunately, no children in the video sustained in any injuries.

As we mentioned on Monday, school bus accidents made headlines across the nation last month, with three separate accidents occurring on the same day on March 12, 2012. The attention that these incidents garnered inevitably led to discussions in the media and around the country as to whether restraint devices should be required on all school buses. Not every bus, after all, is equipped with a quick-thinking teenager.

While Florida is one of six states that require seat belts to be installed on school buses, that safety provision does not mean that another party cannot be held liable for an injuries a child suffers in a school bus accident. Driver negligence, dangerous roadways or improper maintenance could all be grounds for a lawsuit if a child sustains any injuries in a school bus accident.

It is also important to remember that these same types of errors can also cause accidents for various forms of public transportation, such as the Lynx bus system, a shuttle to Disney World or the Magic Kingdom monorail. If you or your child is involved in one of these accidents, getting the appropriate medical attention should be your first and foremost concern, but you should contact a lawyer as soon as possible afterward to possibly recover compensation for any costs relating to you or your child’s injuries.

Wooten, Kimbrough & Normand, P.A. – Orlando personal injury lawyers

‘All Distracted Drivers Send the Same Message’

Friday, March 30th, 2012

Five Canandaigua Academy students submitted the video above to a Distracted Driving Video Contest held in 2011 by the New York Central Mutual Fire Insurance Company (NYCM), and we particularly agreed with the final thought at the end: “All Distracted Drivers Send the Same Message.”

We have been getting a better idea of how people view that message too. On Monday, we discussed one poll indicating strong public support among Florida voters for anti-texting legislation. Today, we wanted to discuss the findings of another poll conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center in January 2012.

The poll asked 895 Americans to score 20 common driver complaints on a 1-to-10 scale, with 1 indicating a behavior that “does not annoy you at all” and 10 indicating it “annoys you tremendously.” When you think of all the things that can irritate us as motorists, what would you expect to be the most highly-rated complaint? Being cut off? Tailgating?

The answers may surprise you, but according to the Consumer Reports poll, these were the Top 20:

Most annoying behaviors Scale 1-10
Texting on a cell phone while driving 8.9
Able-bodied drivers parking in handicapped spaces 8.7
Tailgaters 8.4
Drivers who cut you off 8.3
Speeding and swerving in and out of traffic 8.2
Taking up two parking spaces 7.7
Talking on a cell phone while driving 7.6
Not letting you merge into a lane 7.6
Not dimming high beams when approaching 7.6
Not using turn signals 7.5
Slow drivers dawdling in the passing lane 7.3
Jaywalkers stepping in front of your car 7.3
Excessive horn honking 7.1
Slowing down to “rubberneck” at accidents 7.0
Not turning on lights when it’s raining or at dusk 6.8
Drivers who are indecisive about where to turn 6.6
Slow drivers on a two-lane road who won’t pull over 6.5
Not going when the light turns green 6.1
Bicyclists who don’t let you by 5.8
Cranking up the radio volume 5.7

Do these rankings surprise you? Cell phone use while driving accounts for two of the top seven items on this list, but in addition to irritating other drivers, it is important to keep in mind that these distractions lead to auto accidents. Whether or not you are concerned about how your driving habits might annoy other drivers, all motorists should be avoiding cell phone use while behind the wheel out of concern for injuring other drivers.

Wooten, Kimbrough & Normand, P.A. – Orlando personal injury lawyers

 

‘Last Text’ Leaves Lasting Impact on Viewers

Monday, March 26th, 2012

This an incredibly effective and powerful video that AT&T put out a little more than a year ago, entitled “The Last Text.” We encourage you to watch it and let us know which portion stood out the most to you, as there are many powerful moments throughout this less than 11-minute video. You can also watch a separate video of reactions to the documentary.

By now, we would hope that videos like this one have reinforced the danger inherent in texting and driving. Even though the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called for a nationwide ban on the use of cell phones and text messaging devices while driving roughly one year later, the advocacy efforts need to continue. As the Sarasota Herald-Tribune noted on March 18, 2012, it was ironic that a bill seeking to ban texting while driving died in a subcommittee of the Florida House of Representatives responsible for highway safety.

The Herald-Tribune also noted that a poll of 800 Floridians likely to vote in the general election and conducted by the nonpartisan, Jacksonville-based company Mason-Dixon found 71 percent of the likely voters supported a state law banning texting while driving. We are encouraged by the public support for anti-texting legislation in the Sunshine State, and while a law against the practice would not completely eliminate auto accidents caused by distracted driving, it would at the very least give drivers another reason not to partake in the dangerous habit. Hopefully it will not be too long until the law better reflects the will of a majority of Floridians and protects all motorists throughout the state.

Wooten, Kimbrough & Normand, P.A. – Orlando personal injury attorneys