South Florida Injury Lawyers

Last week Toyota rolled out one of its largest recalls since the auto manufacturer started recalling cars and trucks in October 2009. Toyota is recalling 1.3 million Corolla and Matrix models in the U.S. and Canada that may contain a defective part in the engine control module responsible for regulating engine performance, wftv.com reports.

The recall includes an additional 161,754 Pontiac Vibe vehicles build as a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors. It is believed the defect may cause some of the module circuit boards to crack which could lead to an engine stall or prevent it from starting. Three accidents have been tentatively linked to the failed circuit board, though Toyota says the link has not been confirmed.

The Fort Lauderdale product liability attorneys at Freeman & Mallard understands the complexities of defective product cases. Our staff fights for the rights of consumers who have been injured or killed in all types of defective product cases, including defective vehicles, medical devices, child toys and other consumer goods. At Freeman & Mallard, our goal is to protect those who are not able to protect themselves. We will review your defective product case and if we can help, we will pay the cost of litigating your case. You will pay us nothing unless we win.

Toyota has now recalled almost 11 million vehicles in the last year, the Detroit News reports. The latest recall was issued on the heels of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration review. The NHTSA investigation has been ongoing since November 2009.

For vehicles no longer under warranty, Toyota is reimbursing owners who have paid for repairs out-of-pocket and plans to notify all Toyota Corolla and Matrix drivers by mail of the recall starting mid-September.
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While it is a sensitive issue, the fact of the matter is that elderly drivers are at increased risk of being involved in a Port St. Lucie car accident.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports there were 31 million older drivers on the road in 2007, an increase of nearly 20 percent from a decade ago. And that number is expected to explode in the coming decade as the Baby Boomers hit the road to retirement. Perhaps nowhere will it be a bigger issue than in Florida, Arizona and other states favored by retirees.

Helping an older adult decide when it’s time to hang up the keys is a discussion that “is happening all across the United States in families up and down the streets every day,” said Elinor Ginzler, a senior vice president of AARP. “It’s a huge issue.”

In 2008, more than 183,000 senior citizens were involved in traffic accidents. Seniors were involved in 474 fatal car accidents in Florida — the most of any state in the nation.

And seniors are hanging on to their driver’s licenses for longer than ever before. The percentage of people over the age of 70 who remain licensed to drive has increased in the last decade, from 73 percent to 78 percent, according to a recent report in the Washington Post. And drivers who are 75 or older are twice as likely to say they plan to drive into their 90s than those who are 65 to 74.

They are also most at-risk: A government study found that those over the age of 75 were more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than drivers in any other age group.

“In the old days, or even 20 years ago, people just did not live long enough for this to be a problem,” Elin Schold-Davis, head of the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Older Driver Initiative, told the USA Today. “People are living with a level of impairment that is unprecedented.”

That includes heart disease, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, dementia and Parkinson’s disease.

Some states are seeking to enact tighter restrictions for older drivers. Massachusetts recently enacted a law requiring driver’s license renewals to occur in person for some senior drivers. Like most driving safety issues, Florida has done nothing to address the issue.
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Florida is among the states that do not require seat belts for all rear-seat passengers, according to an analysis by USA Today that examined passenger-safety initiatives in all 50 states.

Palm Beach car accidents frequently lead to serious or fatal injuries, whether or not a person was wearing their seat belt. And we have all heard stories of people who survived an accident because they were not belted. But seat belts save lives and the push to force back seat passengers to buckle up is gaining momentum across the country.

It comes as no real surprise that Florida is behind on the issue. As our West Palm Beach injury lawyers have reported, Florida is among the deadliest states in the nation and is one of a dwindling number that have no law against text messaging or use of a cell phone while behind the wheel.

Presently, half of all states permit backseat adult passengers to ride without buckling up. Six states — Texas, New Jersey, Minnesota, Louisiana, Kansas and Indiana — have enacted laws covering rear-seat passengers since 2007, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Twenty-five states now require seat belts for all passengers.

“The gaps with regard to children younger than 16 have almost all been closed, but there are still gaps for adults,” said the Institute’s Michele Fields.

Seat-belt use has been rising steadily for decades as states moved to primary enforcement — meaning a motorist can be stopped and ticketed for noncompliance, regardless of whether they are violating other traffic laws. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 84 percent of motorists nationwide are wearing their seat-belt — a rate that now stands at an all-time high.

The federal government estimates that seat belts saved 13,000 lives last year — compared to the 34,000 motorists who died in traffic accidents. Naturally, rear-seat seat-belt use is higher in states where the law requires it. But in some states, the difference in usage rates is substantial: Front-seat motorists in New Jersey have a usage rate of 93.7 percent, while those in the back wear their seat belts only 27 percent of the time.

It is a safety issue for everyone in the vehicle: Unbelted rear-seat passengers become projectiles in an accident, as they continue to travel the same speed the car was moving at the moment of impact. Frequently, this results in crushing front seat passengers between the seat and the dashboard or windshield.
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