Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Even though the economic boom in Florida construction is less robust than in years past, the building of new roads puts workers and motorists in danger on our roadways every day. Whether it’s on a local city street or on the Interstate, we all encounter roadwork crews doing their jobs in very near proximity to passing vehicles. This can be a deadly mix if proper safety precautions are not followed.

Beginning in 1999, the Florida Department of Transportation, (FDOT), began an intensive campaign to educate motorists on the need for added safety when driving through work zones. Their theme has been “It’s Everyone’s Job”, stressing that reckless driving through highway work zones can be deadly for motorists and workers alike. “We want Floridians to realize that everyone has a hand in work zone safety,” said FDOT Assistant Secretary Kevin Thibault, the Governor’s Highway Safety Representative. “It truly is everyone’s job to ensure safe travel through highway construction zones.” In 2007, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 11,248 crashes happened n Florida work zones, resulting in 8,288 injuries and 105 fatalities. Nationwide, that number is approximately 1,000 annually.

Southwest Florida is currently undergoing several major highway construction projects, resulting in an increased opportunity for accidents. The iROX I-75 Road Expansion project, from Golden Gate interchange #105 in Collier County to Colonial Boulevard interchange #136 in Lee County, is widening 30 miles of the interstate to six-lanes. Additionally, S.R. 739/Metro Parkway from Six Mile Cypress Parkway to Daniels Parkway is currently being widened from two lanes to six, and work also includes resurfacing, drainage, lighting, signal work and installation of signs and pavement markings. Also on Metro Parkway, a new, six-lane extension is being built to connect Metro to Alico Road and U.S. 41 in south Lee County. These projects are expected to affect area motorists until 2012.

The Florida Department of Transportation offers these driving tips when you are traveling through a road construction work zone:

• STAY ALERT
Expect anything to occur when entering a work zone.

• PAY CLOSE ATTENTION
Signs and work zone flaggers save lives.

• TURN ON YOUR HEADLIGHTS
Workers and other motorists must see you.

• DON'T TAILGATE
Unexpected stops frequently occur in work zones.

• DON'T SPEED
Note the posted speed limits in and around the work zone.

• KEEP UP WITH THE TRAFFIC FLOW
Dedicate your full attention to the roadway and those traveling around you.

• DON'T CHANGE LANES IN THE WORK ZONE
The time saved just isn't worth the chance.

• MINIMIZE DISTRACTIONS
Avoid changing radio stations and using cellular phones while driving in the work zone.

• EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
Keep an eye out for workers and their equipment.

• BE PATIENT
Remember, the work zone crew members are working to improve your future ride.

P.J. Scheiner, an attorney with Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner Personal Injury Lawyers, P.A., cautions area drivers to use extra care when traveling through a roadway work zone. “When you have workers on foot and huge trucks entering and exiting the construction areas, people need to devote their undivided attention to the conditions and circumstances in order to avoid an accident. Things like soft road shoulders, debris on the road’s surface and sudden slow-downs can all lead to a tragic crash.”

For nearly 40 years, the attorneys and staff at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner have dedicated themselves to fighting for the rights of those injured or killed in vehicular accidents, and are focused on justice for crash victims. If you have suffered an injury as a result of an accident involving roadway construction, please call us at 1-800-DIAL-BLS, or visit our website at www.focusedonjustice.com. You pay us nothing unless we are successful on your behalf.

Family member Frank Casillas hammers a cross into the ground Wednesday where Brandon Castillo, 8, was hit by a van Tuesday near a school bus stop in Lehigh Acres. Brandon died from his injuries Wednesday. (valerie roche/The News-Press)

The 8-year-old Lehigh boy struck by a minivan as he waited for his school bus to pick him up has died from his injuries, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Brandon Castillo was struck after he ran in front of a van driven by Doris Toombs, also of Lehigh, on September 22nd. The accident happened as Brandon waited for his school bus at the corner of East 10th Street and Hamilton Avenue.

According to FHP reports, the van’s driver was blinded by the early morning sunlight, and did not see Brandon dart out in front of her vehicle. After the incident, Toombs, the driver of the minivan, became so distraught that she was transported to Lehigh Regional Medical Center for observation. She faces no charges in the accident.

East 10th Street is a two-mile long road with no stop signs. Area residents have told authorities that many times there is an adult at the bus stop to monitor the children as they wait for their bus. Apparently, on the day of the accident, only three students were there, without adult supervision. Although the posted speed limit is 35-mph, local residents have reported to the media that cars can often be seen traveling at high rates of speed on that road. Sadly, Brandon’s death is not the only recent incident involving this stretch of road. Back in March of 2008, 21-year-old Kendall Ramjattan was killed when he lost control of his car, reportedly traveling at more than 70-mph on East 10th Avenue, and stuck a roadside pole. The accident occurred just nine blocks east of where Brandon Castillo was struck.

Focus on Safety

Florida personal injury lawyer, Bruce L. Scheiner, Founder and Senior Attorney of Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner Personal Injury Lawyers, P.A., is saddened that it takes a fatal accident to draw attention to the need for parental supervision and increased safety involving Southwest Florida’s young residents. In Lee County, children are often required to wait for their school busses along some of Southwest Florida’s most highly traveled roads. “Kids are going to be kids, and we as parents and guardians need to be vigilant and unwavering in our protection of them,” Scheiner said. “It’s almost unbearable when it takes the loss of a little boy to bring attention to the need to exercise proper supervision over our children, and our neighbor’s children”.

Other incidents involving children being struck by vehicles have occurred lately. On September 13th, a toddler was run over by a Hummer SUV in the parking lot of an
Immokalee church. The 1-year-old, Isikiel Lopes Andres, was just leaving services at the Bethel Assembly of God Church on West Main Street when he reportedly darted into the parking lot, and into the passenger side of the car. The vehicle’s right rear tire ran over the little boy. Although the accident happened in a seemingly safe, slow traffic area, it illustrates just how vulnerable youngsters are when in the proximity of vehicular traffic.

Their tendency to run off impulsively requires added oversight by their parents or guardians in an effort to prevent these tragic accidents. According to attorney Scheiner, “These devastating incidents will hopefully be a wake up call to parents throughout our community to become more aware of where their children are; what they are doing, and how, as parents, they can adopt more intensive precautions to keep their children from becoming accident statistics.”

Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner Personal Injury Lawyers works tirelessly to protect the rights of children injured or killed in an accident. Our firm has been focused on justice since 1971, aggressively fighting for those who may have suffered a tragic family loss. To learn how we may be of service, please log onto www.focusedonjustice.com, or call us at 1-800-DialBLS. Our history of almost four decades of looking out for our communities’ children is just the support you need.

Falls are the number one cause of injury at construction sites, according to the United States Department of Labor, which has released statistics for 2007, the most recent year for which data is available.

In Florida, transportation-related deaths, workplace assaults and homicide also top the list of workplace deaths in 2007.

Construction accident attorneys and Florida injury lawyers urge construction workers to utilize safe practices on the job and to use extra caution when working with heights. Despite the economic slowdown, Southwest Florida remains home to a large number of heavy construction sites.

In all, 5,488 employees were killed on the job in 2007.

Annually, falls account for one in every three construction-related deaths, according the the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There were at least 442 construction worker fatalities during 2007 as a result of falls.

Click here for safety advice aimed at preventing falls.

Statewide, Florida's 362 work-related deaths put it with 18 other states that saw an increase in deaths in 2007.

45: Died by being struck or having contact with objects or machinery
62: Died in falls
42: Died from exposure to harmful chemicals
136: Died in a transportation-related mishap
5: Died as a result of a fire or explosion
70: Died from a work-place homicide or assault

In Fort Myers-Cape Coral, 10 deaths were reported at construction sites.
In the Naple-Marco Island area, 6 construction-site deaths were reported.
In Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, 14 deaths were reported at construction sites.
The Miami-Fort Lauderdale area reported 120 construction deaths, ranking third in the nation behind New York-Northern New Jersey (211) and Houston (125).

Working seniors
-Those over 65 had the highest rate of death on the job, with almost 10 deaths per 100,000 workers.

Deadliest Jobs
-Commercial Fishing: 111.8 deaths per 100,000
-Logging: 86.4
-Pilots and flight engineers: 66.7
- Farming and ranching: 38.4

Continue reading "Florida work-related deaths on the rise -- Falls, car accidents, violence top list of deaths on the job" »

The Florida injury lawyers at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers, begin 2009 with a new toll-free phone number, 1-800-Dial-BLS.

Whether you are injured in a car accident, motorcycle accident, truck accident or are the victim of a drunk driving crash or other personal-injury or wrongful-death situation, representatives are available 24 hours a day at 1-800-Dial-BLS to review your case.

The firm has four decades of experience handling car accidents and other personal injury cases throughout Southwest Florida, including Fort Myers, Naples, Cape Coral, Arcadia, Port Charlotte, Venice and Sebring.

Started in 1971 by Bruce L. Scheiner, the family-run firm is dedicated to representing Florida residents who have been injured by the negligent or careless acts of other individuals, businesses or insurance companies.

The firm has never worked for big businesses or insurance companies and practices exclusively in the area of personal injury law. Unlike many other firms, which split their attention between personal injury cases and other types of law, like divorce, real estate and criminal cases, Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers, is a team of almost 100 professionals dedicated to fighting for justice for those how have been injured or killed in Florida.

Bruce L. Scheiner still hand selects each case the firm represents. Together with his wife Cheryl, who runs the office, and son, Preston J. Scheiner, who is an associate attorney, the Scheiner team is dedicated to getting you and your loved ones the compensation you deserve.

After four decades of service in Southwest Florida, there promise to you is simple: at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Personal Injury Lawyers, you'll pay nothing unless we win.

Look for the new toll-free hotline throughout Southwest Florida, on billboards, on television, in the yellow pages and online.

Continue reading "Florida injury lawyers debut 1-800-Dial-BLS, for car accident, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents and other personal injury questions in Southwest Florida" »