Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Pandemic Impacting Work-Injury Risks

January 15, 2022 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Thirteen workers a day died on the job during the first year of the pandemic, according to newly released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In 2020, 4,764 U.S. workers died while on the job — or one worker every 111 minutes.

That’s down from 5,190 in 2016, a reduction that safety advocates largely attribute to the pandemic. However, the nation has undergone unprecedented change in the workplace since the start of the pandemic, and many of the consequences remain unknown. With record numbers of employees changing careers, jobs and occupations, the coming years will likely reveal the consequences of a host of changing risk factors.

Safety Ratings Vital When Choosing New Vehicle

January 13, 2022 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

An overlooked but critical component of your safety on the road is what type of vehicle you are in.

If buying a newer vehicle is in your 2022 plans, our car accident attorneys in Fort Myers and Cape Coral urge you to make safety ratings a critical part of your selection process.

Safety has come a long way in just a few short years. Take automatic emergency braking (AEB), which is now standard on 2021 vehicles produced by 12 major automakers, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The technology has already been proven to reduce collisions and force of impact by stopping or slowing a vehicle when a collision is imminent. Nearly all automakers have agreed to voluntarily include the equipment in nearly all new vehicles by Sept. 1, 2022.

IIHS estimates AEB could prevent 42,000 serious crashes in the next three years.

Make Better Driving a Focus in 2022

January 11, 2022 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Happy New Year from all of us at Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured.

We hope 2022 brings a move toward normalcy and puts the worst of the pandemic behind us. The truth of the matter is that healthy adults are still most likely to be killed in a traffic collision, according to the National Safety Council, which puts your annual odds of being in a serious crash at 1 in 107.

As the New Year begins, our car accident attorneys in Fort Myers and Cape Coral urge each of you to resolve to become a better driver this year. Some of us have further to go in this regard than others, but each effort will pay dividends, both in reducing your risks of being seriously injured or killed, and in reducing the likelihood that you will be found responsible for a serious or fatal crash.

Stay Safe This Holiday Travel Season

December 20, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

If statistics from Thanksgiving are any indication, one thing seems certain this holiday season: Not even a pandemic will stop many from visiting friends and loved ones this year.

After two years of Covid quarantines, many have been reluctant to cancel plans, despite the recent emergence of the omnicron variant.

AAA estimates more than 53 million Americans traveled over the Thanksgiving weekend, a jump of 13 percent over last year, when many plans were canceled during the first year of the pandemic. That’s about 6 million more people. While air travel was down slightly, 2.3 million passed through airport checkpoints the day before Thanksgiving,the busiest day since the start of the pandemic, according to the Transportation Safety Administration.

Still, most people will drive.

Older Drivers and Older Cars a Dangerous Combination

December 17, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Recently, our injury lawyers in Fort Myers urged you to Check on Elderly Loved Ones this holiday season. While loneliness and isolation are a struggle for many seniors, the coronavirus pandemic has increased isolation of many of our vulnerable older loved ones.

But it might also be a good time to check their garage.

Much has been written about the risks of older drivers on the road. It’s a critical issue here in Florida, which has more drivers over the age of 65 than any other state. Nearly five million seniors are on Florida roads — twice as many as 20 years ago.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration highlighted the risks during Older Driver Safety Awareness Week December 6-10. The nation’s leading watchdog agency noted driver assistance technology that is becoming standard in most new vehicles can be a great help for older drivers who are dealing with diminished hearing and vision, as well as stiff joints, delayed reaction times and cognitive decline.

But there is just one problem: Few older drivers have such technology in their vehicles.

Be a Responsible Party Host this Holiday Season

December 14, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Those serving alcohol this holiday season have an obligation to do so responsibly.

Drinking and driving kills 28 people a day in the U.S. More than 1 person an hour die in an alcohol-related crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Drunk drivers kill 10,000 people a year, accounting for about one-third of all traffic fatalities.

While the legal limit is .08, nearly 2,000 people are killed each year by drivers who tested positive for alcohol below the limit. Alcohol levels as low as .02 affect mood, visual abilities and the ability to multitask.

Last year, 839 motorists died in alcohol-related crashes on Florida roads, more than anywhere except California. Winter brings higher instances of drunk drivers on the road, as do holidays, with New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day being the deadliest of the year. Continue reading ›

Preventing Holiday Drunk Driving Tragedies is YOUR Responsibility

December 10, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

More than 50 years of fighting for the rights of the injured in Southwest Florida have taught us one sobering lesson above all others: Irresponsibility with alcohol destroys lives.

Start your 2022 resolutions early this year by resolving to be responsible with alcohol this holiday season. If you think that means don’t drink and drive, you are absolutely correct. If you think your responsibility ends there, you are sadly mistaken.

Irresponsibility and alcohol are a deadly cocktail that puts our attorneys in a room with a family devastated by tragedy every holiday season. Please do your part this year. Our personal injury attorneys in Fort Myers and Cape Coral would like nothing better than to not get those calls this holiday season.

Dangerous and Defective Product Claims in Southwest Florida

December 8, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

We bring more products into our home during the holidays than at any other time of the year. That means the risk of dangerous and defective products injuries peak each December and January.

Our defective product attorneys have posted recently about the risks, including those posed by the global marketplace and online shopping services such as Amazon, as well as the risk of toy-related injuries.

However, some products are inherently more dangerous than others. Understanding the risks before you choose to bring a product into your home can go a long way toward keeping you and your family safe as we head into the new year.

Check on Elderly Loved Ones this Holiday Season

December 6, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

While the coronavirus pandemic has brought a sense of isolation to virtually everyone, senior citizens are experiencing extreme isolation in record numbers.

More prone to serious infection, and often with fewer surviving friends and family to support them, our elderly loved ones are most vulnerable as we enter the second holiday season of pandemic isolation.

The most common threats include nursing home neglect and abuse, fall injuries, and car accidents. Our injury lawyers in Fort Myers and Cape Coral have written extensively about the risks in nursing homes, where fewer family members are allowed to visit. But another serious threat awaits those seniors who are still mobile enough to be on the roads.

Toy-Related Injuries a Holiday Threat in Southwest Florida

November 22, 2021 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

There is perhaps nothing sweeter and more genuine than the utter delight of a child with a new toy.

At Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, we are a family of parents. We take particular care when working with children, whether in our offices, in the courtroom, or in working with the March of Dimes and holiday toy drives. But we also continue to monitor with concern the growing and evolving risks of product injuries involving children.

Nearly 200,000 children visited hospital emergency rooms last year because of toy-related injuries. Boys accounted for just over half of the injured. Three-quarters of those injured were children under the age of 14. Nearly half occurred to toddlers under the age of 4, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission.