South Florida Personal Injury Lawyers

A Fort Lauderdale woman is fighting for her life after police say she and a friend were the victims of a hit-and-run crash Wednesday night on Las Olas Boulevard.

Carolyn Bianco, 65, was taken to Broward General Medical Center in critical condition with a life-threatening head injury, police said. Her friend Victoria Kirby, 62, suffered relatively minor injuries, police said. Kirby was released from Broward General on Thursday afternoon.

The two were crossing East Las Olas Boulevard near Southeast 11th Avenue about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when a dark-colored SUV hit them, according to police. The driver did not stop; the vehicle continued eastbound.

Police ask anyone with information about the crash to call Traffic Homicide Investigator Jonathan Graham at 954-828-5125 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477).

Police are searching for the driver who hit two pedestrians on busy Las Olas Boulevard Wednesday night.

The victims, both women, were crossing the street at 11th Avenue when they were struck by a black SUV, witnesses said. They said it sounded like two cars collided.

“The one person that I did see, she was not moving. The other person I just saw. It just seemed like they were just laying over each other,” said Marilyn Handrahan who was eating dinner with her husband at a nearby restaurant.

According to police, Carolyn Bianco, 65, and Victoria Kirby, 62, were crossing northbound East Las Olas Boulevard, near 1032 East Las Olas Boulevard when a dark SUV hit them.

Bianco sustained a serious life-threatening head injury and currently is in critical condition at Broward General Medical Center. Kirby received minor injuries.

Dominic Casalle, who also witnessed the crash, said the SUV stopped briefly after the impact, then sped away.

“There was no question he knew he hit something,” Casalle told Local 10’s Roger Lohse.

The impact knocked some jewelry off one of the victims and a piece of chrome off the SUV. Traffic homicide detectives will use it to figure out what kind of vehicle it came from.

“Hopefully there’s a tag number on there and we can catch the guy and lock him up,” Casalle said.

Anyone with information or who may have witnessed the crash is asked to contact Traffic Homicide Investigator Jonathan Graham at 954-828-5125 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.

Rescue workers were called to the scene of a school bus crash early Thursday on Griffin Road, authorities said.

A Broward County school bus was rear-ended by a car on Griffin Road and Southwest 90th Avenue, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

No one was injured, authorities said.

Two eastbound lanes of Griffin Road were blocked around 8 a.m.

On Sept. 5, 2007, plaintiff Mike McCraven, 56, a heavy-equipment operator, was an employee of Austin Industries and working at Pasadena Refining System Inc.’s plant in Pasadena. He had been directed by his supervisor to go the Coker Unit to move a boom truck. McCraven went to the control room to inform those workers where he was going and was given permission to do so.

The area was flooded with liquid, and drain covers had been removed from the sluiceway. As McCraven was walking to the area near the boom truck, he fell into the open sluiceway, which was full of boiling water. He sustained second- and third-degree burns.

McCraven sued PRSI, alleging it was negligent because it left the drain covers off the sluiceway and continually flooded the area with boiling water. He further contended PRSI was negligent in permitting him to enter a barricaded area to retrieve the truck.

PRSI, in turn, filed suit against McCraven’s employer, Austin Industries, as a third-party indemnitor, alleging Austin was negligent for not adequately communicating the existing conditions to McCraven before he started the task.

PRSI alleged that this was a Chapter 95 case and that it was not liable for the injuries because it lacked control over the work being performed, and lacked the actual knowledge required of a premises owner under Chapter 95 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code.

Austin argued that is adequately trains its employees and that McCraven was partially at fault because he failed to ask questions before going to retrieve the truck.

McCraven was transported to a hospital by emergency personnel. He sustained second- and third-degree burns to 15 percent of his body, all on his lower extremities, which required skin grafting. As a result, he lost sensation in his feet and he claimed he cannot return to work as a crane operator.

McCraven’s incurred medical expenses were $112,470.58 and the amount paid was $54,004.65.

The plaintiff’s psychiatry expert testified that McCraven suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and was unable to return to work as a crane operator. His vocational rehabilitation expert agreed that McCraven could not return to his prior job, but the expert said McCraven could possibly take an entry-level sedentary position.

The plaintiff’s orthopedic surgery expert testified that McCraven sustained a 30 percent whole body impairment. He also claimed McCraven was unable to return to work as a crane operator.

Two of McCraven’s treating physicians also offered testimony. His plastic surgeon released him to work, with restrictions regarding climbing and lifting anything heavier than 15 pounds. McCraven’s orthopedist said he released McCraven to work on a trial basis.

The defense’s vocational rehabilitation expert contended McCraven could return to his job as a crane operator. If not, there were similar eqipment operator jobs he could do, such as being a tower crane operator. She also noted that he could work in light delivery or security.

The defense’s psychiatry expert opined that McCraven did not suffer from PTSD and could return to work.

The jury found PRSI 75 percent, Austin 20 percent and McCraven 5 percent liable. McCraven was awarded $5,695,370 in damages.

After apportionment and the addition of pre-judgment interest, McCraven’s total net recovery was $5,818,993.54.

Mike McCraven

$112,470 Personal Injury: Past Medical Cost

$92,400 Personal Injury: Future Medical Cost

$200,000 Personal Injury: Past Physical Impairment

$357,500 Personal Injury: Past Lost Earnings Capability

$133,000 Personal Injury: FutureLostEarningsCapability

$4,500,000 Personal Injury: Past Pain And Suffering

$50,000 Personal Injury: Future Pain And Suffering

$250,000 Personal Injury: Past Disfigurement

U.S. highway deaths have fallen to their lowest levels since the 1950s.

The Transportation Department said Thursday that its projections show traffic deaths declined nearly 9 percent in 2009 to fewer than 34,000. That’s the lowest level since 1954.

Safety experts attribute the reductions to increased seat belt use, less drunken driving and more enforcement of traffic laws. Others point to the sluggish economy, which leads fewer people to drive.

Highway deaths have dropped steadily since 2005.

In another blow to Toyota, a suburban New York woman driving a 2005 Prius flew out of her driveway across a busy street and smashed into a stone wall. A stuck accelerator pedal is suspected, police said.

The 56-year-old woman, who was not identified, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the crash Tuesday in Harrison, N.Y.

A floor mat problem that Toyota has blamed on some acceleration problems was not a factor because the mat was tied to the seat base with plastic ties, acting police chief Anthony Marraccini said, according to published reports.

Police said the driver lost control when the stuck pedal “shot” the vehicle forward, according to the New York Daily News.

Marraccini said the Prius crossed a busy street and hit the wall so hard that “several boulders were hurled about 10 feet from the crash site.”

The car is being analyzed at police headquarters.

Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide. In some cases, floor mats can cause the accelerator to stick.

The New York crash came a day after a California man said he couldn’t slow his 2008 Prius after the accelerator got stuck; the vehicle eventually reached 94 mph.

While Toyota dispatched a field team to investigate the case in California, it was not clear whether the company would send one to New York.

In Southern California, James Sikes, 61, called 911 Monday after he tried to loosen his accelerator with his hand.

“My car can’t slow down,” he told the emergency dispatcher.

It took Sikes 23 minutes to bring the car to a halt. He got help from California Highway Patrol officer Todd Neibert, who gave instructions over a loudspeaker as they traveled on Interstate 8 in San Diego County.

Neibert told Sikes to shift to neutral, but the driver shook his head no. Sikes told reporters he didn’t go into neutral because he worried the car would flip, according to The Associated Press.

Neibert said he told Sikes to push the brake pedal to the floor and apply the emergency brakes as the Prius neared 85 mph. The car slowed to about 55 mph, at which time Sikes says he turned off the ignition and the car came to a stop, according to the AP.

“The brakes were definitely down to hardly any material,” Neibert told reporters Tuesday. “There was a bunch of brake material on the ground and inside the wheels.”

The officer found the floor mat properly placed and the accelerator and brake pedals in correct resting position.

Toyota spokesman John Hanson said the company wants to question Sikes.

The Florida Department of Health warned residents the norovirus is making the rounds in the state. According to the state, 61 clusters of stomach flu caused by the norovirus have appeared in the first two months of 2010.

The outbreaks have been clustered in school, assisted living facilities, long-term care facilities, and correctional facilities. In Miami-Dade County, there are two or three clusters of 10-25 cases, primarily in assisted living facilities. Broward County reported five or six clusters in assisted living facilities.

So far, no clusters have appeared in South Florida schools.

Norovirus causes nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach cramping. The symptoms of the bug include low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, and fatigue.

There is no treatment for norovirus, but the Florida Department of Health recommends infected persons get plenty of rest and drink plenty of liquids to prevent dehydration.

In 1996, plaintiff Adam Goodstein, an attorney who suffered obsessive compulsive disorder, became a patient of a Manhattan-based psychiatrist, Dr. Terry Weill. Weill rendered treatment that included the prescription of an antidepressant, Prozac.

After several years of treatment, Weill discontinued Goodstein’s use of Prozac. Weill subsequently developed SSRI discontinuation syndrome, which is a collection of symptoms that can emerge after a person ceases use of antidepressants, such as Prozac, that are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors–drugs that increase the availability of serotonin. Goodstein’s symptoms included depression and suicidal ideation. On Aug. 23, 2003, he unsuccessfully attempted to commit suicide. The incident involved his use of a shotgun, so he ultimately had to defend criminal charges of reckless endangerment.

Goodstein’s care was transferred to a different psychiatrist, whose treatment includes greater doses of Prozac. The treatment has resolved Goodstein’s suicidal ideation, but Goodstein claimed that he suffers residual, disabling depression and distress that stem from his failed attempt to commit suicide. He claimed that his condition is a result of Weill’s failure to properly manage his medication.

Goodstein sued Weill’s practice, Terry L. Weill, M.D. P.C. Goodstein alleged that Weill failed to render proper treatment, that Weill’s failure constituted malpractice and that Weill’s practice was vicariously liable for Weill’s actions.

Goodstein’s counsel contended that Prozac is a powerful drug whose discontinuation is a well-known cause of the symptoms that Goodstein experienced. He argued that Weill did not closely monitor Goodstein’s discontinuation of the drug. He also argued that Goodstein’s subsequent treating psychiatrist determined that Goodstein’s condition was best treated by Prozac.

Weill contended that Goodstein expressed that he wanted to discontinue his use of Prozac. He argued that Goodstein failed to report any concerns that stemmed from his discontinuation of the drug. He also contended that SSRI discontinuation syndrome is a rarely observed result of the discontinuation of Prozac, and he claimed that its symptoms are not easily detected.

On Aug. 24, 2003, Goodstein unsuccessfully attempted to commit suicide. The incident involved his use of a shotgun, so he ultimately had to defend criminal charges of reckless endangerment. Goodstein was acquitted, but he claimed that the incident exacerbated his condition. He contended that he developed disabling depression and emotional distress, and he claimed that he has not been able to resume work.

Goodstein sought recovery of about $70,000 for his past lost earnings, recovery of the cost of defending the criminal charges that stemmed from his attempt to commit suicide, and damages for his past and future pain and suffering.

Defense counsel contended that Goodstein has fully recovered from any residual effects of SSRI discontinuation syndrome.

The jury found that Weill departed from an accepted standard of medical care. It determined that Goodstein’s damages totaled $911,000.

Adam Goodstein

$70,000 Personal Injury: Past Lost Earnings Capability

$411,000 Personal Injury: Past Pain And Suffering

$411,000 Personal Injury: Future Pain And Suffering

$19,000 Personal Injury: legal expenses

An Orlando man died this morning after he stepped away from a disabled vehicle and was struck by a passing car.

Jose Luis Negron, 44, of Orlando had been a passenger in a vehicle that became disabled at Boggy Creek Road and Beth Road in Orlando about 5:35 a.m., according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

For an unknown reason, Negron stepped out into the road and was struck by a vehicle driven by Omar Ortiz, 42, of Orlando.

Ortiz suffered no injuries after the crash. Boggy Creek Road has been reopened.

Motorists driving through Tamarac on Wednesday will want to make sure they are driving safely and complying with Florida laws.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office Tamarac District Motor Unit will be conducting a traffic checkpoint operation from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. along the 6700 block of northbound University Drive.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, deputies will use a lane squeeze to manage traffic during the operation. Deputies will be looking for unlicensed drivers or those with suspended licenses, equipment and safety violations, and traffic violations.