Monthly Archives: September 2012

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: Florida Keeps it Difficult to Sue the State

Posted on by
Reply

Brandon Stein

Being an Aventura lawyer that sues the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) for construction site injuries, I have been finding that the Florida Legislature is making it increasingly difficult for my clients to bring a lawsuit. However, the Florida Legislature does not make it impossible to sue the DOT.

Just this morning, I was before 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Miami-Dade County Judge Marc Schumacher on a Motion to Dismiss.  We had initially filed a Complaint on behalf of our client injured in a tragic car crash involving the express lanes on Interstate 95 northbound in Miami.  The accident had occurred on the very first day that the express lanes opened in July 2008, which many remember as being an extremely chaotic day on I-95.  Construction was not yet finished when these lanes were opened, and as a result, confusion spread among South Florida drivers. Many car accidents occurred, and naturally, several South Florida lawyers received calls from injured drivers.  One of those injured drivers was my client, which ultimately led to us filing a Complaint against the Florida Department of Transportation and several contractors hired by the FDOT to perform work on the 95 Express Lanes Project.

Immediately, without submitting any type of answer to our Complaint, the FDOT filed a Motion to Dismiss on the basis of Sovereign Immunity identified in Florida Statute Section 768.28.  Basically, if you are injured in a car accident or construction accident, your lawyer will most likely inform you that the law in Florida prevents lawsuits against the state because of sovereign immunity.  But does this mean that the state is immune from all negligent acts?

According to Florida law, the state is immune from acts committed that are defined as “planning level” or “decision-making” functions.  For example, if a person is injured in a car accident on a highway in North Miami and their lawyer wants to sue the state of Florida because the road was negligently designed, then the state will be immune — as this falls within the “planning” or “decision” function of the state.  However, the Florida Supreme Court does point out an exception to this immunity.

In the landmark case of “Department of Transportation v. Neilson,” the issue of sovereign immunity was directly addressed — which in fact was the very issue argued before Judge Schumacher this morning.  The Supreme Court in “Neilson” established an exception for when an injured person may sue the state.  So, if an accident occurs and the injured person contends that the state is responsible, then he or she must prove the following elements: (1) governmental entity created a known dangerous condition; (2) that known dangerous condition was not readily observable to the public; and (3) the state failed to provide adequate warning informing the public of this dangerous condition.

Essentially, if the state fails to adequately warn the public of a known dangerous condition that they created, then a person injured in a car accident, construction accident, or any accident for that matter, may bring a lawsuit against the state for negligence.  Because of this exception laid down in the “Neilson” case, I was successful in my hearing this morning, thus preventing this very significant I-95 Express Lanes case from being dismissed.

If you or someone you know was injured in an accident involving a governmental entity, then please contact us today.

By: Brandon Stein

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: Why are Construction Workers Constantly at Risk?

Posted on by
Reply

Brandon Stein

As a North Miami car accident lawyer that sues for construction site accidents, a case that I have recently filed in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida is just another example of the dangers of working construction. For purposes of anonymity, I will refer to my client as John Smith.

Mr. Smith was a construction worker employed as an asphalt laborer to perform paving work for the construction of Biscayne Boulevard just north of the American Airlines Arena.   Note: I say “was” because due to the significant injury from the car accident, as his lawyer, I do not know at this point whether John will ever be able to work construction again.

Mr. Smith had reported to work at the construction site for an overnight shift.  Naturally, the risks of being involved in a car or truck accident rise significantly at night — that is precisely why the presence of construction flaggers are of utmost importance to preserve the safety of all people working at the site.  Given the huge responsibility of directing traffic, flaggers are often required to undergo additional training and have more experience than your average construction worker, such as John Smith.

However, Mr. Smith’s supervisor required him to direct traffic that night, which happened to be a Friday night in downtown Miami — needless to say one of the busiest nights of the week.  Mr. Smith, fearful of losing his job if he told his boss that he was not properly trained and could not to perform this task, simply did what he was told and proceeded to direct traffic without any training or experience.

This is a construction zone that has the presence of trucks and cars traveling through the area constantly — always with a risk of causing an accident involving a construction worker, including John Smith.  As expected, shortly after Mr. Smith began directing traffic, he was hit and nearly killed by a car traveling through the construction site.  Fire Rescue and police responded to the scene and John was taken by ambulance to the Hospital.  The injuries that construction worker, John Smith, suffered from this car accident ultimately required two surgeries and extensive rehabilitation — the only way to get compensated for his loss was to hire a lawyer and recover money damages for his pain and suffering.

A major issue in this case is whether my client, John Smith, received adequate training in order to be qualified to direct traffic.  In fact, Florida has its own training and certification requirements for construction companies to follow when it comes to flaggers.  The Florida Department of Transportation (“FDOT”) sets forth Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction.  Contained within those standards is a section dedicated to flaggers.  According to section 105-8.4 of the FDOT’s Standard Specifications, construction companies are required to provide trained flaggers to direct traffic.  In other words, it is illegal to have untrained, unqualified construction workers, such as John Smith, direct traffic and work as a flagger.

When you have untrained construction workers directing traffic, car accidents or truck accidents are inevitable to occur at the construction site, which almost always cause serious traumatic injury.  Being a North Miami lawyer who sues for car accidents or truck accidents in construction areas, I find on many occasions that the contractor has failed to abide by the standards set forth by the Department of Transportation.  When these failures occur, the person who pays the price is the construction worker that is placed in harms way and vulnerable to car accidents, or worse, truck accidents.

The one golden piece of information that I would like all construction workers to take from this article is that no matter the cost, never place yourself in a situation where you are performing work without the proper training.  Unfortunately, my client, John Smith, succumbed to the pressure of his employer to perform dangerous flagger work, which led to his injury from a car accident while at work.

If you or someone you know was injured from a car accident or truck accident in a construction area, please contact us today.

By: Brandon Stein

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: Worker Killed in Truck Accident

Posted on by
Reply

Brandon Stein

As a North Miami lawyer who sues for truck accidents, I find it shocking the number of car accidents that occur on South Florida’s highways and roadways — particularly in construction zones.  The tasks that construction workers perform on job sites are dangerous enough — now add large trucks passing through and you have serious safety risks.

Yesterday afternoon on a Texas highway, a construction worker was killed after being struck by a large truck.  The worker was performing highway construction for the Department of Transportation when he was hit.  Authorities state that the 20-year old man was in the middle of a cement paving job on the side of the road.  However, it remains unclear as to whether the construction worker was in the road at the time of the truck accident, or if the truck swerved off to the side of the road.  Yet, investigation is ongoing and no charges or lawsuits have been filed.

As I mentioned in my post from September 17, 2012, one of the most dangerous vehicles traveling on the road are trucks.  Simply put, lanes on a highway are typically 12 feet wide. This lane width does not pose a problem for normal cars.  However, the average width of an 18-wheeler truck is 8 1/2 feet — that means that the truck has only 3 1/2 feet to work with when traveling in a typical highway lane.  I do not mean to get all technical and numbers oriented, but in many of the truck accident cases that I have litigated in North Miami, the offending truck often sways just outside of its designated lane — causing a car accident, or worse, an accident involving a construction worker.

Needless to say, performing construction work on the side of a highway is extremely dangerous.  This work becomes especially dangerous when trucks are traveling through these construction zones.  For large trucks that have several blind spots, being given adequate notice of the presence of construction workers is of the utmost importance. That’s right, notice.

Many North Miami construction site cases involving a truck accident often come down to whether the truck driver had the proper notice of the presence of a construction project. Florida law requires that adequate notice is given to drivers well before approaching a construction area so that the driver, or truck driver for that matter, can have time to slow down, change lanes, or exit the highway if proper detours are in place.

Unfortunately, as a North Miami lawyer for many who are injured from truck accidents, I constantly find that one, or both, of the following factors contribute to car accidents: (1) the truck driver was speeding and driving carelessly through a construction zone; or (2) the truck driver was not given proper notice of a construction area ahead.

No matter the case, and sadly, even if all necessary precautions are followed, truck accidents continue to occur involving construction workers — as we have seen from the tragic accident detailed above.

If you or someone you know was injured in a truck accident, please contact us today.

By: Brandon Stein 

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: Trucks Driving Through Construction Zones Pose Serious Safety Risk to Aventura Drivers

Posted on by
Reply

Brandon Stein

As an Aventura car accident lawyer that sues construction companies, I have noticed that the Florida Legislature has made it increasingly difficult to bring a lawsuit if a construction worker is injured in a construction zone by a car.  This piece of legislation is more fully explained in my previous post from August 18, 2012.  But what if the injured person is the driver of the car passing through the construction area?  I have litigated many car accident cases in Aventura that have occurred in construction zones where the liable vehicle turns out to be a truck.

Frequently, cars traveling through a construction site must deal with the presence of large trucks that certainly pose a hazard for all South Florida drivers.  In many cases, trucks traveling through a construction area fail to obey the local speed limit, or even worse, fail to recognize the presence of traffic control devices — including construction workers performing flagging duties.  One of the most, if not the most, dangerous types vehicles traveling on Florida roadways are large trucks.  Now, add a construction site that a truck must pass through — you have a car accident waiting to happen.

Each construction zone has its own traffic control plan, which is basically an engineering plan that informs the construction company how traffic will be ambulating through the site while work is being performed.  Simply stated, the traffic control plan is a safety precaution utilized by construction companies to allow for the continuous flow of traffic while work is being performed.  Nevertheless, no matter how specific these plans are, car accidents continue to occur within construction sites that involve trucks.

Unfortunately, the mentality of a truck driver is that he or she is “king of the road.” However, this does not mean that the truck driver is the only vehicle on the road.  Driving a truck with this mentality is dangerous as it is, but driving a truck with this mentality through a construction zone can lead to catastrophic personal injury requiring a car accident lawyer.

Car accidents involving large trucks within a construction site often lead to serious personal injury for the driver or passengers of the car.  As I explained thoroughly in a previous post from September 4, 2012, when you are injured in a car accident in Aventura, Florida and you hire a lawyer, you are usually at the mercy of auto insurance policies. However, if you happen to be injured from a truck traveling through a construction area, the injured person typically has a greater chance of receiving full compensation for his or her injuries.

Typically, trucks are traveling with commercial auto insurance policies that contain coverage for bodily injury sometimes exceeding $1 million.  As a lawyer who sues for car accidents in Aventura, I have yet to see a typical State Farm or Progressive automobile insurance policy that has bodily injury coverage approaching the seven figures. Additionally, if you are injured by a truck in a construction zone, you may also have a case against the construction company managing the site.  Simply stated, many car accidents occur at construction sites because of improper or poor management of the construction area.

So for you car drivers out there, as dangerous as it may be for a truck traveling through a construction site, the possibility of receiving full compensation for your personal injury is that much greater given the high bodily injury coverage for commercial truck drivers.

If you or someone you know was injured in a car accident involving a truck, please Contact Us today.

By: Brandon Stein 

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: 78 Year Old Construction Worker Killed After Being Pinned Between Dump Truck and Bulldozer

Posted on by
Reply

Brandon Stein

As a Florida construction site injury lawyer, I firmly believe that onsite construction work should only be performed by those physically and mentally equipped to handle the rigors of that line of work.  Most, if not all, construction projects involve the use of heavy machinery and intense manual labor.  The dangers of working on construction sites are always present, so the foreperson or supervising construction company has the responsibility of protecting their workers.  Thus, if a construction company fails to supervise its site properly, and a worker is injured in Florida, then you can be sure that the injured construction worker will be hiring a personal injury lawyer for representation.

I bring up the subject of suitable construction workers for a project because this past Monday a 78-year old construction worker of Schomberg, Ontario (just north of Toronto) was killed after being caught in between a dump truck and a bulldozer.  The Canadian Press reports that the construction worker was getting off of a bulldozer that he had been working on when a dump truck struck him — pinning him between the two and killing him. Local authorities state that the man was a part-time worker for the unidentified construction company and worked on an as-needed basis.  A construction site injury lawyer has not been hired to represent the 78-year old as of yet, but I would suspect that representation for the worker’s death is forthcoming.

Under no circumstances am I asserting that senior citizens should be excluded from all construction work in general. However, construction companies should have specific standards of their own in place that qualify or disqualify certain individuals from highly dangerous construction tasks. Of course, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has safety standards that construction companies are required to follow.  Yet, as a Florida construction injury lawyer, I strongly believe that each and every construction company should adopt its own site specific standards for a worker’s qualification to perform certain tasks.

Before allowing a construction worker to perform dangerous work, some factors that the employer should consider is: (1) age; (2) experience; or (3) physical strength required for the task.  Ultimately, construction employees should not be blindly placed into a position without the proper experience, training, and physical attributes.  As a South Florida lawyer who sues construction companies for employee injuries, I frequently address this issue of whether the construction employee was suited for the task he or she was performing at the time of the accident.

Going back to the 78-year old construction worker that was killed this past Monday, if I were hired to represent the man’s family in recovering damages, one of the first questions I would ask is “Why was this 78-year old man working with a bulldozer on this construction site?”  Was the man properly trained?  How long was he working for this construction company before being injured?  Does this construction company have a history of accidents on its construction sites?

Construction site accident cases are highly complex and often involve months, if not years, of litigation.  Hiring a construction site injury lawyer is very important so that you or someone you know recovers the maximum amount of damages that he or she is entitled, so Contact Us today if you or someone you know was injured in a construction accident.

By: Brandon Stein

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: Remembering the Victims of 9/11

Posted on by
1

Brandon Stein

As a Florida personal injury lawyer, everyday I speak with current or prospective clients that have, one way or the other, fallen victim to tragedy.  Whether a person is involved in a car accident, slip and fall, or construction site accident — I can typically proceed with a certain course of action that will hopefully enable my injured client to recover damages.  While the system we have is not perfect, it is the best we have to offer for our injured clients. The tragedy that occurred on 9/11 is in a class of its own, and no legal action or damages can repair the pain and suffering that this country endured on that fateful day.

Many of you are well aware that I focus my posts primarily on construction site accidents and construction site injuries.  However, on this somber day, 9/11, I believe it is necessary to remember the 3,000 people who perished from the terrorist attack on our country that day.  Yet, I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we all suffered that day, and we are reminded every year on this date of the tremendous sacrifice that our troops, law enforcement officers, and firefighters make every day to keep us safe.

I, like many others, can recall exactly where I was, what I was doing, and what was going through my mind on the morning of 9/11.  It was an experience that I remember vividly and will be etched in my memory for all my life.

The morning was 9/11/01.  The time was just before 9AM.  I was a senior at East Brunswick High School in New Jersey and sitting in second period.  Class was just about over, so my teacher allowed us to put on the television for the final 10 minutes — like she had done so many times before.  However, when we turned on the TV, nearly every channel was covering a “plane crash at the World Trade Center.”  My initial thought was: “Wow.  How can a plane get so sidetracked that it crashes into a huge skyscraper?”

The live footage that my entire class was watching was focused on the first tower that was hit. The fire and flames were out of control, and the smoke was darker than I had ever seen.  While watching this live feed of the burning tower, I noticed another plane come into the frame and become hidden for a moment behind the tower.  A split second later — the second tower was hit and a large explosion engulfed the sky.  At this point, I knew that this was no accidental plane crash — those planes were undoubtedly hijacked and used as kamikaze jets circa World War II.  While watching this live, I do not recall a single word being uttered by any of my classmates, nor my teacher.  Moments later, the bell rang for us to go to our third period class.

Walking through the narrow crowded hallways of East Brunswick High School that day was a surreal experience.  Seeing my classmates and teachers literally running through the hallways frantic was a scene out of a movie.  That entire day I felt like I was under water and simply could not speak or be my normal self.  I did not know how to react.  That was truly a day that will be imprinted in my mind and history books forever.

Let me stress that this anniversary should not be the only day that the victims, their families, fallen police officers and firefighters are remembered.  Every single day they should be remembered.

By: Brandon Stein

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: Worker Dead After Being Run Over By Construction Truck

Posted on by
Reply

Brandon Stein

As a South Florida construction site injury lawyer, I constantly stress that the most important aspect of a construction project is work site safety.  9 times out of 10 I find that construction site injuries can be prevented through proper job site management and supervision.  Yet, injuries continue to occur — including fatalities.

In Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, a construction worker was killed after being struck by a dump truck.  The 73-year old was working as a consultant for a project at Highland Middle School.  Authorities report that the construction worker was on site when the truck accidentally backed over him.  The chief of police stated that the 73-year old construction worker was standing behind the dump truck and the driver did not notice the man before reversing over him.  According to a local resident, construction trucks working on this project fly down the road everyday — it is not shocking that a construction worker was injured and killed.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) is currently investigating this incident.

As I commented in my post from August 22, 2012, OSHA is a governmental agency responsible for the health, safety, and welfare of hundreds of thousands of construction workers throughout the country.  A key tool utilized by OSHA to achieve its goal of ensuring a safe work environment are safety inspections conducted without advance notice.  These construction site inspections are conducted by highly trained, highly sophisticated OSHA compliance officers.  But how can OSHA possibly inspect the 7 million plus construction sites in this country?  Inspection Priorities.

Naturally, OSHA strives to inspect the most hazardous and dangerous construction sites, thus placing a priority on those particular sites.  Accordingly, OSHA identifies six situations which ultimately warrant an inspection: (1) Imminent Danger Situations; (2) Fatalities and catastrophes; (3) Complaints; (4) Referrals; (5) Follow-ups; and (6) Planned Investigations.  Regardless of the reason for the inspection, OSHA requires its inspectors to do their homework on a particular site before going out for the inspection.

Prior to arrival at the construction site or job site, compliance officers must research the site’s inspection history using detailed processes and procedures so that they are fully prepared.  Immediately upon arrival on the site, inspectors are required to convey their respective credentials to those on site.  Additionally, the officer must inform the employer of the reason for the inspection and describe the scope of the inspection.  Every inspector on site must be accompanied by a designated representative of the construction company that is the subject of the inspection. Essentially, the inspector and the company’s representative does a “walk around” throughout the entire construction site so that OSHA may assess all possible hazardous conditions on site.  Upon completion of the “walk around,” the investigator holds a Closing Conference with the employer to discuss potential courses of action OSHA may take.  Nevertheless, should OSHA decide to issue a citation, that determination must be made available to the employer no later than six months from the date of the violation.

This is one of the many examples of how OSHA attempts to protect construction workers from hazardous conditions on their job site.  Ultimately, OSHA is in place to prevent construction site injuries from occurring.  Unfortunately, we do not yet know if the Beaver Falls tragedy explained above that resulted in a construction site death was due to OSHA violations.  What we do know is that OSHA will be sending out their inspectors to conduct a full investigation.

However, regardless of the results of the OSHA investigation, a lawsuit may quite possibly be forthcoming given the fact that this construction site accident involved a fatality.

If you or someone you know was injured in a construction site accident, please CONTACT US TODAY.

By: Brandon Stein

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: Electing Not to Carry Uninsured Motorist Coverage is Like Playing Russian Roulette on the Road

Posted on by
1

Brandon Stein

As a South Florida personal injury lawyer who sues construction companies, many of the cases that I litigate involve clients injured due to car accidents within a construction site.  In my post from August 28, 2012, I illustrated the importance of holding the construction company responsible for its potentially negligent maintenance of a construction site.  Yet, sometimes construction site car accidents occur and fault does not lie in the hands of the construction company.  So, the only means of recovery for your injury is through the other driver’s automobile insurance policy.  Or is it?

In Florida, every licensed driver is required by law to carry automobile insurance. Additionally, every driver’s insurance policy comes equipped with Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, for short.  PIP provides each driver injured in a car accident with up to $10,000 in medical expense coverage.  However, once that $10,000 has been exhausted by the medical providers, the injured driver falls mercy to the bodily injury coverage that the other driver has according to their auto policy.  What if the other driver elects not to carry bodily injury coverage?

Unfortunately, in the state of Florida, if you are in a car accident, whether it occur in a construction site or not, and the other driver does not have any bodily injury insurance coverage, then you may be out of luck.  Of course, you may be able to file a lawsuit and attempt to recover against the other driver personally — but good luck with that, unless the driver that hit you happens to be Lebron James.  Although, there is one other option that you can explore so that you can avoid the gamble of whether the other driver has bodily injury insurance coverage.  Uninsured motorist coverage.

Unlike PIP, every driver in Florida has the choice of electing to carry uninsured motorist (“UM”) coverage.  Why pay the extra money for UM coverage?  Simple.  In Florida, with all the highways, the massive amount of traffic, and construction sites and work zones to travel through, you are constantly putting yourself in harms way while driving.  All it takes is that one rear-end collision because the other driver was texting or talking on their cell phone — leaving you with a debilitating neck or back injury requiring a significant amount of medical treatment.

Now, you would like to have the other driver pay for all of your medical treatment, but if that driver chooses not to carry bodily injury coverage, then that ship has come and gone.  So, this can all be prevented by electing to carry UM coverage. When purchasing automobile insurance, if there is one type of coverage that you do not want to skimp out on, it is UM coverage.  The higher your UM coverage is, the more likely that your car accident injury will be covered in full by your own insurance policy.

Ask yourself this — do I even have UM coverage?  If I do, then what are my coverage limits?  These are two very important questions that you should ask yourself because if you are injured in a car accident in a construction site, then even if the construction company did no wrong, you can still do right for yourself and seek medical treatment courtesy of your uninsured motorist insurance policy.

If you or someone you know was injured in a car accident or a construction site accident, please contact us today.

By: Brandon Stein