Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

A pilot who survived a 2004 biplane accident will be charged with negligent homicide, according to authorities. Pilot Mark Strub was the survivor of the August 28, 2004 airplane accident in which passenger Kimberly Reed was killed. On the day of the accident, Strub was donating his time and his plane to offer free 10-minute place rides as part of the Wisconsin Rapids 2004 Children's Miracle Network Balloon Rally.

Reed was not the only passenger to board Strub’s Stearman PT-13 on that day in 2004. Three people prior to Reed boarded the plane and got a free plane ride with no incident. According to the NTSB Probable Cause report filed about the accident, Reed asked Strub specifically for an aerobatic flight, which involved both pilot and passenger to wear parachutes.

The aircraft carrying Strub and Reed climbed to 3,000 feet AGL and Strub performed a number of manoeuvres in the air, including one loop, a Cuban eight, and two hammerhead stalls. After the successful flight, Strub was returning his passenger to the airport. While flying over the Wisconsin River at an altitude of 50 feet, the aircraft struck power lines. The aircraft – with both on board – came to rest inverted in Nepco Lake. The aircraft was submerged in about 3 or 4 feet of water. It is believed that Reed died on impact. Strub sustained only minor injuries.

Other pilots and even bystanders rallied to Strub’s defence. Many point out that the pilot was donating time and the aircraft for a charitable cause and that the incident was a tragic accident. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), however, determined that the probable cause of the accident was “The pilot's improper in-flight decision when he decided to fly at a low altitude over the river and failed to maintain clearance from the power lines.”

Recent NTSB statistics show that General Aviation accident rates have been declining over the past 10 years. The rate of accidents for 2004 was 6.2 accidents for every 100,000 flight hours. 1.2 of those accidents proved fatal. In 2004, 1,413 General Aviation accidents were reported, and 290 of those were fatal.

Recently, Lois Forsberg Moscatello filed a wrongful death suit against Magen Carmony and the Polk County School Board. The case stems from the fact that Moscatello’s mother, Hilda, was a nursing home patient who died after a slip and fall accident in her bathroom while supervised by a Polk County student. The lawsuit alleges that while in at the Highlands Lake Center Nursing Home, the plaintiff’s mother was being supervised by a health science education student from the Traviss Career Center in Lakeland. The student allowed the patient to use the bathroom with no supervision and this led to a fall that apparently later led to the patient’s death. The lawsuit claims that the student should have known or should have been instructed that leaving the patient alone in the bathroom was dangerous.

The lawsuit alleges that the Polk County School Board did not properly train the student, did not provide enough staff help for the student, and did not tell the nursing home that the student may not have had the right training for the tasks she was required to perform in the home. The lawsuit alleges that all these factors signify negligence on the part of the school board.

The case has already polarized the community. The Polk County School Board claims that its students are much needed in professions and receive the training and help they need to do their jobs safely and well. Obviously, the Moscatello family, bereft of a family member, feel differently.

No matter how one feels about the tragedy, the fact is that tragedies such as this do occur. Slip and fall accidents and wrongful death suits are presented before the courts every day and make up a significant part of many attorneys’ case loads. According to the Florida AgSafe Network Web site, there are a number of things that can be done to prevent such tragedies. For example, safety features such as no-slip surfaces can be applied to floors, bathtubs, and other areas in a home. Proper supervision of the elderly or ill can, of course, help prevent many accidents. All surfaces and potential slip hazards should be examined regularly and steps should be taken to keep all surfaces slip-resistant.

Recently, the Florida Highway Patrol announced the addition of a new motor squad to their team. Acting on public requests, the FHP has designated four troopers to the squad to patrol Interstate 95 in an effort to reduce automobile accidents on the popular highway. According the FHP, the move will help ensure that stranded motorists are assisted quickly and will ensure that truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and other Florida car accidents are attended to fast. Thanks to the fact that the troopers will be on motorcycles, they will be able to access roadway shoulders and heavily congested areas that until now were difficult for law enforcement to access with traditional patrol cars.

In addition to this step, the FHP continues its educational campaign to promote safe driving. The FHP website offers many driving tips as well as current highway reports, meant to assist drivers. Public service announcements, videos, and radio spots are just some of the other ways that the FHP is trying to ensure safety on the roads. According to the FHP, there are many things that drivers can do to avoid automobile accidents in Florida:

*Slow down! It’s very basic information, but a significant number of car accidents occur because of speeding.
*Don’t drive distracted. Many of the new FHP awareness programs focus on the risks of talking on a cell phone, having an argument, or otherwise multitasking in the car. According to the FHP, every driver needs to have their full focus on the road.
*Don’t drive when tired or impaired. Impaired drivers and drivers who fall asleep at the wheel cause many car accidents each year.
*Make sure that your car is in good repair. A suddenly stalling car can cause a chain reaction collision on a busy street and poorly working windshield wipers can obstruct vision and cause an accident.
*Adjust your driving to the conditions. Florida enjoys many sunny, mild days each year, but drivers need to slow down and take extra precautions when foggy or rainy conditions occasionally occur.
*Always follow the rules of the road and take additional driver training if you need it.

If everyone were to follow these rules, there would be far fewer fatal accidents and serious personal injuries stemming from car accidents each year. The FHP hopes their new campaign will help reduce the numbers of accidents on Florida’s roads.

The effects of tobacco on health have been well documented and have caused much controversy. Today, a number of groups have turned to the law to seek legal redress in matters involving tobacco. By far the most common type of tobacco litigation is aimed against the tobacco industry. These cases tend to be high profile and tend to involve large settlements as well as a high degree of complexity. Litigation against the tobacco industry can involve individuals seeking redress or class representatives seeking settlements. In the past ten years, unions, health funds, governments, hospitals, and other claimants have also stepped forward.

In some cases, claimants against the tobacco industry have sought settlements of many billions of dollars and the industry has responded with highly motivated and outstandingly trained legal counsel. Anyone hoping to win a case against these giants needs excellent representation. Even simply deciding whether to seek legal redress under consumer fraud, products liability, or another claim can be very complex, so the highest quality legal team is an absolute must in these cases.

In past years, tobacco litigation has also come to mean companies seeking legal redress, damages, or repeal of anti-smoking laws. In cases where these laws have interfered with a business, company owners have sought lost income settlements from governments or other groups. Again, these cases can be very complex and can involve large settlements, necessitating very experienced and powerful legal representation.

Continue reading "What is Tobacco Litigation" »