Florida’s dangerous instrumentality doctrine imposes vicarious responsibility upon the owner or other possessor of a motor vehicle who voluntarily entrusts it to another for any subsequent negligent operation which injures a member of the traveling public. Jackson v. Hertz Corporation, 590 So.2d 929, 937. See Kraemer v. General Motors Acceptance…
Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage is 1st party insurance maintained for the benefit of individuals injured by uninsured motorists. See these blogs: Florida 4th in the Nation in Number of Uninsured Vehicles Florida Motor Vehicle Insurance Law: What is Stacked Coverage? “Full Coverage” Vehicle Accident Insurance in Florida An insurance policy…
Inflating airbags can cause serious harm or death. The damage occurs when the passenger’s head is struck by the airbag, which can travel at speeds up to 200 mph, before it has fully inflated. A vehicle’s “occupant protection system” (OPS) consists of airbags, belt/shoulder restraints, and seat tracks. If the…
Nationwide, roughly one in seven (13.8%) drivers are not covered by liability insurance and are therefore uninsured. Florida is tied in fourth place with Tennessee and Oklahoma at 24% with the highest percentage of uninsured drivers. Part of Florida’s numbers are attributable to its motor vehicle insurance laws. Liability insurance…
Stacking coverage is one of the most misunderstood areas of Florida’s motor vehicle insurance laws. The goal of this blog is to help clear up the confusion. Stacked coverage is a type of coverage that is available within the broader type of coverage known as uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) insurance. Neither…
Adopted in 1920, Florida’s dangerous instrumentality doctrine imposes strict vicarious liability upon the owner of a motor vehicle who voluntarily entrusts that motor vehicle to an individual whose negligent operation causes damage to another. See Southern Cotton Oil Co. v. Anderson, 80 Fla. 441, 468, 86 So. 629, 637 (1920).…
Motor vehicle accident victims would be well advised to follow these basic suggestions, many of which are applicable to other types of accidents: DO NOT give any statements, in writing or over the phone, to anyone about your car accident or injuries. This can even apply to your own insurance…
By its decision in Vargas v. Enterprise Leasing Company (Case no.: SC08-2269; opinion issued on April 21, 2011), the Supreme Court of Florida has declared that car rental agencies, unlike regular citizens and other businesses, are not vicariously liable for accidents involving the vehicles they own. Score one for big…
Vehicles like the Ford Bronco II, Ford Explorer and 15-passenger vans are designed with an unreasonable risk of rollover. Although there are many things manufacturers can do to prevent rollover accidents, rollover accidents will occur in vehicles considered safe. Knowing this, manufacturers should implement safety features designed to limit rollover…
Our law firm (along with co-counsel firm Domnick & Shevin, LLP) is currently involved in litigation against the Enterprise car rental company. In 2008, Enterprise rented a vehicle, in Miami, to a person whose Florida driver’s license was under suspension for failing to appear in court on a number of…