NOYES LEGAL NEWS

Another Day, Another Car Full of Teenagers in a Serious Car Accident

Why the car accident happened is unclear, but the fact that five more teenagers are injured--two seriously injured--in a car accident involving a car full of teenagers remains.

A car filled with five teenagers crashed on Mitchell Boulevard in New Port Richey the other day. The 1999 Plymouth sedan swerved to the right, overcorrected, drove into the median, struck a tree and overturned, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The driver, Antoinette G. Fitapelli, 18, of New Port Richey, is in serious condition. Her passengers were Michell Fitapelli, 17, of New Port Richey, minor injuries; Janette Horn, 17, of Holiday, serious condition; Daniel Barnes, 17, of Holiday, minor injuries; and Donald G. Vanvlack, 17, of Holiday, minor injuries. The driver and Horn were taken to Bayfront Medical Center.

As I have said before, car accidents are the number one killer of our teenagers. Too many teenagers are injured in car accidents when another teenager is driving. Distractions among teenagers in the car play a large role in many of the car crashes.

If your teenager driving other teens, be responsible and have authority in your car. Don't interact with your passengers. Keep the music down. It could save your life or the life of one of your friends.

Car accidents change people lives forever. If you need information about your legal rights after being injured in an automobile accident, contact Personal Injury Attorney Matthew Noyes. Attorney Noyes has been caring for clients for many years and understands the impact a car accident, motorcycle accident, workers' compensation injury or other personal injury matter could have on your life.

Attorney Noyes also recommends that all teenagers--drivers and/or riders--view the website, TaketheWheel.net. It was designed by teenagers for teenagers.

 

But If You Don't Wear Your Seat Belt--Watch Out!!

Soon there will be even more reason to buckle up. That's because the Florida Senate has passed a measure that toughens the state's seat belt law. The Florida Senate voted 33-4 Tuesday to pass the Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Safety Belt Law named in the memory of two young women killed in car accidents while not wearing seat belts.

The Florida House of Representatives, which has passed similar proposals in recent years, is expected to vote today on the bill making it a primary offense for failing to buckle up.

Presently, under Florida law, a driver or passenger can only be ticketed for not wearing a seat belt if there was other reasons to pull over the vehicle. When the new law comes in effect, the police can pull you over simply because you are not wearing a seat belt.

It's lawful not to wear a helmet on a motorcycle. It isn't against the law to text-message while driving. But, if you don't wear your seat belt--watch out!!!

I know that seat belts can reduce deaths in car accidents. I also know that seat belts can cause other injuries, especially in the shoulder area. Personally, I believe wearing a seat belt is a choice and think the police have other things to do than to make sure someone is wearing a seat belt.

For more information about your legal rights after a Florida automobile accident, click here to contact Personal Injury Attorney Matthew Noyes.

Another Car Accident Involving a Speeding Car Full of Teenagers

Some kids will never learn! Despite the tragic car accident in Seminole a few weeks ago resulting in the death of several teenagers, another car accident involving a speeding car full of teenagers occured on Saturday morning.

The speeding Fourd Taurus was traveling south on Pass-A-Grille Way around 5 a.m. when it lost control, went through the tree and a fence before coming to rest in the yard. A male teen was ejected and another partially thrown from the back window the car after it went airborne and landed on its roof. The other two of the four victims crawled out of the vehicle, according to St. Pete Beach assistant fire Chief Tom Malone.

This collision is another example of why it is so important that you know who your teenager is riding with. For every teenager in the car, the chances of a car accident increases.

If you or your loved one has been injured because of the negligent behavior of a teenage driver, you should talk with an attorney about your rights against the driver and his or her parents. Click here to contact Personal Injury Attorney Matthew Noyes. Attorney Matthew Noyes has been caring for clients after automobile accidents, motorcycle accidents, workers' compensation claims and other personal injury matters for years. His Tampa Bay personal injury firm has been battling insurance companies since 1955.

Blood Drive to Help Teenager Hit by Drunk Driver

You can help out a teenager who was plowed over by a drunk driver.

Recently, I wrote about the drunk driver who slammed into a Safety harbor teenager, Andrew Hall, as he stood on the sidewalk outside his house. Click here to read the post. Today, a blood drive has been organized in Andrew Hall's name.

A Florida Blood Services van will be at the Regal Cinemas in Pinellas Park from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday to collect blood donations in the name of Andrew Hall.

The car accident severe Andrew Hall's leg and broke several bones. Hall, who has cerebral palsy, had spent much of his life trying to walk without implements. Now, because of a drunk driver, he has to battle even harder.

His family said he has already gone through surgery and is doing better, but he has another surgery scheduled for Monday with a long recovery ahead.

I wish Andrew Hall the best in his recovery and encourage everyone to "pay it forward" and donate blood in his name. Personally, I would if I wasn't coughing up a lung today.

What To Do When Your Friend Falls in Your Home

No, laugh or make fun of them is NOT what you are supposed to when a friend falls in your home. 

If you have invited guests in your home and someone is injured, it is important that you understand your homeowners' insurance policy.  There are two provisions of your policy that may be used if someone is injured in your home--Medical Payment coverage and/or Liability coverage.

If your guest is injured in your home and requires medical care, your Medical Payment coverage would be responsible for the payment of medical expenses related to the injury.  For the most part, it is immaterial how the person was injured in order to be entitled to Medical Payment coverage.

Secondly, if the person was injured because of your negligence, they may be entitled to make a claim under theLiability portion of your homeowners' policy.  However, it is important to remember that just because they get hurt on your property does NOT make you ultimately responsible for their bodily injury liability claim.  The homeowner would have to be negligent in some way--defective chairs, slippery floors, etc.

So, if your friend gets injured in your house and requires medical care, you should provide them with your homeowners' insurance information.  Maintain the friendship even if they file a claim--remember, you paid for that protection. 

If you have questions after being injured on someone else's property, click here to contact Personal Injury Attorney Matthew Noyes.  Attorney Noyes' law firm has five offices throughout Tampa Bay and has been helping those injured in premise cases, automobile accidents, motorcycle crashes and other personal injury matters for over 54 years.

Preventing Car Accidents With Fake Noise

Well, my legal assistant would kill me if I didn't write something about it being Earth Day today. How does Earth Day and personal injury law relate? Hybrid cars.

Although fuel-efficient, hybrid cars can be dangerous. Cars like the Toyota Prius are so silent that some pedestrians cannot hear them coming as well as regular gasoline or diesel-powered cars. Blind pedestrians are especially at risk since they rely on sound for travel.

To combat this problem, Lotus Cars and Harman have joined forces to create Electronic Sound Synthesis (ESS), a technology with two purposes: one, to funnel fake engine nose outside the car using front and rear-mounted speakers, so that people on foot can hear it when it's approaching at low speeds, and two, to generate fake engine noise inside the car through the vehicle's in-car entertainment system, in order to make it sound more like a regular vehicle when accelerating.

The second purpose seems a bit silly to me, but this technology could avoid car accidents between hybrids and pedestrians.

For more information about your rights after a car accident, click here to contact Personal Injury Attorney Matthew Noyes.

Be Aware of "Teenage Safe Driving Awareness Week"

Did you know that this week is “Teenage Safe Driving Awareness Week?” Probably not, because there isn't much press on it. I cannot explain why there isn't press on this important week. Our teenagers are dying because of car accidents.

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers in Florida and the nation, accounting for 38 percent of all deaths in that age group. In 2006, 3,490 young drivers (age 15 to 20) were killed in car crashes, averaging about 10 deaths each day.

Teen traffic crashes are the number one killer of teens in Florida. Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville were on the top of the list for the 50 U.S. cities for deadly accidents involving teens. Yet, little is said about "Teenage Safe Driving Awareness Week."

Safe Teen Driving Week, April 20-25, highlights education efforts designed especially to help teen drivers understand the dangers. Teenagers and their parents also need to know:

- 64 percent of youth aged 15-20 years old who die in passenger vehicles are not wearing seat belts.

- 54 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths among teens occur on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

- 58 percent of teenage motor vehicle crash deaths occur between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Sadly, last week's Seminole car accident that killed 4 teenagers fits into all these statistics.

The National Safety Council is on a mission to help educate teens and parents to “beat the odds.” The approach is three-pronged and involves reducing teen drivers’ exposure to risk, modifying risky driving behavior and developing driver skills and experience. Risk factors for teen driving include having teen passengers and nighttime driving. Recognizing these factors and providing education can help minimize the risk, the National Safety Council said.

Education includes taking part in a defensive driving course designed to help teen regulate their own driving behavior and deal with issues that influence that behavior. While driver education is important, the National Safety Council said experience is the key to teens becoming safe drivers.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety also has been researching the problem of teen driving AAAs research concurs with the National Safety Council in finding that states with graduated driver licensing programs have decreased numbers of fatal and injury crashes involving drivers age 16.

AAA recommends that parents set clear driving rules for their teens, including rules that limit nighttime driving, having other teens in the car and the use of a cell phone while driving.

I represent soem great parents that suffer horrible losses when their child is killed due to the negligence of someone else. No amount of money can bring their kids back and no words can lighten their heavy hearts.

If knowledge of "Teenage Safe Driving Awareness Week" can prevent one pair of parents from suffering the devastation of the loss of their teenager, then I think it was a good program.

For more information on teen driving safety, visit www.takethewheel.net and www.teendriver.nsc.org.  For information about your legal rights after a Florida car accident, motorcycle accident or other personal injury matter, click here for a free case evaluation with Personal Injury Attorney Matthew Noyes.

 

DRUNK DRIVER PLOWS OVER TEENAGER IN CAR ACCIDENT

Another teenager fighting for his life. Another drunk driver speeding recklessly.

Andrew Scott Hall, age 18, was run over from behind by Joshua Dean West, age 24, after West swerved onto the sidewalk of Safety Harbor's Main Street and hit Andrew Hall and then proceeded to hit two utility poles before stopping. A witness says that West was raveling two or three times the speed limit when he struck the teenager.

After hitting the teenager, Joshua Dean didn't stop to see if Andrew Hall was alright. No, he climbed out of his smashed up car and took off running into the woods. Fortunately, the police dogs tracked him down.

Investigators say West may have been intoxicated at the time of the crash. Ya think?

Now, Andrew Scott Hall battles for his life and West's passenger battles serious injuries because of this drunk driver.

This is another example of what drinking and driving can do. I am sure that drunk drivers don't think they are going to possibly kill a teenager when he got behind the wheel after drinking. Sadly, it is because they don't think at all.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident caused by a drunk driver, you need to talk with an attorney before talking to any insurance companies. Drunk drivers could be responsible for punitive damages so an immediate investigation is needed.

For more information about your rights after a automobile accident caused by drinking and driving, click here to contact Personal Injury Matthew Noyes. Attorney Matthew Noyes has been caring for clients for years and his Tampa Bay personal injury law firm has been helping families since 1955.

One Person Dies After Car Flips in Car Accident

An all-too-familiar place with deadly results.

Anyone who went to Clearwater Central Catholic High School knows where the car crash happened that killed one person and injured two others last night--U.S. 19 near Haines Bayshore Road.

A gold Lincoln was on U.S. 19 was attempting to make a left turn into the Cove Cay condominiums when it was struck by a blue Chevy traveling northbound on U.S. 19 shortly after 8:30 p.m., according to Largo police. One person in the Lincoln died and two from the Chevy were taken to local hospitals.

This location is important to me for many reasons. First, my daughter lives in the Cove Cay condominiums. Secondly, I was involved in a serious car accident when I was 16 years old at the intersection of U.S. 19 and Haines Bayshore. The Lincoln that hit me ran the red light as she sped down U.S. 19 causing me to fracture my hip, break ribs, tear my rotator cuff, and have my heart stop. Some 27 years later, I still remember the accident as if it was yesterday. That accident and the injuries because of it is why I do what I do today.

Drive safely and watch out for those who don't. Wait an extra minute for a better break in traffic before making your turn. Watch out for turning vehicles. Drive defensively and you can save a life.

For information about your rights after a Florida car accident or motorcycle accident, click here to contact Personal Injury Attorney Matthew Noyes.

Drunk Driver Kills Two Generations

One man. Two car accidents in one night. Two women dead.

Betty Williams, age 69, and Brittany McFarland, 20, both died Monday because Randy Archiquette chose to drink and drive. Archiquette rear-ended one of their cars about 4 p.m. on Florida Avenue at Frierson Avenue, and then hit the other head-on at Florida Avenue and Mowhawk Avenue.

"It's a shame when a person's life is cut so short so fast, in a split-second," said McFarland's cousin, Ryan Patterson, 31.

Archiquette has been charged with two counts of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and another vehicular homicide charge of leaving the scene. His blood alcohol level was .147—nearly twice the drunk level.

May we all learn from these car accidents. Learn that every time you drive, you could be injured or killed in a car accident caused by the likes of Archiquette. Learn that if you drink, don’t drive. Learn to treasure your family every moment because you or they may be lost in a car accident.

Also, check your automobile insurance policy now to make sure that you and your family carry uninsured motorist coverage. The likes of Archiquette may not have adequate coverage to protect your family should you be insured in a car accident caused by someone like him.

For more information about your rights after a car accident, motorcycle accident or other personal injury matter and what you should look for on your auto insurance policy, click here to contact Personal Injury Attorney Matthew Noyes. Attorney Noyes has been caring for clients for nearly 15 years and his Tampa Bay personal injury law firm has been battling insurance companies since 1955.