Florida Personal Injury Blog

Allstate Denied New Policy Privileges

Sandy Grinnell — Fri, 16 May 2008 05:16:00 GMT

The State of Florida continues to prohibit Allstate from writing any new automobile insurance policies until it complies with the state's request for an affadavit signed by one fo Allstate's coporate officials. The affadavit would certify that Allstate officials have given all the documentation Florida has requested and require them to produce any additional documentation requested by the State of Florida. This action came on the heels of an appeals court ruling against the insurance provider's request for a re-hearing this week.

Allstate had originally objected to the Office of Insurance Regulation's request for all documents substantiating the methodology behind their homeowner's insurance premium structure. It was Allstate's stand that if this information became public, it would put them at a disadvantage against the competition. They say, however, that they have provided many of the documents demanded by the State.

Allstate Insurance getting spanked by Fla. court

Joseph Bernardo — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:18:53 GMT

Allstate is at it again. Misbehaving badly has become their norm and they are finally getting some of what they've been giving:

Wednesday's 1st District Court of Appeal ruling denied Allstate's request for a rehearing of an earlier decision that sided with the state's Office of Insurance Regulation, giving it the power to sanction the company for failing to cooperate in the ongoing investigation.

"Allstate's willful, indeed potentially criminal, failure to comply with its disclosure obligations has prevented OIR from adequately investigating its reasoned belief that Allstate is systematically defrauding its policyholders," wrote Judge Paul Hawkes for a unanimous three-judge panel.

They do the same thing to their own policy holders and to claimants in third party claims. Oh well, at least they're consistent. I especially like the potential criminal failure to comply language by Judge Hawkes.

Ford Recalls Pickup Trucks

Shannon Weidemann — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:29:14 GMT

A brake hose problem is forcing the recall of Ford F-150 pickup trucks as well as the Lincoln Mark LT truck. The truck recall involves 650,000 2005 and 2006 trucks.

Ford trucks covered by the recall are equipped with 5.4-liter engines. The brake hose on those trucks can detach from an intake manifold, causing the driver to lose the "assist" function that provides additional power to the brakes, according to the safety notice.

The trucks could still be stopped with remaining braking power but it would require drivers to apply "more force to the pedal," Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood said.

Ford will contact owners of the recalled trucks to schedule a repair o the brake hose. No injuries have been reported due to the faulty component. There have been 11 minor accidents reported though. Ford can be contacted for more information at 1-800-392-3673. The recall also affects around 50,000 trucks in Canada.

Florida's Auto Insurance Requirements Too Low

Sandy Grinnell — Thu, 15 May 2008 05:03:00 GMT

With what appears will be the new Alabama minimum property damage requirements, Florida is now in a three-way tie for having the lowest minimum auto insurance requirements.

In order to register a motor vehicle in the State of Florida, you need to two types of auto insurance: Property Damage Liability (PDL) of $10,000 and Personal Injury Protection (PIP) of $10,000.

The PIP insurance issue was finally (?) put to rest last year when the legislature re-instated it. However, I know of no discussion of the low PDL limits, which seem ridiculously low.

Let's say you own a $25,000 vehicle and that you still owe the bank $18,000 on it. Then let's say your car is totalled by someone who only carries the minimum amount of property damage insurance. You'll get $10,00 from their insurance company, but now have to come up with $8,000 to pay off the bank, and you have no money for a down payment on a new one.

More importantly, Florida has no insurance requirement to compensate you if someone injures or kills you. Florida needs a mandatory personal injury liability coverage in addition to higher property damage liability. Frankly, if someone can't insure themselves in case they negligently hurt someone else, they shouldn't be allowed on the road anyway.

FAMU Law School Faces Trouble

Ed Normand — Wed, 14 May 2008 11:42:00 GMT

In order to continue to operate FAMU Law School in Orlando must become accredited by the American Bar Association. According to a recent ABA report, FAMU may be in trouble and may not get accredited. The accreditation deadline is August 2009. The school has been around for 6 years and was opened with taxpayers paying 40 million dollars to fund the school. It is curious that Jeb Bush started the school on his term as Governor given his open and obvious dislike of at least certain parts of the legal community, namely trial lawyers. One wonders whether Orlando really needs 2 law schools given that before Barry University Law School in the last 15 years there were no law schools in Orlando. It would be very sad, however, for some of the current FAMU students if the school is not accredited because they will not be able to become lawyers even if they graduate. Some of the current students are grandfathered in and can become lawyers upon passage of the Bar exam after graduation from FAMU but others who are students when and if the accreditation is denied will not be able to take the Bar Exam and wont be allowed to become Florida lawyers because they will not have a degree from an accredited law school. That is a shame as I know some FAMU law students and they are smart and hard working.

The ABA report is critical of the school for some serious problems including faculty disputes, low Bar test scores and passing rates, and falling trust between the students and the administration. If these problems are not fixed by August 2009, Florida and Orlando may have one less law school. That would be terrible for the students who will have wasted time and money on a degree of little to no use. Whether or not society would suffer from one less law school is another question.

Smart Car Passes IIHS Crash Tests

Sandy Grinnell — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:17:07 GMT

With the high price of gas, consumers are looking to high gas mileage vehicles when buying a new car. New to the U.S. market in this category is the 2008 Smart ForTwo, two seater micro car. It's smaller than a Mini Cooper - 3 feet shorter and weighs about 700 pounds less. But with a vehicle this small, as a consumer I would want to know, is it safe? Well, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests released today, it performed well in both front and side crash tests.

Apparently what the Smart lacks in size, which usually adds safety protection, it makes up for in safety restraints for front end crashes. The front airbag absorbed the impact reducing the recorded injury to the test dummy.

With side impact crashes, the firm structure of the vehicle and the side airbags contributed to the low injury recordings to the test dummy. These low injury recordings would have given The Smart a good rating, but because the door flew open in the side crash, IIHS downgraded the rating to acceptable.

The IIHS stressed the fact that with additional size, you get additional safety. Therefore, the safety of cars should be only compared to those in the same size category, for example compare the Smart to a Toyota Prius.

The Smart car has been very popular for years in Europe where gas prices range between $4 and $6 a gallon. As our gas prices creep closer and closer to $4 a gallon, will U.S. consumers start flocking to The Smart car? Only time will tell.

NTSB Asks for Tougher Laws for Habitual Drunk Drivers

Sandy Grinnell — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:46:10 GMT

In a press release marking the 20th anniversary of the deadliest drunk driving auto accident in U.S. history, the National Traffic Safety Board (NTSB) is asking each state to adopt NTSB's anti-drunk driving program.

The program addresses what the NTSB calls "hard core drinking drivers" which was in response to the May 14, 1998 Kentucky drunk driving accident that killed 24 young people and 3 adults and injured many more. The drunk driver was a repeat offender with a blood alcohol level of .24 driving the in the opposite direction on I-71.

The eleven components of the program include sobriety checkpoints, enforcement of driver's license suspensions and revocations, and devices which prevent drunk drivers from starting their vehicles, as well as other legislative issues. While the model program has had some success, not one state has implemented all eleven recommendations.

As Mark V. Rosenker, NTSB Chairman, said "Unfortunately, the tragedy of so many lives lost 20 years ago in Carrollton, Kentucky, as a result of a hard core drinking driver is repeated every day on a smaller scale. We know how to address this problem. What's needed are more effective measures on the state level to help ensure that responsible drivers are not endangered by those who continue to drink and drive."

CSX Commuter Railroad Deal Not Dead

Jeffrey Meldon — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:00:00 GMT

The Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission met last week and declared their intentions to pursue the controversial deal with CSX Railroad to buy 61 miles of railroad track. The problem is that CSX Railroad does not want to do the deal without being giving immunity from lawsuits for their negligent activities. They want to be excused from responsibility even for wrongs committed operating their existing commercial railroad lines. They could buy liability insurance to protect those innocent victims killed or maimed by CSX freight trains but they want to increase profits at our expense.

The problem is that the concept of the Central Florida Commuter Railroad is appealing to almost everyone. The I-4 corridor across Central Florida is one of the most congested interstates in the country and getting people to travel by rail rather than by car is a much needed "green" solution. It's universal appeal has emboldened CSX to make unfair demands knowing that many politicians are willing to "give away the house" just to get the deal done. Fortunately , the Florida Senate did not buckle to the political pressure this year. But it looks like the proposal will be revived in some new format next year and once again come before the Florida legislature. Let's hope they stand up for our rights again and don't succumb to the enormous political campaign CSX is sure to wage.

Commuter Rail: Terms Need A Closer Look.

Ed Normand — Sun, 11 May 2008 13:10:00 GMT

Recent news has suggested that the legislature failed to authorize the Central Florida commuter rail over ubiquitous "liability issues". Closer inspection reveals much more behind the scenes that call into question the fairness of the proposed commuter rail provisions in the the legislation. A great article on this subject including a discussion of potential profits and conflicts of interest by legislators trying to push the current terms of the legislation can be found in a recent Tampa Tribune editorial.

While I am certainly a backer of much needed public transportation in Central Florida, there are many items that do not pass the smell test. The issue I am most familiar with is liability and so I will address it here although it is not the biggest problem with the current proposed deal with the railroad. In fact the entire deal poses questions such as the fairness of a deal to "buy 61 miles of track for $650 million, though the railroad would use the tracks at night and during off-peak hours."

As far as liability, the railroad wants 100% immunity (with the tab to be picked up by us taxpayers) for all liability for all negligent acts from any accident on or near the tracks, including accidents caused by the freight trains that have nothing to do with the commuter rail. We cannot forget that the railroads immunity translates into payments by the taxpayer for wrongs committed by the railroad.

We need commuter rail but we do not need to jeapordize our safety or our pocketbooks in a deal that seems to benefit special interests more than it does commuters. More debate and a more open negotiation should result in a commuter rail that is more fair to the taxpayer and more safe for our citizens.

Brush Fire Closes Florida's Turnpike

Sandy Grinnell — Sun, 11 May 2008 06:13:00 GMT

In an effort to prevent the massive pile up like the one that occurred on I-4 earlier this year, Florida Highway patrol shut down part of the Florida Turnpike near the Hiawassee exit Thurday night. The brush fire, which started out small but quickly spread to about 10 acres, caused thick smoke to hang over the highway. FHP closed the southbound lanes of the Turnpike for several hours until fire officials were able to get the blaze under control.