Blog
April 25th, 2012
Joseph Fried mentioned on Twitter recently that he had an unusually busy calendar, with a string of back-to-back trials. But by last weekend that seemed to change. A Saturday tweet said, “Case settled. No trial Monday.”
On Monday morning, that more traditional type of communication, a phone call, revealed it wasn’t just one case that settled last week. It was six, including two on Friday.
Six?
“I guess the planets aligned,” said Fried, a partner at Fried Rogers Golderg. “I resolved six cases last week.”
Total value of the six settlements: $20 million. Fried said his partner, Michael Godberg, told him, “You just had an incredible year – in a week.”
Click here to read the full length news feature.
Posted in
Firm News |
No Comments »
April 6th, 2012
Ever wonder what truck drivers think about as they cruise along? It turns out that they could be daydreaming about being in dreamland. According to a recent poll by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), nearly half of truck drivers report rarely or never getting a good night’s sleep on work nights. This is especially concerning for long-haul truck drivers. Their cross-country trips may involve several “work nights” on the road, followed by long days during which they operate a colossal vehicle on public roads.
Exhaustion Puts Other Drivers at Risk
What’s more frightening is that 14% of truck drivers report that fatigue caused them safety issues while on the job, such as narrowly missing an accident. Clearly there is more at stake than a typo when a trucker makes as work mistake. About 100,000 crashes and 1,800 deaths are attributed to accidents involving fatigued truck drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Posted in
Trucking |
1 Comment »
February 16th, 2012
There are a variety of charities the attorneys of the firm of Fried Rogers Goldberg LLC support, but their favorite is the firm’s annual scholarship. Says firm partner Joe Fried, “We always welcome the chance to give back to the community and at the same time, make kids think about the importance of the law.”
The Scoop
Each year, high school seniors from the metro Atlanta area are given the opportunity to participate in an essay contest. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in
Uncategorized |
No Comments »
February 10th, 2012
January 30, 2012: A tractor-trailer driven by Dean Mann on behalf of Hardin Trucking rear-ended a 2011 Chevrolet pickup causing that vehicle to rear-end the car in front of it, driven by Lucille Pratt. All three vehicles were driving south on Highway 9 in Calhoun City, Mississippi. The occupants of the pickup truck, driven by Josh Mohagnan, were injured in the collision.
Comments from Our Trucking Attorneys
There is no excuse for a professional truck driver to rear-end the vehicle in front of him. Truck drivers are taught to maintain sufficient space between their tractor-trailer and other traffic to come to a complete stop without an impact. Unfortunately, many truck drivers do not follow their training or are in a hurry and ignore the industry guidelines for space management. We have handled a number of rear-end collisions involving tractor-trailers. You can view our verdicts and settlements by clicking here.
Posted in
Uncategorized |
No Comments »
February 10th, 2012
January 6, 2012: A man was injured when a tractor-trailer hit his Corvette twice and kept driving. The name of the tractor-trailer driver is not available, because he has not yet been caught. Both drivers were traveling eastbound on Highway 826 near Northwest 27th Avenue in Miami Gardens when the collision occurred.
Comments from Our Trucking Attorneys
There are many instances when a truck driver leaves the scene of an accident. If someone sees the name of the trucking company on the side of the tractor-trailer, then the trucking company’s dispatch records and GPS documentation can be used to track down the driver. If there are no witnesses, there are still ways that a semi involved in a hit-and-run accident can be found. We have handled a number of hit and run trucking accidents. You can view our case results by clicking here.
Posted in
Uncategorized |
No Comments »
February 2nd, 2012
Ten people have died and many more are being treated for injuries resulting from a multi-vehicle accident on I-75 in Florida. In lieu of the completed investigation, smoke and fog are currently being blamed for Sunday’s tragedy.
Early Sunday morning, Florida Highway Patrol officers closed the highway due to lack of visibility and later reopened it. Shortly after, the collisions began. Drivers were blinded by both the fog and smoke from a nearby brushfire. At least 19 vehicles were involved, including seven tractor-trailers.
Visibility was reportedly so poor that rescuers could only locate victims by the sounds of their suffering.
Who is at fault?
As with many accidents, there are several parties who might be to blame for this catastrophe. One thing is clear: this is not simply an accident. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in
Uncategorized |
No Comments »
January 19th, 2012
On Monday, January 16, 2012 one woman was killed and two others injured when they hit tire remnants that flew off of a tractor-trailer driven by Yuri Babenko. Both vehicles were traveling south on Interstate 95 in Volusia County, Florida. Upon hitting the tire, Jose Camacho lost control of his Ford Explorer, exited the roadway, flipped and hit a tree. The passenger Rebeca Hernandez-Martinez was killed and the other two people in the vehicle were critically injured and transported to Halifax General Hospital.
Comments from Our Trucking Attorneys
Most people assume that a tire coming off a tractor-trailer is an inevitable unforeseen event that is no one’s fault. This is not true. A truck driver is supposed to inspect his tires each morning as part of his pre-trip inspection. With proper training, truck drivers should be able to identify worn tires and have them replaced before the tires come off the vehicle. Unfortunately, many truck drivers continue to drive on unsafe tires until the tires separate from the wheel. We have handled a number of improper inspection and maintenance cases involving tractor-trailer tires and wheels. You can see our case result by clicking here.
Posted in
Uncategorized |
No Comments »
January 10th, 2012
On Thursday, December 29, 2011, one person was killed and five injured when the driver of a log truck lost control of his vehicle, resulting in it overturning and spilling logs across Interstate 95 in Port Orange, Florida. The overturning of this tractor-trailer caused a chain-reaction crash involving a U.S. Mail tractor-trailer, a semi carrying methyl bromide and a passenger car. The driving of the semi, Francis Tammel, was killed when his truck hit the log truck and exploded in flames. The individuals in the passenger car, the mail truck and the log truck were all injured and transported to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach.
Comments from Our Trucking Attorneys
Truck drivers receive specific training on proper braking and speed control to avoid having their vehicle jackknife and overturn. It is always the truck driver’s fault if he allows his vehicle to jackknife during normal traffic patterns. We have handled several jackknifed tractor-trailer collisions. You can view our case results by clicking here.
Posted in
Uncategorized |
No Comments »
January 10th, 2012
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA — On Friday, December 30, 2011, two women were killed and a man and infant injured when a tractor-trailer driven by Michael J. Phillips crossed the centerline. The two women were driving east on State Road 64 in Hardee County when Mr. Phillips traveled outside of his lane. Mr. Phillips struck the Toyota Corolla head-on, killing both women instantly. A third vehicle carrying a man and infant was driving behind the Corolla and swerved to avoid the wreck, overturning. Both occupants of the second vehicle received injuries.
Comments from Our Trucking Attorneys
Truck drivers have a duty to maintain their lane of travel. Truckers should be trained on proper procedures so they can make sure a tractor-trailer does not drift or sway across the centerline. Because of the size of a tractor-trailer, the truck driver must take precautions to stay focused on the roadway and to keep the vehicle from starting to move left or right. It is always the truck driver’s fault if he fails to keep his vehicle in his lane of travel. We have handled numerous collisions involving tractor-trailers that crossed the centerline. You can view our case results here.
Posted in
Uncategorized |
No Comments »
December 28th, 2011
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – On December 20, 2011, Mr. Jeffrey Farless was killed when a tractor-trailer, driven by Agron Shembitrak, pulled his vehicle out of a rest stop and directly into the pathway of Mr. Farless. Both vehicles were traveling on Interstate 95 in Brevard County. Mr. Farless was unable to stop his vehicle and ran into the backend of Mr. Shembitrak’s tractor-trailer. Mr. Farless was killed on impact.
Comments from Our Trucking Attorneys
Because of the size and weight of a tractor-trailer, it is dangerous for the vehicle to pull out into the roadway from a stopped position. The truck driver must activate his flashers and build up enough speed to merge with traffic. It is a violation of trucking industry standards to merge into highway traffic at a slow rate of speed. We have handled a number of improper merging cases. You can review our case results by clicking here.
Posted in
Uncategorized |
No Comments »
