Tampa Bay Wrongful Death Lawyer

January 17, 2019

Pedestrian Hit, Killed While Crossing Hillsborough Avenue

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A pedestrian was hit and killed Tuesday evening while crossing Hillsborough Avenue.

The crash occurred around 7 p.m. east of Orient Road.

Troopers said the 31-year-old man from Jacksonville walked into the path of a Chevy pickup truck and was hit.

The pedestrian died at the scene.

According to the report, no charges are pending at this time.

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), Florida ranked number two overall in the number of total pedestrian deaths in 2017. Florida is also the fifth worst for pedestrian deaths when the rankings were adjusted for population.

The total number of Floridians hit by cars increased from 2016 to 2017: 299 pedestrians were hit from January through June of 2016, compared to 303 in 2017. Per 100,000 people, Florida came in fifth, behind Arizona, New Mexico, Delaware, and Louisiana. Florida’s ranking of 1.43 deaths was only 0.05 points behind number two New Mexico (0.48).

While these statistics are alarming, they also show just how vulnerable pedestrians are to cars sharing the roadway. Pedestrian accidents can easily result in catastrophic injuries such as paralysis, broken bones, permanent disability and even death. Our Tampa Bay Pedestrian Accident Attorneys at Whittel & Melton routinely help pedestrian accident victims receive compensation for the pain and suffering they have experienced in addition to compensation for medical bills, disability, lost wages and wrongful death of a family member.

January 14, 2019

Two Killed in Motor Scooter vs. Pickup Truck in Hillsborough County

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Two females riding a motor scooter were killed in a crash Saturday afternoon, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

It happened at about 4:30 p.m. at Florida Avenue and Garland Court.

Troopers said two people were on a motor scooter traveling westbound on Garland Court when it tried to turn left onto Florida Avenue and entered the path of a Chevy pickup truck.

Both occupants of the scooter were ejected. One died at the scene of the crash, and other later died at Tampa General Hospital.

No further information is available at this time.

Many people believe that because motor scooters are small and do not go very fast, that these types of accidents do not deliver serious injuries. However, when motor scooter accidents occur, injuries can be as minimal as scrapes and bruises and as severe as traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord trauma and even death.

Motor scooters are light and slow, which makes motor scooters even more dangerous on the roads because there are times when they cannot keep up with the flow of traffic. This not only poses a danger to the operator and the passenger of the motor scooter, but also to the other drivers sharing the road.

If you or someone you love has been harmed in a motor scooter accident in the Tampa Bay area, our Tampa Bay Injury & Wrongful Death Attorneys at Whittel & Melton can help you act against the at-fault party and hold them accountable for their negligent actions. We will make sure that you are afforded all of the relief you deserve.

January 10, 2019

Teen Injured in Lakeland Hit And Run

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A 17-year-old Polk County high school student is recovering after being left for dead in a ditch during a hit-and-run accident.

Investigators say the teen was walking along Swindell Road sometime after 6 a.m. Tuesday when she was struck from behind and thrown into a water-filled ditch.

She may have been in the ditch for 15 minutes to a half hour before anyone heard her screaming for help, according to reports.

A grade-school child walking to a bus stop heard the teen and ran to a neighbor’s house for help.

Emergency medical responders took the teen to a hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery for her badly broken legs.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office thinks the hit-and-run vehicle may have been a 2000 to 2006 Chevrolet or GMC dark-colored SUV.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 863-298-6200 or Heartland Crime Stoppers at 800-226-TIPS (8477).

A hit-and-run accident is one where the at-fault driver does not stop at the accident scene. The law in Florida makes it very clear that a driver who hits someone with a car or other motor vehicle needs to stop and stay at the scene. Failure to comply, can result in felony charges, and it adds significant risk to the injury victim(s) whose injuries can continue to worsen if no one else is nearby to help.

December 18, 2018

Update: Lawmakers Cracking Down on Distracted Driving in Tampa

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Another bill has been filed for the 2019 legislative session that would allow law-enforcement officers to pull over motorists for texting or talking on hand-held cell phones while driving.

Rep. Jackie Toledo, R-Tampa, filed a measure (HB 107) on Monday that would prohibit drivers from talking on cell phones that are not hands-free devices and would make enforcement a “primary” offense.

Currently, texting while driving in Florida is illegal, but it is enforced as a “secondary” offense. That means motorists can only be cited if they are stopped for other infractions, such as running stop signs or speeding.

Under Toledo’s bill, police would be able to stop motorists for texting or talking on hand-held cell phones.

A Senate bill (SB 76) similar to Toledo’s new proposal has been filed by Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, for the 2019 session, which starts in March.

Under the Toledo and Simpson bills, drivers would be able to communicate on hands-free devices.

Also, motorists would be allowed to use hand-held devices for such purposes as reporting emergencies, getting safety-related information or for navigation. Rep. Emily Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, also has filed a similar measure (HB 45) for the 2019 session.

Driving safely on busy Tampa Bay roads can be challenging under ideal circumstances, but it is impossible to do when you’re distracted. Driving while texting, talking on the phone, eating, or reading has become disturbingly common. Engaging in these unsafe driving practices behind-the-wheel can lead to drivers causing serious, even fatal, auto accidents.

Distracted driving can be deadly. Many experts suggest that cell phone distractions are the single biggest reason that fatal accidents on US roads has increased over the past three years.

Victims of distracted driving accidents deserve compensation for the injuries they suffer. If you’re a Tampa Bay resident who has been hurt in a distracted driving crash, our Tampa Bay Auto Accident Attorneys at Whittel & Melton can help you get the compensation you deserve.

December 17, 2018

Lawmakers Cracking Down on Distracted Driving in Tampa

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Local leaders, and lawmakers, will meet on Monday afternoon in Tampa to announce new legislation aimed at making roads safer.

The proposed legislation was written in response to a Tampa family’s pleas to crackdown on distracted driving.

On September 25, 2016, a family was stopped in a traffic jam on Interstate 75 when a distracted driver slammed into the back of their SUV going more than 100 miles per hour.

Investigators say that driver was so absorbed in his phone that he never looked up and did not even attempt to brake.

The impact of the crash killed their 9-year-old son instantly.

The family will join Representative Jackie Toledo on Monday, along with Hillsborough County School officials and local law enforcement officials, to introduce a bill that strengthens the policy on distracted driving.

Distracted driving is a serious problem, not only in Tampa, but across the country. Distracted driving claimed 3,450 lives in 2016 alone, according to the NHTSA. Another 391,000 were injured in distracted driving crashes.

Texting, talking, checking social media, or inputting an address in your GPS are all forms of distracted driving. When you take your eyes off the road, even for a few seconds, you put yourself and everyone else sharing the road with you at risk.

Our Tampa Bay Auto Accident Attorneys at Whittel & Melton are passionate about holding drivers responsible for the consequences of distracted driving in car accidents. If you or someone you love has been injured or killed in a collision caused by a distracted driver, we can help with your lawsuit.

December 5, 2018

Tampa Wrong-Way Driver Charged with Drunk Driving, Leaving Accident

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A 49-year-old Tampa Bay area woman has been charged with driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident following a wrong-way crash at Gunn Highway and Isbell Lane just before 9 p.m. Monday.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the woman was driving a Jeep Wrangler south in the northbound lanes of Gunn Highway when she encountered a Nissan Altima.

The Altima swerved into the painted median to avoid the crash with the woman, but was struck on the passenger side by the Jeep.

The front axle of the Jeep Wrangler snapped, and the vehicle eventually came to a stop in the road near North Mobley Road.

Deputies arrived and found the woman sitting in a gray sedan across from the Jeep. Her wallet was located on the Jeep’s front passenger seat and her flip flops were under the Jeep’s brake pedal. Deputies said the woman smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech, bloodshot, watery eyes and was unable to stand on her own.

Deputies said field sobriety tests were not conducted due to the woman’s extreme level of intoxication. She refused to provide breath samples. She was transported to the Orient Road Jail and charged with driving under the influence with property damage and leaving the scene of a crash with property damage.

According to the Department of Safety and Motor Vehicles, the majority of wrong-way collisions result in vehicles being hit head-on – 81% of all wrong-way fatalities are head-on collisions.

Tampa Bay is one of the worst areas for wrong-way crashes. A study by the Florida Department of Safety and Motor Vehicles found Florida had 1,490 wrong-way crashes and 96 fatalities in 2015. According to the report, three Tampa Bay counties made the top 10 list of most wrong-way driving crashes in the state: Hillsborough ranked fourth, Pinellas placed sixth and Pasco took eighth.

In Tampa Bay specifically, 2014 was a particularly deadly year for wrong-way crashes. A Christmas Day wrong-way crash that killed three people in Pinellas County and there were at least eight other reports of wrong-way drivers that year.

November 29, 2018

Can You Sue a Florida Nursing Home for Negligence, Abuse, Deficient Care and even Wrongful Death?

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Yes, you can and our Tampa Bay Wrongful Death Attorneys at Whittel & Melton can help you. Unfortunately, what comes along with being the No. 1 destination for retirement migration in the United States is a Florida Nursing Home and Elderly Care business community that has a history of being labeled as broken, dirty, criminal, grossly negligent, reckless, and careless. Generally speaking, the financial and human demand of the senior citizens in our state has never been adequately met by a business community with satisfactory staffed facilities that operate with policies and procedures to allow the elderly the dignity of quality medical and human care in the later years of their life.

As has been done so many times in the past, this week another personal representative has filed a lawsuit in Pinellas County, this time against a Treasure Island nursing home facility, alleging negligence led to the death of a resident.

As reported, a personal representative of the deceased filed a complaint Nov. 13 in Pinellas Circuit Court against Cross Terrace Rehabilitation Center, alleging violation of a resident’s rights.

According to the complaint, during the deceased woman’s residency at Cross Terrace Rehabilitation Center, she suffered from physical abuse and neglect, leading to her death Sept. 20, 2015.

The personal representative alleges Cross Terrace Rehabilitation Center failed to timely and appropriately protect the deceased from abuse and/or neglect and failed to timely and appropriately document the mental and physical abuse and/or neglect she suffered.

No one should ever lose a loved one because of negligence or abusive treatment in a nursing home. Sadly, this happens across the country and especially our state every single day.

If you have concerns about the level of care and treatment of your loved one, speak up. Each day is a blessing, especially for our elderly.

In addition to the legal accountability for a wrongful death (which could translate equally in both civil and criminal court), there are financial consequences that the nursing home owners, management and/or staff members may be responsible for. In a wrongful death caused by negligence and/or abuse, surviving family members may be eligible to recover financial compensation for their loss as survivors pursuant to the Wrongful Death Statute in Florida.

November 7, 2018

Clearwater Hit-And-Run Driver Says He was Distracted Looking at Phone

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A 22-year-old man has been charged in a hit-and-run Tuesday morning that left a pedestrian critically injured.

The man was booked into the Pinellas County jail and charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury and careless driving.

Police said the 59-year-old woman was crossing Drew Street in a crosswalk when she was struck by a car driven by the man, who was making a left turn from southbound Fort Harrison onto eastbound Drew Street.

Police said he initially stopped and called 911, then left the scene after telling fire rescue workers he had found the woman laying in the street.

The man was later tracked down by officers and he admitted to striking the pedestrian. He said he was distracted by looking at his phone trying to pick out music when he made the turn and hit the woman. He added that he was scared and left the scene.

The victim was transported to Bay Front Hospital with serious injuries.

Cell phones keep us connected, and some people need to be connected at all times, even when driving. Conversations, texts, playlists, emails just cannot wait long enough for the driver to reach their destination. It is no wonder that accidents involving distracted drivers are on the rise. If you or someone you know has been injured in a distracted driving accident, speak with our Clearwater Auto Accident Injury Attorneys at Whittel & Melton so that we can advise you of your legal rights and how to obtain just compensation for your injuries.

Florida state law defines hit-and-run accidents, or leaving the scene of an accident, as a criminal offense when the driver fails to stop and identify him or herself to the involved parties. If there are serious injuries, property damage or death, the driver must remain at the scene.

November 1, 2018

Students at Tampa Bus Stop Injured by Speeding Driver

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Multiple people were hit and injured Thursday morning in Tampa, including students at a bus stop, according to police.

The crash occurred at E. Bougainvillea Avenue and Marvy Avenue around 8 a.m.

Witnesses stated the vehicle was speeding on Bougainvillea Ave. before hitting the pedestrians on the south side of the street.

Police said two adults and three juveniles were transported to the hospital with serious injuries. One juvenile has been listed in critical condition.

Bougainvillea is currently shut down between N. 15 St. and N. 18th St.

Officials said the driver has been taken into custody and the investigation remains ongoing.

A driver may be speeding, distracted, intoxicated or just driving carelessly and cause a serious collision. Pedestrian vs. car accidents typically result in serious injuries to pedestrians. Injuries can include broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, neck injuries and even death.

Pedestrian accidents are often caused by a driver’s failure to obey the posted speed limit, as this case shows. If a motorist is speeding when a light turns red, the driver may not be able to stop in time to avoid hitting pedestrians. If a driver is speeding, the violent impact of the collision may throw the pedestrian into the air and cause their head or face to collide with the windshield or hood of the vehicle.

October 26, 2018

Lakeland Driver Killed After Hitting Barrier, Passenger Injured

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A driver was killed and a passenger injured in an early Friday crash in Hillsborough County.

It happened shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Falkenburg Road.

A Sheriff’s Office spokesman said a 30-year-old Lakeland resident was driving northbound and failed to noticed that Falkenburg Road ends at Interstate 4.

The vehicle struck a barrier wall head-on, authorities said.

The driver was not buckled up and died at the scene.

The passenger, a 34-year-old woman, was taken to Tampa General Hospital in stable condition.

Anyone who chooses to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle must exercise reasonable care to obey the traffic laws of the State of Florida and take reasonable measures to avoid an accident. When drivers fail to do so, this may constitute negligence, which in turn could give rise to a claim for damages, including medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of income, and other damages resulting from the accident.

If you were injured or lost a loved one in a motor vehicle accident because of the negligence or carelessness of another, you may be able to receive financial compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. Florida law places time restrictions on when a claim, or a personal injury lawsuit, can be filed to recover damages from the car accidents so it is important to contact our Tampa Bay Auto Accident Attorneys at Whittel & Melton as soon as possible after your accident. We will promptly investigate the accident and determine if you have a legitimate claim to recover for your damages.