Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer - Mass Transit (Airline, Cruise Ship, Train, Bus)

Headphones, Pedestrians and Railroad Tracks Don't Mix

Eddie Farah — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:35:44 GMT

This is a very sad story to report out of Auburndale, Florida.

An 18-year-old high school student was walking along Amtrak train tracks wearing headphones and apparently didn’t hear an approaching train traveling from Miami to New York.

The conductor says he tried to alert Robert Lopez with no response. When the train got within 20 feet of Lopez, he tried to jump off the track, but it was too late. Lopez was pronounced dead at the scene.

Our condolences go out to his family for this very tragic and avoidable accident.

This is not an isolated incident.

Just last week, a 24-year-old man was struck and killed by a train in Litchfield, Minnesota. His headphones and music player were found at the scene.

In February, a 17-year-old teen was hit and killed by an Amtrak train near his Comstock Township home in Michigan. He was crossing the tracks diagonally with his back to the eastbound train and was also wearing headphones.

No matter where you are or what your are doing, it is illegal to trespass on a railroad right-of-way outside of the designated crossing areas.

In 2008, there were 2,395 grade crossing incidents nationwide.

In Florida, there were 26 pedestrian rail trespass deaths in 2008, one of the highest in the nation.

The Florida chapter of the nonprofit rail safety group, Operation Lifesaver has launched our state's public awareness campaign to bring a “Common Sense” message to the public and reduce the number of pedestrians fatalities at rail tracks. Whether texting, talking on the phone or wearing headphones, the best advice is stay away from tracks- its just common sense.

In order to attract attention of the 18-34 age range, most likely to be killed on the tracks, the campaign includes an interactive Web site, videos and internet ads. See: www.CommonSenseUseIt.com

Other than a public crossing area- if you use the tracks to fish, take an ATV, or walk, you are trespassing.

If you need to cross the track – do so only at public crossing designated areas. Look for the crossbuck sign. Forget the cellphones and headphones when you are near the train tracks.

Modern trains are quieter than they used to be. Be sure to look both ways before crossing. You can expect a train at any time. There is no way you will be able to outrun it. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

What Happened Before Man Jumped Off The Carnival Sensation

Eddie Farah — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:34:35 GMT

Martha Jackson, a passenger on the Carnival Sensation, returning from four nights in the Bahamas, heard the splash.

A 34-year-old unidentified man from Philadelphia jumped from his sixth-deck suite aboard the Sensation late Wednesday and into the Atlantic waters off Port St. Lucie. He was reportedly celebrating his wedding anniversary.

Johnny Gonzales of the U.S. Coast Guard says the man was lucky – he knew how to swim and was wearing a white T-shirt which made him easier to see under a full moon. The man was treated for back injuries and a mental evaluation.

Florida Today reports on what happened before the jump.

The man and his wife had been arguing. the wife now says. The husband had been battling severe depression and had been drinking. Earlier reports were that he threatened to jump and she said, “Go Ahead.”

The wife says she came out of the bathroom and found her husband teetering on the balcony before he jumped. Lucky for him, Carnival knew he was in the water, sent out an alert to boats in the area and the Disney Wonder picked him up.

The man was reported to be “physically exhausted" after treading water for about an hour and a half before being brought to the hospital.

The Cruise Junkie Web site reports that in 2009 so far, Carnival has had eight people overboard, topping the list as the cruise line with the most passengers and crew overboard, not only this year but with 38 since 2000.

Carnival says that’s because they carry more passengers than any other cruise line.

Muggings, rapes, overboards are just some of what can happen in rare cases aboard cruise liners. Many things you have no control over, while others you do.

Be sure to read the fine print of your ticket, which is your cruise contract.

Especially, if you have any preexisting medical condition, look at paragraph 4C of your cruise contract. It lets the cruise line off the hook for any liability since the doctor is an independent contractor, usually licensed to practice medicine in a country outside of the jurisdiction of U.S. courts.

That is very convenient for the 60 billion dollar cruise industry, but could mean you have no recourse for shoddy medical treatment or no medical treatment at all when you most need it. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Disney Discovery Denied In Monorail Death

Eddie Farah — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:52:35 GMT

Lawyers representing the mother of the 21-year-old pilot of a Disney monorail ,who died July 5, have been denied the opportunity to inspect all of the evidence into the death of Austin Wuennenberg.

The evidence would include video from surveillance cameras on the platform at the time of the crash as well as any audio communication or black box data recorders from the platform. That is the location where monorail workers would have been when the command for the pink train was given for it to move into reverse. The pink train crashed into the purple train, piloted by Austin. But Wednesday the petition to inspect the evidence so far was denied by an Orange County judge.

Attorney Chris Searcy had filed a Petition for a Pure Bill of Discovery that allows evidence to be turned over before a lawsuit is filed. Searcy also sought a list of witnesses and employees involved in the early morning operation of the monorail. The concern is that evidence may disappear at some point so Disney has been ordered not to destroy potential evidence in a civil case, which would be against the law.

Every night the monorails are brought into the shop for maintenance. In moving onto beams taking the train into a shop in the back, the monorails are supposed to go to a switch. Insiders say that in order to get to the back, the anti-collision system must be disabled. Instead of heading to the shop in back, the pink train may have gone in the opposite direction to the Transportation and Ticket Center.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and OSHA, Occupational Safety and Health Administration are both conducting investigations which could take up to a year.

Attraction Magazine is reporting that on Wuennenberg’s Facebook page he wrote that he “has a 14 hour shift today” raising the questions about fatigue of the crew.

A man claiming to be the OSHA investigator in the case (complete with his photo and phone number and e-mail) says on the Facebook page, he is interested “if Disney changed any procedures. Some of the other areas I am interested is past accidents, past close calls, issues having to use monorails that are broken, communication issues”.

If a lawsuit is filed on behalf of Christine Wuennenberg, worker’s compensation law in Florida limits compensation to $150,000, but that is for dependants of those injured or killed, a parent would not qualify. The injured has to prove the employer deliberately intended to injure the employee or the employer engaged in conduct that was virtually certain to result in injury and death and failed to warn the employee.

That is an extremely high standard of proof required, even beyond mere negligence. Our condolences go out to the family of this young man who was simply working his way through college. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Two Federal Investigations Into Disney

Eddie Farah — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:30:12 GMT

With Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) already conducting a probe, now the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has announced it too will examine the fatal monorail collision that took the life of a young train operator at Disney World in Orlando Sunday morning.

21-year-old Austin Wuennenberg died in what was described by witnesses as a “head-on collision” between two trains, which occurred as the park was closing. We are so sorry for the loss of this young man who was about to graduate from Stetson University in Deland, Florida with a degree in computer science.

OSHA is looking into whether any safety rules were broken. Neither train is supposed to be able to get that close to one another, indicating either a malfunction or human error in the central dispatch area.

Disney has been responsible for the oversight over transportation on the property and so far in the history of the monorail has a clean record, but after reviewing a preliminary report, the NTSB decided to get involved. Disney has traditionally not been known for letting out too many company secrets on its properties.

OSHA gave Disney the okay to begin running the monorail system again on Monday which takes about 150,000 guests to their destination on a typical day. Let’s hope that we get some answers before the end of what’s expected to be a six month investigation, so Disney can make sure this never happens again. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

FAA Must Pay $3.75 Million For Doomed Flight Instructions

Eddie Farah — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:17:00 GMT

The Federal Aviation Administration has agreed to pay $3.75 million after it gave faulty landing instructions during an emergency in December 2005.

Pilot Gary Tillman of Rome, Georgia, his daughter, Hannah, and her friend Anna Kipp died in the Atlantic off Vilano Beach when the FAA told the plane with engine trouble to fly to the St. Augustine Airport.

That was the critical mistake. Tillman has originally asked for help in making an emergency beach landing nearby, his best option at the time as he was about one mile off Vilano Beach, just north of St. Augustine. But he followed the FAA directions. The FAA is the authority, empowered by Congress to promote aviation safety for civil aviation.

Tillman told the FAA after the instructions, “We’re not going to make it” just before he crashed.

Another teenage friend, Rachel Hostetler, was pulled from the water and was the only one to survive the crash.

Out condolences go out to all of the family members for this crash that did not have to happen had Tillman been directed to the beach instead of south.

As attorney Woody Wilner told the jury, the air traffic controllers were at fault because Tillman had requested a beach landing. “He had one request. You know where I am, you have radar, I don’t,” Wilner said. Instead, the controllers sent him over water. The mistake Tillman made was to listen to what’s supposed to be the ultimate authority in the skies.

Air traffic controllers are there for one purpose, to protect the public. What happened here indicates they did not act fast enough in ascertaining the seriousness of the situation to save these three precious lives. The FAA did not admit any fault in the accident.

Our condolences go out to the survivors of this tragedy who had to relive it during the trial. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

NTSB Investigation Into Flight That Killed Jacksonville Law Student

Eddie Farah — Thu, 14 May 2009 21:00:24 GMT

Jacksonville has a connection to the airline crash that is the focus of a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearing.

A local law student was one of the 49 passengers aboard who died when Continental Flight 3407 crashed February 12^th in Buffalo, New York.

Ellyce Kausner, 24, was in her second-year at Florida Coastal School of Law and known as “bright and very articulate”. Kausner was going to Buffalo, her home, for Valentine’s Day and had plans to take her nephew to school and be his special valentine.

What a special person and such a horrible loss for the survivors of those onboard, especially as we begin to get the picture that with an adequately trained crew that wasn’t fatigued, the accident may have been avoidable.

The NTSB is conducting an investigation and what we are learning is that Continental Connection Flight 3407 had a pilot at the helm, Capt. Marvin Renslow, who was inadequately trained on the automatic system that was attempting to help the plane pick-up speed.

Instead he overrode the controls, the exact opposite of procedure.

Sources at the hearing say he had failed at least two flight simulator tests as well as others in his career.

The co-pilot, 24-year-old Rebecca Shaw, was not experienced in the icy conditions and both pilots had fewer than 1,000 hours of flight time combined.

The NTSB is covering the areas of investigation that an experienced aviation attorney would – reviewing aircraft maintenance, the flying conditions, ice and snow, crew training and the airline's adherence to safety rules.

Everything seems to be pointing to pilot error and a corporate policy of inadequate training and looking the other way. You can keep salaries low when you don’t expect much.

Everyone who flies deserves better. Clearly there is much fault to go around here and we will hear the real story when the NTSB report is complete, giving the survivors of loved ones enough time within the two year limit, to file wrongful death claims.

All we can do is learn and work to improve this situation, and remember one important thing - if you have to travel on a regional turbo-prop and the night conditions are icy - cancel and wait for another flight with better conditions. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Texting Truck Driver Arresting After Hitting School Bus

Eddie Farah — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 01:35:13 GMT

Seven months after a school bus erupted into flames, killing one student aboard, the driver of an 18-wheeler that caused the crash has finally been arrested.

30-year-old Reinaldo Gonzales turned himself into the Florida Highway Patrol today. He was booked in the Marion County jail in Ocala, Florida charged with vehicular homicide and reckless driving with serious bodily injury.

At the side of the road where the crash took place, a memorial still stands to honor the 11 children hurt and one girl killed.

13-year-old Frances Schee, a middle school student, could not be pulled from the burning bus, rear ended by the truck, when passersby in the town of Citra tried to help.

Schee's family believes seven months is too long to be allowed his freedom. Gonzales admitted he was text messaging just minutes before he slammed into the stopped school bus with his 18-wheeler.

The FHP says these investigations take time.

The Schee family has sued the Marion County school system for not being responsive to their concerns.

Until Florida passes some legislation concerning testing while driving, additional charges cannot be added. Doesn't this accident highlight just how badly Florida needs to catch up with other states that ban texting while driving? How many more people need to be killed until we do?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

School Bus Driver Kicks Kids Off

Eddie Farah — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 23:07:00 GMT

This Jacksonville school bus driver had simply had enough. Several Ribault Middle School students were messing around on the bus, threatening to open the emergency door on the back of the bus.

A student, Kaylan Edem, admitted to Channel 4 that kids were disorderly and that students on the bus kept pulling the emergency handle. The bus driver threatened twice, then pulled over and told kids to exit the bus.

"The second when time they did it, she stopped right down there and said, 'Get off,'" Edem said. "I was pretty mad because I didn't feel like walking and she's supposed to take us to our correct stop, and it was inappropriate for her to just do that."

So Edem and a bunch of other kids were dropped at an elementary school two miles away. Students then had few options, walk back to their old school, call their parents, or try to walk home.

Edem’s mother was called by her daughter to pick her up. Lisa Jackson says,
“When we leave our children in the care of school officials, whether it’s a bus driver or a teacher, we expect for them to be safe, and at this day at this moment my student was not safe.”

First Student, the bus company, will have videotape onboard the bus to tell them what happened. The driver could have pulled over, called police, or taken the kids back to their school where parents would then have to deal with the problem.

Leaving them to find their own way home is unforgivable and against the rules of the Duval County School District. Fortunately no one was injured in this incident. The county just dodged a bullet. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Brace For Impact- Would You Know What To Do In An Airplane Ditching?

Eddie Farah — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:33:57 GMT

"Brace For Impact,” are the last words you want to hear when you are on an airplane.

But that is exactly what was said to the 148 passengers onboard a US Airways A320 airbus leaving New York’s LaGuardia Airport Thursday. The plane made a remarkably soft landing on water and amazingly everyone got off with a few broken limbs and hypothermia.

Would you know what to do if you heard those words?

A water landing is called a “ditching” and CBS News Friday visited with a flight training center that trains people on what to do during a ditching. The crew is trained to keep you alive and the plane is made to withstand the impact of a ditching.

At this point it is very important to listen to the words of the crew. Remain calm and when the flight attendant tells you to put on your seat belt, tighten them and then don your lifejacket, you are to do just that. Do not inflate the vest.

Prepare for impact by bending over and grabbing your ankles and holding on. When the plane hits the water it’s all about getting out fast.

Flight crews are trained to evacuate a plane in 90 seconds, reports CBS, though it is hard to imagine that a jumbo jet can be evacuated that quickly. That means you don’t have time to retrieve your laptop from the overhead. A flight attendant will tell you where to go and escort you as quickly. Leg through the opening, then your body, then the other leg. After you are out of the plane is the time to inflate your life vest.

Luckily Flight 1549 had passengers onboard who were fairly mobile or in the case of infants, had parents who were, and nearby ferries quickly got to the passengers before the frigid conditions got to them.

Passengers were advised not to panic again when getting aboard the ferries as many started scrambling to the ladder at the same time.

Next time you’re on the plane, you might read those safety manuals in the seatback pockets - they contain all of this information. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Tea Leaves May Forcast Sailor's Future

Eddie Farah — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 23:29:00 GMT

The tea leaves from this cup have forecast disaster for Navy Petty Officer 2^nd Class Javier Trevino and his job as an air traffic controller at the Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville. When a friend brought back some tea from Mexico and gave it to Trevino when was visiting in San Antonio last May, it tasted pretty good.

He even gave it to his eleven-year-old son and a best friend’s pregnant wife. But that seemingly innocent cup of tea may end Trevino’s Navy career.

It seems it was mate de coca, made from the leaves of the plant used to make cocaine. On a drug test it shows up as cocaine, even though the plant leaves are legal in the U.S. There is not enough cocaine in the leaves to be of consequence – less than one percent, and the Florida Times-Union reports the tea is even available for $21 on Amazon in a form where the cocaine is removed much like decaffeinated coffee removes caffeine. Still a small amount remains.

He was convicted at a court-martial in December and now faces a discharge from the Navy and a loss of his air traffic controller license after he failed a drug test. Trevino says he had no idea this is how things would turn out when he went in for a random drug test at Mayport in July.

Even though the judge decided his claims of innocence were credible, Trevino will begin 45 days of restricted duty. His troubles are not over. He will have to appear before an administrative separation board which will decide on his discharge and whether he can keep his air traffic controller’s license.

Trevino says he plans to educate other sailors against drinking teas from other countries, the origins of which you don’t know.

That doesn’t sound like bad advice for anyone, especially if their livelihood might include an occasional drug test. We wish him well from here on out. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah