Florida Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Even though there have been many programs instituted to raise awareness about DUI for years, thousands of people continue to die each year from DUI related car accidents and many, many more continue to suffer serious injuries caused by these accidents, such as: spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, and many other debilitating injuries which require months of recovery or cause permanent injuries.

Statistics show that in 2007, an estimated 12,998 people died in alcohol-impaired traffic crashes.

In February of 2007, this 43 year old mother of two children, ages 12 and 14, had just dropped her son off at school, was on her way to work, and had stopped her vehicle facing northbound on Military Trail in Palm Beach Gardens, when she was rear-ended at a high rate of speed by another vehicle. The force of this impact was severe enough that it pushed this victim’s vehicle into the vehicle immediately in front, and two more vehicles in front of that car were also involved.

It has been estimated that the driver of the vehicle that struck the rear of this victim’s automobile was traveling between 60 and 70 miles an hour at the time he struck her vehicle, and the tests performed on this driver proved that he was intoxicated. In fact, the force of this impact was so great that, even though the victim was wearing her seat belt, her head apparently struck the windshield and her seat had bent backwards in a reclining position.

As a result of this automobile accident, this victim was transported by ambulance to Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center and stabilized, and then transferred to the trauma unit at St. Mary’s Medical Center shortly thereafter.

Unfortunately, even though heroic efforts were made to save this victim through surgery, she remained in a coma from the time of the accident until her death in May of 2007.

Sadly, the children have lost the guidance and nurturing of their mother, and now the grandmother of these two children will be left with the responsibility of raising them on her own, while grieving herself for the daughter she has lost.

On December 11, 2008, Richard D. Schuler was successful in obtaining a $2,708,000.00 verdict in this case for these two children.

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents

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This resident from Stamford, CT never expected that her life would be changed so drastically on that summer day in 2006. At 65 years old, she had retired from the restaurant business, was living with her fiancé, and spent her days caring for her 87 year old mother. She and her fiance’ loved to spend their free time together dancing.

Our client, the victim in this Florida boat accident case, had just arrived in Florida to visit her children and their families. After being picked up at the airport by her daughter and granddaughter, they went to her son’s home for a brief visit. During this visit, her son wanted to show them the boat he had recently purchased. Unfortunately, what occurred next would alter all of their lives forever.

The victim, her daughter and son boarded the boat, and as her son tried to start the engines, there was a loud “pop” and then a blast which threw the daughter and son off the boat and into the water. Unfortunately for our client, she had gone below to view the galley and was trapped.

Luckily, the daughter was able to climb back on the boat and pull her mother to safety, but not before her mother had been burned over 52% of her body, including severe burns on her face, neck, head, chest, the fronts and backs of both arms, including both hands, and the palms of both hands, both thighs, both lower legs, and at locations on both of her legs and right hand, the skin was literally falling off due to the severe burns received. Both the son and daughter also received burns, but they were nowhere near the extent of the burns their mother endured.

After being rushed to the hospital and then flown by helicopter to the burn unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital, the victim spent almost eight agonizing months in excruciating pain, enduring numerous surgeries, skin grafts and infections, with extensive periods on a ventilator.

The victim in this case will never fully recover from her serious burn injuries and since her return to Connecticut, she has faced many, many hours of rehabilitation and several lengthy hospital stays with additional surgeries.

Continue reading " Boat Explosion in Pompano Beach, FL Changes Lives Forever " »

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Posted In: Admiralty Litigation

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Maureen Stevens came to Schuler, Halvorson & Weisser, P.A. in the summer of 2002, seeking assistance in obtaining answers from the U. S. government and waited almost seven years before they began to unfold. Robert Stevens, her husband, died on October 5, 2001, when he opened an envelope sent to his employer which contained anthrax. Mr. Stevens, age 62 and the father of three children, was a photo editor for the Boca Raton, Florida based American Media International. For more information about the 2001 anthrax attacks, please refer to the ANTHRAXinfo website.

For all these years, the FBI has failed to provide the Stevens’ family with any information at all concerning why Mr. Stevens died and no arrests have been made in the case.

Investigation into the origin of the anthrax in this case had identified the Ames Strain as the type of anthrax that killed Bob Stevens, and further research indicates that this strain originated in U. S. government run labs, with the most likely scenario being the USAMRIID lab at Ft. Detrick, Maryland. A former employee from a U. S. government lab conducting research on anthrax stated: “…7-11 had better inventory controls than the labs handling the deadly anthrax.” Still yet another official stated there was evidence of concealed work and cover-ups relating to anthrax as far back as 1992.

In a recent press release titled, "U. S. Officials Release Evidence Against Anthrax Scientist Bruce Ivins," the Federal Bureau of Investigation has informed Maureen Stevens that their investigation has proven that Bruce Ivins was the person responsible for the anthrax deaths in 2001, when this deadly substance was sent through the mail.

The FBI has stated that Bruce Ivins was the lone killer in the anthrax letters case. This is very disturbing, since they also stated that this man had a long standing history of mental instability, which was apparently well known to his supervisors, and yet he was placed in the position of working with anthrax and other toxic and ultra-hazardous substances on a daily basis. As unbelievable as it may seem, Bruce Ivins also participated in the investigation and examined evidence regarding the crimes he is now accused of committing.

Continue reading " Florida Anthrax Case – Positive Development " »

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Posted In: Anthrax Litigation

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