Wrongful Death Lawyer Blog

A motorcycle accident with an SUV resulted in the death of the rider in Lakeland, Florida. The accident happened when an SUV driven by Janise Johnson made a U-turn directly in front of a group of four motorcyclists. Yecenia L. Acosta Barrera was on one of the motorcycles and died...

In the case of Jennifer Ripple v. CBS Corporation, Case Number 4D20-1939 (Fla. 4th DCA March 30, 2022), Florida’s Fourth DCA held that a plaintiff who married the decedent after exposure to asbestos was barred from damages as the surviving spouse and certified a conflict with...

In the case of Auto Club Insurance Company of Florida v. Estate of Normal Lewis and Billie Jarrard, Case Number 5D18-3439 (December 13, 2019), Florida’s Fifth DCA held that the per person bodily injury liability limit of a Florida automobile policy only applied to the...

In the case of Nachelle Moss v. Estate of Curt Hudson, Case Number 5D17-3356, Florida’s Fifth DCA held that a plaintiff’s complaint should allege the jurisdictional grounds for substituted service of process under section 48.171, Fla. Stat. in order to invoke substituted...

The Ledger reported that a box truck truck a pedestrian on North Combee Road in Lakeland, Florida at approximately 3:23 a.m. on July 27, 2018.  The pedestrian was identified as a male in dark clothing who was standing near the center of the road.  The truck driver, John Bland,...

Denise Chapple was reported in The Ledger to be the pedestrian hit at the intersection of US98N and Griffin Road in Lakeland, Florida on June 5, 2018 at approximately 3:00 a.m.  She was pushing a bicycle in the crosswalk at the time of the collision and was struck by a Nissan...

A silver Nissan Altima was struck by a semi-truck from Saddle Creek Corporation at the intersection of US98 and Rockridge Road in Lakeland, Florida on May 17, 2018 at approximately 2:45 p.m.  The Ledger reported that the Nissan Altima driver had a green light at the time of the...

A pedestrian carrying discharge papers from Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center died after being struck by a car on US98 near Innovation Drive on May 16, 2018 at approximately 10:25 p.m. was reported in The Ledger.  The newspaper indicates that the driver of a 2005 Chevrolet...

In the case of Dominos Pizza, LLC v. Wiederhold, 5D16-2794 (Fla. 5th DCA 2018), an injured person got married after becoming injured but before his death.  After his death, his surviving spouse sued the driver (and Dominos Pizza for vicarious liability) for causing the accident...

What happens when one of the survivors in a wrongful death case bears some degree of fault and there was a settlement? The answer to this question can be found in Hess v. Hess, 758 So. 2d 1203 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000) in that the probate judge should determine comparative fault among the...

State Trooper William Trampass Bishop died when he was hit by a car on I-75 while responding to a traffic accident on June 17, 2017 near mile marker 403 in High Springs, Florida.  Bishop was a 30-year veteran of the HIghway Patrol.  He was outside of his patrol vehicle...

Steven Higgins died on April 17, 2017 after being struck as a pedestrian on the sidewalk of Beacon Road in Lakeland, Florida.  The accident happened at approximately 4:44 p.m. when a 2001 Nissan Sentra driven by Steven Statterfield lost control of his vehicle and struck a street...

Rachel Nicole Tew, 23-years-old, died on March 27, 2017 after an accident on Deeson Road in Lakeland, Florida.  Tew was a passenger in a 1999 Ford F-250 pickup truck driven by Haley Carnley.  The accident happened at approximately 9:15 pm. as Carnley attempted to stop for...

Philip Brown was riding a motorcycle on CR630 when he was struck head on by a pickup truck that was attempting to pass a truck.  Brown was 40 years old and died at the scene of the accident. The accident happened at approximately 6:00 a.m. when Jarrod Lee was westbound on CR630...

Jessica McCausland filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of her stepmother, Betty Monroe, suing the Hooters restaurant on US98 in North Lakeland.  David Joseph McCausland died in a car accident on November 6, 2015 when a Corvette driven by Timothy Alan Lundy struck...

Terry Joe Young died of injuries sustained in a pedestrian accident on Massachusetts Avenue in Lakeland, Florida on January 31, 2017.  The accident happened at approximately 6:07 a.m. when Young was hit by Margaret Bowman going southbound on Massachusetts Ave.  Bowman was...

Ronald Akins was sentenced to 10 years in prison for DUI manslaughter after hitting and killing Byers Levy, who was riding a bicycle around Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland, Florida.  The accident happened on September 8, 2013 at approximtely 5:00 p.m. when Akins swerved and then...

A crossover car accident in Lake Alfred, Florida on January 23, 2017 at approximately 1:15 a.m. took the life of Joseph Senatus.  Senatus was 49 years old and died after another driver, Mario Alejandro Rodriguez, crossed over the center line of CR557 striking Senatus’s...

Travis Coats was intoxicated and driving the wrong way on I-4 in Polk County on January 14, 2017 when he caused a fatal crash.  Coats has been charged with DUI manslaughter, DUI with property damage, and DUI and driving in the wrong direction.  The accident caused the death...

John Robert Lynn was hit as a pedestrian while crossing the street at the 2100 block of Lakeland Hills Boulevard on January 12, 2017.  Mr. Lynn died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident.  He was 63 years old.  The accident happened at approximately 6:15...