The MDJD Blog | Michael V. Barszcz, M.D., J.D.

SUVs are very popular family cars. They are great for family vacations, road trips, and camping excursions. SUVs were originally manufactured for off-road use, but have increasingly become the choice of suburban families. Even though these vehicles offer hauling strength and lots of room inside the vehicle, they come with dangerous safety defects.

SUVs and Rollovers

SUVs cause many rollover accidents each year. They are prone to rolling over due to their narrow bodies and high center of gravity. The smallest jerk of the wheeling may cause the SUV to rollover inflicting personal injury or even death to the driver and passengers. It is very common for a driver to jerk the steering wheel to avoid hitting an object in the road or the car in front. Swerving to avoid an accident should not in turn cause an accident.

SUV rollover accidents may turn serious or fatal because of the weak roofs and the lack of a roll bar. When SUVs were manufactured for off-road use, they came equipped with a roll bar to protect the driver and passengers if the roof collapsed. Car manufacturers removed the roll bar when manufacturing SUVs for families, but they never corrected the weak roof or the high center of gravity.

If you have been injured in an SUV rollover accident in Orlando, Florida, please contact Florida personal injury attorney, Michael Barszcz, M.D., J.D., to schedule a free consultation about your case.

The most talked about driver distraction involves the cell phone. Cell phone use while driving is a huge contributor to the number of car accidents on Florida roadways. There are, however, several other distractions that lead to serious and possible fatal car accidents.

Common driver distractions can be categorized by three types:

• Visual
• Cognitive
• Manual

Anything that visually takes your attention off the road is a visual driver distraction. This type of distraction may be looking at the scenery, your cell phone, a map, or a dropped item. Visual distraction almost always accompanies cognitive and manual distractions.

Cognitive driver distractions cause your thoughts to be on things other than the road and driving. A conversation, thinking about what to make for dinner, or "zoning out" are all types of cognitive distractions.

Manual driver distractions occur when you take your hands off the steering wheel. You are at risk of being in an accident even if you only use one hand and leave the other hand on the wheel. Manual distractions include eating, talking on the phone, and adjusting controls in the car.

Other common driver distractions include:

• Being late for work and speeding
• Construction zones and emergency vehicles
• Driver fatigue
• Weather conditions
• Driver intoxication

Please contact Orlando car accident attorney Michael Barszcz, M.D., J.D. for a consultation about your accident case in Florida.

Being the victim of an accident can throw your life into turmoil. Beyond the pain of your injury, you may be facing high medical bills and other costs. At the same time, you are losing wages while you try to heal from your injuries. Compensation for your injuries can help you put your life in order.

The Orlando, Florida Law Offices of Michael Barszcz, M.D., J.D. can help you pursue compensation for a debilitating injury that prevents you from working or supporting your family. Just having a lawyer isn’t enough; a good personal injury attorney is key to protecting you and your loved ones’ best interests. Look for experience, medical expertise, personal attention, and verdicts and settlements.

The kinds of accidents that can result in personal injury are numerous and varied, including assault, automobile, motorcycle, or truck accidents, defective products, and work accidents. Finding a lawyer with experience in your type of injury is essential to winning a case. Since, by their very nature, personal injury cases deal with medical issues, having a personal injury lawyer who has extensive medical knowledge, such as a doctorate in medicine, can mean the difference between winning and losing a case. This knowledge is also of great benefit in medical malpractice suits.

Make sure you receive the personal attention from lawyers needed for a successful case. One should look for a firm large enough to provide all of the resources necessary, yet also devoted to making sure your lawyer gives you the undivided attention you need.

But, above all, their record of winning verdicts and settlements in personal injury cases similar to yours should give you a sense of the capabilities of your lawyer or law firm.

If you or a loved one live in the Orlando, Florida area, have sustained a personal injury and have unanswered questions, please contact the Orlando Law Offices of Michael Barszcz, M.D., J.D. and let us answer your questions in a free personal injury consultation.

Rear-end collisions are the most frequent type of car accident with over 2.5 million reported annually nationwide. A low speed rear-end collision that results in almost no damage to the vehicle can still result in serious personal injury to the occupants.

The bumper system on your automobile is an important safety feature that usually absorbs the force of a low speed impact, but sometimes the human bodies in the car absorb the impact instead. The consequences of that impact sometimes results in what is known as a "whiplash" injury, a sudden, violent, involuntary whipping backward and forward of the head and neck.

Whiplash injuries are soft tissue trauma to the muscles and ligaments of the neck and result in pain, swelling, stiffness, headache, nausea, numbness and dizziness. These symptoms are not always immediately evident and may appear twenty-four to forty-eight hours after the impact of a rear end collision. The failure to seek medical attention for this injury may result in weeks or months of debilitating pain.

If you have been injured in a rear end collision car accident through no fault of your own, you deserve to be financially compensated for your pain and suffering, medical expenses, lost income and any other expenses you have incurred due to someone else's negligence.

Please contact the Orlando, Florida location of The Law Offices of Michael Barszcz, M.D., J.D. today to protect your legal right to financial compensation for your injury.

Car accidents cause injuries, loss of property, and loss of life. When you are involved in a car accident, the assistance of an experienced car accident attorney can be invaluable whether you are battling an insurance company that denies your claim, seeking financial compensation for your injuries or defending yourself in a court of law.

An experienced car accident attorney such as Michael V. Barszcz, M.D., J.D. has a highly skilled and professional network of medical, legal and accident experts on hand to investigate and evaluate police reports, eye-witness accounts of the accident and to inspect and preserve the condition of the vehicles involved in the accident that may reveal what happened and why. Mr. Barszcz has the unique distinction of possessing a medical degree and law degree, which affords him keen insight into the medical aspects of your case.

Car accident laws are very complex and you will need legal representation to guide you through this complicated process. Mr. Barszcz will work with medical, legal and accident experts to ensure you get the best legal representation available and obtain the financial compensation you deserve.

If you live in the Orlando, Florida area, please contact The Law Offices of Michael Barszcz, M.D., J.D. today to learn what options are available to you in your attempt to obtain financial compensation for injuries suffered in a car accident and to protect your legal rights and interests.

Most senior citizens are safe and conscientious drivers, but some seniors face the challenges of the aging process that interfere with good driving abilities. It's been estimated that drivers of all ages must make seven major decisions for every mile driven requiring immediate action, and though experience and judgment anchored in maturity are important, elderly drivers are sometimes slower to process information that requires immediate action.

The risk factors that increase with aging bring a decline in vision, hearing loss, limited mobility, the side effects of medications, and signs of dementia. Elderly drivers receive more citations for failing to yield, improper turns and running red lights and stop signs than any other age group. Fatalities related to car accidents are very high for those 70 years of age and older.

If you are a senior citizen, it may be a good idea to take the time to enroll in a safe driving course for drivers over the age of fifty. Take extra precautions to keep your car in peak running condition with clean windows and headlights for maximum visibility and avoid driving in hazardous weather conditions. Drive during daylight hours and be extra observant when making left turns.

In the event you do have an automobile accident, we encourage you to contact The Law Offices of Michael Barszcz, M.D., J.D. in Orlando, Florida to help you deal with the confusing aftermath and complex issues surrounding a car accident. Mr. Barszcz has the unique distinction of possessing a medical degree and law degree, which affords him keen insight into the medical aspects of your case.

Some vehicles that are manufactured just happen to be safer than others for a variety of reasons. Size is one example that comes into play when vehicles collide. A large sedan or SUV with average safety features would almost surely fare better win in a real-world encounter with a small car with excellent safety features. In this case, size really does matter.

At the bottom of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) list of safest cars are cars with the poorest safety ratings: the 2010 Chrysler PT Cruiser, the Infiniti M35/M45, the Ford Escape Hybrid, the Jeep Wrangler, the Cadillac STS, and the Toyota Sienna. These models were said to provide poor protection when either hit from the side or rear and/or had poor protection in a rollover.

Automobile accidents are one of the leading causes of catastrophic injuries and death in the United States and occur due to driver error, negligence, manufacturing defects and hazardous weather conditions. A car accident can leave you hurt, confused and financially overwhelmed. Consulting with an experienced car accident attorney will help you protect your legal rights, make you aware of what options are available to you and give you the opportunity to go on with your life in a positive way.

If you or someone you love has been injured or killed in a car accident, please contact the Orlando, Florida office of The Law Offices of Michael Barszcz, M.D., J. D. today. Mr. Barszcz also has a medical degree, so he is able to provide each and every client with superior service and understand the medical intricacies associated with any injuries.