May News in Florida: Dangerous Sinkholes and Exploding Airbags

Florida news headlines of late have covered issues involving serious personal injury concerns: one highlighted how Florida now leads the nation in the highest number of Takata-airbag-related injuries and deaths; the other on how worker negligence will open upon up deep sinkholes in the Sunshine State, leading to injuries, death, and property damage, in some circumstances.

Below, we discuss both of these issues in depth, and the implications for you and your loved ones:

Florida Leads the Nation in Takata Airbag Explosions

On May 12^th, Senator Bill Nelson released new data indicating that Florida suffers from more injuries and deaths due to exploding Takata airbags than any other state in the country. The airbags explode and shoot metal shards at drivers and passengers, causing serious injury, permanent disfigurement, and even death, in some cases.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much to get the airbags to deploy: For some, they were injured during minor accidents; for others, the airbags exploded simply due to heat and humidity.

Even though there have been recalls in place for these airbags since 2008, millions remain on the road, and still haven’t had the airbags removed. Senator Nelson now wants the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to force the automakers make sure the airbag issue is fixed by this coming summer, when older cars in hot and humid areas have the greatest chances of carrying airbags more likely to explode.

Sinkholes Caused By Water Main Breaks Are Hurting People

Also on May 12^th, firefighters that arrived in front of a gated South Florida community found a 15-foot sinkhole caused by AT&T subcontractors, who had busted a water main during an excavation, and failed to do anything about it. While no one was injured during this particular incident, residents have to avoid drinking tap water until repairs are complete, and could have suffered from significant injuries and property damage.

Sinkholes due to water main breaks are a serious issue here in Florida: In 2016, one opened up in a McDonald’s parking lot and swallowed a car carrying one woman and her grandson. In 2013, one Tampa-area man was presumed dead after a 20-foot sinkhole opened up under his home. Two years later that same sinkhole opened up again. And last month, residents of Ocala were forced to evacuate their homes after a dozen holes opened up there.

Florida Personal Injury Attorneys Are Here To Help

If you live in Florida and you or a loved one has been injured due to someone else’s negligence (including that of a manufacturer or agency that failed to protect the public), contact our experienced Boca Raton attorneys at Lavalle, Brown & Ronan today to find out how we can help. Living with the aftermath of these injuries can be expensive and devastating–let us help you recover.

For more information and in depth analysis, please contact Attorney Ken Ronan at   kronan@bocalaw.com and Case Manager Richard Bagdasarian at rbagdasarian@bocalaw.com.

Resources:

miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article211027989.html

wftv.com/news/local/florida-has-most-takata-airbag-related-injuries-deaths-in-country-data-shows/748367081

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