10 Hospitalized after Accident Involving Van Carrying College Team
Right before Thanksgiving, a van carrying a college cross-country team from Oregon was involved in a serious, multi-vehicle accident on I-75 in southern Alachua County. Ten people were ultimately injured and had to be hospitalized as a result of those injuries from the crash. An article from local news affiliate WCJB regarding the crash reported that the van carrying the Oregon Tech cross-country team was involved in an accident with two semi-trucks and several cars. The Oregon Tech team was in Florida for the NAIA national cross-country championships in Tallahassee. All the members of the school’s cross-country team were discharged from the hospital the evening of the incident and were eventually able to fly back to Oregon several days later. However, I-75 was blocked in both directions immediately after the incident in order to allow a helicopter to land on the highway to transport one of the injured motorists to the hospital. Of the ten people hospitalized for their injuries, one was in critical condition according to first responders at the scene. The cause of the crash is still being investigated.
Out-of-State Motorists, Florida Motor Vehicle Accidents and Florida Law
Although it is still unclear as to exactly how this recent multi-vehicle accident in Alachua County occurred, it does raise an important issue: what is Florida law when an accident is either caused by an out-of-state resident or the victim of an accident caused by someone else’s negligence is not from Florida? Given how popular of a tourist destination Florida is, it should not be surprising that many accidents in the Sunshine State involve people from out of state or even out of the country. If you are either an out of stater who is injured by a Floridian or another out of stater injured by an out of state motorist, then your remedies are the same and the procedures for you obtaining compensation for your injuries are the same as if the incident involved or was caused by a Florida motorist.
The key factor to all of this is that the incident occurred in Florida, so the proper place for a lawsuit to be filed is Florida. If an out of state driver caused the incident, then he or she could be sued in a Florida court, whereas if someone from out of state were injured in a motor vehicle accident in Florida, he or she could also file suit in Florida given that was where the accident took place. Therefore, in this recent crash in Alachua County involving the Oregon Tech cross-country team, if it turns out that one of the other vehicles caused the crash, then any of the coaches or runners injured in the incident would be able to seek compensation for his or her injuries in a Florida court even though they were only in Florida briefly for a cross-country meet.
Contact Schwed, Adams & McGinley if You Have Been Involved in an Accident in Florida
At Schwed, Adams & McGinley, our experienced personal injury attorneys have represented clients who have been seriously injured in a variety of different scenarios, including all types of motor vehicle accidents, for decades. The experienced personal injury attorneys of our firm have over 200 years of combined legal experience representing accident victims throughout Florida. A large majority of our firm’s practice is in the areas of auto and truck accidents and we regularly represent clients involved in all sorts of accidents, whether an accident with a tractor trailer or semi truck, pedestrian accident, or motor vehicle accident. We understand the devastating consequences that an accident, no matter whether it is a tractor-trailer accident or an accident between two cars, can cause and we do everything in our power under Florida law to help make you and your family whole for the devastating losses that often accompany an accident. If you or one of your loved ones have been involved in an accident in Florida, contact our firm today at contact@schwedlawfirm.com or by telephone at (877) 694-6079 for a free consultation regarding your legal rights.