Van Crashes into Bakery in NW Miami-Dade
A van made a crashing stop into a bakery storefront in Northwest Miami- Dade on Tuesday May 28, 2019. The driver of the van, whose name has not been released, had been driving on NW 48th Avenue near 167th street in Northwest Miami-Dade around 6:00 a.m. and apparently lost control of the van crashing into the bakery which had just opened its doors to customers. There were two unknown drivers in the van and one victim was transported to the hospital in unknown condition. No further details were released.
Storefront Car Accidents in Florida
A storefront accident happens when a vehicle drives through or into a window or wall of a store, restaurant, or other establishment. The vehicle can hit pedestrians that are on the sidewalks in front of the establishment, as well as patrons inside. Believe it or not, cars crashing into storefronts is a frequent occurrence in Florida. It can happen at convenience stores, offices, commercial buildings, restaurants, retail stores, and even residential homes. Since 2014, the Storefront Safety Council (“SSC”), an advocacy group working to end vehicle into building crashes, have been collecting data on these types of accidents. According to them, South Florida has had more crashes into buildings than almost every other state in the last 6 years with nearly 1 in 4 crashes occurring in either Broward or Miami-Dade County.
What Causes a Storefront Accident?
According to the SSC, about half of all storefront car accidents are caused by “pedal error” which can occur when drivers mistake their gas pedals for their brakes. Drivers can also confuse Drive with Park on their automatic transmissions and drivers of all ages get distracted or suffer medical emergencies and fail to brake in time, or at all, when entering or leaving parking areas. Drivers who confuse the accelerator with the brake pedal or put their car in drive instead of reverse can accidently drive their cars into buildings, through windows, or onto sidewalks. In other cases, the driver is not at fault. Additionally, some cars involved in storefront crashes may have swerved to avoid an accident and lost control.
Liability in Storefront Car Crash Accidents?
Many experts suggest that if landowners install protective barriers and consciously hire engineers that can design effective parking areas, these crashes don’t have to happen. As a result, a common question in such storefront car crash cases is whether the owner of the property had a duty to erect barriers to protect persons on the premises from being struck by such cars. The vehicles may have been driven by drunk drivers, inexperienced drivers, negligent drivers, drivers whose brakes failed, or drivers whose feet slipped from the brake to the accelerator. The vehicles may have come from an adjoining highway or from the landowner’s own parking area. The injured persons may have been inside the landowner’s building, on the landowner’s outside walkway, at its walkup window, entering or leaving the landowner’s building, or in an outside area set aside for their use.
As in any premises liability case, a landowner can be found liable for a victims injuries in three instances: (1) failure to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition; (2) failure to correct a dangerous condition, they either knew or should have known about; and (3) failure to warn of a dangerous condition about which defendant had, or should have had, knowledge greater than that of claimant. In storefront car accident cases, courts in are Florida are split. Some courts have held that, at least in the absence of prior similar accidents, a landowner need not erect a barrier to protect persons inside its building from being injured by vehicles. However, other courts in Florida and around the country have held that a customer who is injured when a car crashes through a storefront can recover from the storekeeper where cost-effective barriers were available which would have stopped a car from crashing through in the first place. As in any case like this, evidence of prior similar accidents can be used to establish the owner or operator’s actual or constructive notice of the danger and this imposes a duty on landowners to take reasonable precautions to protect their patrons from injury due to errant vehicles. For example, a curb complying with all building codes has been found to be a sufficient barrier against out-of- control vehicles crashing into a restaurant building and injuring patrons there. Landowners should also be aware that in 2012, Miami-Dade County approved ordinance No. 12-47 to amend its zoning code to mandate placement of protective devices in head-in parking spaces directly in front of storefronts and pedestrian areas. The main takeaway here is that while a premises owner has no duty to protect against all types of storefront car accidents where such incidents would be unforeseeable, whether it assumed a duty must be determined by the individual facts of each case. Landowners should consider implanting safety measures. Some ideas include: walkways on its property that adjoin its parking area, a curb between the walkway and the parking area, barriers that can be erected to prevent accidents that may include bollard posts, large planters or other architectural items that actually enhance appearance while offering a layer of protection and posting signage to keep pedestrians and moving vehicles separated by using signage to direct people to walk in safe areas.
If you or a loved one has suffered injuries due to a storefront car accident, the car accident lawyers at Suarez & Montero can help you recover lost wages and compensation to pay for medical bills and treatment. Let us review your case and discuss your legal options. Our attorneys are ready to provide proven legal representation and stand ready to protect your rights. We are available 24/7 to give you a free, no risk case consultation!
We serve clients throughout Florida including those in the following areas:
Miami-Dade: Aventura, Coral Gables, Doral, Fontainebleau, Hialeah, Homestead, Kendall, Miami, Miami Beach, Miami Lakes, North Miami, Tamiami, and Westchester.
Broward: Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, and Weston; and Palm Beach County including Boca Raton, Lake Worth, and West Palm Beach.
