Head-On Collision Brevard County Leaves Three in Critical Condition March 17, 2009

Early Monday eveing, Ashraf Eskander, 35,  of Daytona Beach was driving out of control along State Road 407 in Brevard County.  Florida Highway Patrol investigators reported that Mr. Eskander was passing cars at a high rate of speed and did not return to his own lan in time.    He crashed head-on into a vehicle driven by Stephon Stanton who could not avaoid the impact.  The impact of the head on collision spun Mr. Stanton’s vehicle into another vehicle driven by David Hartung.     Eskander and his passenger Atef Marcous were taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center in critical condition.   Stanton and Hartung were taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center.

This is a very serious accident and my heart goes out to the families of all those involved.  It seems that Mr. Marcous’s condition was upgraded from critical to fair.   We can only hope that the others involved will improve as well.  

As an attorney, I also think about the legal ramifications of this accident.   All of the people involved  probably have to work for a living to support their families.   In these hard economic times,  every paycheck that comes into a family is more important than ever.   Mr. Stanton and Mr. Hartung are now in critical condition for an accident that the Florida Highway Patrol said was no fault of their own.   

The Florida Legislature has only required Florida Motorist to carry no-fault of PIP insurance as well as property damage coverage.   There is no law in Florida that requires motorists to purchase Bodily Injury insurance.   This means that it is perfectly legal for people to drive around with out adequate protection to pay for any damage that they cause.     This is a major failing of our State Legislature.   Other states require every mororist to purchase insurnace to pay for the damage that they cause.   I believe that Flordia should be the same way. 

The fact of the matter is that being in critical condition in Orlando Regional Medical Center is an extreemly expensive situation.   There is no telling how long Mr. Staton and Mr. Hatrung   will be unable to work.   I pray that they purchased Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage, UM for short.   UM covers motorists that are injured and the at-fault driver has litte or no insurance. 

In the case of Mr. Eskander,  it is unlikley that he has enough Bodily Injury coverage to cover the damage that he has caused due to the severity of the injuries.   Anyone who has not purchaed UM insurance, it is very important that you do so.  If you do not know if you have UM then you can fax the cover page of your insurnace policy to me at 386 255 2027 and  I  will tell you.  

All families involved are in for a very difficult time.   My thoughts and prayers are with them . 

Ron Zimmet Jr 

Zimmet and Quarles P.L.  Trial Lawyers