Over the years, we have seen a somewhat continuous stream of safety recalls regarding cars issued to the public. Most of the recalls come after many serious injuries have occurred, but are still important in eliminating the cause of potentially dangerous malfunctions within the car. Although for most consumers it is a logical reaction to bring in a car to be fixed if a recall is issued for it, there is an important segment of the transportation sector that has apparently ignored the warnings: the rental car industry. Christopher Jensen of the New York Times Automotive Blog has this report:

“In the petition filed with the F.T.C. , the two consumer groups and Ms. Houck said that Enterprise had no right to pick and choose recalls, that consumers needed to be protected and that all recalled vehicles should be parked until they were fixed.

Two of the victims of a failure by Enterprise to carry out a recall were the Houck sisters: Raechel, 24, and Jacqueline, 20. On Oct. 7, 2004, they were killed in Monterey County, Calif., after a fire broke out under the hood of their car and they collided with an 18-wheeler.

Their vehicle was a 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser, which had been recalled early in June because power steering fluid could leak and cause a fire in the engine compartment. That recall covered about 438,000 PT Cruisers from the 2001–5 model years.”

Although rental car companies are not bound by law (yet) to fix all of their recalled vehicles, it is a matter of public safety that regulations should be immediately instated to ensure the safety of the vehicles on the road. There have been too many instances where safety issues with cars were suppressed or ignored, as detailed in our occasional mini-series regarding car safety, and with the problems that Toyota experienced early in the year still fresh in the mind of all drivers, policy makers should recognized that safety is not privilege in our country, but rather an expectation that all companies, whether they be the car manufacturers or the rental car companies, provide products and services that are the fruit of the businesses’ best efforts to guarantee our safety when we get behind the wheel of a vehicle.

At PERENICH The Law Firm, we are proud to be part of the same Civil Justice System that has brought protection and peace of mind to every motorist on the roads in the country and here in Clearwater and the greater Tampa Bay area. As your personal injury and car accident lawyers, we will serve you in times when corporations willfully put you and your loved ones at risk, and through our combined efforts, help create a safer society for the rest of the nation as well.

As the 2009-2010 school year winds to an end, we here at Perenich The Law Firm wish to congratulate all those students who are graduating. However, in the midst of your celebrating, it is advisable to follow Florida state law that prohibits adults from giving underage party-goers alcohol. The Florida “Open House Parties” law was written expressly to restrict minors from having parties and consuming alcohol under parental supervision.

If someone were to host a party where they did not take reasonable steps to prevent minors from obtaining alcohol, they could be subject to punishment up to 60 days in jail. However, we are more concerned with the consequences that may result from minors leaving such an open house party.

If you were to be hit by an inebriated minor who was given alcohol at someone’s party, the Florida law states that the responsible parents in charge of the party can be held liable for that minor’s actions. Giving alcohol to minors not only breaks the law, but places others in harm’s way. Although it may have been well-intentioned to “supervise” the drinking of minors, the cold fact is that it is legally wrong to provide the alcohol to the minors. Those who go ahead and serve minors alcohol anyway places you and your loved ones at risk.

If you or a loved one was involved in a car accident or some other incident stemming from a minor who was given alcohol, you may have the opportunity to seek recourse from the parents who illegally supplied the alcohol. At Perenich The Law Firm, helping to create a safer community is our top priority, and we can assist you in instances where someone’s negligent and illegal behavior hurts you or those you love. As your Clearwater and Tampa Bay personal injury lawyers, we can help you hold accountable those who willfully put you in harm’s way.

At Perenich The Law Firm, we often deal with car-accident claims that are exacerbated by lapses in insurance. Here are a few tips that we and Jonathan Berr at WalletPop.com have put together to help you cover yourself and save money:

• Protect yourself with Uninsured Motorist coverage to cover yourself when someone else is at fault. Many of our cases here at Perenich The Law Firm deal with at-fault drivers who have no insurance or insufficient insurance to cover the injuries their victims sustain. With a down economy, the percentage of uninsured or under-covered drivers on the road has increased, and could leave you vulnerable. Further information on the Florida No-Fault policy and the different types of insurance available to protect yourself can be found here.
• If your commuting habits have changed due to a job loss, call your insurer immediately if you are putting less miles on your car, and your rates could be lowered.
• If you are driving an older car, watch your deductibles, as they may cost you as much to insure your vehicle as its actual worth.
• Skimping on the coverage you purchase can hurt you later, as accident costs can add up quickly.

Auto Accidents are frustrating events, and here at Perenich The Law Firm, we hope that people drive responsibly and distraction-free. However, if a negligent driver causes you to be involved in an auto accident, we are here to serve as your Tampa Bay Auto Accident Lawyers and to ease that frustration and help recover the costs from the at-fault driver’s insurance company, or in certain cases, pursue a lawsuit on behalf of our clients to hold the responsible party accountable for causing their injuries.

Toyota’s failure to own up to mechanical defects in its automobiles has cost lives that otherwise could have been saved.  With new details emerging that Toyota sought to delay and cover up the mechanical problems with sticking accelerators in its popular line of automobiles, including the best selling Camry model, the questions now remain as to what did Toyota know and when did they know it.  As reported on Bloomberg.com:

Irv Miller, then a vice president for Toyota’s U.S. sales unit, told other officials in an e-mail on Jan. 16 that “the time to hide on this one is over.” The world’s largest automaker recalled 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. for accelerator pedal flaws the following week.

“We are not protecting our customers by keeping this quiet,” Miller wrote in an e-mail to Toyota executives in the U.S. and Japan, obtained on April 8, 2010.

American consumers have an expectation of safety when they purchase an automobile and that expectation has never been higher than with the Toyota brand of automobiles.  Unfortunately Toyota may never be able to regain that level of trust after more facts have been uncovered about their own knowledge of product defects.  Throughout Florida and the entire United States, many families have come to suffer the loss of loved ones because of this unfortunate denial of defects in the manufacture of these high end products.  In fact, many people are taking a second look at automobile accidents involving Toyota Camrys to determine if the actual cause of the automobile crashes is the result of the defective accelerators.

As the story of the Toyota accelerator continues to develop, many foresee the American civil justice system as the last defense against these types of anti-consumer practices.  At Perenich The Law Firm, we handle cases such as major product liability actions throughout the Tampa Bar area.