Statistics from the Florida Highway Patrol indicate the number of drowsy driving deaths are up in the Sunshine State. There were 14 recorded in both 2013 and 2014. Then in 2015, there were 23. Final figures for 2016 aren’t yet available, but we do know overall crashes were up significantly last year, so it’s likely tired driver wrecks were up too.

Now, a recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety indicates sleep-deprived drivers are just as dangerous as those who take to the road drunk on alcohol. Perhaps especially surprising was just how much even a little sleep loss can impact a driver.

We all know the less sleep you get, the higher your risk of being involved in a car accident. But study authors found that even skimping on as little as one or two hours on any given night increased the crash risk by 1.3 times. That’s if you got six hours of sleep compared to the recommended minimum of seven hours. Meanwhile, drivers who slept between five and seven hours had an increased crash risk of 1.9 times. Drivers who slept between four and five hours upped their crash risk by 4.3 times. And drivers who slept fewer than four hours in the previous 24 were 11.5 times more likely to crash their vehicle than someone who had received the daily minimum level.

Someone who scraped by with just 4 to 5 hours of sleep had a comparable crash risk to someone with a blood-alcohol concentration of at or above the legal limit of 0.08. The risk of someone who drive with less than four hours of sleep was deemed “much greater” by researchers – in the neighborhood of a .12 to .15 blood-alcohol concentration.

The interesting thing is that while there is a well-deserved stigma when it comes to drunk driving – because we all know the severe impact impaired motorists have on our roads – yet functioning with as little sleep as possible is somehow seen as a badge of honor.

The report also identified certain groups that may be more at risk for these kinds of crashes, and they include those with fractured schedules. These are people whose jobs may require that they work some shifts at night and some in the day time. Some of the most common include:

• Long-haul truckers
• Nurses
• Police officers
• Physicians

While nearly all drivers responding to the AAA survey indicated they felt it was unacceptable – and further a threat to their safety – for other drivers to take to the roads while they were sleepy. Yet almost a third admitted that at least once over the last 30 days, they had personally driven when they were so tired they had a difficult time keeping their eyes open.

If you have been injured in a Miami auto accident caused by a drowsy driver, we will fight to help you recover damages.

Call Chalik & Chalik at (954) 476-1000 or 1 (800) 873-9040.

Additional Resources:

Sleep-deprived drivers have plenty in common with drunk drivers, Dec. 6, 2016, By Ashley Halsey III, The Washington Post

More Blog Entries:

Third-Party Liability for Distracted Driving Accidents? Dec. 10, 2016, Miami Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Florida was no stranger to this. Several years ago, lawmakers had enacted strict caps on plaintiff attorney fees that had some law firms being paid less than minimum wage. There was also a provision that limited workers to two years of temporary disability pay, regardless of whether they were actually able to return to work. Just this summer, the Florida Supreme Court struck down those provisions.

Now, as reported by ProPublica (which has been delving deep into this issue since last year), the Oklahoma Supreme Court has declared Oklahoma’s opt-out provision of workers’ compensation law unconstitutional. The opt-out system basically gave employers the right to write their own plans. It was the employer who decided the rules for which injuries would be covered. The employer dictated which physicians workers were allowed to see. Employers also decided how workers were to be compensated and how grievances would be handled. In some cases, companies even required work-related injuries to be reported on the very day they happened – unlike the 30-day window granted by the state – or else the injury wouldn’t be found compensable at all. The state high court ruled that these provisions rendered the opt-out system a violation of worker rights because it treated some workers (employees of those companies) differently than others.

The law was originally passed following an aggressive and concerted effort by a national and organized effort large firms, including the biggest companies in trucking, health care and retail. They pushed hard to pass similar laws across the U.S., primarily in the Southeastern part.

An investigation by NPR and ProPublica last year revealed these “opt-out” plans – touted as “worker-friendly,” “affordable,” and “faster,” in fact resulted in lower benefits and more restrictions for workers than they would face under workers’ compensation laws. That story was part of a larger series on how states had been systematically deconstructing workers’ compensation laws – piece by piece – to the detriment of injured workers.

This decision in Oklahoma is actually the second handed down by the high court in that state this year on the workers’ compensation issue. In the spring, the court overturned a provision that significantly reduced workers’ compensation benefits to those workers who suffered severe, permanent and disabling injuries. Unfortunately here in Florida (as well as New York and Tennessee) that same kind of provision still exists.

If you have been injured at work in Miami or in a Miami construction accident, we will help fight to ensure you and/or your loved ones receive fair compensation.

Call Chalik & Chalik at (954) 476-1000 or 1 (800) 873-9040.

Additional Resources:

Oklahoma’s Top Court: Companies Can’t Set Own Rules for Injured Workers, Sept. 13, 2016, By Michael Grabell, ProPublica

More Blog Entries:

Burger King Corp. v. Lastre-Torres – Third-Party Liability for Florida Work Injury, Sept. 18, 2016, Miami Work Injury Lawyer Blog