Miami Taxi Cab Accident Lawyer

Miami has an estimated 13.4 million overnight visitors and tourists per on an annual basis, and therefore the city also has a very active taxi cab industry. When tourists hire a taxi cab driver to transport them and their families, they expect to get what they pay for - a clean, reliable ride and safe arrival at their destination. Florida has very specific laws that a taxi driver must follow in order to receive and maintain the required Vehicle Driver's Permit to stay in business as a cab driver.

Florida's law motor vehicle laws regulate vehicle insurance and impose vehicle safety and maintenance standards. There are also minimum financial responsibility laws for leased vehicles, privately owned vehicles, vehicles for hire and taxi cabs. Financial responsibility laws are in place to protect the motoring public. Taxi cab accidents and injuries with for hire vehicles are becoming more and more common. Our accident lawyers can help determine the amount of financial responsibility that may be available.

Establishing legal liability after a taxi cab accident is not always straight forward. Many drivers are not employees but are independent contractors. Taxi cab drivers are required to carry their own auto insurance. Companies who profit from their drivers can be legally responsible. But most taxi cab companies argue that they are not required by law to pay for negligent drivers since they are not vicariously liable since they are not their employees.

Our taxi cab accident attorneys have handled injury claims against Miami taxi cab companies including:

• Miami Downtown Yellow Cab Taxi
• Super Yellow Cab
• Miami Taxi Cab
• Super Yellow Taxi

Because the laws in Florida are different for taxis than for regular passenger vehicles legal claims for a taxi accident are handles differently. The car accident attorneys at Gerson & Schwartz, PA are familiar with Florida's taxi laws. We know how to apply the facts and law to your case in order to hold taxi cab companies and negligent drivers legally responsible for our clients cases.

One of the first steps after a taxi accident is to make sure the taxi driver was qualified to be driving a vehicle for hire. Florida law requires every driver to have a special permit and to display that permit at all times. However, drivers sometimes have expired or fraudulent permits and they are not, in fact, legally qualified to drive passengers. Taxi cab drivers are also notorious for driving too fast and sometimes in a negligent manner. Checking the background history of the taxi driver may reveal that he has a history of negligent or careless driving, or criminal driving infractions. For these reasons, if driver error played a part in the accident the background of your taxi cab driver may be important.

Common taxi cab accidents our law firm as direct experience include:

• Rear End Accidents
• Failing to Yield
• Side Impact Collisions
• Head on Collisions
• Distracted Driving
• Drunk Driving Accidents
• Hit and Run Accidents
• Insurance Coverage / Bad Faith Claims
• Uninsured and Under Insured Motorist Claims

Florida also has specific regulations regarding maintenance of taxi cabs. The regulations mandate proper maintenance for tires, brakes, windows, interior condition, seat belts, headlights, horns, and much more. If any of the maintenance is not up to code, defective parts can cause accidents. A taxi driver can be held legally liable for not properly maintaining the vehicle. In addition, if some auto parts malfunctioned due to a defective design or defect by the manufacturer, all companies that sold the parts can also be legally responsible.

Issues also sometimes arise when small children ride in taxi cabs. Research over the past couple of decades has shown that young children require different safety devices and restraints in a car than adults, and that not using proper restraints for children increases the risk of injury. Florida laws require that every operator of a motor vehicle that is transporting a child under the age of five years must use a federally approved restraint device for the safety of the child. This law applies to any motor vehicle designed for carrying ten passengers or less, which includes taxi cabs. Therefore, if a taxi driver does not provide proper restraints and your child suffers additional injuries as a result, the driver can be held liable for those injuries.

If you or a loved one were seriously injured in a taxi cab or by a negligent driver we can help. Contact a Miami personal injury lawyer at Gerson & Schwartz, PA today. Contact us at (305) 371-6000 or toll free at (877) 475-2905. Se Habla Español.