Year: 2020
On Monday, April 6th, Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady extended the COVID-19 Emergency Orders through May 29th. Local courts will continue the use of social distancing and remote technology. Remote technology utilized includes both video and phone hearings. Many services will remain limited. How does this affect you? What is suspended? Jury proceedings…
As of today, Tuesday, April 7th, the Coronavirus death toll in Florida stands at 283. There are 14,504 confirmed cases. There is still a shortage of tests and a shortage of medical supplies. The number of cases and deaths are expected to continue to rise. Cases range in severity and current area numbers are as…
Florida’s statewide stay-at-home order, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, is in effect. Residents will only be able to leave their homes for essential activities and only go to work if they work at an essential business. Thousands of stores have been closed and small businesses are either suffering or are already closed. This has…
On Wednesday, April 1st, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued a 30-day stay-at-home executive order. The mandate will go into effect at 12:01 a.m., on April 3rd and will end on Thursday, April 30th, at midnight. This decision transpired following President Trump’s decision, on March 31st, to extend the National State of Emergency for another 30…
Lately, it’s hard to turn on the television or go online without being bombarded by bad news about the coronavirus. We’re in troubling and uncertain times. Our prayers go out for every individual who has been affected by this pandemic. Even with our current situation, it’s important to focus on some positive things at times….
If you have been injured in a car accident in Florida, one of your most immediate concerns will likely be how you’re going to pay for medical treatment. Not everyone is prepared for the expenses they’ll incur after a crash, especially if there are serious or catastrophic injuries. When an accident sends you to the…
Using Uber, Lyft, and other rideshare services has become a popular way to get around Florida. Fortunately, most of these rides and interactions with drivers are perfectly safe. However, there have been instances of people posing as Uber drivers nationwide. In order to stay safe, avoid a scam, and protect yourself, the Tampa rideshare lawyers…
When a large truck and a passenger car collide, the damages can be severe. One common cause of tractor-trailer accidents is truck driver fatigue — often a consequence of driving for long hours at a time with few rest and recovery periods. In order to reduce the number of truck accidents caused by drowsy driving,…
The ridesharing service Lyft recently enacted several protocols that standardize the way that its drivers are evaluated for safety. The new policy, Safety Policy and Community Compliance (SPCC), uses a “decision matrix” to determine when to remove a driver from the platform. The company’s Trust and Safety team must now follow strict guidelines that appear…
You Don’t Need to Leave the House to Meet with Our Lawyers. Concerned About Coronavirus? We all have a duty to keep ourselves, our families, our neighbors, and our communities safe right now. This means temporarily reshaping the way we live our lives to combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). At Brooks Law Group we are…
Driving at night is a leading cause of fatal car accidents. Darkness causes reduced visibility and compromises depth perception, peripheral vision, and even the ability to identify colors. Even when drivers have their high-beams on, they can only see approximately 350 to 500 feet in front of them at night. Nighttime driving has other dangers….
Daylight Saving Time (DST) is around the corner. On Sunday, March 8 at 2 a.m., Floridians will shift their clocks forward one hour. That means everyone loses one hour of sleep. Besides being extra sleepy, researchers say that “springing forward” has dangerous consequences. A recent study in the journal Current Biology reported a 6 percent…
When your vehicle is in a collision with a semitruck, the consequences are often life-changing or even deadly. While car manufacturers have spent decades making their cars, trucks and SUVs as safe as possible, the force of a truck crash is enough to overcome even the most rock-solid safety features. In the case of pedestrian…
Our cars, trucks and SUVs are necessary to survive in our modern world. Unless you live in a big city, you probably drive your car multiple times per day. Whether it’s commuting to work or just running errands with your family, we rely on our vehicles to get from point A to point B. Our…
I want to thank Brad Beatty for joining me on Wednesday’s Inside Look to Brooks! Inside Look – Brad Beatty, Heart for Winter Haven Brad Beatty, the founder of Heart 4 Winter Haven shares how his non- profit organization helps the community which includes, helping unemployed individuals get their foot in the door for employment…
If you live near Tampa, you probably know a thing or two about the Gasparilla Pirate Festival. It’s one of the biggest celebrations in the Bay area every year. The Gasparilla parade is known as the third largest parade in the country with an attendance of around 300,000 people every year. More than 1,000,000 people…
If you have been hurt in an accident caused by another’s recklessness, you may be entitled to compensation through a Florida personal injury claim. Many people try to settle these claims on their own, thinking that they don’t need the help of a personal injury attorney. However, a lawyer can be a valuable asset during…
In the past, we’ve extensively covered some of the problems facing students in our state such as texting while driving. Last year, we asked students to attack the problem head on and write about why their fellow students have such a problem keeping distractions out of the driver seat and how they’d handle the issue…
We’ve got a special episode for you this week on Inside Look by Brooks! Steve Brooks has an announcement to make about upcoming guests and where we’re taking the Live show in 2020. Inside Look – New Brooks Law Podcast Announcement! It looks like this won’t be the only place you can get the latest…
Throughout all of 2019, our law firm spent a lot of time trying to get the word out about the epidemic of human trafficking in the United States. It’s an uncomfortable topic, but it’s an incredibly important one to talk about. If you’re interested in learning more about the tragic problem of human and sex…
On this week’s Inside Look by Brooks, Steve Brooks joins us to give you all the information you need on our upcoming Spring 2020 scholarship program. As always, we can’t wait to read the incredible essays that are submitted by students all across our state. Spring Scholarship 2020 and Diabetes Discussion! In addition to the…
This Fall, we received an incredible amount of high quality essays for our Fall Scholarship program. As always, we love to share some of the great work Florida students are capable of producing with you! The second place winner of this past semester’s scholarship award was Justin Kelleher. He wrote the following essay for the…
We’re back! After a couple of weeks away for the holidays, we’re resuming our weekly Wednesday FB Live show with Steve Brooks. We’ll be seeing you every Wednesday at 12:30 once more! On today’s episode, Steve will discuss the changes that Janauary 1st brought to our state on our new texting while driving law that…
Last year, we published a blog post giving you all the details you needed to know about the new law that Governor DeSantis signed about distracted driving and texting while driving for the state. What You Need to Know About Florida’s New Texting While Driving Ban Be sure to check that link out if you…
Driving a motorcycle brings its own set of dangers, and riders are intimately familiar with them. The most experienced motorcyclists can have their trip, or even their life, cut short by a careless driver in a car in an instant. While the risk will always persist, there are ways of decreasing it. For that reason,…
