The Haggard Law Firm’s Todd Michaels has obtained a $2.75 Million settlement in an auto negligence wrongful death case. Per terms of the settlement, the names of the plaintiff and defendant must remain confidential.
Case Background
Plaintiff brought this wrongful death commercial automobile accident case on behalf of her nineteen-year-old son against ABC Corporation and their driver. ABC Corporation was involved in a road construction project in northern Miami-Dade County. On the evening in question, they had sent one of their drivers, John Roe, out driving a flatbed tractor-trailer. Roe was a convicted criminal with a history of careless driving citations. As he was the cousin of the owner of ABC Corporation, he was immediately hired and put to work driving tractor-trailers without the usual training and background check that ABC Corporation performed on most of its drivers.
Roe was headed Southbound on NW 37th Avenue while pulling a flatbed trailer. He needed to turn his truck around into the Northbound lane to pick up equipment. Instead of driving around the block, he attempted to perform a U-Turn in a poorly lit intersection. His trailer lights weren’t working, and the trailer lacked the mandated conspicuity tape.
The victim was driving Southbound, and entered the intersection on a green light, unable to see the dark flatbed trailer. He crashed head-on into the trailer and died the next day as a result of his injuries. He is survived by his mother. The victim did not have a valid driver’s license. The defendant alleged that the son of The Haggard Law Firm’s client was driving over 80 Miles Per Hour, well in excess of the speed limit, and was not wearing his seatbelt. The defendant further alleged that the victim had marijuana in his system and rolling papers in the car. Roe and his co-worker claimed that the decedent had run a red light, and that the lighting and tape on the trailer were up to standard.
An independent witness driving behind the decedent verified that he in fact had the green light and that the trailer was not visible. She took photographs at the scene showing that the conspicuity tape was eroded and the lights were not working. Prior to the vehicle inspection, the defendant had replaced the tape and the lights on the trailer.
