Late Friday, a Ft. Myers jury awarded long haul trucker Steve Long $907, 211 for the injuries he sustained from a 2014 beating by several people in the parking lot of a Waffle House.
The Haggard Law Firm’s Todd Michaels co-counseled the negligent security case along with Dave Mishael of the Law Offices of David B. Mishael and Steven N. Kassner of Steven N. Kassner, PA.
The team of attorneys explained to the jury that for the 3 years before Long was attacked on April 19, 2014, , there were 24 significant crimes committed on the property. Those crimes included multiple fights (one involving nearly 100 people) and three incidents involving gun shots.
Haggard Law’s Todd Michaels explains “all of the crime and danger occurred in the 3rd shift, nonetheless, there was nothing done about it, IE: no security in the parking lot, no outside security cameras, poor lighting and no manned security.”
(Scroll down to watch video RE: importance of Foreseeability in Negligent Security Cases)
Michaels went on to say that Waffle House has corporate policies for hiring security guards and preventing loitering, but the manager of this particular location was unaware of those regulations. The restaurant in question is owned by East Coast Waffles, Inc, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Waffle House and operates 100 of its 2000 stores.
Following the attack, Long was discharged from the hospital after 4 hours and only had $32,000 in medical bills. But after a few years of struggling with headaches and memory loss, he was found to have suffered a minor brain injury to his frontal lobe.
“We had a great jury who understood that a minor brain injury is still a BRAIN INJURY” said Michaels. (Click for Michaels Bio)
He added, “Haggard Law is proud to have been a part of this team, and to have represented Steve. A special thanks to Dave (Mishael) for bringing The Haggard Law Firm in to try this important negligent security case with him.”
- (Picture)
- Todd Micheals (Bottom Center)
Steve Long (Left screen)
Dave Mishael and Steve Kassner.
