Case Results
Negligent Security
Yaimi Guevara Machado was locked out of her room at the Chesapeake Motel. She went to the front desk and asked that the room be opened. The clerk instructed Ms. Guevara Machado to wait outside her room. Twenty-minutes prior a man walked into the lobby drunk and asked for beer and a prostitute. The front desk clerk sold the man beer and told him he needed to find servicewomen outside. The man leaves the lobby and stops a housekeeper asking her for a kiss. The housekeeper threatens to call the front desk, but the man leaves once he sees Ms. Guevara Machado in the hallway. Sadly, her room door was never opened and the last time she was seen was walking toward the front entrance in the area where she was brutally murdered by the man.
On June 9, 2009, 24 year-old Trinard Snell was shot and killed during an attempted armed robbery at the car wash located at the 71st Street Valero Gas Station. He lost his life in a completely unprovoked attack, while sitting under a tent at the car wash, waiting for the next customer to arrive.Three young men came up behind Trinard in an attempt to rob him and his co-worker. Unable to see what was going on, he jumped up and ran but was shot from behind and killed. Despite an alarming history of violent crimes against persons on the property, the operator did absolutely nothing to protect Trinard Snell and other customers of the car wash and gas station. Mr. Snell’s mother sued the owners of the convenience store for negligent security. In 2012, a jury found the owners negligent for failing to implement proper and adequate security measures and awarded the family $5.7 Million.
Plaintiff Sami Barrak was a patron at Tootsie’s Cabaret. He and a friend were leaving the establishment when the friend returned to retrieve an item left inside. As Barrak sat waiting in his car for his friend to return he was approached by an unknown person who shot Mr. Barrak in the neck rendering him a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic. The $102 Million verdict is the largest jury verdict awarded in history for a negligent security case.
During early morning hours John Doe headed to the airport to pick up his family. Upon entering his home, Mr. Doe realized something was amiss. While his family stayed downstairs, Mr. Doe went upstairs to have a look around and was shot by robbers ultimately rendering him a quadriplegic. Despite spiraling violence on their property, management had done absolutely nothing to prevent such violence and chaos.
On Christmas Day, Darrell Brackett was traveling home when his car ran out of gas. Brackett made a trip to a nearby gas station to fill up his container when he was ambushed by a gang of men who doused him in gas and set him on fire. Brackett suffered severe burns on 75 percent of his body and ultimately succumbed to his injuries on the day after Valentine’s Day. The family was awarded $5.5 Million following a settlement against the station’s owner.
Youness Adlan was a patron at Cameo Nightclub on South Beach ringing in the New Year. While waiting for his friend, Youness exited the back door of the club. Youness was in the doorway when Cody Quaife yanked him from the back door and pushed him toward the front. Eyewitnesses stated that Quaife, while unprovoked, punched Youness in the face. The one fatal blow caused Youness’ head to hit the sidewalk and resulted in a massive brain bleed that rendered him into a coma. The defendant, Cameo Nightclub, tendered $5 Million as a result.
Drowning
A teenage boy was trapped underwater by the suction of a pool pump and nearly drowned. The jury found that product defects in the P2R single-horse-power suction pump, manufactured and distributed by Sta-Rite Industries, Inc, was responsible for the accident causing the victim to suffer irreversible brain damage. It was found that the pump was unsafe and that Sta-Rite Industries made no effort to change its design to make it less dangerous or to warn distributors about risks it created for swimmers. The $104 Million Verdict is the largest single personal injury jury verdict awarded in Florida’s History.
Premises Liability / Near-Drowning. A toddler sustained irreversible brain damage after nearly drowning in her apartment complex pool. The owners of the apartment complex were found negligent for not repairing a broken gate around the pool area and not securing the pool area with the proper pool fencing. The apartment complex manager admitted at trial that he knew the gate had been “destroyed” for some time. The $100 Million verdict is one of the largest single personal injury jury verdicts awarded in Florida’s history.
Drowning/Suction Entrapment. While attending a family graduation party, the 7-year-old granddaughter of former Secretary of State James Baker drowned in the pool/spa in the backyard.The forceful suction of the spa pump at the bottom of the whirlpool, entrapped and held the girl underwater causing her to drown. This is one of several suction entrapment cases where the defendant was negligent in manufacturing an unsafe and defective pool/spa pump. This was the identical pump involved in the Peterson case listed above.
This case involved twin toddlers who were involved in a tragic drowning and near drowning on Thanksgiving Day 2015. This occurred at a residential home that was managed by one of the largest single family home operators in the country. The residential home was rented out to the twin toddlers parents on a one-year lease, which was managed and operated by the defendant. On the day of the incident, the twin toddlers were in a crib, but escaped unbeknownst to their mother who was asleep in the same room. The twin toddlers then got into the living room and were able to access the swimming pool through the sliding glass doors. John Doe tragically drowned while Alex Doe suffered an anoxic brain injury due to the depravation of oxygen to his brain during the drowning incident. The parents of the toddlers had complained to the owner of the home that a pool fence should be placed there.In addition, there were problems with the locks on the sliding glass doors. The case settled for $11.8 Million.
General Personal Injury / Wrongful Death
A construction worker was seriously injured when a nine-unit townhome building under construction collapsed during a concrete pour. The collapse was caused by a myriad of acts and omissions of various contractors, including the failure of the shell contractor to use adequate shoring.
A construction worker was seriously injured when a nine-unit townhome building under construction collapsed during a concrete pour. The collapse was caused by a myriad of acts and omissions of various contractors, including the failure of the shell contractor to use adequate shoring.
Plaintiff was house-sitting for the defendant when the defendant’s two dogs knocked him into the pool causing him to strike his head and rendering him a quadriplegic.
Ms. Doe was at a restaurant with friends celebrating a birthday. A waiter cleaning the table dropped a glass of water from a tray, and continued to the kitchen instead of cleaning the spill. Ms. Doe got up to use the restroom and slipped on the spill. Her leg went through a wall and she developed a condition known as RSD which causes significant pain and limitation. This matter was settled pretrial for $2 Million.
The victim was swimming off of a public beach when he was hit by a passing boater. The catastrophically injured swimmer was airlifted to a hospital but died a few hours after his arrival. Prior to any lawsuit being filed, the case settled against the boater for $500,000.00, which was the entirety of his available insurance policy limits. A lawsuit was then filed against a watersports company that operated a beachfront watersports rental company near the location of the collision. The case against the watersports rental company settled for $3,250,000.00.e boater that struck the decedent was not affiliated with the watersports company, The Haggard Law Firm argued that the watersports company failed to set its buoys a safe distance from shore, which drew the passing boater closer to shore and the public swim area than he otherwise would have been traveling at such a high rate of speed.
Automobile & Cell Phone Accidents
The plaintiff, a 78-year-old woman, was seriously injured when a driver negligently struck the car she was riding in. The driver of the other car which caused the accident was distracted because he was conducting business on his cellular phone while driving. The plaintiff’s attorneys proved the driver was using his cell phone after subpoenaing his cellphone records. This influenced the jury’s decision and as a result the plaintiff was awarded the largest single personal injury verdict in Miami-Dade County history at the time.
Plaintiff Alfredo Cuquejo was traveling on his motorcycle to see his girlfriend when an approaching car made an illegal left hand turn. Mr. Cuquejo tried to avoid the collision, but there wasn’t room. He hit and flew over a truck and landed across the intersection. He was left physically incapacitated due to a severe brain injury.
Motorcyclist suffered a severe brain injury when a delivery van violated the motorcyclist’s right of way. Delivery company and the company owning the van and employing the driver were sued for negligent operation of the van for active negligence and as to the delivery company, on a vicarious liability/agency theory. The case settled before trial.
The plaintiff, an employee of Brinks Co., was standing behind his opened armored truck preparing a delivery when a tourist driving a rental car suddenly struck him, pinning him to the back of the truck and causing his left leg to be amputated above-the-knee. The plaintiff was able to obtain a settlement far exceeding the $600,000 cap created by the Florida Legislature protecting auto rental companies because of bad faith allegations and because Ecuacar Rent Corp.’s insurer was covering both the car rental company and the driver.
John Doe was walking across the street and hit by an oncoming car. The driver was unable to see the plaintiff because all the street lights in the area were out. Mr. Doe was able to prove that the street lights had been inoperable for several months before the incident and that the electric company had been warned of the danger by residents in the area on numerous occasions. Mr. Doe suffered from traumatic brain injury and requires attendant care for the rest of his life.
A suit was filed by the family of a man who was killed in an auto accident caused by an employee of the electric company. The employee, who was driving his own car but conducting company business at the time of the accident, ran a red light causing the fatal accident. Witnesses at the scene claim that the employee of the electric company was too distracted and made no attempt to break when he saw the light turn red. The victim spent most of his life caring for his daughter with special needs as his wife worked to support the family. The daughter was in the passenger seat when the accident occurred.
A bus driver stopped in the middle of a Miami Beach street in violation of Florida Statues. While the bus was stopped, Jane Doe began to cross the street in front of the bus. While she was crossing, the bus driver negligently started his bus, hitting Ms. Doe, running her over and killing her. Ms. Doewas survived by three adult children, all over the age of 40.
Premises Liability
Lawsuit was brought on behalf of a minor child who was catastrophically injured as a result of a merchandising hook entering his eye and hitting his brain. As a result of the injury the minor child suffered paresis of the right side of his body. The legal guardian brought suit alleging the hook was placed in as dangerous condition that the defendants were aware of and their negligence was the direct and proximate cause of the minor’s injuries. The minor suffered from permanent cognitive deficiencies as well as permanent physical disabilities in the form of significantly reduced fine motor skills and drop foot. The case settled right before trial for a total of $4 Million.
Plaintiff was house sitting for the defendant when the defendant’s two dogs knocked him into the pool causing him to strike his head and rendering him a quadriplegic.
John Doe (6-years-old) was riding his bicycle in the ABC Apartment Complex and was struck by an automobile exiting the complex. As a result of the accident, John Doe suffered orthopedic injuries. The case was brought against the driver for negligence and the apartment complex for negligent design of its parking lot and for failure to have any traffic control devices that would assign the right-of-way.
In August 2011, Walker, who suffered from Down’s Syndrome, slipped and fell on a wet floor at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando. At the time of the incident, the floor was being cleaned by Rosen’s Cleaning service, Majic Cleaning Systems. As a result of the fall,Mr. Walker needed surgery to repair his leg and suffered respiratory arrest during recovery from the surgery.Nearly two years after the fall, Walker, who suffered from numerous pre-existing health issues, passed away. Both liability and causation were highly contested. The defense argued that Majic had put down five cones in the lobby, adequately warning visitors that the floor was wet, and that Mr. Walker’s death was a result of his other health issues, and was unrelated to the fall.
While playing golf at the country club, the decedent was struck by a runaway golf cart and suffered severe injuries which lead to his death. Country club employees had parked the cart with the ignition running as they were unloading some bags. As they were unloading the bags, one set of clubs slipped, dropping onto the accelerator of the cart and causing it to take off across the grounds unmanned, running over the unsuspecting victim.
Medical Malpractice
Following a four-day trial, that included only two hours of deliberation, a Broward County jury awarded $24.5 million to the family of Lilia Torres, a mother of four children who died due to avoidable complications during childbirth caused by a condition the medical team was aware of before the surgery.On July 21, 2015 Lilia Torres arrived at Premiere Perinatal Associates for a scheduled C-section which was delayed until the 22nd. During the procedure, she suffered massive blood loss due to a condition, placenta previa, which had been diagnosed months earlier and was managed throughout the pregnancy. A hysterectomy was performed due to the massive blood loss. The baby was delivered on July 22, but Lilia went into cardiac and pulmonary shock with severe hypoxia due to the blood loss. She was placed on a vent and began receiving blood cells and plasma. She returned to the operating room for exploratory surgery and passed away on July 22nd, 2015 resulting from the hemorrhagic shock and multi-organ failure. She left behind her husband Rodolfo and four minor children, three girls and one boy. Lilia was the caretaker of her entire family.Haggard Law firm Trial Lawyer Todd Michaels tried the case with attorney Danny Harwin.
Following a four-day trial, a federal court jury in Miami delivered a $4.8 million verdict against Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL) in the death of passenger Richard Puchalski.A cruise to Alaska in July of 2016 is how the Puchalski family chose to enjoy the 70th birthday of its patriarch Richard. But that celebration vacation aboard RCCLs’ Explorer of The Seas turned into a traumatic tragedy when Puchalski suffered a massive cardiac arrest. Haggard Law Firm trial lawyers Michael Haggard and Todd Michaels, joined by co-counsel Phil Parrish, argued to the jury that the massive cardiac event was the direct result of decisions made by RCCL‘s shipboard doctor, Dr. Amanda Sanders. Puchalski went to the ship’s infirmary in the midst of a serious, but treatable cardiac incident. Michaels and Haggard explained to the jury that Dr. Sanders made three errors which turned the incident fatal: she failed to immediately send the grandfather to a facility that could handle the cardiac condition, she released Puchalski to his room while he was in the cardiac crisis, and she prescribed a medication which contradicted the condition she properly diagnosed. That medication led him into cardiac shock which ultimately killed him.
While being treated for a heart condition and high cholesterol, Mr. Newman’s drug regimen was modified to include two drugs which were specifically contradicted by the drug manufacturer. Soon after he began taking both medications he was seen by one of his physicians and complained of the classic symptoms associated with the combined use of the drugs and was ultimately hospitalized. None of Mr. Newman’s physicians recognized this drug error and failed to discontinue use of the medications or order the necessary diagnostic tests to make the correct diagnosis. The plaintiff suffered multiple organ failure and died.
Failure to diagnose Arterial Venous Malfunction (AVM) rendering the 20-year-old plaintiff paraplegic.
Liquor Liability
Plaintiff suffered severe burns on 68% of his body after being lit on fire while sleeping in his truck. The defendant in this case failed to meet industry standards when dealing with an intoxicated person on their premises. Defendant’s failure resulted in the assailant loitering for an extended period of time and ultimately lead to plaintiff’s injuries. The injuries were so extreme that plaintiff was left with no use of his hands outside of being able to lift his arms up and down. The case resulted in a settlement one week before trial in the amount of $4.85 Million.
Mr. Marshall and Ms. Robinson were out for a birthday celebration. After drinking for several hours at both the Red Baron Lounge and Gene’s Lounge, both persons were asked to leave after a verbal altercation and proceeded to drive off in Ms. Robinson’s car. No effort was made by Gene’s Lounge to call a cab or make any alternate transportation arrangement. Ms. Robinson proceeded to drive off the roadway and strike a tree, partially ejecting Mr. Marshall, and leaving him a quadriplegic with both legs amputated. He was also rendered completely blind after encountering corrective surgery complications. Both Gene’s Lounge and Red Baron Lounge knew of Ms. Robinson’s alcoholism,but purposefully continued to serve her alcohol with disregard to the possible consequences of their actions. The case was settled for total policy limits.
Sherry Ann Trosper was habitually addicted to alcohol based on the parameters of Florida’s “dram shop” statutes. At 3:00 AM Sherry Ann Trosper, totally intoxicated, left Gaby’s Lounge and in attempting to walk across a multi-lane street, was struck by a vehicle suffering permanent injuries.Gaby’s Lounge knew or should have known that the quantity of alcohol served to Sherry Ann Trosper would render her intoxicated and incapacitated, and purposefully served her this quantity of alcohol. Gaby’s Lounge either intended to get her intoxicated, or did so with reckless disregard and conscious indifference to the consequences, so as to be the equivalent of intentional misconduct.
