HomeCategory Drowning

The Haggard Law Firm’s Michael Haggard and Adam Finkel secured a $5 Million settlement for the family of Kallie Bligen, a 5-year-old autistic girl who suffered a fatal drowning in a retention pond located just steps from her family’s apartment in Oakland Park, Florida. Bligen was non-verbal and autistic, and her parents, Kashawn Bligen and Jasmine Kessler, took extraordinary...

                 The Haggard Law Firm’s Adam Finkel and Michael Haggard  have secured a $4 Million settlement in a fatal drowning case involving a minor. The tragedy serves as another cautionary tale reminding us all to remain vigilant of what safety measures are and are not in place at the complexes that our kids live in and...

Settlement Highlights Importance of Property Owners Eliminating Dangerous Water Hazards That Can Attract Children The Haggard Law Firm’s Adam Finkel and Michael Haggard secured a $2 Million pre-suit, policy limit settlement in a fatal drowning case. The settlement resolves a claim against Village Green at Baymeadows Property Owners Association, Inc. following the April 2025 drowning of Arnez Dowdell, who recently...

The Haggard Law Firm’s Pedro Echarte and Michael Haggard, along with co-counsel Christopher O’Toole, have secured a $6 Million settlement in a fatal drowning case involving a 2-year-old child. Child drownings remain one of the leading causes of accidental death for young children in Florida. When these incidents occur at apartment complexes or other residential...

The Haggard Law Firm’s Adam Finkel and Michael Haggard secured a $15.5 Million settlement in a child fatal-drowning retention pond case.    During the early evening hours of January 12, 2024, tragedy struck at the Huntington Reserve Apartments in Seminole County, Florida. Three-and-a-half-year-old Kai Goodlander left his family’s apartment on a dark, rainy night—perhaps headed toward the nearby...