The Haggard Law Firm’s Pedro Echarte has obtained a $2 Million settlement for a musician who was severely injured in an attempted armed robbery. Many of the details of the case are confidential per the terms of the settlement.
The Haggard Law client was shot twice while attempting to visit his sister at an apartment complex in Miami Gardens. He was approached by three young teenagers as he exited his car. After they brandished firearms and demanded his backpack, the Plaintiff dropped his backpack and began to run away when the teenagers began to shoot him. The Plaintiff was shot three times.
He was taken to Aventura Hospital where he remained for over two weeks. The young man underwent several surgical procedures during his initial hospital stay to repair his fractured pelvis, a laceration to his liver, and perforation of his colon. After he was discharged from his initial hospital stay, the Plaintiff returned to the hospital after he developed an infection in his abdomen. He was again released from the hospital, but he continued to treat with his doctors as a result of nerve damage in his elbow, which affected his ability in his hand – namely, his pinky and ring fingers. Despite the treatment, the damage became permanent. His pinky and ring fingers formed a claw due to the severity of nerve damage.
Echarte said about the negligent security case: “No amount can fix the physical injuries and emotional impact that a vicious criminal attack had on this young man. What occurred here could have been prevented with proper security measures, but yet the property did nothing to protect its residents and their guests despite a documented history of crime at the property. Our team joins our client and his family in the hope that this final result will motivate this property, and others like it, to improve security measures. “
Opa-Locka, FL – Palmer Properties has agreed to a $1 Million pre-suit policy limits settlement with the Estate of Wayne Mitchell who was killed by a neighbor at a Palmer Property-owned apartment complex.
Mitchell was shot and killed two days after his 50th birthday on the grounds of an apartment complex located at 2170 Washington Avenue in Opa-Locka, Florida. On January 7, 2019, Carlos Flores ambushed Mitchell in a hallway of the apartment complex both men lived in. Flores shot Mitchell as he exited his own unit. An investigation revealed that Flores, who had a violent and lengthy criminal history, was jealous that the building had hired Mitchell instead of him as a handyman.
Pensacola, FL – Michael Haggard and Christopher Marlowe have settled the negligent security wrongful death lawsuits involving the abduction and murder of 12-year-old Naomi Jones.
Claims against the principal defendant, the management company of the Pensacola apartment complex where she was abducted, were resolved under confidential terms.
The lawsuit against the owner of the apartment complex was resolved for policy limits of $2,000,000.
Congratulations to trial lawyers Michael Haggard and Pedro Echarte for obtaining a $1.5 million wrongful death negligent security case in Miami-Dade County.
Some details of the case have been withheld due to terms of confidentiality. What we can report is that the victim was shot during an attempted armed robbery after leaving an automated teller machine (ATM). The victim was an adult and left behind his elderly mother, who he lived with and was the sole survivor to the claim.
If you or your loved one have been a victim of a crime on a commercial property or at a business, you may have a negligent security case. Contact us at 305.446.5700 or click here
Over the years The Haggard Law Firm has earned more than $500 million in verdicts and settlements in this area of personal injury law practice. Negligent security cases are often referred to our firm by lawyers from around the country. Click to see notable cases
The health and safety of The Haggard Law Firm’s staff and clients is our priority. With that in mind, we are adjusting our normal day-to-day operations. As Managing Partner Michael Haggard discusses in this video, while our staff will not be working in the office in the short term, our service to each and every client will not slow down or change. Our trial lawyers and support team continue to work on every one of our cases. Please do not hesitate to contact our office at 305.446.5700
Haggard Law Firm lawyer Christopher Marlowe, who tried the case, said about the affirmed verdict “this opinion is significant to all personal injury cases where there are allegations of the victim’s use of drugs or other intoxicants. By adopting the well-established evidentiary requirement from a criminal law opinion, the Court made clear that a positive drug test, by itself, is not enough to slander the victim as having been ‘under the influence.’ ”
Synopsis of Case
The victim, Yaimi Machado, was locked out of room 106 of the Chesapeake Motel in Hialeah on April 10, 2016. The victim entered the lobby of the motel in her bra and jeans and asked for room 106 to be opened by the front desk clerk. The clerk instructed the victim to go wait outside the door to room 106. Twenty minutes prior to the victim entering the lobby a man walked in drunk and claimed to be the manager’s son and asked for beer. The front desk clerk sold the man beer despite the motel’s policy only to sell alcohol to guests. The man then asks for a prostitute and the clerk tells the man he needed to find servicewomen outside. The man leaves the lobby and stops at room 104 where a housekeeper is cleaning a room by herself. The man asks the housekeeper for a kiss and then enters room 104 and asks the housekeeper for a second kiss. The housekeeper threatens to call the front desk and the man stands at the door to 104 until he sees the victim walking down the hallway toward him. The door to room 106 was never opened and the last time the victim is seen was walking toward the front entrance in the area where she was brutally murdered by the man.
Congratulations to our Michael Haggard and Pedro Echarte for obtaining a $5.5 Million settlement in a negligent security wrongful death case.
This case involved a young man who died after being shot in an attempted armed robbery while using an ATM. We brought the lawsuit on behalf of the victim’s estate against the operator of the ATM, alleging that the security measures in place on the night of the incident were inadequate in light of the prior history of crime on the premises and in the surrounding area.
During the evening hours of February 26, 2017, Denis Duddy was inside his condo in a Boca Raton Florida high-rise condominium complex when someone broke in an attacked him. Through the litigation of this negligent security case, trial lawyers Pedro Echarte and Michael Haggard of The Haggard Law Firm, and co-counsel Michael J. Brevda learned that if proper security steps been taken at the complex, the attack could have been prevented.
The attacker was a young naked man, who was under the influence of LSD, who gained access to the condominium, proceeded to walk through the parking areas, lobby, and other common areas, until he gained access to Duddy’s unit. The assailant proceeded to bang on the door until he broke it down and attacked the Plaintiff. Duddy and assailant (who were previously unknown to each other) continued to fight until the assailant eventually calmed down. The assailant was arrested shortly thereafter by responding law enforcement personnel. Duddy suffered injuries to his neck and lower back resulting in two surgeries (including one fusion).
Image of the assailant from condominium (Defendant’s) security video
The primary defense in this matter was that there was no prior crime at the condominium and that the area in which it was located (South Boca Raton) was safe. However, the Haggard Law attorneys and co-counselor Brevda argued that the security guard on duty at the time of the incident (who was employed by Defendant D & D Professional Security) failed to timely detect the assailant and failed to properly respond to his presence at the condominium, which led to the Plaintiff’s attack. The case against D&D Professional Security settled for $825,000.
The Haggard Law Firm’s Michael Haggard and Christopher Marlowe have obtained a $1.75 Million settlement in a case where a father of two was killed by a county bus.
Eric Tenner was happily married to his wife Maria, with whom he had two young boys. On the morning of October 8, 2014, he headed out before work to get in his daily exercise on his bicycle. He was an avid and competitive cyclist, who was wearing all of the recommended safety equipment. Just south of the intersection of SW 124th Street and the US1 Busway in southwest Miami-Dade County, Mr. Tenner was struck from behind by a County bus driven by a Mr. Jose Sequeira. Mr. Tenner died several days later at Kendall Regional Hospital.
“He was an avid and competitive cyclist, who was wearing all of the recommended safety equipment.”
Mr. Sequeira, the bus driver, was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury. The criminal charges were later dropped, as the State of Florida was unable to prove that Mr. Sequeira was aware he had struck a bicyclist.
Tenner with his young sons
Miguel Mora, the driver of the second bus that was behind Mr. Sequeira, pulled over and stopped to assist Mr. Tenner after the accident. He has been driving this particular route for years, and testified that bicyclists and pedestrians are a constant presence there. He acknowledged that bus drivers are specifically trained to expect the unexpected and that when he is driving, it is on “pins and needles” because as professional bus drivers, they are held to a higher standard. He further opined that “they’re constantly getting hit. There’s a lot of accidents on the Busway.”
Throughout the discovery phase, the county correctly identified signage indicating that the Busway was for use of emergency and transit vehicles only. At trial, the main contested issue would have been whether Mr. Sequeira should have reasonably anticipated, seen and reacted to a bicyclist such as Mr. Tenner on the busway at that time of the morning when the sun had not yet risen.
Though the parties were initially excused from the mediation requirement because the Estate would not have accepted the sovereign immunity limits voluntarily, as the case progressed, both sides began discussing whether a negotiated settlement reflecting the strengths and weaknesses of both sides could be obtained. Dr. Fred Raffa, an economist and expert witness on economic damages, gave his deposition on May 16, 2017. He had voluminous materials to review in order to render his opinion regarding the total economic loss of the Tenner Estate.
His review included tax returns from Mr. Tenner’s longstanding employment with one company, as well as the Tenner’s side work in the insurance field. Ultimately, it was determined that the Estate had suffered past and future economic losses in excess of $3,500,000. This number was not contested by a defense expert, and these damages do not include the pain and suffering claims of Maria or of either of their two surviving sons.
If a jury were to have agreed with the two eyewitnesses on board the buses, that Mr. Sequeira should have seen Mr. Tenner, as they did, from a great distance prior to the accident, a verdict would have greatly exceeded the negotiated settlement achieved at the voluntary mediation on June 14, 2017.
Miami Dade County agreed to a claims bill in the amount of $1,450,000 above the $300,000 cap payable pursuant to the sovereign immunity statute, and Governor Ron DeSantis ultimately signed H.B. 6513 into law on May 23, 2019.
