The Haggard Law Firm’s Pedro Echarte and Co-Counsel Michael Flanagan of Flanagan & Bodenheimer have obtained a $4.2 Million settlement in a negligent security wrongful death case in Broward County, Florida.
Dwight Higgins
On December 8, 2018, Dwight Higgins was shot and killed at the Lauderhill Point Apartments (f/k/a Driftwood). That evening Mr. Higgins went to the apartment complex with a friend to visit his friend’s girlfriend. Sometime after they arrived, his friend left the complex and Mr. Higgins was outside in the common areas. Four armed assailants approached him in a robbery attempt. Mr. Higgins tried to run away from the assailants. The attackers began shooting at him while chasing Higgins throughout the complex. The 27-year old was shot and was later pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.
29-Year-Old Kemoze Chambers was killed at an Orlando-area apartment complex
The Haggard Law Firm’s Adam Finkel and Michael Haggard have obtained a $ 2 Million policy limit settlement in a negligent security wrongful death case in central Florida.
Late in the evening of August 23, 2019, 29-year-old Kemoze Chambers was inside his apartment, in Orlando, Florida when an unknown person(s) broke inside and murdered him.
The Defendant in this case Asset Overwatch Services, was contracted to provide private security services to the apartment complex where Kemoze lived. Boasting as a premier private security firm in Florida, Asset Overwatch provided vehicle patrols during its nightly security duties and provided the property owners and managers with nightly shift reports detailing their observations and actions taken.
The Haggard Law Firm’s Todd Michaels has obtained a $1.6 million settlement in a confidential wrongful death negligent security case.
The decedent was a talented and good-natured 19-year-old who enjoyed an exceptionally close relationship with his mother. Michaels says this case was a peculiar, difficult, and incredibly tragic case. “What made this case uniquely challenging is that the victim was shot accidentally by a childhood friend.”
“On September 14th, 2020 on behalf of our clients, The Estate of Frank Ordonez and Carlos Lara, The Haggard Law Firm filed a lawsuit in Broward County Circuit Court, stemming from the incident on December 15th , 2019, when Mr. Ordonez, a UPS driver, was shot and killed amid the crossfire between the Defendants, six local police departments, and two assailants who took Ordonez hostage following a robbery in Coral Gables. The Defendants’ reckless shooting also lead to serious injuries suffered by Mr. Lara, and killed another innocent civilian, Richard Cutshaw.
We hope the Defendant-Police Departments will release copies of their Body Worn Camera Footage and patrol car radio transmissions. The Ordonez and Lara families – and the public – have the right to know what happened, and how law enforcement reacted on this tragic day.
It is in the best interest of this very emotional case for the Ordonez and Lara families that no further comment beyond this statement is given at this time. As more evidence is released, the families and our attorneys will grant interviews.
What happened that day should never have occurred. “
Adam Finkel and Michael Haggard, The Haggard Law Firm
The Haggard Law Firm welcomes the newest member of its team of trial lawyers, Adam Finkel. Finkel has extensive experience working with victims of crime as a former state prosecutor.
Prior to joining The Haggard Law Firm, Adam was an associate attorney at Mase, Tinelli, Mebane & Briggs practicing in the areas of admiralty and maritime, personal injury, and general civil litigation matters.
On October 6th, 2018, I celebrated my 2nd Kidneyversary! I could only do that due to God’s grace and my brother-in-law, Major Allen Buckhalt (US Army Blackhawk Pilot and Iraq/Afghanistan war Veteran), who was a match to donate his kidney and save my life. As all of you know (because you have been there for me and my family this whole time), I have polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a genetic, life-threatening and incurable disease. There are only two treatments, dialysis or a kidney transplant. Most PKD patients have to go on dialysis and suffer debilitating effects. The PKD Foundation is changing all that as we march towards treatment and a cure!
It is not lost on me that I am now 100% back to normal and Allen is proudly serving once again. Living kidney donation is phenomenal and we need to encourage everyone to give life. Thanks in part to your help, the FDA recently approved JYNARQUE™, the first treatment in the United States for adult patients with the most common form of PKD (ADPKD). It has been show to preserve kidney function and slow the development of cysts. There are also clinical trials ongoing to develop not only a treatment, but a cure!
The curse of this disease is also a blessing. PKD is genetic. Both Maddie and Carson each have a 50% chance of inheriting this disease, and as you can imagine that “haunts” me each night. But even if you told me tomorrow that Maddie and Carson were in the clear, we would never stop fighting this fight. All you have to do is see the devastating effects of PKD on families. I have lost my maternal grandmother, uncle and mother to this disease and I intend on beating it out of existence! Because it is genetic and we are able to isolate the gene, we have made advances that have never been accomplished in other disease research.
This year we are hosting our 9th Annual PKD Kidney Casino for a Cure! Last year we raised nearly $120,000 for the PKD Foundation, and this year, with your help, we hope to surpass that goal!
Bekki and I chair the PKD Founders Council, where we are accelerating efforts to have every dollar raised go immediately towards PKD research. With your incredible help, over the past decade we have raised close to $600,000, funding multiple PKD research projects! We will find a cure for PKD in my lifetime. I have been given a second chance at life and I will not waste it. I know you will help us with our goal. Many of you have donated in the past and we desperately need your help again! Please do what you did last year or, if you can, do even more!
I cannot thank each of you enough for your past support and hope that you will continue to support our efforts this year. We want all of you to come to the event on Saturday, May 4th, but if you cannot, please look at the sponsorship levels and consider being there in spirit with us! No donation is too small. Checks should be made payable to the PKD Foundation and can be mailed directly to The Haggard Law Firm, 330 Alhambra Circle, Coral Gables, FL 33134. ATTN: Stacy Laffere. The link below also allows you to RSVP, purchase a sponsorship, purchase individual tickets or donate directly to the PKD Foundation. The Kidney Casino Night is live on the PKD Foundation’s website so you can RSVP and register online using a credit card! Visit www.pkdcure.org/miami-kidney-casino
Thank you so much for your consideration of a donation to this worthy cause!
Family of Local Librarian Murdered in ATM Robbery to Announce Negligent Security Lawsuit Against Credit Union
Reward For Information Leading to Killer(s) Increases to $23,000
Miami Gardens, Fla – The family of Jaime Humet, who was killed on December 10th, 2018 while leaving the ATM of the Dade County Federal Credit Union located at 20645 NW 2nd Avenue in Miami Gardens, says the business did not have sufficient security measures in place to prevent the tragedy that claimed the life of their beloved Jaime.
Humet’s mother Pilar and brother Nick will be joined by their attorneys Pedro Echarte of The Haggard Law Firm and Angel Diaz of Kirschner, Groff & Diaz for a press conference on Wednesday March 27th at 11am just off the property of the Credit Union (attached picture of location). The family and their attorneys will discuss what security measures should have been taken long before the murder of the 47-year-old Miami-Dade County librarian whose mother describes as an “angel.” It was “a foreseeable crime considering the nature of the business and its location in a notoriously high crime area” says Echarte.
The family will also plead for the public’s help to assist the Miami Gardens Police Department catch those responsible for taking their loved one’s life. Miami-Dade, Florida Keys Crime Stoppers has increased the reward for information leading to the capture of the killer(s) to $23,000 (flyer attached to email).Attached to email:
How Safe Is the Apartment You Want to Rent? Key Questions to Ask a Landlord Before Signing a Lease
A sense of security and safety for you and your family is key to making a house feel like a home.
Unfortunately, many landlords don’t provide, and in some cases aren’t legally required to share, crime and safety information to a potential tenant.
“Along with costs and amenities, tenants should be prepared to ask a variety of questions about safety measures before signing a lease and moving into a new apartment or home” says Michael Haggard. Haggard is the Managing Partner of The Haggard Law Firm (www.haggardlawfirm.com) which has made a mark successfully representing tenants who are injured or killed by someone committing a crime that could have been prevented if the landlord of the property where the crime occurs had taken proper security measures.
In this article, The Haggard Law Firm’s Jason Brenner discusses a variety of topics including why trial attorneys should always employ a philosophy that every case should be prepared to go to trial. He says it is a mindset that many trial attorneys don’t employ.
Brenner is part of the team that recently obtained a $12 million verdict in a wrongful death, negligent security case following a 5 day trial (click to learn more about the case). Click here to learn more about the case
The Truth I Never Knew about Direct and Cross-Examinations
Entering the legal field with the desire to become a trial attorney is a daunting endeavor. There is only one place where a young lawyer can establish himself or herself as a trial attorney—in the courtroom. Trial practice has almost become a misnomer in today’s world. The firm where I have been privileged to practice is made up of an endangered species of the trial attorney. I revel in the “war stories” about them trying a case on Monday and preparing for the next one on Friday. Nowadays, the majority of time spent in court is in motion practice.
The current status of trial practice creates an interesting conflict for young, aspiring attorneys in their attempt to develop trial skills. In the almost six years I have been practicing, I have been trial support on two civil jury trials and second chair on an additional two. The first trial in which I participated as second chair was a stroke of fortune and an eye-opening experience. Once I was in the courtroom in this role, I understood the purpose and importance of direct and cross-examination, but, most important, I understood the difference between direct and cross-examination in discovery and at trial. The primary focus of this article is to illustrate the principles of direct and cross-examination that have been taught to me.
The Haggard Law Firm recognizes National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month throughout January. The Department of Defense defines Human Trafficking as” a crime in which force, fraud or coercion is used to compel a person to perform labor, services or commercial sex. It affects all populations: adults, children, men, women, foreign nationals and U.S. citizens, and all economic classes.”
Studies show that a large percentage of locations where sex trafficking takes place are commercial businesses like hotels, truck stops and massage parlors.. One survey found hotels and motels are the single-most common venue for sex trafficking in Florida during the first half of 2017. Experts say it is because the traffickers want to remain transient to avoid suspicion and arrest.”
