Coral Gables, FL 33134
633 S. Andrews Avenue Suite 400
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
(954) 323-4400
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The Haggard Law Firm’s Todd Michaels has obtained a confidential $1.8 Million settlement in a negligent security wrongful death case.
The Haggard Law Firm’s client, John Doe Jr, was shot and killed while standing in line to enter a pop-up nightclub located within a banquet hall. He was survived by a six-year-old son.
Continue reading “Despite Little Prior Crime, $1.8 Million Settlement Reached in Negligent Security Case.”The Haggard Law Firm’s Pedro Echarte and co-counsel Michael Carmona of Friedland Carmona obtained a $1 Million policy limit settlement in a Miami-Dade County Bar/Liquor Liability Case or “dram shop” case (Florida Statutes § 768.125).
On August 10, 2020, Charilyn Martica Rodriguez went to work at Sandbar Sports Grill in Culter Bay, Florida. Like many prior occasions in the past, she consumed alcohol both during her shift and after her shift. Rodriguez became heavily intoxicated and was unable to make decisions for herself.
Tragically, she attempted to drive home and was killed when she crashed her car only miles from her house.
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Continue reading “$1 Million Policy Limit Settlement in Bar/Liquor Liability Case”The Haggard Law Firm’s Adam Finkel and Michael Haggard obtained a $2.85 Million settlement in a wrongful death negligent security case involving a young father killed and dismembered in front of his son.
Coral Gables/Ft. Lauderdale – The Haggard Law Firm has hired trial lawyer Kimberly L. Wald who will work from the renowned law firm’s first-ever office in Broward County.
Wald comes to The Haggard Law Firm from Kelley Uustal where she focused on catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, products liability, tobacco, and medical malpractice litigation. To date, Wald has obtained verdicts and settlements totaling more than $104 Million. Those cases included a $35 Million dollar jury verdict in 2021 for a paralyzed Navy veteran who suffered catastrophic injuries in a car crash case. Two other results of significance include a $28,795,000 verdict against the second-largest cigarette manufacturer in the country and a $4 Million medical malpractice arbitration award.
“We have spent a significant amount of time searching for our next experienced, talented, and passionate trial lawyer,” says Michael Haggard, The Haggard Law Firm’s Managing Partner. He adds, “Kim is a grand slam hire. She has the skill, creativity, and commitment we demand as a trial-focused firm that advocates for our clients. She also champions causes that can help make a positive difference in the communities we touch.” I am ecstatic to join the prestigious Haggard Law Firm,” says Wald. “I have co-counseled cases with the Haggard Law Firm for the past four years and have always admired their dedication and commitment to protecting our community. I am thrilled to be able to work alongside the best and brightest attorneys and look forward to continuing to fight for justice on behalf of injured victims.”
Kimberly is the incoming President of the Young Lawyer’s Section of the Broward County Bar Association (BCBA). She also serves on the Broward County Trial Lawyer’s Association Board of Directors as the Newsletter Editor and is the Chair of the Annual Young Lawyers Judicial Reception. She also serves on the Young Lawyers Division Board of the Florida Justice Association and is an active member of Trial School and the Broward County Women Lawyer’s Section. In 2021, Kimberly was honored to be selected by the Broward County Trial Lawyers Association to receive the inaugural “Rising Star Award.” She also was named a “Rising Star” by the Super Lawyers organization in both 2020 and 2021 and additionally was named one of the best lawyers in America “Ones to Watch” in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Wald was named one of the Daily Business Review’s “Most Effective Lawyers” in 2016.
Wald, and her new support team, will be the first members of The Haggard Law Firm to staff the 50-year-old law firm’s maiden office in Ft. Lauderdale. About the office expansion, Haggard says “Our Firm has been handling cases across the country for decades, but we felt this initial expansion into Broward County will further enhance our opportunity to consistently serve in that community.
Kim’s well-established reputation and the positions she holds in Broward make this decision to expand our offices a simple one.”Haggard adds that as the number of the Firm’s catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases continues to increase, he expects to open more offices across Florida.
The Haggard Law Firm’s Todd Michaels has obtained a $2.75 Million settlement in an auto negligence wrongful death case. Per terms of the settlement, the names of the plaintiff and defendant must remain confidential.
Case Background
Plaintiff brought this wrongful death commercial automobile accident case on behalf of her nineteen-year-old son against ABC Corporation and their driver. ABC Corporation was involved in a road construction project in northern Miami-Dade County. On the evening in question, they had sent one of their drivers, John Roe, out driving a flatbed tractor-trailer. Roe was a convicted criminal with a history of careless driving citations. As he was the cousin of the owner of ABC Corporation, he was immediately hired and put to work driving tractor-trailers without the usual training and background check that ABC Corporation performed on most of its drivers.
Continue reading “$2.75 Million Wrongful Death Case Involving Crash Into Tractor Trailer”The Haggard Law Firm’s Douglas McCarron has obtained a $2.8 Million settlement in a negligent security catastrophic injury case against a billiards hall and shopping center.
As part of the terms of the settlement, the names of the parties involved must remain publicly confidential.
The victim, John Doe, was a customer at a billiards hall at the defendant’s shopping center. On the night of the incident, John Doe observed a man getting physical with his waitress. Mr. Doe followed the man and waitress outside and asked the man to calm down. The man struck Mr. Doe in the head and a fight ensued. Bouncers from the hall broke up the altercation within seconds and instructed the other man the leave. Mr. Doe went back inside.
Approximately 15 minutes later, Mr. Doe walked outside to wait for a taxi. Unbeknownst to Mr. Doe, the other man remained in the parking lot and was waiting. The other man pulled his truck out of its parking space and started to drive in the victim’s direction. As the truck got closer to Mr. Doe, the man accelerated and drove straight into Mr. Doe. As a result of the impact, Mr. Doe was airlifted to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a de-gloving injury and an open proximal tibia shaft fracture. A few days later, the decision was made to perform an above-knee amputation of Mr. Doe’s leg.
Mr. Doe brought a negligent security case against the billiards hall and the shopping center owner for failing to provide security for its parking lot. For years, the billiards hall had many issues with violence that often spilled out into the parking lot. Despite multiple events, there was no manned security in the parking lot. Instead, there were only bouncers focused on the inside of the business.
The case settled for the billiard hall’s $300,000 policy limit and $2.5 million from the shopping center owner.
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.
Continue reading “$2 Million Settlement in Negligent Security Case Against Security Company”A statement on the guilty plea by the Parkland Mass Shooter
Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting brings some peace to the families, friends, and our community impacted by the tragedy on Valentine’s Day 2018. This killer, and any person or entity that contributed to this tragedy by inaction or negligence, should suffer the maximum consequences allowable by the law.
The Haggard Law Firm will continue to support our clients the Olivers, Beigel Schulmans, and Lippel families as they press forward with their lives and passionate advocacy efforts. The epidemic of gun violence and mass shootings must be stopped.
While today’s hearing focused on the shooter, the names that truly matter are those of the 17 killed and 17 injured on what was supposed to be a normal school day.”
This article about premises liability cases was authored by trial lawyer and Haggard Law partner Douglas McCarron who will be one of the presenters at the CLE Seminar
by Douglas Mccarron
In my experience, the most common condition in any premises liability case is the lack of guardianship of the property. In most instances, the property owner and/or manager fails to put in place policies and procedures that ensure that the premises is kept in a reasonably safe condition. For example, in many negligent security cases it becomes obvious that the owner and management fail to do anything that assesses violent crime occurring at the property. Without knowing what type of crime is happening, it is nearly impossible to know what type of security measures are needed. How can the owner make decisions about access control, manned security, and surveillance cameras, if they have failed to gather the crime statistics for the property and the surrounding area? The answer is simple, they do not know and consequently violent crime continues to victimize the property’s guests and invitees. In slip and fall cases, many properties fail to ensure that their employees follow the internal policies and procedures to maintain the property in a safe manner. This leads to dangerous conditions being left on the property for an unacceptable amount of time.
If property owners simply prepare policies and procedures for their employees to follow and have appropriate supervision to ensure that the policies and procedures are being followed, then the most dangerous conditions would cease to exist. Obviously, financial considerations come into play for the property owners. In developing a premises liability case, it is important to discover exactly what property owners are failing to do and why they are failing to do it. Jurors do not appreciate property owners turning a blind eye and pleading ignorance. Jurors also do not accept that the owners do not want to put the necessary resources (money) into the property to make it safe.
Continue reading “Common Conditions that Give Rise to a Premises Liability Case”
The Haggard Law Firm, P.A. represents the rights of people seriously injured or killed through the fault of others. We are passionately committed to our clients and stress the highest level of personal service, professionalism and case preparation.
