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$24.5 Million Verdict in Medical Malpractice/Wrongful Death Case

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla – Following a four-day trial, that included only two hours of deliberation, a Broward County jury has awarded $24.5 million to the family of 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.

Litigation and trial team including Haggard Law’s Todd Michaels on the left standing with Rodolfo Torres to his right.

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.


Lilia Torres

 She left behind her husband Rodolfo and four minor children, three girls and one boy. Lilia was the caretaker of her entire family.

Attorney Daniel Harwin, an attorney from Freedland, Harwin, Valori, represented the Torres family and tried the case alongside co-counsel Todd Michaels of The Haggard Law Firm.

The defendants in the case included:  Adolfo Gonzalez-Garcia, M.D., Jerry Gilles, M.D., Jorge Gallo, M.D., Julio Coello, M.D., Kei Nakanishi, M.D., Phoenix Obstetrics Gynecology, Llc, Emcare, Inc., Premiere Perinatal Associates, P.A. and Envision Healthcare Corporation.

State Supreme Court Strikes Down Malpractice Caps

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a law limiting pain-and-suffering damages in medical malpractice cases is unconstitutional, rejecting a controversial change that the Legislature and then-Gov. Jeb Bush approved in 2003.

Justices were divided, with the four-member majority finding that the caps on “non-economic” damages violated equal-protection rights.

The Haggard Law Firm’s Todd Michaels reacted to the decision by saying  “the Supreme Court decision was an important victory for justice and for Florida’s citizens. For too long, doctors and medical professionals received special protections which allowed them to avoid responsibility for their errors.”

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