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Tag: negligent

PRESS CONFERENCE: Lawsuit Against Credit Union in ATM Murder Case

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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:

Press Conference Contact: J.P. Hervis 305.321.4293 (CELL) JP@brandstorycommunications.com

Safety Questions To Ask Your Landlord

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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.

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Common Conditions that Give Rise to a Premises Liability Case

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On August 16th, 2018 The Haggard Law Firm will present Winning Case Strategies in Premises Liability, a FREE CLE Credit Seminar. The event will take place from 1 to 5pm at the Doubletree Jacksonville Riverfront. To RSVP for the seminar, email or call Stacy at slaffere@haggardlawfirm.com   305.446.5700 

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

Common Conditions that Give Rise to a Premises Liability Case

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.

 

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The Role Crime Statistics Play In a Negligent Security Case

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by Jason Brenner, Associate at The Haggard Law Firm

Although each negligent security case may bring about different facts or require ingenuity with your strategy, there are certain elements of your case that remain constant.  One of those elements is crime statistics.  The importance of crime statistics in your case cannot be stated enough.  Not only do these statistics help establish notice and foreseeability to the defendants, they are also a treasure trove of information.

With respect to notice and foreseeability, your crime statistics establish what the defendants “knew or should have known” prior to and at the time of subject incident.  So what should you request?  You begin by requesting the calls for service and all police reports for the subject property.  This needs to be done in one request.  From there, depending on your jurisdiction, you will order up to a mile radius for the calls for service.  Once you receive each respective request, you must synthesize the data.  For example, you will detail the violent and non-violent crimes and their frequency on the property.  This provides a picture of what type of crime was going on at the property.  It provides you with the ability to illustrate to the jury the level of crime occurring and can be used effectively to show that it is an improbability for a defendant to be unaware of the police being called to the property.

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McCarron Article on Road Construction Cases

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The Daily Business Review recently included an article authored by The Haggard Law Firm’s Douglas McCarron in its Board of Contributors series.  The article: Traffic Safety: Navigating The Road Construction Cases, discusses some of the biggest challenges in litigation a road construction case and best practices to reach a successful result.

To read full article:

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Evidence Preservation in Fire Cases

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Article By Pedro Echarte, The Haggard Law Firm

When handling personal injury/wrongful death cases resulting from fires, the importance of quickly notifying the property owner of the potential claim and gaining immediate access to the property to the perform a site inspection is imperative.  While in other types of cases (e.g., drowning, automobile, aviation, medical malpractice, negligent security) the evidence required to prove your case is generally preserved, that is generally not the case when it comes to litigation stemming from fires because landowners (whether residential or commercial) generally want to promptly repair their premises after a fire in order to avoid a significant loss of income.  Once the property is altered or repaired, it will be difficult to determine not only the cause of fire, but also what fire safety measures that property had at the time of the fire and whether they operated as intended.

In fire cases that we have handled, we have accomplished early notification to the potential defendant and coordination of a site inspection in one of two ways. Generally, we first attempt to reach the property owner directly, informing them of the potential claim and requesting access to the property.  If we are unable to contact the property owner or if the property owner refuses to give us access to the property, we file the lawsuit along with an emergency motion seeking to enjoin the property owner from repairing the property and requesting access to the property for a site inspection.

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Protecting Employees in High Crime Areas, Employers’ Requirements

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Workplace violence tends to grab headlines because the thought of a coworker murdering or maiming colleagues imparts a sense of dread that we do not like to visualize in those around us every working day of the week.  More frequent, however, are those crimes of opportunity facing employees in high-risk environments, such as convenience and liquor stores, fast food restaurants and check cashing businesses.  The nature of their work requires large amounts of cash on hand, and such businesses are frequently located on major highways to increase foot traffic and customer counts.  Those same factors that make the shopping experience easier for the customer help make committing these crimes easier for the would-be robber.  The ability to enter the property in a car, and disappear rapidly into a sea of commuter traffic make apprehension much more difficult for law enforcement.  Signage in the windows offering discounts and sales often blocks the view of passersby into the windows, making the observation of an ongoing crime more difficult.  In the convenience store setting, Florida law acknowledges these realities through F.S. 812.173, the “Convenience Business Security Act.”

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Four Lawsuits Against Jacksonville Apartments Draws Media Coverage

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The Haggard Law Firm is currently litigating four cases against the Eureka Gardens Apartments in Jacksonville. The negligent security cases involve two victims of a 2016 mass shooting, the 2014 murder of a 15-year-old and a 2014 murder of a 22-year-old father.

Yesterday, The Haggard Law Firm’s Douglas McCarron and Jason Brenner were joined for a press conference in Jacksonville by the mass shooting victims and the families of the young men killed.  The focus of the message was to plead for change at Eureka Gardens to help stop the continued violence while reminding all property owners they have a responsibility to invest in the proper security of the residents and guests that visit a property, no matter where it is.

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‘Most Effective’ Personal Injury Lawyers

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Haggard Law Firm attorney Todd Michaels was named a Most Effective Lawyer of South Florida, in the Personal Injury category, by the Daily Business Review.

 

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Haggard Law Firm Attorney Todd Michaels

Today, the periodical published its article detailing the case cited in the announcement of the honor Michaels, a $3.1 million settlement to the family of 21-year-old Charles Lucas, who was shot to death outside a Miami nightclub in 2011 while he tried to diffuse an altercation.

 

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2 Haggard Law Attorneys Recognized among ‘Most Effective Lawyers’

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The Daily Business Review has just released its list of 2016 Most Effective Lawyers.

We are proud to report that Haggard Law Firm attorneys Todd Michaels and Pedro Echarte were the only two lawyers in Miami-Dade County recognized in the Personal Injury category. Michaels was  named the Most Effective Lawyer, while Echarte was the only other finalist listed.

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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.

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