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633 S. Andrews Avenue Suite 400
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

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Michael Haggard Receives Lifetime Achievment Honor

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The Haggard Law Firm’s Managing Partner Michael Haggard has been selected as a Lifetime Achievement honoree among America’s Top 100 Attorneys®.

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Selection to America’s Top 100 Attorneys® is by invitation only and is comprised of the nation’s most exceptional attorneys whose accomplishments merit a lifetime achievement recognition. Lifetime Achievement recognition among America’s Top 100 Attorneys® is meant to identify and promote the most outstanding and impactful legal talent currently serving throughout the nation. Only 100 attorneys in each state* will receive this honor and be selected for Lifetime Achievement Membership among America’s Top 100 Attorneys®. Selection is not achieved based on a single accomplishment or a single great year of success, but rather on a lifetime of hard work, ethical standards, and community enriching accomplishments that are inspiring among the legal profession. This honor is not given every year, or every 10 years; it is given but once-in-a-lifetime. To help ensure that all attorneys selected for membership meet the very high standards expected for selection, candidates for lifetime membership are carefully screened through third-party research and statistical analysis based on a broad array of criteria, including the candidate’s professional experience, lifetime achievements, significant case results, peer reputation, and community impact . While selection for any award, honor, or exclusive membership organization is always subjective in nature, we developed our comprehensive multi-phase selection process in an effort to help ensure that only the attorneys whose lifetime achievements extol the legal profession are chosen. With these extremely high standards for selection to America’s Top 100 Attorneys®, less than one-half percent (0.5%) of active attorneys in the United States will receive this honor — truly the most exclusive and elite level of attorneys in the community.

Register for Negligent Security Litigation Webinar

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On Thursday, October 20th The Haggard Law Firm’s Todd Michaels will present a webinar on litigating negligent security cases. Haggard Law  specializes in prosecuting wrongful death and catastrophic injury negligent security cases. During the webinar titled Trying A Negligent Security Case: A Plaintiff Lawyers Guide To Destroying The Premises And Staying Out Of The Weeds,  Michaels will provide a guide for other Plaintiff’s attorneys in how to successfully prosecute these important cases.  Continue reading “Register for Negligent Security Litigation Webinar”

Are Wal-Mart’s Safe? The World’s No. 1 Retailer’s Negligent Security Problems

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The Daily Business Review recently published an article authored by The Haggard Law Firm’s Christopher Marlowe regarding the rampant security issues at Wal-Mart stores across the country.

In the article, Marlowe discusses how Wal-Mart is well aware of the frequent crime that takes place on properties across the country. The Haggard Law attorney litigated a case against the world’s number 1 retailer where a woman was kidnapped from a Wal-Mart parking lot and brutally raped in her kidnapper’s vehicle over several hours and miles of driving.

The text of the article as it appears in the Daily Business Review:

Continue reading “Are Wal-Mart’s Safe? The World’s No. 1 Retailer’s Negligent Security Problems”

$1.8 Million Negligent Security Case Result Featured by DBR

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The Daily Business Review has just published an article featuring the recent $1.8 million negligent security case settlement delivered by the Haggard Law Firm.

In the article, Haggard Law attorney Douglas McCarron describes how the inaction by the property owners of a Tampa apartment complex who refused to invest in proper security measures despite pleas from property management, directly contributed to the shooting death of a 23-year-old father of three.

To read the full article click the images below or this link

 

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McCarron to Present Negligent Security Gameplan During National Conference Today

 

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Later today,  The Haggard Law Firm’s Douglas McCarron will  lead a presentation during The 2016 National Crime Victim Bar Association’s National Conference  in Philadelphia. The Conference is currently underway in conjunction with the National Center for Victims of Crime’s 2016 National Training Institute.

McCarron’s presentation,  Negligent Security Case Gameplan: “Blocking & Tackling Fundamentals Mixed with Razzle Dazzle”, his highly demonstrative , interactive and will highlight what every Victim’s lawyers must know presenting their Negligent Security case.

Continue reading “McCarron to Present Negligent Security Gameplan During National Conference Today”

NEGLIGENT SECURITY CASE RESULT: $1.8 Million to Family of Murdered Father

 

 

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Del Rio Apartment Complex Owners Ignored Multiple Requests from Staff to Increase Security

 Tampa – The companies that once owned the Avesta Del Rio Apartment Complex have agreed to pay the family of 23-year-old murder victim Damian Bowie $1.8 million to settle a negligent security lawsuit.  The lawsuit filed by Douglas McCarron of The Haggard Law Firm (www.haggardlawfirm.com) alleged that the deadly 2014 shooting that claimed Bowie’s life could have been prevented if complex ownership took action after multiple requests by staff members to better secure the property.

On March 2, 2014, Bowie visited the Del Rio apartments (5013 E. Sligh Avenue, Tampa) to spend time with friends before going to pick up his son Damian Jr. But, shortly before 4 p.m. that day, the father of three was assaulted, shot and killed on the property.

 “Through the course of our investigation, which included testimony by the defendant’s property manager, it was clear that the employees at the property were pleading for more security and consistently telling upper management how people’s lives were are risk. Instead of acting responsibly, the defendant simply turned a blind eye” said McCarron.

The lawsuit against 5013 Sligh LLC and Avesta Homes on behalf of the victim’s mother and his three children Damian Jr. (5), Damion (3) and Sincere (2 – born two months after his father was killed), alleged the property’s owners knew the area and property were considered high crime areas. McCarron adds, “unfortunately their inaction allowed this tragedy to occur and now three young boys will never see their father again.”

The lawsuit highlights:

  • Testimony from a property manager and documented crime statistics that confirm the complex and area that surrounds is a high crime area.
  • An email sent by Kerrie Richardson, property manager of the complex at the time of the shooting,  to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department requesting an off duty police officer (sent six months before the murder) because of the amount of crime
  • An email from Richardson to corporate for directions on what to do with a tenant that asked for termination of their lease after they were robbed at gunpoint and had their car broken into in just three months.
  • A request by Richardson to property owners asking for expanded security for daytime hours. Bowie was murdered at 4 p.m.

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The victim’s family members hope new attention on this case will help police. No one has been charged in the crime.

It should be noted that the defendants in this case currently do NOT own the Avesta Del Rio Complex.

 

10 Year Old Drowns In Jacksonville Hotel Pool

Authorities say a 10-year-old girl who was taken to the hospital following a near-drowning at a Jacksonville hotel has died.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office reports the Pensacola girl was swimming at the Hilton Garden Inn pool late Saturday night with three young family members. At some point she went underwater. Two of the children tried to pull her out of the pool, while the third child ran to an employee of the property for help.

When deputies arrived at the hotel, CPR was being performed on the girl. Patrol deputies took over CPR efforts until St. Johns County Fire Rescue paramedics arrived and took the girl to Beaches Baptist. She was then air lifted to Wolfson Children’s Hospital, where she later died.

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Authorities said they believe there were no adults present with the children at the time, and the pool was apparently closed to swimming before the incident.

Christopher Marlowe of The Haggard Law Firm says this most recent tragedy should remind businesses of the imperative responsibility to fully secure their pools.

Continue reading “10 Year Old Drowns In Jacksonville Hotel Pool”

Haggard Law To Deliver Negligent Security Presentations at Security Industry Conference

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This week, The Haggard Law Firm’s Todd Michaels will deliver two presentations about negligent security litigation during the 62nd Annual ASIS International Conference in Orlando.

ASIS International is a global community of security practitioners, each of whom has a role in the protection of assets – people, property, and/or information. The conference is the organization’s largest event of the year. More than 20,000 security professionals from around the globe are expected to attend.

The presentations are titled How to Avoid a Million Dollar Verdict Against Your Business and Duty and Consequence.

ASIS membeexhibit_main_toprs  represent virtually every industry in the public and private sectors, and organizations of all sizes. From entry-level managers to CSOs to CEOs, from security veterans to consultants and those transitioning from law enforcement or the military, the ASIS community is global and diverse. More than 20,000 industry professionals are expected to attend the conference.

The Haggard Law Firm has litigated more than 155 negligent security cases since 2007, delivering more than $345 million in verdicts and settlements in those cases.

Haggard Law Attorneys to Discuss Litigating Accident Cases Involving Uber During CLE Event

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The Association for Safe International Travel reports that 37,000 people die in car accidents per year in the United States while another 2.35 million are injured or disabled. An estimated 180,000 people are driving for Uber. That number continues to grow. So with this kind of volume and activity it is inevitable that the number of accidents involving this driving service will rise.

So if a personal injury attorney’s client was injured in a crash involving Uber, what should the lawyer consider when litigating that case?

 

That is the topic of discussion that will be lead by Haggard Law attorneys Jason Brenner and Todd Michaels during this month’s Florida Justice Association Masters of Justice  CLE program.

Uber Duber Do…Your Client Was in an Accident with Uber, Now What Do You Do? is one of the sessions that will be offered to attendees of the program as part of the Auto Negligence Seminar to be conducted on Wednesday, September 28th. There are a few more spots available for this seminar. To learn more about it and register click here. The FJA Masters of Justice Program will be held in Orlando from September 28th through the 30th.

Attending this year’s FJA Masters of Justice program is a great way to renew the excitement and focus on your mission as a personal injury attorney. Make plans NOW to register to attend to ensure you have the strategies and techniques in your toolbox that have proven to work for other attorneys in civil litigation cases. You’ll be sure to take away valuable information and innovative ideas that can immediately aid you in your efforts to assist your clients in their cases.

 

McCarron to Discuss The Negligent Security Gameplan at Upcoming National Conference

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The Haggard Law Firm’s Douglas McCarron will be a feature presenter during The 2016 National Crime Victim Bar Association’s National Conference. The Conference will be held in Philadelphia on September 19-21 in conjunction with the National Center for Victims of Crime’s 2016 National Training Institute. The Institute brings up to 1,001 civil attorneys, victim advocates, criminal justice professionals and law enforcement officers to share their knowledge and experience across disciplines.

The training institute emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach to sharing promising practices, current research, and effective programs and policies that are victim-centered, practice-based, and research-informed. The Institute’s forum allows for law enforcement, victim service professionals, allied practitioners, policymakers, and researchers to share current developments and build new collaborations.

McCarron’s presentation: Negligent Security Case Gameplan: “Blocking & Tackling Fundamentals Mixed with Razzle Dazzle.”

This highly demonstrative and interactive presentation will highlight what every Victim’s lawyers must know presenting their Negligent Security case. In addition, with using the results of over 30 Negligent Security case verdicts and one hundred Mock trials, the presentation will cover “ Cutting Edge Strategies” that the Defense never see coming.

Since 2007, The Haggard Law Firm has litigated more than 150 negligent security/premises liability cases which have resulted in more than $350,000,000 in verdicts and settlements to our clients in those cases.