Injuries to Minors

$4.5M Palm Beach Birthing Malpractice Case Awarded to Family of Bryan Santana

September 13, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A jury has decided to award the parents of 2-year-old Bryan Santana $4.5 million in Palm Beach medical malpractice damages in their civil case against Perinatal Specialists of the Palm Beaches, OB/GYN Specialists of the Palm Beaches, and Dr. Marie Morel. Santana, now 2, has one leg and no arms. He was born in October 2008.

Ana Mejia and Rodolfo Santana sued the defendants for Palm Beach birthing malpractice claiming that Mejia would have never carried the pregnancy to term if they were aware of their son’s severe birth defects. Yet even though Mejia underwent more than one ultrasound, her OB/GYN and technicians at both centers failed to notice that their son was missing three limbs. The two of them said they didn’t know until after they saw their son that he would be so severely impaired. The defendants’ attorneys, meantime, countered that Bryan’s parents should have agreed to an amniocentesis, which might have detected their son’s abnormalities. The couple, however, said they decided not to have that procedure because they feared that doing so might cause Mejia to miscarry.

Mejia and Santana had originally sought $9 million. They made it clear, however, that the compensation they were seeking isn’t for their own mental trauma and emotional anguish but for their son’s wheelchairs, surgeries, attendants, prosthesis, and other needs he will require for the rest of his life. The jury awarded them half that amount when they decided that the ultrasound technician was 15% liable, while 85% of the liability was assigned to Dr. Morel, for errors made that resulted in the incorrect reading of the ultrasound results. The defendants plan to appeal the verdict.

There are medical procedures and tests available that a mother can undergo during pregnancy to make sure that the fetus is a viable and healthy one. These tests are also important for determining whether there are any birth defects that might so serious that terminating the pregnancy is best option.

Jury awards West Palm Beach parents of child born with no arms, one leg $4.5 million, Palm Beach Post, September 10, 2011
Couple sues doctor for baby’s disabilities, UPI, September 8, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Birth Defects, MedLinePlus
Birth Defects, American Pregnancy Association

More Blog Posts:
Florida Medical Malpractice Cap Upheld by US Appeals Court, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, May 29, 2011 Palm Beach County Doctors Cite Fear of Medical Malpractice as a Reason for the Increase in C-Section Deliveries, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, September 15, 2008
Report Links Topamax to Birth Defects, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, July 22, 2008 Continue reading

Florida Boating Accident Seriously Injuries Father and His 11-Year-Old Son

August 26, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Jared Adkins, 39, and his son Calvin Adkins, 11, were hospitalized earlier this month after they were seriously injured in a Florida boating accident off the Upper Keys. While Jared has been released, as of August 13, Calvin was still in critical condition at a Miami hospital.

The father and son were starting a drift dive on the morning of August 9 when the accident happened. The two of them had jumped into the water from the stern dive platform while the vessel was in reverse gear, and this when they were hit by the boat’s propeller.

The dive boat is the Big Dipper from the Florida Keys Dive Center, which is is located on Plantation Key.

Miramar High School Football Player Dies After Collapsing During Practice

July 27, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

The Broward Medical Examiner’s Office has scheduled an autopsy for tomorrow in the death of Miramar High School senior offensive linesman Isaiah Laurencin. The 16-year-old, who collapsed during conditioning drill on the football field yesterday afternoon, was pronounced dead at a Hollywood, Florida hospital this morning. Tuesday’s workout took place under the supervision of Miramar coaches, per Florida High School Athletic Association requirements.

According to Broward schools district spokesperson Nadine Drew, Laurencin, who weighs 286 pounds and was 6-foot-3, had indicated from the beginning of practice that he wasn’t feeling well and he didn’t participate in much of the workout. If the coaches or the school could/should have done anything that could have prevented Laurencin’s death, they could be held liable for Miramar, Florida wrongful death. Unfortunately, over the last two decades, there have been numerous athlete deaths in Florida.

In Central Florida three years ago, UCF football player Ereck Plancher, who was suffering from Sickle sell trait, died following an off-season practice session. After finding that the university’s Athletic Association did not do enough to help him (he exhibited symptoms of exhaustion and dizziness during practice and knew he had sick cell trait), the jury awarded his parents $10 million for his Florida wrongful death.

Mother Files Miami-Dade County Lawsuit Against Opa-Locka Police After Her Mentally Disabled Son’s Alleged Rape

May 31, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A 31-year-old woman is suing the Opa-Locka Police Department. She claims that the police refused to enforce the restraining order against her ex-boyfriend Victor Howard. She contends that although she wanted Howard out of her house, she was the one that police threatened to arrest if she didn’t go. She claims that they made her leave her mentally disabled son behind, which allowed Howard to allegedly rape and beat him. She says that because to city cops violated her son’s civil rights and left him with her boyfriend.

Howard, 49, has been arrested for the alleged sexual battery of a minor. He has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charge.

The boy, 12, has the intellectual abilities of a small child. He sustained a traumatic brain injury during a car wreck and has been diagnosed with mental retardation that makes comprehension difficult for him. Although Howard is the biological father of two of the plaintiff’s four children, the boy is not his son. The woman says that because the restraining order only gave her sole custody of the two kids that Howard fathered, the cops let the boy stay with him.

Palm Beach Wrongful Death Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Yamaha Over Fatal WaveRunner Accident That Killed One Teen, Leaving Another With Brain Damage and Physical Injuries

May 20, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Six years after the Florida water scooter accident that killed 14-year-old Yasell Perez and left then-15-year-old Samantha Archer with serious injuries, their families are in court seeking damages from Yamaha for Palm Beach County wrongful death, products liability, and personal injury. The jury trial opened last week and the plaintiffs are seeking millions.

The tragic Palm Beach County injury accident occurred on Easter Sunday on March 2005 after the teens got on a WaveRunner on the Intracoastal Waterway. Five minutes after taking off, the WaveRunner struck a boat, killing Perez and causing Archer, now 21, to sustain serious injuries, including a traumatic brain damage, a broken pelvis, and gashes to her legs, stomach and groin. She was hospitalized for two months and had to return several times to undergo surgery. Doctors have testified that Archer has lost the mental and emotional abilities that would allow her to sustain a marriage, hold a job, have a kid, or live independently.

A lawyer for Yamaha has said that the teenagers shouldn’t have told the WaveRunner’s owner that they knew how to operated the personal watercraft. He also notes that Archer at the time of the accident was under 16, which is the legal age for operating a water scooter in Florida. Meantime, the plaintiffs are claiming that a steering problem with the WaveRunner prevented the girls from being able to avoid striking the boat. Their lawyer contends that the PWC accident that killed the girls could have been avoided if only Yamaha had listened to concerns it had been receiving for years about problems with the WaveRunner’s steering system. Archer is seeking almost $7 million, while Perez’s family is also seeking millions.

Man Files Miami-Dade Child Sex Abuse Lawsuit Naming Catholic Nun as His Abuser

April 15, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A South Florida man is suing the Archdiocese of Miami, Archbishop Thomas Wenski, the Dominican Sisters of Adrian, Michigan, and St. James Catholic School for Miami-Dade County personal injury because he says he was sexually abused by a nun. John Doe No. 73, who is from Broward County, claims he was molested Sister Joan Marie, who taught him when he was a first grader at St. James Catholic School in North Miami.

In his Miami sexual abuse complaint, the plaintiff contends that she would call him to the front of lines and rub his body, including his genitals. He says that she sexually abused him twice a week from 1978 to 1979. John Doe, 38, says he decided to file a lawsuit now because his son is going into the fifth grade.

John Doe’s attorney says that the Miami Archdiocese and the Dominican Sisters should have known or knew that the nun was a sexual predator. The plaintiff says that he suffered mental, physical, and emotional injuries that were “severe and permanent” and he experienced humiliation and shame. As a result of his Miami personal injuries, he contends that he has not been able to live a “normal life.”

14-Year-Old Injured in Hollywood, Florida Elevator Fall Accident at Millennium Mall

April 11, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

14-year-old Katie Ewing was injured lat week when she fell nearly three stories down a freight-elevator shaft at the Millennium Mall on Hollywood Boulevard. The Broward County elevator fall accident happened last Monday while Ewing and several friends were playing tag at the mall, which has been closed for a number of years.

Following the Hollywood, Florida injury accident, Ewing was admitted to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital as a trauma alert patient. In the SunSentinel, Hollywood Fire Rescue Division Chief Mark Steele is quoted as saying that Ewing fell 30 feet during the accident, but that she is out of the ICU and appears to be recovering nicely.

According to police, the teenagers scaled a wall to enter the mall through an open door. The mall owner has complied with city codes so that trespassers stay out.

Elevator Falls
The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that around 10,000 people are involved in elevator accidents each year. Common causes of elevator accidents:

• Falls through exposed elevator shafts
• Elevator malfunction
• Improper leveling, which prevents an elevator from lining up with the floor
• Electrocution from faulty wiring
• Getting stuck between the side wall and the elevator
• Asphyxiation from being trapped in an elevator for too long

Premise owners or service companies responsible for maintaining an elevator are among the parties that could be held liable for injuries from a South Florida elevator accident.

Teen survives fall down elevator shaft at shuttered mall in Hollywood, SunSentinel, April 5, 2011
Teen girl injured at shuttered mall, Miami Herald, April 5, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Elevator Accidents, Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
Proving Fault in Accidents on Dangerous or Defective Property, Nolo

More Blog Posts:
Inadequate Security Alleged in Broward County Injury Lawsuit of Teen Left with Brain Damage After Beating at Deerfield School, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, January 27, 2011
$500K West Palm Beach Slip and Fall Verdict Awarded in Lawsuit Against Lake Worth Lawsuit Against CVS, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, January 24, 2011
Miami-Dade County Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Accident in Hialeah Hotel Room Kills 5 Teenagers, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, December 28, 2010 Continue reading

$1.575M Broward County Injury Settlement Reached with Sheriff’s Office Over Abused Child’s Brain Damage

February 4, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Attorneys for 5-year-old Jace Manning and the insurer for the Broward Sheriff’s Office have settled the boy’s Coral Springs, Florida brain injury lawsuit for $1.575 million. The settlement brought the civil trial proceedings to a halt.

The plaintiff’s side contended that county child welfare officials failed to protect Jace, who sustained brain damage after they let him keep living with his mom and boyfriend even though there were signs that the couple might be abusive. His grandmother had even warned authorities that Jace, then 5-months, was in danger.

As a result of his head trauma, Jace remains developmentally disabled, walks with a limp, and requires intense speech therapy. He now lives with his grandmother.

Inadequate Security Alleged in Broward County Injury Lawsuit of Teen Left with Brain Damage After Beating at Deerfield School

January 27, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

The mother of Josie Lou Ratley, 16, wants the Broward School District to pay her daughter Florida personal injury compensation for the brain damage and permanent injuries she sustained during a severe beating at Deerfield Beach Middle School last year. Ratley was attacked at a campus bus stop last March by 16-year-old Wayne Treacy. He is charged with the adult crime of first-degree attempted murder. Also charged in the attack on Ratley is 14-year-old Kayla Manson with attempted murder, who allegedly pointed Ratley to Treacy when he arrived at the middle school.

Per the Broward County personal injury complaint, the plaintiff is accusing the school district of providing inadequate security and not properly supervising the bus pickup area. The lawsuit also claims that Treacy, a high school student, was allowed to “openly walk” onto the middle school grounds even though he wasn’t supposed to be there.

Treacy attacked Ratley several hours after exchanging text messages with her. He reportedly thought she was making fun of his brother’s death by suicide. He is accused of pushing Ratley’s head into the concrete and using his steel-toed boots to kick her “in the head, soccer style,” per the words used by Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti last year when describing to ABC News what happened. The assault finally stopped when a teacher pulled Treacy off Ratley.

Motorcyclist Dies in Hiahleah Gardens Car Accident

January 14, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A motorcyclist is dead and two others were seriously injured in a Miami-Dade County car accident involving a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, a motorcycle, and a Honda Civic on the Palmetto Expressway. The Hialeah Gardens multi-vehicle accident took place at around 1am this morning.

The Florida Highway Patrol says that motorcyclist Adrian Cespedes Kelly died after he was ejected from his bike that had just rear-ended the SUV. At the time, the Tahoe was stopped in the middle of the road because its driver was helping the Civic’s driver, who was just involved in another collision. The motorcycle also struck the Civic. Both the SUV’s driver, Juancarlos Alvarez, and the Civic’s driver, Edward Crouch, were admitted to Jackson Memorial Hospital.

In other recent South Florida car accident news, another motorcyclist, 56-year-old Confessor Ramirez, died in a West Palm Beach motorcycle crash on Wednesday afternoon. Ramirez was thrown from his Harley and into a 1999 Chevrolet Blazer that struck his bike while making a left turn. Ramirez was later pronounced dead at Delray Medical Center.

Also, the 12 students who were injured in Tuesday’s Palm Beach school bus accident are expected to make a full recovery. The Miami Herald reported 16 injuries from when a car crashed into a turning bus. The student with the most serious injuries, a boy, sustained facial lacerations and injured his leg. Our Palm Beach personal injury law firm reported on this news earlier this week in another blog post.

Florida Traffic Accidents
Getting hurt or losing someone you love in a Palm Beach motor vehicle crash can be catastrophic and life-changing. The financial costs that result may be far greater than what your insurance can cover. Medical bills, recovery expenses, funeral costs, lost income, lost benefits, and lost future wages can take a financial toll unless you can hold the responsible parties liable for causing your Miami-Dade car accident.

Motorcyclist killed on Palmetto, Miami Herald, January 14, 2011
Motorcyclist dies in crash near West Palm Beach, Orlando Sentinel, January 13, 2011
Palm Beach Central students hurt in crash expected to make full recovery, Palm Beach Post, January 12, 2011
Recent Palm Beach County Car Crashes Pedestrian Accidents, and Bicycle Collision Cause Deaths and Injuries, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, January 12, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Florida DMV

What to do after a car accident, MSN Continue reading