South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Decline in Florida Motor Vehicle Crashes Reported

September 29, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

According to the state’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, there has been a 4.6% drop in the number of Florida traffic deaths. Compared to 2009, when there were Florida 2,565 motor vehicle fatalities, there were 2,444 Florida traffic deaths reported in 2010. That’s a nearly 31% drop since 2005. County wise, the number of traffic fatalities also went down in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Broward Counties last year.

2010 figures also show, however, that the number of Florida pedestrian deaths have gone up by 3.5%. There were 482 pedestrian fatalities in 2009 and 499 Florida pedestrian deaths in 2010.

Other 2010 Florida Traffic Facts:

Defective Medical Device Lawsuit: Lake Worth, Woman Seeks Damages From Medtronic Over Complications from Infuse Bone Graft Implant

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

A Palm Beach County woman is suing Medtronic Inc. for products liability. English says she developed uncontrolled bone growth in her spine after she received an Infuse Bone Graft implant during spine surgery.

The Infuse Bone Graft, which is bioengineered, is not FDA-approved for posterior-approach lumbar spine surgery. In her Florida defective medical device complaint, English claims that Medtronic misrepresented the risks involved with getting an Infuse implant and improperly marketed the device for uses not approved by the FDA.

English says that the extra bone growth she experienced has caused her to experience nerve compression, which has resulted in ongoing, chronic, and serious pain. Her products liability lawyer says that research had shown that use of Infuse in off-label surgeries can lead to this type of bone growth around and into the spine.

Miami Nursing Negligence Lawsuit Accuses Home Care Nurse of Sexually Assaulting Paraplegic Patient

September 22, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A Miami-Dade personal injury lawsuit has been filed accusing a male home health care nurse of sodomizing and harassing a paraplegic in his own home. The defendant of the Miami nursing negligence complaint is A.S.A. Home Care, Inc.

Per the complaint, the nurse started taking care of the victim in 2007. Despite the nurse’s obvious sexual interest in the patient, the latter rejected his overtures. Still, the lawsuit contends, the nurse showed the patient porn, brought him a sex toy, and sexually assaulted him when dressing a wound located close to the buttock area. The nurse then allegedly begged the patient not to tell anyone what happened and threatened to otherwise kill himself.

The plaintiff blames ASA for inadequate supervision, failure to provide him with a secure and safe environment, and neglecting to look into complaints that had made about the nurse.

Another Broward County, Florida Slip and Fall Lawsuit Filed Against RaceTrack Petroleum Conglomerate

September 19, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A woman who says she was injured in a Hollywood, Florida slip and fall accident at a local gas station is suing RaceTrac for Broward County personal injury. Isaura Velez is seeking damages for injuries she sustained last year. Velez says she was entering the RaceTrac store at S. Pine Island Road when she slipped and fell because no one told her that the floor was wet.

RaceTrac is a petroleum conglomerate. This is at least the second South Florida injury lawsuit filed against RaceTrac in the last few months.

Susan and Richard Gold filed their Pompano Beach slip and fall lawsuit over his injuries that they contend he sustained when he slipped on gas that overflowed from their motor vehicle’s gas tank. The Golds believe that the pump was defective, which is why it kept pouring gas even though the tank was already full.

Palm Beach Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed in 2009 Jupiter, Florida Thanksgiving Shooting

September 16, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

A 2009 Thanksgiving celebration turned deadly has resulted in a Palm Beach County wrongful death lawsuit against the parents of the alleged shooter. The plaintiffs, Jim and Muriel Sitton and Antoine Joseph, are related to the Carole and Michael Merhige, who are the parents of Paul Merhige. The Sittons’ 6-year-old daughter Makayla Joy and Antoine’s wife Raymonde are among those that were fatally shot. Paul’s twin sisters, one of whom was pregnant at the time, were also shot dead.

The plaintiffs contend that the shootings could have been avoided. According to their Jupiter, Florida wrongful death lawsuit, Paul was invited by his parents to Thanksgiving dinner at the Sittons even though they knew that their son, who owned a gun, wasn’t taking his medication. The couple even slept at night with their door locked because Merhige lived with them and they were afraid of him.

The Sittons and Joseph claim that the Merhiges invited Paul to Thanksgiving even though they were afraid of what he might do. Their alleged fears were to the degree that Muriel Sitton may have even told one of her daughters that she hoped Paul wouldn’t “kill us all.”

$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

$525,000 Ft. Lauderdale Wrongful Death Settlement Reached Between Broward County School Board and Family of Teen Fatally Shot in 2008 by Fellow Student

September 9, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

The parents of Amanda Collette have settled their Fort Lauderdale wrongful death case with the Broward County School Board for $525,000. Collette, 15, died in November 2008 after she was fatally shot by fellow Dillard High School student Teah Wimberly.

In their Broward County wrongful death complaint, Thomas Crowther and Joyce Collette contented that their daughter’s death could have been prevented if only a teacher who knew that Wimberly had threatened to use a gun had reported the information and the school had used their metal detector wands. The teacher in question has sworn that he never knew that Wimberly had a gun.

WImberly, 17, has been convicted of second-degree murder in Collette’s shooting. She is serving a 25-year-sentence. Wimberly is said to have had a crush on Collette and the shooting was retaliation because her feelings were unrequited. By agreeing to settle, the school board is not admitting to or denying wrongdoing in Collette’s shooting.

Florida Products Liability Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Manufacturer of ShoulderFlex Deep Kneading Shiatsu Massager For Parkland Woman’s Wrongful Death

September 6, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Dr. Kenneth Gegerson is suing several companies for Florida products liability and wrongful death. Gegerson’s wife, Dr. Michelle Ferrari-Gegerson, died in a choking accident after the leather necklace she was wearing got caught in a ShoulderFlex Deep Kneading Shiatsu neck massager. The jewelry became entangled in the device’s rotating piece.

In his Miami-Dade, Florida wrongful death complaint, Gegerson blames the providers of the device for failing to put in a mechanism that would have made the ShoulderFlex Deep Kneading Shiatsu stop immediately when the rotating knobs experienced resistance. He also claims that the “defective” product lacked the “obvious and adequate” labeling needed to warn that items could get caught in the massager.

Defendants of the South Florida products liability lawsuit are distributor King International, King Yiu Chan and Si Ming Dui (the creators and patent holders), franchise Relax the Back Corp., and ABP Aventura Inc, which ran the Relax the Back store in Aventura.

Miami-Dade Personal Injury: Mom Accuses Daycare Center of Child Abuse

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

Trina Jackson plans to sue J. Ruiz Learning School, LLC for Miami-Dade personal injury to a minor. Jackson’s five-year-old daughter, Kayla, attends the daycare center. The little girls says that she has been slapped, hit, and scratched many times while at the daycare.

Jackson claims that her daughter was victim of negligence, assault, and battery while at the Miami facility last April. She says that video footage from surveillance cameras shows a group of girls jumping on her daughter and ripping one of her braids out of her head. Jackson contends that the caregiver that was there appeared to ignored the altercation.

Jackson says that when she complained about marks she found on her daughter after the alleged incident, the caretaker told her that nothing happened and that her daughter’s braid was already gone when she arrived at the preschool that day. However, according to Jackson’s Miami personal injury lawyer, the footage shows a daycare employee grabbing Jackson’s daughter’s scalp to check it after the alleged assault. The surveillance footage also shows one teacher punching a boy’s face,.

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.