South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Broward County Police Brutality: Pembroke Pines Man Files $1 Million Lawsuit Against the Town of Davie

August 24, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Matthew Lawson, a 20-year-old Pembroke Pines man, is suing the Town of Davie and three of its cops for Florida police brutality. Lawson has filed a federal complaint seeking $1 million.

In his civil complaint, Lawson claims Davie police officers Paul Vardakis, Steve Ricker, and Curtis Schock used excessive force when arresting him in 2009 . Lawson says that they Tasered him, set a K-9 on him to bite and attack, and physically assaulted him with kicks and punches. At the time of the arrest, Lawson was an 18-year-old high school student.

The charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery on an officer were later dropped by the Broward State Attorney’s office, which concluded that it is not possible to resist an arrest that is unlawful and that there was no reasonable cause to justify why the officers stopped and detained Lawson. His federal complaint says that the officers reported that they tried to stop him because he was swaying and sweating and his pupils were dilated as if he were on drugs.

Depositions in Boynton Beach Wrongful Death Lawsuit Involving 81-Year-Old Woman Who Bled Out After Botched 911 Calls Are Underway

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

Last year, our Palm Beach County personal injury lawyers blogged on the Boynton Beach wrongful death case of widower Sidell Reiner, who lost his wife Seymour Reiner. The 81-year-old woman died in 2009 after bleeding to death while making Thanksgiving dinner. Now, in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, depositions in the case are taking place.

Seymour bled to death after dropping a wine glass on her foot and cutting herself on November 26, 2009. She called 911 several times, but, unfortunately, Comcast couldn’t locate her residence. It was almost 17 minutes before rescuers arrived at her her home, but because she couldn’t answer the door and no one could see her, they left the premise. By the time Sidell arrived home, his wife was dead from a severed artery in her foot.

Sidell has sued Comcast, the city of Boynton Beach, Deltacom (contracted for operator services), and the Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue. He believes that his wife might have survived if only the defendants hadn’t been negligent. They are all claiming that they did nothing wrong.

Florida Products Liability: Palm Beach County Burn Injury Lawsuit Seeks Damages From Napa Home and Garden Over Dangerous Gel Fuel

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

Jacqueline Delgado and her husband Renee have filed a Palm Beach County personal injury lawsuit against two sellers and a packing company. Jacqueline sustained serious burns when the NAPAfire and FIREGEL Gel Fuel she was using ignited, dousing her body in flames. Renee also was injured.

Not long after the Palm Beach Shores burn accident, the US CPSC and Napa Home & Garden recalled about 460,000 pourable NAPAfire and FIREGEL Gel Fuel jugs and bottles because the product could ignite suddenly and splatter onto people and objects when poured into a firepot that is still burning. Napa said there were 37 incidents reported, including 23 burn accidents.

In the Delgados’ Palm Beach products liability complaint, the couple is suing Fuel Barons and Losorea Packaging Co., TJX Companies, and Manhattan’s Pharmacy. Because Napa Home & Garden has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, it would prove very challenging to obtain anything from the beleaguered company, which is facing dozens of other products liability lawsuits over its dangerous gel fuel.

Margate Woman Files Broward County Personal Injury Lawsuit Alleging Florida Pharmacy Misfill

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

Fela Netkin is seeking Margate personal injury damages from her local Sav-a-Lot pharmacy because she says that they mistakenly gave her 5 times the prescribed dose of her anticoagulant medication. Because of the pharmacy’s negligence, Netkin says that she suffered bleeding and bruising and had to go to the hospital.

Per court documents, Netkin says that she had her prescription filled at the Margate pharmacy in June. However, instead of 45, 1 MG tablets of warfarin sodium, which was what the prescription was for, she was administered 45, 5 MG tablets.

Florida Pharmacy Malpractice

Pompano Beach, Florida Slip and Fall Accident Lawsuit Seeks Damages from Gas Station with Allegedly Faulty Gas Pump

August 8, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Richard and Susan Gold are suing a RaceTrac filling station for Pompano Beach personal injury. They claim that a faulty pump at the station maimed Richard in March 2009.

In their Broward County slip and fall complaint, the couple contends that because the gas pump was defective, it didn’t stop the gas from flowing after their vehicle’s tank was full. Instead, the gas began “spewing” into the air, onto the ground, and around his vehicle. Richard, who was the one pumping gas, says that he tried to regain control of the nozzle right away because he was afraid of the fire hazard the gasoline posed to him and those around him. The Golds say that this is when his Pompano Beach slip and fall accident happened.

Richard believes that if the pump hadn’t malfunctioned, he wouldn’t have slipped and fallen. He also says that the Pompano Beach fall accident caused him to sustain injuries to his neck, head, back, arms, and legs, and he likely has other injuries that have yet to be diagnosed.

Mother Files Broward County Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over 2009 Coral Springs Car Crash that Killed Her Teenage Son

August 5, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

Two years after her son, Robert S. Nugent Jr., drowned in a canal after the car he was riding fell into a canal, Naomi Concepcion has filed a Coral Springs wrongful death lawsuit against the city. Nugent is one of three teenagers killed in that single-car crash on November 15, 2009.

Nugent, Anthony Almonte, and Evan Sinisgalli were riding in a car driven by Sean Maxey when the latter got into a minor Coral Springs auto crash on University Drive and lost control of the vehicle. Sinisgalli is the only one who survived.

In her Broward County, Florida wrongful death complaint, Concepcion is accusing the municipality of poor road maintenance. She says that there was a gap in the guardrail walling off the drive from the water body and that this is what allowed the vehicle carrying her son to spin into the water.

Florida Supreme Court Says Family Can Sue Hospital for Girl’s Brain Damage Injuries

August 2, 2011 | by David J. Halberg, Esq.

According to the state’s highest court, the parents of Trista Bennett can sue St. Vincent’s Medical Center for Florida medical malpractice instead of going through a state fund for birthing injuries. The girl, now 10, sustained permanent brain damage after her delivery.

Bennett was delivered by C-section at the hospital after her mother was involved in a car accident. The infant had to be resuscitated after her birth. She later developed respiratory distress and was moved from the newborn nursery to the special care section. She then started to experience kidney problems and liver issues. On October 3, 2001, Bennett stopped breathing after suffering from a pulmonary hemorrhage.

In their Florida medical malpractice complaint, Tammy and Robert Bennett are accusing obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. William H. Long and the hospital of negligence. They believe their daughter was given too much intravenous fluid and that the hospital waited until it was too late to test her for serum electrolyte derangements.

The hospital had contended that the Florida medical malpractice case fell under the state’s Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan, which is a non-fault program that is supposed to cover the birth-related neurological injuries of newborns who did not get enough oxygen during labor, delivery, and resuscitation. The Bennetts, however, claimed that their daughter’s brain injury occurred after the “post-delivery period,” and they therefore can sue.

An administrative law judge sided with the Bennetts. The Florida First District Court of Appeal then reversed the ruling. Now, the Florida Supreme Court of Florida has overturned the appellate court’s ruling.

Brain-damaged girl’s parents can sue hospital and doctor, Florida court rules, American Medical News, August 1, 2011

Read the Florida Supreme Court’s Decision (PDF)

More Blog Posts:
Florida Woman that Delivered Baby into Toilet Sues Carrollwood Hospital for Medical Malpractice, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, October 7, 2008
West Palm Beach Parents that Gave Birth to Stillborn Twins Say They Will Sue Florida Hospital For Medical Malpractice, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, September 29, 2008
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 Continue reading

Miami Beach Personal Injury Seeks Damages Against Ex-NFL Star Larry Johnson for Alleged Assault

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

John Graney is suing Ex-NFL football star Larry Johnson for Miami-Dade County personal injury. He contends that the former Kansas City Chiefs running back beat him after a party last May on Miami Beach. Johnson also used to be signed with the Washington Redskins and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Graney, who is from Miami, claims that without provocation Johnson used a “closed fist” to “viciously” hit him multiple times, kicked him while he was on the ground, and chased him down the street. The plaintiff says that he sustained a torn rotator cuff and three herniated discs and is suffering form post-traumatic shoulder, wrist, and back pain.

Meantime, Johnson is denying the allegations. The police report describes Graney’s injuries as a “minor laceration” and “small abrasion.”

Miami Personal Injury Lawsuit Filed Over ATV Accident on Beach Seeks Damages From Police Officer and the Clevelander Hotel

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

The woman who sustained a Florida traumatic brain injury when an ATV being driven by an on-duty cop hit her is suing the Clevelander Hotel and Erick Kuilan for Miami Beach personal injury. Kitzie Nicanor and her friend Luis Almonte, both 29, were walking on the beach before dawn when the ATV, which Kuilan was driving, struck them. As a result of her Florida TBI, Nicanor, who is still in the hospital, has experienced memory loss, problems concentrating, paralysis on her right side, and difficulty talking. She also broke a leg, sustained heart perforations, and had to have her spleen removed.

Nicanor is still in the hospital. Her Miami brain injury attorney says that she will likely have to undergo rehabilitation for years. She has a 1-year-old son.

According to her Miami-Dade County personal injury complaint, the Clevelander Hotel regularly lets on-duty cops drink alcohol and hang out at its clubs. (The Miami Beach Police says cops are banned from drinking while they are on-duty.) More than four hour after the ATV crash, Kuilan, who has since been fired from the force, still had a BAC exceeding Florida’s limit of .08%. He is charged with two counts of reckless driving resulting bodily injury and two counts of driving under the influence. Nicanor may also sue the City of Miami Beach.

If you or someone you love suffered serious injuries in a Miami Beach motor vehicle crash because someone was careless, reckless, or made mistakes, you may be entitled to Florida personal injury recovery. Some injuries are so serious that you will need all the financial compensation you can get to cover medical expenses, recovery costs, lost wages, and other damages. Sometimes, there is more than one party who should be held liable.

For example, in this Miami injury lawsuit, the plaintiff is seeking to recover compensation not just from the person who was driving the ATV, but also from the establishment that allowed him to drink alcohol. She also is considering suing the city of Miami Beach, which employed Kuilan at the time.

Miami Beach hotel, fired cop sued in ATV crash, AP, July 29, 2011
Aunt: ATV crash a nightmare, The Miami Herald, July 7, 2011

Related Web Resources:
ATV Safety Institute

Miami Beach Police Department

More Blog Posts:
Man Files Miami Car Accident Lawsuit Against Ex-NBA Heat Player Alonzo Mourning, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, July 20, 2011
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, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, May 20, 2011
$1.575M Broward County Injury Settlement Reached with Sheriff’s Office Over Abused Child’s Brain Damage, South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog, February 4, 2011 Continue reading

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.