The Haggard Law Firm’s Michael Haggard and Adam Finkel have obtained a $12 Million settlement in a high-profile catastrophic negligent security case.

On Memorial Day 2021, Marcus Williams arrived at Prime 112 for dinner. After exiting his vehicle within Prime 112’s valet, he immediately noticed that other members of his party were being yelled at by a group of unknown individuals. As the yelling became louder, and the unknown people used racial slurs and threatening language, Marcus looked towards the Prime 112 employees outside for action.

But the employees were simply watching instead of assisting. Marcus walked towards the argument.

As he approached a single gunshot was fired. An unknown person had walked up to Marcus and shot him in the back of his neck. Falling to the ground, Marcus could not feel anything. The father of three was unable to move his arms or his legs. The gunshot severed his spine and rendered Marcus a quadriplegic.

Representing Marcus and his three minor children, The Haggard Law Firm sued Prime 112 and the Myles Restaurant Group. Alleging that Prime 112 should have had private security at the restaurant, or at the very least trained their employees to respond to altercations involving their patrons, as those unknown aggressors were learned to be diners at Prime 112 that just left the restaurant. During the case, in fact, The Haggard Law Firm learned that Prime 112 did have private security on weekend nights, but chose not to have security on Memorial Day. While Prime 112 argued that private security was not needed and that nothing necessitating security had previously occurred at Prime 112.

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The Haggard Law Firm’s Michael Haggard and Kimberly Wald have secured a $1 Million pre-suit, policy limit settlement in a near-drowning entrapment case.

On September 3, 2021, five-year-old Bo Madden was with her family friend’s home in Destin, Florida where they went swimming in the pool at the house.  While in the pool, Bo’s hair was entangled on the entrapment cover and she was sucked underwater. Bo was unable to untangle her hair and was trapped, drowning, and dying. 

Bo’s mother, Mrs. Madden, pulled Bo from the pool. The child was dark blue and unresponsive. Mrs. Madden, who is a CRNA, believed that her child had died and immediately began emergency CPR. Thankfully, Mrs. Madden was able to revive Bo to the point that she had a weak pulse, but blood was coming out of her nose and she had vomited water and blood on the pool deck. Bo was extremely agitated, incoherent, and was thrashing violently.  Emergency services arrived and Bo was rushed to the emergency room of Sacred Heart Emerald Coast Hospital by ambulance. She was placed on a nonrebreather ventilation machine in the ambulance and would spend the next 19 days in the hospital, fighting for her life, with her tormented family at her side..

(The Defendant) Tamtech’s design, construction, maintenance, and building of the pool were the direct result of Bo’s drowning and subsequent catastrophic injuries.  Tamtech did not install the correct anti-entrapment outlet covers required by law to be on the suction ports for this section of the pool.  The two suction ports Tamtech installed failed to comply with the pertinent standards, including explicit warnings from the manufacturer and the ANSI / APSP standards on anti-entrapment. Per the manufacturer of the  cross-hatch inlet cover that Tamtech used,  the cross-hatch inlet cover “must never be used” as an outlet cover. Using a cross-hatch inlet cover on a suction outlet port is essentially setting an entanglement trap for swimmers, which is tragically exactly what happened to Bo.

The Haggard Law Firm has represented victims of near drownings and the families of drowning victims for more than three decades. While we have represented families in cases dealing with various safety lapses, the issue of ill-maintained pool gates and fences are a particular concern to us, because so many children drown in Florida every year.

The Haggard Law Firm has developed a national and international niche representing people injured or killed as a result of dangerous swimming pool drains and negligent supervision and maintenance of pool safety barriers.

Our attorneys also strive for tightened safety rules for pools in homes, apartments and hotels. For many years the Haggard Law Firm worked with representatives in the US Congress and Senate to spur changes in state codes and governing pool and pool pump safety. We were beyond thrilled when the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007 was signed into law. Debbie Wasserman Schultz sponsored the bill and is a champion of his safety laws. We are honored to have worked with her in the State Senate and U.S. Congress to finally have this bill signed into law. The bill was named for Virginia Graeme Baker, the seven-year-old granddaughter a former Secretary of State James Baker III who drowned in 2002 when pulled underwater by a hot tub drain. The Haggard Law Firm represented the Baker family and achieved a confidential settlement. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE HAGGARD LAW FIRM’S DROWNING CASES

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The Haggard Law Firm’s Michael Haggard and Kimberly Wald, along with co-counsel Joe Slama and Justin Bailey of Krupnick Campbell Malone, and attorney John Mooney, have obtained a $2 Million settlement in a personal injury negligent security case involving an injured pizza delivery driver.

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On May 15th, 2019 David Orcutt, a delivery driver for Pizza Hut, was delivering an order to the Tallman Pines apartment complex (700 NE 41st St, Lighthouse Point, FL) in Broward County, Florida. While simply doing his job to help support his young daughter, he was shot in the leg by a group of juveniles loitering inside the complex. The bullet partially severed a nerve in Mr. Orcutt’s left leg.

“While the defense argued there was no prior history of shootings or violent crimes in or around the complex, we established the complex had a documented history of issues with juveniles trespassing and causing problems. There were no less than 10 documented incidents involving juveniles on the property in the two years leading up to the shooting” said Slama.

The Tallman Pines Apartment’s management company had hired a courtesy staffing company to provide security for the premises. The company was unlicensed.

On the night Orcutt was shot, the courtesy officer showed up 45 minutes late for work. Further investigation revealed reports that on the date of the shooting, the security guard had only checked on two buildings and hadn’t completed a single round of the property in over an hour.

This guard had a history of dereliction of duty and the management company rubber-stamped all of his reports without attempting to correct the situation.

“The courtesy officer could have prevented the attack on Orcutt. Had he been doing his rounds he would have seen a group of juveniles lurking on the property and would have enforced curfew and made sure this tragedy was prevented.”

Kimberly Wald, The Haggard Law Firm

Despite sustaining a gunshot wound, Mr. Orcutt’s medical bills totaled only $17,000.00. Mr. Orcutt’s treating physicians also ruled out any extensive future medical care.

“This was not a case where our client had six figures in medical bills or expensive procedures on the horizon. This forced us to approach damages at a more micro level. We focused on conveying every way the shooting would impact our client—both physically and financially—on a daily basis. This approach resonated with the carrier” said Bailey.

As a result of this shooting, Orcutt continues to suffer significant pain and trauma to his leg.

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The Haggard Law Firm’s Kimberly Wald and Michael Haggard have obtained a $1 Million policy limit settlement in a negligent security death case.

As per the settlement agreement, the names of the parties involved in this case are confidential. The victim, in this case, was a father who was shot at a Tampa, Florida apartment complex with a history of crime.

The shooting occurred very early in the morning as the victim, The Haggard Law Firm’s client, was on his way to work. The gates at the apartment complex (defendant) were not operational at the time of the shooting. The front gate was wide open, allowing criminals to freely enter the property.

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The Haggard Law Firm’s Pedro Echarte and co-counsel Angel Diaz of Kirshner, Groff & Diaz have obtained a $9,000,000 settlement in a catastrophic injury car crash case.

On March 12, 2021, Defendant Luis Iraheta traveled on vacation to Florida with a friend. Mr. Iraheta rented a Lamborghini Urus from Co-Defendant GoExotics.

That evening, Mr. Iraheta and his friend went to several nightclubs until they ended up at a nightclub in North Miami called the Arena Grill & Lounge. Echarte and Diaz’s client, Abraham Valdez, worked security at the nightclub.

While inside the business, a group of women that Mr. Iraheta had met earlier in the evening got into a fight with another group of women. Mr. Iraheta got involved in the altercation and was thrown out of the nightclub. Mr. Iraheta, who had driven to the nightclub despite drinking throughout the evening, got in his rented luxury sports car and was going to leave the premises when he and his friend got into another altercation in the parking area of the shopping center where the nightclub was located.

After being physically beaten by a group of men in the parking area, Mr. Iraheta got back into his vehicle and attempted to flee the scene. In the process of fleeing, he hit and ran over the victim. Mr. Iraheta failed to stop his vehicle, continued driving, and was ultimately involved in a second collision about a mile away from the original incident location.

Mr. Valdez was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. He was intubated and in a coma for approximately 40 days. He was diagnosed with fractures to his ribs (6-12) and vertebrae (L5), wrist/foot drop, severe intraperitoneal and retroperitoneal contusions, hemopneumothorax, pulmonary embolisms and a bilateral open book pelvic fracture. He was eventually transferred to Christine Lynn Rehabilitation Center. He remained in the hospital and in inpatient rehabilitation for 87 days until he was discharged home.

For the following year, Mr. Valdez continued intensive outpatient rehabilitation through Lynn Rehabilitation. His therapy was largely focused on regaining his ability to ambulate due to the bilateral open book fractures and heterotopic ossification he developed as a result. It was established that while now able to ambulate, Mr. Valdez will never walk normally.

This settlement was extra-contractual. Mr. Iraheta had his own auto insurance policy that provided $250,000 in coverage. That carrier (which is confidential) tendered its policy limits within 19 days of the incident occurring.

The owner of the rented vehicle had a separate policy that also provided $250,000 in coverage. In addition to insuring the owner of the rented vehicle, the policy also covered Mr. Iraheta as an additional insured. That carrier (which also is confidential) did not tender its policy limits for 396 days, which exposed its insured (Mr. Iraheta) to a potentially enormous verdict. Due to the clear liability and enormous damages, Mr. Valdez’s counsel argued that the tender was untimely and that while the case could have resolved at the inception for the available policy limits that was no longer the case. The carrier ultimately paid $8,500,000  above its policy limits to resolve the case.

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The Haggard Law Firm’s Douglas McCarron has obtained a $2 Million policy limit settlement in a catastrophic injury negligent security case.

In the early morning hours of July 16, 2017, Haggard Law’s client Reinero Fuentes was assaulted in the parking area of a strip mall located in south Miami-Dade County.  While there were no known witnesses, medical evidence indicated that Reinero was struck in the head with a blunt object. 

EMAIL DOUGLAS MCCARRON

As a result of the assault, Reinero suffered a traumatic brain injury.  His injuries have left him non-verbal and wheelchair-bound.  He requires 24-hour care, supervision, and assistance with all daily activities.  Further, Reinero’s injuries have prevented him from caring for his young daughter.

For years prior to July 16, 2017, the property was the location for several violent criminal episodes, including murders, assaults, shootings, robberies, constant vagrancy, and drug dealing.  Most of the issues were connected to Chaklader’s tenant, Grumpy’s Bar.  The situation was so bad that the Miami-Dade Police Department notified Chaklader of the situation in May 2013 and referred the property to the Nuisance Abatement Board.

The case settled for the defendants’ insurance policy limits.

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The Haggard Law Firm’s Pedro Echarte, along with co-counsel Mark Stuckey of Kaufman Law obtained a policy limit settlement of more than $980,000 in a trucking personal injury case. 

The Plaintiff, Glenn Pilzon, was a long-haul trucker based in Georgia. The Defendants, Four Towers, and Luis Calderon were a long haul freight company and driver, based in Florida. While driving in Virginia, Defendant Calderon changed lanes unexpectedly and collided with Mr. Pilzon’s truck. Echarte and Stuckey alleged that Defendant Calderon was negligent in several respects: failing to operate his vehicle at a safe speed in light of the weather conditions (it was raining at the time of the incident); traveling too close to the vehicle in front of him, and changing lanes abruptly without signaling and without yielding to the Plaintiff.

The day following the crash, Plaintiff suffered a post-concussive seizure while returning to Georgia. He began treating with, among other physicians, a neurologist for headaches and the seizure episode. He was prescribed seizure medication, which prohibited him from continuing to work as a truck driver. The Defendants denied that they were negligent. They also claimed the Plaintiff’s seizure disorder was unrelated to the trucking collision, but rather was related to an incident that occurred several years prior where he was shot in the head.

Echarte and Stuckey rebutted the causation defense by showing he never had a seizure prior to the trucking collision or otherwise complained of the issues he dealt with after the trucking collision (e.g., headaches). 

The case settled for $981,875, which represented the Defendant’s remaining available policy limits a few weeks before trial was set to begin in the case.  

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The Haggard Law Firm’s Michael Haggard and Adam Finkel obtained a $5.25 Million settlement in a negligent security wrongful death and negligent security injury case. Per terms of the settlement, the names of the parties involved must remain confidential.

With the pandemic shutting businesses down, on March 22, 2020, a restaurant employee left his home in Atlanta to visit his family in Miami. Spending the weekend catching up with his older brother, the two of them were hanging out with a friend in an apartment complex they used to live. Listening to music, having a few drinks and laughs, the men stayed in the hallway in front of a friend’s apartment, when unknown men appeared out of nowhere and opened fire. Ultimately, the older brother from Miami was killed. The younger sibling from Atlanta was struck in the leg, and seriously injured.

Rushed to the hospital to undergo three surgeries, and forced to spend the next year of his life on his sister’s couch until he was well enough to return to Atlanta, the younger sibling’s pain paled in comparison to the pain left in the hearts of his two nieces and his youngest nephew that lost their father. Now, over two years later, the shooter(s) still remain free.

In their pursuit of justice, The Haggard Law Firm filed a lawsuit against the property owners and management company highlighting that none of the access control gates were working, and that there was unfettered access into the complex by criminals, The Haggard Law Firm argued that this negligent property ownership and management provided the shooters with the opportunity to commit these heinous crimes. On the other hand, the property owners and management company highlighted that few complexes in the area were gated communities, and in fact, their complex had significantly less crime than their neighbors. For these reasons, they argued that their management and ownership of the property were entirely reasonable. Instead, they blamed the shooting on the brothers and argued that they were targeted specifically by the shooters. In support of this theory, they emphasized that the entire shooting happened in the blink of an eye, and no one was robbed.

Ultimately, however, The Haggard Law Firm and the property owners and management company entered into a $5.25 Million Dollar confidential settlement

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The Haggard Law Firm’s Pedro Echarte has obtained a $1 Million policy limit settlement in a case involving the sexual assault of a minor at an Orange County, Florida daycare. The parties, insurance carriers, defense counsel, date of loss, and school where the incident occurred are confidential.

Echarte represented the parents of a 7-year-old child, who was molested by an older student during an after-school care program that was operated by the defendant (a private entity). The incident occurred in a bathroom in the school’s cafeteria during after-school care hours. Both students were enrolled in the after-school care program at the time of the incident.

The allegations against the defendant centered around the defendant’s staff’s failure to properly supervise the children in the program.

The Haggard Law Firm alleged that the counselors failed to properly supervise the children by allowing them to go to the bathroom for too long without checking on them. In addition, Echarte alleged that the Defendant violated its own policies and procedures by allowing a student to go into the bathroom without sending them with a student of their own age and also violated a policy against allowing older students to go the bathroom at the same time as younger students.

The Defendants denied that they were negligent and contended that the amount of time the students were in the bathroom (5-7 minutes by their own estimate) was not unreasonable.

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