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Earlier this month, the Florida Supreme Court heard a case about a man who fell to his death off of a 13-foot ladder made and sold by the defendants. In the case, Coba v. Tricam Industries, the Florida Supreme Court denied the defendants’ request to set aside the jury verdict in the amount of roughly $1.5 million.

The Case at Trial

The evidence showed that Coba fell off a ladder that was manufactured by one of the defendants and sold in the retail store of another defendant. Coba’s estate sued both the manufacturer and the retailer under the theories of strict liability and traditional negligence. The strict liability claim alleged that there was some kind of design defect in the ladder and that those who “designed, manufactured, marketed, distributed, or sold” the merchandise should be held liable.

The traditional negligence claim was explained to the jury as follows: “Negligence is the failure to use reasonable care, which is the care that a reasonably careful person would use under like circumstances.”

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Earlier this month, construction began on a new parking garage at Miami-Dade College’s West Campus in Doral, Florida. The new garage will replace the existing garage that tragically collapsed two years ago, killing four construction workers who were working at the time when the garage collapsed.

According to one local news report, the garage was under construction when a support column gave out, causing the garage to collapse on top of those working inside at the time. A total of four men lost their lives in the tragic collapse. An attorney for the college told reporters that “there was a column–a structural column–that needed to have grout or some kind of cement … They missed–they simply missed the fact that the column was not grouted safely.”

Since then, the college has been in negotiations to secure construction contracts for a new, safer garage. In the wake of the accident, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted an investigation, finding that there was a failure to provide a workplace that was “free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.”

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Prosecutors decided not to charge Lazaro “DJ Laz” Mendez, the host of a popular morning show on Miami’s Hits 97.3 radio station, with any crimes for his involvement in the May 2014 death of a 23-year-old man in the waters off Key Biscayne. According to an article from the Miami Herald, the victim was part of a group of partygoers who were trying to help free the boat that Mr. Mendez was controlling from a sandbar during a promotional beach party event. While the victim was pushing from behind the boat, Mr. Mendez allegedly engaged the engine, causing the man to get sucked into the propellers and killed.

Charges were initially being considered based on an allegation that Mr. Mendez had been drinking before the accident and may have been criminally reckless in contributing to the death of the victim. After performing an investigation, prosecutors released a statement last month that there was not sufficient evidence for them to conclude that Mr. Mendez had been drinking or was intoxicated when the accident occurred.

The Parties Have Previously Settled a Civil Lawsuit Filed in this Matter

Although Mr. Mendez is not being charged criminally for his role in the victim’s death, he has already settled a Florida wrongful death lawsuit that was filed by the victim’s family. Civil lawsuits require a lower burden of proof at trial for the plaintiff to be awarded damages, when compared to the burden that prosecutors must meet for a criminal conviction. Because of this difference between civil and criminal cases, it is relatively common for someone who is acquitted or not even charged with a crime to be held responsible for the same conduct through a civil action.

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Earlier this month, a nationally known ice cream manufacturer, Blue Bell, based out of Brenham, Texas, recalled all of its products after fears arose that some products had been contaminated with the deadly bacteria listeria. According to a report by USA Today, the “little creamery in Brenham” instituted a voluntary recall after listeria was found in some half-gallon containers of cookie dough ice cream.

While the initial discovery of contaminated products was limited to the half-gallon containers of cookie dough ice cream, the company decided to recall all of its products, including its entire line of ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet, and frozen snacks. A Blue Bell representative released the following official statement about listeria:

[Listeria is] an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms, … listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

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Three Florida residents were killed in a devastating crash in Miami Lakes earlier this month. The accident occurred on April 8 on a busy stretch of Miami Lakes Drive near the intersection with North Miami Lakeway Road. According to a local news report, just after 1:00 a.m. the driver of a Nissan Altima lost control of the vehicle, hit a wall, and ended up wrapped around a light pole. When police arrived at the scene, they were unable to remove the victims from the wreckage of the badly damaged car, although it was clear that all three occupants had been killed by the initial impact.

The wrecked car was taken to the medical examiner’s office, along with the victims’ bodies inside it. According to the news report, none of the occupants was wearing seat belts when the accident occurred, and police believe that speed played a role in the cause of the crash.

The Increased Danger of Late-Night and Early-Morning Driving

Driving at night is often more dangerous than daytime driving, and a resident quoted in the news report told the reporter that the section of road where the fatal accident occurred is especially dangerous in the overnight hours. The low light and poor visibility make one reason that the danger is increased at night. Drivers are also more likely to be tired or fatigued during the overnight hours. Additionally, intoxicated driving is more common at night. All of these factors combine to demonstrate that drivers should use the utmost caution when traveling at night or in the early morning.

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Fort Lauderdale, FL – April 21, 2015 – Attorney Erick Santana was recently named to the Board of Directors of the Broward County Hispanic Bar Association. Under this new role, Mr. Santana will work with the rest of the board and the Association’s leadership to expand diversity in the legal profession and to provide financial assistance to deserving Hispanic law students.

“I’m honored to be part of this prominent organization and I’m looking forward to contributing to the success and expansion of the Broward County Hispanic Bar Association,” said Mr. Santana.

The Broward County Hispanic Bar Association is an organization made up of lawyers, law students, business leaders and educators residing and/or working in Broward County. It was founded in 1989 as a forum for Hispanic lawyers to address issues of importance in the community.

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A massive six-vehicle collision that occurred on April 1 in Miami-Dade County has left one woman in critical condition and countless others shocked by the chaos and destruction of the rush-hour crash. According to an NBC 6 South Florida report, the accident occurred during the morning commute on the southbound Florida Turnpike near exit 25 at Southwest Eighth Street, when a wheelbarrow fell from a pickup truck into the roadway. This caused other vehicles behind the pickup, including a double-trailer semi-truck, to swerve out of the way. The semi-truck lost control and overturned across multiple lanes of the roadway and was struck by several cars. The southbound lanes remained closed for most of the day.

Semi-Truck Accidents are More Dangerous than Other Crashes

Semi-truck accidents cause hundreds of injuries and deaths in Florida each year, and semi-trucks are likely the most dangerous threat to other drivers on our larger highways and interstates. Semi trucks weigh 10 to 20 times more than most other vehicles on the road and are sometimes even heavier than that.

The size of the semi-trailers, especially double and triple trailers, makes all that weight very difficult to control. Most truck drivers are highly trained professionals who drive with extreme caution, but when something falls into the road in front of the truck it can be difficult for even the most skilled truck driver to maintain control. When a truck driver loses control in heavy traffic, his heavy load can become a dangerous weapon. Whether the truck driver is at fault for the accident last week or not, it was the overturned semi-truck that caused the injuries and was at the center of the massive crash.

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The Dania Beach community that has been recovering from the death of one of their own residents at the hands of a hit-and-run driver may soon obtain some relief as authorities are one step closer to finding the perpetrator and holding them responsible. Police caught a break in the case after recovering a crucial piece of evidence from the crash and making contact with a suspected driver of the maroon Ford F-150 that was allegedly involved in the crash.

According to a CBS Miami report and the Broward County sheriff’s office, the victim of the hit-and-run was a 57-year-old Dania Beach resident who was hit by the truck on March 26 at approximately 7:25 p.m as he was walking home to a trailer park near Griffin Road at 26th Avenue after having dinner with a friend. According to witnesses, the driver of the pickup simply sped off after he hit the man, who was not at a crosswalk when he was hit. Since the man was not at a crosswalk, the driver of the car may not have been subject to criminal charges if he had stopped and called the police, but because he failed to stop he could possibly be criminally tried for homicide for his role in the accident.

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Earlier last month, a Miami-area teen was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while walking along NW 13th Avenue. According to a recent report by the local Miami CBS affiliate, the driver has still not been located although several weeks have passed since the tragic accident.

Evidently, the girl’s boyfriend was walking her home along NW 13th Avenue when the driver of a 2008 green Toyota Corolla struck the teen as she crossed NW 54th Street. The girl’s boyfriend watched in horror as his girlfriend was struck by the vehicle. The driver continued in the direction he was going when he hit the girl.

The teen was taken to the hospital with several broken bones and severe head trauma. She was unable to breath on her own and died after more than a week in the hospital. The family of the girl told reporters that she was a junior in high school and had already secured a scholarship for college.

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Earlier last year, two seventeen-year-old girls were critically injured in a parasailing accident off the Florida coast. According to a local South Florida news source, the girls just recently reached an agreement with the defendants in the case for an undisclosed confidential amount.

According to news sources at the time of the accident, the two girls were injured when they went to a parasailing outfit owned by Aquatic Adventures Management Group. At the time the girls approached the outfit, the weather was questionable, with heavy clouds just off the coast. However, the operator of the boat determined that the conditions were acceptable and allowed the girls to get up in the air and go parasailing.

While they were up in the air, the rope connecting the girls to the boat snapped, sending them flying out of control and subject to the heavy winds at the time. For the next several minutes, the girls were tossed around. They crashed into a building, got tangled in power lines, and then slammed into the side of a vehicle. The girls were both hospitalized with critical injuries.

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Contact Information
Plantation Office
8211 W Broward Blvd #460
Plantation, FL 33324
Phone: (954) 653-9969
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Coral Gables, FL 33134
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West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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