Articles Posted in Negligent Security

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Dressers leading to the death of small children sounds like a bad horror film. However, this unfortunate series of events has been a reality for at least three families so far. Sold in several small pieces requiring extensive instruction and a bit of time are the typical furnishings purchased from the Swedish company, IKEA.

IKEA is a leading furniture seller across the world and valued itself at over 11 billion dollars in 2012.1  IKEA has been aware of the danger posed by the dressers and made a first attempt to remedy the defect by providing kits to every purchaser of the dressers with instructions to secure the dressers to the walls where they will stand. Unfortunately, this did not solve the problem and another infant death followed. After tragedy struck again IKEA made the decision to recall the dressers. The IKEA website describes the recall as follows.

The recall affects children’s chests and dressers taller than 23.5 inches and adult chests and dressers taller than 29.5 inches … manufactured and sold through June 2016 and include the 3-drawer, 4-drawer, 5-drawer and 6-drawer models. Other IKEA chests and dressers in this recall were sold at various times through June 2016.”

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Sometimes a very unfortunate event affects those who cannot advocate for themselves because they are under the age of 18. If your child is injured on a playground, in a car accident, in a bicycle accident, at a store or in any way that results in a physical injury to your child and is someone else’s fault, you as their parent have the ability to bring a lawsuit on their behalf.

Children have the same access to remedies for harm to them as adults do and as their parents, you also have a right to recover medical expenses you incur while tending to the needs of your injured child.

Children have special rules in court. Some of these exceptions are:

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Someone rear ends you or hits you as your driving down the street. At the moment you don’t notice any pain or obvious injuries but as the weeks go on you notice discomfort in your neck, back, knees or other parts of your body. A common misconception among those injured in auto accidents in Miami is if they do not make the claim for injuries immediately after reporting the accident they are barred from recovery for injuries developed or intensifying in the future. Or you notice that the auto shop you took your car to for repairs did not adequately or completely make the fixes to your vehicle. These situations are common in the Miami- Dade, Coral Gables and all other surrounding areas in South Florida.

Every state has a statute of limitations that dictates how long a party has to bring a claim against those that injured them or breached the contract or duty owed to them. In Florida the statute of limitations includes but is not limited to the following:

Injury to Person 4 yrs. §95.11(3)(o)
Libel/Slander 2 yrs. §95.11(4)(g)
Fraud 4 yrs. §95.11(3)(j)
Injury to Personal Property 4 yrs. §95.11(3)(h)
Professional Malpractice 2 yrs.; Medical: 2-4 yrs. §95.11(4)(a) and (b)
Trespass 4 yrs. §95.11(3)(g)
Contracts Written: 5 yrs. §95.11(2)(b), 1 yr. specific performance§95.11(5)(a)Oral: 4 yrs. §95.11(3)(k)
Judgments 20 yrs. domestic §95.11(1); 5 yrs. foreign judgment §95.11(2)(a)

From: http://statelaws.findlaw.com/florida-law/florida-civil-statute-of-limitations-laws.html

For a more complete list of the applicable statute of limitations in Florida see Florida Statute 95.11

Statutes of limitations involve many exceptions and cross reference with other applicable Florida laws. To assist in what can be a difficult area to understand and navigate the Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers at Friedland | Carmona are ready and eager to assist you immediately. Having a lawyer familiar with this area of law and experienced in handling all types of cases can make all the difference in the outcome of your claim.

The South Florida personal injury attorneys at the Friedland | Carmona handle all types of negligence, product liability, personal injury, negligent security, slip/trip and fall, and car accident cases throughout the state of Florida, including Boca Raton, Homestead, North Miami, South Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Pembroke Pines, Hialeah, Kendall, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach. The Friedland | Carmona handles all types of personal injury cases, including dog bites, wrongful death, defective products, medical malpractice, slip and falls, negligent and reckless drivers, and automobile and motorcycle accidents. Call the Miami personal injury attorneys today and let our family take care of your family.

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Personal injury law is utilized when someone causes physical harm to another and the injured wants to be made whole or compensated for that injury. The experienced attorneys at Friedland | Carmona provide free consultations to those who believe they may have a case and are seeking more information on the options available to them. Examples of situations when people normally seek personal injury lawyers in Miami, Coral Gables, and the surrounding areas include but are not limited to:

Auto accidents,

Trip and falls/slip and fall: There are many dangerous conditions like torn carpeting, changes in flooring, poor lighting, narrow stairs, or a wet floor can cause someone to slip and be injured. Same goes if someone trips on a broken or cracked public sidewalks, or falls down a flight of stairs. In addition, a slip and fall case might arise when someone slips or falls outdoors because of rain, ice, snow or a hidden hazard, such as a pothole in the ground. In any event, the plaintiff must have sustained some kind of injury, however minor, in order to collect, http://injury.findlaw.com/torts-and-personal-injuries/slip-and-fall-accidents-overview.html

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Wal-Mart has over 290 locations just in Florida. Every year there are several cases brought against Florida Wal-Mart’s by customers who are injured while conducting business at the various locations. Wal-Mart has had to pay verdicts involving amounts in the several of thousands to several millions of dollars range due to their negligence in certain cases.

Wal-Mart, as does many businesses throughout the Florida and surrounding areas, invites the general public to come onto their properties lawfully for a multitude of reasons including browsing. Since Wal-Mart receives the benefit of their invitees on the property they have a legal duty to create and maintain a reasonably safe environment for all who enter the premises. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for liquid substances to be left on the floor, shelves to protrude into walkways or fall because they are defective, for merchandise on the top shelf to topple onto someone passing by or for other accidents to occur regularly.

If you are injured at any business location and suffer personal injuries it is important to consult an attorney about the facts and details surrounding your accident. A Florida attorney can assist you in assessing whether the business breached its duty (or broke their obligation) to maintain the premises in a safe enough condition for you to lawfully enter onto and conduct business without being injured.

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According to the statistics of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, from 2013 to 2014, the crime rate in the State of Florida has decreased 3.6%. This is the most recent official statistic. However, crime still exists and anyone can be a victim of it. In Florida, cases where one is bringing a lawsuit against a business after they’ve been assaulted by a third party are often referred to as “negligent security” cases. This is a type of premises liability dealing with civil redress for crimes and violent acts. Here, the victims hold the owner or tenant of the property where a criminal injury is inflicted liable because of inadequate security measures or negligent selection/retention of security personnel.

For example, you are a guest in a hotel. You parked your car in the hotel garage or parking lot. In the middle of the night, you realize you forgot something in your car, and while you are getting such item, someone assaults you, stealing your car and leaving you unconscious near death. Your family wants to find out who did this to you, but when they go to the hotel “security manager”, they face the awful truth that the hotel did not have security cameras installed in the parking lot.

If this was yours or a loved one’s case, here are our recommendations of the steps you should take following this awful incident.

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After nearly a year and a half of litigation, parties to the case of Estate of Nelson v. Graystar Management have settled outside of court for an award of 1.5 million dollar award to the family of a deceased Marine.  The victim, David Nelson, had survived two tours of combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan, only to die just feet outside of his apartment while collecting the mail.  Nelson was shot by one of his neighbors, Jaime Vogel, who later committed suicide in prison, leaving investigators baffled as to his motives for the crime.

The shooter, Vogel, was not listed at the apartment, and it was instead listed in his son’s name.  He was not listed on the lease in an attempt to hide a previous incident of violence against a neighbor and other criminal activity which got him evicted from another Greystar Management property.  The lawsuit filed in 2013 sought extensive damages for the fallen marine’s wrongful death, from both the management company and the property itself.  Nelson’s wife, Maria, fought hard for compensation from the management company, which failed to provide notice to the other tenants of the building that there had been previous incidents of violence on the property, and failed to adequately check the background of the various tenants.  Attorneys for the Plaintiffs claimed that the management company was in the best position to do the checks on the people that they brought in to live in the complex, and were therefore in the best position to protect their residents and the public in general from offenders like Vogel, who had a history of violence and complaints against his neighbors.

After a long pre-trial sequence, parties agreed to a 1.5 million dollar settlement, over the claims of the management company that they had no knowledge of a violent offender living in the apartment, making the shooting unforeseeable by the defendant.  You can read more about the case here.

Negligent security cases such as this are common in Florida, with management companies having lax policies on who and when they allow people to rent in their properties.  The Friedland | Carmona has extensive experience dealing with large management companies like Graystar and can help you get the compensation you deserve if you are injured on or around a property like an apartment complex, rented house, or even shopping mall or retail store.  If you or a loved one has been injured due to the fault of another, including negligent security, slip and fall type cases, or even wrongful death cases, call the Friedland | Carmona today.  Our attorneys are prepared to help you and your family get through the tough times that follow intense litigation. Continue reading

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Last night, a gunman opened fire at the midnight opening show of the newest Batman film, “The Dark Knight Rises,” leaving over ten people dead and fifty more injured. Some theaters, including theaters in Hialeah, Miami Lakes and Dolphin Mall, have decided to add additional security as a precaution to protect their patrons. Yet, despite the massacre, several South Florida movie theaters have stated that they will not make changes to their current security measures.

Regal Entertainment Group owns several theaters in the Miami-Dade and Broward areas and has opted not to add any additional security measures. In a statement, the company stated that it will “continue to monitor the situation and adjust our security needs as necessary.” Regal theaters and AMC multiplexes in the area are regularly patrolled by office duty police officers. Movie theaters that are based in malls often have officers who are regularly assigned to the area. However, neither company will increase the amount of officers assigned to the area in the wake of the tragedy.

While many believe the matter is an isolated incident, one Florida teen recently spoke out against returning to a movie theater. The teen stated, “I’m never going to the movie theater again. Why should I go somewhere where I’m looking over my shoulder worrying that someone is going to come in and harm us when I can wait six months and watch it in the safety of my own home?'” The teen’s mother agreed, wondering why patrons would continue to put themselves in harms way.

No new security measures planned at most movie cinemas in South Florida, www.miamiherald.com July 20, 2012.

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Amanda Collette died in the hallway of Dillard High School almost three years ago, the victim of another student’s gun. Collette’s family filed a wrongful death suit against the school, alleging that another student warned a teacher about the student possessing a gun and his threats to use it, but the teacher made no report and that the school failed to utilize the metal detector wands that were on hand. They allege that their daughter would still be alive had the school taken proper precautions.

Collette’s family and the school reached a settlement earlier this week, with Collette’s parents receiving $525,000 from the school. The School Board did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement as law enforcement officers cleared the teacher who reportedly knew about the gun of any wrongdoing. The parties involved consider it a “fair and reasonable resolution” for all and it will help avoid a costly and lengthy legal battle.

Apparently, the gunman had a crush on Collette but felt rejected when she rebuffed his advances. Feeling rejected by Collette, he brought a gun to school and shot her in the back in the hallway in between class periods.

Broward School District to pay $525,000 to family of girl killed at Dillard High, www.sun-sentinel.com September 08, 2011

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Thumbnail image for golf.jpgGolf is usually known to be a relaxing, calm sport where players can have a good time with their buddies. This was not the case on January 13, 2011, when 35 year old Lataurus Randall and his second cousin were attempting to finish their round of golf on the 17th hole in a Deerfield Beach golf course. As the cousins were finishing up their round of golf at around 6:30 p.m., two masked men dressed in black appeared out of the bushes. The two masked men attempted to rob the cousins and ended up shooting Lataurus Randall. Deerfield Beach Fire Rescue was called to the scene of the tragic accident and rushed Lataurus to North Broward Medical Center. The following day Mr. Randall was pronounced dead.

Lataurus Randall was a devoted golfer who enjoyed playing two to three times a week. He owned a landscaping business according to his sister, Latoya Randall. Speaking on behalf of her brother’s death, Latoya said, “I’ve never known my brother to have any enemies, he was a good person, whoever did this, I hope they are brought to justice. Mr. Randall left behind a 9 year old son. “What he liked to do most was play golf and spend time with his son,” said Latoya regarding her brother. Employees at the golf course said that Lataurus was a regular member. “They were new to golf, so they were a little slow, sometimes they finished the whole course, sometimes they did not.”

“You never think something like this would happen here, this is where you go to relax, not get robbed” said Marc Cohen, a Deerfield resident.

Johnny LaPonzina, a golf course expert said, “at the time the incident happened most carts and golfers are no longer out on courses because it is dark. “Being out there that late gave people the opportunity to do this. But this could happen anywhere. There is no more safe haven.” Unfortunately, wrongful death and premises liability cases such as this one are not uncommon in the tri-county area of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County. In March 23, 2006, an employee at the Forest Oaks Golf Club in Palm Beach County was shot dead while closing up the shop. In 1998, Benjamin Stein, 65, was robbed and killed on the 16th hole of a Miami Beach golf course. In 2009, a 19 year old man was arrested after shooting at a golfer who was playing at Killian Greens Golf Club in the Kendall area. Luckily nobody was hurt in the 2009 accident and police were able to arrest the shooter.

Deerfield Beach Man Shot While Playing Golf Dies, www.miamiherald.com, January 15, 2011.

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