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.
The Broward County accident 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 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.