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Plaintiff injured in car crash, then in law-firm consult, wins $2.2M
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| May 28, 2009 |
By: Review staff & VerdictSearch |
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Lance Ivey and Scott B. Smith
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Case: Robert Friedrich and Heather Friedrich, his wife, v. Fetterman & Associates, P.A., Brandon Now & Then Shops Inc. d/b/a Brandon Home Furnishings, Brandon Estate Liquidators Inc. d/b/a Brandon Home Furnishings, and Nicole Brandon
Case no: 50 2005 CA 006954 XXXX MB AE
Lawsuit
Description: Negligence
Filing date: July 26, 2005
Trial dates: April 27-May 6, 2009
Jury decision: $2.2 million
Judge: Palm Beach Circuit Judge Timothy McCarthy
Plaintiff attorneys: Scott Smith and Lance Ivey, Smith Ivey & Fronrath, Palm Beach Gardens
Defense attorneys: Daniel Methe and Kara Rockenbach, Gaunt Pratt Radford Methe & Rockenbach, West Palm Beach
Details: Robert and Heather Friedrich of Port St. Lucie were headed southbound on Interstate 95 near Palm Beach Gardens when their car was rear-ended by a commercial truck Dec. 10, 2003.
Robert Friedrich, now 44, had head and neck pain, and saw an orthopedist six days later. Friedrich went to personal injury law firm Fetterman & Associates in North Palm Beach for legal advice nine days after the collision.
But the chair Friedrich was sitting in collapsed in the firm’s conference room. He fell backward and struck his head on a piece of furniture, suffering another head and neck injury. Fetterman & Associates had purchased the chair six years earlier from Brandon Home Furnishings.
Friedrich and his wife sued the law firm, Brandon Home Furnishings and the trucking company whose truck they alleged hit him.
The company, JR Trucking, settled for a confidential amount before trial.
Judge McCarthy issued a directed verdict against Brandon Home Furnishings, which did not appear at the trial. It had no liability coverage.
Plaintiff case: Friedrich blamed his injuries for the loss of his sales job. He entered a pain management program and underwent spinal surgery to insert two plates and 12 screws in his neck. His neck was fused at four points.
The plaintiffs claimed the law firm’s chair was unsafe, and the firm knew or should have known it was not fit for use, Smith said.
The plaintiffs summoned an engineer as an expert witness to explain how the chair collapsed. They also called several medical experts, including a doctor who saw Friedrich after the car crash and before the chair collapse, to explain how much worse the injury had become after the incident in the law office.
Defense case: Methe said no one could have known the 6-year-old chair had a problem just by looking at it. He said the law firm should be held liable only for the defects they knew about or should have known about, and there was no evidence the firm knew the chair had a problem.
Methe noted the chair inspections advocated by the plaintiff are not required under law. The defense also put on medical experts who testified Friedrich’s injuries were from a pre-existing condition.
Verdict: The jury deliberated for nearly seven hours over two days before finding Brandon 67.5 percent liable and Fetterman & Associates 32.5 percent liable. The jury awarded Robert Friedrich $418,000 for past and future medical expenses, $967,000 for past and future lost earnings and $775,000 for pain and suffering. The jury awarded Heather Friedrich $70,000 for the loss of her husband’s attentions and services.
The jury concluded the chair collapse caused 75 percent of Friedrich’s injuries and the car crash caused 25 percent.
Because the accident was in 2003, joint and several liability still applied, making Brandon responsible for up to $2 million in economic damages and the law firm responsible for up to $1 million.
Quote: “As the owner of the chair and the owner of the business, [Fetterman & Associates] are responsible under Florida law for maintaining their business premises in a safe and nondangerous condition,” Smith said. “As a result, reasonable inspections of their chairs and their entire premises is required.”
Methe said, “The plaintiff himself didn’t notice any problems when he sat” in the chair. “That fracture was the first indication that anything was wrong with the chair.”
Post verdict: The defense filed a motion for a new trial. Methe said the law firm is considering an appeal.
— Jordana Mishory
Employment
U.S. District Court, West Palm Beach
Department store settles over racial harassment
Nordstrom agreed to pay $292,500 to 10 former employees who claimed they faced racial harassment at its stores in Palm Beach Gardens and Wellington.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claimed a store manager uttered numerous discriminatory statements including calling Hispanics lazy and ignorant.
The same manager also discussed his dislike for black people and scolded Hispanic tailors for speaking Spanish.
Case: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Nordstrom Inc.
Case no.: 9:07-cv-80894-KLR
Plaintiff lawyer: Maria K. Boehringer, Nora E. Curtin and Ana Isabel Segura, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Miami
Defense lawyer: Michael L. Elkins and Elizabeth P. Johnson, Fowler White Burnett, Miami
Medical Malpractice
Palm Beach Circuit Court
Jury sides with dentist blamed for gum injury
A jury rejected a plaintiff’s claim that a dentist botched a cosmetic procedure that injured the patient’s gums.
Bonnie E. Carter saw Dr. Vincent M. Dolce for a full upper cosmetic restoration.
She developed severe gum irritation and claimed Dolce placed laminates too high on her gums.
Defense counsel contended Carter was hypersensitive ,and gum irritation is a known risk of the procedure.
The defense also argued crown lengthening could likely cure Carter’s irritation, avoiding the need for a full restoration.
Case: Carter v. Dolce
Case no.: 50-2007-4508 MB
Plaintiff lawyer: James Randolph Quick, Quick Law Firm, Jupiter
Defense lawyer: Robert I. Rubin, Becker & Poliakoff, West Palm Beach
Bailment
Broward Circuit Court
Woman recovers for death of pet after kennel stay
A jury awarded $30,000 to the owner of a dog that died after getting sick at a Pompano Beach kennel.
Judy Smith claimed her 5-year-old Rottweiler, Newton, and 6-year-old Rottweiler, Einstein, got sick during a Memorial Day weekend stay at the Dog House.
Smith claimed staff members told her they were unable to seek veterinary attention because the kennel was too busy that weekend.
Her dogs were diagnosed with respiratory illness. Einstein recovered, but Newton died a week later despite 24-hour critical care.
The kennel defaulted, and the trial proceeded on damages.
Case: Smith v. Lefevers
Case no.: CACE06005642
Plaintiff lawyer: Marcy I. LaHart, Marcy I. LaHart, P.A., West Palm Beach
Defense lawyer: Not represented |
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