Plaintiff Daisy Nadal, a 17-year-old student, sustained brain injuries when she was a passenger on a motorcycle that collided with an illegally parked car in Miami near a food stand owned by Paulette Philias.Nadal’s mother, Xinia Nadal, sued Philias and her business, Pack Supermarket, for her negligence. According to plaintiff’s counsel, cars would customarily park their cars illegally on the side of the street and walk up to the stand’s window. Daisy was injured when the driver of the motorcycle collided with a customer’s car. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that the operation of the stand constituted a nuisance in the road which was the proximate cause of Daisy’s injuries.Philias and Pack Supermarket were not represented by counsel. She did not file an answer to the complaint and a default judgment was entered in favor of Daisy. The trial proceeded on damages.
Daisy was rushed to a hospital. She sustained a traumatic brain injury and was hospitalized for six months.
She has an inability to maintain her balance and has difficulty moving her arms.
Plaintiff’s counsel sought damages for pain and suffering, disability, physical impairment, mental anguish, inconvenience, aggravation of a disease of physical defect, and loss of enjoyment of life. Plaintiffs sought damages for past medical bills in the amount of $455,000 and future medical care.
The jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of the plaintiffs, awarding damages in the amount of $15,424,235.