South Florida Personal Injury Lawyers

After five days of wrenching testimony about the drowning death of a 5-year-old boy at Crofton Country Club, an Anne Arundel County jury awarded his parents more than $4 million in damages yesterday.

Hunt Valley-based DRD Pool Service Inc., the club’s pool management company, was found negligent for failing to adequately train its lifeguards and properly staff the pool. It was ordered to pay Thomas Freed and Debra Neagle Webber $2,000,076 each - the 76 dollars serving as a symbol of Connor Freed’s birthday, which was July 6.

At a news conference yesterday, Connor’s parents, who had filed the wrongful-death lawsuit, expressed relief that the trial was over, a sense of satisfaction with the jury’s ruling and a determination to ensure that their son’s death would not be in vain.

“Just hearing that the jury thought that DRD was negligent, it definitely helped us out,” said Thomas Freed, who was flanked by family members including Connor’s sister, Brittany Webber, 17. “To hear that verdict, it took a load off our shoulders.”

DRD’s lawyer, Steven R. Migdal, could not be reached for comment.

A 16-year-old lifeguard, who had been on the job for three weeks, was on duty when Connor was found floating in the country club’s outdoor pool about 4:30 p.m. June 22, 2006. He had been swimming at the pool with a family friend, Paul Carroll, then 36, and two other children.

Connor was taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center, where he died.

The jury did not award a judgment against Carroll, a car salesman who was also named in the suit and represented himself at trial.

The parents’ attorneys, Gary A. Wais and H. Briggs Bedigian, said yesterday they are considering appeals in the case on two issues. A state law caps jury awards in wrongful-death cases at $1.3 million, meaning the judgment awarded by the jury would be significantly decreased if not challenged. Secondly, a motion seeking judgment for pain and suffering on Connor’s part was dismissed.

“This company has an attitude that they don’t have any responsibility at all to safeguard children’s lives in a pool,” Bedigian said.

Meanwhile, Connor’s parents - who have set up a foundation, Connor Cares, to honor their son - said they are working with lawmakers to create uniformity in safety requirements at public pools.

They would also like to see more stringent rules because, for example, in Anne Arundel County, just one lifeguard is required for every 50 swimmers. They are calling for legislation that would decrease that ratio to one lifeguard per 25 swimmers.

A U.S. Navy helicopter crashed late Monday during a training mission on Guam, killing one of four people on board, the Navy said.The helicopter from the Sea Combat 25 squadron crashed into the Fena Reservoir on Navy property near Naval Magazine in Santa Rita.

Three members of the crew were rescued and transported to the island territory’s Navy hospital. Lt. Donnell Evans, a Navy spokesman, said one crew member had a broken arm while the other two were treated for minor injuries.

The body of the fourth crew member was recovered from the water, said Guam Fire Department spokesman Angel Llagas. The names of the crew members were not released.

The helicopter squadron on Guam is the Navy’s only one of its type. Its mission includes resupplying ships and providing 24-hour search and rescue and evacuation services for the U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands.

A jury awarded $19 million Monday to a 13-year-old boy who suffered severe brain injuries when a television fell on his head at school.

A TV bolted to a stand toppled onto the child at St. Genevieve School on Oct. 30, 2003, when the boy, then 9, tugged on it, said Steve Passen, who represented the boy in the lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Chicago.

“It was highly unsteady and unsafe to be around children - that’s the bottom line,” Passen said. “I think ($19 million) is a fair amount, given the severity of his injuries.”

The boy, who was in the fourth grade, was in a coma for several weeks and surgeons removed part of his skull. While he is now in the eighth grade, his cognitive abilities are at a third-grade level, his left arm is severely injured and and he walks with a limp, Passen said.

The archdiocese said it admitted liability at the trial, which focused on setting a damages amount.

“Basically, the archdiocese has been primarily concerned for the future of the young person involved,” archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Burritt said.

The boy now attends a Chicago public school, where he receives special instruction to address his disabilities, Passen said.

Movie star George Clooney fractured a rib and his girlfriend broke her foot when the two were knocked off his motorcycle by a car in New Jersey on Friday, the actor’s spokesman said.

Clooney, 46, and his companion, Sarah Larson, were treated for their injuries at the Palisades Medical Center, across the Hudson River from Manhattan, and were released, spokesman Stan Rosenfield said.

“He was treated for a hairline fracture of a rib and road rash,” he said. Larson, who was a passenger on the motorcycle driven by Clooney, suffered a broken foot. Both were wearing helmets.

Rosenfield told Reuters the accident occurred when a motorist signaled a left-hand turn, but turned right and struck Clooney’s motorcycle. The publicist said he did not know whether the driver of the car was cited for the accident.

Clooney, who won an Oscar last year for his supporting role in the political thriller “Syriana,” was with Larson during his day off from production on his latest film, the Coen brothers’ “Burn After Reading,” co-starring Brad Pitt, John Malkovich and Frances McDormand.

Larson, described in various media accounts as a cocktail waitress and onetime contestant on gross-out gameshow “Fear Factor,” has been shown in recent published photos kissing and holding hands with Clooney.

A small plane crashed on the southbound lanes of Interstate 95 between Commercial Boulevard and Cypress Creek Road creating traffic back ups on the busy interstate for miles. Southbound traffic moved slowly as firefighters and rescuers work to clear the scene.The plane came to rest on the west shoulder of the interstate.

According to a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman, the twin-engine Beechcraft took off from nearby Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport around 1:30 p.m. when the pilot, Robert Robertson, failed to gain altitude and called in a mayday.

Local 10 reported the plane was fully loaded with fuel and headed to the Bahamas. Investigators are just beginning to figure out what happened, but early reports are that the plane clipped the top northeast side of a building, then barely made it over railroad tracks before skidding to a stop and avoiding going completely into lanes of traffic on I-95.

Robertson was the only one on board the plane. He is in critical condition at Broward General Medical Center.

Drivers Describe Chaotic Scene

Drivers described a surreal scene as the airplane crashed on the shoulder of the interstate. Witnesses told Local 10 that the plane came in at a sharp angle, clipped a building and “dropped like a rock” a few yards from the southbound lanes.

“Before we even passed him he went down, started rolling, hit a sign and then stopped, so we pulled over and he was slumped over. We thought he was dead,” said Charles Jules, who was driving south on the interstate. Another driver, Madeline Jones, was amazed nobody crashed their car. “All the cars started swerving around trying to avoid each other and I just saw (the plane) flip over and hit the ground. It’s amazing he didn’t hit us,” she said.

Records show that the plane is owned by Monarch Air Group. The company’s chief mechanic, David Cavanaugh was at the scene and told Local 10’s Roger Lohse that it’s a vintage 1960s model aircraft that was modified to carry cargo.

“It’s been a good airplane. We haven’t had a major maintenance issue with it at all,” said Cavanaugh.

He also told Lohse that Robertson was an excellent flier who has been with the company for several years.

Two of the six boaters who were missing after their fishing boat was found about 100 miles south of their destination in the Bahamas have been found, Local 10 has learned. The pair of boaters was rescued Monday morning about 12 miles from where the boat was found. It is unclear if they were the passengers or the crew.U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer James Judge said the 47-foot sports fisher “Joe Cool” left Miami for the Bimini islands Saturday with two passengers and four crewmembers on board. A relative of one of the boaters reported them missing Saturday night.

Judge said the fishing boat was found Sunday night near Cay Sal without its life raft. Cay Sal is about 100 miles south of where the “Joe Cool” was traveling.

The names of the four of the boaters are Jake Branam, Kelly Branam, Scott Campbell and Sammy Cary. Three of the four crewmembers are related, Local 10 has learned.

The Coast Guard was interviewing the boaters.

Skin patches used to administer drugs, such as the Duragesic pain patch and the contraceptive Ortho Evra, are still being prescribed even though the Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings regarding their dangers.

Duragesic Fentanyl Patch

Last year sales of fentanyl patches like Duragesic climbed 10 percent when just a year before the FDA had warned of an increased risk of overdose-related deaths. According to a marketing analysis firm, 4.7 million prescriptions were written for the drug in 2006.

“The purpose of the [warning] was to cut back on prescriptions, so it’s a failure,” said Dr. Curt D. Furberg of Wake Forest medical school.

Fentanyl is a potent narcotic 80 times stronger than morphine. In 2005, the FDA urged healthcare providers to exercise caution when prescribing fentanyl patches. Nevertheless, the number of fentanyl patch-related deaths continues to remain “steady,” according to one expert.

Ortho Evra

And prescriptions are still being written for Ortho Evra, the popular birth control patch, although sales have dropped off since the FDA warned that the patch exposes women to 60 percent more estrogen than oral contraceptives. Estrogen increases the risk of potentially fatal blood clots.

Kristen Britt, a 28-year-old veterinary nurse, experienced the harmful effects of Ortho Evra in 2005 shortly after she began using the patch.

“One day, I couldn’t walk anymore. I was literally screaming in pain,” she said.

Britt had developed a blood clot, which required months-long treatment with risky blood thinning medications. Though her treatment was successful, Britt now faces an increased risk of blood clots in the future.

She and approximately 1,900 women across the United States have filed federal lawsuits against the maker of Ortho Evra. Hundreds more have been filed in state courts.

The Problem with Patches

The safety of drug patches is an issue that some experts are asking the FDA to reexamine. Particularly problematic, safety experts say, is patch dosing. Different people absorb the drugs at different rates. Skin type and lifestyle are both factors that affect drug absorption.

For instance, heat increases the rate at which drugs are absorbed into the body, so exercising and sunbathing will affect the absorption rate. Also, some people have thicker skin, which slows absorption.

“Some people may not get enough of the drug, which defeats the purpose of taking it. And some may get too much…which is going to hurt some people,” Furberg said.

An additional problem is that people tend to regard patches as somewhat harmless, like a Band-Aid, forgetting that a powerful drug lies within.

“Patches are not innocuous,” said medicinal chemist Kenneth Sloan at the University of Florida. “One patch does not fit all.”

Appealing But Risky

Drug patches certainly have their appeal for patients and healthcare providers alike. For patients who don’t like to swallow pills or receive needle injections, the benefits are obvious. As are the benefits to doctors concerned with whether or not the patient will take the medication at regular intervals as prescribed.

But patches are not without risks and their relative novelty means that experts are only now beginning to understand their downside. Still, as technology advances, more and more drugs may become available in patch form.

On July 24, 1999, plaintiff Mark Godfrey, a 23-year-old from Leicester, England, was receiving a flight lesson from plaintiff Nicholas Grace, a 33-year-old flight instructor, when their Cessna 150L’s engine failed. Both men survived, but sustained debilitating head, face and brain injuries when the plane crashed into a tree near Ormond Beach Municipal Airport.Godfrey and Grace sued parts manufacturer Precision Airmotive and engine manufacturer Teledyne Technologies on products liability theories, claiming design defects. They also sued Ormond Beach Aviation, but a directed verdict was entered in its favor.According to plaintiffs’ counsel, products liability complaints had been lodged against both Precision and Teledyne for years. Precision, the carburetor manufacturer, acquired rights to the product in 1991. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Precision knew at the time of product acquisition that it knew about complaints of screws loosening during flight.

Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that test reports run in-house by Teledyne, the engine manufacturer, indicated that fuel routinely left deposits on engine exhaust valves. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that the plane’s engine failure resulted from sticking exhaust valves.

The defense contended that on-the-ground personnel were responsible for keeping the airplane maintained. The oil had not been changed frequently enough, defense argued.

However, plaintiff’s counsel noted that no damage to the engine was determined to have resulted from an oil problem.

Grace was hospitalized for a few days following the accident and then spent time in a rehabilitation facility. He sustained injuries to his mouth, losing 13 teeth in the crash. He will require future surgery to replace them. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and continues to experience depression, anxiety and difficulty concentrating. Grace attempted suicide in 2006. He was hospitalized for six days. He sustained an orbital fracture and lost four teeth. He was also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Both men sustained brain stem injuries. Grace has residual slowness of one side of his body.

The jury found Precision was 70 percent liable and Teledyne was 30 percent liable. It awarded $54.5 million. Grace was awarded $32 million, and Godfrey received $21 million. The jury awarded $1.5 million in punitive damages against Precision.

The family of a young Virginia boy who was badly injured in a car crash that killed three people, including a Staten Island woman, has filed a $60 million lawsuit against the manufacturer of the van he was riding in, the dealer who sold the van and the driver of the pickup truck that crashed into their van on a country road. According to a report in today’s Roanoke Times, the family of Connor Smith, who suffered brain damage and has struggled to re-learn how to walk and talk, is claiming that the 1994 Chrysler Grand Voyager minivan was not adequately designed to handle side impacts. Myrta Claudio, 34, of the Graniteville section of Staten Island, was killed in the four-car crash. Police identified Ms. Claudio as the cause of the Oct. 1, 2005 wreck. According to court documents cited in the report, Ms. Claudio clipped the Smiths’ van while trying to pass a pickup truck on a two-lane road in Virginia’s Louisa County. The Smiths were in the northbound lane. Ms. Claudio was driving south, but entered the northbound lane to pass the truck.

The Smiths’ van lost control and crashed into the pickup. Ms. Claudio swerved back into the northbound lane and hit another car head on.

Michael Palese, a Chrysler spokesman, told the paper that the company has not received the suit and can’t comment on its merits. “Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as perfect safety,” he said. “We design vehicles to protect the greatest number of people in the greatest number of accidents, but unfortunately, bad things happen.”

A Houston-area couple sued a crib-maker after their daughter died while sleeping in one of their products, KPRC Local 2 reported Friday. “She was just precious, my princess,” said Tami Arceneaux.

Arceneaux never imagined putting her 7-month-old daughter, Royale, to bed in her Simplicity crib would put her little life in danger, but now the family is filing a lawsuit against the company for her death in February.

Her lawyer said the crib did not come with instructions. The family wrote Simplicity and had a manual mailed, but when it arrived, the lawyer said there was a major problem.

“There’s no mention anywhere on this page telling consumers installing the drop rail that there is a top and bottom,” attorney Mark Weycer said.

“I feel like we followed the instructions to the best of our ability,” said Arceneaux.

Without knowing it, the Arceneauxs put the drop rail on upside-down and because of that, they said a hinge broke. That allowed a gap between the mattress and the rail. That gap is where they said Royale suffocated to death with her head against the mattress.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled more than one million cribs made by Simplicity, also using the Graco logo, because the drop rail can become detached.

“If you are a parent who has this type of crib, check immediately to see if it’s one being recalled. If it is, don’t put your child in that crib tonight,” said Patty Davis of the CPSC.

Other parents around the Houston area, such as Tammy Ellison of Nassau Bay, said she felt lucky nothing happened to her little boy. Nine-month-old Dylan has been sleeping in his Simplicity crib since he came home from the hospital.

“It’s scary. My crib’s put together right, but I don’t feel it’s safe for him,” said Ellison.

Dylan will be sleeping in his playpen until the company sends her a repair kit. She said that could take four to six weeks.

The recall may be too late for little Royale, but her mother said it’s still a blessing.

“Royale is gone. I can’t bring her back. I wish I could. It helps me sleep at night now that this is recalled, to help other families,” said Arceneaux.

CPSC said at least three babies have died in Simplicity cribs from the defect, and seven more had been dangerously trapped. There were more than a dozen different models being recalled. The recalled Simplicity crib models include: Aspen 3 in 1, Aspen 4 in 1, Nursery-in-a-Box, Crib N Changer Combo, Chelsea and Pooh 4 in 1. The recall also involves the following Simplicity cribs that used the Graco logo: Aspen 3 in 1, Ultra 3 in 1, Ultra 4 in1, Ultra 5 in 1, Whitney and the Trio.

The recalled cribs have one of the following model numbers, which can be found on the envelope attached to the mattress support and on the label attached to the headboard: 4600, 4605, 4705, 5000, 8000, 8324, 8800, 8740, 8910, 8994, 8050, 8750, 8760, and 8996.

The cribs, which were made in China, were sold in department stores, children?s stores and mass merchandisers nationwide from January 1998 through May 2007 for between $100 and $300.

Consumers who have a crib with older style hardware can receive a free repair by immediately contacting Simplicity toll-free at 1-888-593-9274 between 7:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. Houston time Monday through Thursday, between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Houston time on Friday, and between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.