South Florida Personal Injury Lawyers

In 2002, plaintiff Charles Carnes, 69, retired, suffered a stroke following prostate surgery. For the past nine years, he was a patient of Dr. John Caruso for high blood pressure.Caruso was called in to manage his medical condition while he was in the hospital. In the four days following the surgery, Caruso failed to act as Carnes’ blood pressure steadily increased, from 190/110 on Wednesday to 230/110 the following morning. In spite of this, Caruso only administered one dose of medication, which was a insufficient dose for the problem. Caruso did not come to see Carnes, but phoned in the prescription and allowed him to be discharged from the hospital without having his blood pressure checked. Carnes was discharged Friday, and was okay for the remainder of the day. On Saturday, he begins feeling pain in his body and by that night he suffered a stroke that paralyzed the left side of his body.

Carnes sued Caruso for medical malpractice, claiming that he failed to control Carne’s blood pressure over the course of nine years by not administering the proper medications. This led to an advanced accelerated hardening of the arteries, which did not allow them to constrict allowing a thrombosis. If you have this disease, the ability to constrict and dilate is less effective, and allowed for a occlusive stroke to occur as a result of hypertension.

Defense counsel argued that the medication Caruso administered to Carnes over the nine years was sufficient and that his pressures were not unordinary.

Caruso’s attorneys initially argued that additional blood pressure medicine was not given to Carnes because Caruso feared it might react with the anesthesia or pain medications, but dropped this argument when it was discovered to be unfounded.

The fallout from a lawsuit settled in Crawford County last week over a death that occurred there during the RAGBRAI bicycle ride in 2004 remains to be seen, but Shelby County has opted to take a “wait and see” approach before taking any action.
      The Crawford County Board of Supervisors last week passed a resolution prohibiting RAGBRAI (The Register’s Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) or any such event from using secondary roadways in that county.
      The action comes on the heels of a $350,000 settlement awarded to a Davenport woman who had sued Crawford County. Betty Jo Ullrich sued the county following the death of her husband, who was killed while participating in RAGBRAI. Kirk Ullrich died after his bicycle tire became stuck in the center-line joint of a roadway, and he was thrown from his bicycle.
      The settlement was announced last week, paid by the Iowa Communities Insurance Pool. No liability was admitted, but repercussions of the lawsuit and subsequent settlement is expected statewide.
      Shelby County Auditor Marsha Carter said Tuesday she expected most of the counties to pass a similar resolution, which would likely hurt RAGBRAI’s chances of continuing, but word came from the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) to hold off on any action.
      ”We did receive an email from ISAC legal counsel on Friday suggesting that all the counties hold off doing anything,” said Carter, as there are questions whether the resolution is legal. In addition, Shelby County Engineer Dan Ahart said there may be legislative action.
      ”What I’m understanding is they’re going to try to see if legislatively they can resolve this issue,” he said.
      Events such as RAGBRAI are a huge economic boost to the counties and communities that host the bicycle ride, but the lawsuit issue needs to be addressed statewide, officials said. Ahart said county roads are not intended for such bicycle traffic, and local governments have to be cognizant that accidents can happen, and protect themselves.
      ”The design, the age and just the utilization of our highway system was not intended from the get-go for events of this nature,” he added. “They (the legislature) really have to get their arms around this. It’s all of our responsibility not only to protect the public but the taxpayers from exposures like this.”
      Shelby County Attorney Marcus Gross, Jr. said he’s not sure the resolution passed by Crawford County is lawful, but it does bring forth the question for consideration statewide. In Shelby County, such a resolution would not only affect RAGBRAI if it came again, but also such events as the Antique Bike Ride from Panama to Neola, or the bicycle ride held during Harlan’s Jammin’ on the Square.
      ”How can you say somebody can’t ride on the road,” said Gross. “I think there’s a question.”
      Ahart said the wait and see approach for Shelby County is good for now. “This isn’t going to be swept under the rug,” he said. There will be some action statewide to address RAGBRAI, he said.

A 1,200-pound gate was left off its hinges at the Tenney Grammar School for at least four years before it toppled onto an 11-year-old boy and killed him - and no one knows why.

A city investigation into the Sept. 3 incident that killed Timothy DiLeo revealed the gate was taken down sometime between November 2000 and October 2003 because it was getting in the way of trash pickup, Mayor William Manzi said.

The report, which will be released by the city tomorrow, does not say why it was left leaning up against a brick wall in the school’s Dumpster area. Manzi said a welding company took the gate off its hinges, but the city cannot find a purchase order to show when the actual work was done.

The order to take down the gate was made by a former school maintenance official. It was signed off by former school Superintendent Nathan Littlefield and former schools Business Manager John Crafton, the mayor said.

Manzi said current administration was unaware of the situation.

At this point in the investigation, the mayor said, the city has no plans for legal or disciplinary action against employees or former employees who may have known about the unsecured gate.

The gate fell on Timothy DiLeo while he was playing with his 8-year-old brother Andrew, 13-year-old brother Steven, and 14-year-old friend Brandon LaPorte on Labor Day.

The boys climbed on the gate that was leaning up against the wall and it fell over, landing on top of Timothy and Andrew. Timothy was killed and Andrew suffered a broken arm and other injuries.

The DiLeo family has hired a lawyer to try to find out who’s responsible for leaving the gate off its hinges. No lawsuits have been filed.

“It’s a terrible tragedy. It’s unimaginable to lose a child,” said Robert Gilbert, the family’s lawyer. “(The family is going through) a horrible grieving process. The most important thing is for them to come together as a family.”

Regarding the potential for a lawsuit, Gilbert said, “There is time to do that. It’s not what they are interested in.”

“My concern is with Timmy’s parents, his two brothers and his sister,” Gilbert said. “They’re dealing with the loss, and all five have to figure out how to deal with it.”

Gilbert has not seen the report yet, but Manzi said it will be provided to the DiLeo family. Manzi said the city will continue to talk with the family and their lawyer.

“In a situation like this, this document may be helpful,” Manzi said. “Or it may trigger more questions the city needs to answer. Certainly we want to present the best set of facts we have and we know. That’s our obligation.”

A 5-year-old boy playing on train tracks fell and was unable to move before the train struck and killed him, police said.Kevin Bradford and two other boys had sneaked past their grandmother to look for dinosaur bones on Thursday, police said.

Workers aboard the Union Pacific train traveling through the small North Texas town of Watauga saw the boys on the tracks but couldn’t stop in time, Union Pacific spokesman Joe Arbona said.

Kevin’s 7-year-old brother and 5-year-old cousin made it safely off the tracks and ran home. Kevin’s foot got caught in the tracks and he fell, officials said.

Watauga Police Chief Rande Benjamin said Kevin’s death was an accident and charges would not be filed. A report was sent to Child Protective Services for review.

Texas ranks second in the United States for pedestrian-train fatalities. From January through July, 29 pedestrians died on Texas railroads, according to the Federal Railroad Administration

A Kanawha County man claims the neglect his mother was shown at a local nursing home caused her death and he is seeking damages for her estate.

Jerry Burgess filed a suit Oct. 11 in Kanawha Circuit Court on behalf of the estate of Rosella Burgess. The suit is against Beverly Enterprises, doing business as Beverly Health Care Center and also known as Golden Living Center.

According to the suit, Rosella Burgess was a resident at Golden Living Center from March 24, 2004, until her death on March 21, 2007.

During her stay, her son claims she suffered serious injuries caused by poor care, neglect and abuse. The injuries included falls, pressure sores, weight loss, medication side effects and poor hygiene.

Jerry Burgess claims Golden Living Center failed in all aspects of his mother’s care. In the three-count suit, Burgess claims he also suffered mental pain and suffering and loss of companionship and guidance from his mother as a result of her death.

Burgess seeks compensatory and punitive damages for his mother’s estate, in an amount the court deems necessary.

Attorney Erin L. Winter is representing Jerry Burgess. The case has been assigned to Judge Charles King.

A 35-foot racing sailboat capsized, struck a breakwater and broke apart in rough conditions on Lake Michigan, killing three of the four men aboard, authorities said Thursday.The men, part of a racing team, were sailing to a dry-dock facility on the Calumet River on Chicago’s far South Side on Wednesday night when one of them fell overboard, Coast Guard Boatsmate 1st Class Michael Arnold said.

The three men on board called the Coast Guard and local authorities, then began searching for the missing man themselves, he said.

As they tried to pull him from the water, the boat struck the breakwater and broke up in the 10-foot waves, Arnold said.

“We found a 5-foot section of the bow, but we’re still looking for the rest,” he said.

A small craft advisory had been in effect since Tuesday afternoon because of high winds and waves.

The men had been in the 58-degree water for about 45 minutes. All four were wearing lifejackets, but rescuers were unable to resuscitate three of them, Arnold said.

The survivor, Joseph Sunshine, 34, was treated at a hospital and released. He identified two of the victims as the boat’s owner, John Finn, 45, and crew member Adam Kornen, 33, both of Chicago, said Indiana Conservation Officer Gene Davis. Sunshine did not know the name of the fourth man, Davis said.

Authorities were awaiting the results of autopsies to determine whether the men died of hypothermia or injuries related to the breakup of the boat, he said.

A woman was killed and 13 other people were hospitalized after a bus, an SUV and a Honda Accord collided near 36th Street and Northeast Second Avenue in Miami on Thursday night.

The woman who died in the crash had a 1-year-old baby in the car with her, police said. The child, who investigators said was riding in a safety seat, was taken to Jackson-Memorial Hospital.

Police said the bus and Honda were traveling westbound on 36th Street. The SUV was going northbound on Northeast Second Avenue.

The Honda’s driver and 12 others were taken to Jackson-Memorial Hospital. The names of the injured have not yet been released.

Detectives said they will be looking at video from a surveillance camera on the bus to help determine what caused the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board has found that mechanical problems led to a subway derailment in Washington, DC earlier this year that injured 23 passengers.

The Board said that the probable cause of the derailment of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) train was a wheel climb on a car as it traversed a standard turnout near the Mt. Vernon Square station. The wheel climb was initiated by a rough wheel surface created during maintenance, the Board determined. The accident was also caused by the lack of quality control measures to ensure that wheel surfaces were smoothed during the maintenance procedure, the lack of a guard rail on the No. 8 turnout, and WMATA’s failure to have an effective process to implement safety improvements identified following similar accidents and related research projects.

“We cannot emphasize enough how imperative it is that WMATA adopt and implement the recommendations issued today,” said NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. “We want to ensure the safest travel possible for the thousands of metrorail riders who commute daily on this system.”

On January 7, 2007, about 3:45 pm, northbound WMATA Greenline Metrorail train 504 derailed one car (the 5th of 6 cars) as it traversed a crossover from track 2 to track 1. About 80 passengers were on board at the time of the accident. Twenty-three passengers were transported to local hospitals for treatment and released.

Leigh Ann Cruse filed a product liability suit against Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceutical and Alza Corporation, seeking damages in excess of $250,000 under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act alleging her husband Cliff was killed by a defective Duragesic patch.

The suit filed in Madison County Circuit Court Oct. 17 was the 900th civil suit filed in the “L” division this year.

Last year on that date 934 cases had been filed in the court’s Law Division.

Duragesic is a transdermal patch available only by prescription that contains a gel form of fentanyl, an opioid-based pain medication 100 times stronger than morphine.

Once the patch is applied directly to the skin, it is designed to deliver fentanyl at a regulated rate for up to 72 hours.

The patch is designed, manufactured, distributed and sold by Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries, Janssen and Alza.

According to Cruse, her husband was prescribed the patch by co-defendant Dr. Syed Ali of Granite City on Nov. 4, 2004, after Cliff complained about chronic low back pain. He was prescribed Duragesic 75 mcg every 72 hours.

Cruse alleges Dr. Ali prescribed Cliff the same patch every 30 days until his death on April 13, 2006.

According to the complaint, on April 12, while wearing the patch on is left buttock, Cliff took a nap around 1 p.m.

Cruse claims she checked on him around 5:30 p.m. and believed him to be asleep and went on about her business.

She claims their son Dustin went to wake Cliff up around midnight on April 13, 2006, and was unable to do so. Cliff was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m.

According to the complaint, toxicology results revealed the level of fentanyl to be 16.7 nanograms/ml, a lethal dose, leading to Cliff’s cause of death to be determined as a fentanyl overdose.

Cruse claims cliff did not know, and could not have known, that prior to his death the defendants were aware and had knowledge that certain Duragesic patches were defective and had the propensity to cause severe injury, including death.

She claims the patch was in a defective condition and unreasonably dangerous because it:

Canadian mystery novelist Maureen Jennings said she felt terrible that a man died while trying to rescue her from rip currents.Jennings, of Toronto, was swimming Monday with her husband, photographer Iden Ford, when she could not get back to shore. Ford got out of the water and ran for help.

Ford said that when he returned, several people were in the water trying to help Jennings, including Fred Hunt, 51, of Berwick, Maine. Jennings made it back to shore shaken, but lifeguards found Hunt floating without a pulse, Deputy Fire Chief G.C. Wine said. He was later pronounced dead.

“I’m very upset,” Jennings said. “I got in trouble and he just bravely said, ‘I’ll get her.’ He was bringing me in then he just let go. I just feel terrible.”

Wine said rough surf conditions and dangerous rip currents have been present in Cocoa Beach all week.

Jennings has written seven novels featuring detective William Murdoch and two books featuring forensic profiler Christine Morris.