South Florida Personal Injury Lawyers

A judge has ordered Mercedes-Benz USA LLC to pay $482,000 in damages and legal fees to a Wisconsin customer who was sold a defective car and not given a refund on time.

Vince Megna, a Milwaukee lawyer who represents the customer, said he believes the judgment is the largest involving a single car under a state “lemon law,” which protect consumers who are sold junk cars. The judge is expected to sign the final order as early as Friday.

Mercedes-Benz spokeswoman Donna Boland said the company, a unit of the German car maker Daimler AG, is disappointed the judge overturned an earlier verdict in favor of the company and is strongly considering an appeal. The spat over the 2005 Mercedes-Benz E 320 has already dragged on more than four years.

While states have a variety of lemon laws, Wisconsin’s is one of the strongest. It allows customers who buy cars that don’t run or can’t be repaired to demand a replacement or refund. Manufacturers have 30 days to respond and can be ordered to pay double the purchase price plus legal fees for violating the law.

Bob Silverman, a prominent lemon law attorney in Ambler, Pa. who was not involved in the case, agreed it was one of the largest judgments for a car he’s seen and was an important victory for consumers.

“This one result is very important to the entire auto industry,” Silverman said. “It teaches them a lesson they ought to comply with the law promptly or they are going to have to pay in the end.”

Despite the pending judgment, customer Marco Marquez, a 37-year-old businessman from Waukesha, called the case “a complete nightmare” and said he was still waiting for his money back. Once a big fan of Mercedes-Benz who has owned several of its cars, he now says he’ll never buy another.

It all started when Marquez, who owns Mexican restaurants in Waukesha and Janesville, purchased the E 320 for $56,000 from a Milwaukee dealership in 2005.

Almost immediately, the car often would not start. The battery was replaced multiple times, but the problem continued. After several repair attempts, the dealership said the problem could not be fixed.

Marquez hired Megna, who sent the company a refund demand in October 2005. After a few weeks, an employee tried to talk Marquez into taking a replacement instead. He declined and again asked for a refund. At one point, the employee said he should fire his lawyer and deal with them on his own.

The company finally agreed to the refund, but failed to provide one within 30 days. On the 31st day, Megna filed the lawsuit on behalf of Marquez seeking double damages and attorneys’ fees.

Mercedes-Benz has acknowledged the car was defective, but for years has accused Marquez of acting in bad faith.

The company says an employee asked Marquez for information about his auto loan on the 30th day so the refund could be granted, but Marquez failed to follow through. Megna said Mercedes-Benz had the information it needed for the refund but was stalling.

A judge ruled in Marquez’s favor in 2007, awarding $202,000 in damages and legal fees. But an appeals court in 2008 overturned that decision and ordered additional proceedings, saying a jury should decide whether Marquez intentionally prevented the company from giving the refund on time.

A jury sided with the company last year, agreeing Marquez acted in bad faith. But in a rare move, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren overturned the verdict, saying it was not backed up by evidence. He ruled in Marquez’s favor, citing a clear “lack of urgency” by Mercedes-Benz to refund his money.

A series of rulings by Bohren have calculated the damages for Marquez at roughly $168,000 (double the purchase price plus interest), plus $314,000 in costs and legal fees for Megna and other lawyers.

In the meantime, Marquez has continued to drive the vehicle in question, which now has 56,000 miles. He said it was back in the shop for repairs twice last year but has been “working fine” lately. Still, he can barely contain his anger at the company he once admired.

“Frustrated is really an understatement,” he said. “You put that much faith in a car company and you give your hard earned money to that company and then you are basically let down. You drop $50,000 for a car that doesn’t work.”

Deputies are investigating a car crash that killed a 76-year-old woman near West Palm Beach.

Gloria Marlowe was driving her 1997 Mercury sedan west on Community Drive, in the left turn lane near Haverhill Road, west of West Palm Beach about 6 p.m. Wednesday, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said.

Marlowe lost control of the vehicle, and it overturned. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Legislators found a sure way to rile up a crowd Thursday: go after pit bulls.

The Florida Senate is advancing a controversial bill that could lead to tougher municipal laws on owners of pit bulls and other “dangerous” breeds, an idea that has prompted outraged dog lovers to e-mail and call their lawmakers in droves.

The legislation, approved by senators in the Community Affairs Committee on a 9-2 vote, would repeal Florida’s 1990 ban on breed-specific dog regulations, as long as any new rules stop short of an outright ban. Cities and counties could require owners to muzzle certain breeds in public, carry insurance to pay for attacks or take ownership training.

“We are discriminating against the good owners and the good dogs,” fumed Laura Bevan, director the Eastern Regional Office of the Humane Society of the United States.

The passionate, hourlong debate Thursday centered on pit bulls, which are actually a type of dog that covers three breeds, the American pit bull terrier, the American Staffordshire terrier and the Staffordshire bull terrier.

As bill sponsor Sen. Tony Hill, D-Jacksonville, put it: “We’re talking about pit bulls. That’s the genesis of the problem we’ve been having.”

Rep. Perry Thurston, D-Plantation, began pushing the bill in 2008 when a constituent in the Lauderdale Manors neighborhood told him she carries a baseball bat on evening strolls, citing her fear of unleashed pit bulls. At first, Thurston couldn’t even get a senator to sponsor the bill in that chamber. Thursday marked the first hearing on the issue.

Examples abound of violent pit bulls in Broward and Palm Beach counties, which seem to be hot spots for attacks. In November, a pit bull and a Labrador mix ripped apart and killed a 5-week-old kitten in Oakland Park. Last May, two pill bulls attacked a woman in Fort Lauderdale’s Victoria Park neighborhood and killed her dog, a silky terrier. And in June, a pit bull attacked and bit a 6-year-old girl riding a pink bike in front of her home. In several cases, police have shot charging pit bulls.

Miami-Dade is the only county in the state to have a ban on pit bulls. The county imposed that rule in 1989; it was grandfathered in before Florida adopted the ban on breed regulations.

While counties and cities wouldn’t be able to copy Miami-Dade’s ban, supporters said they should have the option to create local dog rules to keep their communities safe.

“There’s a fundamental difference in the types of breeds and the way they behave,” said Sen. Thad Altman, R-Melbourne. “I don’t think we should outlaw specific breeds, but it doesn’t make any sense to force our local governments to treat Chihuahuas the same as a pit bull.”

Dozens of dog lovers at Thursday’s committee hearing strongly disagreed. They said the owners, not the breed, are to blame in attacks. And given the reproductive mixing among dog breeds, they noted it would be difficult in many cases to determine what qualifies as a pit bull.

The bill has sparked Internet outrage, too. The call-to-arms on Twitter: “Stop BSL” — or breed-specific legislation.

Sen. John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville, one of two “no” votes on the pit bull bill, said he’s gotten “more calls on this issue than any other issue this session.” Every caller was a dog owner raising objections, he noted.

Ernie Sims, one of a dozen or so to speak at the hearing, said he’s had a gentle pit bull, Roxy, for seven years.

“It’s all about being a good pet owner,” said, Sims, of Tallahassee, adding that his three-legged Jack Russell terrier, Snoopy, is the bigger troublemaker.

Other pet owners repeated a similar mantra. As Melissa Salashia put it: “There can be a beagle that bites. A dog is not born to bite.”

But supporters noted that there’s a big difference between getting bitten by a beagle and a brawny, 85-pound pit bull.

Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, used her mom’s fluffy Maltese, Sugar, as an example. “If Sugar bit my hand, it was a bummer, but I could just go wash my hand,” she said. “A pit bull will bite into its victims and not let go.”

The pit bull bill has a way to go before it could become law during the 60-day session, which started Tuesday and ends April 30. It still has two more committee stops in the Senate before a potential floor vote. In the House, the bill hasn’t yet had a hearing.

Yet the 9-2 vote, Thurston said, “was a good sign. As we hear more and more instances of people and their pets being attacked, I think it goes without saying we need to give local communities an opportunity to act.”

On Aug. 31, 2007, plaintiff Nicholas Owens, a 29-year-old retail worker, was riding his motorcycle northbound on the Sans Souci Highway in Hanover Township, when he was struck head-on by the pickup truck that Michael Sczyrek was driving southbound. Sczyrek had just commenced a left turn into a bank parking lot when he struck Owens’ motorcycle, causing Owens to eject from his motorcycle and strike Sczyrek’s windshield. Owens was then thrown onto the shoulder of the road about 20 feet from the spot of the collision.

Owens sued Sczyrek for negligence, claiming injuries.

Counsel for the defendant conceded negligence but contested Owens’ damages.

Owens was airlifted to the emergency room where he was admitted for one month and underwent multiple surgeries. Owens sustained a left open humerus fracture; a left open radius fracture; a left open ulna fracture; an open pelvic fracture; a left tibia fracture and a left fibula fracture, all of which required open reduction internal fixation procedures. Owens also sustained a fractured fifth right finger; a fractured right radius; a fractured left foot; a torn medial collateral ligament which required arthroscopic surgery, a right wrist injury which required surgery and heterotopic bone formations in his right knee and left arm, which also required surgeries.

Plaintiff’s counsel sought to recover a $583,689 past medical lien and $150,000 in future medical damages, asserting that Owens would still need a future knee replacement surgery along with a fusion surgery on his left foot. Counsel also asserted that Owens sustained between $322,751 and $469,160 in future wage loss damages because Owens would only be able to perform sedentary work for the remainder of his life. Lastly, counsel sought unspecified past and future pain and suffering damages.

Counsel for the defendant disputed the amount that plaintiff’s counsel sought for medical damages, arguing the damages presented were excessive. Also, while defense counsel stipulated to $64,000 in past lost wages, counsel disputed the amount of future lost wage damages Owens sustained, contending that a more reasonable award for future wage losses would be $165,000.

The jury awarded Owens $1,351,000.

Nicholas Owens

$665,000 Personal Injury: past and future medical costs

$386,000 Personal Injury: past and future lost earnings

$300,000 Personal Injury: past and future pain and suffering damages

More passengers are sick with a stomach bug on a cruise ship that was hit by virus on its previous trip from South Carolina.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reported 55 of the nearly 1,900 passengers on board the Celebrity Mercury have fallen ill. The ship sailed from Charleston on Feb. 27.

Cruise line spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez did not immediately respond to an e-mail message early Friday seeking more information.

More than 400 passengers and crew got sick on the same ship last month. The start of the current cruise was delayed by a day to allow a crew to sanitize the ship.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last month’s outbreak was caused by norovirus. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps.

Rescuers are breaking out windows to get to victims on a passenger bus that crashed on an Interstate south of Phoenix.

Multiple people were killed in the accident early Friday morning. Television reports said the bus appears to be a tour bus.

Details of the accident are unclear. The westbound lanes of Interstate 10 south of Phoenix are closed.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety reports multiple deaths and serious injuries.

A triage location has been set up as medics treat the injured.

Three people were killed in a high speed crash in north Florida.

Alachua police say a woman, her daughter and her grandson were
traveling an estimated 80 mph Tuesday evening when the car clipped
a pickup, crossed a ditch and culvert, went airborne and crashed
into two poles, splitting the car in two. Authorities identified
the dead as 61-year-old Mary President, 27-year-old Faith President
and 8-year-old Jarron Irby.

Witnesses reported that the driver was speeding and appeared to
lose control.

It’s not clear who was driving. Police are still investigating
whether alcohol or illness may have been a factor.

Autopsies are expected to be performed soon in Gainesville. No one in the truck was injured.

A driver accused of hitting and killing a Miramar man while driving drunk seven months ago was arrested Wednesday at his mother’s home in Pompano Beach, authorities said.

Florida Highway Patrol investigators were building their case against Michael Brammer, 39, before they arrested him on six DUI-related charges, including DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide, the agency said.

The Pembroke Pines man had a revoked Florida driver’s license when he got behind the wheel of a BMW on Aug. 18 and fatally hit Rosendo Mendez, 21, of Miramar, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The accident happened around 2 a.m. on the Florida’s Turnpike extension near University Drive in Miramar, authorities said. Brammer was driving northbound in a 2008 BMW behind Mendez, who was driving a 2004 Mazda. Brammer rear-ended Mendez, causing both cars to slam into a guardrail, the FHP said.

Mendez died on the scene. Melinda Ordonez, 22, who was a passenger in his car, was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood with minor injuries, according to the FHP. Brammer was also injured.

Brammer’s blood alcohol level was nearly four times the legal limit to drive, FHP spokesman Lt. Roger Reyes said Thursday. Investigators took DNA samples from the blood scene to prove Brammer was behind the wheel, Reyes said.

“They wanted to make sure they had everything to make a good case,” Reyes said.

Four months before the accident, Brammer was convicted on two counts of DUI property damage for an accident in the Florida Keys, state records show. His license was revoked for 10 years. In 2004, he was convicted of drunk driving in Broward County.

Brammer is being held without bond at the Broward County Main Jail.

A Senate committee advanced a controversial bill Thursday that would give emergency room doctors immunity from major lawsuits – even in cases of gross negligence.

Approved on a 5-2 vote in the Health Regulation Committee, the bill would cap damages from lawsuit awards at $200,000 per incident for doctors, nurses and EMS personnel involved in ER cases.

It would represent a dramatic shift in state policy. The state government – not doctors – would defend malpractice cases arising from the state’s 205 emergency rooms. And if juries gave an award in excess of the $200,000 cap, the state would assume the liability. Plaintiffs would have to file a so-called “claims bill” in the Legislature to get the money, since the state has sovereign immunity from such lawsuits. Claims bills take years to pass, if at all.

Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee, said he was worried that the bill would shield doctors and other ER staff even in cases of “gross negligence.”
“People get the wrong arm cut off,” he said. “They get the wrong diagnosis, and there’s no recourse.”

But supporters – including one Democrat, pro-physician Sen. Eleanor Sobel, of Hollywood – said the threat of lawsuits is a driving factor behind the shortage of doctors willing to staff emergency rooms. Doctor lobbyists said it boils down to access to care versus access to file a lawsuit.

Floridians “are not getting the best possible care they can get because there aren’t a lot of emergency rooms around,” Sobel said. “That’s why we have long lines in emergency rooms. When people go into emergency rooms, they really don’t have a relationship with the physician. They’re more likely to sue. Emergency rooms are very litigious.”

Sen. John Thrasher, a Jacksonville Republican and chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, sponsored the bill (SB1474). Thrasher said defensive medicine practiced by doctors to avoid lawsuits is driving up health care costs for everyone.

But Debra Henley, a lobbyist for the Florida Justice Association, a trial lawyers group, said the bill has broad ramifications and would make the state liable to pay to defend doctors, including the costs for lawyers and expert witnesses.

A Senate staff analysis said, “The state will defend the claim and assume the related costs…The state may assume additional responsibility under the claims bill process for excess judgments.”

Said Henley: “When accountability (for doctors) is removed, care gets worse, not better. The scope of this bill is massive.”

One Republican, Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, voted against the bill. “Quite frankly, I don’t know who’s going to pay the claims,” he said. “Certainly this would be a major shift in policy here. The taxpayers themselves” would be liable.

A supporter, Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, countered that in hectic emergency situations, doctors and emergency personnel are “just doing their damndest to try to save a guy’s life.” They fact that they’re then subject to malpractice suits is “truly a crime in itself.”