October 16, 2009
Frozen Bank Account Thawed by Judgment
OCTOBER 2009 - A judgment for $400,000 was secured in an unusual case involving a frozen bank account at Citibank. The savings account was opened in Florida by a foreign businessman who named a longtime friend as its beneficiary. The businessman was said to be estranged from his children because of litigation over his personal assets. Within one year, the businessman was found dead and a series of curious demands for the savings account ensued. The funds remained "frozen" and in the sole possession of Citibank for the next seven years. The friend's requests for payment were routinely denied because of supposed changes to the account and beneficiary before the businessman's death. Alvarez Garcia commenced suit and, after two additional years of litigation, successfully established the right of the friend and original beneficiary to the funds.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 12:58 PM
July 03, 2009
Negligent Supervision Leads to Abuse by Step-Grandfather
JUNE 2009 - Alvarez Garcia recently represented two children who were fondled while visiting the home of their paternal grandmother and step-grandfather. Because the chance of success under Florida law was almost as troubling as the subject matter, the firm took an unusual approach. A traditional investigation was sure to cause additional strife and promote concealment. The firm instead monitored the criminal proceedings against the step-grandfather and the divorce proceedings later brought by the grandmother. The approach slowly revealed the step-grandfather's penchant for computer-based pornography and, equally important to the civil case, the grandmother's constructive knowledge of this deviance and her negligent supervision of the children. The case was promptly settled before the filing of suit under the grandparents' homeowners insurance.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 10:22 PM
February 12, 2009
Child Abandoned in Heat of Daycare Van
FEBRUARY 2009 - With just days remaining before the first of two trials, a confidential settlement was earned for a Florida boy following his abandonment in the high temperatures of a daycare-center van. The youngster experienced heat stroke as a result of the incident, but because of his age, resilience and sheer good fortune, he escaped more severe injury and perhaps even death. Alvarez Garcia based its case on a thorough investigation of the incident together with the history of operations at the daycare center. Its investigation led to the discovery of similar, troubling incidents at the facility and supported a subsequent claim of punitive damages under Florida law. In that all of the evidence was voluminous and the legal issues grew to be complex, the matter was bifurcated into two separate jury trials for the beginning of 2009. The confidential settlement arose with just days remaining before the first trial.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 09:31 PM
February 11, 2009
Motorcyclist Collides with Traffic Drum
FEBRUARY 2009 - Alvarez Garcia collected $337,500 for a motorcyclist who collided with a traffic drum. The traffic drum had fallen from among hundreds positioned alongside the interstate. The successful action was brought against the contractor responsible for the traffic devices and a subcontractor responsible for road ranging along the motorway.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 01:19 AM
December 14, 2008
Confidential Settlement After Threats and Physical Restraint
DECEMBER 2008 - A confidential settlement of $150,000 was secured for a client who was physically restrained and threatened at an outdoor market. The aggressor was mentally impaired and evidently wandered from his home without detection.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 02:36 PM
March 16, 2008
Recovery of Withheld Insurance Benefits
MARCH 2008 - USAA Casualty Insurance Company agreed to pay over $300,000 in underinsured motorist ("UM") benefits previously withheld on its assertion of a "household exclusion" and the doctrine of parental immunity. The primary insured and his minor daughter were involved in a collision in September of 2006. The minor sustained injuries while riding in an automobile driven by her father. The family and its initial counsel thereafter demanded payment of the UM benefits from USAA in order to address the minor's injuries and associated medical expenses. USAA rejected the family's demands and did so repeatedly, including before the Florida Department of Insurance. Alvarez Garcia accepted the cause and promptly sought declaratory relief under Chapter 86 of the Florida Statutes. After considerable analysis and litigation before the trial court, it was determined that neither the "household exclusion" nor the doctrine of parental immunity applied so as to bar the minor's claims for insurance benefits. The final recovery included payment of the withheld benefits and additional amounts reflective of the litigation costs and fees under Florida Statutes, Section 627.428.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 07:16 PM
June 20, 2007
Fatal Sight Obstruction on Florida Avenue in Tampa
JUNE 2007 - A presuit settlement of $500,000 was secured for the surviving parents of a thirty-one year old college student who died while attempting to enter Florida Avenue from one of the many residential streets that intersect with this controversial throughfare in Tampa. The young lady's view of traffic was obstructed that evening by a chain-link fence installed immediately adjacent to the public right of way. The fence was one of several which obstruct the sight of motorists who travel from their homes in the Seminole Heights Area of Tampa and must cross or enter Florida Avenue. The firm's research revealed that the fence violated Section 27-240 of the City of Tampa Code and the guidelines of the Florida Department of Transportation regarding mandatory sight-distance triangles at intersections. In addition to its payment of $500,000, the property owner agreed to rebuild the fence and eliminate all obstructions.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 02:39 AM
April 14, 2007
Seizures Following Xanax Withdrawal
APRIL 2007 - A confidential settlement was reached with a local pharmacy after it misfilled and mislabeled a customer's initial prescription for Xanax XR. The customer, age 85, received a prescription for .5 milligrams yet the pharmacy delivered a quardrupled dosage at 2.0 milligrams. The label indicated the correct dosage, and as a result, the customer took the medication as labeled and prescribed. These errors were not detected until the customer returned to the pharmacy and complained about his disorientation and lethargy. The pharmacist quickly realized the prior error and, in an effort to correct it, actually compounded the danger. The pharmacist replaced the quadrupled dosage with the lesser amount previously prescribed. Seizures followed. Alvarez Garcia took the case on behalf of the oldster and his spouse based upon principle and the challenges presented. After a year and a half of litigation, the matter was settled favorably just two weeks prior to trial.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 02:28 PM
October 18, 2006
Permanent Soft-Tissue Injury to Bystander
OCTOBER 2006 - A settlement of $425,000 was secured on behalf of a single mother of three who sustained a permanent soft-tissue injury as a bystander to an automotive collision. The mother was jogging along the sidewalk of US Highway 41 in Lutz, Florida, when a car leaving an intersecting street failed to yield the right of way to southbound traffic. The car collided with the passenger side of a large pickup truck. The force of the collision caused the truck to careen onto the sidewalk where the mother exercised. She was thereafter catapulted some twenty feet in the air. If not for a utility pole and metal railing, both of which were completely sheered at impact, the young mother surely would have experienced death as opposed to just injury. The settlement resulted after litigation and the offending driver's defense of blaming environmental factors and the driver of the pickup truck.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 08:10 PM
July 01, 2006
County Employee Steps in Hole During Inspection
JUNE 2006 - A settlement valued at over $295,000 was obtained to the favor of an employee of Hillsborough County, Florida who stepped in a hole while performing his work as an inspector. The employee, a twenty-year veteran of roadway construction, was inspecting the expansion of Providence Road in Brandon when he encountered a depression in the asphalt and, after walking to the curb, stepped in a hole associated with the depression. The third-party action was brought outside of workers' compensation and against the general contractor in charge of the expansion project. The case was resolved just a few months before trial.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 02:58 AM
May 11, 2006
Teens Abducted from Rehab for Purposes of Lewd Sex Acts
MAY 2006 - A confidential settlement was secured from a Florida drug-rehabilitation facility after two of its juvenile residents were abducted by a staff member. The two residents were female and fifteen years in age. The staff member, thirty-two years in age, propositioned the teens during their stay at the facility and secretly drove both to a local motel for purposes of performing lewd sex acts. Rick Alvarez collected the confidential sum although the abduction occurred in 2000. The drug-rehabilitation facility unsuccessfully asserted that the statute of limitations had expired and no claim could be brought against the facility.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 02:11 AM
April 12, 2006
Winning Jury Verdict in Automotive Case
APRIL 2006 - Rick and Anthony obtained a winning verdict on behalf of a client involved in an auto-accident along Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard in Tampa. The trial required four days before the jury and Judge Perry Little of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit for Hillsborough County, Florida. The winning verdict was especially welcomed in that the client was a resident alien who spoke only Spanish and previously received little interest or empathy from the defendant or her insurer. The insurer has since agreed to pay the verdict without further litigation or an appeal.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 01:46 AM
February 06, 2006
Fatal Fall by Motorcyclist on Tampa Interstate
FEBRUARY 2006 - A partial settlement of $1,175,000 was reached with a general contractor and subcontractor responsible for the reconstruction of Interstate 275 in Tampa. The settlement followed several years of complex litigation based upon the primary allegation that the general contractor and subcontractor, together with the project administrator, acted recklessly when they left a one-hundred yard drop-off in the middle of the lane and just after the peak of the Fletcher Avenue overpass. The hazard could not be seen by approaching motorists and was not warned of by signs. The client of Alvarez Garcia sued after her husband rode through the area for the first time, was jarred violently from his motorcycle, and later died from his injuries. It was actually the second incident in which a motorcyclist lost control due to the hazard, yet no repairs or remedial actions were taken after the first. The claim against the project administrator remains pending.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 07:47 PM
October 01, 2005
Settlement for Teenage Laborer After Fall
OCTOBER 2005 - A confidential settlement was reached on behalf of a teenage day laborer who fell some thirty feet through scaffolding that he was instructed to disassemble. The teen had never been trained in the use or disassembly of scaffolding and was not provided with even the most basic forms of fall protection. After falling onto his face and head and being taken by emergency helicopter to a local hospital, the teen's employer and those associated with his work at the construction site disavowed all responsibility for the incident or the young man's care. The settlement was obtained after several years of litigation before both the civil courts and the administrative courts for workers' compensation.Posted by alvarezgarcia at 08:20 PM
August 13, 2005
Misfilled and Mislabeled Prescription
AUGUST 2005 - A confidential settlement was negotiated for a local senior after a misfilled and mislabeled prescription caused the loss of the limited vision that remained in his right eye. The gentleman was previously diagnosed with glacoma in 1984 and was able to maintain what remained of his vision through the daily use of the prescription drug, Alphagan. In January of 2003, a local pharmacy mistakenly provided the contraindicated drug, Prednisolone. The pharmacy also packaged the prescription with a label describing the contents as Alphagan. The confidential settlement was negotiated as the parties prepared for a week-long trial.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 10:48 PM
August 05, 2005
Confidential Settlement for Survivors of Electrocuted Day Laborer
OCTOBER 2004 - A confidential settlement was achieved for the surviving children of a day laborer who was electrocuted while working for a Tampa roofing company in June of 2000. The laborer sustained the fatal shock when a co-worker moved a steel, truck-mounted conveyor system near overhead power lines and the charge was transferred from the lines, through the truck, and into the laborer's body. The settlement was achieved after several years of litigation.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 07:01 PM
