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 Florida Interstate
FEBRUARY 2006 - A settlement of $825,000 was reached with a general contractor responsible for the reconstruction of Interstate 275 in Tampa during 2002. The settlement followed over two years of complex litigation based upon the primary allegation that the general contractor, together with the project administrator, acted recklessly when it 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 Frank A., age 65, after a misfilled and mislabeled prescription caused the loss of the limited vision that remained in his right eye. Mr. A. 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 Mr. A. 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 11, 2005
Project to Reconstruct Interstate 275
NOVEMBER 2004 - A partial settlement of $350,000 was obtained from one of several companies involved in the project to reconstruct Interstate 275 in Tampa. The majority of the case remains in litigation.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 11:04 PM
August 05, 2005
Confidential Settlement for Survivors of Electrocuted Worker
OCTOBER 2004 - A confidential settlement was acheived for the surviving children of Greg G., who was electrocuted during his work for a Tampa roofing company in June of 2000. Mr. G. sustained the fatal shock when a co-worker moved a steel, truck-mounted conveyor system near overhead power lines and the charge was tranferred from the lines, through the truck, and into the body of Mr. G. as he stood in the area. The settlement was acheived after several years of litigation.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 07:01 PM
Settlement for Passenger Injured by Uninsured Motorcyclist
AUGUST 2004 - A settlement of $90,000 was reached on behalf of William P. who was injured when the driver of the motorcycle on which he rode lost control. The subsequent crash fractured the left wrist of Mr. P.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 06:39 PM
Settlement of First Party Claim Against Insurer of Fallen Pipefitter
MAY 2004 - A settlement of over $100,000 was secured on behalf of the surviving spouse of Jerry G., who fell some eighty feet during his work as a pipefitter. The family's insurer refused to provide coverage on the basis that Mr. G's fall was not an accidental occurrence. The settlement was later secured based upon a thorough investigation by Alvarez Garcia and its determination that the fatal fall was indeed accidental.
Posted by alvarezgarcia at 05:47 PM
