The Haggard Law Firm’s Pedro Echarte and Todd Michaels, along with co-counsel Ernesto Santos of HALPERN | SANTOS | PINKERT, have obtained a $13 Million verdict in a Miami – Dade County Court in a wrongful death product liability case involving the carbon monoxide poisoning death of a father of two.
On July 12, 2019, Matthew Burns died after succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from his use and operation of a piece of machinery known as a “Shot Blaster, ” which he rented from Defendant SUNBELT RENTALS.
The Haggard Law Firm’s Douglas McCarron has obtained a $1.25 Million settlement in an automobile crash wrongful death involving a Miami-Dade County bus. Because the case was against a count(a sovereign immunity case), it was necessary to file a Claims Bill in the Florida Legislature to finalize the settlement.
Most Plaintiff law firms shy away from sovereign immunity cases due to the statutory caps of $200,000 or $300,000. The Haggard Law Firm takes these cases and routinely lobbies the Florida legislature successfully to pass claims bills such as the Sanchez case
On May 13th, 2019, Jason Sanchez was riding his motorcycle to work at approximately 7:49 a.m. He was traveling north on SW 107th Avenue in Miami-Dade County, Florida. As Mr. Sanchez approached the intersection of SW 107th Avenue and SW 176th Street, a Miami-Dade County Bus ran a clearly marked stop sign and entered the intersection. The bus driver drove the bus directly into the path of Mr. Sanchez, violating Mr. Sanchez’s right-of-way. Sanchez couldn’t avoid the bus. He crashed his motorcycle and died. The police investigation of the tragic accident showed that the bus driver was completely at fault.
On the morning of January 8, 2022, Mathew Jousett was playing inside the bedroom of his father’s apartment in the Greenwich Condominiums (1470 NE 123 Street, North Miami, Florida). At some point, one of his father’s girlfriend’s kids saw a window screen fall and immediately told his mother’s boyfriend, Thomas. It was then that Thomas, Mathew’s father, looked outside and saw the unthinkable: his son’s lifeless body on the concrete sidewalk.
The child fell 7 stories. He was rushed to the hospital.
The Haggard Law Firm’s Pedro Echarte has obtained a $3 Million settlement for the family of a 15-year-old boy murdered at an Orlando apartment complex with a history of crime.
On July 1, 2018, “W.I.”, a 15-year-old boy, was shot and killed at the Boca Club Apartments in Orlando, FL. At the time of the incident the teenager lived at the apartment complex with his father. “W.I.” left behind his devastated parents who were the survivors of his claim.
The Haggard Law Firm brought this action against the apartment complex for failing to have needed security measures to protect residents and guests. Echarte was able to show that the apartment complex had a long history of both violent and non-violent crime. Despite this history of crime, the apartment complex never warned its residents of the crime occurring within the community or invested in the security that could have prevented this and other tragedies.
As a result, neither the 15-year-old or his family knew the extent of the crime in the community or the full extent of the risk that existed there.
Trial Lawyer Pedro Echarte
The Haggard Law Firm was able to show that the apartment complex had few of the necessary security measures. It did not have access control, surveillance cameras, or a sufficient amount of manned security. While the apartment complex did claim it not only had manned security but that it had two security guards on the night of the incident, the defendants were never able to provide any proof that security guards were actually on the property at the time of the incident. No security logs, time sheets, reports, or any other information to substantiate their claim concerning the presence of security guards was ever produced.
Ultimately, the case was resolved leading up to trial.
On September 3, 2021, five-year-old Bo Madden was with her family friend’s home in Destin, Florida where they went swimming in the pool at the house. While in the pool, Bo’s hair was entangled on the entrapment cover and she was sucked underwater. Bo was unable to untangle her hair and was trapped, drowning, and dying.
As per the settlement agreement, the names of the parties involved in this case are confidential. The victim, in this case, was a father who was shot at a Tampa, Florida apartment complex with a history of crime.
The shooting occurred very early in the morning as the victim, The Haggard Law Firm’s client, was on his way to work. The gates at the apartment complex (defendant) were not operational at the time of the shooting. The front gate was wide open, allowing criminals to freely enter the property.
On March 12, 2021, Defendant Luis Iraheta traveled on vacation to Florida with a friend. Mr. Iraheta rented a Lamborghini Urus from Co-Defendant GoExotics.
That evening, Mr. Iraheta and his friend went to several nightclubs until they ended up at a nightclub in North Miami called the Arena Grill & Lounge. Echarte and Diaz’s client, Abraham, worked security at the nightclub.
The Haggard Law Firm’s Pedro Echarte, along with co-counsel Mark Stuckey of Kaufman Law obtained a policy limit settlement of more than $980,000 in a trucking personal injury case.
