330 Alhambra Circle

Coral Gables, FL 33134

633 S. Andrews Avenue Suite 400
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

(305) 446-5700

(954) 323-4400

Speak with an Attorney

Wrongful death boating crash case settled for $3.75 Million

The Haggard Law Firm’s Pedro Echarte and Michael Haggard have settled a wrongful death boating crash case for a total of $3.75 million. Per terms of the confidential settlement, the names of the parties involved are confidential

The victim was swimming off of a public beach when he was hit by a passing boater. The catastrophically injured swimmer was airlifted to a hospital but died a few hours after his arrival.

Continue reading “Wrongful death boating crash case settled for $3.75 Million”

Safety Questions To Ask Your Landlord

How Safe Is the Apartment You Want to Rent? Key Questions to Ask a Landlord Before Signing a Lease

A sense of security and safety for you and your family is key to making a house feel like a home.

Unfortunately, many landlords don’t provide, and in some cases aren’t legally required to share, crime and safety information to a potential tenant.

“Along with costs and amenities, tenants should be prepared to ask a variety of questions about safety measures before signing a lease and moving into a new apartment or home” says Michael Haggard. Haggard is the Managing Partner of The Haggard Law Firm (www.haggardlawfirm.com) which has made a mark successfully representing tenants who are injured or killed by someone committing a crime that could have been prevented if the landlord of the property where the crime occurs had taken proper security measures.

Continue reading “Safety Questions To Ask Your Landlord”

$2 Million Settlement in Child Sexual Assault Case

Owners of a Key West apartment complex have agreed to pay $2 Million to the family of a minor who was sexually assaulted multiple times by a de facto employee.
The minor child victim was living with his family in a rental apartment in Key West. Over a period of several months, the child was subjected to multiple sexual assaults and batteries at the hands of the de facto property manager while on the premises. The abuse was discovered by the child’s mother, who promptly reported the matter to the police. The criminal offender died before the criminal case was completed and before the suit was filed in the civil matter.
The apartment complex denied that the offender was an employee of the owner, or that he had the level of access to the child’s apartment that the plaintiff claimed in this case. Haggard Law Firm attorneys Christopher MarloweMichael Haggard and co-counsel Chelsie M. Lamie represented the family of the victim. Their investigation revealed that the offender executed many of the duties of a property manager and received a discount on his rent from the owners for the work done.
Several witnesses indicated that the offender had acted inappropriately over the years, albeit not as severely as in this case. The offender was a convicted felon who had no record of convictions for any prior similar crime, but whose qualifications for the job were suspect on multiple levels.
The child victim was an extraordinarily brave and credible young person who wanted to send a message to other property owners to act responsibly so no other children are victimized.

 

 

 

Common Conditions that Give Rise to a Premises Liability Case

On August 16th, 2018 The Haggard Law Firm will present Winning Case Strategies in Premises Liability, a FREE CLE Credit Seminar. The event will take place from 1 to 5pm at the Doubletree Jacksonville Riverfront. To RSVP for the seminar, email or call Stacy at slaffere@haggardlawfirm.com   305.446.5700 

This article about premises liability cases was authored by trial lawyer and Haggard Law partner Douglas McCarron who will be one of the presenters at the CLE Seminar

Common Conditions that Give Rise to a Premises Liability Case

by Douglas Mccarron

In my experience, the most common condition in any premises liability case is the lack of guardianship of the property.  In most instances, the property owner and/or manager fails to put in place policies and procedures that ensure that the premises is kept in a reasonably safe condition.  For example, in many negligent security cases it becomes obvious that the owner and management fail to do anything that assesses violent crime occurring at the property.  Without knowing what type of crime is happening, it is nearly impossible to know what type of security measures are needed.  How can the owner make decisions about access control, manned security, and surveillance cameras, if they have failed to gather the crime statistics for the property and the surrounding area?  The answer is simple, they do not know and consequently violent crime continues to victimize the property’s guests and invitees.  In slip and fall cases, many properties fail to ensure that their employees follow the internal policies and procedures to maintain the property in a safe manner.  This leads to dangerous conditions being left on the property for an unacceptable amount of time. 

If property owners simply prepare policies and procedures for their employees to follow and have appropriate supervision to ensure that the policies and procedures are being followed, then the most dangerous conditions would cease to exist.  Obviously, financial considerations come into play for the property owners.  In developing a premises liability case, it is important to discover exactly what property owners are failing to do and why they are failing to do it.  Jurors do not appreciate property owners turning a blind eye and pleading ignorance.  Jurors also do not accept that the owners do not want to put the necessary resources (money) into the property to make it safe.

 

Continue reading “Common Conditions that Give Rise to a Premises Liability Case”

The Role Crime Statistics Play In a Negligent Security Case

 

by Jason Brenner, Associate at The Haggard Law Firm

Although each negligent security case may bring about different facts or require ingenuity with your strategy, there are certain elements of your case that remain constant.  One of those elements is crime statistics.  The importance of crime statistics in your case cannot be stated enough.  Not only do these statistics help establish notice and foreseeability to the defendants, they are also a treasure trove of information.

With respect to notice and foreseeability, your crime statistics establish what the defendants “knew or should have known” prior to and at the time of subject incident.  So what should you request?  You begin by requesting the calls for service and all police reports for the subject property.  This needs to be done in one request.  From there, depending on your jurisdiction, you will order up to a mile radius for the calls for service.  Once you receive each respective request, you must synthesize the data.  For example, you will detail the violent and non-violent crimes and their frequency on the property.  This provides a picture of what type of crime was going on at the property.  It provides you with the ability to illustrate to the jury the level of crime occurring and can be used effectively to show that it is an improbability for a defendant to be unaware of the police being called to the property.

Continue reading “The Role Crime Statistics Play In a Negligent Security Case”

Result: $1.5 Million Settlement in Slip and Fall Wrongful Death Case

 

We are very proud to share that our Todd Michaels has secured a $1.5 Million dollar settlement in the slip and fall wrongful death case of Qurris Walker (pictured).

In August 2011, Walker, who suffered from Down’s Syndrome, slipped and fell on a wet floor at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando. At the time of the incident, the floor was being cleaned by Rosen’s Cleaning service, Majic Cleaning Systems. As a result of the fall, Mr. Walker needed surgery to repair his leg and suffered respiratory arrest during recovery from the surgery. Nearly two years after the fall, Walker, who suffered from numerous pre-existing health issues, passed away. Both liability and causation were highly contested.

The defense argued that Majic had put down five cones in the lobby, adequately warning visitors that the floor was wet and that Mr. Walker’s death was a result of his other health issues, and was unrelated to the fall. Our thanks to the inspirational and brave Walker family for their passion to seek justice.

 

$1.5 Million Settlement in Wrongful Death, Slip and Fall Case

We are very proud to share that our Todd Michaels has secured a $1.5 Million dollar settlement in the slip and fall wrongful death case of Qurris Walker (pictured) .

In August 2011, Walker, who suffered from Down’s Syndrome, slipped and fell on a wet floor at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando. At the time of the incident, the floor was being cleaned by Rosen’s Cleaning service, Majic Cleaning Systems. As a result of the fall, Mr. Walker needed surgery to repair his leg and suffered respiratory arrest during recovery from the surgery.

Nearly two years after the fall, Walker, who suffered from numerous pre-existing health issues, passed away. Both liability and causation were highly contested. The defense argued that Majic had put down five cones in the lobby, adequately warning visitors that the floor was wet, and that Mr. Walker’s death was a result of his other health issues, and was unrelated to the fall.

 

Our thanks to the inspirational and brave Walker family for their passion to seek justice.

click here to read other notable premises liability case results

About Todd Michaels

Todd Michaels Esq, a lifelong Miami-Dade resident, joined The Haggard Law Firm in 2009. In May 2014, he was named partner at the firm. Todd handles a wide array of the firm’s cases Todd-J.-Michaels- Best Lawyers in 2018 promoinvolving wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury, representing clients who were injured through the negligence of others. His practice primarily involves negligent security throughout the State of Florida and nationwide.

Todd has been a frequent speaker on various aspects of negligent security law to different Legal and Security industry groups throughout the country, and has had articles relating to negligent security cases published.  In addition to his negligent security work, Todd also handles Uber liability, premises liability, aviation, pool drowning, auto accident and other injury cases. Michaels has been named to the Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers list several times, among several other annual honors. In 2016 he was named ‘Most Effective Lawyer’ by the Daily Business Review for the handling of a negligent security wrongful death case.

To read Todd’s full bio, click here

CLICK HERE TO EMAIL TODD MICHAELS: tjm@haggardlawfirm.com

NCVBA National Conference – Civil Actions for Criminal Acts

Make your plans now to join The Haggard Law Firm‘s Michael Haggard from December 5th to the 7th in Portland, Oregon for the 2017 National Crime Victims Bar Association’s National Conference, Civil Actions for Criminal Acts. Haggard, the organization’s President-elect will be among the speakers during the conference.  The event offers attorneys a chance to network and learn from other attorneys in the field, and connect with victim advocates, counselors, program managers, attorneys, social workers, psychologists, researchers, nurses, volunteers, administrators, clergy, nonprofit managers, system-based service providers, and leaders from across the country.

Conference Training Highlights Include:

  • 15 workshops and four plenary sessions covering topics such as violence against women, campus crimes, elder abuse, victims with disabilities, underserved populations, children and youth, and many more;
  • Option to obtain Continuing Legal Education credits; and
  • Networking opportunities over lunch.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with other professionals in the field, or to attend Haggard’s workshop session!

Learn more about Michael Haggard by clicking here

 

To register, click here: http://victimsofcrime.org/our-programs/national-crime-victim-bar-association/conferences 

 

Haggard Named Recipient of Nichols Award by FJA

Congratulations to The Haggard Law Firm’s Managing Partner Michael Haggard who was named the recipient of the 2017 Perry Nichols Award.

The Perry Nichols Award was created in 1977 in honor of the visionary who first brought Florida’s leading trial attorneys together to create the Negligence and Compensation Lawyers of Florida, the predecessor to today’s Florida Justice Association. It is the most prestigious award given by our organization and is given to the attorney whose perseverance, commitment, and unmatched dedication to the civil justice system is at the forefront of their lives. The FJA says the award is bestowed upon the attorney who sets the standard for the rest of us to aspire to achieve.

Continue reading “Haggard Named Recipient of Nichols Award by FJA”

Haggard Authors Article for SourceSecurity.com

When the market-leading information resource serving the security industry needs insight on how property owners and managers can avoid million dollar negligent security verdicts, it asks The Haggard Law Firm.

Haggard Law Firm Managing Partner Michael Haggard wrote an article for SourceSecurity.com titled: Securing Premises To Avoid Million Dollar Verdicts. In it, Haggard kays out the elements of negligence elaborate on risk-management practices and the importance of security as a responsibility.

Haggard Law has litigated more than 250 negligent security cases that have resulted in more than $300 million in verdicts and settlements for our clients.

Here is the article as it appeared on SourceSecurity.com:

Continue reading “Haggard Authors Article for SourceSecurity.com”