Florida Injury Attorney Blog

In Florida, the Lauder Lakes mother and father of an infant girl that died after the state removed her from their home are suing the Florida Department of Children & Families, the nonprofit agencies in charge of managing foster care in Miami-Dade County and Broward County, and His House Inc., the owner of the Florida-licensed group home Landmark Shelter for her wrongful death. Madison Ariel Coley was just 4-weeks-old when the state took her and two of her brothers from her parents in February 2007 for what they said was their own protection following allegations of medical neglect and physical endangerment because a firearm was put in a place that was easily accessible for the older children.

Nine days later, Madison was found dead in a crib at Landmark Shelter. She was on her stomach and a blanket was covering part of her face. Authorities say that five hours had passed since anyone had come to check on her and when someone finally did she wasn’t breathing. Florida officials say her cause of death was accidental suffocation.

Her parents, Jossalyn Crawford and Michael Coley, are alleging that workers at the Florida shelter should have known better than to leave an infant loosely wrapped in a blanket. Their wrongful death lawsuit, filed in Broward Circuit Court, seeks unspecified damages.

A probe by th DCF found no evidence of wrongdoing or negligence on the part of shelter workers and the department has called Madison’s death a tragic accident. However, the DCF also doesn’t think anything could have been done to prevent the fatal accident

Crawford says she has had several nervous breakdowns since her daughter's death.

According to ChildDeathReview.org, suffocation-related child fatalities occur when a young child or baby is put in a position where he or she can't breathe.

Common causes of child suffocation accidents:
• Positional Asphyxia
• Overlay: accidentally rolling onto or over a child
• Covering over a child’s chest or face
• Choking accidents
• Confining a child in an airtight space
• Strangulation

Lauderdale Lakes parents suing DCF over daughter's death at group home, Sun-Sentinel, February 18, 2009

Suffocation Fact Sheet, ChildDeathReview.org

Related Web Resources:
Florida Department of Children & Families

His House Inc.

In Florida, a Broward County jury has found that Stuart Hess was addicted to nicotine. Stuart died at 55 from cancer in 1997. His wife Elaine is suing tobacco company Philip Morris for his death. Elaine’s tobacco lawsuit claims that her husband got cancer because of his addiction and that Philip Morris conspired to hide from the public the dangers of smoking. Now, the Florida jury must determine whether the tobacco maker was at fault in causing Stuart Hess’s death and, if so, how much the company should be ordered to pay in compensatory and punitive damages.

Stuart Hess smoked up to three packs of cigarettes (primarily Philip Morris brands) a day. Elaine says her that husband, who she was married to for 32 years, believed the tobacco industry when they claimed the health risks associated with cigarettes had not been proven and that filtered cigarettes were better for you. Her Florida Tobacco attorney, Adam Trop of the law firm Trop & Ameen, P.A., contends that Philip Morris should be held accountable for failing to tell Stuart that their cigarettes could kill him. “We ask you in this case to hold Philip Morris accountable for these actions,” said Trop.

The Hess case is the first Florida tobacco lawsuit to go to trial since the state's Supreme Court tossed out a $145 billion verdict in 2006 and revoked the case's class action status. Elaine Hess was one of the plaintiffs in that class action lawsuit. 8,000 individual tobacco lawsuits have been filed since then. The Court also upheld the jury’s findings that tobacco companies purposely withheld information about the dangers of smoking, as well as the fact that smoking causes cancer and other diseases.

Our Florida tobacco litigation lawyers have spent years successfully fighting tobacco companies on behalf of smokers and non-smoker victims who have sustained serious injuries because of exposure to smoking. Contact Trop & Ameen, P.A. today to request your free consultation.

Fla. jury to decide fault in smoking trial, AP, February 14, 2009

Trial opens in Fla. widow's tobacco lawsuit, Miami Herald, February 3, 2009

Related Web Resources:

The Health Consequences of Smoking on the Human Body, CDC

Philip Morris USA

In South Florida hundreds of people came out to mourn three young children who were killed in a deadly Miami accident late last month. The Serrano children, 10-year-old Hector, 7-year-old Esmerelda, and 4-year-old Amber, died from injuries they sustained when an SUV struck their family minivan from the back. Their father, Hector, who was driving the vehicle they were riding in, was stopped at a red light when the Florida car accident happened. He survived the auto accident with a broken arm.

Tests later showed that the SUV’s driver, Gabriel Delrisco, was driving under the influence of alcohol. His blood alcohol level was .239, which is nearly triple the Florida legal limit of .08%. He has been charged with three counts of DUI manslaughter.

Delrisco reportedly has an extensive record of traffic violations, including a 2001 DUI conviction and at least 26 infractions. He has also failed to appear in court multiple times. Last week, a Miam-Dade Circuit Court judge denied bail for Delrisco. Judge Rosa Rodrigueza found that Delrisco was a danger to society and himself.

The Serrano family’s Florida personal injury lawyer says that Hector and Mirian Serrano are trying to find out who served Delrisco so much alcohol in case they decide to sue for wrongful death.

Drunk driving is reckless behavior that can destroy the lives of victims and their families. From the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2007 Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fact Sheet:

• 12,988 died in drunk driving accidents.
• 3,214 of those alcohol impaired-related deaths occurred in Florida.
• 245 of these victims were children younger than 15.
• 130 of these kids were riding in a vehicle with a drunk driver.

If you or someone you love was injured in a Miami traffic accident because another motorist was reckless or careless, not only are you entitled to Personal Injury Protection coverage but you may also have grounds to file a Florida personal injury or wrongful death claim for financial recovery.

Three children die in Miami SUV crash, Florida Today, February 9, 2009

Hundreds attend triple funeral for Serrano children, Miami-Dade, January 31, 2009

Bail Denied For Driver Charged In Death Of 3 Kids, CBS4, February 5, 2009

Alcohol-Impaired Driving Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, NHTSA

Related Web Resource:
Florida DUI and Administrative Suspensions, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

Continue reading " Three Children Killed in Miami Drunk Driving Car Accident are Remembered During Triple Funeral " »

In Miami, the Thomas More Society has filed a Florida wrongful death lawsuit against 13 defendants over the death of a baby girl. The lawsuit contends that Shanice Denise Osbourne was born alive at an abortion clinic but that the clinic owner later allowed her to die.

The case stems from an allegedly botched abortion procedure that occurred in July 2006. The baby’s mother, Sycloria Williams, sought to have her pregnancy terminated by Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique, who gave her prescription medicine and inserted laminaria sticks in her body to help her get ready for the procedure.

When Williams arrived at the clinic, she was in a lot of pain. The clinic’s receptionist allegedly gave her Cytotec to dilate her cervix and induce labor. She then waited for hours to be seen by a doctor.

During this time, her water broke and she delivered her daughter onto a recliner. The baby, who was alive, was breathing. At this point, clinic owner Belkis Gonzales allegedly entered the room, cut the umbilical cord using shears, put the baby in a red biohazard bag, and threw the bag into the garbage. A doctor soon arrived at the clinic to sedate Williams.

Medical records fail to reveal that Shanice Denise Osbourne was alive when she was born. Miami police, however, reportedly received multiple anonymous calls about the alleged incident. A search was conducted to retrieve the baby’s body, which was found decomposing in a cardboard box in one of the clinic’s closet.

The Miami-Dade County medical examiner’s autopsy indicates that Sharon’s lungs did take in oxygen prior to her death. The examiner, however, says cause of death was “extreme prematurity.”

Dr. Renelique, Gonzales, and four South Florida abortion clinics are among the wrongful death defendants being sued for allegedly botching the abortion, unauthorized medical practices, falsifying medical records, engaging in evasive tactics, murdering the baby, and concealing/getting rid of her body.

Medical Malpractice
Medical facilities and their employees owe all patients a certain duty of care. If that duty of care is not followed and a patient gets hurt or dies, you may be able to file a Florida wrongful death lawsuit. Medical mistakes, failure to diagnose, and failure to provide medical care in a timely manner are just a few examples of what might be considered medical malpractice.

Lawsuit Filed for Baby Born Alive at Abortion Clinic then Killed and Hidden from Police, Lifesitenews.com, January 30, 2009

Medical Malpractice, Justia

Related Web Resource:
Birth Injuries, Justia