A Florida jury awarded plaintiff, David Milian just over $1 million Thursday afternoon in his suit against Miami nightspot Nikki Beach Club. Specifically, the jury awarded $150,000 for loss of earnings, $100,000 for hospital and medical bills from the past and into the future, and $800,000 for pain suffering and mental anguish.

On August 3, 2008 Milian visited Nikki Beach Club with his girlfriend. Near the club’s bathrooms Milian exchanged words with Guido Trinidad and their interactions escalated into a physical altercation. Trinidad hit Milian in the face with a bar glass, creating serious injury and severing the nerves on the right side of his face. Milian brought suit against Nikki Beach Club for pain, suffering, his resulting disability and medical bills of approximately $50,000.

Plaintiff’s attorney, Philip Gerson, stated that a nightclub is required to keep its property reasonably safe by providing adequate security. In his opening statement he alleged that the fight was “both foreseeable and preventable by the nightclub. There was a needless danger. They knew fights, including attacks with glasses, had happened before. They could have prevented the crime but didn’t.”

Mitchel Chusid, of Ritter, Chusid, Bizona & Cohen, represented the defendant night club. Chusid asserted that while the plaintiff did receive injuries on defendant’s property, Nikki Beach Club took the proper precautions to make the nightspot safe. He further stated that the incident happened very quickly while Trinidad was enraged and that club security responded quickly.

Today, while asking for damages between 1 and 2 million dollars, Gerson told the jury, “You are like cashiers at a supermarket. You just add up the items. The amount can be large or the amount can be small. It is whatever comes to you, and you should not be embarrassed if the amount that comes to you in total in this case is large.”  

CVN webcast the Milian v. Nikki Beach Club trial live, gavel-to-gavel.

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Timmons v. Ohio Power Company and American Electric Power Service Corporation (Marshall County, West Virginia) 

A Marshall County, West Virginia jury awarded a verdict of $6,998,940 to the family of Lewis Timmons, a 61-year old resident of Tyler County, West Virginia, who was killed as a result of an explosion in the hydrogen storage area of the Muskingum River power plant owned by the American Electric Power Services Corporation. The jury awarded the family of Lewis Timmons nearly $2,000,000 in compensatory damages, and $5,000,000 in punitive damages. The jury also declared that the estate was entitled to attorney fees.

On August 16, 2011, attorney Geoffrey Brown (Bordas and Bordas) told Judge David W. Hummel a panel of eight jurors during his opening statement, “You will hear that both the Ohio Power Company and the American Electric Power Service Corporation violated their duty of due care and caused the explosion to happen resulting in the death of Mr. Timmons and the destruction of his personal property.”

Mr. Brown explained the inner workings of hydrogen storage systems at power plants and noted specifically the inherent dangers in the defendant’s roof above its hydrogen system and its use of weak copper relief stacks. He also described a similar explosion that occurred in December 2005 at a plant in Moundsville, West Virginia, which prompted safety recommendations that were not acted upon by either defendant.

According to Mr. Brown, the defendant’s decision to neglect known safety concerns at the plant resulted in the fatal explosion that took place on January 8, 2007.

Representing the defendants, defense attorney, Brian Swiger (Jackson Kelly) claimed that the American Electric Power Service Corporation was not provided with notice of any dangers present in its roof or its copper relief stacks.

Mr. Swiger told jurors that the defendants, instead, relied on the expertise of General Hydrogen, the inspector for their hydrogen gas system. He claimed that General Hydrogen never gave the American Electric Power Service Corporation any notice of dangers or “urgent needs” for improvement.

Geoffrey Brown (Bordas and Bordas) and Chris Regan (Bordas and Bordas) appeared on behalf of the plaintiff’s estate. Brian Swiger (Jackson Kelly) appeared on behalf of the defendants. 

A two-week civil trial ensued with testimony from numerous experts, including compressed gas experts. Gavel to gavel coverage is available from Courtroom View Network.

CVN webcast Family and Estate of Lewis Timmons v. Ohio Power Company and American Electric Power Service Corporation

Tags: Negligence, Utility Company liability, Personal injury, Wrongful death, Electric Power Liability, Explosion, Power Plant Liability, Power Plant explosion, Verdict, Punitive Damages, safety, Hydrogen

MacDonald v. Kaufman M.D. (West Palm Beach, Florida)

UPDATE – August 18: Judge David Crow declared a mistrial after jurors saw a consent form containing what Melissa MacDonald claims is a forgery of her signature. During opening statements, her attorney was adamant that she never gave consent for a vacuum-assisted delivery. The two sides had not agreed that the jury could see this document, so the current trial was scuttled.  

A mistrial is frustrating and expensive, but for a suit that’s been around since before the iPod existed, what’s a few more months?

A multi-million dollar medical malpractice lawsuit filed while Bill Clinton still lived in the White House finally went to trial last week in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. 

Melissa and Robert MacDonald originally sued Dr. Sam Kaufman and Woman’s Healthcare Associates over a decade ago, claiming the improper use of a vacuum suction device during the delivery of their son, Jordan, in 1998 caused a serious brain injury. Despite being physically healthy today, Jordan has the lowest possible I.Q. score anyone can have and will require constant care for the rest of his life, according to the MacDonalds’ attorney, Gary Cohen of Grossman Roth. 

Jurors rarely get to consider cases this old. It is extremely unusual for a civil suit to spend this long working through even the most clogged state court systems. Both the age of the case and the anticipated length of the trial indicate the high stakes for both sides. 

During opening statements, Cohen told the jury he would ask for an extremely large damages award, but the emotional impact of a family caring for a severely disabled child should not be the deciding factor. Instead he asked the jury to focus strictly on the evidence and whether or not the defendants’ actions during Jordan’s delivery fell below the appropriate standard of care. “We don’t want your sympathy,” Cohen repeatedly told the jurors.

According to Cohen, Dr. Kaufman used a vacuum extractor to assist in an emergency delivery after Melissa MacDonald went into premature labor, despite the fact MacDonald’s ongoing contractions were not weak enough to call for such aggressive treatment. “You never do that unless its indicated,” said Cohen after graphically describing the effects of a vacuum extractor on a newborn’s soft skull. “Why the rush to deliver this child?” he asked the jurors incredulously. 

Representing Dr. Kaufman, attorney Reed Kellner of Adams Coogler insisted that the physician acted properly during the delivery of Jordan MacDonald given the specific circumstances. He told the jury Jordan suffers from cerebral palsy which is a result of his premature birth at 35-weeks and not a result of Dr. Kaufman’s use of a vacuum extractor. 

Kellner claimed there was nothing aggressive or unusual about the use of a vacuum device. “Vacuum deliveries in the circumstances of this case, by reasonable obstetricians around the country, is considered safe and proper,” he said. “It’s part of the standard of care.” 

The 24-hour, lifetime care Jordan will need likely costs far more than any of the defendants’ malpractice insurers would pay, which is the likely reason a case of this complexity is actually being decided by a jury. The vast majority of medical malpractice lawsuits settle out of court before ever reaching trial.

As another sign of the high stakes in the case, Kellner was accompanied in the courtroom by additional defense attorneys from other firms, who will assist in witness testimony over the coming weeks. Extensive expert testimony from both sides is expected, along with testimony from Dr. Kaufman and other on-site medical staff. The trial is expected to last up to three weeks before Judge David Crow and is being webcast in full via Courtroom View Network (CVN).

The case is Melissa MacDonald v. Women’s Healthcare Associates, et al. No. 2000CA008025, 15th Judicial Circuit, Florida

Guaman v. Allstate (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

“It’s a David versus Goliath case” said plaintiff attorney Lee Levenson (Romano Law Group) in describing his client, 59-year-old Jorge Guaman who allegedly sustained back and neck injuries when a driver insured by Allstate Property and Casualty rear-ended his Toyota Tacoma in 2009.  Guaman claimed that $47,140 in past medical bills were necessary to diagnose and treat his injuries which included a burst disc in his lumbar spine.

But according to Allstate, Guaman had degenerative disc damage that predated the accident, sustained no injuries, cuts or bruises, and drove his truck home without going to the emergency room. “Sometimes actions tell us more than words” said Allstate attorney Holly Carroll. In fact, only nine days later did Guaman go to a clinic to seek physical therapy. Guaman was given epidural treatments over the course of several days, which according to Levenson prove Guaman was not simply looking for a lawsuit but was legitimately in pain.

However, Mr. Guaman, a native of Columbia who came to the U.S. in 1992 and works at as a quality control supervisor at a manufacturing plant, sustained an injury on the job prior to 2009 when an automatic door fell on his head.  He had undergone MRI treatments and additional treatments as a result.

In closing arguments, plaintiff attorney Eiman Sharmin (Sharmin & Sharmin) argued that Mr. Guaman will live in pain as a result of the injury with Allstate’s client for the rest of his life.  Mr. Guaman will continue to work and provide for his family, but he will “suffer in the silence at night when no one else sees what is going on…The way to make him whole again is by awarding him a number of dollars.”  Mr. Sharmin requested $2,000,000 in damages, including $207,140.23 in past and future medical expenses.

The Broward County jury awarded Jorge Guaman $47,140.23 in past medical expenses and $130,000 in future medical expenses, plus $15,000 for past pain and suffering, and $15,000 for future pain and suffering, for a total damage award of $207,140.23.

CVN webcast Guaman v. Allstate live.

Olivera v. Southlake Hospital (Orlando, Florida)

Irma Olivera, caretaker, slipped and fell on what she claimed was spilled liquid on the floor of the cafeteria in Southlake Hospital, injuring her left knee. Olivera claimed that Southlake should have cleaned up the spill.

Laurence Trias (Pendas Firm) argued that the hospital should have designated an employee to monitor the cafeteria for spilled food or liquid. “This is a high traffic area,” Trias said. “So it’s pretty logical that when people walk around wtih food, when people walk around with cups, they may spill. It happens. Mistakes happen.”

Defense attorney Vance Dawson (Rissman Barrett) argued that even had there been liquid spilled on the floor — which he viewed as doubtful, even though Ms. Olivera apparently reported a spill to her medical providers, because Ms. Olivera reported falling forward, not backward — the hospital was not negligent in failing to clean it up. “If this spill was there so long we should have known about it, why didn’t she?” Dawson asked. “We’re here to challenge her theory with respect to how we’re responsible for something we didn’t create that didn’t exist and yet she’s not.” Dawson added that if Olivera tripped over her own feet or tripped because she was wearing flip-flops, then that is obviously nothing negligent that the hospital could have done.

The jury found that the hospital was not negligent.

CVN webcast Olivera v. Southlake Hospital live.

Hinton v. Costco (Las Vegas, Nevada)

For residents of Las Vegas, a city known for 24-hour drive through wedding chapels (with complimentary boutonniere!), unhappy couples going their separate ways is just a fact of life. 

At least that’s what a jury told Rachelle Hinton, who blamed Costco Wholesale Corporation for her husband’s couch potato habits and grouchy demeanor after he suffered a wrist injury in a Costco parking lot in 2007. Rachelle Hinton was a co-plaintiff with her husband in their lawsuit against the bulk purchase retailer, despite their divorce due to be finalized later this summer. She blamed Costco for her husband’s depression after the accident, but the jury awarded her no damages for loss of consortium. 

However despite an aggressive defense from Costco attorney Sharon Nelson, who characterized Brandon Hinton as a serial litigator who was driving under the influence of the sedative Klonopin at the time of the accident, the jury still ordered Costco to pay Hinton $240,000 for past medical expenses and future pain and suffering. The award was reduced from $400,000, after the jury also found Brandon Hinton himself was 40% responsible for the accident.  

Hinton suffered a wrist injury in 2007 when he reached out from his driver’s side window to block shopping carts from hitting his truck in a Costco parking lot. Costco employee David Velez had been moving the carts with a “QuicKart” personal moving device. 

During testimony, Velez admitted he made an error in not checking for oncoming traffic before moving the carts, but Nelson repeatedly told the jury Velez had been properly trained to operate the QuicKart, and that Brandon Hinton did deserve some compensation for the incident, but not in the amount asked for the by the Hinton’s attorney, Jim Crockett, and certainly not for the Hinton’s decision to end their marriage. 

The jury reached their verdict after a one-week trial before Judge Valerie Adair in Clark County Circuit Court in Las Vegas where it appears to be “until compensatory damages do us part” for the Hintons, after all. 

CVN webcast the Hinton v. Costco trial live.

Hinton v. Costco (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Can a broken wrist break up a marriage? It can according to Brandon and Rachelle Hinton. 

The couple’s divorce will be finalized later this summer, but they’re sticking with each other as co-plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Costco Wholesale Corporation that went to trial this week in Clark County Circuit Court.  

Brandon Hinton suffered a broken wrist in a Costco parking lot in 2007, after a Costco employee lost control of a number of shopping carts, and they rolled towards Hinton’s car. From the driver’s seat, Hinton reached out to block the carts with his hand, which caused a wrist injury resulting in multiple surgeries, enduring physical pain, and, according to the Hintons’ attorney, led to the end of their marriage of 13 years. 

“There was too big a change,” attorney Jim Crockett (Crockett & Myers) told the jury during opening statements. Between depression from a debilitating wrist injury and the required, long-time use of narcotic pain medication, Rachelle claims her husband went from being a happy-go-lucky, active “9.8 out of 10″ stay-at-home dad to a “grouch” who hardly helps out around the house or with their six-year old child. She seeks damages for loss of consortium, while Brandon seeks damages for medical expenses and loss of future wages. 

According to Hinton’s lawsuit, on the day of the accident a Costco employee was moving shopping carts with a “QuicKart” personal moving device that he had not received sufficient training to operate. “When a company uses specialized commercial machinery, the company must make sure that only employees who have been authorized and properly trained to use it, use it. If they don’t, and someone is harmed, the company is responsible for the harm caused,” Crockett told the jury. 

Representing Costco, attorney Sharon Nelson (The Nelson Law Firm) told the jury that although the employee admitted making an error in operating the QuicKart, he had been properly trained, and that Costco responded appropriately following the incident. The Hintons refused an ambulance, and, Nelson said, the evidence will show at the time Mr. Hinton was driving under the influence of prescription medication. Nelson told the jury Costco is not responsible for the subsequent standard of care Mr. Hinton received in treating his injury, nor is it responsible for the strength of the Hinton’s marriage. “This case is about choices,” said Nelson. 

Nelson also suggested to the jury that Hinton had a history of filing lawsuits like this. “The evidence will show this is not the first time Mr. Hinton has sued or claimed disability for an injury,” she said. According to Nelson, Mr. Hinton had effectively stopped looking for any full time employment months before the incident in the Costco parking lot. 

CVN will be webcasting live the full Hinton v. Costco trial, which will last up to two weeks.

Kalitan v. Alexander (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
Susan Kalitan suffered a perforated esophagus during intubation for anesthesia prior to surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. The perforation was not detected, and subsequently caused severe harm.

In his closing argument for Dr. Alexander, Robert Cousins (Quintairos Preito) pointed out that the mere occurrence of bad things that should not happen does not mean that there was negligence, and in this case the risk of negative outcomes was disclosed to the patient.

Cousins read to the jury from a patient disclosure form: “‘There is a minimal possibility of bleeding or perforation’…and so, ladies and gentlemen, this is a known and recognized complication…Should it happen? No. But does that mean there’s negligence? Absolutely not.” In this case, said Cousins, there was nothing in the post-anesthesia procedure, under the circumstances, at the time, that should have alerted Dr. Alexander to a potential problem. Therefore, his failing to recognize the perforated esophagus did not breach the standard of care.

Representing Barry University, which trained student nurse Eleidy Miedes, who allegedly caused the injury to Ms. Kalitan’s esophagus, Jeffrey Creasman (Quintairos Prieto) told the jury “There’s not a shred of evidence in this case ladies and gentlemen that Ellie Miedes did any endotrachael intubation [which was the procedure that allegedly caused the injury]. None. Not a single witness has said that….that entirely exonerates my client.” Even if Ms. Miedes did any part of the procedure that injured Ms. Kalitan, Mr. Creasman continued, Miedes would be held to the standard of care of a student nurse directly supervised by a physician, and she would not have been expected to anticipate a difficult airway.

Representing Broward General Medical Center, Tom Heath (Heath Carcioppolo) told the jury that Broward’s nurses were top-notch critical care nurses who behaved properly throughout Ms. Kalitan’s stay. The nurses discharged Ms. Kalitan because she was medically stable and not in pain.

In his closing rebuttal, Crane Johnstone (Schlesinger) told the jury, “What you’ve seen is the attorneys for a month now and in closing remarks defend the indefensible. And, that’s what defense attorneys do. They speak for the defendants, and they will even, in a case like this, do what they have done, which is defend the indefensible.“

Reminding the jury of a nurse’s testimony, Mr. Johnstone said, “It was inexcusable and it was below the standard of care for three nurses to have heard from Susan about the pain that she had after a minor wrist procedure and not serve as an advocate and speak for her to make sure that the doctor came, or the nurses higher up in the hierarchy — the charge nurse, the supervising nurse — to get someone to see this woman before she went home…The pain she was experiencing was so severe she could barely stand up, and then got more pain medication, and it put her to sleep.“

“They never get a physician in to see her, despite the rules and the regulations of the hospital, that say that the etiology — the cause of this pain — should be determined if at all possible. And nobody did that…They never checked on her that afternoon to make sure that when the pain medication wore off she was ok, and that she didn’t require further help from her doctor. When they finally called her the next day, they called the wrong number. That’s the evidence in the case. That’s the care she got.“

Moreover, said Mr. Johnstone, nurse Miedes was on academic probation at Barry University and had subpar clinical marks at the time she cared for Ms. Kalitan, including her marks in Physiology and Difficult Airway Assessment.

The jury found negligence on the part of all defendants, assigning 50% to Dr. Alexander, 35% to Broward Medical Center, 5% to the student nurse, and 10% to the student nurse’s supervisor, who was acting on behalf of Barry University.

The jury found that Ms. Kalitan suffered a catastrophic severe closed head injury and awarded damages as follows: Past medical expensese: $142,704; future medical expenses: $472,287; past lost earnings: $55,220; future lost earnings: $47,800; past general damages including pain & suffering: $2M. Future general damages: $2M. The total damage award was $4,718,011.

CVN webcast the Kalitan medical malpractice trial live.