58-year-old gentleman was driving his car when an 18-wheeler sped passed him and lost control flipping on top of his car, crushing him instantaneously. Fortunately, he was extricated from the car and ...taken to the closest trauma center where he made a miraculous recovery after undergoing several operations. A lawsuit was immediately filed to ensure no delays were met, and before any depositions were taken, the insurance company for the truck driver tendered in insurance limits.
Car accident
Catastrophic Crush Injury
Aug 07, 2012
OUTCOME: Confidential settlement
A seaport worker was catastrophically when he was crushed by a truck driver attempting to hook up to a chassis. The victim was rushed to the hospital with life threatening injuries and was miraculousl...y saved after multiple surgeries. Although he lived, the worker was left with severe disabilities.
Hernando and his legal team overcame an extremely complex legal technicality, which would have limited his client to only workers' compensation benefits; however, winning on that legal issue paved the way to the injured worker receiving full compensation for his damages.
Slip and fall accident
Slip and Fall at Hotel
Jul 10, 2012
OUTCOME: Confidential settlement
Angel, a guest at a Miami Beach hotel, was celebrating the 4th of July with his family and friends at the picnic area of the hotel. Seeing the young daughter of a friend wondering alone about the pool... deck area, he walked over to her to bring her back to their table. As he walked next to the pool, Angel slipped and fell on food debris into the shallow end of the pool steps, landing head first on the steps in the water. Because of the fall, he fractured his neck and required immediate surgery. After months of follow-up care and repose, he never fully recovered. He could not even return to his prior employment, where he had worked as a road worker for the last 15 years.
The hotel initially denied the claim, claiming that Angel was not a hotel guest and that he was to blame for the fall, due to likely mistranslations in the ER reports stating that he had actually dove into the pool. After several depositions, however, it became clear that the hotel was wrong, and thus, the hotel's position severely weakened. A settlement was reached at mediation, compensating Angel for the full amount of his damages.
Personal injury
Negligent Security - Shooting
Oct 15, 2010
OUTCOME: Confidential settlement
A temporary laborer arrived at the staffing company early in the morning to wait for several co-workers to ride together to a job site. Shortly thereafter, a lunch box truck made its daily morning sto...p to sell breakfast, and the laborer went to buy coffee. As the laborer stood alone at the back of the truck, a man ran up to him putting a gun to his head and demanded his wallet. Before he could comply, the gunman was spooked and fired several shots, one of which went into the laborer's cheek, and he was rushed to the hospital.
Fortunately for the laborer, the gun used was a 22 caliber, and the bullet exited his head without injuring any vital tissue or membrane. Nevertheless, bullet fragments were left in his face, requiring surgical removal.
Given the character of the neighborhood and presence of an erotic dance club in the same strip mall, the staffing agency and premises owner should have had security present, which it didn't. Moreover, both parties knew of the dangerous propensity and possibility of such an incident, as evidenced by the security cameras in place on the outside of the building.
On the eve of trial, the defendants presented a global offer that covered the laborer for the full amount of his damages.
