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This month, several former professional football players filed a class-action negligence lawsuit in Miami against the National Football League (NFL) over alleged known concussion risks to players. The lawsuit claims the NFL ignored evidence which demonstrated player head trauma during football games caused major medical problems later. Plaintiffs such as former Miami Hurricane running back Najeh Davenport claim the NFL spent decades ignoring evidence that the cumulative effects of head injuries such as concussions on the field caused mental and physical problems later. The lawsuit also alleges that retired players who experienced head traumas suffer from higher rates of memory loss, depression, migraine headaches, and early-onset dementia. Other plaintiffs who recently joined the Miami lawsuit include Santonio Thomas and Omare Lowe.

The Miami suit is one of nearly two dozen filed nationwide in recent months by former professional football players against the NFL and football helmet manufacturers. With hundreds of plaintiffs throughout the country, billions of dollars are potentially at stake. Plaintiffs include both largely forgotten players and league stars like Jim McMahon and Jamal Lewis. Four similar lawsuits were recently consolidated in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia before Judge Anita B. Brody. Other player lawsuits are expected to be consolidated with the multi-district litigation in the near future. Last week, a website intended for both former and current players was established to track concussion-related litigation against the NFL.

Because of the potentially lasting effects on an individual’s health, any brain injury should be taken seriously. Even a minor head trauma can have a devastating effect on a victim’s quality of life. A traumatic brain injury can cause both short and long term physical and cognitive disabilities including memory loss, depression, seizures, and changes in personality. A head injury may also raise the risk for developing other brain conditions in the future.

A disabling brain injury can result from any type of head trauma including a fall, car accident or a sports-related concussion. The medical costs associated with treating a brain injury can be astronomical. If the victim requires daily care, treatment costs will be ongoing and even higher, dramatically altering a brain injury victim’s future. If you or your loved one has suffered from a traumatic brain injury due to another party’s negligence, you have the right to seek compensation for your injuries.

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MIAMI, FL—A violent airboat crash on the St. John’s River in Melbourne, Fla. left four accident victims with various injuries. According to information provided by the Brevard Times, the boating accident appeared to have occurred in close proximity to the Sweetwater Boat Ramp on the evening of Feb. 7.

A boater called 911 after the airboat he/she was on struck a tree on the St. John’s River at approximately 7:12 p.m. Reports indicated one of the four boaters involved in the watercraft accident—a man in his 50s—was ultimately ejected from the airboat, which flipped over on impact of the tree. That man was said to be the most seriously injured victim.

Officials and personnel from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, and Camp Holley Fish Camp made use of airboats to respond to the scene of the boating accident. Four airboat crash victims were transported to Melbourne-based Holmes Regional Medical Center to be treated for their injuries.

Statistical data provided by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) indicated 668 boat accidents occurred during the year 2010. Those boat crashes and accidents resulted in 79 boating deaths and 389 injuries. Statistics suggest Florida has more boating accidents than any other state in the nation.

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A Princess Cruise Lines ship returned to a South Florida port with an alleged outbreak of norovirus for a second week in a row. This week, the Crown Princess returned to dock at Port Everglades two days early after approximately 250 people on the ship became ill with vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pains. Last weekend, the same ship was disinfected for several hours after returning to port with about 400 sick passengers and crew members. This week, the nation’s Centers for Disease Control will be on hand to sanitize the Crown Princess before its next scheduled departure on Saturday.

Last week, two other cruise ships also returned to port with a suspected norovirus outbreak. The Ruby Princess, a sister ship of the Crown Princess which also sails out of South Florida, and Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas, which sails out of New Orleans, were sanitized after returning to port with hundreds of sick passengers and crew.

The Crown Princess is capable of carrying more than 3,000 people and more than 1,000 additional crew members. Although the norovirus is quite common, the purported outbreak generates considerable worry because of how close quarters the cabins, common areas, and ventilation systems are on cruise ships. The virus is highly contagious and spreads easily from person to person through both surfaces and contaminated food. Industry experts warn that the virus is tough to eliminate once it starts to spread on board a ship.

According to Princess Cruise Lines, the company has additional cleaning crews on hand to assist with the disinfection of all of the ship’s public areas. All furnishings, carpets, and any surface a passenger is likely to touch will purportedly be sanitized. Additionally, each state room will be cleaned repeatedly prior to being prepared for the ships’ next departure. At this time, the cruise line expects the Crown Princess to depart as scheduled on February 11th.

An accidental personal injury may arise unexpectedly in any number of settings, including on a cruise vacation. If you were injured on a cruise ship as a passenger or crew member, it is important to seek assistance from a qualified personal injury attorney. A variety of state, federal, and international laws may apply to personal injury claims associated with cruise ships and other vessels at sea. The amount of time you have to file your claim may be limited and the claim process can be cumbersome. If you were injured on a cruise ship, an experienced personal injury attorney can help you assess your claim and negotiate a reasonable settlement.

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MIAMI, FL—A $3 million verdict was rendered against Miami-based Discover Day Care Inc. in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a child at the day care facility in 2008, NBC Miami reported. The lawsuit claimed the sexual abuse occurred after a teacher at the Miami day care facility placed her then-13-year-old son in charge of supervising the children during her lunch break.

According to information provided, the alleged child sexual assault victim—who was only five years old at the time of the alleged attack—testified that the teacher’s son sexually abused her during “nap time.” The sexual abuse lawsuit—which initially sought $25 million in damages on behalf of the victim and her family—claimed negligence on the part of Discover Day Care Inc. on the basis that the children were not under adult supervision when the illicit sexual encounter allegedly occurred.

The teacher’s now-17-year-old son was initially charged with sexual abuse, he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to counseling. While the jury was not aware of the said outcome of the criminal case as the civil trial was underway, three of the teen’s court-appointed therapists testified that the teen did indeed confess to inappropriately touching the young girl. According to one of the counselors, “He admits to touching her vagina.”

A defense attorney on the case told reporters he would file a motion for a new trial.

About the Miami injury attorneys and negligent security/premises liability lawyers of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.
When accidents and crimes take place on someone else’s property, that someone needs to take responsibility. Too often, property owners and managers deny their responsibility. At shopping centers, hotels, apartments and condominiums, and all public events, people have a legal right to be reasonably safe from foreseeable harm and criminal victimization.

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The cruise ship accident this past weekend aboard the Costa Concordia is inexcusable. With modern technology including sonar and GPS which average people have in their cell phones and recreational boaters almost universally use it is extraordinary and gross negligence for a professional sea captain, with thousands of lives in his hands to make errors which would cause a cruise ship with state of the art navigational tools, run aground. What is even more remarkable about this cruise ship accident is that this could happen in familiar waters just hours from one of the major cruise ports in the world. It is criminal that a captain would leave defenseless passengers and crew behind to avoid injury to himself.

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MIAMI, FL—Officials from the Miramar Police Department are investigating the recent stabbing of a 15-year-old girl, which took place in the parking lot of an apartment complex near Miramar High School. According to information provided by the Miami Herald, the teenage victim was stabbed after being confronted by a few fellow students—whom she had apparently gotten into a quarrel with at Miramar High earlier that day—on her way home.

Victim Kiana Henry, 15, was on her way home from school when a few female classmates approached her in the parking lot of the Village of Mallorca apartment complex– located in close proximity to Miramar High. It was there that one of the girls pulled a knife out and went on to stab Henry twice. The victim apparently agreed to settle an argument that arose between her and the girls after school was let out for the day.

According to a friend of the stabbing victim—who told reporters her name was Lakoria—, “They got into an argument [at school] about somebody talking about somebody… She stabbed my home girl. I just saw her slice her. When she sliced her, everybody just started running.” The severely injured victim was subsequently rushed to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital to be treated for her stab wounds. At last check, she was listed in serious condition at the hospital.

Tania Rues, a spokesperson for the Miramar Police Dept., told reporters that two suspects were taken into custody in connection with the violent near-school stabbing incident. Investigations into the incident are underway.

About the Miami injury law firm of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.
When accidents and crimes take place on someone else’s property, that someone needs to take responsibility. Too often, property owners and managers deny their responsibility. At shopping centers, hotels, apartments and condominiums, and all public events, people have a legal right to be reasonably safe from foreseeable harm and criminal victimization.

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MIAMI, FL—A 10-year Broward County Sheriff’s deputy lost his life in an off-duty motorcycle accident in Oakland Park on New Years Day, according to information provided by WSVN. Reports appeared to suggest the off-duty BSO deputy suffered fatal injuries upon colliding with a vehicle at the intersection of Commercial Boulevard and Northeast 3rd Street.

John Blackwelder, a 45-year-old father of two and 10-year veteran of the BSO, was riding his motorcycle along westbound Commercial Blvd. when Stanjka Vangov—the driver of an unspecified vehicle—attempted to make a last-minute turn onto NE 3rd St in Oakland Park.

According to Sheriff Al Lamberti of the Broward Sheriff’s Office, “He attempted to avoid vehicle, but unfortunately he couldn’t… But again, a very, very tragic day for us at the Broward Sheriff’s Office.”

While Vangov seemed to have escaped injury in the Oakland Park traffic crash, the off-duty BSO officer was not so fortunate. Blackwelder succumbed to his traumatic injuries at the scene of the deadly motorcycle wreck.

Vangov told reporters, “I said, ‘My God, I think I could make it, to cross, and I don’t make it… He hit my right back door. ‘Boom!’ Like explosion… Of course I wish, I wish I never get out of house today. I wish I never get out of house. That’s how I feel.”

“I’m really sorry what’s happened- person lose life. I’m really sorry,” the driver added.

Jeffrey Sheets evidently spoke to WSVN reporters at the scene of the fatal motorcycle accident and was quoted saying, “They don’t look out for us guys on motorcycles. All it takes is a just a second to look to see us… People just absolutely pull right out in front of us…. We sat and we prayed for him, because it was the best we could do.”

According to statistics provided via the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), which was created by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a total of 4,595 motorcycles were involved in fatal traffic accidents throughout the nation during the year 2009. Of those motorcycles, 431 were involved in fatal Florida crashes.

BSO detectives are expected to conduct a full investigation into the fatal traffic accident. No charges have been filed as of yet.

About the Florida motorcycle accident lawyers at the Miami injury law firm of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.
Every personal injury law firm has experience handling car accident and motor vehicle collisions. We do too. Our experience spans 37 years with significant results at both the trial and appellate levels. We have successfully represented injured drivers and passengers in virtually every imaginable car or auto accident scenario. From head on collisions, rear end collisions, drunk driving cases, motorcycle crash cases. Our firm also has extensive experience handling more complicated automobile and car accident cases, which may include product liability claims like defective design and other auto manufacturing defects.

The Miami injury law firm of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A. is at the forefront in its creative use of video, animated accident reconstruction and computer graphics. The firm’s use of advanced technology is just one of methods it uses to bring about just and successful outcomes for car, auto, and other motor vehicle accidents claims.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car, auto, or motorcycle accident contact a Miami car accident lawyer for a free consultation. Call us at 305-371-6000 or email us at info@gslawusa.com

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MIAMI, FL—Three South Florida men are facing criminal charges in connection with the recent sexual assault of an expectant mother at one of Johnson & Wales University’s off-campus student housing units in North Miami. According to information provided by NBC Miami, officials from the North Miami Police Department (NMPD) arrested two of the rape suspects on Dec. 27 and the third on Dec. 29.

The victim (who happens to be married and eight months pregnant) appeared to have been under the impression that she was going to be participating in a photo shoot at 21-year-old Ligunson Edmond’s off-campus home when she was brutally raped. The Johnson & Wales University off-campus housing unit where Edmund lives is apparently located at 1735 NE 124th St. in North Miami.

Reports noted that the rape victim responded to a Craigslist ad titled “Lady’s South Florida” prior to the alleged sexual assault. It was not clear what the online ad entailed.

Nevertheless, North Miami Police arrested both Edmund and 21-year-old Jacques Davis Jean two days before managing to apprehend the third suspect, 24-year-old Kevin McNair. While Miami-Dade Corrections records indicate McNair is facing two counts of sexual assault with a deadly weapon causing serious injury in the college rape case, the extent of “sexual battery charges” being faced by Edmund and Jean was not clear. The case is underway.

Termed the “silent epidemic,” the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) estimated that as many as 95 percent of on-campus sexual assaults go unreported. Shockingly, statistics provided by the Justice Department indicate that approximately 1 out of 4 women will be sexually assaulted or raped during their college careers.

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MIAMI, FL—Two of three motorists involved in the horrific Dec. 26 northwest Miami-Dade crash that claimed the life of a pedestrian subsequently fled the scene, CBS Miami reported. The hit-and-run victim, whom is both a father and a grandfather, was pronounced dead at the scene of the violent traffic accident.

According to Javier Baez of the Miami-Dade Police Dept., a 2008 Nissan Altima struck 48-year-old Ismael Cruz-Pratts as he was crossing N.W. 17th Avenue at the intersection of 114th Street in northwest Miami-Dade County.

Although that driver stopped at the scene and attempted to get out of his/her vehicle to help the injured pedestrian, two oncoming vehicles—described by witnesses as a red Honda and a dark-colored Cadillac— also went on to hit him. Those drivers, however, failed to remain at the scene of the injury accident, as required by Florida law..

• Under section 316.027 of the Florida Statutes, “The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury of any person must immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident, or as close thereto as possible, and must remain at the scene of the accident until he has fulfilled the requirements of s. 316.062 [see below]. Any person who willfully violates this paragraph is guilty of a felony of the third degree.”

Florida Statute 316.062— Duty to give information and render aid.

Requires the following:

1. Name of driver.
2. Address of driver.
3. And the registration number of the vehicle he is driving.
4. And shall upon request and if available exhibit his license or permit to drive, to any person injured in such accident or to the driver of occupant of or person attending any vehicle or other property damaged in the accident.
5. All of the above information is required to be given to any police officer investigating the accident.
6. Driver shall render to any person injured in the accident reasonable assistance, including the carrying, or making arrangements for the carrying, of such person to a physician, surgeon, or hospital for medical or surgical treatment if it is apparent that treatment is necessary, or if such carrying is requested by the injured person.

[SOURCE: Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles]

Cruz-Pratts ultimately succumbed to his injuries at the scene of the Miami crash. “He’s the father of three girls, he’s got various grandkids… It’s a shame that somebody is going to hit and leave him there and he’s dead,” Cruz-Pratts’ friend Lilly Franqui told reporters. ”Please turn yourself in… Or if you have any information please contact the police department. I’m pretty sure those little girls and those grandkids would appreciate it,” she added.

Nearby residents also told reporters that the street where the fatal pedestrian accident occurred lacks adequate lighting. “It’s been three weeks, people been reporting the lights, the lights, the lights… It took death to, maybe tonight, we’ll have some lights,” resident George Natar told CBS Miami reporters. 
Investigations into the pedestrian death are underway as Miami-Dade Police continue their search for the two negligent drivers who sped away from the scene of the unfortunate South Florida collision.

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MIAMI, FL—The U.S. Justice Department announced on Dec. 20 that a former prison guard at the Miami-based Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) had indeed pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a ward. Ex-Miami prison employee Jack Chris Jackson, 45, engaged in illicit sexual relations with an inmate under his watch and is facing up to 15 years in prison in connection with his sex crimes.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida was quoted saying, “This correction officer abused his official position. This conduct is an intolerable breach of trust that not only endangers the safety of inmates but also compromises prison security. Our office will prosecute all official corruption cases to the fullest extent of the law.”

According to information provided by NBC Miami, authorities stated that Jackson confessed to engaging in both an illicit sexual relationship with a male prison inmate for over a year and illegal sex acts with additional inmates at the low-security prison, located in southwest Miami-Dade.

“We will not tolerate corrections officers engaging in this behavior with institutionalized persons… The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute individuals who abuse their position and authority in this manner,” Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, maintained.

Jackson, whom was arrested following both an FBI investigation and a probe by the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General, will be sentenced in the case on March 19, 2012. Susan Rhee Osborne, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and Henry Leventis, a U.S. Justice Department trial attorney in the Civil Rights Department, are leading the prosecution, the department’s press release suggested.

A study published by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Evaluation and Inspections Division in Sept. 2009 revealed that between fiscal years 2001 and 2008, the number of sexual misconduct allegations filed against Bureau of Prison (BOP) employees rose 130 percent. The number of criminal sexual abuse allegations also rose 104 percent, bringing the grand tally of sex-related inmate claims to a whopping 1,585 during that time span. The study also found that “the general increase in allegations of staff criminal sexual abuse and sexual misconduct with inmates was greater than the increase in either the BOP’s staffing level or inmate population over the same time period.”

Aggravated sexual assault allegations—those accusing prison staff of using force and/or “placing the inmate in fear of death or serious bodily injury” as to engage in unlawful sexual acts—accounted for 9.3 percent (95) of sexual abuse/misconduct claims against prison employees. Furthermore, allegations of abusive sexual contact (i.e. inappropriate touching, fondling) accounted for 35.3 percent (363) of the said claims.

The remaining 55.4 percent of claims filed during that time span (570) alleged sexual abuse—“engaging in a sexual act with an inmate by threat or force”— and alleged sexual abuse of a ward—“engaging in a sexual act with an inmate”— on the part of prison guards and staff.

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