After checking in, the husband had some phone calls to make and some work to catch up on so he stayed in the room while the wife went downstairs to the pool. The wife stayed by the pool for several hours relaxing and enjoying the sun. When she returned to the room, she noticed that her husband was not there but was not worried, since she assumed he had gone down to the hotel bar or was touring the hotel. She went ahead and showered and ordered some food from room service, as she was sure that he would return shortly for dinner.
After several hours went by, she became increasingly concerned that he had not returned and she began making some phone calls. However, no one had heard from him and the hotel desk clerks stated they had not seen her husband.
Later that evening, as one of the hotel employees was making rounds to ascertain that everything was as it should be in the hotel, he came upon the body of the husband in the stairwell near the couple’s room. He had been killed with a garotte, which is a wire with a handle at each end used for strangling. Because this apparatus was used, the police stated that it very possibly could have been a contract killing. The police surmised that he had been surprised in his room and then pulled into the stairwell, even though there were no signs of struggle in the motel room.
Of course, the wife was questioned at length concerning her husband’s death but was not charged. The husband was a wealthy businessman so the police were looking at all of his personal and business connections. Unfortunately, this murder was never solved.
This couple had been married a relatively short period of time and had no children together, but he had five children from his previous marriage. The widow in this case contacted Attorney Richard D. Schuler to assist her in suing the hotel for negligent security on behalf of herself and her five step-children. Mr. Schuler retained a security expert in this case and together they were able to show that the hotel had inadequate security at the time of this incident, and that there had been criminal activity in this area in the past.
The victim in this Florida nursing home case was 72 years old at the time of his death. Two days before he had been transported via ambulance to Delray Community Hospital after he fell from his wheelchair and hit his head on the floor. As a result of this fall, he sustained a laceration to the right forehead and a right subarachnoid hemorrhage with left inferior occipital area hemorrhage consistent with contrecoup and a laceration to his forehead.
An investigation indicated that the nursing home not only consistently failed to provide adequate protective and supportive services for this gentleman, but that the facility knew and documented his cognitive losses in short and long term memory and periods of delirium with his mental function varying over the course of the day. He had also had previous falls and had tried to climb out of bed. The nursing home records reflect that from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. he had a private sitter with him. The family had hired a private sitter as they were told by the staff that they couldn’t watch him continuously. His wife, who was 70 years old, tried to be with him the other 12 hours of the day. At one point the nurses have documented that the patient was placed in a wheelchair up by the nurse’s station as the patient had tried to get up and walk alone several times.
On the morning of the incident in question, the patient was found on the floor of his room with no apparent injuries noted.
Unfortunately, despite the facility’s knowledge of the victim’s dementia, memory loss and confused state, it did not see fit to use any type of safety device to prevent him from getting out of his wheelchair. Also, the medical records reflect that the employees of the nursing home did not keep the head of this victim’s bed elevated to 45 degrees as required of a patient getting G-Tube feedings, nor did they do the other preventative measures which were the standard.
]]> The wife of this victim was a frequent companion to her husband while he was at the nursing home and he was the light of her life. Since his death, she has been depressed and cannot understand how a nursing home such as this could ignore her husband to the extent that he could fall out of a wheelchair and sustain blunt head trauma. They had been married 50 years.The medical examiner performed an autopsy and listed aspiration pneumonia as the cause of death with blunt head trauma as a significant contributing cause.
The widow contacted Attorney Richard D. Schuler to assist her in pursuing a case against the nursing home since the nursing home had the obligation to provide adequate and appropriate care for this victim, and did not fulfill its responsibilities in this case.
]]>Maybe that is why the victim in this single vehicle roll over is lucky to be alive, although she did have serious injuries. Our victim in this Florida truck accident case is a 45 year old single woman living in West Palm Beach, Florida. She had traveled to Indiana with her boyfriend to visit her son and was enroute back to her home at the time of this Florida auto accident. They had borrowed her son’s pickup truck and the boyfriend was driving on State Road 55 in Cross City, Florida early one rainy morning. The victim was asleep when the accident occurred, but feels certain that the driver fell asleep and then over-corrected when he ran off the left shoulder of the road. He then cut across the road to the right shoulder, ran off the road and the truck flipped over one or two times before landing against a tree by the road. The driver denies falling asleep and states that he believes a tire blew and caused the accident.
Whatever happened, the victim through no fault of her own, sustained very serious injuries in this crash, including but not limited to injuries to her neck, right shoulder, head, mid and low back. In fact, her medical expenses eventually amounted to almost $200,000.00. As a result of this accident, she received a huge knot on the right side of her head and sustained severe memory loss and had constant migraines. Her neck had a ruptured disc and a bulging disc and required surgery for disc replacement. Her right shoulder was separated. Her lumbar spine had a ruptured disc and a bulging disc. She is told by her physicians that she may need future surgery.
The victim in this case requested assistance from Attorney Richard D. Schuler because she was concerned about her mounting out-of-pocket expenses, and was fearful that she might require more invasive treatment in the near future. Mr. Schuler pursued settlement with the insurance companies representing the defendants and the uninsured motorists carrier in this matter, and was successful in obtaining a total settlement of hundreds of thousands of dollars for this victim. She will now be able to obtain medical treatment and any surgery she made need in the future
The victim in this Florida boating accident was a 28 year old married man who was a karate instructor and owned his own karate studio. He and his wife had very active lives and enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle. They were members of an exclusive boating club located in North Palm Beach, Florida where by paying a membership fee, they were allowed the use of a boat whenever they wished.
On this particular fall day, they had secured the use of a 24 foot power boat for the afternoon with a friend of theirs and anchored just off the beach on the north end of Palm Beach Island. The trio had gone ashore to have lunch just before this incident occurred. When the victim was attempting to climb up the dive ladder to get back onto the boat, his fingers got caught at the hinge of the ladder, partially amputating the third and fourth digit of his right hand.
As they were heading back to the marina, luckily the Marine Patrol was nearby and rushed him to Blue Heron Park where he was picked up by Fire Rescue and taken to the emergency room at St. Mary’s Medical Center. Once there, he was taken into surgery immediately. Unfortunately, this victim would require two more surgeries to his fingers and possibly will require more in the future.
Of course, this victim incurred thousands of dollars in medical expenses and worst of all, he lost a large amount of income from his karate studio since he is no longer able to act as an instructor and, in fact, was unable to work at all for quite some time due to the pain he had to contend with on a daily basis.
This victim contacted Attorney Richard D. Schuler for assistance in obtaining some compensation for the expenses and pain and suffering he endured due to the negligence of the marina and the fact that the ladder on this boat was faultily constructed. This fact was confirmed by a safety expert retained by Mr. Schuler in this case. After extensive investigation Mr. Schuler was successful in settling this case without the necessity of a trial for several hundred thousand dollars
]]>The two victims in this commission entitlement case are real estate brokers who have been involved in the real estate business in Palm Beach County since the early and mid-70’s, initially as salespersons and then subsequently as brokers. One of the principals involved is a very wealthy landowner who owned five sections of land (approximately 4,000 acres) free and clear between the Florida Turnpike and Okeechobee Boulevard. One of these real estate brokers had been working on selling this gentleman’s properties for years. He had an open listing to do so and had brought many offers to the owner on various sections over the years, including the property involved in this case.
This broker spoke with a second broker about the availability of these properties. This second broker felt that a large corporation she dealt with might be interested in some or all of the properties and sent correspondence that introduced the corporation to these properties.
Multiple meetings were held between the corporation and the second broker with the knowledge and permission of the landowner. These meetings took place over a three month period and it soon evolved that the corporation became interested in portions of the property.
During the next month, there were many discussions between this second broker, the large corporation and the landowner, culminating in the corporation issuing a letter to the broker instructing her to make an initial proposal regarding portions this property. As instructed, the broker brought this initial proposal to the landowner from the corporation.
As discussion continued between the broker, the corporation and the landowner, the landowner could determine that the deal was starting to heat up because the corporation had committed itself in writing on it’s stationery making this preliminary offer. At this point, he demanded, as owner, that he carry on the negotiations directly with the corporation and that the brokers take a passive role. The brokers were “frozen out”.
Through the process of continuous negotiation, the landowner ended up selling a portion of this property to the large corporation, and entered into two option contracts that basically stated that the corporation had the obligation to purchase 10% of the remaining available land per year to extend over a seven year period. They could buy all of it or greater than 10% at any time they wanted, but they had to purchase a minimum of 10% per year up until six years and then in the seventh year they had to buy whatever was left.
The landowner even admitted that he owed some money to the brokers and offered the brokers in writing $50,000.00 as a real estate commission, but that is a far cry from what he should have paid. At that point in time, the sales had amounted to $8,000,000.00, which would mean a commission of $800,000.00. That does not even include the future sales as pertains to the two option contracts.
The documents show that the landowner and corporation conspired together by editing out the brokers’ names on the original contract. Also, the landowner requested a written statement from the corporation that they had not dealt with any brokers, and the corporation refused to give it, as evidenced by the correspondence and exhibits. In addition, the corporation sent out a memorandum stating that they would do anything within their power to help the landowner against the brokers. The reason they were cooperating in a conspiracy to avoid a real estate commission in this case is because they wanted to continue to maintain a friendly relationship with the landowner for possible future dealings.
The brokers contacted Attorney Richard D. Schuler to represent them in this case. Mr. Schuler researched this matter and retained knowledgeable experts for assistance. Suit was filed against the landowner and the corporation not only for the real estate commission owed, but also for punitive damages because the landowner knew that he owed a real estate commission to the brokers and so did the corporation. It was known so well, in fact, that the corporation actually put the brokers’ names in the original draft of the contract stating that they had been the procuring cause of the sale.
Mr. Schuler was successful in settling this case without going to trial for an amount in excess of $1.5 million
]]>The victim in this Florida premises liability case was only two years old at the time of this incident. Her mother was working and she was being cared for by her father. At her age, she was still undergoing toilet training, so when she told her father she needed to go to the bathroom, she was unable to wait and made a mess. In order to clean the child and the bathroom, her father removed her clothes and placed her in the shower, after adjusting the temperature to lukewarm. The father reported that the child was gently crying in the shower as he cleaned the bathroom and went out back to throw away the remains of the mess. While he was out back, he heard the little girl make a loud scream. He ran into the bathroom where he found her in a steamy bathroom running in place under the water. He immediately called 911, and rescue personnel airlifted the child first to Delray Community Hospital and later to Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Unit.
The child remained at the Burn Unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital for several months. She had severe burns over 1/3 of her body surface and needed numerous procedures for the debridement of her burns. Eventually she underwent surgery at the Shriners Burn Center in Ohio. After surgery and weeks of healing, she was fitted with a special mask and suit to wear to hopefully prevent the development of keloid scars from the burns.
The parents of this child contacted Attorney Richard D. Schuler for assistance in this matter. Mr. Schuler conducted an extensive investigation into the cause of this horrific incident and brought suit against not only the owner of the apartment complex, but also the manufacturer of the water heater and the contractor who performed the renovations to the apartment complex and installed the water heater. Several experts were retained regarding the code violations on the property, the inherently dangerous propensities and inadequate size of the particular water heater, and inadequate safety measures taken by the landlord to prevent any tampering with the water heater, among others.
Mr. Schuler was successful in settling with all defendants, without the necessity of a trial, for more than $2 million dollars, which will go a long way toward helping this child on her road to recovery from these devastating injuries.
]]>A closed head injury differs from an open head injury, since no object actually penetrates the brain. A diffuse closed head injury can affect the cells and tissues throughout the brain or, if the damage occurs in one area, it is a focal closed head injury.
Individual circumstances dictate the degree and rate of recovery. Physicians state that good indicators of long term recovery would be the amount of time spent unconscious or in a coma, as well as how much normal functioning is recovered within the first month after the injury.
The victim in this Florida motorcycle accident was 22 years old and single. He was self-employed and worked as a tile setter, but had just passed his independent contractor’s examination and would have been qualified as a licensed general contractor. One of his passions was competitive motorcycle racing at a local track. In fact, the afternoon of the accident, he was test driving a custom built racing/competition type motorcycle, after having tuned it up earlier that afternoon.
While traveling southbound on a two lane road in Lake Worth, Florida, the victim encountered a slow moving pickup truck, also headed southbound. Apparently, the victim attempted to pass the pickup truck on the left when suddenly, without prior signal, the pickup truck attempted a left turn, right into the victim on the motorcycle.
The driver of the pickup truck had met a friend while drinking at a bar earlier that afternoon and had agreed to pick the man up for a party later that day. He had never been to this man’s home before and was searching for the street the man lived on. The other driver stated he never saw the victim until his helmeted head was inside the driver’s side of his truck’s cab.
This victim suffered a severe closed head injury and was comatose after the accident. In fact, his helmet had to be cut off of his head. The possibility of extensive brain damage and dysfunction was certainly a very strong possibility, and of course his parents were very distraught.
]]> The parents of this victim sought the assistance of Attorney Richard D. Schuler in this matter. Mr. Schuler investigated all avenues regarding liability and coverage and set up a guardianship on behalf of the victim for the parents, since it was obvious that he would be mentally incompetent temporarily, if not indefinitely. Of course, the medical expenses in this case were extremely high, and the economic loss was astronomical.It was a long and arduous recovery period for this victim, but fortunately Mr. Schuler was successful in recovering a settlement of hundreds of thousands of dollars for this victim and he is now leading a productive and fulfilling life.
Nursing homes are big business and very profitable. Total nursing home revenues have topped 55 billion dollars. Some nursing homes are privately owned, or non-profit charity-related organizations. Many of these homes are also managed by management companies for profit. It is important to ask who operates the facilities you are interested in. Nursing homes are regulated by the federal government and managed by individual states to assure that they provide adequate care and activities for their residents.
More families are currently having to rely on nursing homes and assisted living facilities to care for their family members and loved ones than ever before. It is hard to imagine that, rather than receiving the care we expect, those we love and cherish are abused or neglected in these facilities. Unfortunately, this type of horrific treatment does occur, and many elderly residents suffer in silence.
Abuse can come in many forms – verbal, physical or sexual. This abuse can be difficult to detect, especially in homes where abuse has become the norm and workers turn the other way and don’t report problems. These elderly victims are frequently unable to communicate about the ways they are abused. Many times, the victims may not even understand themselves what is happening. Family members need to be especially vigilant and look for the signs when they visit. If you suspect nursing home abuse or neglect, some of the solutions are:
• Visit frequently and vary your visits to different times of the day and week to enable you to assess the care provided at all times.
• Talk to nurses, aides, the doctor, the Director of Nurses, Social Worker and the Administrator about your concerns.
• Find out who the state licensing agency is from your nursing home. In each state there is a division of the Department of Health that deals with oversight of nursing homes and enforcement of the nursing home rules and regulations. This agency investigates complaints filed by family members and conducts yearly surveys of each nursing home.
• You can and should file a complaint with state Licensing and Certification if you believe the nursing home resident is a victim of abuse or neglect by the nursing home.
The signs of abuse range from physical signs like broken bones and bruises, to noticeable changes in a victim’s mood or behavior. It is easier to spot physical abuse, but often times, this is blamed on a fall or claimed to be the fault of the victim. It is important to note the body language of your loved one. If you observe cowering, flinching or wide-eyed looks from a victim, it could indicate that there is some form of abuse going on.
If you suspect that your loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, don’t delay calling the law firm of Schuler, Halvorson and Weisser, P.A. to discuss this matter with one of our experienced, knowledgeable attorneys. As always, there is never a fee unless we make a recovery on your behalf.
In this Florida automobile accident case, the victim was a 45 year old single woman who was in good health, had a job that provided her with a good salary, and was enjoying life. Unfortunately, the victim was rear-ended by three different vehicles while stopped. These impacts were so severe that the victim suffered severe injuries and required two major surgeries.
Not only did the victim require two surgeries on her spine, but the surgeries caused additional problems and the victim was left with a screw in her vocal cord area. She was informed that if the screw migrated, she could die. No physician would agree to do her follow-up surgery to correct the problem and, in fact, a prominent orthopedic surgeon in the Palm Beach County area stated that he does not think anything can be done to help her. The victim is still attempting to locate a physician that will give her the care and treatment she needs.
This victim accumulated over $410,000.00 in medical expenses, and sustained almost as much in lost wages as a result of this accident. Of course, she will continue to lose wages in the future, since she will not be able to return to work. She was approved for Social Security Disability, which will take some of the emotional and financial strain off of her. However, she will still need surgery in the future, if she is able to find a physician who will help her.
The victim in this case sought the help of the law firm of Schuler, Halvorson and Weisser in this matter. Attorneys Steven W. Halvorson and J. Freddy Rhoads agreed to represent her in her pursuit of a case against the tortfeasors and the insurance company that provided uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage to the victim. The attorneys were successful in obtaining a settlement in this case that will assure that the victim will be able to get the care and treatment she will need in the future.
The victim in this Florida truck accident case was a very intelligent, hard working 21 year old on his way to work early one morning in Royal Palm Beach. He was traveling westbound on Belvedere Road in the center lane when a truck suddenly pulled out in front of him from a side road. The victim could not swerve to the right because there was a vehicle next to him, so he tried to swerve to the left, but could not avoid rear-ending the truck.
According to the police report, the driver of the truck immediately left the scene and then he abandoned his vehicle at a gas station where several other vehicles belonging to the same company were parked. The police found his vehicle running and he was gone, but they were able to identify him from papers contained in the vehicle.
The victim’s vehicle was demolished and deemed a total loss. As a result of this accident, the victim suffered neck and low back injuries and was experiencing very severe headaches, which the physicians described as migraines. After being treated by a chiropractor, an orthopedic physician and a neurosurgeon, this victim was diagnosed with a herniated disc and all of his physicians found that this accident caused his injuries. Ultimately, surgery was performed to repair the herniated disc and the victim’s migraine headaches improved considerably also.
The past medical bills for this victim amount to more than $39,000.00 and he has more medical treatment facing him in the future. His neurosurgeon states that future surgery is a medical certainty for a fusion, probably two, given his age. The cost for a fusion is approximately $80,000.00, so if he needs two, then he is looking at a minimum of $160,000.00 for future care.
This victim contacted the offices of Schuler, Halvorson and Weisser, P.A. for assistance in this matter. Attorney William D. Zoeller was successful in the trial of this matter and received a verdict of approximately $300,000.00. Now this young victim will have peace of mind and will have some money put away for any future medical care he may need.
]]>Such was the case for the 38 year old victim in this Florida premises liability case as she was shopping at her local Walmart. When she was walking out of the ice cream aisle she encountered a large amount of water on the floor, which caused her to slip and fall extremely hard to the floor. She landed on her tailbone and her head whipped backwards. In fact, the fall happened so quickly that she also knocked her cart down on top of her. After she was on the floor, the victim noticed for the first time that there was water on the floor which appeared to have been leaking from a nearby freezer. The victim testified that there were no warning/wet floor signs or cones anywhere in the area.
Immediately after her fall, a manager came upon the scene and was extremely upset with an employee who was nearby and was overhead to say “I told you to clean that up”. So, apparently, Walmart knew there was water on the floor and failed to act responsibly for the safety of their customers. Customers in stores should not have to watch the floor for the possibility of water or any other substance that might cause them to slip and fall.
The victim in this case sustained a severely bruised tailbone, injuries to her neck and back and was suffering from head/concussion type injuries, which produced severe migraine headaches. She initially treated with a chiropractor who sent her for MRIs of both the cervical and lumbar spine. Unfortunately, these MRIs revealed substantial damage to both the cervical and lumbar spine and the chiropractor referred this victim to a local neurosurgeon for a complete neurosurgical evaluation. The neurosurgeon noted that the victim had radiating pain from her lower back into her left leg and had significant painful low back symptomatology. He diagnosed possible left lumbar radiculopathy, disc displacement at L4-5 and lumbago. He further recommended nerve conduction studies of the lumbar spine and referred her to a physiatrist for further testing. Unfortunately, the EMG/NCS studies revealed a paravertebral spasm which the physiatrist opined was suggestive of nerve root irritation.
Due to persistent low back symptoms and positive findings on the extensive tests, this victim underwent a surgical procedure which included a posterolateral extrapedicular intradisc decompression. After undergoing post-surgical therapy, the neurosurgeon confirmed a 12% total whole body permanent impairment rating based upon the American Medical Association Guidelines, and confirmed that her future medical bills would include a lifetime conservative cost of $25,000.00 for diagnostic testing, medications, physical therapy and doctor visits. Furthermore, he confirmed that she may require further surgical intervention of her lumbar spine should her condition worsen.
Aside from the lost wages she has sustained due to the many hours she had to miss from work for both her injuries and the following surgery, the victim in this case has medical bills of over $100,000.00 for the injuries sustained in this accident.
This victim contacted the law offices of Schuler, Halvorson and Weisser, P.A. for assistance in this matter. After thorough investigation, Attorney William D. Zoeller, with the assistance of Attorney J. Freddy Rhoads, took this case to trial. They were successful in obtaining a final judgment of almost $300,000.00 for this victim to compensate her for her medical expenses, present and future, and for the pain and suffering she has endured and will continue to endure for the remainder of her life.
• Breast Implant Litigation
• Vioxx Litigation
• Medical Devices Litigation (i.e., Pacemaker/Wire Lead, etc.)
• Dioxin/2,4-D/2,4,5-T (Agent Orange)
• Knee Prosthesis Litigation
• Fen-Phen Litigation
• Tobacco Litigation
The additional areas that will be added will be as follows:
• Fentanyl Pain Patch Litigation – An extremely strong opioid pain medication which is 100 times stronger than morphine. There have been numerous reports of overdose with this strong narcotic pain killer. Some of the signs of overdosing include: trouble breathing, dizziness or weakness, lightheadedness, fatigue, seizures, confusion and loss of consciousness.
• ReglanTardive Dyskinesia Litigation – Prescribed for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), this drug has never been approved by the FDA for use on a long term basis (more than 12 weeks). Current studies indicate that many patients have experienced tardive dyskinesia which includes symptoms of repetitive, involuntary movements of their arms and legs, lip smacking and other mouth and lip movements, rapid blinking, or diminished movement of their fingers.
• Yaz/Yasmin Litigation – An oral contraceptive that has become a top-selling brand manufactured by Bayer. This drug has been linked to reports of deep vein thrombosis, hypertension, pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, heart attack, stroke and even death.
• Suzuki GSX-R1000 Motorcycle Litigation – Suzuki issued a voluntary recall for all of its model year 2005 and 2006 Suzuki GSX-R1000 motorycles, due to the potential for serious injury or death. Suzuki stated that an extraordinary safety defect in these models had been causing breakage and cracking in the front wheel/for assembly and behind and below the steering neck of the motorcycle.
• Rhino All Terrain Vehicle Litigation – This is a utility all terrain vehicle manufactured by Yamaha. Because of its high center of gravity, narrow wheelbase and tires too small for a vehicle of its size, it is prone to rollovers. It has caused extensive injuries and even fatalities due to its unstable design and tendency to rollover while turning.
If you or a loved one have been injured by any of the above listed products, please contact the firm of Schuler, Halvorson and Weisser, P.A. to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced and dedicated attorneys. Of course, there will be no charge to you unless a recovery is made on your behalf.
]]>It was a dark night, and the winding road was wet with poor lighting. The driver of the truck lost control, the truck began spinning and flipped. The driver and our victim were ejected from the truck. Our victim was in tremendous pain and had serious trouble breathing and was taken to a trauma center in West Palm Beach, Florida by helicopter. The EMS crew reported that there was extensive damage to the front passenger compartment of the pick-up truck.
Upon physical exam by the trauma surgeon, the victim had a tender, very rigged abdomen. Based on that fact, it was felt that he had life-threatening injuries, and he was taken urgently to the operating room for an exploratory laparotomy so the surgeon could look into the abdomen to identify his injuries.
The victim received an incision from the bottom of his chest bone to just above his pubic bone. During the operation, it was noted that he had blood free in the abdomen, which meant that some organ was bleeding. The surgeon found that his spleen was seriously damaged and bleeding profusely and had to be removed. There was also a laceration to his liver, which was actively bleeding, and the bleeding had to be stopped by electrocautery. Since the spleen had to be removed, the patient now has an increased chance of infection. Post-op, he was on a ventilator, pain management and wound care and remained in a coma for 12 days.
A few days after being released from the hospital, he returned complaining of nausea, vomiting and the inability to eat. He was found to have an infection and had to have a second operation to disinfect the wound.
]]> A couple of months after this second surgery, the victim was readmitted to the hospital with a small bowel obstruction for which he needed an additional surgery. The surgeon stated that this was also as a result of the automobile accident. After all of these hospital stays and surgeries, the victim’s total medical bills were over $377,000.00, and he was left with a horribly disfiguring scar for the remainder of his life.This victim sought the assistance of Attorney Jason D. Weisser in this matter. Mr. Weisser filed suit against the owner and driver of the vehicle involved in this accident and after a three day trial, the jury returned a verdict of almost $800,000.00. After the trial, Mr. Weisser filed a Motion for Additur and the judge awarded another $50,000.00 to the plaintiff, plus attorney’s fees and costs of more than $50,000.00. This will assure that this victim will now be able to get the medical care he deserves and hopefully he will be able to fend off any illnesses he encounters due to his increased susceptibility to certain types of infections.
These statistics don’t really mean much until you consider the personal stories contained in each of these accidents.
Our clients in this Florida automobile accident case were a 52 year old mother and her 17 year old son. In this instance, the son was driving and the mother was the front seat passenger. Our clients were traveling eastbound on Northlake Boulevard when another driver in a pick-up truck failed to stop and yield the right of way while traveling northbound on an intersecting roadway. The other vehicle entered the intersection and plowed into the passenger side of our clients’ vehicle. The impact was so severe it pushed the victims’ vehicle across the westbound lanes of traffic and onto the shoulder of Northlake Boulevard approximately 100 feet northeast of the initial impact. The resulting damage to the victims’ vehicle was so great that it was ultimately deemed a total loss.
The young son who was the driver was transported via ambulance to the emergency room at St. Mary’s Hospital with an open laceration to his scalp. This wound required several metallic staples to close and has left a permanent and unsightly scar on his head. His mother unfortunately sustained a horrific open compound fracture to her right arm that her son was forced to witness. As to be expected, this has left a negative and lasting impression on the young man.
The mother was transported to the emergency room at St. Mary’s Hospital via Trauma Hawk. She sustained severe injuries to her right arm which included a combined Montegia fracture, a dislocation of the elbow, and a mid-shaft radius and ulna fracture. Upon her arrival at the emergency room she was evaluated and immediately transferred to the operating room where she underwent extensive surgical procedures.
This family sought the assistance of Attorney Richard D. Schuler, who did an in depth investigation into the cause of this accident and filed suit against the driver of the pick-up truck and, since he was working at the time of this accident, he also sued his employer, one of the sugar corporations in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Unfortunately, the mother in this case sustained a permanent injury and permanent dysfunction as a result of this accident. Her treating orthopedic surgeon assigned a 33% permanent impairment to the body as a whole. According to her physician, she continues to suffer from “severe loss of rotation at the elbow and wrist with almost no functional supination and significant loss of extension at the elbow.” Further, her physician stated that she has suffered one of the most severe fracture dislocations and combined forearm
fractures that one can have. In addition to the aforementioned problems, she is left with severe permanent scaring to her right forearm due to the open fractures and invasive surgical procedures.
Mr. Schuler was successful in settling this case without the necessity of a trial for several hundred thousand dollars for this mother and son.
Our victim in this toxic tort case is a devoted husband and loving father who really enjoyed working in his garden. He never imagined that spraying his canal bank, hibiscus hedges and other areas of trees, plants, shrubs and foliage would ultimately cause his death. Unfortunately, he was spraying chemical products containing the phenoxy herbicides 2,4-D, Silvex and 2,4,5-T for approximately 15 continuous years. Even though he was using these chemicals for their intended purpose and followed the directions for distribution, and even though he wore protective clothing while distributing these chemicals, he was consistently exposed to these chemicals and this exposure precipitated the condition of lymphoma, a form of cancer, and related blood disorders. His physician has indicated that the mortality rate for someone with this diagnosis is between five (5) to seven (7) years.
This victim contacted Attorney Richard D. Schuler to represent him in this case because he knew that Mr. Schuler had extensive experience in handling these toxic tort cases. Mr. Schuler sued the manufacturers and distributors of these chemicals on behalf of the victim for, among other things, the failure to properly inspect, market and distribute these chemicals and failing to warn of the toxic nature of these chemicals and the fact that exposure to them can and will cause cancer or terminal disease.
After being diagnosed with lymphoma, this victim’s life changed in almost every aspect. His condition has impacted his emotional life most severely. There is no cure for his condition, there is no guarantee that any attempt he makes to affect his condition will work, and the circumstances can change at any time. The future appears as a big question mark.
A vital factor in all this is that this victim is now faced with the possibility of not being able to provide for his family’s future. The thought that upon his death his loved ones will lose what he has worked so hard to provide them has been very debilitating for him.
Mr. Schuler was successful in settling this case without the necessity of a trial for hundreds of thousands of dollars. This victim will now be able to obtain the treatment he so vitally needs and no longer will have to worry about the future well-being of his family.
]]>