Settlement involving a commercial defendant driving a Ford F250 that struck our client’s vehicle resulting in various internal organ injuries and fractures eventually leading to death around twenty days later. This case was filed in federal court and HFF used accident reconstructionists to preserve the crash data from the electronic control modules, retained medical experts to prove causation (disputed due to preexisting conditions), and forensic economic experts to value the economic damages.
We represented a teacher who was staying with her family at a time share in Jackson County, MS. The property was poorly lit resulting in our client falling into a concrete culvert head first at night. Our client sustained a fractured cervical vertebrae and herniated lumbar disc. During our investigation we brought an architect to the property who used a device to measure the lighting at night. We proved that the light was inadequate. We also proved through depositions of our client’s treating physicians that our client would continue to have a difficult recovery and would need significant medical treatment in the future. This claim was resolved at mediation.
Our client, a sheriff deputy, came to us for help with a workers’ compensation claim when he was hit while on the job by an uninsured motorist. We quickly realized that he would have a substantial uninsured motorist policy through his county employer. We advised that the workers’ compensation carrier would not be able to subrogate from the uninsured motorist claim under Mississippi law. We were able to get a tender of the policy limits from the UM carrier without any lien from the workers’ compensation carrier.
Our client sustained significant injuries to his bilateral knees, hips, back, neck, head and nose and underwent numerous surgeries including: arthroscopy and debridement with plica resection of the right knee; left knee arthroscopy with posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and partial synovectomy; left sacroiliac joint fusion with SI bone implants, left SI joint injection with exparel; right knee arthroscopy with partial lateral meniscectomy and plica excision; left knee arthroscopy, plica resection, and partial synovectomy; and a closed reduction nasal fracture. In addition to numerous surgeries, our client had to undergo extensive and numerous sessions of Physical Therapy. Our client also received numerous injections in his bilateral knees and bilateral SI joints.
Car wreck where our client suffered fractures to his tibia and fibula requiring knee and ankle surgery.
Confidential settlement
In Mahli LLC v. Admiral Insurance Company, we represented the owner of a hotel that burned down in Ocean Springs, MS. The insurance company alleged that the owner had committed arson. We filed suit in the Southern District of Mississippi federal court. This case was tried in federal court over 4 days. In Mississippi, to establish a claim for civil arson, the Defendant must prove motive, opportunity, and incendiary fire. Our client’s finances were in dire condition following the BP oil spill’s financial impact on the Gulf Coast. Our client was at the hotel at the time that the fire erupted. There was eye witness testimony that our client had the keys to the room where the fire began shortly before the fire erupted. Finally, there was expert testimony that gas was poured all over the top floor of the hotel. However we were able to disprove each element of the arson defense and the jury’s verdict was for the Plaintiff.
Our client was a defense contractor who was killed while working in the country of Jordan in the Middle East. We were able to obtain, on behalf of the surviving spouse, the maximum death benefits allowed under the Defense Based Act.
Our client was overly sedated during a routine nerve block procedure. She was also given inadequate care in the post anesthesia care unit (“PACU”). We were able to establish that the anesthesiologist gave 10 mg versed and 200 micro grams of phentanyl prior to the procedure. This is far beyond the standard of care for conscience sedation. Further, the nurses in the PACU knew the patient had a low heart rate, was turning blue, and was non responsive. The PACU nurse was very slow to respond to the patient and the treating anesthesiologist was performing other procedures and thus could not respond to the patient. The patient suffered an anoxic brain injury and eventually died. We sued both the hospital and the anesthesiologist and obtained justice on behalf of our client.
Our client, a registered nurse, suffered a neck injury while moving a patient. We obtained a settlement on his behalf that included $331,696 for future medical treatment.
We represented a business in an eminent domain claim where MDOT took a half acre of land along Hwy 57 from our client. A south Mississippi jury returned a verdict of $408,334 in our client’s favor.
Our client suffered multiple herniated discs in their thoracic and lumbar spine after a multi-vehicle high-speed collision on the interstate in Tennessee. Our client was originally represented by a lawyer in South Mississippi that allowed the Tennessee statute of limitations to expire. Therefore, we filed two lawsuits. The first was a legal malpractice lawsuit in Mississippi against the lawyer who allowed the statute of limitations to expire. We also acquired pro hac vice admission to the Georgia Bar and filed a lawsuit against the at fault driver who was a Georgia resident. We also brought claims against the underinsured motorist insurance carrier in the Georgia case. After lengthy litigation this claim was resolved via global settlement of all parties.
Our client was driving a school bus when she was hit by a dump truck that ran a red light. The collision resulted in a knee injury necessitating an ACL reconstruction and a neck injury. The defendant’s lawyer and their insurance company viewed this as a routine “accident” with no serious injuries. We were able to prove that the dump truck driver had an extensive criminal background that precluded him from driving a commercial vehicle under state law. Further, the dump truck was unable to stop properly because of bald tires. We took the deposition of the police officer that responded to the wreck who confirmed the defects with the vehicle. We hired a trucking expert who laid out the various violations of state and federal law. We took the depositions of our client’s doctors who established her damages. The defendant sought to limit discovery by admitting vicarious liability and admitting liability. However, we were able to successfully defend their motions and leave discovery open regarding the trucking company’s history and background. The claim settled at mediation for far more than the insurance company had originally foresaw.
A commercial vehicle wrecked into our client in East Ocean Springs. Our client suffered a bulging cervical disc that required radio frequency ablations. This claim was settled pre suit at mediation.
Our client had elevated PSA levels. A biopsy was ordered. The biopsy showed that he had cancer. However, our client was told that if he was not called after the biopsy, he should assume the biopsy was negative for cancer. He was never called. Years later he had stage 4 prostate cancer. We gave notice of claim to both the urologist who performed the biopsy, the hospital he worked for, and the clinic that ordered the biopsy originally. This claim was settled pre suit. The recovery was limited by the Mississippi Tort Claim Act’s caps on damages.
Our client was driving on I-10 near Gulfport when he was side swiped by a commercial vehicle transporting multiple new vehicles that were to be sold. The impact forced our client into the median. After recovering from the shock of the incident, our client was able to catch up with the commercial vehicle and take a picture of his DOT # and phone number. He then called the number on the side of the vehicle. The driver that hit him hung up on him. Using the DOT # we found the identity of the trucking company and sued them in Mississippi. We were forced to hire a private investigator to serve the driver in Miami Florida. We flew to Miami and took the driver’s deposition. During the deposition the driver lied about hitting our client and we proved that he did not understand the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. We also used his log books to prove he exceeded his hours of operations. We then subpoenaed the phone records from the driver and his dispatch company and proved our client did call him. Shortly after our client called the at fault driver, the driver called dispatch for his company and reported the incident. Once we proved the driver had lied , the claim settled at mediation.
HFF represented the spouse and two children of a man who was hit as a pedestrian by a careless driver and killed. The driver had a $300,000 policy limit and no other insurance. Therefore, this was a max recovery.
HFF represented a passenger in a vehicle that was struck by a box truck that negligently attempted to pass an 18 wheeler in a non passing zone. The box truck collided head on with the vehicle that our client was occupying. HFF immediately hired a accident reconstruction expert to download the box truck’s black box. The black box revealed that the box truck accelerated up to 61 mph twelve seconds prior to the crash. The defendant was driving in a 55mph zone which changed to a 50mph zone as he approached the intersection. The defendant held 60 mph. The defendant was traveling 57 mph seven seconds prior to the crash. The defendant applied his brakes traveling 58 mph. There was then a sudden deceleration. HFF’s client’s vehicle’s driver saw the box truck approaching her head on at a high rate of speed in her lane and swerved right off the roadway to avoid the defendant from hitting her head on. The defendant swerved left, off the roadway and still hit our client’s vehicle head on. Our client suffered a displaced fracture of the right proximal femur requiring open reduction and internal fixation surgery. Thankfully our client made a relatively quick and full recovery and was able to return to work without restrictions.
Our client, a registered nurse, suffered a traumatic brain injury while on the job. Her treating physician opined that she is only able to work two weeks a month due to chronic migraine headaches. We were able to obtain the maximum amount of indemnity payments under the law and the employer fully funded her future medical plan.
Haug, Farrar, Franco & Ruiz, PLLC obtained a $263,000.00 settlement for a car wreck client after our client was rear-ended at a stoplight. After the automobile collision, the client had spine & shoulder surgeries. However, the client had a complex medical history that included previous back and shoulder surgeries and the recommendation for future surgeries that were very similar to our client’s post-accident medical treatment. The attorneys at HFF were able to hire an expert and successfully argue that the car accident aggravated the client’s pre-existing medical conditions, which led to the surgeries, and those arguments led to a successful resolution at mediation.
Single vehicle motor vehicle collision where our client was a guest passenger and suffered injuries requiring an ankle fusion.
Settlement in a car wreck that resulted in herniated lumbar discs and the need for lumbar fusion surgery.
Our client was taken to a hospital after suffering a heart attack. Shortly after arriving, a nurse placed a catheter in our client. Instead of expanding the balloon in the bladder, the nurse inflated the balloon in our client’s urethra. The nurse also penetrated the bladder wall while placing the catheter. Our expert radiologist reviewed the CT Scans from the catheter procedure and noted the catheter was through the bladder wall. Our client continued to have blood around his catheter site for the next week in the hospital and blood in his urine . A procedure was performed to repair the bladder perforation. This case was capped at $500,000 due to it being a public hospital defendant.
Our client was staying at a local hotel with her family in adjoining rooms. The hotel renovated the flooring a year prior to our client’s stay. During the renovations the hotel removed a metal strip that covered television and data cables that ran the length of the threshold of the connecting interior door. Our client tripped over the exposed cables and suffered a displaced hip fracture. She required a hip replacement surgery and a year of physical therapy. The hotel blamed our client for not seeing the cable even though it was hidden between the closed interior connecting doors. This case was set for trial twice, mediated, and eventually settled before the third trial setting.
Our client was left with a foot drop after a surgeon incorrectly placed pedicle screws in his spinal nerve roots during a spinal fusion surgery. We filed a lawsuit against the doctor and the claim settled at mediation.
Our client injured his neck and knee when he fell at the shipyard on the day he was set to retire. The shipyard argued that he had voluntarily retired and was owed no compensation. The claim settled at mediation.
This claim was filed against a public hospital and thus was governed by the Mississippi Tort Claim Act which has a cap on damages. A local hospital failed to diagnose a clot in our 23 year old client’s brain. She later passed away. We filed suit and the claim settled at mediation.
Our client was injured when he slipped exiting his vehicle. The injury required surgery on his shoulder and neck.
Premises liability settlement. Our client suffered transverse process fractures and a SI joint injury after she fell down stairs that were not built to the local building code and that failed coefficient of friction testing requirements. We hired an architect to establish that the front staircase should have had a middle rail. We also established that the risers were improperly built. Further, we hired an engineering expert to prove the stairs did not meet the local standards for coefficient of friction.
Our client was driving an 18 wheeler when he was hit by another 18 wheeler. We recovered $50,000 from the workers’ compensation insurance carrier then went on to recover $175,000 in the third party case against the at fault 18 wheeler driver. The defendant claimed that our client’s MRI results were negative and that he was not injured. However, we established through our client’s treating physicians that he would require significant future medical treatment. We also hired a vocational rehabilitation expert to prove our client suffered a future loss of wage earning capacity.
Medical malpractice claim against the VA under the FTCA. This claim involved the lost chance doctrine and failure to perform a necessary surgery that would have saved a foot from being amputated.
Settlement in a worker’s compensation case where the client suffered a large loss of wage earning capacity due to a neck injury while installing fiber optic cables.
Shipyard worker injured his neck on the job.
18 wheeler wreck resulting in aggravations of long standing preexisting injuries to our client’s neck, back, knees, and arms. The insurance company for the 18 wheeler argued that no new injuries were caused by the collision and that our client overtreated. Our firm was able to successfully settle the case for well over six figures even with all the strong arguments the insurance company presented regarding medical causation.
Our client injured her lower back operating heavy equipment.
Confidential settlement in a negligent supervision claim.
An large commercial vehicle rear ended our client. The collision exacerbated the client’s preexisting lumbar issues.
Our client was misdiagnosed with a GI virus at the ER when she actually had bleeding stomach ulcers. She became so anemic that she fell and broke her ankle. The fracture required surgical repair. Additionally, she faced further complications and a more difficult recovery for the ulcers due the hospital and doctors’ failure to diagnose and treat the ulcers. This claim was settled pre suit as the insurance carrier knew we had a strong liability case.
Federal premises liability case where the district court denied defendant’s motion to dismiss and denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment. This was hard fought litigation involving a litany of depositions, experts, and motion practice. It was a no offer case until the Court denied Defendant’s motions. The facts: Plaintiff was at a grocery store reaching to get eggs off a rack in the cooler section when the entire rack suddenly rolled backwards causing Plaintiff to fall forward into the cooler. Plaintiff suffered a torn rotator cuff requiring surgery. The eggs were kept on rolling egg racks in the cooler section. We argued that (1) there were wheel locks on the egg carts that should have been used but weren’t (2) the sole safety measure the store had in place was a very thin “L-bracket” that sits behind one of the cart’s four wheels and which is not sufficient to stop an egg cart from moving backwards (3) the egg cart was very low on eggs at the time of the incident which was right before close of business when inventory is low and thus was light and moveable (4) We retained a retail expert that said locking mechanisms are the standard of care and we retained an engineer/human factors expert who performed testing on an exemplar cart and found that my client could have easily rolled the cart over the thin “L-bracket” by using only a small fraction of her weight and thus the L-bracket was an inadequate safety measure (5) the incident was foreseeable as we had testimony from employees of the store that children and other adults press upon the egg racks when trying to get the freshest eggs, sometimes putting their whole torso into the egg rack.
Injured worker who required neck surgery and was left with restrictions.
Our client, a minor child, was injured in car accident resulting in facial scarring.
A surgical instrument was left in our client during a routine surgery at the VA. Our client developed an infection that cleared up with antibiotics and removal of the instrument. This claim was settled pre suit after a notice of claim was given to the federal government.
Our client faced a long physical and mental recovery after being electrocuted on the job.
