Boca Raton Personal Injury Law Firm, Attorneys Balkan & Patterson
Personal Injury, Auto Accidents and more - Major Cases,
Sample Verdicts and Settlements
Below we share a sampling of some of the major cases and successful verdicts and settlements we have achieved. There are many more, but these are provided to give you a feel for our case experience and abilities. Note that every case and situation is different, and your case results could vary. However, we always apply our full effort and resources to achieving the highest and best results for our clients. Thank you for visiting our site and learning about our experience.
AUTOMOBILE AND TRUCK ACCIDENTS
$3,200,000 Verdict – Wrongful Death arising from an auto accident
Verdict for son whose mother was killed in an auto accident. In this case, a young mother was t-boned and hit broadside by the defendant’s truck. The defendant had just run a stop sign.
$1,100,000 Settlement – Auto Accident
A father sustained serious injuries in a head-on-collision. The defendant was attempting to pass on a two-lane bridge and hit our client head on. As a result of the accident the father severely injured his ankle and endured several surgeries. Our client had to have ankle fusion surgery. He also lost his job as an assistant manager of a large retail chain. This amount represents all the automobile liability coverage available to the plaintiff.
$550,000 Verdict - Auto Accident
Our clients, a local couple, were in an accident with a dump truck in the Miami area. By no fault of their own, the driver of the other vehicle ran into their car. Both of our clients suffered a number of injuries that required emergency surgery and ongoing medical treatment. A jury awarded our clients verdict of approximately $550,000 in damages.
$115,000 Settlement - Auto Accident
A teen driver was speeding and rear-ended our clients, a family of three. The impact of the crash was enough to bring the pole down, and part of Boca Raton was left without power. All three members of the family – father, mother and daughter – suffered injuries. Our attorneys obtained a settlement of $115,000 in damages for our clients.
CLASS ACTIONS
Settlement - Homeowner's Association for Premature Assessment
Hurricane Wilma left a sizable amount of damage and desctruction, and the Board of Directors of Homeowner's Association in a South Florida community chose to impose a fee on its members to coverage the cost of repair and insurance. The members were prematurely charged, and 120 homeowners were involved in the lawsuit.
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
$1,027,000 Verdict – Medical Malpractice for Failure to Diagnose
A Florida teenager was rushed to the hospital for groin pain and was misdiagnosed by the emergency room physician as having a testicular infection. The doctor misdiagnosed the true injury, which was a testicular torsion, and he only had hours to appropriately diagnose and treat the torsion. Due to the misdiagnosis, the boy was sent home and ultimately lost one testicle. The jury awarded the plaintiff $900,000 in pain and suffering. The balance of the verdict was for medical expenses and court costs.
INSURANCE BAD FAITH
$800,000 Settlement – Pedestrian Auto Accident & Insurance Bad Faith
The plaintiff was walking through a parking lot when the defendant pulled out of a parking space, striking other cars in the parking lot and causing the plaintiff to be caught between two cars. The plaintiff suffered multiple fractures and underwent surgery. Even though there was only $350,000 worth of insurance coverage, due to bad faith handling of the claim by the defendants’ insurance carrier, that insurance carrier paid an additional $450,000 over the policy limits to settle the claim.
$250,000 Settlement - Insurance Coverage Dispute
Zürich/Steadfast had a million dollar liability policy. They refused to defend and indemnify a claim because the policy said in order for coverage to take effect, the insured would have to defend the case and pay all costs and judgments up to $100,000. After the $100,000 there was a policy of $1 million. We took the position that this was void as it was against public policy, and after much litigation, the case settled for $250,000. This case changed the business practices of Zürich/Steadfast.
PREMISES LIABILITY
$1,000,000 Verdict - Negligent Security and Assault
This case involves a young man named Collin Oliver had just moved down to South Florida from Syracuse, New York. He was living with some friends in Boca Raton. They went out to a bar called the Have A Nice Day Café when a disagreement broke out between Collin’s friends and some other people. Collin was actually playing the peacemaker. The bouncers came over and decided to throw Collin out of the bar. When Collin was being physically shoved out by the bouncer, he turned to ask what he did and was struck in the face by the bouncer. This bouncer knocked three of Collin’s teeth out. The oral surgeon testified that he would need a bone grafted from his hip to repair his jaw where it was permanently damaged. The jury awarded $1 million.
$1,000,000 – Settlement, Premises Liability
The facts of this case are confidential.
$1,000,000 – Settlement, Slip and Fall
Our client fell on account of debris on the floor. The fall left our client with a permanent condition, Reflex sympathetic dystrophy, also known as RSD. The case settled for $1,000,000. Additional facts of this case are confidential.
$750,000 Settlement – Slip and Fall
The plaintiff was walking through a cafeteria with a friend for lunch when she slipped on a small puddle of grease. As a result of the accident she underwent major cervical surgery.
$185,000 Settlement, Premises Liability / Negligent Security
In this case, our client suffered injuries when she was attacked in the parking lot of a drug store in West Palm Beach, Florida. The assailant grabbed her purse, hit her in the face with his car door, and knocked her to her knees. He then proceeded to back up quickly to exit the parking lot, running her over in the process. The drug store had a responsibility to provide safe premises for customers, and our client was put in an unreasonable, dangerous situation as a result of the negligence of the defendant. Prior to going to trial, our attorneys settled this case for $185,000.
$180,500 Verdict - Premises Liability
This case invovled an elderly man recovering from a heart attack and a worker at a dry cleaning store in Boca Raton. After an argument over the sufficiency of the cleaning of the clothes, the delivery man took the clothes to be redone and knocked over the 75-year-old plaintiff on his way out, breaking his upper arm.
PERSONAL INJURY
$275,000 Settlement – Pool Accident
A private school/day camp encouraged and allowed a 4 ½ year old girl to go onto a 10-foot diving board. She fell off the side onto the concrete below. Her arm broke the fall and she sustained a broken arm and lost some teeth. She recovered with no residual effects and her permanent teeth replaced the baby teeth she lost. Her lower lip/chin area will have a permanent scar as a result of the incident. It is inexplicable to everyone why these camp counselors allowed a child that age to go onto a diving board. This case settled on the eve of trial.
$125,000 Settlement - Food Poisoning / Neligence
Our clients contracted severe food poisoning from food that was unfit for human consumption at Sushi Palace in Broward County, Florida. They became violently ill and then suffered long-term and serious health problems, which were triggered by the food poisoning. Attorneys Balkan & Patterson successfully settled this case for $125,000 on behalf of our clients.
$87,500 Settlement – Workplace Accident
Our client lost the tip of his finger in an accident with a horizontal boring machine at his workplace, an industrial manufacturing company. The attorneys of Balkan & Patterson settled his case for $87,500 and prevented our client from having to go to trial.
ABUSE
$3,700,000 Combined Settlements - Victims of Child Abuse
Preschool teachers at the Early Child Center of a prestigious church in the Sarasota area were physically abusing children over a long period of time. Abuse included slamming children to the ground, force-feeding them, embarrassing them, etcetera. A school administrator who was told of the abuse by a teacher’s aide declined to act, and told the aide to keep quiet. Multiple families have come forth and there may still be more children yet unidentified who were abused as well, so final settlement is still pending as of early 2008. We estimate the total settlement of these cases to be approximately $3.7 million. The school has since been closed down as a result of our findings.
Confidential Settlement - Abuse of Special Needs Student
A behavioral analyst at a Port St. Lucie elementary school improperly restrained and abuse our client, a young special needs student. The amount of the settlement and additional details of this case are confidential.
