Pedestrian Injuries/Motor Vehicle Accidents

Dump Truck Kills Young Woman $5M - Pedestrian/Dump Truck/Death

On March 4, 2000, decedent was home in Merritt Island on Spring Break from the University of Florida, where she had a 3.95 GPA in her pre-law major of Political Science. She hoped to attend Georgetown Law School after graduation. At approximately 11:10 a.m., that Saturday, she went for a jog near Rotary Park on S. Courtenay Parkway and, while on bike path, a dump truck operated by one of Defendant's employees lost control, flipped on its side, and careened off the road onto the bike path, striking the decedent. She was transported by air ambulance to an Orlando hospital and declared brain dead. Life support was disconnected on March 5, 2000, and an organ donation was made. The defendant's driver claimed that his vehicle was overloaded with fill dirt, causing his vehicle to "float." The driver had been driving the dump truck for nearly thirty miles in that alleged condition. Eyewitnesses claimed that the driver was traveling in excess of forty-five mph in a thirty-five mph zone. The Defendant alleged comparative negligence against Crusher Siteworks, Inc. (a non-party entity that had loaded the dirt into the dump truck two hours previous to the accident).

Jamie Nance and S. Sammy Cacciatore obtained a jury verdict of $5,053,000. They had previously filed a proposal for settlement with the Court for $3,000,000 which was rejected by the defense. This jury verdict resulted in the defense having to pay significant attorney's fees and costs in addition to the verdict.

Pedestrians Are Hit By Car $1.2M - Pedestrians vs. Vehicle

On the morning of August 14, 1996 along Croton Road in Melbourne, the plaintiffs were walking were walking southbound on the bicycle path and stopped at its intersection with Treeline Boulevard. The defendant was driving his automobile southbound on Croton and attempting to turn left onto Treeline Boulevard. The other defendant was traveling northbound on Croton at an excessive rate of speed when his vehicle struck the turning vehicle operated by the first defendant forcing his vehicle toward the bike path striking the two pedestrians.

The driver of the speeding car was an employee working for Defendant, Workers of Florida, Inc., which was a company, engaged in the business of providing day laborers to corporate employers in the Brevard County area. The driver was paid by Workers of Florida, Inc., a sum of money for each day laborer that he would transport to a job site in his personal vehicle. The day laborers' pay checks were automatically reduced by Workers of Florida to off-set this transportation cost. The driver had in his vehicle on the occasion of this accident four laborers and they were all en route to Port Canaveral for employment with a customer of Workers of Florida. The plaintiffs successfully argued that the driver was within the scope and course of his employment on the occasion of this accident thus triggering legal exposure to Defendant, Workers of Florida, Inc.

One of our clients suffered a fracture of the left clavicle, injury to the left shoulder and multiple lacerations on the scalp and knees. He had a loss of consciousness immediately following the trauma and suffered from dizziness. He continues to have a loss of sense of taste and smell.

Our other client suffered fractures of the right tibia, left femur, left ankle, left calcaneus, right fifth metacarpal, tears of the right knee ligament and meniscus, and multiple lacerations on the upper and lower extremities. She developed an infection following a bone graft. She has undergone three separate surgeries and will probably be required to undergo a fourth surgery to remove the pins in her ankle.

S. Sammy Cacciatore and Jamie Nance obtained a joint settlement of $1,200.000.00 - $900,000.00 from Workers of Florida; $150,000.00 from State Farm on behalf of Joseph Stella and $200,000.00 from State Farm in Underinsured Motorist Coverage on behalf of the plaintiffs.

Pedestrian Injured by Elderly Driver $621K - Automobile versus Pedestrian

On the evening of May 29, 1993 a 28-year-old pedestrian was walking across the southbound lanes of State Road A1A between 1st Street North and Minuteman Causeway in Cocoa Beach when he was struck by a vehicle driven by an elderly woman traveling southbound on A1A. As a result of this collision, the victim sustained a fractured pubic ramus and a closed head injury that resulted in short term memory loss.

Through discovery, Nance, Cacciatore uncovered the fact that the negligent driver's eyesight was severely impaired at the time of the wreck to the point that she did not qualify to hold a Florida driver's license.

S. Sammy Cacciatore and Chip Barger obtained a verdict at trial in this case in the amount of $621,589.70 from the negligent driver on behalf of the Plaintiffs.

Pedestrian versus Automobile
$289K - Automobile Collision

In 1973, Nance Cacciatore obtained a $289,000.00 verdict for the wrongful death of a pedestrian struck by an automobile on S.R. 520 bridge in Cocoa.