Miami Resort Injury Lawyer Blog

In what is becoming quite the regular occurrence in South Florida, a young man was stabbed at a popular South Beach nightclub. The stabbing resulted after a verbal altercation between two men at the nightclub.

The altercation started because the victim and his friends were approached by 24-year old Mark Belser. Allegedly, Belser touched one of the women in the victim's group inappropriately. The victim and Belser then began arguing. Belser eventually walked away after making taunting gestures and making cutting motions across his neck.

However, Belser would return in a short time. When he returned, the victim and Belser get into a physical altercation. Then, Belser began to stab the victim. Luckily, the victim did not sustain life-threatening injuries and is expected to fully recover.

According to police, it is not known whether Belser had the knife with him to begin with or if he went someplace else to get it.

Out of pure speculation, let's say that Belser grabbed the knife from a table or bar in the restaurant because an employee had left it there. That would certainly help establish a case that the nightclub was negligent.

Also, why weren't all these individuals removed from the premises after the verbal altercation? It's certainly possible that a jury could find that the nightclub provided inadequate security because the arguing individuals were not escorted from the club.

While we're not saying that the South Beach nightclub was negligent in any way, a competent attorney would take these factors into account if assessing this case. Ultimately, this nightclub has a duty to prevent is patrons from becoming the victims of violent crimes on its premises.

At Alvarez & Barbara, LLP, we have successfully represented clients in inadequate security cases. If you or a loved one are the victim of a violent crime on the premises of business or business operator, feel free to contact us for a free consultation.

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Recently, four people were injured outside of club 90 degrees located near 11th Street and Northeast First Avenue in Miami. Luckily, all are expected to be okay as they received non-life threatening injuries.

The incident started inside the club when a fight broke out between two parties. After the altercation was broken up, one of the parties left the club. Afterwards, it is believed this party drove up in a car and opened fire on a crowd of people standing outside the club.

The whole ordeal may have been caught on surveillance video. Early reports had police looking for two gunmen. The latest news has already named a suspect - Alfonso Darnell Artis.

This incident serves as a pivotal reminder to business owners and patrons alike that bars and nightclubs can often be dangerous places. Owners of these establishments have a duty to put into place certain measures to prevent their patrons from becoming victims of a crime caused by a third party. These crimes include rape, battery, and assault.

Unfortunately, this is not an old story line in South Florida. While there is nothing to suggest this particular club was negligent, it is certainly a good thing that they had video cameras. However, had this shooting occurred indoors there certainly could have been a case for negligent security. This would be especially true if similar incidents had occurred in the past. If a nightclub had previously experienced individuals committing violent crimes in or around their establishment, they may have the affirmative duty to conduct pat downs of all patrons.

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A Florida jury has awarded $4.9 million to a man who was on vacation in St. Augustine. The case arose because the man was crushed against a wall by a car that a valet sent backward into the lobby of the Casa Monica Hotel. The injured man sued the valet company and the valet himself as a result of this car accident.

Back in April 2009, a valet inadvertently left a car in reverse rather than "park". As he got out of the car, he noticed it was still in reverse. He jumped back behind the wheel. However, he mistakenly pressed the accelerator rather than the hitting the brakes. This caused the car to drive through a set of double doors and into the hotel lobby. The injured man was struck by the car and pinned against a wall for about a half hour.

Apart from the $4.9 million for the injured man, the jury awarded his wife $300,000 for the loss of her husband's comfort, society, attention and services. What exactly does that mean? Well, Florida law provides that a spouse has a claim when the other spouse is injured due to the negligence of another. Beyond the marital sexual relationship, this type of claim may take into account the fact that one spouse missed work to care for the other or account for activities, such as dancing or traveling, that they can no longer do together.

Some may say that the $4.9 million dollar award seems excessive, but its important to understand what a jury takes into account to determine these awards. Here, the injured man was being compensated for his medical expenses, past and future lost earnings, and damages for pain and suffering. For example, the jury certainly decided the injured man needed to be compensated for past and future lost earnings because he eventually lost his job as a restaurant manager because of the injuries he sustained in this incident.

Ultimately, the value of a claim is difficult to assess and calculate because it is a matter of fact to be determined by a jury. However, it takes careful and effective advocacy to convey not only to a jury, but opposing counsel, the value of a claim.

If you or a loved one are injured at an amusement park, car accident, or assaulted, while at a hotel, restaurant or bar, please contact us today for a free case evaluation. At Alvarez & Barbara, LLP, we've achieved favorable results for our clients who face the unfortunate circumstances of being injured.

Call us today toll free at 1-866-518-2913 or 305-263-7700.

Continue reading "Florida Jury Awards Injured Tourist $4.9 Million After Being Crushed Against a Wall by a Hotel Valet" »