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[ No Comments ] Posted on 09.29.08 under CATASTROPHIC INJURIES, PROPERTY ACCIDENTS
$3 MILLION DOLLAR VERDICT
FOR CHILD CATASTROPHICALLY INJURED BY DEFECTIVE GLASS DOOR
In 2003, an eleven year old girl was catastrophically injured when she fell through a sliding glass door in a rental house at the beach. The glass should have been safety glass but it wasn ’t.
About 10 days before the incident, the young girl’s family checked into a vacation rental home. The family was in the process of moving from North Carolina and had decided to spend a few weeks at the beach while looking for a new home. The rental house had a pool and the kids, ages 11 and 8, swam virtually every day.
On July 8, 2003, the kids were swimming as Mom and Dad sat just inside watching them through a set of sliding glass doors. As the parents watched, their 11 year old daughter got out of the pool, walked to the doorway and picked up a towel. The youngster began drying herself off while standing with her back to the sliding glass door. As she dried herself, she lost balance and tipped backward against the glass door. Suddenly the glass door exploded into giant shards of razor-sharp glass. This caused the youngster to fall through the glass door onto the floor just inside the threshold.
During the fall the broken glass sliced through the back of the child’s right thigh, cutting cleanly through the skin, hamstring muscle, tendons and sciatic nerve. Blood immediately began gushing from the wound. Her parents’ looked on in absolute horror. In a terrible instant, her father realized she would bleed to death without immediate action. Dad dove to the floor and literally stuck his hand into the gaping wound in an effort to find the source of the bleeding. Miraculously he located where the majority of the bleeding was coming from and stopped it. Dad literally saved his daughter’s life that day.
This catastrophic injury forever changed the child’s life. Although she gradually regained some sensation and some mobility, the growth of her leg was disrupted. She was therefore left with a permanently deformed right leg and a multitude of related medical problems.
The property owners refused to accept any responsibility for the absence of safety glass. In the fall of 2004, Joe Boatwright, in association with John Mitchell, filed suit on behalf of the child and her parents. In the course of the litigation, the court bifurcated the trial on the issues of fault from the trial on the issues of damages. In April 2007, a jury returned a verdict finding the property owners 100% at fault for the accident. The following October, a second jury awarded damages in excess of three million dollars.
[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.20.08 under CAR ACCIDENTS
Winter Park, FL 32789
(407)679-9900 / 1-877-302-9900 /(407)975-6505 (Fax)
[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.14.08 under ABOUT THE LAWYERS
The August, 2008, edition of Orlando Magazine featured the following article on Mary Ann Morgan, Managing Partner of the law firm of Billings, Morgan & Boatwright.
Attorney Mary Ann Morgan is fighting to make a difference in the lives of her clients. “I represent the individual,” Morgan explains. “When I get up and go to work, I am representing someone who cannot do what I do for them. I represent the little guy.”
Morgan, a managing partner with the Billings, Morgan & Boatwright law firm, has been practicing law for 22 years. The Orlando native joined the firm after graduating from Florida State University College of Law in 1986. She was the first female attorney with the firm and specializes in personal injury law.
Since joining the firm, Morgan has changed the way the practice evaluates new cases and has made pro bono work mandatory. She is a strong advocate for her clients’ individual needs.
“The most important part of being a good lawyer is your listening skills. I found out that you truly become a counselor-at-law in every sense of the word.”
Morgan is past president of the Orange County Bar Association and the Legal Aid Society. She is a member of the Central Florida Association for Women Lawyers and is establishing a mentoring program for young attorneys.
Morgan and her husband, Patrick Burke, are the proud parents of daughter, Bethany. Morgan also volunteers at Orangewood Christian School and teaches Sunday school at St. Margaret Mary Church in Winter Park.
[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.30.08 under NEGLIGENT SECURITY
Negligent Security SettlementMr and Mrs. Smith knew, when their babysitter and dear friend, ‘Betsy’, didn’t show up on New Year’s Eve to watch their children, something was terribly wrong. Their fears were realized in the most horrific manner.‘Betsy’ had been brutally murdered by the maintenance man at her apartment complex. As it turned out, he had gained entrance to her apt in the middle of the night after he had a drinking spree, by using a ‘master key’. The apartment industry discontinued the use of a standard master key years earlier. But, in an apparent attempt to save money, this complex never changed over to a more secure system, despite instructions to do so by their home office upper management. A lawsuit was filed on behalf of the young woman’s grieving parents against the apartment complex. Through two long years of litigation, Mary Ann Morgan was able to unfold the schemes and failings of this multi-million dollar corporation. It became abundantly clear this apartment complex was fully aware of the dangers associated with little to no ‘key control’ for their property. This blatant negligence was the reason this beautiful young woman with a bright future as an actress lost her life to a vicious killer. Just before trial, a confidential high seven figure settlement was reached on behalf of this wonderful family. A fund was set up in the young woman’s name at the University from which she graduated. Ms. Morgan still receives Christmas cards and photos from the family. * * * * * *
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[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.23.08 under Uncategorized
We at Billings, Morgan and Boatwright congratulate Mary Ann Morgan for being nominated as one of the ‘500 Leading Attorneys in America’ by Lawdragon. If you would like to vote for her, just click on their website, www.lawdragon.com, to enter your vote or comments. Below are the comments of former clients or other attorneys who have comments about their relationship with Mary Ann as a lawyer and friend:
“I feel that lawyers should not only exemplify excellence, diligence,compassion, and leadership in a court room; they should also exemplify these qualities in the community. Mary Ann Morgan is all of this and more. Yet she does not keep these qualities to herself. She mentors other lawyers and individuals in the legal community and the community at large. Orlando metro area is so blessed to have Mary Ann Morgan as one of its leaders. Iam blessed to have her as a legal mentor and dear friend.”
- Joyce Fuller, Esq.
* * * * * *
Mary Ann,
Congratulations!* We always knew you were the brightest in the bunch!!
Seriously, we have the utmost respect and admiration for you and the professional manner in which you handled our case. You were tough, but concerned, caring, and sympathetic the entire time.
Congratulations again on this well deserved award!
*(On being selected as one of four women attorneys in the State of Florida to be included in Law Dragon’s 500 leading plaintiff attorneys in America.)
Sincerely, Cliff and Sue Lowe
* * * * * * * *
And Another:
“I will/would highly recommend Ms. Morgan to all my family and friends. The process was painless for me. I felt like I didn’t have to do anything. She took care of everything. She did an excellent job and kept me informed every step of the way.” . . . Kacie Hough
Mary Ann’s comments are below:
“I feel blessed to have been led (well, maybe even driven) to become a lawyer and to have the opportunity every day to help folks who through no fault of their own find themselves in difficult situations either health related or financial, or both. It’s satisfying to be in a position to offer hope where there has been a significant loss, and success sometimes means a new beginning for the client financially, physically and spiritually. It is not unusual to actually maintain contact with former clients who not only appreciate the services rendered but who consider me a friend and like to keep in touch I am grateful for their kind words, as well as the kind words of other lawyers.”
[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.06.08 under ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES, CAR ACCIDENTS, CATASTROPHIC INJURIES, DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS CLAIMS, PROBATE LITIGATION, PROPERTY ACCIDENTS, TRUCKING ACCIDENTS, WILLS AND ESTATES, WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIMS
Information coming soon
[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.05.08 under INSURANCE FOR CYCLISTS
The debate goes on. ” Should I go bare? Why buy insurance if I don’t have to? I have a mortgage or rent to pay and the last thing I want to do is give an insurance company my hard earned money! Besides, I’m a careful rider. And even if I do get insurance, it will be the minimum to keep me legal. I’m not wasting money on that UM coverage (Uninsured/Underinsured coverage). By the way, what the heck is UM?”
Sound familiar? As we all look for ways to tighten our belts in an ever increasing downward turn in the economy, the last thing on our minds is spending a bunch on insurance. In a tight economy, often insurance coverage is one of the first things to go. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!
We all know the statistics. 70% of accidents involving motorcycles are the fault of the other person. You’ve seen them on the road. Crazy drivers who don’t care a flip about motorcycles or the safety of those riding them. And face it. If we really thought we would be in an accident, we may be driving only cars. But they happen. And if you are involved in an accident while on a bike, chances are it will not be pretty. You WILL be on the losing end of that battle.
So what’s the best use of your insurance dollars? First you have to look at the risk. If chances are greater that you may not be at fault for an accident, let’s look at statistics regarding other motorists in Florida who share the roads with you. Florida law does not require vehicle drivers to carry bodily injury liability insurance, only property damage insurance. (Some may say our legislators care more about cars being damaged than people, however that is a topic for another article)
If drivers can legally drive without carrying insurance to cover someone they injure, then ask yourself…who are the drivers most likely to only carry the minimum insurance? RIGHT! The WORST drivers! Because it costs so much more for insurance if you have a bad driving record. Then consider that bad drivers are the most likely to cause accidents, particularly with bikers and you understand the point: You are more likely to be hit by bad drivers…bad drivers are more likely to carry no insurance for injuries they cause.
IT’S UP TO YOU to protect you and your family! You can purchase insurance to cover you for those reckless yahoos who cause accidents and have little or no insurance. Ask your insurance agent about UM coverage being added to your policy if you don’t currently have it.
I frequently have clients tell me, ‘don’t worry, I have full coverage’. What that usually means is they have collision coverage for their car or bike. Most people I know have no idea how important UM coverage is. That is the insurance that steps in if you are injured by someone without insurance or without enough insurance. If you don’t have this important coverage you have rejected it by signing aform. (Again, most people have no idea exactly what they are signing when their agent just points and says, ’sign here and here’)
So the bottom line is you need to take a few minutes out and check your policy covering your bike and car/truck. Make sure you have UM/UIM insurance on your policy. And the amount should be equal to your Bodily Injury Liability limits. If you have more than one vehicle, then choose ’stacked’ UM. This doubles the coverage if there are 2 vehicles on the policy.
If you have any questions, ask your attorney. If you don’t have one, our office conducts free policy check ups. Just give me a call at 407-679-9900 or email me at Maryann@billingslawfirm.com.