Volume III, 1997
Medical Negligence Suit Settles For $345,000 After Five Days of Trial
Mary Neuman is a Nurse who marries for the first time in 1990 at the age of 52. Her husband died on 18 months after they were married.
Mary filed suit claiming that her husband’s doctors were negligent by not doing a complete presurgery work up of Howard and then perforating his bladder during surgery or in the post-operative period. These actions of medical negligence led to Mr. Neuman’s death on November 1, 1992 only nine days after his prostate surgery.
Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. retained experts from around the country in the specialty areas of Urology, Cardiology, & Cardiac Pathology to prove Mary’s case. Panter had a computer animation created to demonstrate their theory of how Mr. Neuman’s bladder was perforated during the surgery and how Howard’s doctors should have done the surgery, avoiding the perforation.
Part of the case was settled before trial. The remainder of the case went to trial and after the fifth day the entire case was settled for a total recovery of $345,000.
Areas of Practice
Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. is actively involved in Medical Malpractice an Nursing Home cases. Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. has worked on cases in the following areas of medicine: Obstetrics, Gynecology, Urology, Cardiology, Ophthalmology, Cardiac Pathology, Internal Medicine, Neurosurgery, Neurology, Pediatrics, Oncology, Psychiatry, Geriatrics, Pulmonology, Orthopedics, Plastic Surgery, Radiology, Pathology, Emergency Medicine, Infectious Disease, Anesthesiology, and General Surgery. Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. welcomes attorney referrals in Medical Malpractice and Nursing Home claims and has cooperated with many law firms to the benefit of the clients.
Injured Worker Recovers $405,000.00
Robert Koch fell from a ladder and seriously injured himself while at work. Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. brought the case to a conclusion which resulted in Mr. Koch receiving benefits worth $405,000.00.
Attorney Rudolph Browd brought Mr.Koch to Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. and together they were able to prepare an extremely compelling case against the owner of the premises for failing to provide Mr. Koch with adequate equipment to complete his job.
Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. successfully argues that The Janis Company, a Real Estate Management Company, failed to provide Mr. Koch with the appropriate equipment to allow him to change the lighting fixtures in a parking lot. As Mr. Koch used the extension ladder which the company provided, he fell and sustained a spiral fracture of the tibia, a comminuted fracture of the distal fibula, and an ankle fracture. Mr. Koch was also diagnosed with a rotator cuff injury from using crutches and a pre-existing knee injury which became worse from the initial fall. The defenses raised were that Mr. Koch was himself at fault and that Mr. Koch’s claim was barred by the Workers Compensation Immunity Doctrine.
Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. refuted the Workers Compensation Immunity Doctrine by hiring James Bradford, Jr., CPA to establish that the Janis Company was not Mr. Koch’s employer pursuant to federal IRS Laws and related state employment documents. Wesley Construction President, Charles Braznell, established the liability case and proved that The Janis Company negligently failed to provide Mr. Koch with the appropriate equipment for the job.
New Associate Joins the Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. Team
Facing the challenges and demands of their growing clientele and practice, Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. recently hired a new associate. David Sampedro grew up in Miami and Received his B.S. in Political Science from Florida State University in 1992. In 1995, he graduated from Stetson University College of Law, cum laude, where he was a member of the Stetson Law Review. Before joining Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A., Mr. Sampedro practiced in the areas of insurance defense, commercial litigation, pharmaceutical liability, and aviation defense.
Recently, Mr. Sampedro published an article in the Stetson Law Review, which interprets the Bystander Rule as it applies in cases of Negligent infliction of Emotional Distress. Mr. Sampedro is a member of the Florida Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers; the Dade County Bar Association, Young Lawyer’s Division and the Cuban American Bar Association.
At Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A., Mr. Sampedro works extensively in the areas of Personal Injury, Products Liability, and, along with Brett Panter, is spear-heading the firm’s expanding emphasis on Nursing Home litigation.
Protecting the Unprotected: Nursing Home Residents’ Rights
In 1976, the Florida Legislature took a significant step in recognizing the rights of a very vulnerable group of individuals: Nursing Home residents. Section 400.002 of the Florida Statutes outlines several rights of Nursing Home Residents, which include the right to reasonable access to health, social, and legal services; the right to be free of mental and physical abuse, as well as the right to be free from chemical and physical restraints; the right to be treated courteously, fairly, and with the fullest measure of dignity; and the right to adequate and appropriate health care, as well as other rights. Collectively, these rights have come to be known as the Nursing Home Residents’ Bill of Rights.
Litigating a nursing home case requires interpreting numerous state and Federal statutes and administrative codes. A violation of any of these rights by a nursing home or assisted living facility can result in repeated falls, drops, malnutrition, dehydration, and, of course, bed sores.
When asked about the Firm’s emphasis on the rights of nursing home residents, Brett Panter said, “I feel confident that our experience in complex personal injury and medical malpractice cases will prove to be pivotal in addressing the many violations which unfortunately occur in nursing homes everyday.” “Families turn to nursing homes to care for their family and loved ones when they are no longer able to do so. These facilities must care for our loved ones as they agreed to or be prepared to defend their actions in court,” added David Sampedro.
Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. has a medical resource team which is utilized to review and summarize voluminous copies of records and charts which commonly are thousands of pages long. “This is a painstaking, expensive, and detailed task, but a thorough and intelligent review of a potential nursing home claim cannot be done without this kind of arduous labor,” said Mitchell Panter. An assortment of medical experts are called upon to interpret the records and explain what the records mean to a jury in a clear and concise manner. Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A.’s aggressive and innovative advocacy skills serve to protect the rights of nursing home residents.
Of course, Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. continues to honor referrals and consultation from other attorneys and law firms. Brett Panter Completes Presidency of B’nai B’rith with Gala Event
Brett Panter Completes Presidency of B’nai B’rith with Gala Event
Brett Panter completed his term as President of The B’nai B’rith Bench & Bar Unit with a Gala event. The event was the second Annual Installation Dinner and Award Ceremony. Attorney Robert Josefsberg was honored with the Humanitarian of the Year award.
United States senator Bob Graham was the Keynote speaker for the evening. The event was held at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables and was attended by more than 400 persons.
Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. is Making Shopping at Home Depot Safer
Throughout the past year, Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. has handled several cases against one of the leading suppliers of home improvement products. Through our efforts we have made Home Depot recognize that they are under a legal duty to maintain their premises in a safe condition to avoid injury to their customers.
In Rolando Victorero v. Home Depot, Mr. Victorero was seriously injured when several rolls of tar paper fell off a shelf and struck him on the neck and back. With the help of several experts and a computer animation reconstructing the accident, Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. proved that the tar paper rolls were negligently stacked causing them to fall and injure Mr. Victorero.
Due to the thorough work up and pretrial preparation in this case, Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. was able to resolve the case for $225,000.00.
In several other cases, Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. successfully proved that Home Depot was negligent in the maintenance of their stores. In one case, Home Depot was forced to accept responsibility when a box fell down and struck a customer on the bridge of the nose. Another case involved a toilet seat and struck a customer. Another case involved a customer falling through an opening in the ground in which a drainage grate was negligently exposed.
At Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A., we will fight for our clients rights in an effort to hold negligent parties accountable for their wrongdoings and hopefully cause the negligent parties to improve their facilities and make them safer for all of our community.
