Defense Verdict

Press Release 4

The Law Firm of Romaguera, Dawson, Humphrey & Russell, P.A. obtains a Defense Verdict in a Negligence case in St. Lucie County, FL.

Raul Romaguera

The trial, before the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, St. Lucie County, Florida, Judge Ben L. Bryan, Jr. in Port St. Lucie, lasted 9 days. Raul Romaguera (rromaguera@rd-legal.com) of Romaguera, Dawson, Humphrey & Russell, P.A represented the defendant, Friends of the Family; Scott S. Warburton, Esq. and Rodney Janis of Adams, Coogler represented Defendant, Frilair Pinquiere; and Paul Milberg, Esq. of Milberg & Morrow represented Emerald Health Care, and Jeff Fulford, Esq. of Fulford & King, P.A. represented the Plaintiff.

The Plaintiff's witnesses testified that on the date of the incident Friends of the Family was contacted to provide the Plaintiff with an aide in order to prevent further falls. Testimony was given that Friends of the Family had been used before on several different occasions and specifically requested the Defendant, Frilair Pinquiere, since he had provided care to the Plaintiff on a previous occasion without incident. Plaintiff's witnesses testified that Friends of the Family was negligent in having referred an aide who needed to take a break during a 12-hour shift. The Plaintiff's daughter stated that she would have never agreed to the referral had she known the Defendant, Frilair Pinquiere, was going to take a break during the 12 hour shift he was supposed to be working.

Causes of Action

In closing argument, Mr. Fulford argued that Friends of the Family was liable under the theory that Friends of the Family should have informed Mr. Pinquiere as to the reasons why he was going to sit with the Plaintiff, to wit: he was a fall precaution. He also argued that Friends of the Family was liable under an apparent agency theory because Friends of the Family had led Plaintiff's daughter to believe that Mr. Pinquiere was their employee and not an independent contractor. Mr. Fulford also argued that Mr. Pinquiere was liable because he did not provide one-on-one, uninterrupted care to the Plaintiff, as had been contracted for by Plaintiff's daughter. Mr. Fulford virtually made no mention of the nursing home's liability, even though both the Defendants', Friends of the Family and Pinquiere, counsels introduced substantial, competent evidence regarding the nursing home's non-delegable duties to the Plaintiff. That evidence included testimony from Dr. Seabrooks, an expert retained by us that was extremely forceful and convincing, indicating that if this nursing home could not provide for the Plaintiff's needs, it was incumbent upon them to discharge him to a facility that could meet his needs. Mr. Fulford also argued that Friends of the Family had "secret documents" which was our contract with Mr. Pinquiere that Plaintiff's daughter did not know about.

Mr. Romaguera, in closing, summarized the evidence presented in this lengthy trial and told the jury not to be confused about what Plaintiff's daughter knew when signing the contract with Friends of the Family since she was a sophisticated business woman who had a Bachelor's in Business Administration from Florida State University and had risen through the ranks in a lengthy banking career, including stints as a commercial lender and Vice President. He also urged to the jury that while Friends of the Family did not employ Pinquiere, that Pinquiere had done nothing wrong and that the true culprit in this case was none other than Emerald Healthcare for having accepted a patient they admitted they could not care for and then retaining a patient they could not care for after it became evident to the nurses at Emerald Healthcare. He also discussed all of the co-morbities the Plaintiff suffered from and would continue to suffer from which were progressive but in no way related to the fall and fracture.

Brief Summary of Fact

The Plaintiff, age 82, was discharged from St. Lucie Medical Center on June 5, 2005 and admitted to Emerald Healthcare, a skilled nursing facility, with multiple medical problems, including dementia and Parkinson's disease. He was at high risk for falls and in fact had a fall while at Emerald Healthcare. The Plaintiff's daughter was made aware of the fall and requested a private sitter from Friends of the Family for that night which she would pay for privately. Friends of the Family referred Frilair Pinquiere to her and he accepted the assignment. At 8:35 p.m., he arrived at the facility. Sometime after 10:00 p.m., Mr. Pinquiere left the Plaintiff to go on break and the Plaintiff was left alone. The Plaintiff, in his demented state, then proceeded to get out of bed and fell resulting in a left hip fracture which required an open reduction end internal fixation which has left him essentially wheelchair ridden.

The jury was charged and left for deliberations at 4:15 PM. At 6:00 PM, the jury sent out a note asking for a calculator. A calculator was sent back to them. At 6:10 PM, the jury sent a note asking whether an independent contractor could also be an apparent agent. The judge and all counsel agreed to instruct the jury to read pages 3 and 4 of the Jury Instructions to make that determination. At 7:15 PM, the jury rendered their verdict finding no liability on either Friends of the Family or Mr. Pinquiere, and finding the nursing home 100% liable for the Plaintiff's injuries to the tune of $654,541.52.