Miami Accident Lawyer Blog

MIAMI, FL—Officials from the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) have arrested two unidentified suspects in the case of a 17-year-old boy who suffered critical injuries in a brutal attack outside Coral Reef Senior High School in Miami. According to information provided by WSVN, the assault victim, who suffered a broken nose and also fractured his jaw in two places, has since been released from the hospital and is recovering from his injuries at home.

Reports indicated Christopher Lardner was in the parking lot of Coral Reef Senior High School following a Nov. 30 basketball game against Miami Killian Senior High School when he was violently beaten. Emergency medical crews subsequently rushed the assault victim to Kendall Regional Medical Center in critical condition.

According to the Edward Lardner, the teen’s father, “He was defenseless, he was unconscious, yet he was continually pummeled… He is a young, strong boy, but he doesn’t know right now who hit him.”

Lardner’s sister, Angela also told reporters, “He doesn’t deserve this. Nobody deserves to be beaten that way. Nobody deserves to be in that condition… He wrote to me on a little clipboard, because I wanted to ask him, I wanted to get down the facts of what he knew, and he told me no, and I believe my brother.”

Lardner, who was forced to undergo surgery to have rods placed in his jaw—which currently prevent him from speaking— was discharged from the Miami hospital on Dec. 4. It is expected to take a few months for the teen beating victim to recover from his assault wounds.

While reports suggested the Lardner family hired an attorney, they have yet to file a lawsuit in connection with the horrific high school beating. It was not clear what charges the unidentified suspects are facing with regard to the school attack. 
About the Miami injury attorneys and negligent security/premises liability lawyers of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.
When accidents and crimes take place on someone else’s property, that someone needs to take responsibility. Too often, property owners and managers deny their responsibility. At shopping centers, hotels, apartments and condominiums, and all public events, people have a legal right to be reasonably safe from foreseeable harm and criminal victimization.

Continue reading

MIAMI, FL—Four Florida A&M University students have been expelled in connection with the hazing death of a drum major in the school band, the Los Angeles Times reported. Although FAMU officials announced the students’ expulsions on Dec. 1, they did not state what offences the students were suspected of committing, specifically.

According to StateImpact Florida, authorities from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) are investigating the hazing-related death of Robert Champion, a 26-year-old drum major with Florida A&M University’s Marching 100. Champion apparently performed with the Marching 100 during the Florida Classic in Orlando on Nov. 19, but was later discovered unconscious on a bus, the LA Times and Orlando Sentinel reported. He was eventually pronounced dead. 

Florida Governor Rick Scott noted, “I think it’s very important that we do a thorough investigation, and I think it’s also important that we review our hazing policies…When things like this happen, you’ve got to make sure in your organization, our universities in this case, that people feel comfortable coming forward, you know, if they see something like this because I don’t want this to ever happen again.”

Florida Statute 1006.63 defines hazing as “any action or situation that recklessly or intentionally endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student for purposes including, but not limited to, initiation or admission into or affiliation with any organization operating under the sanction of a postsecondary institution. “Hazing” includes, but is not limited to, pressuring or coercing the student into violating state or federal law, any brutality of a physical nature, such as whipping, beating, branding, exposure to the elements, forced consumption of any food, liquor, drug, or other substance, or other forced physical activity that could adversely affect the physical health or safety of the student, and also includes any activity that would subject the student to extreme mental stress, such as sleep deprivation, forced exclusion from social contact, forced conduct that could result in extreme embarrassment, or other forced activity that could adversely affect the mental health or dignity of the student. Hazing does not include customary athletic events or other similar contests or competitions or any activity or conduct that furthers a legal and legitimate objective.”

The Orlando Sentinel reported that the alleged hazing victim’s family has since filed a notice of intent to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Tallahassee-based Florida A&M University. The actual negligence lawsuit was expected to be filed within six months time.

Continue reading

MIAMI, FL— November 21, 2011 – Officials from the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) are investigating the Nov. 17 robbery and assault of a female postal employee in Hialeah. According to information provided by NBC Miami, an unidentified man struck the postal worker in the head with his gun before stealing her keys and a piece of jewelry and ultimately fleeing the scene.

Although details concerning the postal worker robbery remained scarce, Blado Rojas of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service told reporters an unidentified man approached the female postal employee as she was walking to her vehicle at approximately 11:30 a.m. The man subsequently pistol-whipped the woman—a four-year employee of the USPS whom was said to be in her 40s.

Rojas further suggested the attacker stole the postal worker’s keys and a gold chain before getting into a dark colored sedan and seemingly speeding away from the scene of the Hialeah assault and robbery. Reports did not specify whether the postal worker was making deliveries prior to the attack, which occurred in the 100 block of West 12th Street in Miami-Dade County.

Responding Hialeah Fire Rescue personnel provided preliminary treatment to the assault victim before transporting her to an area hospital with an unspecified head injury.

The USPIS has asked anyone with information about the incident and/or the perpetrator to call (877) 876-2455. There is a $5,000 reward for info that leads to an arrest in the case.

Continue reading