Charles Watkins, Nicole Ellis, and Sarah Goldberg, of the Miami office, represented a cargo warehouse and forklift driver in an admitted liability case where a 2,000 pound cargo crate fell on the Plaintiff and resulted in multiple injuries and surgeries.  These injuries included confirmed post traumatic stress, claims of erectile dysfunction, and over $800,000 in special economic damages.  The Plaintiff also alleged punitive damages which the Judge dismissed during trial.

The accident occurred when the Plaintiff walked around the crate and bent down to help his coworker by moving a piece of wood under the crate.  Charles and Nicole argued that the two men caused the unfortunate accident.  In closing, Plaintiff’s counsel asked for over $6.5 million and requested the jury place all fault on the warehouse and forklift driver.  The verdict found the Plaintiff 33% responsible for the accident and awarded a net $1.268 million which included his wife who had a significant loss of consortium claim.  Additionally, there was an incident where the Plaintiff was alleged to have had improper conversation with a juror.  Charles moved for a mistrial after an evidentiary hearing.