Miami, FL – The Firm’s Personal Injury Litigation Practice recently recovered $1,000,000 for the family of a pedestrian who was killed after being struck by car at night.

At the time of the crash, the Defendant was driving down a dark road when his Mercedes sports car struck a pedestrian, killing him upon impact. Since there were no witnesses to the crash, the traffic homicide investigation relied heavily on the Defendant’s statement that the pedestrian was in the middle of the road at the time of impact. However, after requesting and obtaining the entire police file through public records requests and reviewing all body worn video from the police department, Kanner & Pintaluga’s litigation team, led by Partner Joseph Abdallah, found that the first two responding officers located tire marks off the roadway, consistent with the Defendant driving off the road and striking the pedestrian on the grassy area. Those officers testified that the tire marks that they found off the road matched the tire treads on the Defendant’s vehicle and lead exactly to the point where Defendant’s vehicle was stopped off the roadway. Traffic homicide investigators arrived at the scene hours later and were never informed of the findings of the first two officers on scene and therefore, did not consider that evidence. Instead, traffic homicide and the Defendant focused on the pedestrian’s blood alcohol content from postmortem toxicology which revealed that the pedestrian was heavily intoxicated at the time of the crash.

Shortly before trial, the defense sought to exclude the evidence from the first two officers at the scene who found tire marks off the roadway, arguing that the officers were not qualified to make such an assessment or analysis. The court heard argument on Defendant’s motion seeking to exclude this evidence and following well settled Florida Supreme Court law, which was cited and briefed by our team, the trial judge denied Defendant’s Motion and permitted Plaintiff to present the officer’s findings at the trial. With that in mind, the Defendant and his insurer resolved the case $1,000,000 the day prior to trial. While this settlement will never bring back their loved one, it represents justice for the pedestrian’s family and long sought after closure to their loss.

Get What you Deserve
Founded in 2003, Kanner & Pintaluga is a NLJ500 and Mid-Market Pro 50 law firm that has recovered over $1 billion for property damage and personal injury clients nationwide. With nearly 100 lawyers and more than 30 offices throughout the Central and Southeastern United States, our primary goal is to achieve the most favorable outcome for our clients, who have the absolute right to receive the maximum compensation for their damages. If we can assist you or if you’d simply like to speak to an attorney about getting the help you need, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our team is always available to discuss your rights and make certain that you and your family are protected.