Florida Appeals Court Upholds $3 Million Wrongful Death Judgment Against Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade County has always been a dangerous place for bicyclists. South Florida’s heavy traffic means that bicyclists must be careful in navigating city streets to avoid a collision with a car. Unfortunately, far too many bicyclists are unsuccessful and end up losing their lives due to a negligent motorist’s actions.

County Objected to Family’s Emotional Displays in Jury’s Presence

In February 2021, a Miami-Dade police car struck and killed a bicyclist who was riding with a cycling group. The victim’s widow later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Miami-Dade County. Since the officer driving the police car was acting within the scope of his employment when the fatal accident occurred, Miami-Dade County was vicariously liable for his negligence.

The case proceeded to a jury trial in 2024. The jury ultimately returned a verdict of $3 million in damages to the victim’s estate. Although this was substantially less than the estate had asked for, Miami-Dade County still appealed the verdict. Interestingly, the appeal did not focus on the evidence of the police officer’s negligence but rather the alleged conduct of the victim’s family during the trial.

Before the Third District Court of Appeal, Miami-Dade argued that the trial judge should have granted the County’s request for a mistrial. That request came after a number of emotional displays occurred in the presence of the jury. For example, during open statements, the judge briefly stopped the proceedings and removed the jury from the room after they observed the widow crying. And the next day, the judge ordered the victim’s mother to stop recording the trial with her phone.

Essentially, the County’s position was that these and other displays were an attempt to improperly prejudice the jury’s sympathies towards the estate. The County asked for a mistrial on those grounds at the end of the estate’s case and after closing arguments, but the trial judge declined to do so on both occasions.

The Third District concluded those denials were well within the trial court’s discretion and upheld the verdict. The appellate court’s decision largely focused on procedure, namely that the County failed to raise proper objections at the time to the various emotional displays it claimed as grounds for a mistrial. And the one incident where such an objection was raised, the jury saw the widow hugging family members, was not enough to “inflame the passions of the jury.”

It should be noted that although the jury returned a $3 million verdict for the estate, Florida law limits the liability of government agencies and municipalities in personal injury cases to $200,000 per person or $300,000 per accident.

Contact a Miami Wrongful Death Lawyer Today

The sudden death of a loved one due to a preventable accident is always an emotionally trying time. Our Miami wrongful death lawyers can assist you in obtaining a measure of closure by holding the responsible parties legally accountable for their actions. Contact Pita Weber Del Prado today at 305-670-2889 to schedule a free consultation.

Source:

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