Fisher V. Amtrak, Jury Award $1, 600,000 (zero contribution by the plaintiff)
Federal Court, Ft Lauderdale, Florida.
Plaintiff's lawyer: Laura Brogan of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Facts: Holly Fisher fell to a lower level on an Amtrak Observation Car when the conductor asked her to move to another seat. The car was dark and the house lights were not raised. Plaintiff claimed Amtrak employees should have raised the house lights in the observation car before asking her to move. The observation car was fifty years old and scheduled for removal from service. (See, The Role of Vision in Fall Accidents)

Hoffpauir v. Alsops Markets  $400,000; Jury award (zero contribution by plaintiff)
Federal Court; Roswell New Mexico
Plaintiff's lawyer; Rob Junnell, San Angelo, Texas.
Facts: Herman Hoffpauir was hit by a pickup truck while talking on the telephone at a local convenience store. Plaintiff claimed the accident was foreseeable and that  Defendant should have provided physical protection in the form of vertical bollards or other barriers. (SeePedestrian Protection at Convenience Stores)

Hurst v. LA Waters, $350,000 plus medical expenses (settled while the jury was in recess).
State Court, Statesboro, Ga.
Plaintiff's Attorney, Jimmy Franklin of Statesboro Georgia
Facts: Hurst fell from a forklift vehicle called a furniture picker. The plaintiff had extended the work platform horizontally by four feet and had not installed. Miller testified that Federally required personal protective devices had been disabled.  (See, Forklift Safety by Design)

LaMore  v. B&B Insulation   $800,000  (settled while the jury was in recess)
State Court, Jacksonville, Florida
Plaintiff's Lawyer; John Taylor, Jacksonville
Facts; LaMore was a highly paid welder. He was injured when he attempted to remove his companies waste materials from a construction site.. LaMore tripped on a scaffold component carelessly left on the darkened walkway. Miller testified on the level of light and the task blindness built into the work LaMore was performing. He also testified on OSHA housekeeping duties and the duty to inspect.(See Human Factors Issues in Slip and Fall Litigation)

Joe Pony V. Southland Corp. Settled at trial; (Award amount sealed by the court.)
State Court, Sacramento, California
Plaintiff's Lawyer: Gerald Adler of Sacramento
Facts: Joe Pony, an eight year old boy,  visited a Seven Eleven store on his bicycle to get a coke. A vehicle lost control and drove the boy into a plate glass window. The glass severed the child's spine. Plaintiff contended that Southland had the duty to protect patrons from this foreseeable hazard with the use of vertical bollards or similar devices.

Zenith Electronics v. HBT Trucking and Kiwa Electronics.  $1.6M from HBT Trucking   (Kiwa excused)
State Court, Dallas, Texas
Kiwa's Attorney: Baker and McKinsey
Facts: In this case, a $180,000 injection mold was thrown from a flat bed truck traveling through Dallas. The Plaintiff, Zenith Electronics, sued for repair and opportunity cost. Expert Miller testified that defendant Kiwa was not responsible for negligent packing and pointed to physical evidence which showed the crate had been dropped after arriving in the United States. No one was injured in this accident.

Windy Hill et al  v. McDonnald's. (Sealed settlement at trial)
State Court. Birmingham, Alabama
Plaintiff's Attorney: Susan Walker of Birmingham
Facts: Eight students were injured when a student lost control of his car in the parking lot after a football game. Windy Hill, a high school student, was pinned against the doorway  and  her leg was severed. The driver, another student, had been menacing students crowded around after a high school football game. Miller based his testimony upon a survey of 125 fast food restaurants and features which might have prevented the injury to the plaintiff.

Andrews v. Burdines (Settlement prior to trial)
State court, Orlando, Florida
Plaintiff's Attorney, George Anderson of Orlando
Facts: Andrews, a dentist, slipped on a ceramic tile walkway which was wet from a recent rain.  He received a brain injury.  Miller investigated the accident and found that the rubber cross mesh mat allowed the accumulation of silt. When it rained, the silt emulsified and flowed to the sloped access ramp where the roof was allowed to drain. Andrews slipped on the accumulation of wet silt which covered the surface. (See,Handicapped Ramps, An Unpaid Debt)

Garcia v. Southern Outdoor Advertising (Settlement during recess)
State court, Ft Lauderdale, Fl
Plaintiff's Attorney: Andrew Sapiro
Facts: Garcia, a private contractor, fell from a billboard he was painting. Miller testified on OSHA issues. Garcia was considered an employee under OSHA due to the level and character of control. Billboards require latch points points whenever the movement of the worker  required horizontal movement more than 12 inches. Facts of this case and certified questions led to formal statement and clarification by OSHA on PPE and securement points. (Federal Register 4/10/1990)

Kidwell v. Modern Welding  (Settlement prior to trial)
State court, Owensboro, Ky
Plaintiff's Attorney: Max Hartz
Facts:  Kidwell, an x-ray technician for a subcontractor, was examining welds when the ladder he was using slipped and he was thrown to the concrete floor. Miller examined the degree of control of the process by Modern Welding and their absolute control of the details of the production line.  He also pointed to OSHA guidelines relating to the duties surrounding the climbing tasks and those parts under the exclusive control of Modern. (See, Safe Ladder Management)

Sadie Denor v. Wisconsin video et al (Settlement sealed by the court)
State Court: Waukesha, Wisconsin Lawyer; Paul Hoefle


Facts: Two year old Sadie Denor stood at the entrance to a Blockbuster Video store holding a balloon she waited to release.  The helium filled balloon was a promotion. A small SUV parked in the space in front of Sade. The vehicle began to roll and the driver could not stop it. Sadie was crushed to death. The parking space was a deficient handicapped parking spot.   Miller testified that no curb, tire stop, bollard, or other device existed. Correct design would  prevented this predictable accident. A satisfactory settlement, sealed by court order, was made in the weeks before trial.

Amparo Cruz v. Flea World  (Confidential settlement during trial) State Court, Sanford, Florida.                     Lawyer; James Byrne, Longwood, Florida

Facts: The accident happened when seventy four year old Amparo Cruz visited the worlds largest flea market: a commercial business that  served 40,000 people per week. As she approached one of the buildings, she tripped on a shop made box used to deliver electrical service to a temporary refreshment trailer. The box, similar to those frequently seen on construction sites, violated numerous codes meant for the protection of pedestrians. Mrs. Cruz fell to the ground striking her head. Within days, she became totally disabled and now requires twenty four hour care for life.

Catrett V. Skippers  (Appropriate Settlement)

State Court; Ocala, Fl. Lawyers: Confidential

Facts: Miller was hired by attorneys for the defendant Skippers Office Supply. The Plaintiff fell on an entry ramp. The surface of the ramp was glazed ceramic tile containing grit. Miller measured the surface and found it to be slippery. The tile did not match its’ specifications.

Defendant expanded the case to include the manufacturer of the tile as a defendant. An examination of the quality control records for this tile showed that it had substandard slip resistance values at the time of manufacture. The tile manufacturer testified that they typically transferred defective industrial tile to the home market. In turn, the local dealer reintroduced the tile to the commercial market where it was installed

Allen Goldstein V. Farretti (Jury Award 2.2 Million) Federal Court; Ft Lauderdale.  Lawyers Chris Fertig and Michael McCloud

A 1.3 Million dollar Farretti yacht sank in the Bahamas in 1200 feet of water. Plaintiff claimed that the Farretti Yacht had numerous defects. The defendant responded that the boat sank due to the negligence of the plaintiff.. Miller provided human factors testimony relating the behavior of the plaintiff, particularly  the adequacy of the alarm, training, and response system provided to him.  Defendant agreed to abandon allegations regarding plaintiff negligence and Miller did not need to testify.  Jury found Farretti negligent and assessed 2.2 Million dollars in actual damages and 1.5 million dollars in costs. Zero comparative.

Norsten v. Patel (Econo Lodge)  State Court: Cass County, Mo.,  Attorney Steve Gorney, Oberland Park, Mo.

Mrs. Norsten left her motel room, planning to check out.  The sidewalk,  (the only path), had a  slope which also provided ADA accessibility.  Marked parking spaces served several functions: handicapped accessibility, a change of grade, and a reserved parking place for the motel owner.  Mr.  Patel gave his keys to a nephew who was not an experienced driver. The driver lost control of the vehicle, crushing Mrs. Norsten  against a wall.  Doctors removed her leg.

The issue involved the construction and maintenance of the accessibility ramp which, in this case had launched the vehicle. A jury awarded Mrs. Norsten six million, six hundred thousand dollars ($6,600,000): four times the largest award in Cass county up to that time. The jury found no falt on the part of Ms. Norsten.

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