Watch NBC 6 investigative report featuring Justin C. Leto

Justin C. Leto of Leto | Bassuk has been featured in an NBC 6 investigative report about the problems in the Broward County paratransit system.  The investigation stems from an incident involving Leto | Bassuk client, Miguel Colareta.  Miguel was a disabled resident of Broward County in 2012 and utilized the TOPS paratransit program to get to and from work.  On April 16, 2012 he was backing his electric wheelchair out of a van owned and operated by private contractor Allied Medical Transport when the van’s wheelchair lift failed, causing Miguel to fall to the ground.  The fall caused a break in his spine and a bleed in his brain.  The end result was that this man that had worked so hard to overcome his disabilities was left a quadriplegic, relegated to a nursing home and in need of 24 hour care.

Leto | Bassuk (known at the time as The Leto Law Firm) filed a lawsuit against Allied Medical Transport and the manufacturer of the lift.  After resolving the matter with the lift manufacturer, the case proceeded against Allied Medical Transport.  A judgment was eventually entered against Allied Medical Transport for $10 million, which you can read about here.

Next, a lawsuit was filed against Broward County alleging a complete mismanagement of the paratransit system.  Recently, Broward County agreed to settle the case for the maximum allowable under statutory caps, $300,000.

Tony Pipitone of NBC 6 has been following this story and other stories involving the problems surrounding the paratransit programs in both Miami-Dade and Broward County, and following this settlement with Broward County, NBC 6 interviewed Aida Colareta and Justin Leto about the case, the result, and what it will mean for the Colareta family.

Leto | Bassuk proudly represents victims in catastrophic injury cases, traumatic brain injury cases, and wrongful death cases.  Whether the injury or wrongful death is caused by medical malpractice, trucking negligence, auto negligence, construction defect, or product defect, Leto | Bassuk has the experience necessary to pursue the case with success.

Justin C. Leto recently obtained a $10 million judgment for a man who was catastrophically injured when he fell from the wheelchair lift affixed to a Broward County TOPS van, which was owned and operated by Allied Medical Transport, Inc.  NBC interviewed the victim, his family and Justin C. Leto regarding the ordeal and the long path to justice.  You can read the article and watch the video here.

 

Miguel Colareta suffered from a chronic condition which rendered him unable to walk.  Despite his disability, he raised three daughters with his wife, Aida, and continued to go to work every day at Goodwill Industries in Ft. Lauderdale.  Since he could not drive or take the county bus, Miguel used the paratransit system provided by Broward County.  A van equipped with a wheelchair lift would pick him up from home each morning, drive him to work, and pick him up to take him home when the work day was over.

 

On April 15, 2012, Miguel arrived at work on one of the paratransit vans.  While he was backing his wheelchair up onto the wheelchair lift, the lift failed and Miguel fell to the ground.  The result was a severe brain and spinal cord injury which rendered him a quadriplegic.  A man who battled disability with success his entire life was now relegated to a nursing home, unable to move his hands or even lift his head.

 

Our firm investigated the case and found out that Allied Medical Transport had performed absolutely no preventative maintenance on the wheelchair lifts, despite the manufacturer requiring routine and specific maintenance.  Shockingly, the wheelchair lift that failed and caused Miguel’s fall had been open and closed nearly 9,000 times without any preventative maintenance.  The manufacturer required preventative maintenance every 750 times the lift was used.  This gross negligence was not isolated to the one van but appeared to be the norm for the entire operation.  Some vans had lifts which had received no maintenance after 15,000 cycles.

 

To make matters worse, the wheelchair lift that caused Miguel’s fall was the subject of a recall only one month prior to the incident and even though Allied Medical Transport knew of the recall, the vans were permitted to continue operating throughout Broward County.

 

After many months of litigation, our firm secured a $10 million judgment against Allied Medical Transport and is now suing Allied Medical Transport’s insurance company, Sparta Insurance, alleging that Sparta acted in bad faith when it failed to settle the case for it’s insurance policy limits when it should have done so.

 

 

The Leto Law Firm Files Wrongful Death Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Against Florida Hospital Orlando.

 

A central Florida resident passed away at Florida Hospital Orlando on March 8, 2013. His wife hired The Leto Law Firm to investigate the case to see if medical malpractice caused the man’s death. After conducting an investigation and hiring medical experts, The Leto Law Firm determined that the death was the result of medical malpractice and filed suit against Florida Hospital Orlando.

 

The lawsuit alleges the following set of facts:

 

The man went to Florida Hospital Orlando for a cardiac catheterization.  The result of the cardiac catheterization revealed that a bypass was necessary.  His heart surgery was more complicated than the average bypass procedure because he had a history of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.  This is, in essence, an allergy to heparin, which is the most commonly used anti-coagulant (blood thinner) for bypass patients.  The doctors knew that he had a history of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia so he was prescribed a special drug to counteract any allergic reactions he may have had as a result of the use of heparin during the bypass.  This drug (methylprednisone a/k/a Solumedrol), prescribed by the surgeon, was supposed to be given every 8 hours beginning the day before the surgery.  The medication was given by the nursing staff at 4pm and midnight the day prior to surgery, but the dose that was set to be given at 8am on the morning of the surgery was not given by the nursing staff.  Instead, the nurse responsible for following the doctor’s orders neglected to give the required medication.  Furthermore, the nurse failed to inform the surgeon that the medication was not given.  As a result, he went to surgery and received a large dose of heparin without the prescribed dose of medication specifically prescribed to counter the potentially harmful effects of heparin.

 

The surgery was a success but shortly after return to the recovery room, a rash formed all throughout his body.  He was covered in welts and his blood pressure dropped dramatically.  A code blue was called and he was rushed back to emergency surgery. Sadly, the doctors were unable to revive him and he died in the operating room.

 

A medical malpractice lawsuit claiming that the hospital and it’s nurses failed to provide proper care and treatment has been filed.
The Leto Law Firm represents victims of Florida medical malpractice, wrongful death, and all other personal injury matters throughout the State of Florida.  The firm is honored to be able to represent this family in this sad and tragic case.  Medical errors are all too common in this country and we fight for the victims of those medical errors.

 

To see a prior media appearance by Justin Leto on issues related to medical malpractice experts testifying at trial, take a look at this link from Headline News.