Partner Steven Frederick, assisted by Bill Davoren and associate Richard Lewis, recently secured a $2.3 million settlement during a federal jury trial in Hartford. The case arose out of serious injuries suffered by a 4-year-old boy during a family vacation in the Cayman Islands. The boy was injured when a jet ski on which he was seated suddenly and accidentally started, traveled approximately 200 feet, and crashed at full speed into a rock jetty. As a result of the accident, the boy suffered numerous physical injuries, the most serious of which were to his brain.
The firm argued that the accident occurred because the defendants, who owned and operated a well-known resort and water sports concession, intentionally disengaged the jet ski's safety mechanisms so that it could start simply by pushing a green button on the handlebars. Knowing that they disengaged the safety mechanisms, the defendants then permitted the boy's father to allow his young son to play on the jet ski for an extended period of time - without ever warning of the hidden dangers that the vehicle posed.
The case was settled in the beginning of 2006, after being litigated for approximately 7 years. Prior to bringing the case to trial, the firm successfully defeated the defendants' numerous motions attacking the federal court's jurisdiction over them, attacking the legal and factual validity of the boy's claims, and attempting to limit the damages available to the boy. As a result of this case, the boy's future is secure and the defendants have changed their practices at their watersports' concession so this unfortunate accident cannot happen again.
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