Freedland Russo: Why Wrongful Death Lawsuits Are Necessary

It was April 24, 2005 in the early morning hours. The place was a little town called Land O’ Lakes Florida. Specifically, a McDonalds drive through owned by Brickman Management Company. A fight breaks out between two men, Anthony Makowski and Martin Robles-Taylor. During the struggle Robles-Taylor strangles Makowski to death. Subsequently, Prosecutors opted not to charge Robles-Taylor with a crime and ruled that Murkowski’s death was an “excusable homicide”. However, attorneys for the parents of Makowski filed a suit in which they accused the management company of “not acting fast enough”. The jury agreed and awarded $1.5 million to them for their son’s wrongful death. This case, to us at Freedland and Russo highlights once again why such lawsuits are necessary.

According to reports, this same McDonalds where Makowski was murdered had 750 calls for service to the police department between 2001 and 2005. That amounts to approximately 187 calls per year or almost 4 per week! Reports included juvenile disturbances, loitering and assaults. Most of those calls were between midnight and 5 AM and occurring from Friday night into early Sunday morning. See a pattern?

This could be a case once again of profit before safety. It seems to us that if the restaurant owners didn’t want to provide enhanced security during those hours perhaps they should have altered their hours of operation. There is clearly a public safety issue for which the management company is responsible. Had the there been an armed security officer present during those hours or had the restaurant not been open at all, this senseless murder of Anthony Makowski may have never occurred.

Every year in the US there are a large number of wrongful deaths that go unchallenged and thus the perpetrators go on without being held accountable for their actions. As Consumer Justice Attorneys who practice in the areas of personal injury litigation, medical malpractice, wrongful death as well as others, we’ve see it all! And there’s one thing we know about human nature. Whenever possible, guilty parties will shirk responsibility, spin the story in their favor or shift the blame on someone other than themselves.

We exist and work to protect innocent consumers from those who would take advantage of them. While we know that there are some that will rail and gnash their teeth against frivolous personal injury lawsuits, those lawsuits are few and far between. The right consumer justice trial lawyer can guide you in evaluating the potential of your case. Without the law there is no justice for the victim and no accountability for the perpetrator.