James O. Cunningham 
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Camp Lejeune LawsuitsOrlando Accident & Injury Blog
Three Die in Orange County Head-On Collision
A senseless and violent accident accident took place along Orange County’s State Road 50 in early evening on Saturday. A BMW being driven by an unnamed 45-year-old man was traveling west on Colonial Drive shortly before the accident. According to numerous witnesses, the BMW was driving erratically, swerving in and out of traffic and generally behaving in a completely unnecessary and dangerously aggressive manner. Close to where State Road 50 connects to Gloucester Street, and just to the west of State Road 520, the BMW’s driver swerved his car into the eastbound lane and directly into a pickup truck.
Couple Dies after Windermere Home Burns to the Ground
A deadly fire broke out in the home of a couple living in Windermere on Saturday morning that left two individuals dead and the Windermere Police Department sifting through shouldering ash for answers. The fire, which began very early in the morning, was first noticed by some neighbors who saw the sky blazing orange and called the fire department. Both the Ocoee Fire Department and the Orange County Fire Rescue responded to the scene and began to battle the blaze. Firefighters attempted to enter the home in order to ascertain whether or not anyone was currently inside, but the house was already so covered in fire that entry was impossible. Instead, the firefighters used their powerful hoses to douse the flames as much as possible before attempting, once again, to enter the structure.
13-Year-Old Struck and Killed by Train in Sanford
An unnamed 13-year-old was walking near the SunRail tracks on Friday, during rush hour, when he walked in front of a train in Sanford. The train struck the young man and killed him. According to the initial police report, the crash occurred around 6:00 in the evening, close to West State Road 46, and resulted in a 45 minute delay to train service. 62 passengers were aboard the train that struck the teen, and they were required to stay aboard the train for several hours while the police conducted their initial investigation.
Man Killed When Car Drives Off State Road 408
On Tuesday night, a 25-year-old man named Brian Javier Fernandez Esles was driving down State Road 408 when he crashed into a cluster of retaining barrels and lost control of his vehicle. The Florida Highway Patrol released a statement discussing the particulars of this incident as they are currently known, however the investigation into the circumstances leading to the accident is still very much ongoing. According to the current report, after Esles crashed into the barrels at around 7:40 in the evening, his car flew off of the State Road 408 ramp and landed on its roof beside Magnolia Avenue.
Woman Dies after Head-On Crash in Orange County
The Florida Highway Patrol is in the process of investigating a crash that took place on Thursday night in Orange County that left a 38-year-old woman dead. It seems as though the incident began when Alejandra Gomez Matta, a Lake Wales resident, started driving her 2009 Acura the wrong direction on Colonial Drive. Close to 10:00 in the morning, Matta entered Colonial Drive headed westward, but she was in the eastbound lanes. It is not known for how long Matta drove on Colonial Drive, but when she neared Masood Lane she crashed headlong into a 2003 Ford SUV.
South Daytona Man Who Fled from Fatal Accident Found
Police in South Daytona are accusing a 50-year-old man from fleeing the scene of a fatal accident and driving while intoxicated after an accident on Thursday evening. According to the official report, Andrus Holmes was witnessed by police as he drove unpredictably through South Daytona. The police additionally stated that they saw Holmes run red lights and drive far over the speed limit. Because it was decided that Holmes was driving too fast to be apprehended, the police instead issued a lookout order. Less than five minutes after this order was issued, Holmes was involved in an accident after he ran a red light.
Miami Police Officer Hospitalized after Morning Crash
An accident between a 26-year-old Miami police officer and a 47-year-old civilian has sent the two individuals to the hospital. According to the spokesperson for the Miami Police Department, Kenia Fallat, the accident took place around 4:30 on Monday morning at an intersection that has not yet been identified. The official statement indicates that the officer, Carlos Gomez, has only been with the Miami Police Department for a year. Shortly before the accident took place, Officer Gomez received a priority call directing him to the scene of another emergency. It was while he was speeding towards his destination that the accident took place.
Orange County Sheriff’s Office Reminds Drivers to be Careful In School Zones, Even in Summer
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office issued a reminder earlier this week for people to be careful in school zones throughout the summer. The words come from a video uploaded to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page that appeared on Tuesday evening. In the video, Master Deputy Mike Johnson and Master Deputy Greg Ritter can be seen reminding motorists that just because school is no longer in session does not mean that there are no longer any children in school zones. In fact, the two Master Deputies say that with the advent of warmer weather and increased free time, children may even be present in school zones with a greater frequency than they were when school was actually in session.
Miami Nurse Wins Medical Malpractice Suit, Awarded $21.6 Million
An emergency nurse from Miami has won a medical malpractice suit against numerous individuals and groups who were responsible for misdiagnosing her inflammatory breast cancer as benign. According to public court documents and a lawyer statement, the nurse, Marlande Lazard, discovered a lump in her breast during a routine self-examination. She then saw a doctor for an ultrasound and mammogram. The doctors then misdiagnosed her with mastitis, which is a breast infection, rather than with the aggressive form of breast cancer that she was actually suffering from.
What is most alarming in this case is that eight different doctors were involved in her particular case throughout the misdiagnosis. The failure to correctly diagnose Lazard as suffering from inflammatory breast cancer resulted from numerous instances of neglect and a lack of communication with the patient. Further, the doctors and technicians did a poor job of communicating amongst themselves. After the initial screening, a lump had indeed been detected. In subsequent screenings, it seems as though the results from the initial screening were not consulted. Furthermore, Lazard herself was not asked about her condition by the doctors examining the test results in the second case.
The doctor in this particular instance, Dr. James Domesek from Signet Diagnostic Imaging Services, places the blame for his oversight on the shoulders of the ultrasound technician. Domesek claims that the technician never indicated the area where the initial lump had been detected. Additionally, Domesek claims that the technician never informed him about the previously conducted tests and their results.
The results of these mistakes were disastrous. Lazard was told that the tumor was benign and antibiotics were assigned to deal with the infection believed to be present. After some time passed, it became clear that the antibiotics were not helping in any way. Lazard then went to get a second opinion. This time, the doctor she saw diagnosed her correctly: incurable breast cancer. The most devastating element in all this is that if Lazard had been correctly diagnosed after first discovering the tumor, she would have had a chance to fight the cancer. Now, after the cancer was allowed to work uninterrupted for over a year, she is simply trying to live for as along as she can in order to support her two children.
Lazard’s court settlement for $21.6 million, awarded against Signet Diagnostic Imaging Services and Domesek, is a victory, but a thin one in light of what could have happened had she been properly examined at the outset of this process.
Read More: Mom with incurable breast cancer wins $21.6M medical malpractice verdict
Police Cruiser Destroyed by Orlando CSX Train
A poor parking decision resulted in a police cruiser being run over by a downtown Orlando CSX train on Friday Night. According to the Orlando Police Department, the cruiser was empty at the time of the incident, which happened close to 10:30 in the evening. The officer assigned to the cruiser apparently parked his vehicle close to where the tracks cross West Washington street and then exited the car so as to patrol the area on foot.
Mr. Cunningham is an excellent and knowledgeable attorney.