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The Miami Herald May 26, 2001 SETTLEMENT REACHED IN GAS POISONING CASE Jay Weaver Seven people who suffered brain damage from carbon monoxide poisoning in a Northwest Miami-Dade apartment building have reached a $29.6 million settlement with the owner and insurers of the complex, both sides' attorneys said Friday. "It was a wonderful, emotional release for these people that they were able to settle for so much money,'' said the plaintiffs' attorney, Don Russo. "It was important that this come out, because all it would take is an older building with a faulty boiler for this type of tragedy to happen again.'' The tenants' injuries were caused by a gas-fired water heater that spewed the poisonous gas into two adjoining units through air-conditioning ducts and ceiling holes at the Terra Cotta Place Apartments, 17911 NW 68th Ave.Their negligence lawsuits revolved around the tragic story of Oveta Forbes, who moved into one of the apartments on Jan. 8, 2000 - and was discovered dead from carbon monoxide the following day. Forbes' estate, including daughter Shanika McKenzie, 17, who survived severe exposure to the gas, reached a separate $2.7 million settlement in March. A friend who helped Forbes move into her $800-a-month apartment collected the largest share of the settlement, the result of court-ordered mediation over a two-week period. Andre Jean, a 26-year-old mechanic, was left mentally incapacitated from the carbon monoxide. He will collect $8 million in damages, including medical costs. His wife, Melody Jean, said the money, to be paid out over the course of her husband's life, was a godsend. "I thank the Lord because it's going to make a huge difference in our lives,'' Melody Jean, 36, said Friday. "He just sits like a vegetable, even though he's not a vegetable. He's in his own little world.'' A friend of Forbes' daughter, Kenya Smith, 19, who was staying with her family that night, will collect $7 million. Her mother, Yvonne Smith, will get $1 million of that amount because Kenya was a minor at the time of the injury. Forbes' boyfriend, Vincent Ogula, 29, a truck driver who was going to share Apt. O-205 with her, will receive $600,000. He was exposed to the carbon monoxide while moving their belongings into the apartment. The family who had previously lived in Apt. O-205 will also realize a big chunk of the settlement. Veda Bailey, 37, of North Miami, first complained about the carbon monoxide problem in Apt. O-205 to state authorities in November 1999. Bailey, who was forced to quit her chemistry teaching job because of memory loss, and her daughter, Saida, 10, will collect a total of $7 million. Vanessa and Rene Rivero of Miami Lakes, who almost rented that unit but instead took Apt. O-210, will receive $7 million in the settlement, too. Rene Rivero, 37, a Hialeah police officer, and his wife, Vanessa, 24, say they suffer from memory loss as well. Their attorney, Russo, might still file a claim for their 1-year-old son, Victor, who was born four months after Forbes' death. It is too early to tell whether he suffered brain damage. The lawyer for Terra Cotta Place Apartments, run by FEIT Management Co., said the settlements were preferable to going to trial, where a jury could have awarded greater judgments to the plaintiffs. Russo was seeking $84 million in the mediation.
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Law Office of Don
Russo, P.A.
We welcome you to call us or email
us if you have any questions about representation in a carbon monoxide
related case.
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