Case Involving Death of Mother While her two young children helplessly look on settles just days before beginning trial

CASE INVOLVING DEATH OF MOTHER WHILE HER TWO YOUNG CHILDREN HELPLESSLY LOOK ON SETTLES JUST DAYS BEFORE BEGINNING TRIAL

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL - On March 9, 2005, Sebastian and Ian, ages 11 and 9, watched in horror as their mother, Dodi Kelley, drowned before their eyes outside the Waste Management facility in Okeechobee, Florida.  Dodi Kelley's accident and death was as a direct result of Waste Management ignoring a public hazard it created and had known about for years.

In September 2005, Brian Kelley, individually and on behalf of his two children, filed a lawsuit in Palm Beach County.  The suit alleges that Dodi Kelley was driving a Ford F250 pickup truck on a public roadway immediately outside the Waste Management facility in Okeechobee, Florida.  Suddenly and unexpectedly, Dodi Kelley lost control of her truck after it encountered large amounts of standing water that had accumulated during a rainstorm.  The truck spun out of control and rolled over into a ditch.  The truck began to fill with water.  Trapped in her seat, Dodi Kelley drowned while her two children watched helplessly, unable to save her. 

Waste Management had a contractual duty to clean and maintain the portion of the road on which the accident occurred.  Instead of cleaning and maintaining the road, Waste Management employees pushed the dirt and debris from the trucks transporting waste to and from the landfill onto the sides of the road, creating berms along the road, reducing the recovery area and preventing water from draining off the road. 

After sufficient discovery had taken place, Mr. Kelley sought leave of court to amend his complaint to include a claim for punitive damages on the theory that Waste Management committed gross negligence and/or intentional misconduct by knowingly creating a hazardous situation, intentionally pursuing the course of conduct that created that hazardous situation, and failing to take any actions to protect the motoring public from that hazardous situation.  This evidence was submitted at an evidentiary hearing in front of Judge Timothy McCarthy on June 2, 2006.  Some of the evidence presented to Judge McCarthy consisted of the following:

• Waste Management was well aware of the hazardous conditions along Berman road, in fact, Dodi Kelley herself had called to complain about the roadway conditions.  Moreover, between 2000 and 2005, Okeechobee County commissioners complained to Waste Management about dirt, debris and litter on and along the roadway and asked that Waste Management initiate procedures to keep the roadway clean.  Despite their duty to clean all paved parts of the roadway, including the lanes of travel and the four-foot recovery shoulder, Waste Management employees and independent contractors working under Waste Management only cleaned the actual lanes of travel because they were never instructed by supervisors to do otherwise.
• Conditions were so poor at the time of Dodi Kelley's accident that the four-foot recovery shoulders on the roadway had been reduced to only one to 1 foot.  Dirt and debris had been swept from the road onto the shoulders for so long that grass had begun to grow over the dirt, significantly reducing the amount of paved roadway and causing the retention of water on the roadway. Normally, when this occurred the water would remain on the roadway until Defendants took action to drain the water, which was sometimes done by cutting "V" ditches into the berms and the sides of the roadway.  However, Waste Management did not have any policy or procedure in place for the regular draining of the roadway, although management was aware that the accumulation of water on the roadway created a safety hazard and despite the fact that they had knowledge of prior accidents on the roadway at issue caused by the dangerous condition of standing water.

Based upon the evidence offered at the evidentiary hearing, Judge McCarthy granted Brian Kelley's motion to seek punitive damages against Waste Management of Florida, Inc. and Okeechobee Landfill, Inc. during the upcoming trial. 

"Waste Management totally failed to comply with their obligations and duties to maintain a safe roadway for the motoring public", said Theodore J. Leopold, attorney for the Kelley family. "Unfortunately, this was an accident waiting to happen.  Waste Management's behavior and disregard for safety and human life should never been allowed to exist," Leopold added.  "There are countless individuals driving up and down this public roadway and yet Waste Management chose to ignore the hazard it created and instead concentrate on its own business".  Leopold said.

Just days before the trial was to start the parties reached an out of court confidential settlement.  "This was an extremely sad case", added Leopold.  "Dodi Kelley was a beautiful, loving wife and mother and due to no fault of her own she died a horrific death.  What made Dodi's death that much more difficult was that Dodi's two children tried, but were not able to save her from drowning.  We hope that this settlement can help bring closure to a family who has been devastated and has suffered enough", Leopold added. 

Ted Leopold is a senior partner in the law firm of Ricci~Leopold, P.A. As consumer justice advocates, the attorneys at Ricci~Leopold  pursue justice for those who are harmed by the misconduct of insurance companies  and corporations. The firm founded in 1982, has five attorneys and is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with offices located at 2925 PGA Blvd. Mr. Leopold can be contacted at 561-684-6500. Additional information about Ricci~Leopold, P.A. may be obtained from the firm's website at www.riccilaw.com