It has been widely reported that Sandals Resorts International has agreed to pay the Turks and Caicos government $12 million to resolve an investigation into bribery and money laundering. Sandals Resorts operates the Beaches Resort in the Caribbean island nation and has recently purchased the former Veranda resort property.
The W South Beach Hotel located at 2201 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida is the subject of a lawsuit involving an alleged assault of a New Jersey tourist by prostitutes claimed to be “working” in the hotel. Court papers reveal that on January 19, 2013 Anna Burgese, while walking through The W South Beach lobby with her husband, was assaulted by an unknown number of prostitutes. Specifically the complaint reads Mrs. Burgese was “grabbed by behind and thrown with great force into a stone wall head first” then “tackled to the ground and struck by her assailant.” It is alleged that the prostitutes confused Mrs. Burgese as another prostitute who was capturing business at the hotel thus prompting the attack. As a result of the assault, she was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital for treatment.
A recent case form the Miami Division of the Southern District of Florida, addresses a hotel’s liability when a guest suffers a heart attack while working out in the hotel’s fitness room. Court papers reveal George De La Flor was a guest with his family at The Ritz-Carlton South Beach Hotel located in Miami Beach. Most unfortunately, he suffered a heart attack while exercising in the hotel’s fitness room. Exercising next to Mr. De La Flor was a surgeon who immediately came to his aid. Though a defibrillator was located on hotel property, none was in the fitness room. A nearby boy went in search for the defibrillator, but had to delay his search to call 911 as no one from the hotel alerted the Miami Beach paramedics. Without a defibrillator, the surgeon performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (“CPR”) until the paramedics arrived. Mr. De La Flor survived the heart attack, but was left with permanent injuries.
Resort and vacation injury lawyers Keith S. Brais and Richard D. Rusak of Brais Law Firm recently won a significant victory in Miami Federal Court in a lawsuit involving the December 28, 2010 hot tub entrapment drowning death of John Van Hoy, Jr., father of two adopted children. Click this link to read the Order denying the defendants’ motion to dismiss the wrongful death case.
Our firm represents Mrs. Tonya Manning who was a guest aboard the Carnival Valor. The cruise was arranged by the Make-A-Wish Foundation as it was her son’s Tyler wish to go on a cruise and swim with the dolphins. The Mannings originally selected a dolphin encounter to take place when the ship arrived in Honduras. Carnival, however, called the Mannings down to Guest Services and arranged the dolphin encounter to take palace in Chankanaab Park when the ship arrived in Cozumel, Mexico. At no time did Carnival warn Mrs. Manning that the park’s staircases were ill maintained and dangerous.
