Settlement News

PRESS RELEASE
April 9, 2009

Robaina Flip-Flopper Blindsides Swimmer

Madonna Castillo was struck in her right eye by a swimmer resulted in complete loss of vision and blindness in her right eye.

Mayor of Hialeah, Julio Robaina, backs out of agreement with injured minor. On July 3, 1998 Madonna Castillo, then 12 years old, was injured at the City of Hialeah Milander pool when she was struck in her right eye by a swimmer who had previously been warned to stop his horseplay activities while in the shallow end of the pool. Ms. Castillo’s injury resulted in complete loss of vision and blindness in her right eye.

A Miami-Dade County jury returned a verdict in excess of $5,800,000.00 after five days of trial finding the city negligent for not having lifeguards in the area. The jury found that defendant, City of Hialeah, failed to provide proper training and supervision. Multiple exhibits were introduced indicating that no lifeguards were present in the area where the accident occurred despite the swimmer having been warned not to engage in the activities that ultimately resulted in the injury.

The city, through their counsel, Akerman Senterfitt, had successfully negotiated an agreement to support a Claims bill in the amount of $500,000.00 in an effort to relieve the city of any further financial exposure. Ms. Castillo agreed to a compromised settlement even though her injuries far exceeded the amount of her monetary damages.

Originally on March 23, 2004, then city council president Robaina voted "yes" resulting in unanimous support for the bill’s passage. Now he has changed his mind, stating that the bill would cause an economic hardship on the City of Hialeah.

Although Robaina cited economic issues as his reason for backing out of the agreement, his actions will cause the City of Hialeah to undoubtedly incur further legal fees through prolonged litigation. This action could also expose the City to the original judgment of more than $5 million dollars.

Attorney Ronald Rodman representing Ms. Castillo said "the mayor’s actions serve to add insult to injury and deprive Madonna of the medical treatment she so desperately needs".

How does this affect Ms. Castillo? If the bill does not pass she will not be able to receive the surgery she requires to remove her damaged eye and replace it with a prosthetic.

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