Palm Beach County

(21) ANGELA MAHARAJ, as Natural Parent and Guardian of KAMERAN MAHARAJ, a Minor vs. JUNIE TELFORT (Circuit Court of Palm Beach County, Florida)

 

County/Docket #/Judge: Palm Beach / 50-2008-CA-003705 / Robin Rosenberg

 

Plaintiff(s) Attorney(s): Matthew D. Levy and Kenneth Metnick of Metnick, Levy, et al., P.A., Delray Beach, FL

 

Defendant(s) Attorney(s): Laurie J. Adams and Melonie Bueno of Kubicki Draper, West Palm Beach, FL

 

Age/Sex/Occupation Of Plaintiff: Kameran Maharaj: Minor / M / n/a

 

Cause Of Injury: Negligence/Motor Vehicles/Failure to Yield/Fleeing Scene. On May 17, 2007, minor plaintiff Kameran Maharaj was a passenger in his father’s vehicle when defendant Junie Telfort allegedly ran a stop sign and cut off plaintiff’s vehicle. As a result, plaintiff’s father lost control of the vehicle, which rolled several times, resulting in the loss of plaintiff’s leg (amputation below the left knee). Defendant fled the scene and was later apprehended by police and criminally convicted of leaving the scene of a crash and reckless driving. Plaintiff Angela Maharaj, Kameran’s mother, sought compensatory and punitive damages.

 

Defendant admitted negligence but claimed that Kameran’s father was also negligent in failing to seatbelt the child, which caused or contributed to his injuries.

 

Nature Of Injury: Loss of left leg below the knee.

 

Expert Witnesses: 

Plaintiff's:

Martin Garcia, P.E., Accident Reconstruction, Tallahassee, FL

Robert Galt, M.S., Vocational Rehabilitation, West Palm Beach, FL

Randolph Cohen, M.D., Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery, Hollywood, FL

 

Defendant's:

Frank Fore, P.E., Accident Reconstruction, Jupiter, FL

Bret Baynham, M.D., Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery, Jupiter, FL

Greg Bauer, C.P.O., Prosthetics, Tampa, FL

Anthony M. Castro, Psy.D., Ph.D., Pediatric Psychology, Miami, FL

 

Verdict: $10,680,000 for Plaintiff on May 4, 2011 ($480,000 – past medical expenses; $3,700,000 – future medical expenses; $5,000,000 – past pain and suffering; $1,500,000 – future pain and suffering).

 

Editor's Note: The jury found defendant 65% negligent and Kameran’s father 35% negligent. The verdict was prior to reduction for comparative negligence.