Peterson v. Highlands Viera West LLC, et al - $1,515,650.00
Attorney David Alpizar was able to secure a $1,515,650.00 settlement in
a case involving serious burn injuries from a blowback fire from a built
in propane grill in a common area of an apartment complex.
The incident occurred on October 29, 2011, at approximately 3:50 pm at
the Plaintiff's apartment complex. The Plaintiff left his apartment
and walked down to the community summer kitchen to utilize the community
public propane grill. It was observed that the lid was closed and two
(2) of the four (4) flame control knobs on the grill were missing. Upon
pressing the ignite button, the Plaintiff experienced a blowback flash
fire from the grill, coupled with hearing a whoosh noise. The Plaintiff
felt the lower half of his body on fire, ran out of the summer kitchen
and jumped in the pool. He was air transported to the burn unit of Orlando
Regional Medical Center, where he was admitted for two weeks. The Plaintiff
sustained significant and permanent injuries with first degree burns to
his neck and second degree burns to his genitalia, both hands, thighs,
shins, and feet.
Under Florida law, a property owner has a duty to maintain their premises
in a reasonably safe condition, to keep the premises free of dangerous
conditions and to provide adequate warning or notice of potentially dangerous
conditions. This is particularly the case for conditions that are inherently
unsafe or dangerous that are not readily apparent to the tenant, such
as a noxious gas like propane. Obviously, this duty and responsibility
would extend to common areas that are in locations outside of a private
apartment residence which is much more accessible to the landlord and
their agents.
The property owner failed to provide any sort of notice, instruction or
warning about the grill or how to use it. Additionally, during the deposition
of the apartment complex manager, it became clear that the manager did
not know how to use the grill and had no knowledge on how to maintain
or clean the grill. The maintenance employees testified that they had
concerns about the grill and issues it was having, fearing that it could
hurts someone.
During an inspection of the gill, it also became clear that the contractor
and installer failed to install the common area built in propane grill
in accordance with manufacturer recommendations. Further, the architect
that designed the common area summer kitchen and built in grill unit did
not review the manufacturer’s recommendations when it was designed,
despite knowing the exact type of grill that was being installed.
A lawsuit was filed against the apartment complex as well as all the parties
involved in the design, construction and installation of the summer kitchen
and built in grill. The case went through multiple mediations, whereby
several of the Defendants recognized it was in their best interest to
settle. Immediately after taking the deposition of the fire expert in
Texas hired by the general contractor, the remaining Defendant finally
conceded that the grill was not installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s
recommendations and decided to settle.