Fort Lauderdale attorneys Joseph J. Slama and Brent Reitman landed a $5 million settlement for a Miramar woman who survived a venomous snake bite but required four amputations and three other surgeries as a result.

The case was litigated for nearly two years against four defense firms in state court before the settlement was reached.

Plaintiffs counsel needed to overcome ferae naturae — a common-law defense that shields property owners from liability for attacks by wild animals. The attorneys say few lawsuits involving animal encounters make it past the pleading stages.

“That was probably one of the major hurdles,” said Slama, a partner at Krupnick Campbell Malone Buser Slama Hancock Liberman in Fort Lauderdale. “The defense was arguing, 'We have no responsibility for someone being bitten by a wild animal.' ”

The lawsuit claimed liability extended to the homeowner association and property manager rather than the individual homeowner.

Slama's and Reitman's client is a 37-year-old medical assistant who moved from the Midwest to South Florida with her family. She was at home in 2015 at the Silver Shores community in Miramar during a child's birthday party when she went into the backyard.

“
She slid her sliding glass door open and went to take her first step outside,” Reitman said. “Before her foot touched the ground, a water moccasin bit her through the big toe.”

Venom attack red blood cells. Its anticoagulant properties prevent clotting and cause rapid tissue death.

Doctors at first amputated a portion of Patricia Young's toe, later removed others and performed a below-the-knee amputation as the venom spread. They completed seven surgeries within 18 months, according to Slama and Reitman.

Silver Shores preserves about 25 percent of the property as undeveloped land and natural resources. Its community association and management company argued the wild portion of the property is home to indigenous animal species.

Consequently, Silver Shores Master Association Inc. and KW Property Management LLC argued they had no liability for a snake in its natural habitat.

“Any recovery should be reduced or barred on the grounds that plaintiff mischievously
or carelessly provoked the animal alleged to have inflicted the damages alleged,” defense attorney Steven Hemmert wrote in the companies' answer and affirmative defenses.

The Law Offices of Patricia E. Garagozlo represented Silver Shores and KW Property Management. It claimed Young failed to mitigate alleged damages and missed the statute of limitations, among other arguments.

Plus, the defense argued the bite was a chance encounter and the only one in the community's 18-year history.

But Slama and Reitman said the defendants ignored multiple complaints about water moccasins encroaching on residential parcels and moving closer and closer to Silver Shores homes.

“It was a very unfortunate problem for this neighborhood that had been mishandled by the property management company and the master association for a long period of time,” Slama said.

Plaintiffs attorneys presented testimony from experts in property management, ecology and herpetology, which involves the study of reptiles and amphibians. They retained Zoo Miami wildlife expert Ron Magill and Southern California property manager Robert Griswold.

Griswold implemented safety procedures and educational programs to protect residents from rattlesnakes in a community he managed.

Plaintiffs lawyers intended to have Griswold provide a live demonstration that would help the jury understand a snake encounter. They filed a motion for permission to bring a live water moccasin into the courtroom for the jury presentation, but the case settled before the judge ruled on the request.

“The homeowners' association created documents after this incident suggesting that residents should be responsible to remove these venomous snakes themselves,” Slama said. “We wanted a jury to be able to see one of these snakes up close so that they could decide whether or not that was a good idea.”

Case: Patricia Young and Roberto Young v. Silver Shores Master Association and KW Property Management

Case No.: 16-012676 CA 12

Description: Premises liability

Filing date: July 6, 2016

Settlement date: Feb. 15, 2018

Judge: Broward Circuit Judge Michael L. Gates

Plaintiffs attorneys: Joseph J. Slama and Brent M. Reitman, Krupnick Campbell Malone Buser Slama Hancock Liberman, Fort Lauderdale

Defense attorneys: Jami L. Gursky, Cole Scott & Kissane, Fort Lauderdale; Todd R. Ehrenreich and Seth V. Alhadeff, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, Miami; Michael R. Reed and Heather Stover, Wicker Smith O'Hara McCoy & Ford, Tampa; Frank C. Simone, Frank Simone P.A., Miami; David Drahos and Laurie J. Adams, Kubicki Draper, West Palm Beach

Settlement amount: $5 million