Edward H. Zebersky and Steffani M. Russo of Zebersky Payne in Fort Lauderdale landed a $5 million jury verdict for Ricardo Medrano-Arzate and Eva Chavez-Medrano, the parents of 21-year-old Hilda Medrano, who was struck and killed by a deputy sheriff's patrol car, speeding in response to a dispatch call in Okeechobee.

“What happened was so wrong,” Zebersky said.

In the early hours of Dec. 1, 2013, Medrano was riding shotgun in a 2000 Ford Focus, heading for a “late-night bite” at McDonald's, as Zebersky puts it. Medrano's cousin, Elizabeth Renteria, was at the wheel, while her best friend, Isamar Jaimes, sat in the back seat.

At the same time, Okeechobee Deputy Sheriff Joseph Gracie was en route to a domestic disturbance. But an outsider wouldn't have known that as Gracie hadn't turned on his overhead lights and sirens.

“Police officers should follow the law and should act responsibly. And when they don't, death and destruction occurs,” Zebersky said.

Gracie, traveling at roughly 87 mph in a 35-mph zone, then “slammed” into Medrano and her friends as they attempted to make a left turn toward a McDonald's restaurant, according to the complaint filed April 30, 2014.

Click here for the full complaint

Medrano and her cousin didn't survive the crash.

According to the complaint, Gracie was “obeying” police department policies and customs, which stated that officers had to radio for permission to use their lights and sirens. As the second officer heading to the scene, Gracie wasn't permitted to use his radio — so no lights and sirens.

These protocols, Zebersky and Russo argued, were “outrageous” and violated Florida law.

“We actually tried to change civil rights law in this case,” Zebersky said. “Or at least clarify the law on this important issue about whether a conflicting sheriff's deputy policy, which was almost certain to cause death, mayhem and serious injuries, was a violation of this lady's civil rights.”

The federal court said no.

Bruce W. Jolly of Purdy, Jolly, Giuffreda & Barranco in Fort Lauderdale defended the sheriff's office and did not respond to request for comment before deadline.

The sheriff's office claimed it wasn't at fault but blamed deputy sheriff Gracie for causing the accident, as well as Medrano and Renteria on their failure to wear seat belts.

The jury found Renteria 11.5 percent liable.

For Zebersky, the most difficult aspect of this case was also its main premise.

“We faced the perceived bias that may be applied against anyone suing a sheriff's deputy,” Zebersky.

With that came an additional difficulty, as the plaintiffs were migrant farm workers from Mexico who spoke through an interpreter at trial and “sometimes struggled to convey their loss through somebody else,” according to Zebersky.

“It's never easy when you can't speak the same language as your clients,” Zebersky said. “But we have staff members who are fluent in Spanish, and my wife, who is also fluent in Spanish, was a big help as well.”

Though Medrano's parents can't write or speak English, they're legal residents eligible for citizenship. In 1981, Arzate and Medrano moved to the United States, where they had five children.

The jury awarded $2.5 million to each parent.

“The jury recognized that the American dream for this family was wrecked when their daughter was needlessly killed,” Zebersky said.

Walmart sign. Photo: April L. Brown.

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According to Zebersky, “the trick” in a case like this is not to “overtry” it.

“One of the things that you want to do is not get in the way of the facts, or make the case something that it's not,” Zebersky said.

The facts, after all, were “egregious,” in Zebersky's opinion.

“The sheriff's deputy was acting wholly inappropriately in the way that he operated his vehicle,” Zebersky said.

Read the verdict

Okeechobee Circuit Judge Laurie Buchanan denied the defense's motion for a new trial on Sept. 14.

What made this case particularly satisfying for Zebersky and Russo was the meaning it carried for Medrano's family.

In closing argument, Zebersky left the jury with a thought:

“These folks came from another part of the world to find a better life. And not necessarily for them to become extremely successful, but to give their children a chance at success,” Zebersky said. ”It's important to convey to a jury what the loss of a child actually means.”

Ultimately, Zebersky felt the jury recognized the weight of that loss, rendering a verdict that was “full, fair and complete.”

“Especially in this day and age of walls, illegal immigration and anti-immigrant feeling, this jury didn't feel that way and they certainly recognized the value of a human life,” Zebersky said. “The family feel pride in the American civil justice system because it recognized their loss, and the jury verdict vindicated their daughter's life and the way she died. It's brought them a measure of closure that a settlement could never bring.”

Case: Estate of Hilda Medrano v. Noel Stephen, Sheriff of Okeechobee County

Case no.: 2014-CA-000152

Description: Wrongful death

Filing date: Apr. 30, 2014

Verdict date: Aug. 22, 2018

Judge: Okeechobee Circuit Judge Laurie Buchanan

Plaintiffs attorneys: Edward H. Zebersky and Steffani Russo; Zebersky Payne; Fort Lauderdale

Defense attorneys: Bruce and Gregory Jolly; Purdy, Jolly, Giuffreda & Barranco; Fort Lauderdale

Verdict amount: $5 million