Just days after Miami's new Brickell Flatiron condominium secured its temporary certificate of occupancy, the company that built it could be facing a personal injury lawsuit—with a lawyer as a litigant.

The potential plaintiff is a personal injury attorney, Cory D. Lapin of Aventura's Shaked Law Firm, who says he narrowly escaped death on Dec. 21, 2018, when going past the tower during its construction.

"I was driving, getting ready to make a left turn into my building, when out of nowhere I just hear this huge bang, there's dust everywhere and I'm just utterly confused as to what the heck just happened," Lapin said. "The entire window screen is shattered, there's glass everywhere, it's all over me, and I can hardly see."

After a few moments, Lapin realized something had fallen onto his car. That something, he later discovered, was a large pane of glass from the Moss & Associates LLC construction site above.

The incident happened while a wind advisory was in effect, when gusts were more than 45 miles per hour. Lapin claims that means the construction company could be liable for punitive damages for not heeding that warning, since he says work didn't stop and glass panels apparently weren't secured.

Executive vice president and general counsel to Moss, Bruce Moldow, said the matter is being handled by the insurance carrier.

"However, the piece of glass was previously installed and was not being worked on at the time of the incident," Moldow said via email. "Additionally, about two hours prior to the incident all activity outside and on the top deck had been suspended, due to a wind advisory that day. Since then, the vehicle has been fully repaired."

Lapin says the construction firm and its insurer have denied any liability, but have made small offers of compensation.

The building developer, CMC Group, declined to comment, as no lawsuit has been filed.

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'Take the emotion out'

The 64-story luxury condominium Brickell Flatiron. Courtesy photo. The 64-story luxury condominium Brickell Flatiron. Courtesy photo.

At 736 feet high, Brickell Flatiron has been hailed as the tallest condominium south of New York. 

But Lapin says this incident highlights the need to prioritize safety.

"This could have taken off my hand. This could have killed me," he said. "This could have been so much worse, and they need to recognize that."

The personal injury attorney took statements and gathered information from witnesses at the scene. And Lapin's perspective has changed, he says, having realized why clients are often so impatient to get cases resolved.

"You're wondering, 'Why are these people taking so long to really take account and make a reasonable offer?' You also get, not only impatient, but you get very upset and you get angry," he said. "Oftentimes, I try to tell clients, 'Take the emotion out of it. You have to realize, what is this case worth to them? It's a business decision.' And I'm trying to tell myself these same things, but then when you get these offers that you're getting, you start to really question, how much can you accept from them and their behavior?"

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