Category Archives: Wrongful Death
Chatman drug treatment associates owe millions
Conspirators in Kenny Chatman’s sprawling drug treatment criminal enterprise are on the hook for millions of dollars, with one man expected to pay his share of $5.6 million in restitution. Chatman’s operations had a horrifying human cost. People blame his operations for loved ones’ deadly relapses, and prosecutors told how Chatman screwed closed a home’s… Read More »
Florida’s Billion-Dollar Drug Treatment Industry Is Plagued by Overdoses, Fraud
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Florida — For the first responders who found her lifeless body one October morning, 24-year-old Alison Flory was yet another casualty of addiction here on the front line of Florida’s opioid crisis. To her family, she was a daughter, a beloved sister, a goofy bookworm who made them laugh and a… Read More »
Notorious treatment center operator Chatman gets 27 years in prison
WEST PALM BEACH — Kenneth “Kenny” Chatman was a relatively small drug-treatment provider despite the millions he raked in every year, Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie Villafaña said Wednesday. But he was “the most dangerous,” she told U.S. District Court Judge Donald Middlebrooks, and FBI agents “never worked harder” than the last few months of 2016,… Read More »
Relapsed and forced out, sober home residents die in motels
Addicts who relapse while living in sober homes in Delray Beach, often are dumped into seedy motels, often still high. Without supervision, some continue the binge, overdose and die. That’s because Delray Beach, nationally known as a treatment destination, forbids sober home operators from immediately evicting addicts who have relapsed, a policy that sober… Read More »
After losing her daughter to fake drug ‘treatment,’ she now seeks to save others
MAY 10, 2017 FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—Five days after losing her daughter to a drug overdose in a South Florida sober home, Jennifer Flory found herself standing before a task force set up to investigate sober homes. “My daughter passed away on Thursday night and I’m coming here to get her stuff – and her – and… Read More »
‘Finally,’ Scott declares opioid epidemic a public health emergency
Responding to months of public outcry, Gov. Rick Scott declared a public health emergency Wednesday in the fight against the opioid epidemic, a sea change in what had been a hands-off approach by state officials to a crisis that has killed thousands. “Today I feel relief — relief that the voices of so many… Read More »
Sober home cleanup bill on path to OK after dangling all week
With a heavy dose of local lobbying, the bill to crack down on bad sober homes survived a key calendar call Wednesday to make it to the Senate floor Thursday. It must pass the Senate twice before lawmakers stop hearing bills on Friday. Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, whose task force shaped… Read More »
Miami Doctor’s Call to Broker During Baby’s Delivery Leads to $33.8 Million Judgment
A Miami Gardens couple won a $33.8 million medical malpractice judgment in April 2017 after a South Florida obstetrician was found negligent during delivery of their baby who was born with permanent brain damage. But as the couple would later find out, they were not the first parent to sue the doctor for seriously… Read More »
Bringing a Wrongful Death Suit in an Auto Accident Case
Automobile accidents are difficult for everyone involved, but they are even more challenging when they result in the death of one or more individuals. Families are left to not only deal with the emotional turmoil of losing a loved one, but also the financial burdens that may result. The Florida statute contains a provision… Read More »
Protecting Yourself from Swimming Pool Liability
It’s the dog days of summer. Across the state, adults and kids seek refuge from the heat in back yard pools. Though numerous Florida homes include a pool on the property, many homeowners do not fully understand the potential liability they face with pool ownership. If they neglect to properly protect visitors to the… Read More »
