Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed in Relation to Champlain Tower Collapse in Surfside
*Complaint filed by Chalik and Chalik names Champlain Tower South Condominium Association, Scott Stewart and Morabito Consultants as negligent parties*
*MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / July 9, 2021 /* Attorneys from Chalik and Chalik, a personal injury law firm based in South Florida, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Josephina Henriquez, pending personal representative for the estate of deceased Ana Ortiz, following the horrible Champlain Tower Condominium collapse in the Surfside community that led to the untimely death of Ana Ortiz.
Ana Ortiz (46) was a resident of Champlain Tower South along with her husband, Frank Kleiman (55) and her son, Luis Andres Bermundez (26). On June 24, 2021 at approximately 1:30AM, they were asleep in their condominium unit 702 when the entire building came crashing down resulting in the tragic passing of all three individuals.
The suit alleges negligence and gross negligence against the Champlain Tower South Condominium Association, Scott Stewart, the property manager, and Morabito Consultants, the engineering firm retained by the association to make all repairs to the building. The signs leading up to this horrible collapse were apparent for years as the engineering firm submitted reports of the damages. Years of neglect and concrete deterioration led to an unsafe living environment. Scott Stewart and the association were said to be aware of the damage and were entrusted to make all necessary repairs in a timely fashion.
In the complaint, Chalik notes that the associations own declaration states that it has the sole duty to "maintain, repair and replace at the Association's own expense: 1) all common elements and limited common elements," and "all portions of the units …contributing to the support of the building, which portions shall include but not be limited to the outside walls of the building, and load -bearing columns."
Additionally, the defendants conducted themselves with total disregard to the reports of the engineering firm dating back as early as October 2018. This included reports by the engineer detailing major structural damage to the building in need of timely repair culminating to gross negligence as defined by law.
The lawsuit filed in court by Chalik and Chalik Law Offices states "As a result of said gross negligence as described above, which resulted in the death of ANA ORTIZ, Plaintiff seeks punitive damages on behalf of the Estate of ANA ORTIZ. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against CHAMPLAIN TOWERS SOUTH CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, SCOTT STEWART and MORABITO CONSULTANTS including punitive damages suffered as a result of the accident and a trial by jury on all issues triable."
*ABOUT CHALIK AND CHALIK*
Chalik & Chalik Law Offices is a Florida law firm founded by attorneys Jason Chalik and Debi Chalik. The firm focuses exclusively on personal injury to better serve those harmed through the negligence of others. Their practice areas include cruise ship negligence, tire accidents, car accidents, slip and fall accidents and birth injuries, in addition to areas relevant to our Florida clients, like boating accidents and parasailing accidents. Chalik & Chalik has been helping car accident victims in Fort Lauderdale and victims of any type of injury negligence for decades. They have 12 locations across the state of Florida. To contact them call (855) 456-4817. https://www.chaliklaw.com/.
*SOURCE: *Chalik & Chalik Law Offices
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