Connect with us

Published

on

close video FOX Business Flash top headlines for May 25

Check out what’s clicking on FoxBusiness.com

A Burger King franchisee in Florida, was ordered to pay nearly $8 million to a customer who allegedly slipped and fell at the restaurant and needed surgery for his injuries.

Richard Tulecki, 48, "suffered lower back injuries resulting in surgery" after he slipped on a "foreign substance" near the restroom of a Burger King location in Hollywood, Florida, according to court documents. The fall caused "serious injuries" which required surgery, and Tulecki suffered a postoperative perforated colon, according to his attorneys.

The lawsuit, filed in January 2021, accuses Burger King of negligence for "failing to ensure that the area and floor of the business was free and clear of any hazards."  Ticker Security Last Change Change % QSR RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. 71.80 -0.12 -0.17%

A Broward County jury awarded Tulecki $7.8 million in damages, including $3.35 million for lost earnings and $700,000 for medical expenses. The court later adjusted the award to $7.68 million for medical expenses Tulecki's insurance had already paid for. 

BURGER KING PARENT NAMES NEW CEO, AIMING TO TURN AROUND CHAIN

Founded in 1953, Burger King is an American-based multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants with branches across the globe. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The verdict is one of the largest slip and fall verdicts in Florida's history, Tulecki's attorneys at Ginnis & Krathen, P.A., said in a press release.

"Delivering this verdict to our client means everything," said H Ross Zelnick, one of the personal injury attorneys representing Tulekci. "Our client suffered tremendous hardship due to the Defendant's negligence. While no verdict could undo those damages, it will provide him and his family with the resources to move forward."

ORDERING FAST FOOD? A ROBOT MAY TAKE THE ORDER, WHETHER YOU KNOW IT OR NOT

In this photo illustration, a Burger King Whopper hamburger is displayed on April 5, 2022 in San Anselmo, California. A Florida court ordered Burger King to pay $7.8 million to a customer who allegedly slipped and fell in the restaurant, requiring su (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The attorneys said in the lawsuit that Tulecki will be forced "to pay large sums of money for doctor bills, hospital bills and other directly and indirectly related expenses in an effort to alleviate his suffering." 

Seven Restaurants, the owner of the Burger King franchise, filed a motion for a new trial on May 19, alleging Tulecki presented "virtually no evidence" that the restaurant's manager had knowledge of the purported "foreign substance" that caused Tulecki's slip and fall injuries. The motion called the $7.8 million award to Tulecki "clearly excessive." 

CHICK-FIL-A'S FIRST OFFICIAL RESTAURANT LOCATION TO CLOSE AFTER 50 YEARS OF BUSINESS

An illuminated Burger King sign is seen on Aug. 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Attorneys for Seven Restaurants did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ginnis & Krathen attorneys said linking Tulekci's slip and fall to his gastrointestinal issues was a "crucial factor" in the "whopper" of a verdict. 

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

"Our decades of trial experience, limitless financial and intellectual resources, along with our dedicated team of lawyers, paralegals and medical experts, allow our firm to go toe to toe with billion dollar insurance companies," said Zelnick.

"The insurance company denied any wrongdoing and offered only $200,000 to settle this case. We chose not to negotiate with this unreasonable insurance carrier. Together with our client we had our day in court," said Miguel A. Amador, a top Fort Lauderdale slip and fall lawyer.

Continue Reading

Sports

Ohtani’s blast caps 6-run 9th in wild Dodgers rally

Published

on

By

Ohtani's blast caps 6-run 9th in wild Dodgers rally

PHOENIX — Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run ninth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a wild 14-11 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.

The Dodgers trailed 11-8 entering the ninth inning after blowing an early five-run lead.

Andy Pages and Enrique Hernandez hit consecutive run-scoring doubles to open the ninth inning against Kevin Ginkel (0-1). Max Muncy tied it at 11-11 with a run-scoring single and Ryan Thompson replaced Ginkel to face Ohtani.

It didn’t go well for Arizona.

Ohtani, who doubled twice, fell into a 1-2 hole before launching his 12th homer near the pool deck in right to put the Dodgers up 14-11. He finished with four RBIs.

Tanner Scott worked a perfect ninth save in 11 chances.

The Dodgers roughed up Eduardo Rodriguez to take an 8-3 lead through three innings, but couldn’t hold it.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a tying grand slam in the fifth inning, then Ketel Marte and Randal Grichuk hit solo shots off Alex Vesia (1-0) in the eighth to put Arizona up 11-8.

Pages finished with three RBIs and Hernández extended the Dodgers’ homer streak to 13 straight games with a solo shot in the second inning.

Marte homered twice for the Diamondbacks. Rodriguez allowed eight runs on nine hits in 2⅔ innings.

Continue Reading

Sports

Marchand’s OT score cuts Panthers’ deficit to 2-1

Published

on

By

Marchand's OT score cuts Panthers' deficit to 2-1

SUNRISE, Fla. — Brad Marchand scored on a deflected shot at 15:27 of overtime and the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 on Friday night to cut their deficit in the Eastern Conference semifinal series to 2-1.

Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe and Jonah Gadjovich scored for Florida, which got 27 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky. Evan Rodrigues had two assists for the Panthers. They 13-2 in their last 15 playoff overtime games.

John Tavares scored twice, and Matthew Knies and Morgan Rielly also scored for the Maple Leafs. Joseph Woll stopped 32 shots.

Game 4 will be in Sunrise on Sunday night.

Florida erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-1, and that’s been almost impossible to do against Toronto this season.

By the numbers, it was all looking good for the Maple Leafs.

  • They were 30-3-0 when leading after the first period, including playoffs, the second-best record in the league.

  • They were 38-8-2, the league’s third-best record when scoring first.

  • They had blown only 11 leads all season, none in the playoffs.

  • They were 44-3-1 in games where they led by two goals or more.

Combine all that with Toronto having won all 11 of its previous best-of-seven series when taking a 2-0 lead at home, Florida being 0-5 in series where it dropped both Games 1 and 2, and leaguewide, teams facing 0-2 deficits come back to win those series only about 14% of the time.

But Marchand — a longtime Toronto playoff nemesis from his days in Boston — got the biggest goal of Florida’s season, rendering all those numbers moot for now.

The Leafs got two goals that deflected in off of Panthers defensemen: Tavares’ second goal nicked the glove of Gustav Forsling on its way past Bobrovsky for a 3-1 lead, and Rielly’s goal redirected off Seth Jones’ leg to tie it with 9:04 left in the third.

Knies scored 23 seconds into the game, the second time Toronto had a 1-0 lead in the first minute of this series. Tavares made it 2-0 at 5:57 and just like that, the Panthers were in trouble.

A diving Barkov threw the puck at the night and saw it carom in off a Toronto stick to get Florida on the board — only for Tavares to score again early in the second for a 3-1 Leafs lead.

Florida needed a break. It came.

Reinhart was credited with a goal after Woll thought he covered up the puck following a scrum in front of the net. But after review, it was determined the puck had crossed the line. Florida had life, the building was loud again and about a minute later, Verhaeghe tied it at 3-3.

Gadjovich made it 4-3 late in the second, before Rielly tied it midway through the third.

Continue Reading

Sports

Vegas’ Roy dodges suspension for G2 cross-check

Published

on

By

Vegas' Roy dodges suspension for G2 cross-check

NEW YORK — Vegas Golden Knights forward Nicolas Roy was fined but not suspended Friday for cross-checking the Edmonton OilersTrent Frederic in the face in overtime of Game 2 of the teams’ second-round playoff series.

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced the fine of $7,813, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement, after a disciplinary hearing with him.

Roy attempted to play the puck while it was airborne but made contact with Frederic’s head instead, resulting in a laceration for the Oilers forward.

Frederic briefly exited the game before making a quick return to the ice. Edmonton, however, failed to capitalize on the ensuing five-minute power play but won not long after on a goal by Leon Draisaitl from Connor McDavid.

Vegas trails the best-of-seven series 2-0 with Game 3 on Saturday night at Edmonton.

Information from The Associated Press and Field Level Media was used in this report.

Continue Reading

Trending