$6.8 Million: Wrongful Death/UM Case

Miami, Florida, July 11, 2000 – A jury awarded $6.8 Million in damages to Irma Alvarez for pain & suffering and other losses that resulted from her husband’s, Eloy Alvarez, death. Irma and Eloy were married for 33 years.

Eloy Alvarez is best remembered as the driver that was pulled out of a fiery tanker trunk that exploded on the 836 Dolphin Expressway near Miami International Airport on August 8, 1997, days after the memorable Fine Air Plane crash.

Eloy Alvarez was traveling westbound on the far right lane of state road 836, transporting gasoline in a tractor-trailer owned by his employer, Floval Oil Corporation, when a vehicle traveling on the far left, drove across three lanes of traffic and cut off Mr. Alvarez. Mr. Alvarez maneuvered to avoid striking the car, and in doing so lost control of the trailer, causing it to roll over and explode. The vehicle that caused the accident fled the scene. Two motorists who saw the explosion pulled Mr. Alvarez out of the truck. Mr. Alvarez suffered third degree burns to 49 percent of his body and remained in intensive care for 33 days before succumbing to multi-system organ failure. On September 10, 1997 at 3:15 p.m., Eloy Alvarez died.

Floval Oil Corporation provided Mr. Alvarez with insurance, which included $1 Million in uninsured motorist coverage. The insurance company, Ranger Insurance, offered less than $400,000 to Irma Alvarez and her disabled son. They claimed that there was not enough proof that another vehicle caused the crash and that the real negligence was on the part of the Florida Department of Transportation for designing defective highways and Mr. Alvarez for improper steering.

“The defendant was clearly trying to dodge responsibily”, said Ervin A. Gonzalez, attorney for Irma Alavarez. “When you pay for uninsured motorist protection, you expect your insurance company to honor the claim. We provided 4 eyewitnesses that saw a car cause the crash. That should have been enough proof. The jury agreed, finding Ranger Insurance 100% negligent”, said Gonzalez.