Rafi Law Firm Represents Plaintiff in $1.7 Million Lawsuit from Gas Station Shooting
ATLANTA, Oct. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Last week, a Fulton County State Court jury returned a $1,700,000 million verdict in favor of a man who was shot at a gas station in southwest Atlanta on November 1, 2015. Rafi Law Firm, an Atlanta-based personal injury law firm with offices in Midtown Atlanta and College Park, Georgia, represented the Plaintiff.
According to the Complaint, Plaintiff Daniel Rosebud was a passenger in a car driven by a friend of his. Video footage from the gas station showed a group of men had been loitering outside the gas station for approximately twenty-five minutes before Plaintiff arrived. Plaintiff's friend went into the gas station's convenience store while he waited in the car. When the friend returned to the car, he was confronted by an unknown man that had been loitering, and the friend and unknown man both pulled out guns and shot at each other.
Plaintiff was shot in the abdomen in the crossfire, and immediately taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. Plaintiff had emergency surgery to remove the bullet, spent a week in the hospital, and amassed more than $105,000 in medical bills. Plaintiff spent four months recovering, and by the time of trial, was back to work and almost completely healed.
At trial, gas station employees testified the group of men should not have been outside the gas station's convenience store. Store employees testified they knew of two or three prior shootings at the gas station: one that was three days before Plaintiff was shot and another shooting approximately six months prior.
A former employee testified he told his supervisor the guys that hung-out had guns and sold drugs, but management told him it would be "bad for business" to make the men leave. "The gas station had been warned over and over by police, customers, and employees that the guys who hung-out at the gas station were dangerous, but they ignored the warnings," said Plaintiff's trial attorney Michael Rafi.
According to Mr. Rafi, Plaintiff settled with the gas station's landlord before trial. The gas station's largest pre-trial offer was just $50,000.
On Thursday, October 5, 2017, the jury awarded $1,718,367.46 for Plaintiff's injury. Rafi worked closely with his client, his doctors, family, and friends to show the jury how this shooting had changed Plaintiff's life. "Our client's life drastically changed after the shooting. Thankfully, he is now back to being himself, but the jury's award shows they understood Mr. Rosebud had a long and tough recovery."
The jury found the gas station was 66% responsible and the two men who had the gunfight were each 17% responsible. The jury concluded the Plaintiff and the landlord were not at-fault.
"My hope is this verdict will tell businesses that when there is danger on their property, they must do something – they cannot ignore repeated warnings."
About Rafi Law Firm:
Rafi Law Firm is a Georgia personal injury firm that handles wrongful death, serious injury, negligent security, premises liability, trucking, and commercial motor vehicle cases. Rafi Law Firm works on contingency fee agreements, meaning there are no attorney fees unless clients recover. For more about the firm, please visit rafilawfirm.com or call 404-800-9933.
SOURCE Rafi Law Firm
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