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Miami, FL— Attorneys Tuesday debated who was responsible for the bicycle accident that severely injured a Florida woman’s arm, as trial opened against Miami-Dade County and a security company tasked with overseeing a subdivision exit gate. LaTour, et al. v. Miami-Dade County, et al., 2018-CA-000853.
Lourdes LaTour was struck by a descending security gate arm and thrown from her bicycle as she was leaving Gables by the Sea, a South Florida subdivision, in November 2017. The fall broke LaTour's arm, which required multiple surgeries to treat and has left her with permanent nerve damage.
LaTour and her husband, Edward LaTour, who was bicycling with her at the time, claim Miami-Dade County, which is responsible for the roadways entering and leaving the subdivision, and US Security Associates, Inc., which is responsible for overseeing and maintaining the gate arm, are responsible.
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During Tuesday’s openings, Searcy Denney’s Matthew Schwencke, representing the LaTours, told jurors there were insufficient warnings against bicyclists using the gate. He added that the gate’s sensors should not have triggered to open for bicycles, in any event.
“Here’s the deal: the automatic gate should never open for motorcycles or bicycles,” Schwencke told jurors, noting that evidence would show the sensors, which are triggered by metal passing over them, were dangerously sensitive, potentially being triggered by as little metal as what might be in a clipboard. “It’s not supposed to do that. Why? Because of exactly what happened to Mrs. LaTour.”
But Miami-Dade County contends it was never notified of the malfunctioning gate arm. And it claims cyclists were sufficiently warned not to use the gate.
In her opening, the county’s attorney, Keri Bagala, highlighted signage at the scene, including symbols showing bicycles should not pass under the gate arm and a warning on the arm indicating it was only for automotive traffic.
“There’s no disputing that they were there. But they failed to take note of that. They failed to look at them, and they failed to read them,” Bagala said. “And they failed to follow them.”
Wilson Elser’s Roberto Ureta, representing US Security Associates, agreed, adding that the LaTours had visited the subdivision more than 100 times, and that, at the time of the accident, Lourdes LaTour had waited between 30 seconds and one minute for the gate arm to open, long enough to allow her to see the arm's warning.
‘If Mrs. LaTour would have heeded the warning on the gate arm, which she certainly should have seen,” Ureta said, “this accident wouldn’t have happened.”
Trial is expected to last into next week.
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