Florida Jury Awards $2.7 Million in a Negligence lawsuit
Table of Contents
Case Background
The Plaintiffs, Juan Carranza and Tesla Aguilar Umana de Carranza brought a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade County, Florida. They sued AMAYA Landscaping Maintenance and Lawn Care, Inc., the corporation they hold responsible; Francisco Aliaga Salazar, the Amaya employee who operated the vehicle; and Ascendant Commercial Insurance, Inc., the company that insured Amaya's commercial vehicle. The Plaintiffs alleged negligence against the driver and the landscaping company, holding the company vicariously liable for its employee's actions, and they separately accuse the insurance company of third-party bad faith in handling their claim.
Cause
The traumatic incident occurred on August 31, 2023, on Old Cutler Road near Tibidabo Avenue in Coral Gables. The Carranzas drove their vehicle northbound when they encountered a 2013 Isuzu NPR Truck pulling a utility trailer, which belonged to Amaya Landscaping and was being operated by Francisco Aliaga Salazar. As the Amaya truck travelled southbound, one of its tires violently detached from the vehicle and crossed the roadway. The heavy, runaway tire then slammed directly into the Carranzas' vehicle. The Carranzas assert that both Amaya and Salazar acted negligently by failing to properly maintain and inspect the truck and its tires, directly causing the severe and preventable collision.
Injury
Both Juan Carranza and Tesla Aguilar Umana De Carranza alleged various bodily injuries from the subject accident. Juan Carranza sustained injuries to his neck and back. These included a disc herniation at the L4/5 and L5/S1 vertebral levels.
Tesla Aguilar Umana De Carranza also sustained injuries to her neck and back. Her injuries included a disc herniation at C5/6. Ms. Aguilar underwent a cervical epidural injection in September 2023. Ms. Aguilar's records also reflected renal insufficiency as a comorbidity. A physician, Dr. Gomez, opined that this comorbidity would limit the use of corticosteroid medication.
Damages
The Plaintiffs specifically sought to recover for past and future medical expenses, past lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, and all forms of non-economic damages including pain and suffering. The complaint noted that Mr. Carranza's medical bills exceeded $60,000.00 and Ms. Aguilar's medical bills exceeded $26,000.00. Furthermore, the Plaintiffs included a claim against Ascendant Commercial Insurance, Inc., alleging that the insurer wrongfully refused to tender the Combined Single Limit (CSL) of $100,000.00 during pre-suit demands, and sought recovery for all resulting damages from that alleged refusal.
KEY ARGUMENTS & PROCEEDINGS
Legal Representation
Plaintiff: Juan Carranza | Tesla Aguilar Umana De Carranza
· Counsel for Plaintiff: Donald Guerrazzi
· Plaintiff Expert Witness: Bernad Francis Pettingill | Heldo Gomez | Julianne Frain
Defendant: Amaya Landscaping Maintenance and Lawn Care, Inc. | Francisco Aliaga Salazar | Ascendant Commercial Insurance Inc
· Counsel for Defendant: Jamie J Baca | James D Gassenheimer | Fred O. Goldberg | James D. McGuire
Key Remarks By The Counsel
Claims
Prior to the lawsuit, the Plaintiffs had demanded a tender of the Combined Single Limit (CSL) of $100,000.00 from Ascendant Insurance. Plaintiffs alleged that Ascendant and its representative were unnecessarily preventing them from resolving their claims. The Plaintiffs asserted claims of negligence against both corporate Defendant Amaya and individual Defendant Salazar. Plaintiffs alleged the Defendants’ negligence directly caused their injuries. They specifically sought to recover for past and future medical expenses, past lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, and all forms of non-economic damages.
A key part of the claim against Ascendant Insurance was based on the pre-suit demand. The Plaintiffs alleged that Ascendant wrongfully refused to tender its policy limits. They sought recovery for all resulting damages following the alleged wrongful refusal.
Defense
The Defendants denied the Plaintiffs' allegations of negligence and liability. The insurer, Ascendant, had previously inquired about a prior August 2022 accident involving Mr. Carranza and defended stated that the previous accidents were the cause of Plaintiff's injuries.
Jury Verdict
The jury returned a $2,700,809 verdict on July 25, 2025, in favor of Plaintiff Juan Carranza in a negligence lawsuit against Amaya Landscaping Maintenance and Lawn Care, Inc., its employee Francisco Aliaga Salazar, and insurer Ascendant Commercial Insurance, Inc. The verdict established that the Defendants' negligence in an unspecified "subject accident" caused a permanent injury to Mr. Carranza, specifically disc herniations in his neck and back.