A 2021 traffic collision in Holmes Beach may lead to civil penalties on top of potential prison time.
Judge Charles Sniffen of the 12th Circuit Court Dec. 7 granted plaintiff Jana Samuels’ motion for leave to amend her complaint to add punitive damages against Palmetto resident Michael Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald, 59, is facing a third-degree felony charge for his involvement in a collision Nov. 29, 2021, that left Samuels, 79, of Anna Maria, hospitalized with injuries.
The collision occurred in the 6800 block of Palm Drive in Holmes Beach when Fitzgerald — a delivery driver for New Port Richey-based Trulieve Inc., a chain of medical marijuana dispensaries — allegedly swerved into oncoming traffic and crashed into Samuels’ golf cart.
Samuels was hospitalized in critical condition at HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Bradenton, where she remained in the intensive care unit into February.
The incident left Samuels with multiple fractures in her right hand, right leg and back. She also suffered internal bleeding, head trauma and damage to her spleen, according to court documents.
Samuels’ family and legal representatives have otherwise declined to comment on her health since the collision.
Fitzgerald displayed signs of impairment during the incident, according to police reports, and allowed police to draw blood for drug and alcohol testing during medical treatment.
A Feb. 7, 2022, Florida Department of Law Enforcement laboratory report found Fitzgerald tested positive for THC, the primary psychoactive component in marijuana, and Alprazolam, a benzodiazepine drug used to treat anxiety and panic disorders.
Fitzgerald was arrested in April 2022 after the state attorney’s office issued a capias for his detainment. He was released the same day after posting a $1,500 bond.
Fitzgerald’s attorney, Thomas Hudson from the Sarasota-based Hudson Law Office, filed a plea of not guilty April 29 on behalf of his client.
Punishment for a third-degree felony includes up to five years in prison, five years probation and a $5,000 fine.
A jury trial for the criminal case is scheduled to begin June 5 at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
In the meantime, Samuels is seeking at least $30,000 in damages from Fitzgerald and Trulieve in civil court under claims of negligence, dangerous instrumentality and vicarious liability.
The complaint alleges that Samuels “suffered bodily injury and resulting pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life” due to the incident.
Samuels’ Aug. 4 motion for leave to amend her complaint to add a count for punitive damages includes quoted testimony from officers at the scene of the incident demonstrating evidence of Fitzgerald’s impairment.
Sniffen may believe Samuels has a winning case.
“The court finds that the plaintiff’s proffer of evidence in her motion, including the testimony of the investigating officer, the post-crash toxicology report, and the probable cause affidavit, provide a reasonable basis for recovery of punitive damages,” Sniffen wrote in his Dec. 7 order.
Sniffen also granted Samuels’ motion to compel discovery, which is the process of exchanging information between parties about the witnesses and evidence they will bring to trial.
Attorney Jamie McKean from St. Petersburg-based Miller Exantus filed a motion Dec. 22 on behalf of his client, Trulieve, to dismiss the fourth count in Samuels’ complaint, which targets Trulieve for negligence.
“Plaintiff’s complaint fails to assert any specific reason or basis to support the assertion that entrusting the subject vehicle to co-defendant was foolish or negligent,” the motion states.
Sniffen had not responded to the motion as of Dec. 29, according to the clerk of court’s website.
There were no hearings scheduled.