The Sun-Sentinel reports that a Fort Lauderdale family is suing the contractors and an unlicensed forklift operator for $25 million.
70-year-old James Zakos was driving his convertible Mercedes Benz with the top down along Fort Lauderdale Beach on November 17th. A forklift being driven by 30-year-old Ulises Mondragon entered the intersection, striking Zakos’ vehicle.
The forklift’s elevated forks jutted into traffic, ripping into Zakos’ car, and pierced a portion of his brain. He was rushed to a hospital and placed on life support but was later declared dead.
While on the scene of the accident, Mondragon allegedly told police that he did not have a driver’s license, nor did he have a permit to operate heavy machinery like the forklift.
The Zakos family is now seeking $25 million, naming several contractors and Mondragon himself in the suit. The lawsuit is demanding a jury trial.
The lawsuit claims that if the contracting company had completed a simple background check on Mondragon, they would have learned that he has been fired three times for driving without a license in Palm Beach County since 2011.
Mondragon currently has an immigration hold while he is in jail for failing to get a driver’s license along with felony leaving the scene of an accident with a fatality.
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