Manatee couple wins $2.1M suit

BRADENTON — A Bradenton couple won a $2.1 million judgment in a Manatee County personal injury case.

Personal injury attorneys Scott Kallins and Melton Little, from Kallins, Little & Delgado, a firm with offices in Bradenton, Palmetto and Sarasota, represented the plaintiffs, William and Debra Hassall.

The case, heard by a jury over three days in Manatee County Court, involved an accident from Oct. 28, 2009, according to a release. William Hassall, then 50, was walking his puppy that day on 71st Street West in Bradenton when a car driven by local resident Norris Pile, then 72, struck him, the release states.

Hassall, according to Kallins and Little, received severe and permanent injuries to his upper left extremities in the accident. The injuries required two surgeries, and he might need a third one. The puppy, 6 months old, was also injured and needed surgery.

The jury determined Pile was 100% at fault, the release states.