Article Courtesy of Local 10
News
By Jeff Weinsier
Published May 24, 2018
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MIRAMAR - A snake bite cost a woman her leg and a Miramar homeowners association
millions of dollars.
A University of Florida study found that venomous water moccasins are more
likely to be encountered in the area around Silver Shores than in the
Everglades.
"Yeah, people talk about the snakes," one
resident leaving the gated community told Local 10 News
investigative reporter Jeff Weinsier.
"When it rains, they come out a lot," Alex Belo said.
Belo lives on the water and said he can barely go outside
because of the snake situation behind his home.
Silver Shores is located just west of Interstate 75 on
Pembroke Road.
Several of the homes back up to an undeveloped mitigation
area. It's the perfect natural habitat for water moccasins
to thrive.
According to a UF snake study, the chance of a water
moccasin encounter occurring in Silver Shores is 8.6 times
higher than in the Everglades, Big Cypress or Loxahatchee.
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The victim's leg was eventually amputated below the
knee.
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When UF researchers kayaked and walked around the area,
they encountered 69 venomous snakes during their three visits.
"The study done by the University of Florida, to me, was incredibly
revealing," Ron Magill, of Zoo Miami, said.
Magill was an expert witness in a case filed against Silver Shores Master
Association and KW Property Management after a resident was bitten.
"People definitely need to be careful of this now. Snakes are coming out
now, especially with the rains," Magill said.
Attorney Brent Reitman and partner Joseph Slama reached a $5 million
settlement with the HOA and the property management company.
Their client, a Silver Shores resident, was headed outside when a water
moccasin hiding in the track of her sliding glass door bit her big toe.
The 37-year-old victim's leg eventually had to be amputated below the knee
as a result, the attorneys said.
Slama and Reitman said their client was never warned about the severe snake
issue in her backyard, despite letters and complaints from residents.
They said the issue was discussed several times at board meetings.
The attorneys said the mitigation area that backs up to residents' homes is
owned and maintained by the Silver Shores Master Association.
"They had been getting complaints from residents as early as three years
before this happened to our client," Reitmen said.
"They simply denied that there was a problem," Slama said.
Magill said the snakes won't chase people down, and there are ways to
prevent getting bitten.
"They will go under things like potted plants, they will go under things
like grills, they will go under things like garbage cans -- anything that
they can get under to get shelter and be protected, that is where they will
be," Magill said.
"What's the message to other homeowners associations that may have a similar
problem?" Weinsier asked Slama.
"If you became aware of the presence of venomous snakes in your community,
just get the message out," he said.
An attorney for KW Property Management said the company was not negligent
and did nothing wrong. Attorney Frank Simone said the victim was bitten by a
wild animal, and the association is restricted in what it can do in the
undeveloped mitigation area.
Simone said insurance companies settle cases to cap their financial
exposure.
Regardless, warning signs have now been put up in the area, warning
residents of the potential dangers. The victim has since moved away from the
area.
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