Case Background
On a clear morning in November 2023, what began as a routine walk for an Aventura resident ended in a violent collision and a high-stakes legal battle in the Miami-Dade County Courts. Fanny Dorfman set out at approximately 9:45 a.m. to walk her dog, navigating the familiar intersection of Yacht Club Way and Turnberry Way. At the same time, 90-year-old Isaac Hidary operated a 2021 Lexus ES350 nearby. As Dorfman entered the crosswalk, the paths of the pedestrian and the motorist crossed with devastating results.
Cause
The incident occurred when Isaac Hidary attempted to execute a left turn at the intersection. According to the legal filings, Hidary failed to observe a stop sign, driving his vehicle directly into Dorfman while she remained within the designated crosswalk. The impact carried significant force; the collision sent Dorfman flying through the air, where she eventually landed on the cement roughly ten feet away from the Lexus.
Injury
The aftermath of the crash left Dorfman immobile on the pavement, suffering from immediate and intense pain. Emergency responders transported her to the trauma unit at HCA Aventura. Her condition proved severe enough to require a prolonged hospital stay, as she remained under medical care for more than 20 days due to her injuries. The couple alleged that these injuries were permanent, resulting in a lasting loss of her capacity to enjoy life and necessitating ongoing medical attention.
Damages Sought
Fanny and Leopold Dorfman filed a two-count lawsuit seeking compensation for the physical and emotional toll of the accident. Fanny sought compensatory damages for her medical expenses, bodily injury, and mental anguish. Simultaneously, her husband, Leopold, filed a loss of consortium claim. He argued that the negligence of the Defendant deprived him of his wife’s companionship, services, and support, both in the past and into the future. The couple initially requested an amount exceeding $50,000, the jurisdictional threshold for the circuit Court.
Key Arguments and Proceedings
The litigation moved through the Florida 11th Judicial Circuit as both sides staked out their positions regarding who truly bore responsibility for the collision at the Aventura intersection.
Legal Representation
Plaintiff(s): Fanny Dorfman and Leopold Dorfman
Counsel for Plaintiff(s): Michael A. Goldfarb | Amanda Goldfarb of Goldfarb Law, P.A.
Experts for Plaintiff(s): Hoan Bui | Rolando Torres-Castro | Christian Gonzalez | David Krieger | Dominic Lewis | Ricky Lo | Heather Kahan | Vincenzo Giuliano | Joseph Inzinna
Defendant(s): Isaac Hidary
Counsel for Defendant(s): David Elijah Bradley | Juliana Patricia Millon | Inna Kreslavskaya
Experts for Defendant(s): Kevin O’Donnell | Michael S. Zeide
Key Arguments or Remarks by Counsel
The legal teams framed the dispute as a question of attentiveness and adherence to traffic safety laws. The Plaintiffs’ counsel focused on the Defendant’s alleged failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk. Conversely, the defense team sought to shift the focus toward the pedestrian's own behavior in the moments leading up to the impact.
Claims
The Plaintiffs centered their case on the assertion that Isaac Hidary breached his duty of care through multiple forms of negligence. They argued he operated his vehicle recklessly, failed to keep a safe distance, and ignored the stop sign. The complaint even raised the possibility that the driver might have been texting at the time of the accident. They maintained that these failures directly caused the "great bodily injury" and subsequent financial burden placed upon the Dorfman family.
Defense
Isaac Hidary and his counsel responded with a robust set of affirmative defenses aimed at reducing or eliminating his liability. The defense argued that Fanny Dorfman acted negligently herself. They specifically claimed that while other pedestrians waited at the stop sign, Dorfman alone continued forward without watching for oncoming vehicles. Under Florida’s comparative negligence laws, the defense asserted that if Dorfman were more than 50% at fault, she should be barred from any recovery. Furthermore, they argued that any potential award should be reduced by payments Dorfman received from collateral sources like insurance.
Jury Verdict
After considering the evidence presented regarding the 2023 accident, the jury reached a decision on 16th December 2025. The verdict form reflected a detailed breakdown of the compensation awarded to Fanny Dorfman for the various ways the accident altered her life.
Past and Future Medical Financials
The jury first addressed the concrete financial costs of the injury. They awarded Fanny Dorfman $45,000 for medical expenses she had already incurred since the date of the accident. Looking toward her ongoing recovery, the jury assigned an additional $75,000 to cover medical treatments she would likely require in the future.
Compensation for Pain and Suffering
The jury then evaluated the intangible "human" costs of the collision. For the pain, physical impairment, and mental anguish Dorfman endured from the time of the crash until the trial, the jury awarded $150,000. To compensate for the continued disability and loss of enjoyment of life she would face moving forward, they added another $70,000.
Final Judgment Total
When the Court tallied the figures for medical bills and personal suffering, the total damages for Fanny Dorfman amounted to $340,000. While the verdict form included a section for Leopold Dorfman’s loss of consortium claim, the specific amounts for his loss of comfort and services were left blank in the final recorded summary of the document, focusing the primary financial recovery on the injured pedestrian. The foreperson signed the verdict, concluding the legal chapter of the incident that occurred on that November morning two years prior.
Court Documents
