The Southwest Florida chef who fell one floor and was pinned beneath a car lift at a Naples dealership nearly three years ago says he has "shooting pain" almost daily.
Brian Roland described his daily struggle to cope physically and mentally in a deposition that's part of his ongoing lawsuit against several businesses and local government.
Roland case legal proceedings background
Roland and fellow employees of his company, Crave Culinaire , were catering a grand opening event at Ferrari of Naples, 112921 Tamiami Trail N., the night of Dec. 4, 2021, when he became pinned under the car lift, police reports said.
Roland and his wife, Nicole, in February 2023 sued the North Naples dealership and others in Collier County Circuit Court, seeking more than $100,000 in damages.
While on the lift, he fell through a 22-inch gap that existed between the end of the car lift platform and the wall, "where he landed on the ground floor of the car lift shaft," the lawsuit said.
"As Brian Roland laid unconscious on the ground floor the car lift descended and crushed him, pinning him between the car lift and the ground," the suit read.
Here's the latest in the case
New documents were made public Oct. 2, 2024, including transcribed depositions that included testimony of a witness, Emily Rose, and Roland.
The combined 191-page deposition begins with Rose, marketing manager at Ferrari of Naples in late 2021. The Rose deposition was recorded Sept. 21, 2023, while Roland's deposition was Oct. 26, 2023. Both depositions were taken in Naples.
What eyewitness said in deposition
Rose discussed in her deposition how she began with Ferrari of Naples as marketing manager for events like the one Roland and his Crave Culinaire team catered at the dealership that night.
She said the lift was to be used "to transport large supplies for the event to bring upstairs."
"There was loads of furniture, all different stuff for the event," Rose said.
Roland's attorney, Dena Foman, questioned Rose about issues her client had about that night, about "whether the car lift had lights in it."
"And based on email or Facebook messages that I provided to you, is it your understanding that Brian Roland was concerned about the lighting in that car lift prior to December 4th, 2021, event, correct?" Foman asked.
"Yes," Emily Rose r eplied.
She also was at the dealership the night when Roland fell.
"I was downstairs in the showroom, first floor showroom, and I was going upstairs to get something and at that point, I could see some commotion outside and was ― could hear him screaming," she said in the deposition.
Foman also asked Rose if she knew how long it took rescue workers to remove Roland from the lift.
"I don't recall the exact time, but I would say it would be somewhere between 30 minutes to an hour," she said.
Under cross-examination from one defendant's attorney, Rose said Roland "and/or" his catering staff had used the lift two times for events at the dealership prior to Dec. 4, 2021.
And on that night, the Crave Culinaire team was using the second floor as a food-prep space, court records show.
Brian Roland discusses loss of confidence in kitchen
In his deposition from nearly a year ago, Roland described how he lost confidence in cooking, the craft at which he made a comfortable living.
“I can’t stand on my feet for long periods of time right now," he said in the deposition.
"So for me to even think about going into a commercial kitchen, that limitation in itself and my knee pain and the pain I have associated with my foot and knee really limit my ability to be active and in the kitchen and standing up for long periods of time.”
He said he once cooked eggs and a steak, and even that is a challenge.
“And I’ve noticed a just significant change in the way I feel in the kitchen. I’ve lost a lot of confidence, and that ― I think that’s been a tough thing on me overall, but regarding cooking only, you know, I mean you’re dealing with fire and hot items and things like that, and I’m more concerned that I’m going to hurt myself sometimes.”
Other injuries, life after fall
Sometimes when he walks with his family in the neighborhood, if he overdoes it, he said: “I regret it later in the evening. I get throbbing. I get shooting pain.”
Pain includes his feet, left knee, hips and struggles sometimes with balance, he testified. He suffered injuries including broken bones, he fractured "almost every bone" in his body and had a brain injury, court records show.
“Because some days, like I said, I wake up and I feel good but some days I wake up and it’s throbbing and I’m in pain from the second I open my eyes, so it’s just the matter of how I’m feeling that day," he said.
Roland said “physically the pain comes and goes all day long, and sometimes I might start trying to do something, and then I have to sit down and take a break because I can’t do it. So Nicole might have to finish that day or I might just say, ‘Today’s not the day.’ “
He struggles with sense of smell, taste
When asked about his ability to taste and smell, Roland testified that initially both senses were "pretty significantly altered."
"And over time I have noticed a little of both coming back," he testified, "but today I'd say I'm still at only about 30 percent, 40 percent of what I was before."
As for his sense of taste ― essential for chefs ― Roland said he struggled with that.
" ... prior to the fall my palate and my sense of smell drove my success," he said in the October 2023 deposition. "So when everything became bland, I was kind of useless. I didn't feel like I had that ability anymore."
His catering business continues
The Bonita Springs-based Crave Culinaire continues to operate, although Roland said he doesn't talk at company events as "the face of Crave" because of speech issues. In addition to Southwest Florida, their business caters events in Tampa, Sarasota and Siesta Key, and has worked a few times in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and West Palm Beach, he said.
"My wife helped me articulate it best as my brain thinks faster than my mouth can speak," he said.
The night of the fall
Before the Dec. 4, 2021, event began, Roland said under cross-examination, two men showed him how to use the lift and he rode it from the first to second floor.
He also testified that he did not notice the 22-inch gap between the lift and the wall when the lift stopped on the second floor.
Brian Roland suit: Trial date set, what to know after chef injured at Ferrari of Naples
"There was a lot that I learned after the fact," Roland testified. "I mean, I was questioning everybody I came in contact with because, No. 1, I was confused why I was in the hospital. I didn't know why I was there, where I was or anything."
He asked his wife what happened and she didn't want to provide details because "they were pretty gruesome and she didn't think I was emotionally prepared for it," the deposition said.
Dave Osborn is the regional features editor of the Naples Daily News and News-Press. Follow him on Instagram and Threads @lacrossewriter and on X (formerly Twitter) @NDN_dosborn .
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: 'I could hear him screaming': Ferrari worker recalls Brian Roland's fall in deposition
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