Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg

Published on: September 30, 2024

U.S. Postal Service Ranks Florida by Dog Attacks. Where Does Your City Fall on the List?

It’s a tale as old as time in cartoons, commercials and movies – Dog meets Postal Carrier. Dog chases Postal Carrier. Postal Carrier requests a neighborhood transfer.

As comedic as the bitter feud between man’s best friend and postal carriers might be in theory, for many mail carriers across the nation, it is a very real threat. Data from the U.S. Postal Service shows there were approximately 193 attacks on these employees from pets in 2023 alone.

In 2022, 61-year-old Pamela Jane Rock, a Florida mail carrier, was mauled to death by five dogs while on the job. The incident happened on Aug. 21, 2022, in Putnam County in northern Florida. Rock’s vehicle had broken down and she was delivering mail on foot when she was descended upon by five dogs.

Published on: September 30, 2024

Leesfield & Partners Attorneys Secure Confidential Settlement in case of mother and 5-year-old injured after a car crashed through Discount Store

By Leesfield & Partners

Leesfield & Partners attorneys recently secured a confidential settlement for a woman and her 5-year-old son after a car drove into the Florida discount store where they waited at the checkout line.

While the mother and son were waiting with other customers to pay for their items, a car came crashing through the store. The mother was able to pull her child out of the way but not before the crash tore through his right ankle, causing severe lacerations to an artery and tendons that required several invasive surgeries. As a result of the incident, the child had to undergo six different procedures in three weeks.

Not only did the convenience store not have concrete security bollards installed at its entrance, but large cardboard boxes stacked up against the front of the store blocked the customers’ view, leaving them unaware of the approaching car until it was too late.

Published on: September 23, 2024

Broward Teen Charged in Friend’s Accidental Shooting Death, police say

By Leesfield & Partners

One teen charged, another killed after the two were playing with a loaded gun at an apartment in Broward County, officials say.

The incident happened around 2:30 p.m. Monday. The teen who was hit was identified by police in reporting by The Miami Herald as 16-year-old Christopher Granados. He was taken to the hospital by emergency responders where he was pronounced dead.

The other boy involved in the incident, who was not named, was charged Tuesday with manslaughter.

Published on: September 17, 2024

Apple Juices Recalled in Nationwide Stores for Elevated Levels of this Chemical, FDA says. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

Apple juice sold under numerous brands at stores all over the country, including Walmart, Aldi, BJ’s and others, is under FDA recalls over concerns of potentially harmful levels of arsenic, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The recall comes after an FDA report that included almost 10,000 cases of Great Value 100% Apple Juice that “contains inorganic arsenic above action level set in guidance to industry.”

A total of 133,500 cases of juice were recalled on Monday that had been sold under various brand names. In June 2023, the FDA made changes to its Final Guidance to Industry on Action Level for Inorganic Arsenic in Apple Juice. The current action level is 10 parts per billion (ppb).

Published on: September 10, 2024

Child dies after being hit by car outside of Miami pharmacy

By Leesfield & Partners

A 7-year-old pedestrian who was hit by an elderly driver while walking outside of a Miami pharmacy with her mother has died, officials announced over the weekend.

The girl was walking outside the pharmacy, located at Southwest 32nd Avenue and 22nd Street, on Sept. 2 around 4:30 p.m. when a 92-year-old woman in a Nissan SUV drove up onto the sidewalk and hit her. Police told local news outlets the woman was attempting to park when she hit her accelerator instead of the brakes.

The girl was taken to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital with head injuries. The woman who was driving was previously cited for careless driving and police told local reporters that further charges were possible. The child’s death is still under investigation.

Published on: September 10, 2024

One dead, two others injured after golf cart clams into propane truck over the weekend, cops say

By Leesfield & Partners

A man died after he lost control of his golf cart in Fort Myers and crashed into a propane truck Saturday, injuring his passenger and the driver of the truck, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

The crash happened around 11 a.m. Saturday on Winkler Road. Officials with Florida Highway Patrol told reporters that the man was driving the golf cart south when he “left the road, overcorrected” and swerved into oncoming traffic, hitting a propane truck traveling in the opposite direction.

The golf cart driver, 44, was pronounced dead at the scene while his passenger, a 30-year-old man, was injured along with the driver of the propane truck. Both had minor injuries, according to local reporting.

Published on: September 6, 2024

Leesfield & Partners secured over $1.8 million for a man left with debilitating pain after a fall at a Florida vacation rental

By Leesfield & Partners

Justin B. Shapiro, a Partner and Trial Lawyer with Leesfield & Partners, secured a $1,824,327 record settlement for a client whose fall left his pelvic bone so shattered doctors said the fragments resembled “bread crumbs.”

In an article published in the Daily Business Review, Mr. Shapiro told reporters that within the first hour of speaking with this client he could tell the man was a wonderful person and decided to take on the case, which two law firms had already rejected, because “when we dig in, we don’t stop until our client is made whole.”

“We turned an enormously challenging case into a seven-figure recovery,” he said. “I’m proud to say that I don’t know of any settlement or verdict in Florida larger than this for a fall in a shower.”

Published on: September 5, 2024

Girl hit by Car Over Labor Day Weekend Outside Miami Pharmacy Still in Critical Condition

By Leesfield & Partners

A girl, 7, who was hit by a car while walking with her mother outside of a Miami pharmacy Monday remains hospitalized in critical condition, officials say.

The incident happened around 4 p.m. at a Navarro Pharmacy on SW 32nd Ave. and 22nd St. when a 92-year-old woman in a Nissan SUV allegedly drove onto the sidewalk. Police told local news outlets that the woman was attempting to park her car when she mistakenly stepped on the accelerator.

The woman was cited for driving recklessly and further charges are possible, police told reporters.

Published on: September 4, 2024

Woman killed in ATV accident that sent herself, one other careening into Miami canal, officials say

By Leesfield & Partners

A woman died after she and another woman lost control of an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) resulting in them plunging into a nearby canal, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

Police told the newspaper that the crash happened around 1 p.m. Thursday near Southwest 112th Street and 157th Avenue. Both were rescued from the water and one was said to be in critical condition. That woman was taken to West Kendall Baptist Hospital where she later died.

Information about whether the second woman was injured or whether police believe the crash to be caused by operator or mechanical error was not immediately available Friday.

Published on: September 4, 2024

Police find Body Found in North Miami Nursing Home with Missing Patient. What Happened?

By Leesfield & Partners

A body was found in a closet at the same Miami nursing home from where a 71-year-old man was reported missing, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

Police were called out to the North Dade Nursing and Rehabilitation Center around 10:30 a.m. Monday morning. The man who had been staying at the nursing home following a brain aneurysm was reported missing on Aug. 22.

Family members of the missing man told reporters with NBC South Florida that they believe the body found in the closet is that of their grandfather. The family claims they were told he signed a document refusing medical help. When they asked to see it, the family said the facility refused.