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.
This is not the first incident of a car smashing through this convenience store, which is a national chain. Since 2009, there have been at least 140 crashes at this chain’s storefronts and at least 80 at various locations of its sister company.
Bernardo Pimentel II, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Attorney, was able to prove that the store left its customers vulnerable by not taking the basic steps to protect customers from an event that has taken place at its stores repeatedly.
Premises Liability Cases
Leesfield & Partners has handled thousands of cases of premises liability in areas such as hotel accidents, accidents on government properties, cases of carbon monoxide poisoning, theme park accidents, and falls and fractures. Premises liability is a term referring to the duty a property owner has to keep the area safe for guests or a licensee from dangers of which they should be aware.
One such example can be found in a Leesfield & Partners case in which a man visiting a friend’s apartment was left paralyzed after a balcony railing broke, leaving him to fall from the second story to the concrete. The incident left the man paralyzed from the shins down. An investigation by attorneys revealed that the property owner consistently cut corners to save money with no thought for tenant safety. Despite numerous complaints from renters and knowing about the safety issue, the owner did not hire inspectors to properly examine or repair the shaky railings.
Due to the property owner’s negligence, this man sustained life-altering and devastating injuries. Leesfield & Partners attorneys were able to secure a $7 million award for the man in that case.
Partner Justin B. Shapiro secured another recent premises liability settlement in the case of a woman who shattered her ankle in three places after the townhome community where she was visiting did not stabilize a concrete stepping stone that gave way beneath her. Before the fall, the woman, a special education teacher and mother of two, was an active community member and an avid walker. Since the devastating incident, she has lived in constant pain and even standing while teaching has become difficult. Shapiro secured a $525,000 award for the woman.
Automobile Crash Litigation
In addition to premises liability, Leesfield & Partners attorneys have decades of experience litigating automobile and crash cases. After decades of watching the catastrophic effects that distracted and impaired driving can have on clients and their families, Leesfield & Partners’ Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, has become a staunch advocate for public safety through The Leesfield Family Foundation.
Mr. Leesfield has opposed the use of E-bikes and E-scooters without insurance and or helmet requirements since these transportation devices became popularized and has worked with public safety organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Friends of The Underline. In 2023, Mr. Leesfield was brought onto the Board of Directors for The Underline, an organization that aims to improve pedestrian safety and create community gathering spaces in the 10 miles of previously unused space beneath Miami’s Metrorail system.
In addition to charitable work, the firm’s attorneys have worked diligently over the last 48 years to ensure the best possible outcome for clients injured in automobile crashes on Florida roads.
Attorneys recovered $8.5 million following a $27 million arbitration award for a Toronto family who lost a wife and mother of two young children while visiting Fort Myers on vacation. The mother was attempting to cross the street when she was hit by a pickup truck driver who claimed to not have seen the woman.
Another woman who was walking in a marked crosswalk while on a break from work was severely injured by a driver making an illegal turn. The woman suffered skull fractures and brain hemorrhages as a result of the incident. The driver also drove over the woman’s left leg and body.
Attorneys with the firm secured a $6 million settlement for the woman in less than months of the crash.
A recovery of $2.9 million was secured by Leesfield & Partners for a pedestrian hit by a negligent driver.
The firm also obtained over $1.3 million for the family of a pedestrian who was tragically and needlessly killed by another negligent driver.
Another pedestrian, who was walking on a sidewalk at the time of a horrific crash, was hit by a driver who was distracted by their cell phone. Attorneys with the firm secured a $1.5 million settlement for the client in that case.
In the case of a child who was hit by a car while crossing the street in Fort Lauderdale, Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured a $1.2 million settlement.