Car Accident

Published on: August 5, 2024

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles issues statewide alert as part of awareness campaign for child safety

Florida public safety partners have banded together to create a “Safe Start to the New School Year with Awareness” campaign ahead of the scheduled return to classes across the state in mid-August, according to a Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles press release.

As parents, educators and students alike prepare for the return to school for the 2024-25 school year, FLHSMV and other agencies have begun a campaign to raise awareness around school bus, school zone and crosswalk safety as well as other initiatives to ensure that children can get to and from school safely. With the help of surveys, citation data and safety tips, these groups aim to shed light on the public safety issue.

In the data released by the FLHSMV, there were 11,224 illegal passes of school buses. The data was gathered in a survey of school bus operators by the Florida Department of Education. This was the same year that the Florida legislature passed House Bill 0657 and Senate Bill 0766 which authorized local jurisdictions to implement and operate school zone speed detection systems and school bus passing infraction detection systems. As of 2021, the penalties for passing a stopped bus on the side where children enter and exit doubled as well as the penalties for failing to stop for a school bus.

Published on: July 29, 2024

Florida driver faces charges after deadly crash Sunday

By Leesfield & Partners

A Florida driver is facing felony charges after police say he was driving drunk, causing a fiery crash that killed the other driver.

The crash happened around 3 a.m. Sunday between a Dodge Durango and a Chevy Silverado pickup truck in Pasco County. The driver of the Dodge was going the wrong way down State Road 56 when he crashed “nearly head-on” with the pickup truck, according to Florida Highway Patrol. Following the crash, the pickup truck overturned and caught fire. The driver of that vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man driving the Dodge Durango and at least one other passenger in that car were taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The man was charged with DUI manslaughter and DUI property damage following his release from the hospital, officials said.

Published on: July 18, 2024

Pedestrian hit, killed while walking with children by two cars in Ohio, officials say. As more cars are on the road, it’s important to stay vigilant.

By Leesfield & Partners

An Ohio grandmother was struck July 8 by a car backing out of a driveway, then a passing SUV, resulting in the woman’s death.

The woman, 72, was walking down the sidewalk with two children, a toddler and a 7-year-old, around 11:30 a.m. when a car backed out of the driveway. A passing SUV also hit the grandmother. She sustained fatal injuries while the toddler had minor injuries, according to reporting from local news outlets. The 7-year-old was not injured.

The grandmother is being hailed a hero online by family members who said in a post honoring her that the children, who are her great-grandchildren, were “still here because of her.”

Published on: May 31, 2024

Two boys lauded as heroes after rescuing Broward County man who drove into a canal Wednesday.

By Leesfield & Partners

Florida drivers are no rookies when it comes to navigating roads near waterways, yet there is always the chance that an accident can happen. It is what causes Florida drivers – typically known for their boisterous control over a car’s horn and general disregard for road safety or state traffic laws – to slow down, lower their windows as they pass or carry a compact window hammer for emergencies. However, even with every precaution taken, there are times when a driver loses control of their car and the unthinkable can happen.

Two teen boys in Broward County experienced just that around 9 p.m. Wednesday when a man lost control of his car and drove into a canal on McNab Road, according to reporting from WSVN Miami. The boys were across the parking lot from the canal near a Dollar Tree when they saw a man in a pickup truck go into the water. The teens launched into action and jumped onto the hood of the car to get the man, who was unconscious, out of the vehicle.

The driver was later taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Published on: May 29, 2024

Bus driver allegedly impaired during high schoolers’ Memorial Day weekend trip to Daytona Beach faces charges. Safety on the road is crucial

By Leesfield & Partners

A driver taking 36 people, including high schoolers and their parents, on a road trip Saturday has been accused of being impaired while operating the vehicle, according to reporting from the Miami Herald.

The driver, who was identified Tuesday evening as Keith Edward Shifflett, 55, was taking the passengers from Bradenton to Daytona Beach as part of Project Graduation, an alcohol-and-drug-free event organized for students who are graduating. The students, some of whom were still under 18 years old at the time of the incident, came from Sebring High School in Highland County, Florida.

According to local reporting, the driver is accused of driving “recklessly” while running three red lights and ignoring pleas from passengers begging him to stop. Shifflett only stopped when a parent on the trip driving in a separate car got in front of the bus to block it. Shifflett was charged with 30 counts of culpable negligence and four counts of child abuse without great bodily harm.

Published on: May 21, 2024

Miami Trolley Hits Man Trying to Retrieve Bicycle in Little Havana, police say. Are pedestrian deaths on the rise?

By Leesfield & Partners

Any pedestrian crossing the street on U.S. 1 or trekking down the sidewalk on Kendall Drive during rush hour knows to remain vigilant. Drivers in Miami have been known to text behind the wheel, speed, take traffic laws as suggestions and honk when unnecessary. The joke that Miami’s distracted drivers don’t know what they are doing is shared among coworkers, friends and grocery store clerks alike with a disapproving shake of their heads.

It is only when there is a horrific and violent crash that cannot be undone that the chuckling stops and people are reminded of just how dangerous the roads can be.

What happened?

Published on: May 21, 2024

Ocala driver charged after driving drunk in crash that killed 8, injured 38. How Leesfield & Partners does its part to fight for families and eradicate the prevalence of impaired drivers on the road.

By Leesfield & Partners

People all over the world rely on public transportation to get them where they need to go every day. They go to work, school and are expected to come home safely. Sadly, that was not the case for at least 46 people last week in Marion County after a bus rollover crash killed eight farm workers on board and injured 38 others.

According to a statement from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, there were 53 people aboard a bus just before 7 a.m. on May 14 when it had a sideswipe crash with a 2001 Ford Ranger private truck. The bus went off the road following the crash, through a fence and later rolled over.

At least eight of the 38 passengers who were injured were reported to be in critical condition, according to the Miami Herald. The driver of the truck involved in the incident, 41-year-old Bryan Maclean Howard, of Ocala, was charged Tuesday with eight counts of driving under the influence and manslaughter. Details on the name of the transportation company that operated the bus in the crash were not immediately available.

Published on: June 30, 2022

$95 million verdict – Leesfield & Partners Obtains Largest Motor Vehicle Accident Verdict in Miami-Dade County’s history

By Leesfield & Partners

Miami, June 2022 – Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured a record-setting verdict on behalf of clients, a family whose daughter was killed and son incapacitated by a drunk driver who was overserved at a popular Miami bar. While the reading of the jury’s verdict gave the family the satisfaction of knowing that some justice was served, it could do nothing to change the cruel reality of two broken-hearted parents who have lost everything.

While on their way to drop their daughter off at the airport for a flight to medical school orientation, the family car was hit head-on by a drunk driver speeding in the wrong direction on I-95. Their daughter, 23, was killed in the crash, and their son, 21, suffered catastrophic brain and orthopedic injuries, leaving him in a wheelchair, unable to speak, and requiring round-the-clock care for the rest of his life. The drunk driver had spent the night and early morning bar hopping and getting obliterated before making the terrible and fateful decision to get behind the wheel.

At trial, the Miami jury was visibly moved by Dad when he took the stand and tried to explain in his own words the unimaginable agony, grief, and struggle to carry on that he and his entire family wrestle with every day. Dad, who moved to America with his daughter and son when they were 6 and 4, shared with the jury that everything he and his wife did in life from the moment on was to make sure their children had every opportunity possible.

Published on: May 4, 2016

Legal Tip #1 – Special Jury Instruction on “Medically Unnecessary / Unreasonable” Treatment

By Leesfield & Partners

Car_crash_2 Suppose you are injured in an automobile collision caused by a negligent driver. You then go to a duly-licensed physician for medical care. You certainly trust your physician and her dedication to the well-being of her patients. Ultimately, your physician provides treatment and even surgery. Down the road of litigation, the negligent driver’s attorney claims that the surgery you underwent was medically unnecessary or unreasonable. Assuming this treatment was “unreasonable,” should you be on the hook to pay for it? Is it your fault if your physician provided unnecessary treatment by mistake or for financial gain? Of course not!

The Florida Supreme Court (Stuart v. Hertz Corporation) established long ago that a negligent party who injures another is liable not only for the resulting injuries, but is also liable for any medical negligence stemming from services of a competent physician. This principle has been reaffirmed many times and even extended by Florida Courts to hold negligent parties liable for improper and unnecessary medical treatment performed by an allegedly unscrupulous physician.

Published on: October 1, 2013

Florida bans texting while driving – Law in effect October 1, 2013

By Leesfield & Partners

On October 1, 2013, the first law banning texting while driving comes into effect in the State of Florida. This law is a half step in the right direction, but a half step nevertheless.

The Florida legislator has advocated for a ban on cell phone use while driving for several years. The best compromise Tallahassee was able to reach has essentially pulled the teeth of the new law. We described in detail the shortcomings of the new piece of legislation in our previous articles on the topic:

Florida’s ban on texting while driving – A toothless law in need of more bite!