Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
A 51-year-old man who drowned Monday at Discovery Cove in Orlando is the second person to die after swimming in the property’s pool.
Emergency responders were called out to the resort, a theme park promising interactive activities with marine animals, for a call about a man who was found unresponsive in the pool. The man, who was reportedly a guest at the resort, was rushed to the hospital in critical condition but died later that night.
Just two months before on May 28, a 13-year-old girl was also found unresponsive in the pool at Discovery Cove, according to local reporting. The girl died at the hospital a day later.
Discovery Cove is the sister park of SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica Orlando. Last month a lawsuit was filed against SeaWorld and Aquatica after a woman said she was injured on one of the property’s waterslides in June 2023. In that case, the woman alleges that no lifeguards were monitoring the slides to prevent guests from crashing into one another on the way down. As a result, another adult guest “violently” collided with her on the slide, causing permanent injury, attorneys said in the lawsuit filing.
Leesfield & Partners
As a personal injury law firm in a state known for its sparkling waters and sunny days, Leesfield & Partners knows just how devastating these preventable deaths can be. In data released recently from the Florida Department of Health, the numbers showed that enough children under 5 years old die from accidental drowning each year they could fill approximately three to four preschool classrooms. Just as recently as last week, a young boy’s tragic drowning death made headlines in local news outlets after he was found unresponsive in a Miami-Dade County pool. In Broward County nearly a month before that, another boy, 8, was found in a neighbor’s pool.
Though drowning is the leading cause of death for children from 1 to 4 years old, these incidents are not solely targeted at children. The rate of drowning increased 28% from 2019 and 19% in adults from 65 to 74 years old, according to a report on accidental drownings in the United States from the Centers for Disease Control. These incidents, the numbers showed, are on the rise. About 4,500 people drowned in the United States from 2020 through 2022, an increase of approximately 500 people per year since 2019.
Of the thousands of wrongful death cases the firm has handled throughout the years, drowning is among one of the most prominent issues in South Florida. One such case handled by the firm is that of a man who drowned while snorkeling with his wife at the Dry Tortugas National Park in Monroe County. The park is home to the famed Fort Jefferson and boasts crystal clear waters to spot marine life.
Another tragic drowning case handled by Leesfield & Partners resulted in a $2.95 million lawsuit for a husband and father who lost his wife and two daughters, a 3-year-old and an 18-month-old.
A Texas woman represented by the firm was awarded $585,000 for the tragic death of her husband who drowned.
Another family was awarded $500,000 after their loved one was killed in a drowning incident aboard a cruise excursion.
A lawsuit filed earlier this year by Leesfield & Partners involved the drowning death of a 2-year-old girl staying at an Airbnb in Orlando with her family. The rental property did not have adequate child safety fences as required, attorneys found in an investigation.
A similar case involving the drowning death of another toddler resulted in a confidential seven-figure settlement for the family.
