Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg

Published on: June 7, 2024

Police investigate after 8-year-old drowned in neighbor’s Fort Lauderdale pool. These incidents on the rise, the CDC says.

While packing a cooler with juice boxes on the way to the community pool, racking their brains to recall if they remembered the sunscreen, drowning is the last thing a parent wants to think about. But, according to the latest available data from the CDC, they should.

In its latest report on accident drownings in the United States, the Center for Disease Control reported that these incidents 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, the numbers show. The CDC pits drowning as the leading cause of death for children ranging in age from 1 to 4 years old. The rate of drowning increased 28% from 2019 and 19% in adults from 65 to 74 years old.

Broward County Incident

Published on: June 5, 2024

Several years after Leesfield & Partners founder Ira Leesfield protested the use of E-bikes and scooters in Coconut Grove, data shows he was right to object.

By Leesfield & Partners

Whether it’s whizzing past unsuspecting pedestrians on sidewalks or garnering virality online, it is clear E-bikes, and irresponsible operators, are becoming more prominent in South Florida.

In May, a video showing a man on an E-scooter carrying a passenger and also towing another friend on a standard bicycle gained traction online. If on a residential road, or even a sidewalk, one might think the video to be funny, however, it is clear that the scooter is speeding full-force down the shoulder of a Miami highway. Dumbfounded drivers can be seen slowing down in the video to get a good look at the incredulous scene. A woman heading toward Downtown Miami on her E-Scooter recently was also recorded merging lanes and cruising down a Miami highway. Online critics bashed the move as irresponsible and a reason as to why there are so many accidents in the city.

Unfortunately, the narrative surrounding these videos is not an uncommon one. It seems that every day there is a new clip online of E-transport users testing their limits, creating hazards for distracted drivers and leaving themselves and others vulnerable to injury. The latest available data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission states that there was a 21% increase from 2021 to 2022 in injuries involving these electric modes of transportation in the United States. Minors 14 years old and younger make up a “significant” amount of the reported injuries, according to reporting from CBS Miami.

Published on: June 4, 2024

Dozens of Miami condo residents hospitalized Tuesday after possible carbon monoxide leak. How often does this happen?

By Leesfield & Partners

About 60 people were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning and 22 were taken to the hospital after a possible leak Tuesday at a Miami condominium.

The possible leak was reported just before 5 a.m. at the Hemingway Villa Condominiums in West Miami-Dade, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. By 7 a.m. Tuesday, emergency responders were still searching for the leak.

Additional details were not immediately available Tuesday.

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 22, 2024

Airbnb CEO talks difficulties of implementing carbon monoxide initiative in interview with NBC. How many people die needlessly from carbon monoxide poisoning?

By Leesfield & Partners

Nearly a decade after promising all properties listed on its platform would have detectors to safeguard guests from carbon monoxide poisoning, Airbnb’s CEO, Brian Chesky, called the task “very hard.”

The comment was made in a recent interview Chesky had with NBC discussing difficulties that the company has faced.

“It’s really hard to mandate things in 220 countries and regions and cities all over the world,” Chesky said in the interview. “And then if you mandate something, you have to have a mechanism to verify that it happens.”

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: April 16, 2024

48 Years of Growth through Quality – Leesfield & Partners, P.A. leads Florida Personal Injury Practice!

By Leesfield & Partners

Dear Friends, Colleagues and Clients:

Good news as we enter our 48th year! We now added three trial lawyers and one appellate lawyer to assist in our quality service to you, your clients and contacts. Over the years, we have developed one of Florida’s most diverse personal injury practices in State and Federal Court, working with lawyers and strategic alliances in every state. Your loyalty is appreciated as we go forward with our commitment to bringing the highest and best results possible.

Over four decades, and in recent years, we have forged unique and groundbreaking theories of law in practice areas that have helped thousands of clients recover for the harmful acts of others. For instance:

Published on: February 27, 2024

E-Bikes banned in Key Biscayne following tragic wrongful death incident of bicyclist – A call for legislative action

By Leesfield & Partners

Man-on-e-bike-300x200 A recent accident in Key Biscayne, Florida, involving a 12-year-old riding an e-bike and a traditional bicycle, tragically resulted in the death of the bicyclist, Megan Andrews, a career-educator and pillar in the community. This incident has once again brought the dangers of e-bikes, particularly when operated by younger riders, into sharp focus.

Key Biscayne’s local leaders, under massive public pressure, approved a temporary complete ban on e-bikes during an emergency meeting. The temporary ban will be in place for 60 days, the maximum length of time the Village could approve without running afoul of the law. The ban applies all roads of the Village of Key Biscayne except for Crandon Boulevard (the main and highest-traffic roadway of Key Biscayne) because it is owned and regulated by Miami-Dade County.

Electric bikes, or e-bikes, have become increasingly popular in the entire country, including Florida. However, when it comes to children using e-bikes and the dangers they bring, the legislator has dropped the ball miserably by failing to address crucial safety concerns: