Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg

Published on: April 10, 2013

Florida on its way to ban texting-while-driving? How a worthless piece of legislation will keep roads unsafe

On April 8, 2013, the Florida Judiciary Committee approved by unanimous vote a bill (SB 52) that would ban texting while driving statewide for the first time in Florida. The bill cleared The Senate Transportation Committee last February, cleared the Senate Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities Committee in March and this week cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill can now be taken to Florida’s Senators for a final vote.

If the bill passes the Senate and the House, this will mark the first time that a ban on texting while driving becomes in effect (on October 1, 2013) after several years of futile attempts to ban texting behind the wheel.

While any ban on texting and driving is a step in the right direction, the proposed law is so meaningless in its reach that it will sadly create absolutely no incentive or deterring effects to dissuade drivers to stop texting while driving throughout the State.

Published on: March 15, 2013

What are the responsibilities of a resort towards guests who use the resort’s swimming pool?

By Leesfield & Partners

Florida law is clear. The owner of a resort owes its guests the duty to exercise ordinary care in providing a safe and proper place to bathe or swim.

In the exercise of ordinary and reasonable care, the owner of a resort which offers swimming pools as attractions or amusements are required to furnish a reasonably sufficient number of attendants or lifeguards for the protection of bathers, and the total absence of lifeguards at a public swimming pool may be negligence.

Last Sunday, a young teenager drowned in the pool of Disney’s Pop Century Resort near Orlando, FL. On Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Office advised that the 13-year-old, Anthony Johnson, had passed away. The Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg first reported the event yesterday: 13-year-old boy drowns at Disney’s Pop Century Resort in Central Florida

Details of the actual reason for the death of Anthony have not been made public by the authorities. We know that at approximately 9:30pm, Anthony was found at the bottom of the 4-feet deep swimming pool and pulled by his cousin. Immediate attempts to resuscitate were made by the child’s father, as well as a firefighter who was vacationing at the resort and who was present when Anthony’s body was pulled out of the water.

Rescue arrived moments later. According to other guests’ testimonials, resuscitation efforts lasted for almost an hour before Anthony was put on a stretcher and transported emergently to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than 48 hours later.

Disney released a statement indicating that the lifeguards at the resort are on duty until 8pm every night. The pool where Anthony drowned, however, remains open past 8pm and swimmers are swimming at their own risk. Disney further advised that signs are posted throughout the area to alert swimmers. It is also important to note that Disney advertises its pools to be for “Preschoolers, Kids, Tweens, Teens, Adults, All Ages.”

An investigation into this tragedy will aim to answer several questions. If it is ascertained that the incident occurred at a time where lifeguards were not on duty, one must look into the reason for the pool to have remained open past 8pm. One can understand that any resort would want to keep its pools open for guests to use at their own discretion, but then why not man each pool with human security? In other words, why not extend the duties of lifeguards by several hours, like it is customarily done in other resorts?

Secondly, despite the absence of any lifeguards at the time Anthony was in the pool, was the resort equipped with mandatory life-saving and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in case a drowning were to occur? Not only that, was a staff person trained in the use of AEDs on duty at the time this incident took place?

Unfortunately, this tragedy is not the first of its kind. Several years ago, parents have endured the loss of their 6-year-old boy who drowned in one of the Disney’s swimming pools. While the circumstances of that tragedy were a bit different, Disney did agree to an out-of-court settlement with the family who had lost their loved one. The lawsuit, in part, alleged that the single lifeguard posted at the pool failed to adequately supervise the guests who were using the pool. The family also alleged that Disney should have had more than one lifeguard on duty at the time because of the large crowd of people using the pool.
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Published on: March 14, 2013

13-year-old boy drowns at Disney’s Pop Century Resort in Central Florida

By Leesfield & Partners

Last Sunday, 13-year-old Anthony Johnson was rescued by his family from drowning in a Disney Resort pool near Orlando, Florida. Yesterday, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office announced that Anthony had not survived and had been pronounced dead two days later.

Anthony, from Springfield, Missouri, was spending spring break vacation with his family in Central Florida. On Sunday evening, Anthony and friends were playing in the pool of Disney’s Pop Century Resort. Moments later, Anthony was found by his cousin at the bottom of the pool, in just 4 feet of water. Anthony’s father performed CPR until paramedics arrived on scene and took over the resuscitation efforts.

It is unclear at this time what may have cause Anthony to drown. Local news ABC15 reported that there were no lifeguards on duty at the time of the incident and signs “swim at your own risk” were posted. The Sheriff’s office investigation has just begun and could reveal some important elements of answers to explain the family who just lost their young son what may have caused him to drown.

Published on: March 13, 2013

Make the right call on texting and driving

By Leesfield & Partners

TEXTING AND DRIVING Make the right call on texting and driving

By Ira H. Leesfield

After years of false stops and starts, a bill to curb texting while driving is finally building momentum in the Florida House. The current bill would impose a $30 fine for anyone texting while driving, and a $60 fine for doing so again within the same five-year period. Texting would still be allowed when stopped or at a red light.

Published on: February 21, 2013

Jack3d at center of lawsuit filed by family for son’s wrongful death

By Leesfield & Partners

Last year, we reported on the military investigation into the death of two soldiers during on-base exercises and the link with the two men’s ingestion and consumption of a dietary supplement called ‘Jack3d’ (pronounced Jacked)

This week, the parents of 22-year-old Michael Sparling, who died on the morning of June 1, 2011, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Dallas-based manufacturer of Jack3d, USPlabs, and GNC, the store where Michael purchased the product.

In its lawsuit, the family alleges that USPlabs was negligent under several theories of liability including defective design of the product, failure to warn its users, breach of warranty, and unlawful business acts and practices in violation of California law.

Published on: January 8, 2013

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning kills elderly woman in Miami

By Leesfield & Partners

After being alerted by the landlord that something was wrong, Paulette Campbell arrived at the apartment of her grandparents, Wylene and Bobby Floyd of Miami Gardens. Upon entering their home, she discovered the body of her grandparents. Wylene had already succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning. Her grandfather Bobby was still alive, but needed immediate medical attention. Bobby was transported emergently to Jackson Memorial Hospital where his condition is unknown at the present time.

The Miami personal injury attorneys at Leesfield & Partners have led the legislative battle in the State of Florida which gave birth to a new law finally requiring that commercial buildings be equipped with CO detectors. More information on the Florida legislation pertaining to Carbon Monoxide exposure can be found here.

On average, 60,000 Americans suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning every year. The grave danger associated with carbon monoxide is the nature of the deadly gas itself. Carbon monoxide is odorless, colorless and slightly lighter than air. Undetectable to humans, it is highly toxic and can be deadly when leaked in high concentration.

Published on: January 8, 2013

Fatal Plane Crash in Florida linked to engine and oil pressure problems

By Leesfield & Partners

On January 4, 2013, a small airplane carrying three passengers crashed into a Florida home approximately located one mile south of the Flagler County Airport. Investigators and Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board were on scene on the day of the crash. While findings have not been made public thus far, the communications between the pilot and the Air Traffic Controllers moments before the crash were relayed.

Michael Anders.jpg We now know that the 1957 Beechcraft H35 Bonanza took off from Port Pierce, FL and was on its way to Knoxville, TN. There were three people on board: Duane Shaw (59) from Albany, KY, Charissee Peoples (42) from Indianapolis, IN, and the pilot Michael Anders (57) from Albany, KY (right). The three occupants had actually stopped in Fort Pierce on their way up from the Caribbean where they had been vacationing.

Shortly after takeoff, Anders contacted the Air Traffic Controllers and notified them of a problem with the airplane. The small aircraft was vibrating, oil pressure was inadequate, and the cabin became engulfed with smoke. “I need some help here” Anders told the ATCs. When asked, he advised there were “three souls on board”. According to FHP, the airplane also flew into bad weather at some point, even though it is too early to say whether bad weather played a role in the plane’s demise.

Published on: January 4, 2013

Small plane carrying three passengers crashes into Florida home

By Leesfield & Partners

Today, a small aircraft plunged into a home on Florida’s northeast coast. Deputies who immediately responded to the accident said the three people who were inside the house at the time were able to escape the flames relatively unharmed. At this time, three of the five occupants of the small plane were confirmed dead. The other two passengers have yet to be found.

According to reports, the planed crashed into the home at 2:22 p.m. Friday on Utica Path, about 1 mile east of the Flagler County Airport, off State Road 100. The house exploded and flames could be seen several thousands of feet away.

As reported by Bay News 9, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the pilot of the plane declared an emergency around 2:10 p.m., saying the plane was severely shaking.

Published on: December 2, 2012

Multiple fatalities in bus accident in Miami

By Leesfield & Partners

A normal traveling day at Miami International Airport turned into a surreal and deadly scene when an 11-foot-bus crashed into an 8-foot 6-inches overpass. The bus crash killed two of the passengers while several others were taken to Jackson Memorial’s Ryder Trauma Center and remain in critical condition.

The bus driver, Ramon Ferreiro, made a wrong turn off Lejeune Road and entered the airport by error. Ferreiro continued on, passing several road signs warning tall vehicles to stop and turn around. Seconds later, the 11-foot tall bus approached an overpass which it could not clear and the bus crashed at full speed with the concrete-overpass.

Among the 32 bus passengers, 13 were critically injured, and 17 were transported to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Serfin Castillo, an 86-year-old Miami resident was killed on impact. 56-year-old Francisco Urana died from his critical injuries shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Published on: October 11, 2012

Construction Site Accident in Doral: Collapse of Parking Garage Results in 2 Fatalities

By Leesfield & Partners

At around noon on Wednesday October 10, 2012, a large portion of a five-story building collapsed without warning, killing 2 construction workers, injuring several others, and another man is still missing at this hour.

The cause of this tragic incident is not yet known, but the police, construction investigators, and code experts are currently on site to determine what may have provoked the under construction parking garage at Miami-Dade College in Doral, Florida, to fall like a house of cards.

Last night around midnight, rescuers found a worker who had been trapped under the rubble for almost 12 hours. Attempts were made to extract the man, but the decision was made at around midnight last night to amputate both his legs in order to save his life. About one hour later, the man was cut above both knees, freed from under the collapsed concrete and rushed to the local hospital by ambulance.

Rick Rutigliano, an electrical supervisor who was on site at the time of the collapse, was on the other side of the building when he began to hear and feel a loud rumble. He ran to the other side of the building and saw the destruction that had just occurred. He later told the authorities that the collapse seem to have started after a crane set down an expansion beam on top of another beam. It has yet to be determined whether this was the cause or even a contributing factor to the incident.

It is believed that the two workers who lost their lives, as well as the 7 injured and one missing person are all construction workers employed by the garage contractor, Ajax Building Corporation, headquartered out of Tallahassee, Florida, and doing construction work in all southeastern States.

The garage was scheduled to open to the public in less than two months. It was a $22.5 construction contract which came to a tragic halt yesterday. Below the parking garage, office and classroom space were also built to house stores and students on campus.

This marks the second garage collapse in less than a month in South Florida. Unfortunately, fatalities related to construction accidents if far from uncommon. In 2011, construction work is the leading industry in the entire country with the most fatalities, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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