"Justin Shapiro"

Published on: September 7, 2021

School bus driver – The non-obvious defendant

Partner Justin Shapiro has recently represented a family whose minor son (JD) was ran over by a distracted motorist as he was about to board a school bus. After a arduous legal battle, the family ultimately prevailed and settled against the at-fault driver and the school district for the school bus driver’s negligence.

Like every weekday, JD reported to the designated gathering area on the corner of the intersection just before 6:00 a.m. At approximately 6:10 a.m., the school bus arrived on the opposite corner of the intersection and stopped in the middle of the road. It was pitch dark outside as there were no street lights in the area. Despite the long line of buses situated “bumper-to-bumper” ahead of the bus, the driver initiated the flashing lights and signaled the children to cross the street and board the bus. There was no designated crosswalk from the gathering area to the corner where the bus stopped. Relying on the driver’s direction, JD and the other children began to cross the street.

At that time, a motorist traveling southbound in the direction of the group of children could not see the mobile traffic devices on the school bus due to the heavy traffic and numerous school buses in the northbound lane with their headlights on. Tragically and inevitably, the vehicle crashed into the child at a high rate of speed. JD was left unconscious, laying motionless on the ground. He was airlifted to the hospital, diagnosed with severe traumatic brain injuries from which he and his family will never recover.

Published on: July 12, 2021

Leesfield & Partners, leads the nation in shipboard medical negligence cases

By Leesfield & Partners

Once again, the team at Leesfield & Partners has achieved important success for passengers who become ill or otherwise require evacuation from cruise ships for medical needs.

In the matter of the Estate of Jeffrey Eisenman v. Carnival Cruise Lines, former Chief Judge James Lawrence King has denied the defendant’s Motion to Dismiss and further denied defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment against plaintiffs’ claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Jeffrey Eisenman was seriously ill while ship was docked at port. The family purchased evacuation insurance and pleaded with the Captain and medical crew to transport Mr. Eisenman to a location with adequate medical facilities. The cruise line refused to evacuate and set sail for Puerto Rico, 21 hours away. Mr. Eisenman died 14 hours later during the voyage. His family was grief-stricken. To make matters worse, the cruise line refused to have Mr. Eiseman’s body removed from the ship, forcing family members to stay onboard with their deceased father for the entire cruise. The Eiseman case joins five other seven figure recent results obtained by the firm for failures to provide adequate medical care or otherwise make proper arrangements to obtain appropriate medical attention. These failures resulted in passenger deaths, and life altering conditions, which were avoidable and unnecessary.

Additional cases include:

Published on: February 1, 2021

‘The Lie That Doomed This Defendant’: Miami Attorneys Land $2 Million Settlement Over Explosion

By Leesfield & Partners

When a Cape Coral man was left severely injured in an explosion on his outdoor patio because someone had accidentally left a gas grill turned on, his attorneys felt all signs pointed to a cleaning company that had stopped by the day before.

Leesfield & Partners, the plaintiff’s attorneys, had a problem, though. No direct evidence actually proved that a cleaning service staff member had been negligent — meaning, technically, it could have been anyone. The premises liability lawsuit that ensued ultimately hinged on a single deposition, as Leesfield & Partners found one witness’s lie boxed the defendant into settling the claims for its $2 million insurance policy limit.

Leesfield & Partners represented plaintiff James Dastra. He hired Sparkle and Shine Cleaning Service of SWFL LLC to professionally clean his house about twice a month, including his propane grill on the patio. Dastra’s complaint claimed their last visit put him in serious danger, alleging one cleaner caused highly-flammable propane to leak and build up by inadvertently leaving a burner knob switched on after cleaning it.

Published on: November 18, 2020

Miami Trucking Accident Practice continues to expand with latest settlements

By Leesfield & Partners

Since 1976, victims of negligent truck drivers have placed their trust in Leesfield & Partners’ trucking attorneys to fight for them. In 2020, Attorneys with the firm recovered a combined $5 million for two clients whose lives were impacted by reckless truck drivers. The experience and determination displayed in these two cases is what separates Leesfield & Partners, the longest-established personal injury firm in South Florida, from other firms with fewer trials under their belt.

Our history with trucking cases dates back to five decades ago when Ira H. Leesfield, founding partner, settled a $5.3 million case on behalf of a young woman who was catastrophically injured by a distracted Winn-Dixie truck driver. At the time, this was the largest settlement ever obtained in South Florida and the creative lawyering was the central feature in the Miami News. That settlement today (with inflation) would equate to around $13,000,000. Our past trucking cases include a $8,650,000 settlement on behalf of teenagers, $3,000,000 settlement in Orange County, $1,000,000 above the policy limits on behalf of an injured truck driver, $7,995,467 arbitration award, $5,350,000 settlement obtained on behalf of a bicyclist in Key West.

Since the 1980s, our trucking accident practice has grown exponentially. In 1983, Ira H. Leesfield, in coordination with the Association of Trial Lawyers of America National College of Advocacy, started a workshop for fellow attorneys on the topic of “Motor Vehicle Litigation” which included in large part how to litigate trucking cases in the face of life-altering damages. Over the years, with an immaculate track record, out-of-state attorneys referred their Florida-based trucking cases to our firm. Today, with well-over $300 million recovered on behalf of clients injured on the road – not just trucking accident victims – our clients know that our vigorous our aggressive representation will produce the best results, leaving zero dollar on the table.

Published on: October 13, 2017

Recreational Injuries and Verdicts Continue to Rise in spite of Deterrent Verdicts – $36.6 Million (October 10, 2017)

By Leesfield & Partners

This week, Partner Justin Shapiro won a $36.6 million verdict on behalf of the parents of a skateboarder struck and killed by a distracted driver. That skateboard verdict follows a very recent jet ski settlement in Key West by Justin Shapiro and other attorneys at the firm in the amount of $2.88 million. “In the last decade, recreational injuries from all sources have skyrocketed, in spite of our law firm’s attempts urging remedial and protective legislation” says, Ira Leesfield, founding partner.

Leesfield & Partners’s long-term interest in protecting the public from dangerous and unregulated recreational activities began over 25 years ago when Ira Leesfield took on the motorcycle and ATV industries, rounding up over $100 million in settlements and verdicts including a $19.8 million verdict against American Honda in Erie, Pennsylvania. The motorcycle sidestand defect has long been remedied. “3-wheeler ATV’s” have been totally replaced by the more stable 4-wheeler.

However, new activities and enticements have sprung up, including exotic water sports such as jet ski, parasailing, zip-lining, scuba diving, boating collisions, and an entire resort industry promoting “fun” while disregarding safety.

Published on: April 8, 2016

Creative Lawyering Yields Another Great Result for Injured Child

By Leesfield & Partners

The vast majority of personal injury victims contact a lawyer intending to make claims against a specific entity for a specific wrongdoing. The victims often evaluate their case and form their own theories of liability before they are ever guided by an experienced trial lawyer. Unfortunately, many lawyers then evaluate cases based on their clients’ impressions without broadening their imagination and looking at the entire picture.

Our firm was recently contacted by a mother in reference to a potential medical malpractice case for her 12-year-old son. Our client’s concern was that her son underwent surgery to repair his fractured femur (thigh bone) with metal rods, and the metal rods ultimately broke free from the bone, requiring a painful second surgery. Our client thought this complication occurred because the first surgery was done negligently. Our firm investigated and concluded that the complication was likely an inherent risk of surgery rather than negligence.

For many lawyers, the evaluation would have ended there. However, our firm inquired further and asked how the boy’s leg was fractured. Our client believed that was a dead end. She explained that the injury occurred when a 13-year-old girl accidentally fell on him at the girl’s house. As we learned more, it was discovered that the girl, who was much larger than the boy, had been physically harassing him for several days with unwanted horseplay. The girl’s father, who was supposed to be supervising them, knew of this abuse and failed to prevent it or separate the children. Our firm made a claim against the father’s homeowner’s insurance policy under a Negligent Supervision theory. Within just days of receiving our lawsuit, the insurance carrier offered their full policy limits of $300,000, to compensate our client’s son.

Published on: March 25, 2016

The importance of photographs in premises liability cases

By Leesfield & Partners

They say “a picture is worth a thousand words.” As we have seen in many of our premises liability cases, pictures can be worth far more. When our clients are severely injured as a result of dangerous or defective premises, their health is understandably their primary focus. Pain and shock take over. An ambulance is often called to rush the victims away from the scene for medical evaluation. The last thing on their mind is preserving evidence by taking photographs of the dangerous condition. Who can blame them?

Our firm recently handled a case that demonstrated just how important it is to photograph the scene after an injury. Our client was leaving a fast food restaurant when she slipped while walking down an outdoor staircase. She fell down several stairs to the ground and suffered severe injuries, requiring multiple surgeries. When her husband met her in the emergency room shortly after the incident, she explained that her foot slipped off a stair that felt “slimy” and “oily.” Her husband drove to the scene of the incident shortly thereafter and noticed that the stairs were covered in thick layers of mold and mildew, which are known to be extremely slippery on walking surfaces. He also noticed the restaurant employees preparing to scrub the staircase with soap and industrial brushes in response to his wife’s fall. He immediately took out his cell phone and snapped several photographs of the filthy staircase before it was scrubbed.

Months later, the general manager of the restaurant was shown these photographs at her deposition. She had no choice but to admit that the staircase was unacceptable and unsafe for guests. This allowed our firm to secure a settlement that covered 100% of her medical expenses and lost wages, and a substantial additional sum for her pain and suffering. Had her husband not taken those photographs, it would have been far more difficult to prove the extent of this hazard, or that the hazard existed at all.

Published on: December 22, 2011

Leesfield & Partners Names University of Miami Law Student Recipient Of Its Annual FAWL Scholarship

By Leesfield & Partners

Miami-based trial law firm Leesfield & Partners announces that it has awarded a $1,000 scholarship to third-year University of Miami law student Kayla Pragid. The annual scholarship is granted in association with the Florida Association for Women Lawyers (FAWL) and is presented each year to a law student that demonstrates the highest standards of excellence in both academics and contributions to the community.

Kayla is currently ranked in the top 2.5% of her class and has been recognized on the Dean’s List for all semesters enrolled. She is a member of the University of Miami Law Review and serves on its Moot Court Board. She has received numerous academic awards and is the Co-Founder and President of the Democratic Law Students Association and a past member of the Executive Board of the Miami Law Women Association.

Justin Shapiro, Carol Finklehoffe, Ira Leesfield, Kayla Pragid, and Patricia Kennedy (Left to Right)

Kayla has demonstrated a commitment to volunteerism, dedicating her time as a Writing Dean’s Fellow at the University of Miami, where she assists students with their writing skills. Additionally, she volunteers regularly at the Health and Elder Law Clinic, which provides free legal aid to indigent clients in the Miami area. There, her efforts are largely focused on assisting with guardianship issues and other legal matters on behalf of Miami’s Haitian community.

Kayla received a bachelor’s degree from Boston University. Having coped with both of her parents battling cancer Kayla is also passionately involved with the American Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

“Kayla was selected for this scholarship based on her exemplary academic performance and a demonstrated interest in helping improve the lives of those around her,” said Patricia Kennedy, a shareholder with Leesfield & Partners who oversaw the scholarship selection process. Read more about Kayla Pragis here.

FAWL is a professional organization dedicated to promoting the advancement of women in the legal profession. Its membership is comprised of lawyers, judges, and professionals within the business community. This year marks Leesfield & Partner’s 16th consecutive year of participation.
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