Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
A woman died after she and another woman lost control of an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) resulting in them plunging into a nearby canal, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.
Police told the newspaper that the crash happened around 1 p.m. Thursday near Southwest 112th Street and 157th Avenue. Both were rescued from the water and one was said to be in critical condition. That woman was taken to West Kendall Baptist Hospital where she later died.
Information about whether the second woman was injured or whether police believe the crash to be caused by operator or mechanical error was not immediately available Friday.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission pits the annual death toll concerning ATV accidents at around 500 to 600 people a year in the United States. ATV-related accidents account for nearly 100,000 to 150,000 injuries annually involving injuries as serious as traumatic brain injuries, fractures and other internal injuries. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data shows that these incidents are on the rise.
As a personal injury law firm, Leesfield & Partners has handled cases involving all vehicles on the road including cars, ATVs, E-bikes and E-scooters. To warn people about rising injuries concerning these vehicles, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, has routinely advocated for public safety measures such as helmet usage, local ordinances concerning E-bikes and safety awareness campaigns.
Past Cases
Leesfield & Partners attorneys have handled thousands of cases in which clients were injured and or killed in tragic accidents while riding ATVs, motorcycles or driving in cars. It is estimated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission that 800 deaths and an estimated 100,000 emergency department-treated injuries involved ATVs and other recreational vehicles. In its latest report, approximately 2,448 deaths from these types of collisions were recorded from 2018 until 2020. About 300 of the fatalities were children 16 years old and younger. The data showed that Florida was among the five states that accounted for 30% of the country’s ATV-related deaths from 2018 until 2020.
An ATV accident case handled by Leesfield & Partners attorneys involves the devastating death of a teen girl. The 15-year-old was riding a recreational vehicle when she was killed. The firm secured a $4.5 million settlement for the negligent entrustment of a recreational vehicle to a minor and the failure of the responsible parent to supervise the children.
As these vehicles grew in popularity, Mr. Leesfield secured over $10 million in verdicts and settlements from all over the United States in cases involving ATV incidents. The bulk of the injured at the center of these cases were children who had been given these vehicles as gifts for holidays.
Other cases handled by the firm involving ATVs include $5,000,000 and $4,750,000 products liability claims.
In a case involving a motorcycle, Leesfield & Partners attorneys represented a 27-year-old man who was permanently injured while on a Honda motorcycle. The man sustained a C6 spinal cord injury when his motorcycle spun out of control because of a defective kickstand. He was left a high-level quadriplegic, also known as a tetraplegic, meaning he was paralyzed in all four limbs.
Leesfield & Partners was able to obtain a $19.8 million award for the man.
Florida Law
Florida law stipulates that anyone under 16 years old on an ATV must wear a helmet no matter if they are on private property or not. The law does not extend to requirements for other safety gear such as goggles, gloves or pads. If under the age of 16, drivers must have a valid ATV safety certificate. Anyone under 8 years old is not allowed to drive these vehicles on public land.
Local governments have their own ordinances when it comes to whether the vehicles are allowed to be driven on public roads. In Miami-Dade County, these vehicles are prohibited from state parks and public roads, however, they are allowed for off-road use and on private properties. If found driving an ATV on a public road or in other restricted areas, drivers may be fined or face impoundment of the vehicle and other penalties.
