Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
At least 11 people were injured when a boat exploded on Memorial Day with 15 people on board, according to reporting from local media.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told reporters Tuesday that the vessel was a 39-foot Sea Ray. The incident happened in the Intracoastal Waterway around 5:45p.m. near the New River Triangle sandbar. Among the injured were two children, including a 5-year-old.
Many of the injured had burns and were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s burn unit in Miami.
Good Samaritans helped pull people from the water until emergency responders arrived, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is personal injury law firm with offices in Miami, Key West and Orlando that has regularly secured leading results throughout Florida. Among the firm’s record verdicts and settlements secured on behalf of injured clients and their grieving families includes a verdict of over $95 million secured on behalf of a family who lost their 23-year-old daughter and whose son, 21, sustained life-altering injuries after a head-on collision with a drunk driver. In that case, the drunk driver was recklessly speeding down the wrong side of I-95 as the family was on their way to take their daughter to the airport so she could attend her medical school’s orientation. This case marks the largest motor vehicle accident case in Miami-Dade County and is the fourth-largest accident-related verdict in the state.
Our attorneys work diligently to secure the best possible outcome for every client. In addition to record motor vehicle accident results, the firm has secured numerous leading settlements and verdicts in cruise ship injury cases, fire and burn cases, medical malpractice injuries and for boating and other water-related injuries.
Causes for many of these boating injury cases have been negligent and inexperienced boating, boating under the influence, or equipment malfunction. Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, has regularly spoken out about the need for increased boating safety.
“The dangers from boating incidents are entirely underestimated as South Florida becomes more congested, drinking on the water becomes more prevalent and distractions from cell phones and other devices increases,” Mr. Leesfield said previously. “Important safety standards must be enforced on all watercrafts
Data from 2024, the latest available information from the FWC’s annual boating report, shows that there were 685 reportable boating incidents for that year. Of these crashes, 76 were fatal and resulted in the deaths of at least 81 people. In these incidents, about 65% of operators had no formal boater’s education. This is a decrease from over 80% of inexperienced boaters involved in fatal 2023 incidents.
Previous Boating Cases
A substantial settlement was secured by Leesfield & Partners in a case involving a minor who lost a leg while not being supervised on a vessel.
The firm previously handled the case of a family whose young son was snorkeling when he was hit and killed by a passing boater. The boater in that case was also a minor who should never have been given permission to operate the vessel without supervision. Not only did this minor not stop, but he attempted to cover up evidence and lied to police when questioned.
Neighbors later testified that this minor regularly operated the boat in a reckless manner.
The firm represented the family of a young woman, 20, who tragically died when the vessel she was on crashed into a concrete dock. The firm secured over $1.3 million for the family when it was revealed that the boat operator had been drinking and speeding the night of the crash.
In a jet ski and boat crash, Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured $935,750 for their client.
In a boat case involving a foreign resort, the firm secured an $800,000 recovery for the injured client.
Another boating accident involving a negligent operator resulted in a $500,000 recovery.
Bernardo Pimentel II, a Trial Lawyer at the firm, recently secured a settlement for the family of a young lobster diver and father-to-be. The lobster diver was in the water when a law enforcement officer failed to adhere to divers-down flag laws.
Previous Fire-Related Cases
Leesfield & Partners attorneys have worked tirelessly to secure the best possible outcome for burn and fire victims and grieving families affected by tragic, preventable incidents. One case handled by the firm involves a mother and her two children who were unable to escape the home they rented because of an issue with the windows. Despite the mother telling her landlord about the window issue, nothing was done to address it. When the home caught fire due to a faulty electrical outlet, the family was trapped and tragically died.
Previously, the firm obtained a large award in a case involving an explosion on a commercial boat that took place when a spark on board from the vessel’s portable gas pump ignited ammonium nitrate, fertilizer and gasoline. This occurred as the vessel’s cargo was being off-loaded. The result was catastrophic and resulted in the death of at least one person and severe burns to others. In an investigation of the incident, Leesfield & partners’ attorneys found that the vessel was unseaworthy, and its crew was inadequately trained.
The firm also handled the case of a Cape Coral man injured in an explosion at his home. The defendant in that case was a cleaning company whose employee left the man’s house in a rush, allowing a knob of the propane gas grill on the patio that was being cleaned to remain on. The gas built up, resulting in the explosion.
Leesfield & Partners recovered the maximum insurance policy amount of $2 million for the man in that case.
In another case, the lives of a couple were forever changed when a gas line exploded in their hotel room. The two were celebrating their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic at the time. Both husband and wife were horrifically burned in the incident with the wife eventually succumbing to her injuries.
A case in which a company was liable for a fatal fire, Leesfield & Partners obtained a $600,000 result.
The firm obtained a $600,000 result for a client who was burned in an operating room by medical personnel.
