Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Chances are, if it is a beautiful weekend morning in Miami, you’ll find a pack of bicyclists pedaling down the road.
As much is true in Cutler Bay, where giant banyan trees form canopies over the road, attracting weekend cyclists, dog walkers, and runners from all over the city. This weekend, however, the peaceful atmosphere in the area was punctuated by an intense exchange between a group of cyclists and an SUV. The driver of that vehicle is now facing charges, according to reporting from NBC 6 South Florida.
The incident occurred on Saturday, Aug. 22 when the driver of an SUV was heading southbound on Southwest 87th Avenue. The driver of the vehicle allegedly honked at a pair of cyclists and is accused of swerving into them. As a result, one of the cyclists was forced off of the road.
The driver allegedly brandished a weapon at them and fired a round at one of the cyclists, according to local media. Police told reporters that a gunshot was fired into the ground. No injuries were reported in this incident.
Only in Dade, a popular, local social media account reporting on the happenings in the area, published a video of the incident. It shows the SUV driving alongside the cyclists before swerving into them for the heated exchange.
The driver turned himself in at the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office and was later taken into custody. He faces charges of aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and discharging a firearm from a vehicle.
Thankfully, this incident did not result in injuries or death. In Miami-Dade County, where the area’s warm weather and sunny days make it an attractive cycling spot, there have been over 530 bicyclist-involved crashes so far in 2026, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ Crash Dashboard. There have been about six deaths as a result of these incidents. Last year, there were 1,083 bicycle crashes with 14 deaths.
For Leesfield & Partners, a personal injury law firm that had advocated for vehicles and bicycles to safely “share the road” for over a decade, this incident is particularly concerning.
Deadly road rage incidents in Florida are, tragically, on the rise in the state, according to reporting from the Tampa Bay News. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that the 12 fatal deaths in 2023 increased to 36 deaths in 2024, marking the second-largest year-to-year increase in the U.S. The first-largest was seen in Wyoming, the data showed. With five decades of experience representing the victims and families impacted by these incidents and other crashes, our attorneys know just how dangerous the road can be and have advocated for safe and alert driving.
Leesfield & Partners: ‘Share the Road’
Leesfield & Partners is the longest-serving personal injury law firm in Coconut Grove, a neighborhood known for years as a favorite gathering spot for local riders. Our skilled trial attorneys have represented numerous bicyclists and pedestrians throughout the years, representing each client with the diligence and tenacity necessary to secure the best possible outcome in every case.
Leesfield & Partners has earned a reputation both throughout Florida and nationwide as a fierce advocate for safety, litigating cases that have spurred state law and improved safety reform in industries such as children’s toys and motorcycle manufacturing.
In that time, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, has been an outspoken advocate for improved safety regulations when it comes to Florida’s roads. This has included sober and alert driving as well as e-bike safety. Mr. Leesfield has been raising concerns with unregulated e-bikes throughout South Florida for nearly a decade.
“This isn’t about banning innovation, it’s about protecting people,” he said.
This comes as e-bikes, e-scooters, and other micromobility devices have soared in popularity, resulting in more injuries. Data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission showed that there were 117,600 injuries from these devices treated in emergency rooms from 2017 to 2021. In that time, 25% of these incidents involved young people from 15 to 24 years old. From 2020 to 2021, the agency found that there was a 66% increase in injuries as the popularity of these devices continued to soar.
Regulations like minimum age requirements, insurance, and helmet usage are all elemental when it comes to keeping both riders and pedestrians safe. At 30 mph, these micromobility devices are causing far more injuries than a traditional bicycle. The Sun Sentinel reported a spike in e-bike accidents at Memorial Healthcare System in southern Broward County with more severe injuries. There was a 178% increase in e-bike and e-scooter trauma alerts from 2024 to 2025. Helmet use among those who were injured is low with 82% of those injured reporting that they were not wearing helmets at the time of their accident.
“[ In Florida,] we regulate the age and education of auto operators and even require insurance,” Mr. Leesfield said. “The E-bike operators and, more importantly, the distributors must play by some rules.”
The firm is currently representing a 21-year-old man who was severely injured on an e-scooter. He suffered a serious gash to his forehead and a horrific fracture to his left arm.
This case is being handled by Partner Justin B. Shapiro.
Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II is representing a man who was ejected from his bicycle following a Monroe County crash with a commercial truck driver.
“This driver’s one moment of inattention has left my client with life-altering injuries,” Mr. Pimentel said. “This frightening incident has left him in severe pain, causing a disruption to his daily life and happiness.”
Previous Bicycle Cases
A case involving a bicyclist who was hit while stopped on the shoulder of the Overseas Highway in Key West resulted in a $5,350,000 settlement for the client. In that case, the bicyclist who was stopped on the side of the road was hit by a driver who was distracted by their car’s GPS.
A pedestrian-involved incident handled by the firm resulted in the maximum recovery amount of $6 million awarded to our injured client. In that case, a woman was walking back to her office following a mid-day break when she was struck by a truck making an illegal left turn whose driver claimed not to see her in the marked crosswalk. The woman had severe injuries including skull fractures and brain hemorrhages as a result of the driver’s negligence.
For a Toronto family, a vacation to Fort Myers turned into a nightmare after a pickup truck driver failed to see a young wife and mother attempting to cross the street. Leesfield & Partners attorneys recovered an $8.5 million settlement for the family following a $27 million arbitration award.
Another pedestrian-involved incident handled by the firm resulted in a $2.9 million recovery.
The firm previously recovered $3 million for a mother and son injured in a bicycle incident.
