Drivers in Miami-Dade may spot PUGs driving next to them soon thanks to a new feature introduced by the sheriff’s office — and it has nothing to do with the dog.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office recently announced that it will begin using a new state-of-the-art, fully-autonomous vehicle called Police Unmanned Ground (PUG). The sheriff’s office says it is the first agency in the nation to begin using an AI-driven vehicle for patrols.
The vehicle — which was donated by the Policing Lab, a company that aims to help law enforcement through data and analytics — comes equipped with 360-degree cameras, license plate readers, thermal imaging and audio sensors. In a sheriff’s office press release, officials noted that the vehicle comes at no cost to taxpayers.
It can also be driven down pre-planned routes, but will have a deputy inside before it goes fully autonomous for “the first few months or a year,” according to local media. After this time period, the sheriff’s office plans to operate the vehicle independently for an estimated 16 hours a day.
Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz told reporters with Channel 10 News that the technology is a “game-changer.”
“For us, it’s a way we can touch our community in a way that we really have never done before, and we are setting the standard of what will be the future of law enforcement in our country,” she said.
Leesfield & Partners
Autonomous vehicles continue to be the topic of much skepticism among the public as viral videos have continued to circulate online about their antics — driving in circles with riders trapped inside or a recent incident in California where police officers were stumped as to how to cite an autonomous vehicle that made an illegal U-turn.
The skepticism and uncertainty have come with the advent of all new technology. For example, in the early-1900s, the Washington Post called biking “a passing fancy,” according to VOX reporting. At that time, bicycles were thought of as dangerous machines that were impractical for everyday use. Today, they are essential tools for travel used all over the world.
Even speaking in films was once critiqued. In the day and age of silent black-and-white films, Joseph Schenk, the President of United Artists, famously branded speaking on film as a fad and told reporters with The New York Times that “talking does not belong in pictures.”
While today’s qualms with autonomous vehicles may very well be tomorrow’s fodder, the issue of liability and concerns persist, and the law must play catch-up with an ever-evolving technological landscape. Who is responsible when a driverless car is involved in a crash? What happens if a pedestrian is injured in an incident involving such a vehicle? Who can be held liable if the technology fails and the vehicle dos not adhere to traffic laws?
As Leesfield & Partners Trial Attorney Eric Shane wrote in an article published in the Daily Business Review, traditional Florida laws no longer apply in cases involving these vehicles.
When a vehicle’s automated driving system is engaged, liability for any resulting injuries may ultimately fall on the vehicle’s owner or manufacturer, per Florida law. A failure of the automated system can give rise to product liability claims, requiring injured plaintiffs to demonstrate that the system was defective and that this defect directly resulted in the injury-causing crash.
“In theory, it would appear that proving liability in an autonomous vehicle crash is easier for the plaintiff,” Mr. Shane wrote in the article. “Our firm’s 48 years of experience representing plaintiffs in thousands of negligence and strict liability lawsuits tells a different story.”
In nearly five decades of personal injury law, Leesfield & Partners has represented countless families and individuals throughout some of the most horrific and devastating motor vehicle crash cases in the state. Our attorneys are known for their cutting-edge trial techniques and “creative lawyering.” Whether due to negligent or impaired drivers, vehicle defects, faulty road construction or another cause, our attorneys diligently work toward the best possible outcome in every case and have secured numerous record verdicts in Florida.
Among those verdicts is the largest verdict in Miami-Dade County history for a motor vehicle accident and the fourth-largest of its kind in the state.
That case involves the tragic death of a family’s daughter and the catastrophic injury to their son at the hands of a reckless drunk driver who was speeding down the wrong side of I-95. The family was on their way to the airport to drop off their daughter, 23, for a flight to attend her medical school’s orientation. She died as a result of the collision.
Their son sustained life-altering injuries and was left unable to speak, needing a wheelchair, and requires round-the-clock care. This driver’s careless and negligent actions changed the lives of this unwitting family forever after he was overserved at a popular Miami bar.
At trial, a jury awarded over $95 million to the family — $57 million of which would go to the son and the remaining $38 million to the parents
Previous Cases
Leesfield & Partners has a long history of representing Florida crash victims, amassing over $300,000,000 for crashes involving motor vehicles, trucks, motorcycles, pedestrians and more.
Partner Justin B. Shapiro previously represented a family in a wrongful death motor vehicle case involving a pedestrian. A verdict of over $36 million was obtained for the family in that case.
In a motor vehicle accident involving negligent road construction, Leesfield & Partners attorneys obtained over $29 million for the injured clients.
Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, obtained a $19.8 million verdict against Honda in a design defect case involving a motorcycle kickstand. In that case, our client was in the middle of a ride when the kickstand deployed and caused his motorcycle to spin out of control. He was paralyzed as the result of this violent collision.
This was the start of litigation against multiple manufacturers involving the same dangerous design defect handled by Mr. Leesfield on behalf of injured clients.
A $15.4 million recovery was obtained for a Fort Lauderdale handyman who was injured as a backseat passenger in a high-speed motor vehicle accident. The man in that case was in a car that was stopped at a drawbridge when another car hit it from behind, causing skull fractures, frontal lobe brain damage and facial fractures.
As a result of his injuries, our client developed a seizure disorder that could not be controlled by medication. This ended the then-22-year-old’s career as a handyman in the area.
Leesfield & Partners previously represented the families of three teenage girls after they were struck by a commercial truck driver making an illegal U-turn on the turnpike. The girls in that case were on their way to the library when the driver turned directly into their path. Tragically, one girl was killed and the other two sustained serious injuries.
Our attorneys worked tirelessly to settle the case for over $8.6 million for the families. The firm also obtained an over $7.6 million arbitration award for the family who lost their daughter.
In the case of a woman who was walking back to her office following a midday break, Mr. Shapiro secured the maximum recoverable amount set forth in the defendant’s insurance policy limits. The woman was crossing the street in a marked crosswalk when a pickup truck driver made an illegal left turn, claiming to not have seen her. Injuries to our client included skull fractures and brain hemorrhages in addition to injuries to her left leg.
A $6 million settlement was secured for the client in that case.
In another pedestrian-involved case, Leesfield & Partners obtained a $2.9 million recovery our client who was injured due to a driver’s negligence.
The firm settled a pedestrian case in which our client was hit while walking on the sidewalk by a driver who was distracted by a cellphone. That case was resolved with a $1.5 million settlement.
In a tragic, fatal pedestrian case, Leesfield & Partners secured over $1.3 million for a driver’s negligence.
A child who was crossing the street suffered a traumatic brain injury after a driver hit him. In that case, Leesfield & Partners secured a $1.2 million settlement for the Fort Lauderdale family.
Bernardo Pimentel II, a Trial Attorney at the firm, secured a $1 million recovery for a family involved in a fatal car crash at the hands of a negligent driver.
Mr. Shane recently obtained a confidential amount for a young passenger who was injured in a severe Florida crash.
Mr. Pimentel obtained a confidential settlement for a family whose young son was severely injured when a car slammed through a Florida discount store’s windows.
Trial Attorney Evan Robinson secured a six-figure settlement for a client injured in a Monroe County crash.
In an ongoing case, Carlos A. Fabano, a Trial Attorney at the firm, is representing a pedestrian who was severely and permanently injured by a negligent driver.