Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
A 5-year-old boy died after a digital whiteboard in a Brevard County elementary school classroom fell on him, according to reporting from NBC 6 South Florida.
School officials said in a statement that the “tragic accident” occurred at Riviera Elementary School in Palm Bay. School staff called 911 after the estimated 120-pound board fell on the child. Staff also performed “emergency life-saving measures,” according to NBC 6 reporting. The boy was taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center where he died.
The superintendent confirmed to reporters that the board was mounted on the wall and fell on the student. The superintendent went on to say that the boards are installed throughout the school district by a licensed, third-party vendor “in accordance with manufacturer guidelines.”
When contacted, the company that manufactures the board told reporters that they have launched an investigation into the incident.
While the investigation is ongoing and no details related to how or why the board fell, Leesfield Shapiro extends its deepest condolences to the family and community impacted by this unspeakable loss. In five decades of personal injury practice, our skilled trial attorneys have represented families and individuals who were injured in similar incidents.
One such tragedy includes the preventable death of a 2-year-old child in a furniture tip-over incident. The dresser involved in the incident complied with industry standards and was not subject to any recall. After a thorough investigation by Leesfield Shapiro, the manufacturer agreed to a settlement and to bring about changes in its entire dresser catalog to warn consumers about the need to anchor furniture to the wall.
The firm settled the case for $17.5 million.
Leesfield Shapiro
For 50 years, Leesfield Shapiro has been the place where individuals and grieving families have gone to in search of justice for the damages that they have suffered. Our skilled trial attorneys have gained a reputation both state and nationwide for record verdicts and settlements. Accolades aside, our attorneys have delivered personalized representation to each person they represent, building trust during some of the most emotional times in our client’s lives.
Product liability is an area of law meant to protect consumers from defective products and the damages and injuries they can cause. Defendants that can be named in defective product lawsuits can include anyone from the manufacturer, wholesalers, retailers, and distributors. Anyone who has been injured as a result of a product’s defects may be eligible for compensation.
A plaintiff’s attorney’s argument for compensation in defective products cases can be based upon strict liability, negligence and or breach of warranty. Mostly these arguments will hinge on strict liability, meaning that the plaintiff’s attorney has to prove there is something wrong with the product their client used. These defects can include problems with how the product was made, design defects, instructions for use, failure to warn consumers about potential risks associated with use and or how the product was marketed to consumers.
Previously, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, represented a 27-year-old man who was paralyzed after a horrific motorcycle crash caused by a defective kickstand. As our client was riding his motorcycle, the kickstand suddenly and erroneously engaged, causing him to spin out of control.
Mr. Leesfield obtained a $19.8 million verdict for the man and resulted in the manufacturer to redesign it’s the kickstand to prevent future injuries.
In an ongoing case, Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II is handling a products liability case involving a gun that caused severe damage to our client’s eye when she fired the weapon at a shooting range.
“Our client is an avid shooter with years of experience around firearms and even that did not prepare her for this unexpected and incredibly dangerous malfunction,” Pimentel said. “The manufacturer is liable for putting this defective weapon on the market and endangering its customers, including our client. Had she not been wearing protective eyewear, this malfunction could have been fatal.”
Previous Cases
In another product liability case, Leesfield Shapiro attorneys secured $10,677,000 for the wrongful death of our client’s loved one.
Previously, Leesfield Shapiro attorneys obtained a confidential settlement for a family whose baby girl was killed when a car accident caused the airbag to deploy, hitting her car seat. The child restraint was gifted to the parents at their baby shower. On the box, the product was demonstrated as being used in the front seat. Following the instructions, the child’s mother placed her in the front seat in a rear-facing position. When the airbag deployed, the 8-month-old was killed.
In the early 2000s, Mr. Leesfield traveled across the U.S. representing children and their families against ATV manufacturers that marketed these vehicles as “toys.” The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that there are about 100,000 ATV-related injuries requiring emergency room visits in the U.S. annually. Of these ATV incidents, approximately 650 people died, the data showed. Children are particularly at risk of dying or being injured in ATV accidents, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. One out of three ATV deaths and injuries requiring emergency room treatment involves a child under 16 years old. Children are especially vulnerable in these crashes because of their lack of experience operating such a vehicle and a lack of judgement that can result in them taking bigger and more dangerous risks.
“In the large majority of children’s deaths resulting from the use of an ATV, the child was not wearing a helmet,” Leesfield Shapiro said in a previous blog post.
As a result of these cases, Leesfield Shapiro attorneys obtained more than $10 million in verdicts and settlements for families. In many of these cases, the children were gifted the vehicles as birthday and/or holiday gifts.
Previously, the firm settled an ATV products liability case for $5 million, causing a ripple effect throughout the entire industry. This case was one of several handled by the firm that highlighted the instability of these three-wheeled vehicles. As a result, the ATV industry abandoned their previous design and added a fourth wheel.
Leesfield Shapiro attorneys represented the family following the tragic death of their teenage daughter following an ATV crash. The girl, 15, 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.
Attorneys with the firm also secured a $2.5 million settlement amount for the family of a man who died after his ventilator malfunctioned from a power outage in the middle of the night. The backup battery for the ventilator lasted less than 10 minutes after the outage and the alarms — meant to go off and alert caregivers of an issue — failed.
Even though there were numerous other complaints to the manufacturer regarding this device that spanned a decade, neither the manufacturer nor the respiratory company took the necessary steps to address the issue or alert patients’ families.
The firm previously handled a case in which a 4-month-old baby was killed in a suffocation incident involving a juvenile product’s design defect. The firm reached a $1.1 million award for the grieving family in that case.
If you were injured in a product liability or defective product case, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield Shapiro attorney today at 305-854-4900 to see if you may be eligible to make a claim.
