Boating Accident

Published on: December 27, 2024

One dead, five others injured in Broward boat explosion, officials say.

Footage of a boat explosion that killed one man and injured five others has gone viral online, with witnesses telling reporters the vessel exploded while it was refueled.

The incident happened Monday, just days before the holidays, around 6 p.m. at the Lauderdale marina, according to reporting from the Miami Herald. At least one other boat caught fire in the incident. The explosion took place near the 15^th Street Fisheries, a nearby restaurant that frequently attracts tourists and boaters alike.

At least three of the five people who were hurt had traumatic injuries. The body of Sebastien Gauthier, 41, of Quebec, Canada, was found in the water by officials with the Broward Sheriff’s Office Monday night.

Published on: November 20, 2024

Judge Orders Miami Developer to Surrender to Authorities in Vessel Homicide Case Resulting From 2022 Boca Chita Crash. A Look at Previous Leesfield & Partners Boating Cases

By Leesfield & Partners

The operator of a boat involved in a 2022 boat crash in Boca Chita Key that killed one teen and permanently injured another has been ordered to surrender to police after news broke last month he would be facing vessel homicide charges, according to local news outlets.

The order was signed by a judge Wednesday and calls for 54-year-old George Pino, a Miami real estate developer, to surrender to authorities. In addition to the vessel homicide charge, Pino will allegedly face one count of driving a vessel in a reckless manner.

What Happened?

Published on: October 17, 2024

‘Committed to Seeking Justice:’ Leesfield & Partners files suit in case of tragic boat crash

By Leesfield & Partners

About a year after a young man was killed in a horrific boat crash, his family retained Leesfield & Partners to represent them in a case against the negligent boater responsible for his death.

Our clients are seeking justice for the irreparable damage done to their family with the loss of their son due to the negligence of Eric Rodriguez, 25, the captain of the boat on the night of the crash.

Rodriguez was intoxicated, according to law enforcement, and fully aware that the plan for that day involved binge drinking. He failed to secure a safe and sober boater to ensure the group could return to shore safely and drove the boat recklessly, speeding far beyond the area’s posted limit.

Published on: July 26, 2024

FWC urges boaters to be on the lookout for divers-down flags following several incidents on the water this month

By Leesfield & Partners

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sent out a public notice urging boaters to keep an eye out for divers-down flags in a month known statistically for a high rate of accidents on the water.

In their advisory, FWC encouraged boaters to avoid distraction and watch out for divers-down flags. These flags and buoys are essential warnings to approaching vessels that there are people in the water. These flags must have the divers-down symbol and be prominently displayed. When spotting a flag of this kind, boaters must operate at idle speed within 300 feet of the flag when in open water or within 100 feet when in inlets and or navigational channels. Divers must stay within the outlined distance of their flags.

Recent Incidents

Published on: July 9, 2024

A 45-year-old Washington man was killed lighting holiday fireworks. How to celebrate safely.

By Leesfield & Partners

A Washington man was found unresponsive after the fireworks he was lighting accidentally hit him in the head, knocking him unconscious, according to reporting from local news outlets.

The incident happened around 2:30 a.m. on July 5 as the man lit mortar-style fireworks, a kind of firework legal in Washington that explodes into stars once the fuse has been lit. Emergency responders pronounced the man dead at the scene. In Florida, it is illegal to use fireworks that contain shells, mortars, multiple tube devices, Roman candles, firecrackers, and rockets.

Firework Injuries & Deaths in the United States

Published on: November 14, 2017

Does Florida have a problem with the airboat industry?

By Leesfield & Partners

Photographer: Tim Shortt
Media: Florida Today

Last week, two out of four boaters were killed after their airboat flipped in the air while traveling up the St. Johns River in Melbourne, Florida. Eyewitness and fellow airboater Timothy Young told USA Today the airboat “was going kind of fast” and the “back half of the boat was sitting kind of low” before the incident occurred, suggesting operator error may not be the sole cause for the tragedy.

Like in any boating incident, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) is in charge of the investigation and finding out whether the driver was negligent or whether the incident was precipitated by some sort of maintenance issue or mechanical failure.

Published on: May 16, 2017

Boat Tour Safety Regulations in Focus following latest Airboat Tragedy

By Leesfield & Partners

Boating season is upon us, kicked off during Memorial Day weekend only days away. During the last weekend of Spring, South Florida will once again become the boating capital of the world for many weeks to come, and each year around this time Ira H. Leesfield, renews its boating safety warnings to the public and businesses who partake in recreational boating.

Focusing on boat tours, South Florida offers a wide range of attractions that entertain countless visitors and locals alike. Zipping through the Star Islands aboard a speedboat, gliding on an Airboat in the Everglades, renting a mini catamaran off Key Biscayne, touring the Florida Keys on a jet-ski, paddle-boarding with friends off the Bay, parasailing along North Miami Beach, kitesurfing or windsailing along Coral Gables and Coconut Grove, these are just a few available attractions where visitors rely on the experience, training, and competence of tour operators for their ultimate safety.

Unfortunately, there is no avoiding boat accidents at this time of year, yet, incomprehensibly, none of these accidents should ever occur. Whether a boat tour operator drives its vessel too fast, in a careless manner, causing injuries or death to its passengers, or whether a boat capsizes due to the overloading of passengers, or even whether two vessels collide due to alcohol consumption or lack of training, every single boat accident is avoidable.

Published on: June 24, 2016

Florida’s Jet Ski Safety Statutes – Great for Public Safety / Great for Litigants

By Leesfield & Partners

Jet Ski The vast majority of recreational and tourist activities enjoyed in Florida are not regulated by the Florida legislature. Most tour operators have complete freedom to operate their business virtually any way they see fit. This usually results in a culture of maximizing profit to the detriment of customer safety. Warning, instructing, and training tourists requires time, and time is money.

Fortunately, the Florida legislature has been proactive in regulating the boating industry, and specifically, jet ski rentals. Under Florida Statute 327.54, anyone renting jet skis to the public, whether for a guided tour or independent use, must provide certain training and instruction prior to the rental. This includes training regarding the operational functions, navigable rules, safe practices, and local hazards. The law allows only certified instructors to provide the mandatory training, and the participants must sign off that they received the training. Additionally, all renters born after 1988 must now pass a written examination covering jet ski safety at the rental site prior to the rental. These safety requirements are a result of the enormous amount of jet ski collisions that have occurred throughout Florida as the industry has soared.

Clearly, these jet ski statutes promote safety for inexperienced renters and anyone who may come in contact with them in the water. In our experience, however, these statutes are violated all too often. Jet ski rental companies simply do not spend the time to train and instruct rental customers pursuant to the statutes. They advertise to the public that jet skis are safe, entry-level devices that require no previous experience. They then rush renters through the process and place them in the water to operate these dangerous instrumentalities with virtually no training and hope for the best. In many cases our firm has handled, our clients were provided with no training or instruction at all.

Published on: April 7, 2016

Boating Safety Tips

By Leesfield & Partners

As we approach the summer months in South Florida, we once again see the start of another boating season. Thousands of boaters in personal water craft will soon set out across our beautiful bays, sandbars, and offshore islands to take in all that our tropical paradise has to offer. As fun as a day spent out on a boat with friends and family can be, it is important to remember that boating can also be an extremely dangerous activity. Safety should always be the number one concern when planning for a day out on the ocean.

In 2014, Miami-Dade County ranked first in the state in boating accidents with 79. There were ten deaths due to boating accidents in the county alone, including four young adults who lost their lives in an extremely tragic collision near Dinner Key Marina on the 4th of July. In the Florida Keys, five people perished due to boating accidents in 2014.

safe boating is fun.jpg Our law firm has represented many individuals who were permanently injured in boating accidents. We have also represented the families of individuals who tragically lost their lives while boating. Regrettably, we have often seen that many of these accidents could have been prevented if simple boating safety provisions were obeyed.

Published on: October 13, 2014

Fatal boating collision during holiday weekend in Miami

By Leesfield & Partners

On Saturday night, a two boats were involved in an accident off Biscayne Bay, one mile off Matheson Hammock in Coral Gables, Florida. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission which is investigating every single boating accident in the region has relayed minimal information through its spokesperson, Jorge Pino. What the public knows thus far is that a 68-foot motor yacht traveling north along the coast collided with a 27-foot pleasure boat that was navigating south along the coast.

Three occupants of the smaller boat fell into the water and were injured in the accident. All three were pulled onto the yacht by some of the 21 passengers on board. Among the three injured people, Maria Del Valle, 29, was critically injured. She was initially taken to Mercy Hospital for treatment before being transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where she tragically died.

Maria Del Valle was the mother of four children, with the youngest child being just 14-months-old, according to the FWC. The father of her youngest child, Maykel Perdomo, 33, is among the injured people who were on the small boat and thrown into the water. He is said to be in stable condition at this time. The third person involved is Dayron Baralt, 23, who was still in critical condition yesterday. His status remains unknown at this time.