Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Miami, June 2022 – Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured a record-setting verdict on behalf of clients, a family whose daughter was killed and son incapacitated by a drunk driver who was overserved at a popular Miami bar. While the reading of the jury’s verdict gave the family the satisfaction of knowing that some justice was served, it could do nothing to change the cruel reality of two broken-hearted parents who have lost everything.
While on their way to drop their daughter off at the airport for a flight to medical school orientation, the family car was hit head-on by a drunk driver speeding in the wrong direction on I-95. Their daughter, 23, was killed in the crash, and their son, 21, suffered catastrophic brain and orthopedic injuries, leaving him in a wheelchair, unable to speak, and requiring round-the-clock care for the rest of his life. The drunk driver had spent the night and early morning bar hopping and getting obliterated before making the terrible and fateful decision to get behind the wheel.
At trial, the Miami jury was visibly moved by Dad when he took the stand and tried to explain in his own words the unimaginable agony, grief, and struggle to carry on that he and his entire family wrestle with every day. Dad, who moved to America with his daughter and son when they were 6 and 4, shared with the jury that everything he and his wife did in life from the moment on was to make sure their children had every opportunity possible.
Suppose you are injured in an automobile collision caused by a negligent driver. You then go to a duly-licensed physician for medical care. You certainly trust your physician and her dedication to the well-being of her patients. Ultimately, your physician provides treatment and even surgery. Down the road of litigation, the negligent driver’s attorney claims that the surgery you underwent was medically unnecessary or unreasonable. Assuming this treatment was “unreasonable,” should you be on the hook to pay for it? Is it your fault if your physician provided unnecessary treatment by mistake or for financial gain? Of course not!
The incident occurred at approximately 4:45am on Wednesday August 14, 2013. The passenger of the SMART car, a young woman in her twenties was fatally injured and died at the scene. The driver of the SMART car was critically injured and rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital. The condition of the driver of the pick-up truck remain unknown but reporters have shared that there are serious concerns he may have sustained a catastrophic spinal cord injury and may be paralyzed. (Photo on the left courtesy of 
TEXTING AND DRIVING Make the right call on texting and driving
In Florida, a hit-and-run causing injury is a felony of the third degree which is punishable by a term of imprisonment not exceeding 5 years, and a hit-and-run resulting in the death of the victim is a felony of the second degree punishable by a term of imprisonment not exceeding 15 years (Florida Statute 775.082).
Last April, the Office of Florida’s Chief Financial Officer released staggering numbers indicative of a systemic-induced fraud. In the fiscal year 2010/2011, the Division of Insurance Fraud investigated 13,452 cases of insurance fraud, which ultimately resulted in 997 arrests and 804 convictions. In only one year, Florida Courts have ordered restitution amounting to more than $156 million to defrauded insurance companies.