Catastrophic Injury

Published on: January 23, 2026

Viral Online Videos Show Mayhem at Free Concert Featuring Artists Such as Calvin Harris and John Summit.

Pushing, hordes of people crushed into a tight space and pandemonium are what can be seen in various clips that have gone viral online of the free Miami Beach concert over the weekend.

The event, allegedly featuring artists such as Calvin Harris and John Summit, was hosted by AT&T in partnership with the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship. Ahead of the weekend, barriers and other accommodations were seen being set up in Miami Beach ahead of the weekend in anticipation of about 20,000 people, according to reporting from The Miami New Times. However, as news spread of the free, all-ages event, it became clear that the crowd that had amassed was far larger than expected.

An estimated 30,000 people arrived at the event location, the outlet reported. Crowds can be seen rushing security and storming through barricades until police officers rushed to stop the crowd. At one point in the night, organizers issued a statement alerting concertgoers that they were at maximum capacity and would not be permitting anyone else to enter.

Published on: January 5, 2026

Authorities Warn Against this Dangerous ‘Tradition’ During New Year’s Eve. What to Know to Stay Safe.

By Leesfield & Partners

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office issued a recent warning, urging people across South Florida against celebratory gun fire this New Year’s Eve, according to reporting from WSVN.

Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, along with others from the sheriff’s office, discussed the dangers at a recent press conference.

“We have felt this pain here at home, during the most recent New Year’s Eve celebration,” she said. “Yaneliz Munguia, a little girl of 10 years of age, lost her life in Northwest Miami-Dade.”

Published on: September 23, 2024

Broward Teen Charged in Friend’s Accidental Shooting Death, police say

By Leesfield & Partners

One teen charged, another killed after the two were playing with a loaded gun at an apartment in Broward County, officials say.

The incident happened around 2:30 p.m. Monday. The teen who was hit was identified by police in reporting by The Miami Herald as 16-year-old Christopher Granados. He was taken to the hospital by emergency responders where he was pronounced dead.

The other boy involved in the incident, who was not named, was charged Tuesday with manslaughter.

Published on: December 20, 2017

2017 – Leesfield & Partners’s “Cases from Other Places” and Our Own Backyard

By Leesfield & Partners

Leesfield & Partners, through its leading verdicts and results, has established a 43-year reputation representing injured clients throughout Florida, nationally and internationally. Our goal remains to resolve cases and bring financial security to injured clients. Representative of 2017 are the following results: (This is a partial list with the full compilation found in our website at this link)

A 14-year-old boy from Miami-Dade County who sustained extensive injuries to his leg caused by the defective bicycle bar handle manufactured in China. This case is set for trial.

A 61-year-old Miami Beach resident awarded $450,000 as a result of his toe being crushed and amputated when a negligently installed marble counter at a residential building collapsed on his foot.

Published on: April 27, 2016

Fighting for Clients

By Leesfield & Partners

When we are engaged to represent a client and take on their case we become their advocate and we fight for them because they cannot. We give a voice to the voiceless. We fight for the injured. We champion their cause and their case with every resource and every ounce of talent and energy we have. We do this because, not only is it the right thing to do, but also because each client and each relationship we have with our clients is personal. We truly believe that our clients remain clients for life long after the case is resolved and long after we have achieved a financial recovery for them.

Just recently we resolved the case of a motorcycle accident victim who lost a leg as a result of a county employee running a stop sign. The inattentive driver rolled his truck up to the stop sign clueless to crossing traffic and our client’s oncoming motorcycle and blew right through the intersection without thinking twice. Our client had no choice but to lay down his bike to avoid a head on crash with the side of the truck and certain death. Unfortunately, the back wheels rolled over his leg resulting in a traumatic amputation at the knee. We undertook representation knowing full well that any real recovery was highly unlikely given that the negligent party was a county employee protected by the state sovereign immunity cap of just $200,000. With past hospital bills alone of over $400,000 we rejected the county’s settlement offer of $200,000. After two years of litigation, multiple lawsuits and incredibly creative and aggressive representation, we secured a multi-million dollar settlement for our client.

Today we handed him his first of several settlement checks. A very humble man, our client started to thank us but we stopped him from any such praise. The true thanks goes out to him and his resolve and for believing in us and giving us the honor of fighting for him. When we met, he was just coming out of surgery where he lost his leg. We were up front and honest with him about the financial obstacles that his case faced with sovereign immunity. We saw him crying and hopeless and full of anxiety about the future. With that we went to work and devoted two years to fight for him and obtain justice for our client. Through the case, we saw him fight through depression and readjusting to life as an amputee. It was his resolve that pushed us every day and knowing that he was fighting to regain his life, we would fight for him no matter what it took.

Published on: April 8, 2016

Creative Lawyering Yields Another Great Result for Injured Child

By Leesfield & Partners

The vast majority of personal injury victims contact a lawyer intending to make claims against a specific entity for a specific wrongdoing. The victims often evaluate their case and form their own theories of liability before they are ever guided by an experienced trial lawyer. Unfortunately, many lawyers then evaluate cases based on their clients’ impressions without broadening their imagination and looking at the entire picture.

Our firm was recently contacted by a mother in reference to a potential medical malpractice case for her 12-year-old son. Our client’s concern was that her son underwent surgery to repair his fractured femur (thigh bone) with metal rods, and the metal rods ultimately broke free from the bone, requiring a painful second surgery. Our client thought this complication occurred because the first surgery was done negligently. Our firm investigated and concluded that the complication was likely an inherent risk of surgery rather than negligence.

For many lawyers, the evaluation would have ended there. However, our firm inquired further and asked how the boy’s leg was fractured. Our client believed that was a dead end. She explained that the injury occurred when a 13-year-old girl accidentally fell on him at the girl’s house. As we learned more, it was discovered that the girl, who was much larger than the boy, had been physically harassing him for several days with unwanted horseplay. The girl’s father, who was supposed to be supervising them, knew of this abuse and failed to prevent it or separate the children. Our firm made a claim against the father’s homeowner’s insurance policy under a Negligent Supervision theory. Within just days of receiving our lawsuit, the insurance carrier offered their full policy limits of $300,000, to compensate our client’s son.

Published on: January 22, 2015

Fatal hit and run in key biscayne caused by alcohol and cell phone use

By Leesfield & Partners

Yesterday, we reported on the tragic accident that took the life of a bicyclist and seriously injured another in a hit and run accident that occurred in Key Biscayne in the early morning hours.

Alejandro Alvarez.jpg In the last 24 hours, police has released additional information on what caused the accident, and the identities of the people involved. 21-year-old Alejandro Alvarez was arrested by police after he admitted to running over bicyclists Walter Reyes, and Henry Hernandez. Walter Reyes succumbed to his injuries at the scene, while Henry Hernandez was emergently taken to Mercy Hospital for serious physical injuries. Henry is said to be in stable condition at this time.

Upon admitting being at the wheels of the 2014 VW Jetta involved in the incident, Alvarez was arrested by police. He is currently behind bars and facing multiple criminal charges, including manslaughter and driving under the influence.

Published on: March 6, 2014

Lawsuit filed in case of fatal explosion against Holy Cross Hospital

By Leesfield & Partners

Last August, Adele Bearman went to Holy Cross Hospital to have routine surgery. Leesfield & Partners, Ira Leesfield, said in an interview to the Miami Herald and other news outlet: “While they were doing this rather routine surgery, there was a leak from the oxygen mask into the environment. The surgeon, anesthesiologist, and the hospital employees didn’t communicate with each other. There was an explosion. She literally caught on fire in the operating room.”

A lawsuit was filed on March 4 against Holy Cross and other multiple doctors whom the complaint alleges they were negligent in this action. The complaint reads that “during the operative procedure Mrs. Bearman was supposed to undergo, Dr. Pasternak was the anesthesiologist who was responsible for providing MAC anesthesia to this patient. Dr. Pasternak was providing oxygen, via facemask, at 8 liters per minute at the time. Dr. Bermudez was utilizing electrocautery in close proximity to the flow of oxygen. Dr. Pasternak and Dr. Bermudez failed to communicate with each other concerning the utilization of oxygen via face mask and electrocautery in the proximity with the oxygen and as such created a dangerous, negligent and unsafe condition.”

The complaint further alleges that “during the arterial biopsy performed by Dr. Bermudez, there occurred an operative fire caused by the combination of the presence of excessive oxygen and electrocautery with said fire causing burns to the face and additional burns on the chest, oral and nasal mucosal surfaces of Adele Bearman causing substantial pain, suffering, scarring, disfigurement, loss of ability to enjoy life, and serious bodily injury for which substantial care and treatment was required from her date of injury to her date of death.”

Published on: August 14, 2013

Fatal Car2Go Accident downtown Miami

By Leesfield & Partners

At dawn this morning in Miami, a Chevy pick-up truck traveling eastbound on Northeast 15th Street, in downtown Miami, was t-boned by a white Daimler SMART car traveling southbound on Biscayne Boulevard. One of the investigators told the media that it is believed the driver of the SMART car failed to stop at a stop sign or a red light, which was the cause for the two vehicle to collide at such a high rate of speed.

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 Miami Herald)

The SMART car involved in this incident, whose driver was supposedly at fault, was a CAR2GO vehicle. According to the company’s website, CAR2GO is a mobility program launched in Austin, Texas back in November 2009. The company provides a fleet of free-floating vehicles distributed all over the city. Individuals who become members of CAR2GO have the ability to use any vehicle from the CAR2GO fleet at any time.

Published on: May 16, 2013

County truck responsible for 7-vehicle crash and critically injured victims

By Leesfield & Partners

On May 15, 2013, County employee Alfredo Menendez was placed on leave for ramming his county truck into several stopped vehicle, causing a pileup accident at the intersection of Flagler and Lejeune Road in Miami. According to reports in the local media, witnesses saw the county truck run a red light and crash into a vehicle before swerving off the road and slam into a bus bench on Lejeune Road. The violence of the crash and the speed at which the county truck is alleged to have been traveling at the time caused a chain reaction of collisions which involved a total of seven vehicles.

Paramedics confirmed that three people were waiting at the bus stop at the time of the crash. Ambulances and firefighters were dispatched to the scene immediately. In all, five people – including the county truck driver – were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital. One victim, 80-year-old Transito Lopez, reportedly lost a leg in the accident. His family has yet to visit with their relative who is said to be in critical condition and in a coma.

While the police investigation is still ongoing, several witnesses have come forward and shared what they saw. One person whose vehicle was involved and damaged in this accident said that the driver was not paying attention: “Very simple, that truck was on the phone, it was obvious he didn’t see the red light. How can you be going 60 miles 300 yards before a red light.”