Premises Liability

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: September 24, 2025

Nearly 100 People Displaced by Fire at Miami Beach Hostel. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

About 100 people were displaced after a fire broke out at a Miami Beach hostel Monday night, officials say.

Firefighters were called out to the South Beach Rooms and Hostel at 236 Ninth St around 5:15 p.m., according to reporting from The Miami Herald. The fire was contained to the second floor and was extinguished.

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Published on: August 7, 2025

Warehouse Roof Collapses Near Miami Airport Tuesday. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

A warehouse roof collapse near Miami International Airport Tuesday afternoon spurred a search with fire crews and rescue dogs on the property, ready to examine the area, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

As of 4 p.m., everyone inside the warehouse had been accounted for and no injuries were reported.

The incident happened around 1:20 p.m. at 1955 NW 72^nd Ave., according to local media. The size of the cave-in was about 80 feet by 25 feet.

Published on: December 31, 2024

Women Rescued After Falling into Florida Golf Course Quarry. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

Two women have a harrowing tale of how they spent their 2024 Christmas holiday after falling 50 feet into a Citrus County, Florida, golf course quarry.

The women, who have not been named, fell into the cavernous quarry on Christmas Day and were found Thursday morning. Both were in stable condition, according to reporting from the Miami Herald and were taken to a local trauma hospital.

Temperatures dropped to around 50 degrees that night. Additional details, including how many hours the women spent awaiting rescue, were not immediately available Friday morning.

Published on: October 31, 2024

Leesfield & Partners Attorney Recovers $350,000 for Woman Who Shattered her Hip at a Florida Tourist Attraction

By Leesfield & Partners

Evan Robinson, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Lawyer, secured a $350,000 settlement for a woman who shattered her hip as a result of a violent fall at a Monroe County tourist attraction.

Our client visited the popular tourist attraction while on vacation in the Keys with her husband. As the couple navigated the property’s narrow and crowded walkway, that was supposed to be flanked with gravel on both sides, our client stepped off the edge of the walkway and into a trench in an area where there was no gravel. As a result, our client lost her balance and fell violently onto the concrete ground, causing an injury that would forever alter her previously active lifestyle.

During the course of the litigation, Mr. Robinson learned that the walkway on which our client fell posed a dangerous hazard that was well-known to numerous employees and managers who worked at the attraction. Specifically, the frequent displacement of gravel caused by visitors constantly kicking it around resulted in the walkway repeatedly becoming unlevel. This recurring hazard presented such a serious danger that it required daily inspections and maintenance for over 16 years. In fact, every employee who worked at the attraction was instructed to keep watch over this area and bags of additional gravel were kept on site so that maintenance personnel could re-level the walkway when the gravel was displaced.

Published on: September 6, 2024

Leesfield & Partners secured over $1.8 million for a man left with debilitating pain after a fall at a Florida vacation rental

By Leesfield & Partners

Justin B. Shapiro, a Partner and Trial Lawyer with Leesfield & Partners, secured a $1,824,327 record settlement for a client whose fall left his pelvic bone so shattered doctors said the fragments resembled “bread crumbs.”

In an article published in the Daily Business Review, Mr. Shapiro told reporters that within the first hour of speaking with this client he could tell the man was a wonderful person and decided to take on the case, which two law firms had already rejected, because “when we dig in, we don’t stop until our client is made whole.”

“We turned an enormously challenging case into a seven-figure recovery,” he said. “I’m proud to say that I don’t know of any settlement or verdict in Florida larger than this for a fall in a shower.”

Published on: July 18, 2024

‘Nearly as slippery as ice:’ Leesfield & Partners secures a $300,000 settlement for a client who suffered a violent fall at a Florida resort

By Leesfield & Partners

Leesfield & Partners attorneys, including Partner, Justin B. Shapiro, and Trial Lawyer, Evan Robinson, recently secured a $300,000 settlement for a client who suffered a traumatic fall at a Florida resort, causing him to shatter his wrist so severely it required painful reconstructive surgery with the implantation of metal hardware.

Our client fell in the bathroom of the resort’s main pool area, which employees described as being “constantly wet” from guests tracking in water from nearby showers, pools and hot tubs. Although a drain in the bathroom floor should have allowed this water to pass through it, the drain was not functioning properly on the day of our client’s fall, leaving a pool of dirty water that created dangerous, wet conditions. To make matters worse, the resort installed tiles in the bathroom that were so smooth and slippery when wet that our expert engineer who examined and tested the tiles described them as being “nearly as slippery as ice.”

On the day of our client’s fall, the bathroom floor was soaked with dirty water and littered with wet toilet paper and towels. The fall resulted in our client shattering his wrist, requiring him to undergo reconstructive surgery and the installation of metal hardware. Moreover, as a result of his fall, our client was diagnosed with De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis Syndrome, a condition that causes extreme pain and dysfunction due to nerve damage in the hand and wrist.

Published on: June 25, 2024

Leesfield & Partners attorneys settle case of woman with ‘severe and gruesome’ injuries after a fall at a townhome community

By Leesfield & Partners

Trial Attorney and Partner, Justin B. Shapiro, recently resolved a case involving a woman who fell on an unstable concrete stepping stone, causing her to lose her balance and shatter her ankle in three places.

The unstable slab was part of a walkway in a common area of the townhome community where the woman was injured. It was the responsibility of the community association to oversee any modifications to the area. In fact, under the community’s association declarations, anyone who was not a part of the community’s staff or a groundskeeper directed to change a certain area was barred from making any repairs or modifications. As a result of her fall, three bones in her ankle were shattered and displaced, categorizing the incident as the “most severe and gruesome ankle fracture known to medicine,” according to official court documents.

Before her devastating fall, the woman was an active community member, a devoted wife and mother, and a beloved special needs teacher for high school students. Following the incident, the daily 2-mile walks she and her husband used to take were impossible as was interacting with her students or standing for long periods in her classroom.

Published on: September 13, 2021

Gas tank explosion at Seminole Classic Casino

By Leesfield & Partners

casino-594157_640-300x200 Earlier today, an explosion happened at the Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood, FL. The floor of the casino was open to patrons and workers were performing maintenance checks of the casino’s fire suppression systems. The early reports describe that the workers were checking an area of the casino with quite a lot of equipment. Once the check was over for one of the gas tanks used to suppress fire ruptured. An explosion followed, sending debris to the main casino floor where patrons were located. In all, 26 people were injured in the event, 6 of which were transported to the hospital with significant injuries.

Partner Justin Shapiro and other attorneys at the firm recently represented a client involved in a similar case where an explosion at a home caused significant burn and orthopedic injuries to the resident resulting in a 6-figure settlement. In another matter, Ira Leesfield and other attorneys at the firm represented an employee who was injured while performing maintenance at a large international outlet store. The store’s negligence caused the worker to fall 10 feet without notice and sustain catastrophic injuries.

In the Seminole Classic Casino explosion, several claims will have to be brought forward not only to compensate the victims, and to make certain that such event never occurs again. The question of tribal immunity will be discussed in the coming weeks and months, especially if one or more of the hospitalized victims sustained catastrophic injuries.

Published on: February 1, 2021

‘The Lie That Doomed This Defendant’: Miami Attorneys Land $2 Million Settlement Over Explosion

By Leesfield & Partners

When a Cape Coral man was left severely injured in an explosion on his outdoor patio because someone had accidentally left a gas grill turned on, his attorneys felt all signs pointed to a cleaning company that had stopped by the day before.

Leesfield & Partners, the plaintiff’s attorneys, had a problem, though. No direct evidence actually proved that a cleaning service staff member had been negligent — meaning, technically, it could have been anyone. The premises liability lawsuit that ensued ultimately hinged on a single deposition, as Leesfield & Partners found one witness’s lie boxed the defendant into settling the claims for its $2 million insurance policy limit.

Leesfield & Partners represented plaintiff James Dastra. He hired Sparkle and Shine Cleaning Service of SWFL LLC to professionally clean his house about twice a month, including his propane grill on the patio. Dastra’s complaint claimed their last visit put him in serious danger, alleging one cleaner caused highly-flammable propane to leak and build up by inadvertently leaving a burner knob switched on after cleaning it.