Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
The family of a 14-year-old boy who sustained a head injury after a crash on his all-terrain vehicle (ATV) on New Year’s Day does not expect him to return to school this year, according to reporting from WSVN.
The incident happened just after 6 p.m. near Southwest 220th Street and 118th Avenue involving the boy, identified as Jamari Charles, and another vehicle. Jamari was gifted the four-wheeler for Christmas and was allegedly not wearing a helmet at the time, WSVN reported. He was taken to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital in “critical but stable condition.”
The driver involved was not injured.
The family expects the “family-oriented” athlete and student to require rehab and surgery as he continues to recover. Jamari’s aunt, Talia Stewart, told reporters that her nephew did not break any bones and was not bleeding internally but that he did hit his head, causing swelling to the brain.
“He’s so young,” she told reporters. “Fourteen years old and full of life.”
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a personal injury law firm with five decades of experience representing injured clients and grieving families throughout Florida. In that time, the firm has become among the top firms of its kind in the state and has earned national recognition for highlighting excellence in trial advocacy and client representation. Our skilled trial attorneys have achieved landmark verdicts, handling some of the state’s most complex cases. Across products liability, motor vehicle accidents, boating crashes, medical malpractice, and cruise ship litigation, our attorneys have encountered some of the most egregious forms of negligence.
The attorneys and staff at Leesfield & Partners are deeply saddened to hear about this recent tragic incident involving an ATV, a vehicle often marketed as toys for children. While these vehicles may seem harmless, the reality is starkly different.
Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, traveled across the United States highlighting the dangers of children and ATVs. As a result of this litigation, more than $10 million verdicts and settlements were secured on behalf of children injured in crashes and other incidents involving ATVs. In many of these cases, the children had been given these vehicles as holiday and birthday gifts.
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. Florida was among five states in the U.S. that accounted for more than 30% of the off-highway vehicle deaths from 2018 through 2020, CPSC data showed. Other states where these deaths — about 613 — occurred included Pennsylvania, California, West Virginia, and Kentucky.
Children are particularly at risk of dying or being injured in ATV accidents, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. This is 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. One out of three ATV deaths and injuries requiring emergency room treatment involves a child under 16 years old.
“In the large majority of children’s deaths resulting from the use of an ATV, the child was not wearing a helmet,” Leesfield & Partners said in a previous blog post.
Previous ATV Cases
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 & Partners attorneys were obtained to represent 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.
Leesfield & Partners previously handled a cruise ship excursion case in which multiple people were injured in an ATV incident. In that case, a rollover crash occurred on a cruise-sponsored shore excursion, causing serious injuries to multiple passengers.
The firm settled the case for over $1.2 million.
Previous Motor Vehicle Crash Cases
In decades of litigating motor vehicle accident cases, our attorneys know just how quickly a seemingly mundane trip to the grocery store or a seemingly typical morning commute can become a family’s worst nightmare. As much is true for the family of a 23-year-old incoming medical student who was on her way to the airport to attend orientation when she was hit head-on by a wrong-way drunk driver on I-95. Also in the car was the young woman’s younger brother, 21. Not only did this family lose their daughter, but their son suffered permanent injuries as a result of this driver’s actions.
Leesfield & Partners represented the family at trial and obtained a $95 million verdict, marking the largest in the area’s history for a case of its kind. In that case, $57 million went to the son and $38 million was awarded to the parents.
“The result in this case shows what hard work and creative lawyering can do for clients with devastating injuries,” said Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner. “Along with co-counsel Aaron Davis, we are happy to settle with two defendants and to obtain this record verdict for them.”
Partner Justin B. Shapiro is currently representing at least three pedestrians who were hit in separate incidents while attempting to cross the street in Miami-Dade County.
Carlos A. Fabano, a Trial Attorney at the firm is handling a similarly tragic case in which our client, also in a wheelchair, was hit by a speeding driver. Our client underwent an amputation due to the severity of his injuries.
That case is ongoing.
Mr. Shapiro and Trial Lawyer Eric Shane are representing a 46-year-old motor scooterist out of Key West whose life was completely changed following a crash with a negligent driver. The man was left with a traumatic brain injury, a crushed left tibia and fibula. On the day of the crash, our client was approaching an intersection and had the right-of-way when a negligent driver with a stop sign failed to yield and caused a collision. Our client was ejected from his vehicle and his the driver’s windshield with such a force that it was significantly cracked. Since the crash, our client has remained at a long-term care and rehabilitation facility.
“Sadly, our client’s life has been destroyed by this crash and he remains in in-patient rehabilitation,” Mr. Shane said. “We are aggressively pursuing all avenues of recovery under the law.”
rial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II settled a $1 million fatal car accident case on behalf of a family who tragically lost their 8-year-old daughter due to the negligence of a pharmaceutical delivery company’s employee. In that case, the company attempted to argue that this employee was an independent contractor, however, Mr. Pimentel argue that because this company exerted a certain level of control over this driver, – wearing a uniform and issuing a schedule he was obligated to follow – their claim was invalid. This level of control categorized him as an employee making the company liable for his reckless driving.
Mr. Shane recently obtained a confidential amount for a young passenger who was injured in a severe Florida crash.
Mr. Pimentel also settled a confidential case on behalf of a family whose 5-year-old son suffered serious injuries when he was hit by a car that crashed through the front of a Florida discount store.
Evan Robinson, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Attorney, previously secured a six-figure settlement on behalf of a client who was injured in a Monroe County car accident.
If you or a loved one was involved in an ATV crash or other motor vehicle incident, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney today at 800-836-4900 for a free consultation.
