Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
A lifeguard in Hollywood Beach is being hailed as a hero after he jumped into action during an excursion gone wrong on his family’s trip to Aruba.
Marcelo Lorenzo, 24, and his family were being pulled behind a boat on two tubes when the captain made a quick turn, slamming one of the rafts into another vessel.
In an interview with NBC 6 South Florida, Lorenzo said that his training with Hollywood Ocean Rescue — where he has worked for at least three years — is what prepared him for that day.
“When the captain of the boat cut to the left, it whipped my other family members straight directly into the boat,” he told reporters. “The minute I saw that, I knew I had to jump off my raft and go save them.”
In videos of the event, Lorenzo can be seen quickly diving off his raft to reach his family. He reached his father, who was unresponsive underneath the boat, first. He found his unconscious cousin in the water nearby. Two workers on a catamaran were able to help him stabilize her head and get her to shore, NBC 6 reported. Lorenzo said he lifted his father onto the back of a smaller boat where he found his aunt who had suffered a broken arm.
As of Monday, Aug. 24, Lorenzo’s father remains overseas while he awaits hospital clearance to return to the U.S., local media reported. This week, he will be recognized by the City of Hollywood Beach for his heroic actions.
Thankfully, this incident has a happy ending. For many victims of water-related accidents, however, the same cannot be said. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that there were approximately 694 reportable boating accidents in the state in 2025. These incidents have resulted in nearly 400 injuries and 51 deaths. More than half of the boaters involved in fatal boating tragedies in 2025 did not have formal boater’s education, according to FWC’s findings.
Leesfield & Partners is a personal injury law firm with five decades of experience representing the victims and families affected by such tragic incidents. The firm’s Founder and Managing Partner Ira Leesfield has regularly highlighted the dangers associated with reckless boating and the importance of education and prevention.
“The dangers from boating incidents are entirely underestimated as South Florida becomes more congested, drinking on the water becomes more prevalent and distractions from cell phones and other devices increases,” he said. “Important safety standards must be enforced on all watercrafts.”
Leesfield & Partners
With offices in coastal cities like Miami and Key West — the area where the highest number of 2025 boating accidents have occurred in the state — the skilled trial attorneys at Leesfield & Partners know just how dangerous the water can be. From mechanical failures to reckless boating incidents that resulted in horrific crashes, our attorneys have seen just about every injury that can occur on the water. They have skillfully guided individuals and families throughout some of the most devastating and emotionally difficult times in their lives to achieve justice and accountability for the damages that they have suffered. The firm has obtained numerous record verdicts and settlements throughout the state, earning it a reputation throughout Florida and nationwide.
Throughout decades of representing these individuals and families, Leesfield & partners has regularly championed sober boating, life jacket use and other critical safety practices to help prevent these tragedies.
Leesfield & Partners attorneys handle numerous tragic and preventable boating cases every year. Mr. Shapiro and Evan Robinson, a Trial Attorney at the firm, are representing a teen who suffered a traumatic brain injury as the result of a water tubing accident.
Mr. Shapiro and Trial Attorney Eric Shane are representing a young girl who was enrolled in a South Florida summer camp when her leg was sliced by a boat propeller.
Leesfield & Partners is also representing those affected by the tragic sailboat-barge crash in Miami on July 28, including 13-year-old Erin Ko, who tragically died, and 7-year-old Calena Areyan Gruber, who survived.
That case is being handled by Mr. Shapiro and Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II.
Previous Cases
Previously, the firm secured a substantial settlement in a case involving a minor who lost a leg while not being supervised on a vessel.
The firm previously handled the case of a family whose young son was snorkeling when he was hit and killed by a passing boater. The boater in that case was also a minor who should never have been given permission to operate the vessel without supervision. Not only did this minor not stop, but he attempted to cover up evidence and lied to police when questioned.
Neighbors later testified that this minor regularly operated the boat in a reckless manner.
The firm represented the family of a young woman, 20, who tragically died when the vessel she was on crashed into a concrete dock. The firm secured over $1.3 million for the family when it was revealed that the boat operator had been drinking and speeding the night of the crash.
In a jet ski and boat crash, Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured $935,750 for their client.
In a boat case involving a foreign resort, the firm secured an $800,000 recovery for the injured client.
Another boating accident involving a negligent operator resulted in a $500,000 recovery.
In addition to boating accident litigation, Leesfield & Partners have represented the victims of various water-related accidents, including drownings, jet ski crashes, parasailing, and other recreational activities.
The firm represented the widow of a man who drowned while on a boat tour at the Dry Tortugas National Park. The company’s tour guides instructed the man where he should go to snorkel and, within minutes, his body was found unresponsive.
The firm secured a six-figure recovery in that case.
Mr. Pimentel represented the family of a young man and father-to-be who was lobster diving when he was killed by a law enforcement officer who negligently failed to adhere to divers-down flag laws.
