Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
A housekeeper at a Melbourne, Florida, hotel spotted a toddler drowning in the pool and raced to pull him out, but tragically, the child later died at the hospital despite her efforts.
The incident happened as the 3-year-old boy’s father allegedly dozed next to him, passed out on the pool steps, The Miami Herald reported Wednesday. As the woman was cleaning a room on the hotel’s third floor, she told police that she spotted the boy floating in the deep end of the pool. She screamed for the father to wake up, but he did not stir, according to local media reporting.
The woman ran downstairs and jumped into the pool. Not knowing CPR, she told police that she pounded on the child’s chest and tried calling for help.
The father later woke up and began cursing at the housekeeper before allegedly continuing to yell at hotel staff. The housekeeper claimed to have seen a wine bottle in the father’s bag and police noted he allegedly smelled of alcohol.
In surveillance footage from the day of the incident, police told reporters that the child appeared to have been drowning for at least 20 minutes while his father slept in the pool.
The child and his father were staying at the hotel with the child’s mother and other sibling. The mother was away from the hotel, according to The Miami Herald.
The boy’s father, Sharef Omar Smith, 40, of Georgia, was charged Saturday with aggravated manslaughter of a child.
He remained in custody at the Brevard County Jail as of Thursday afternoon, according to sheriff’s office records.
Leesfield & Partners
Tragically, childhood drowning remains a serious and far too common threat in Florida, where an abundance of backyard pools, warm weather, and easy access to open water has led to growing concern across the state. Leesfield & Partners attorneys have represented families and loved ones in far too many tragic drowning incidents caused by the failure of hotels, caregivers, and other responsible parties to uphold their duty of care to both children and adults.
Data from the Florida Department of Health shows that approximately enough children under the age of 5 years old drown in the state every year to fill several classrooms. Drowning is the leading cause of death for children under the age of 5 years old, according to the Safe Children Coalition, an organization dedicated to promoting education and awareness surrounding this pressing issue.
There were about 60 drowning deaths in the state for the first half of 2024, according to the latest available data. Of the 60 people who tragically lost their lives, about 46 of them were children.
Over the last two months, there have been a series of tragic drowning incidents involving children under the age of 5 years old, highlighting the importance of this pressing issue.
On June 15, a child was struggling in the water at an Extended Stay America. Thankfully, the minor was able to be resuscitated, but the same cannot be said for other children in the state.
That same weekend, a 5-year-old in Stuart, Florida, was found dead in a neighbor’s swimming pool. The child had escaped his home while his mother bathed a younger sibling.
A week before, a 2-year-old in Hobe Sound drowned in a pool. That same day in Central Florida, another child died from drowning.
Leesfield & Partners remains committed to swimming safety awareness and education initiatives to prevent these incidents from occurring in the future. In addition to litigation, Leesfield & Partners regularly posts safety advisories regarding pool and swimming safety on its digital sign outside the firm’s Miami office. This board is displayed to traffic in both directions on U.S. 1 — one of the city’s most used highways — and sees thousands of commuters each day.
Partner Justin B. Shapiro and Trial Attorney Eric Shane are representing a family whose 2-year-old drowned at a Central Florida pool.
Previous Cases
Leesfield & Partners obtained a historic settlement in a case involving a swimming pool incident at a Hotel Resort Orlando in Osceola County. In that case, our client’s son was swimming when he was caught in the suction of the pool’s drain. The child could not be removed because the hotel failed to have an emergency shut off switch.
For nearly 10 minutes, our client’s child remained underwater. As a result, he was later diagnosed with brain damage that would require life-long medical care. This case, which was handled by Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, is the largest result of its kind in Osceola County.
One family was forever changed when a father and husband lost his wife and two young daughters due to the U.S. Navy’s failure to maintain its pier in a safe condition.
“Ivan Grayson, tormented by the mind-numbing horror of the tragedy that wiped his family from the face of the earth, desperately needs to know why this happened,” U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King said of the case.
Grayson was awarded $2.95 million for the loss of his family.
Previously, the firm secured a seven-figure settlement for a family whose toddler drowned in South Florida. In that case, an inadequately installed child safety fence around the pool was found at the home.
Previously, the firm secured a $575,000 settlement in the drowning death of a man against a Florida boat tour company.
Swimming Safety Tips
- All pools should be equipped with child safety fences and locks.
- Adults should take a CPR course to know what to do in case of an emergency.
- Invest in swimming classes and water safety courses for children and adults. No one expects tragedy but knowing what to do in case of an emergency can save a life.
- Dress children in brightly colored swimsuits so that, if the unthinkable happens, they are easier to spot in the water.
- Make sure all external doors leading to a pool area or body of water like a lake or ocean are equipped with proper locks and alarms that way, even if a child manages to unlock the door, you will know that it has been opened.
If your loved one was involved in a drowning incident in Florida, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney today at 800-836-6400 to see if you may be eligible to make a claim.
