Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
A family in Miami-Dade’s El Portal neighborhood is living every parent’s worst nightmare after their 4-year-old was found floating in a backyard pool Friday morning, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.
Emergency responders were called out around 3:40 a.m. to the home near the 100 block of Northwest 90th Street. The girl was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital where she died.
The person who reported the incident saw the child in the pool — which allegedly had no safety fence around it — but was unable to help her, according to reporting from CBS News Miami.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit took over the investigation from the El Portal Police Department.
Additional details were not immediately available Monday.
Recent Florida Incidents
On June 15, first responders were called out to an Extended Stay America after a child was reported to be in distress while at a pool on the property. Thankfully, the child in that case was resuscitated and transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Earlier that same weekend in Stuart, Florida, a 5-year-old boy died after he reportedly snuck out of his family’s home. The boy’s body was later found in a neighbor’s swimming pool, and he died at the hospital. The boy was allegedly at home with his mother who was giving his younger sibling a bath at the time of the incident.
On June 13, a 2-year-old in Hobe Sound drowned in a Hobe Sound pool.
That same day in Central Florida, near the Westgate Villas Resort, another child died from a drowning incident.
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children under the age of 5, 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.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a personal injury law firm with nearly five decades of experience handling personal injury cases throughout Florida. Our skilled trial attorneys work tirelessly to achieve the best possible outcome for every client and have secured numerous record and landmark verdicts and settlements. These leading results have helped families affected by the immeasurable grief that comes with the loss of a child following the negligence at the hands of hotel management companies, resorts, and individuals. Leesfield & Partners has represented these grieving families with the compassion and tenacity necessary to hold all responsible parties accountable and help prevent future tragedies from occurring in the future.
In an ongoing case, Partner Justin B. Shapiro and Eric Shane, a Trial Attorney at the firm, are representing a family whose 2-year-old drowned at a Central Florida pool.
Childhood drowning remains a critical concern in Florida, a state that draws millions of tourists every year to enjoy water-related recreational activities.
Florida has some of the strictest pool safety laws in the U.S., and that is for good reason. 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.
In Miami-Dade County, where Leesfield & Partners operates one of its three offices, local ordinances require that all new residential swimming pools be equipped with compliant safety barriers. The county’s Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER) will not approve final inspections for pools lacking these safety measures.
To pass inspection, a pool barrier must:
- Fully enclose the pool area
- Meet minimum height requirements
- Be constructed to prevent climbing or squeezing through
- Include a self-closing, self-latching gate with a spring lock mechanism
These safety laws and inspection requirements are meant to reduce child drowning incidents and protect families throughout the state.
Previous Drowning and Other Pool-related 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.
The firm also represented the widow of a man who drowned while on a tour with a Florida boat company. The firm secured a $575,000 settlement in that case.
Safety Tips
Summer is in full swing, meaning that families and small children will likely spend more time in the water. Preparation and knowledge are key in an emergency situation and can help save lives. Below are several safety tips, however, parents and other caregivers should defer to safety organizations and their local first-responders for the most up-to-date information.
- Never leave a child unattended near a body of water.
- Every adult watching over children near the water should take a CPR course to know what to do in case of an emergency.
- Ensure that all exterior doors are fitted with alarms or alerts that will signal to an adult that it has been opened.
- Never leave pool floats, toys or balls inside or near a pool in case a child escapes the home and attempts to reach for them as the child could easily fall in and drown.
- Children who cannot swim should always wear a life best and be in the water with an adult.
- All Florida pools should be equipped with child safety fences, pool covers, locks and other safety measures as outlined in state law.
- Children should always be dressed in brightly colored swimsuits so that, if the unthinkable does happen, they are easier for adults to spot in the water in case they need rescue.
- Children and adults should take swimming classes and water safety courses.
