Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Flock cameras have cropped up on various street corners throughout Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, bringing with them controversy and perturbing private residents.
The solar-powered network of cameras uses artificial intelligence to read license plates and can record and analyze audio to identify sounds like gunfire or car accidents, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. While the benefits of potential crime and/or accident reporting are obvious, the cameras have left residents uneasy with many protesting their installation on the grounds of ICE and immigration concerns and privacy issues.
In St. Petersburg, a 77-year-old man named Carl Gunn has taken to holding a sign that says “Down with Flock” in front of the camera’s lens. His aim is to highlight the threat to privacy and surveillance posed by the cameras, according to reporting from Cyber News. His stunt has gone viral and has been widely reported by statewide and national media.
“I want the people to know that these are watching us as law-abiding citizens,” Gunn told reporters with the Tampa Bay News. “The Constitution protects us from this. It says it right in there, but our government has forgot to read it.”
The local police department has allegedly installed about 50 Flock cameras throughout St. Peterburg, where Gunn has set up a lawn chair to begin his watch every Saturday since at least July 18, WTSP reported.
In Miami-Dade County, where Leesfield & Partners, a personal injury law firm with five decades of experience representing the victims of car accidents, is located, approximately 400 Flock cameras have already been installed. Broward County allegedly has 800 cameras, The Herald reported.
The Flock Safety website maintains that their systems don’t detect identifiers such as faces, gender, or race and the audio equipment doesn’t record conversations. Data collected by these devices is only stored for 30 days, unless instructed otherwise by an individual contract, The Miami Herald reported. The website also states that it does not sell data to third parties and external entities cannot access the cameras without permission. Others interviewed by the newspaper have expressed misgivings about these claims.
How Flock May Impact Personal Injury Cases
While many are dubious about the cameras’ intended purpose — law enforcement officers throughout the U.S. have reportedly used them to stalk strangers, romantic rivals, and/or current and past love interests — they are not without their benefits. A 29-year-old man accused of kidnapping, battery and aggravated domestic assault was found and charged thanks to Flock cameras in Orange County in July.
In terms of an accident on the road, Flock cameras may help first responders arrive at the scene faster, saving lives and precious time when it comes to catastrophic injuries. Additionally, they may help paint a clearer picture of the accident while building your case, proving to be another tool in the arsenal of an attorney who exhausts all avenues.
Perhaps the client was left with memory lapses after the accident and is unsure how the accident occurred or maybe they were involved in a hit-and-run. Flock cameras, similar to dashboard cameras, may help fill in the gaps, only at a different angle. This could make the world of a difference for a client who is currently suffering from traumatic injuries related to the accident. The records obtained, however, are not simply a continuous video reel of the events that transpired. The system’s primary purpose is as an automated license plate reader, which captures images of the plate, vehicle characteristics, timestamps, and camera location. With the implementation of this data in an investigation, attorneys may obtain information involving:
- Other vehicles that may have witnessed or been involved in the accident
- What the defendant vehicle looked like before or following the crash
- The sequence in which vehicles passed the camera
- Timestamps to gain a clearer picture of what occurred and when
It is crucial to preserve this data before the 30-day period expires. If the Flock camera is operated by a Florida governmental agency, an attorney may be able to obtain camera records through a Florida Public Records request.
The caveat is within the company’s legal policy. In it, the company states that non-law-enforcement requests must be properly served on Flock, meaning an attorney may have to subpoena the company directly to obtain records either in lieu of or in addition to the law enforcement agency linked to the camera where the accident happened.
If the law enforcement agency has the Flock records, the 30-day limit does not become as worrisome given that, under Florida Statute § 119.07(1)(h), a public records custodian cannot dispose of a record for 30 days once a written public-records request is made, even if the custodian claims the record isn’t subject to disclosure.
Thinking Outside the Box
Our firm has a reputation for “thinking outside of the box” and including the “non-obvious defendant” to ensure that we achieve the best possible result for every client. The people that Leesfield & Partners represents have tragically suffered some of the most devastating accidents that can occur from losing a loved one in a car accident to losing a limb as the result of a cruise ship doctor’s negligence. With that, it is important to remember that the damages obtained on behalf of such clients have to go to cover mounting medical costs, the loss of future earnings, and any physical therapy or rehabilitative costs that they may need in the future as a result of these injuries.
Thinking creatively and beyond the scope of what may seem immediately apparent is imperative to what the attorneys at our firm do on behalf of these individuals and families every day. Partner Justin B. Shapiro previously represented the family of a minor who was run over by a distracted driver as he was about to board the school bus.
What seemed like an ordinary, early-morning commute turned tragic for our client’s minor son. It was about 6 a.m. when his school bus stopped on the opposite corner of the intersection in the middle of the road. It was dark with no streetlights in the area. The driver initiated the bus’s flashing lights and signaled for the children to cross the street where there was no designated sidewalk.
Trusting the bus driver, our client’s son, and the other children waiting at the stop, began to cross the street. Another driver who was speeding could not see the children due to heavy traffic and numerous school buses in the northbound lane with their headlights initiated. Tragically, the vehicle hit the boy and caused severe brain injuries that will impact him for the rest of his life.
An investigation by Leesfield & Partners revealed that the school bus driver was in violation of state law at the time of the crash. Not only was she in the incorrect lane when she initiated the flashing lights and signaled for the children to cross the street, she also failed to ensure there was at least 200 feet of visibility in the direction of oncoming traffic. These failures left our client’s son and the other children vulnerable to the dangers of oncoming traffic.
Mr. Shapiro secured a confidential settlement for the minor and his family, which was over the insurance coverage of the at-fault vehicle.
Previous cases
Leesfield & Partners has faithfully served the victims of motor vehicle accidents for five decades. With that experience, our skilled trial attorneys have represented individuals in families throughout some of the most painful and emotionally taxing events that can occur. Over the years, Leesfield & Partners has obtained record verdicts and settlements, including a $95 million verdict in Miami-Dade County.
That case involved a speeding drunk driver who hit a family head-on while driving the wrong way down I-95. The family was on their way to drop off their daughter at the airport so that she could travel to her medical school’s orientation. In the car with her was her 21-year-old brother who sustained injuries that left him unable to speak, requiring both a wheelchair and round-the-clock care. Their daughter tragically did not survive. She was 23.
At trial, a jury awarded over $95 million to the family with $57 million going to the son and $38 million going 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.”
Mr. Shapiro previously represented the grieving family of a pedestrian who died in a crash. That case resulted in a $36.96 million verdict.
Mr. Leesfield previously handled a defective product case involving a 27-year-old man who was severely and permanently injured due to an issue with his Honda motorcycle. The man was riding the motorcycle when the kickstand suddenly and erroneously deployed, causing the bike to spin out of control. Our client was paralyzed as a result of his spinal injuries.
Leesfield & Partners obtained a $19.8 million verdict.
A $15.4 million recovery was obtained for a Fort Lauderdale handyman who was injured as a backseat passenger in a high-speed motor vehicle accident. The man in that case was in a car that was stopped at a drawbridge when another car hit it from behind, causing skull fractures, frontal lobe brain damage and facial fractures.
As a result of his injuries, our client developed a seizure disorder that could not be controlled by medication. This ended the then-22-year-old’s career as a handyman in the area.
Leesfield & Partners previously represented the families of three teenage girls after they were struck by a commercial truck driver making an illegal U-turn on the turnpike. The girls in that case were on their way to the library when the driver turned directly into their path. Tragically, one girl was killed and the other two sustained serious injuries.
Our attorneys worked tirelessly to settle the case for over $8.6 million for the families. The firm also obtained an over $7.6 million arbitration award for the family who lost their daughter.
Mr. Shapiro settled a pedestrian case for $6 million, the maximum recoverable amount. The crash happened in October 2019 when our client was walking back to her office after a midday break. While she was in the marked crosswalk in broad daylight, a pickup truck driver suddenly made an illegal left turn.
As a result, she suffered horrific skull fractures, brain hemorrhages and significant injuries to her left leg. The driver claimed not to have seen our client despite clear visibility, the marked crosswalk and road signage.
In another pedestrian-involved case, Leesfield & Partners obtained a $2.9 million recovery our client who was injured due to a driver’s negligence.
The firm previously settled a pedestrian case for $1.2 million. The pedestrian in this case was a child who was hit while attempting to cross a street in Fort Lauderdale. As a result of the crash, our minor client hit his head on the pavement and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Previously, Mr. Shapiro represented a minor who was told to cross the street by a careless school bus driver just before he was struck in the road by a speeding driver. The boy suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of the crash and had to be airlifted to the hospital. Through an investigation and identifying what could have been an overlooked defendant, Mr. Shapiro discovered that the bus driver violated state law and endangered the students she was tasked with protecting. By not stopping as far right as possible and by not ensuring 200 feet of visibility in either direction from her bus, this driver risked the lives of several students and our client.
A confidential settlement was reached in that case.
Trial 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.
Trial Lawyer Eric 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 was injured in a Monroe County car accident.
Trial Attorney Carlos Fabano is representing a wheelchair pedestrian who was hit by a speeding vehicle, causing severe and permanent injuries.
If you or a loved one was injured in a motor vehicle accident in Florida, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney today for a free consultation at 800-836-6400.
