Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
At least one person has died following an altercation near Brickell City Centre in Miami Wednesday morning.
The incident happened in the area of Southwest Eighth Street and First Avenue around 1 a.m. when two women were leaving Blackbird Ordinary, a popular bar and music venue. The two women were allegedly approached by an unrelated man who began “heckling them” before pulling out a firearm, according to reporting from Channel 7 News.
A second man, allegedly a boyfriend of one of the two women, pulled up to the scene with his own firearm. The two exchanged gunfire before the boyfriend and the two women left in a car. The trio was later stopped by Miami police.
A witness told reporters that he heard anywhere from seven to nine gunshots as the chaos ensued.
The name of the unrelated man has not been released as of Wednesday afternoon.
Additional details, including whether anyone else was injured or whether charges will be filed, have not been released by police.
Leesfield & Partners
In over 48 years of personal injury experience in Florida, Leesfield & Partners has represented numerous victims of gun violence. From injured victims to grieving families who have been forever fractured, our attorneys are dedicated to achieving the best possible outcome in each case. In decades of representing these clients, our attorneys have secured numerous record verdicts and settlements, including an over $40.5 million result for a woman attacked in a resort parking garage.
In that case, a man was able to enter the parking garage of a Key West resort hotel and roam the area for 20 minutes without being questioned by security or hotel employees. When he encountered our client, he attacked her with a hammer and caused severe injuries to her face and head. Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured a confidential settlement with the hotel the night before a $40,580,000 verdict was handed down against the remaining defendant.
Our attorneys have been national leaders in negligent and inadequate security cases for nearly five decades. In Florida, while property owners typically aren’t responsible for crimes committed by third parties, they can be held liable when they fail to take reasonable steps to protect against foreseeable criminal acts. If a property owner or business ignores warning signs—like prior incidents or security risks—and someone gets hurt, the law allows victims to pursue justice and compensation.
In a previous case handled by Partner Justin B. Shapiro, a hotel that ignored advice from police and a security company to hire armed guards was found liable after a couple was brutally attacked while at the property. In that case, our clients’ attacker was able to enter the property and travel up the elevator to our clients’ floor where he launched a brutal attack on the husband. After a few minutes, he turned his ire on the wife and viciously beat her before raping and sexually assaulting her. Much of the horrific incident was witnessed by employees and security guards who did nothing to intervene.
Despite its well-documented history of violent assaults and gun violence, the hotel lacked basic security measures—such as key-operated elevators or locked entry doors—to prevent unauthorized access by non-guests, such as our clients’ attacker.
A $16 million settlement was obtained in that case.
In a fatal apartment complex shooting, our attorneys secured a $15 million recovery for the wrongful death of our client’s loved one.
A different negligent security case handled by the firm resulted in over $3 million obtained for the injured client.
Leesfield & Partners attorneys obtained a $3 million recovery for a client who was injured in a violent incident at a Florida bank.
For a cruise ship passenger who was brutally raped in her private cabin by a member of the crew who used a keycard to enter the room, our attorneys obtained an over $1.5 million settlement.
Our attorneys represented a store clerk who was raped and robbed at a shopping mall that had recently cut down on security. A $1.3 million recovery was obtained in that case.
In a similar case out of Monroe County, a hotel maid was raped by a non-guest who was allowed to roam the property. Our client was cleaning a room at the hotel when she was attacked. Leesfield & Partners settled the case for $1 million.
A 26-year-old was viciously assaulted at a Monroe County bar and died from those injuries. Leesfield & Partners attorneys recovered $1 million for the grieving family.
If you or a loved one was injured as the result of a criminal act in Florida, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney today to see if you may be eligible for compensation.
