Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
A ferry with about 45 people on board was ushering families to and from a sand sculpting competition in Clearwater, Florida, on Sunday when it was involved in a terrible hit-and-run crash.
The incident happened around 8:40 p.m. near the Clearwater memorial Causeway Bridge. Another boat came barreling toward the ferry and ignored a crew member’s desperate shouts, witnesses told reporters with CNN.
Good Samaritans with their own boats helped evacuate passengers from the “chaotic scene,” CNN reported Monday. Following the crash, the back of the boat appeared “shattered” and there was a “huge dent,” witnesses said.
A dozen people were taken to a local hospital and one person was killed. Each of these individuals was a passenger on the ferry.
As of Monday, no one had been reported missing.
The boat that hit the Gerry left the scene following the incident but has since been identified by authorities. That boat was carrying at least six people.
This incident is being investigated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
‘Boating Incidents Are Entirely Underestimated’
A vessel slices through Florida’s sparkling-tipped waves as the sunshine beats down on the boat and its passengers. By all accounts, this scene is one that promises a day of family fun out on the water. However, in an instant, tragedy can strike.
In its latest boating incident report, the FWC reported that the most common cause of 2023 boat crashes in Florida was a collision with a fixed object. These objects can include bridges or channel markers. In the 659 reportable boating accidents for that year, there were 59 people killed and 408 injured. July was the month with the highest number of accidents and Monroe County, where Leesfield & Partners has one of three Florida offices, was the area with the greatest number of incidents. In Monroe County, there were a total of 87 incidents that resulted in the death of at least three people and the injury to 62 others. Personal watercrafts like jet skis were involved in approximately 151 incidents. The most common cause of a PWC crash was a collision with another vessel. At least a dozen people were killed in these incidents and 115 were injured.
Alcohol or drug use is estimated to have a part in at least 23% of these incidents, according to the FWC. A staggering 83% of operators involved in fatal accidents had no formal boater’s education. This number is both shocking and demonstrates the necessity of boater’s education for safety on the water.
“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,” said the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield. “Important safety standards must be enforced on all watercrafts.”
Leesfield & Partners
With over 48 years of personal injury law experience, Mr. Leesfield and the attorneys at his firm know just how important education initiatives and awareness campaigns can be when it comes to public safety. Our skilled attorneys are dedicated to achieving the best possible outcome in every case and have secured record and historic verdicts and settlements for clients throughout the state. While representing clients in a state with the most registered vessels in the U.S., Leesfield & Partners knows firsthand the seriousness of operating these vessels.
Our attorneys have seen time and time again how quickly a day on the water can turn into a family’s worst nightmare. Whether these incidents are due to operator inexperience, drug or alcohol use, or mechanical failure, they are no less painful for the loved ones left impacted by these tragedies. And the issue does not solely lie with boating crashes.
In the firm’s decades of personal injury practice, jet ski rentals have proven to be the most dangerous and lethal recreational water activity.
Leesfield & Partners previously represented the family of a woman killed on a rented jet ski and secured a $2 million settlement amount for her death in that case. A California tourist visiting Florida with his family was severely injured following a crash with a concrete bridge piling due to the negligence and recklessness of two jet ski tour guides. The guides failed to warn the family about dangerous conditions in the area as they sped ahead of them.
Justin B. Shapiro, a Partner at the firm, has represented countless victims of jet ski-related injuries. Most recently, Mr. Shapiro filed a lawsuit in the case of a woman who was severely injured after the tour guide on her cruise ship’s jet ski excursion crashes into her.
Previous Cases
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.
A substantial settlement was secured by Leesfield & Partners 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.
A $1.7 million settlement was reached in that case.
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.
Bernardo Pimentel II, a Trial Lawyer at the firm, recently secured a settlement for the family of a young lobster diver and father-to-be. The lobster diver was in the water when a law enforcement officer failed to adhere to divers-down flag laws.
