Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg

Published on: June 24, 2024

Tragic drowning of three men Friday at Florida beach ahead of the July Fourth holiday acts as chilling reminder about water safety

Three Alabama tourists drowned Friday at a Bay County, Florida beach after getting caught in a rip current

The men, ranging in age from their early to mid-20s, were visiting Florida’s panhandle with friends, according to reporting from NBC News South Florida. Their death comes just one week before July Fourth celebrations, a holiday that is projected to bring millions of travelers to the state. The three men in Friday’s tragic incident were caught in the rip current by 8 p.m. The U.S. Coast Guard and local emergency services were called out to the beach where the men were seen struggling in the water. Rescuers searched for two hours and the three men were taken to a local hospital where they died from their injuries.

Rip currents are narrow channels of fast-moving water that can quickly trap swimmers. NOAA advises swimmers caught in a rip current to swim parallel to the shore instead of directly to avoid drowning because of fatigue.

Published on: June 21, 2024

Leesfield & Partners continues to represent clients in Legionnaires’ Disease cases, closing out one last month and continuing work on multiple others

By Leesfield & Partners

Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured a settlement for a woman who contracted Legionnaires’ Disease following a stay at a Florida hotel where she routinely used the hot tub.

The woman began experiencing symptoms the day she checked out from the hotel, including swelling all over her body, attorneys said in court records. She broke out in a fever ranging from 101 to 103 degrees Fahrenheit and was diagnosed at the hospital with multifocal pneumonia and Legionnaires’ Disease. While she was in the hospital, the woman went into septic shock.

Records from the state department of health showed the hotel failed to maintain minimum chlorine levels in the jacuzzi. Leesfield & Partners attorneys also discovered that the hotel failed to maintain the hot tub in accordance with industry standards. As a result of her exposure, the woman suffered an acute kidney injury. To this day, the woman suffers from regular bouts of pain and fatigue.

Published on: June 14, 2024

One dead, another injured after being electrocuted in jacuzzi at Mexican resort

By Leesfield & Partners

Police in Mexico are investigating after a man died and a woman remains in serious condition from being electrocuted while inside a resort jacuzzi.

The incident took place around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, according to reporting from CBS. The couple, identified as Jorge Guillen, 43, of El Paso, Texas, and 35-year-old Lizette Zambrano, were in the jacuzzi at the resort when there was a “possible electrical discharge.” Witnesses told the news outlet that they tried to jump in and save the couple who had both been rendered unconscious from the shock but they were zapped themselves when they tried to get in the water. A GoFundMe online fundraiser has been set up by friends of the family to help with funeral and medical expenses.

Zambrano remains in critical condition as of Thursday. Authorities are still trying to determine the cause of the electric failure and the investigation is ongoing.

Published on: June 11, 2024

Over 20 people hospitalized over the weekend in Bridgeport, Connecticut for carbon monoxide poisoning. How to keep your home safe.

By Leesfield & Partners

On the heels of over a dozen Miami condo residents being taken to the hospital for carbon monoxide injuries after a gas leak in the building, residents in Bridgeport, Connecticut suffered through a similar ordeal.

Firefighters and other emergency personnel were called out to the building housing several families and other individuals just around 3 a.m. Saturday after one of the building’s tenants called 911 explaining that they felt sick, according to local reporting. A recent bus fire nearby had cut off power to the building for days and firefighters told local news outlets that they found a generator running in the building’s basement, causing the gas to build up. These appliances are never to be used in enclosed spaces as they release carbon monoxide into the air.

There were no carbon monoxide detectors in the building at the time, meaning that the outcome for the families and tenants living there could easily have been very different had that first person feeling ill not called for emergency services, Bridgeport Fire Inspector Robert Lopez told reporters.

Published on: June 7, 2024

Underground tank explodes, leaving at least one man badly burned, officials say.

By Leesfield & Partners

The Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a case of an explosion at a Broward gas station that left at least one man seriously injured Tuesday, according to the Miami Herald.

The explosion took place around 12:30 p.m. at the Mobil station at 26 S. Federal Highway in Hallandale Beach. A witness told fire rescue officials that there was an explosion that “shook the ground violently,” according to local reporting. A man in his 30s was found unconscious on the ground with second-and-third-degree burns and was later taken to Aventura Medical Center.

No other injuries were reported in this incident.

Published on: June 7, 2024

Police investigate after 8-year-old drowned in neighbor’s Fort Lauderdale pool. These incidents on the rise, the CDC says.

By Leesfield & Partners

While packing a cooler with juice boxes on the way to the community pool, racking their brains to recall if they remembered the sunscreen, drowning is the last thing a parent wants to think about. But, according to the latest available data from the CDC, they should.

In its latest report on accident drownings in the United States, the Center for Disease Control reported that these incidents are on the rise. About 4,500 people drowned in the United States from 2020 through 2022, an increase of approximately 500 people per year since 2019, the numbers show. The CDC pits drowning as the leading cause of death for children ranging in age from 1 to 4 years old. The rate of drowning increased 28% from 2019 and 19% in adults from 65 to 74 years old.

Broward County Incident

Published on: June 5, 2024

Several years after Leesfield & Partners founder Ira Leesfield protested the use of E-bikes and scooters in Coconut Grove, data shows he was right to object.

By Leesfield & Partners

Whether it’s whizzing past unsuspecting pedestrians on sidewalks or garnering virality online, it is clear E-bikes, and irresponsible operators, are becoming more prominent in South Florida.

In May, a video showing a man on an E-scooter carrying a passenger and also towing another friend on a standard bicycle gained traction online. If on a residential road, or even a sidewalk, one might think the video to be funny, however, it is clear that the scooter is speeding full-force down the shoulder of a Miami highway. Dumbfounded drivers can be seen slowing down in the video to get a good look at the incredulous scene. A woman heading toward Downtown Miami on her E-Scooter recently was also recorded merging lanes and cruising down a Miami highway. Online critics bashed the move as irresponsible and a reason as to why there are so many accidents in the city.

Unfortunately, the narrative surrounding these videos is not an uncommon one. It seems that every day there is a new clip online of E-transport users testing their limits, creating hazards for distracted drivers and leaving themselves and others vulnerable to injury. The latest available data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission states that there was a 21% increase from 2021 to 2022 in injuries involving these electric modes of transportation in the United States. Minors 14 years old and younger make up a “significant” amount of the reported injuries, according to reporting from CBS Miami.

Published on: June 4, 2024

Dozens of Miami condo residents hospitalized Tuesday after possible carbon monoxide leak. How often does this happen?

By Leesfield & Partners

About 60 people were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning and 22 were taken to the hospital after a possible leak Tuesday at a Miami condominium.

The possible leak was reported just before 5 a.m. at the Hemingway Villa Condominiums in West Miami-Dade, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. By 7 a.m. Tuesday, emergency responders were still searching for the leak.

Additional details were not immediately available Tuesday.

Published on: May 31, 2024

Two boys lauded as heroes after rescuing Broward County man who drove into a canal Wednesday.

By Leesfield & Partners

Florida drivers are no rookies when it comes to navigating roads near waterways, yet there is always the chance that an accident can happen. It is what causes Florida drivers – typically known for their boisterous control over a car’s horn and general disregard for road safety or state traffic laws – to slow down, lower their windows as they pass or carry a compact window hammer for emergencies. However, even with every precaution taken, there are times when a driver loses control of their car and the unthinkable can happen.

Two teen boys in Broward County experienced just that around 9 p.m. Wednesday when a man lost control of his car and drove into a canal on McNab Road, according to reporting from WSVN Miami. The boys were across the parking lot from the canal near a Dollar Tree when they saw a man in a pickup truck go into the water. The teens launched into action and jumped onto the hood of the car to get the man, who was unconscious, out of the vehicle.

The driver was later taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Published on: May 29, 2024

Bus driver allegedly impaired during high schoolers’ Memorial Day weekend trip to Daytona Beach faces charges. Safety on the road is crucial

By Leesfield & Partners

A driver taking 36 people, including high schoolers and their parents, on a road trip Saturday has been accused of being impaired while operating the vehicle, according to reporting from the Miami Herald.

The driver, who was identified Tuesday evening as Keith Edward Shifflett, 55, was taking the passengers from Bradenton to Daytona Beach as part of Project Graduation, an alcohol-and-drug-free event organized for students who are graduating. The students, some of whom were still under 18 years old at the time of the incident, came from Sebring High School in Highland County, Florida.

According to local reporting, the driver is accused of driving “recklessly” while running three red lights and ignoring pleas from passengers begging him to stop. Shifflett only stopped when a parent on the trip driving in a separate car got in front of the bus to block it. Shifflett was charged with 30 counts of culpable negligence and four counts of child abuse without great bodily harm.