Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg

Published on: September 17, 2024

Apple Juices Recalled in Nationwide Stores for Elevated Levels of this Chemical, FDA says. What to Know.

Apple juice sold under numerous brands at stores all over the country, including Walmart, Aldi, BJ’s and others, is under FDA recalls over concerns of potentially harmful levels of arsenic, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The recall comes after an FDA report that included almost 10,000 cases of Great Value 100% Apple Juice that “contains inorganic arsenic above action level set in guidance to industry.”

A total of 133,500 cases of juice were recalled on Monday that had been sold under various brand names. In June 2023, the FDA made changes to its Final Guidance to Industry on Action Level for Inorganic Arsenic in Apple Juice. The current action level is 10 parts per billion (ppb).

Published on: September 10, 2024

Child dies after being hit by car outside of Miami pharmacy

By Leesfield & Partners

A 7-year-old pedestrian who was hit by an elderly driver while walking outside of a Miami pharmacy with her mother has died, officials announced over the weekend.

The girl was walking outside the pharmacy, located at Southwest 32nd Avenue and 22nd Street, on Sept. 2 around 4:30 p.m. when a 92-year-old woman in a Nissan SUV drove up onto the sidewalk and hit her. Police told local news outlets the woman was attempting to park when she hit her accelerator instead of the brakes.

The girl was taken to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital with head injuries. The woman who was driving was previously cited for careless driving and police told local reporters that further charges were possible. The child’s death is still under investigation.

Published on: September 10, 2024

One dead, two others injured after golf cart clams into propane truck over the weekend, cops say

By Leesfield & Partners

A man died after he lost control of his golf cart in Fort Myers and crashed into a propane truck Saturday, injuring his passenger and the driver of the truck, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

The crash happened around 11 a.m. Saturday on Winkler Road. Officials with Florida Highway Patrol told reporters that the man was driving the golf cart south when he “left the road, overcorrected” and swerved into oncoming traffic, hitting a propane truck traveling in the opposite direction.

The golf cart driver, 44, was pronounced dead at the scene while his passenger, a 30-year-old man, was injured along with the driver of the propane truck. Both had minor injuries, according to local reporting.

Published on: September 6, 2024

Leesfield & Partners secured over $1.8 million for a man left with debilitating pain after a fall at a Florida vacation rental

By Leesfield & Partners

Justin B. Shapiro, a Partner and Trial Lawyer with Leesfield & Partners, secured a $1,824,327 record settlement for a client whose fall left his pelvic bone so shattered doctors said the fragments resembled “bread crumbs.”

In an article published in the Daily Business Review, Mr. Shapiro told reporters that within the first hour of speaking with this client he could tell the man was a wonderful person and decided to take on the case, which two law firms had already rejected, because “when we dig in, we don’t stop until our client is made whole.”

“We turned an enormously challenging case into a seven-figure recovery,” he said. “I’m proud to say that I don’t know of any settlement or verdict in Florida larger than this for a fall in a shower.”

Published on: September 5, 2024

Girl hit by Car Over Labor Day Weekend Outside Miami Pharmacy Still in Critical Condition

By Leesfield & Partners

A girl, 7, who was hit by a car while walking with her mother outside of a Miami pharmacy Monday remains hospitalized in critical condition, officials say.

The incident happened around 4 p.m. at a Navarro Pharmacy on SW 32nd Ave. and 22nd St. when a 92-year-old woman in a Nissan SUV allegedly drove onto the sidewalk. Police told local news outlets that the woman was attempting to park her car when she mistakenly stepped on the accelerator.

The woman was cited for driving recklessly and further charges are possible, police told reporters.

Published on: September 4, 2024

Woman killed in ATV accident that sent herself, one other careening into Miami canal, officials say

By Leesfield & Partners

A woman died after she and another woman lost control of an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) resulting in them plunging into a nearby canal, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

Police told the newspaper that the crash happened around 1 p.m. Thursday near Southwest 112th Street and 157th Avenue. Both were rescued from the water and one was said to be in critical condition. That woman was taken to West Kendall Baptist Hospital where she later died.

Information about whether the second woman was injured or whether police believe the crash to be caused by operator or mechanical error was not immediately available Friday.

Published on: September 4, 2024

Police find Body Found in North Miami Nursing Home with Missing Patient. What Happened?

By Leesfield & Partners

A body was found in a closet at the same Miami nursing home from where a 71-year-old man was reported missing, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

Police were called out to the North Dade Nursing and Rehabilitation Center around 10:30 a.m. Monday morning. The man who had been staying at the nursing home following a brain aneurysm was reported missing on Aug. 22.

Family members of the missing man told reporters with NBC South Florida that they believe the body found in the closet is that of their grandfather. The family claims they were told he signed a document refusing medical help. When they asked to see it, the family said the facility refused.

Published on: August 30, 2024

Miami-Dade Drivers Don’t Know School Traffic Laws, School Bus Cameras Footage Shows. What You Should Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

Do you have to stop for a school bus in Florida?

In the first two weeks of school, approximately 11,500 Miami-Dade County drivers were cited after footage captured from 950 school district buses caught them disobeying traffic laws.

The cameras were authorized last year to add extra protections for students getting on and off buses during the school year. While laws already exist to ensure drivers who violate these laws are held accountable, the cameras were installed to reinforce the matter. The initiative is a collaboration between the local school district, the Miami-Dade Police Department and BusPatrol, a private company with programs in 17 states that manages the buses and the technology that captures the license plates of cars that illegally pass buses with deployed stop signals.

Published on: August 30, 2024

Woman faced felony charges Wednesday in fatal Pensacola crash involving U.S. Navy Sailors

By Leesfield & Partners

A 19-year-old woman was charged Wednesday for a crash in June where police say she ran a red light in Pensacola, killing an Uber driver and injuring two U.S. Navy sailors.

The woman was charged with DUI manslaughter, DUI with serious bodily injuries and two counts of DUI, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

What Happened?

Published on: August 28, 2024

Teen Lauded as Hero after Following Electric Shock Incident that Injured Five People at Indiana Swimming Pool

By Leesfield & Partners

Five people, including three children and two adults, are recovering at a local hospital after electrocution at an Indiana swimming pool, according to reporting from national news outlets.

The incident happened over the weekend at a home in Logansport, Indiana, an almost two-hour drive from Indianapolis, when the swimmers “felt a vibration in the water.” That was when a father at the home called for the submersible pump to be shut off. At least two of the five people injured were unresponsive by the time emergency responders were called out to the home.

Officials told reporters that a pump wire near the pool’s ladder was pinched, allowing a protective cover to break that left the wire exposed. When it touched the water, it shocked whoever was in the pool at the time. One of the people who was injured, a 15-year-old boy, was able to jump out of the pool once the power was shut off and “save his dad and his sister and his sister’s friends’ lives.”