Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg

Published on: August 21, 2012

Lawsuit Filed Against Orange Lake Country Club Following 11-Year Old Girl’s Electrocution Death

Family of 11-year old girl who died by electrocution at Orange Lake Resorts’ mini-golf course seeks $27 million in damages

MIAMI – August, 2012 – In the wake of the death of 11-year-old girl, Ashton Jojo, Florida-based trial law firm Leesfield & Partners has filed suit against Orange Lake Country Club. In June, Ashton was retrieving a golf ball from a pond at Orange Lake Resorts’ mini-golf course when we she was electrocuted and died.

The wrongful death claim was filed in Orange County, Florida, and is seeking $27 Million in damages. Under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, these damages include the mental pain and suffering of Ashton’s parents, the loss of Ashton’s companionship, medical expenses, funeral costs, etc. The suit states that upon being electrocuted by the highly energized water in the pond, Ashton was unable to move and collapsed in the energized water, thus suffering continuous electrocution.

Published on: August 17, 2012

Deadly Parasail Accident in Pompano Beach – “There’s no due diligence, no inspection. You just take your chances,” Ira Leesfield says to Miami Herald

By Leesfield & Partners

In light of the latest parasailing tragedy that took place two days ago in Pompano Beach, a new push for safety regulations of the parasailing industry is to be expected and encouraged by all, especially Floridians who have become the forced audience of so many fatal accidents, all of which preventable.

When Ira Leesfield represented the White family, in 2007, after the death of Amber and the catastrophic brain injury to Crystal, her sister, Leesfield & Partners engaged in a national awareness campaign which included appearances on the Today Show, and Inside Edition. The goal was not only to bring attention to the dangers associated with parasailing when precautions are not taken (they almost never are), but also and most importantly to push legislators in Florida and in other coastal states to pass laws and safety regulations at once. Two drafts of the Amber May White Act were introduced before the Florida legislators in 2007 and 2008, but both failed.

The death of Kathleen Miskell, a 28-year-old woman from Wethersfield, Connecticut, will once more sound the alarm to all who want to hear it. The self-imposed safety measures that the parasailing industry claims to be following are insufficient, inadequate and simply intolerable. On a daily basis, these unregulated businesses, often manned by incompetent and inexperienced individuals, place their customers in danger. The equipment used for parasailing is never inspected, the ropes used to tug the chute with one, or two, sometimes even three people, are improper and overused. Companies often use the same chute regardless of the weight or the number of people they are sending up hundreds of feet in the air. Yet, there is no accountability. Ira Leesfield reiterated his concerns to the Miami Herald, concerns that grow stronger with each and every parasailing victim Leesfield & Partners represents.

Published on: August 16, 2012

License of boat captain involved in parasailing death and brain injury of tandem passengers revoked

By Leesfield & Partners

Last November, Bernice Kraftcheck and her daughter, Danielle Haese, were on a cruise ship parasailing excursion off the coast of St. Thomas. The tour operator, Caribbean Water Sports & Tours, sold a tandem ride through Celebrity Cruise Lines, to the mother and daughter couple and offered to take them up on their parasail for $80 each.

Five minutes in the air, the catastrophe occurred. The rope pulling the couple broke and the chute plummeted down in the water. While they were in the water, the boat continued to pull the chute, causing Bernice Kraftcheck to be violently pummeled by the waves before being rescued. Bernice did not survive her injuries. Danielle did survive, but sustained serious brain damage.

Leesfield & Partners filed a $30 million civil lawsuit in February, 2012, against multiple defendants, including the boat captain and the parasailing operator for their respective negligence.

Published on: August 16, 2012

Latest Pompano Beach parasailing incident results in the death of Kathleen Miskell

By Leesfield & Partners

Yesterday, August 15, 28-year-old Kathleen Miskell from Wethersfield, Connecticut, was killed in a parasailing incident that took place in Pompano Beach, Florida. The early details obtained by the investigators of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and Pompano Beach Fire Rescue who were rushed to the scene, point to the young woman’s harness breaking when the parasail was already up in the air and tugged by the boat. As soon as the harness broke, Kathleen Miskell fell approximately 150 to 200 feet into the ocean. She was pronounced dead at Broward Health North.

Stephen and Kathleen Miskell were parasailing as a tandem at the time of the incident. They had purchased a parasail ride with Waveblast Watersports, Inc., a parasail and jet ski rental company that operates in Pompano Beach, and out of the Sands Harbor Resort.

A history of Parasailing Incidents

Published on: August 3, 2012

NY prosecutors charge woman with vehicular homicide for texting while driving

By Leesfield & Partners

Last month, 25-year-old Alicia Westgate killed Richard Webb, an avid 68-year-old bicyclist. New York prosecutors charged Westgate with reckless operation, use of a portable device for texting and failure to use due care. The defendant will answer those charges in Newfane Town Court on August 14.

The state of New York is one of the 38 states that currently have a ban on texting while driving. Last month, we reported on a landmark case in the Massachusetts, where a young man was convicted for 2.5 years in jail for texting while driving and killing a husband and father. Westgate is facing a similar road in her upcoming criminal trial (unless she pleads guilty) if the evidence reveals that she was indeed texting at the time the incident took place.

Studies on the dangers of texting while driving continue to provide more evidence that drivers should not be using their hand-held devices to text. Recently, CNN Anderson Cooper reported on a new study below:

Published on: July 23, 2012

Latest fatality in boating accident amidst new report Florida leads nation in boating accident-related deaths

By Leesfield & Partners

A week ago, 15-year-old Deviny Boese, was killed in a boating accident off Redington beach in the Tampa area. She had joined a few friends on a 23-foot twin engine fishing boat. Another 15-year-old, Brandon Noah, was operating the boat when tragedy occurred.

Deviny Boese.gif Deviny and her friend Sarah Dobbs were sitting and holding on to a tube, when all of a sudden the boat came much too close to a dock. Noah attempted to maneuver away, but the tube was going too fast and the dock was too close. The tube flipped over, catapulting the two female teenagers into the bank. Sarah only sustained an ankle injury, but Deviny’s body slammed into a dock piling. According to the initial statements and an early investigation, Noah jumped off the boat and attempted to revive Deviny. Paramedics rushed to the scene, but the young girl died minutes later.

This tragedy is the latest fatal boating accident. These events come on the heel of a new report published this week by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. In its 2011 Boating Accident Statistical Report, the FWC found that Florida leads the nation with 742 boating accidents. The number of reportable accidents (accidents resulting in death, significant injury, or disappearance) have increased by 11% since last year, and by 20% since 2009.

In the State of Florida, the top 10 counties with the most reportable boating accidents are:

The primary caused for Florida’s nation-leading 742 boating accidents in 2011 was careless behavior by the boat operator. in all, almost 70% of all boating accidents were caused by an operator or a passenger behaving in an illegal, careless, reckless manner.
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Published on: July 13, 2012

Wrongful death lawsuit filed in accidental electrocution case

By Leesfield & Partners

This week, Leesfield & Partners filed two electrocution lawsuits in Palm Beach and Monroe County. These filings follow a long list of resort tort cases handled by Leesfield & Partners, where over the past three decades, Ira Leesfield has represented countless victims and their families who were fatally injured caused by conditions or acts of negligence by property owners.

In Florida, a property owner has a non-delegable duty to maintain its premises in a reasonably safe condition so as to prevent injuries to business invitees and members of the public.

In the first electrocution filed this week, Alan Bazinet was shocked to death while working on electrical components of an apartment. Unbeknownst to him, the general contractor of Castilla & Godoy turned on the main breaker of the apartment in question without checking to see if anyone was in the apartment. As a result of turning the breaker on, Bazinet sustained a 110 volt electrical shock that caused injury and burnt his fingers.

Later that day, while the 52-year-old was still working on electrical outlets in the apartment, the main breaker were once again turned on. This time, the severe electrical shock caused Alan Bazinet to fall over the top of the cabinet where he was working. He was later found unresponsive by a handyman working on the job site. Alan was rushed to the local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Read the complaint here.
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Published on: July 2, 2012

Medical condition to blame in fatal accident by new Marlins’ Stadium

By Leesfield & Partners

On Saturday June 30, 2012, a family visiting Miami from Lawrenceville, Georgia, spent the afternoon at the new Marlins stadium. They watched Miami beat Philadelphia in what would be their last moment as a family.

Minutes later, as they were walking back to their car, on the sidewalk, a minivan driven by Raul Ortega Arias came hurling down at them. The vehicle was going too fast, none of the family members had time to escape. In the end, 13-year-old Adriana Diaz, 14-year-old Franklin Diaz, and 53-year-old Esther Terrero de Diaz, were killed in this unbelievable tragedy. 10-year-old Magdeline Diaz was also critically injured in the crash and she is still listed in critical condition.

While police officers who responded to the scene initially told media that the cause of the accident was unknown, several news outlet have reported that Arias lost control of his vehicle after suffering some sort of medical condition. The 67-year-old driver was also killed in the accident.

Published on: June 29, 2012

Code violation responsible for the fatal electrocution of 11-year-old guest at Central Florida Resort

By Leesfield & Partners

The incredibly tragic event that occurred at the Orange Lake Resort on Wednesday could and should have been avoided. That is essentially what Orange County code enforcement officers confirmed after their on-site investigation of the miniature golf pond that took the life of Ashton Jojo.

Ashton was playing miniature golf when her golf ball ended in one of the courses’ pond. She reached in to retrieve her ball that was submerged under a foot of water, and was electrically shocked as soon as she touched the water. A guest attempted to pull her out, but injured himself in the process. One of the witnesses began to perform CPR on the child. Ashton still had a pulse at that time, but once the EMS arrived and rushed her to Celebration Hospital, she stopped breathing and ultimately died.

The investigation quickly revealed that the pond’s electrical breakers were improperly installed or replaced. Allen Morton with the Orange County’s Division of Building Safety told media that for a water feature such as the pond in question, ground fault interrupter (GFI) breakers are required by code, but upon inspecting the wiring and the electrical pump, non-GFI breakers were used.
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Published on: June 28, 2012

Autopsy confirms electrocution caused the death of 11-year-old Orlando Resort guest

By Leesfield & Partners

An autopsy performed on the young Ashton Jojo, who died yesterday at a Central Florida resort, confirmed that the 11-year-old was fatally electrocuted.

As we reported earlier today, Ashton and her family were staying at a Kissimmee resort. Ashton was playing miniature gold, located on the premises of the resort, when she reached into a pond to retrieve her golf ball. As soon as she came in contact with the water, the young girl began to scream. Despite the aid of another guest, and a resort employee, Ashton could not be saved and she became unresponsive before EMS arrived on the scene.

Today, Orange County code enforcement officers inspected the site where the incident occurred and found numerous violations which would explain what happened. Among these violations, inspectors found that electrical breakers had been improperly replaced. According to Allen Morton of the Orange County Division of Building Safety. GFI breakers are also required for hot tubs and swimming pools.