Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg

Published on: October 17, 2025

Teen who was ‘Loved by Everyone’ Dies in Margate House Fire. What to Know.

A 13-year-old has been identified as the child who died in a Margate house fire along with his dog earlier this week, according to local media.

Gianni Jackson, a special needs teen who was “loved by everyone,” was the boy who died, his older brother told reporters with Channel 7 News. The incident happened Thursday afternoon on the 5500 block of Southwest Sixth Street.

Gianni was allegedly at home with his grandmother and had gone inside the home to take a shower after getting off the school bus, local media reported.

Published on: October 17, 2025

What Are Those on the Roads? Miami Police’s New High-Tech Addition Explained.

By Leesfield & Partners

Drivers in Miami-Dade may spot PUGs driving next to them soon thanks to a new feature introduced by the sheriff’s office — and it has nothing to do with the dog.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office recently announced that it will begin using a new state-of-the-art, fully-autonomous vehicle called Police Unmanned Ground (PUG). The sheriff’s office says it is the first agency in the nation to begin using an AI-driven vehicle for patrols.

The vehicle — which was donated by the Policing Lab, a company that aims to help law enforcement through data and analytics — comes equipped with 360-degree cameras, license plate readers, thermal imaging and audio sensors. In a sheriff’s office press release, officials noted that the vehicle comes at no cost to taxpayers.

Published on: October 17, 2025

Could the Miami-Dade School District Reinstate BusPatrol? Here’s What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

Officials with a school bus safety company, the Miami-Dade County School District and the sheriff’s office are parsing through BusPatrol plans to possibly reinstate the program, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

The initial aim back at the start of the 2024-25 school year — when the district’s buses were first equipped with the company’s cameras — was to capture the information of drivers who illegally passed buses with their stop arms extended. This was an effort to combat what officials at the time were calling a “huge safety concern” for children boarding and disembarking from school buses. Drivers who violated state law and passed buses with their stop arms extended were cited at least $225.

Within the first two weeks of the school year, thousands of citations were issued.

Published on: October 3, 2025

Driverless Car in California Commits Traffic Infraction. Who is Responsible?

By Leesfield & Partners

Police in California say they witnessed an illegal U-turn while on patrol for drunk drivers but couldn’t issue a citation to the driverless vehicle.

The incident happened over the weekend in San Bruno, California, and involved a car from Waymo, an autonomous driving technology company that operates a public robotaxi service in various cities throughout the U.S. Police said they stopped the vehicle after it committed the traffic violation “right in front of them.”

Once stopped, police said that, while they could not issue a citation to a driver, they did notify the company of the “glitch.”

Published on: September 30, 2025

Students Hospitalized in Food-Related Incident at Miami School, officials say.

By Leesfield & Partners

At least five minors were taken to the hospital following a food-related incident at Pinecrest Glades Academy in West Miami-Dade, according to local media outlets.

First responders were called out to the school Friday morning “following a call that was upgraded to a level one mass casualty incident,” reporters with Channel 7 WSVN said.

The incident allegedly involved a student who brought a food item to school and shared it with others who, after eating it, experienced adverse reactions. As of Friday afternoon, all five teenage patients were in good condition, HCA Florida Kendall Hospital confirmed to reporters.

Published on: September 24, 2025

Michigan Inmates Hospitalized for Carbon Monoxide Exposure. How Leesfield & Partners has Represented Countless Florida Victims.

By Leesfield & Partners

At least nine inmates at the Ionia County Jail in Michigan were hospitalized over the weekend after being exposed to carbon monoxide.

The incident happened Saturday around 12:22 a.m. Jail staff members were allegedly told by inmates that there was a “chemical smell” and inmates also reported “not feeling well,” according to reporting from The Daily News, a publication reporting on Montcalm and Ionia Counties.

The apparent cause, according to the publication, was a malfunction with a ventilation pipe on a boiler.

Published on: September 24, 2025

‘Unsafe Practices’ Allegedly Found at University of Miami Organ Agency. Here’s How Leesfield & Partners Has Represented Victims of Medical Negligence for 49 Years.

By Leesfield & Partners

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced this week its plans to decertify Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency, a major organ procurement organization (OPO) in Miami, following its federal investigation that allegedly uncovered years of “unsafe practices.”

The Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency is a division of the University of Miami Health System and is purported to service hospitals across South Florida and the Bahamas. Life Alliance is one of 55 nonprofits designated by the federal government that coordinates the transplantation of organs around the country. They are regulated by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, according to local media reporting.

In addition to unsafe practices, the investigation revealed “poor training, chronic underperformance, understaffing, and paperwork errors.”

Published on: September 24, 2025

Nearly 100 People Displaced by Fire at Miami Beach Hostel. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

About 100 people were displaced after a fire broke out at a Miami Beach hostel Monday night, officials say.

Firefighters were called out to the South Beach Rooms and Hostel at 236 Ninth St around 5:15 p.m., according to reporting from The Miami Herald. The fire was contained to the second floor and was extinguished.

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Published on: September 24, 2025

Coroner reveals cause of man’s rollercoaster death in Florida. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

A man who died after riding a rollercoaster at one of Orlando’s newest amusement parks died from blunt force injuries, according to an Orange County medical examiner.

Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, 32, died due to “multiple blunt impact injuries,” according to reporting from The Miami Herald. The manner of his death has been ruled as an accident.

The incident happened on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at Epic universe when Zavala was found unresponsive after riding a rollercoaster. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Published on: September 18, 2025

Construction Site Accident Injured Two in North Miami Beach.

By Leesfield & Partners

At least two workers are hospitalized following an electrocution incident that caused one of them to fall nine stories at a construction site in North Miami Beach, according to local media.

The incident happened around 9:30 a.m. Monday at a building under construction near the 16300 block of Biscayne Boulevard. Both men were on a lift that malfunctioned, electrocuting one of the men and sending the other plummeting from the ninth floor of the residential building.

Officials told reporters with WSVN that the lift’s motor “blew out,” causing the incident. The man who was electrocuted is in stable condition while the other man is in critical condition, according to media.