Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
A man in a wheelchair died Thursday morning in Florida City after being hit by a tanker truck, according to reporting from Local 10 News.
The name of the man has not been released, but authorities told reporters that the pedestrian was an elderly man.
The incident happened around 4:37 a.m. when the driver of the tanker truck was headed down North Krome Avenue. The driver allegedly told police that he did not see the man.
The investigation is ongoing.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a 49-year personal injury law firm handling every manner of injury that can occur on Florida roads. From gruesome, multi-vehicle crashes to pedestrian injuries, our skilled trial attorneys have secured numerous record verdicts and settlements throughout the state.
In years of litigating motor vehicle accident cases, our attorneys know just how quickly a seemingly mundane trip to the grocery store or a cumbersome morning commute can become a family’s worst nightmare. As much is true for the family of a 23-year-old incoming medical student who was on her way to the airport to attend orientation when she was hit head-on by a wrong-way drunk driver on I-95. Also in the car was the young woman’s younger brother, 21. Not only did this family lose their daughter, but their son suffered permanent injuries as a result of this driver’s actions.
Leesfield & Partners represented the family at trial and obtained a $95 million verdict, marking the largest in the area’s history for a case of its kind. In that case, $57 million went to the son and $38 million was awarded to the parents.
“The result in this case shows what hard work and creative lawyering can do for clients with devastating injuries,” said Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner. “Along with co-counsel Aaron Davis, we are happy to settle with two defendants and to obtain this record verdict for them.”
Carlos A. Fabano, a Trial Attorney at the firm is handling a similarly tragic case in which our client, also in a wheelchair, was hit by a speeding driver. Our client underwent an amputation due to the severity of his injuries.
That case is ongoing.
Partner Justin B. Shapiro is representing at least three pedestrians who were hit in separate incidents while attempting to cross the street in Miami-Dade County.
Mr. Shapiro and Trial Lawyer Eric Shane are representing a 46-year-old motor scooterist out of Key West whose life was completely changed following a crash with a negligent driver. The man was left with a traumatic brain injury, a crushed left tibia and fibula. On the day of the crash, our client was approaching an intersection and had the right-of-way when a negligent driver with a stop sign failed to yield and caused a collision. Our client was ejected from his vehicle and his the driver’s windshield with such a force that it was significantly cracked. Since the crash, our client has remained at a long-term care and rehabilitation facility.
“Sadly, our client’s life has been destroyed by this crash and he remains in in-patient rehabilitation,” Mr. Shane said. “We are aggressively pursuing all avenues of recovery under the law.”
Previous Cases
Mr. Shapiro previously represented a family in a wrongful death motor vehicle case involving a pedestrian. A verdict of over $36 million was obtained for the family in that case.
Mr. Leesfield was honored with the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice’s Lawyer of the Year award, following a $19.8 million verdict against Honda Corp, and was chosen as one of America’s Top Ten Trial Lawyers.
The $19.8 million verdict involved a defect with a Honda motorcycle’s kickstand, which deployed while our 27-year-old client was in the middle of a ride. As a result of the kickstand deploying, his motorcycle spun out of control and caused a terrible crash that left him paralyzed. This verdict was one of several involving several companies with kickstand defects that injured motorcyclists all over the country.
A $15.4 million recovery was obtained for a Fort Lauderdale handyman who was injured as a backseat passenger in a high-speed motor vehicle accident. The man in that case was in a car that was stopped at a drawbridge when another car hit it from behind, causing skull fractures, frontal lobe brain damage and facial fractures.
As a result of his injuries, our client developed a seizure disorder that could not be controlled by medication. This ended the then-22-year-old’s career as a handyman in the area.
Leesfield & Partners previously represented the families of three teenage girls after they were struck by a commercial truck driver making an illegal U-turn on the turnpike. The girls in that case were on their way to the library when the driver turned directly into their path. Tragically, one girl was killed and the other two sustained serious injuries.
Our attorneys worked tirelessly to settle the case for over $8.6 million for the families. The firm also obtained an over $7.6 million arbitration award for the family who lost their daughter.
Mr. Shapiro settled a pedestrian case for $6 million, the maximum recoverable amount. The crash happened in October 2019 when our client was walking back to her office after a midday break. While she was in the marked crosswalk in broad daylight, a pickup truck driver suddenly made an illegal left turn.
As a result, she suffered horrific skull fractures, brain hemorrhages and significant injuries to her left leg. The driver claimed not to have seen our client despite clear visibility, the marked crosswalk and road signage.
In another pedestrian-involved case, Leesfield & Partners obtained a $2.9 million recovery our client who was injured due to a driver’s negligence.
The firm previously settled a pedestrian case for $1.2 million. The pedestrian in this case was a child who was hit while attempting to cross a street in Fort Lauderdale. As a result of the crash, our minor client hit his head on the pavement and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Previously, Mr. Shapiro represented a minor who was told to cross the street by a careless school bus driver just before he was struck in the road by a speeding driver. The boy suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of the crash and had to be airlifted to the hospital. Through an investigation and identifying what could have been an overlooked defendant, Mr. Shapiro discovered that the bus driver violated state law and endangered the students she was tasked with protecting. By not stopping as far right as possible and by not ensuring 200 feet of visibility in either direction from her bus, this driver risked the lives of several students and our client.
A confidential settlement was reached in that case.
Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II settled a $1 million fatal car accident case on behalf of a family who tragically lost their 8-year-old daughter due to the negligence of a pharmaceutical delivery company’s employee. In that case, the company attempted to argue that this employee was an independent contractor, however, Mr. Pimentel argue that because this company exerted a certain level of control over this driver, – wearing a uniform and issuing a schedule he was obligated to follow – their claim was invalid. This level of control categorized him as an employee making the company liable for his reckless driving.
Mr. Shane recently obtained a confidential amount for a young passenger who was injured in a severe Florida crash.
Mr. Pimentel also settled a confidential case on behalf of a family whose 5-year-old son suffered serious injuries when he was hit by a car that crashed through the front of a Florida discount store.
Evan Robinson, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Attorney, previously secured a six-figure settlement on behalf of a client was injured in a Monroe County car accident.
If you or a loved one was injured in a motor vehicle accident in Florida, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney today for a free consultation at 800-836-6400.
