Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Parents rejoice while school children and early-morning commuters across Miami-Dade County lament this week — it must be the start of the school year.
And with the beginning of new classes and fresh textbooks comes a set of traffic rules that drivers must reacquaint themselves with in order to keep children and pedestrians safe and avoid penalties. As a personal injury law firm with 50 years of experience handling motor vehicle accident and pedestrian injury cases in the area, Leesfield & Partners attorneys know just how tragic the consequences of not adhering to road laws can be.
On Tuesday, Aug. 11, a 16-year-old boy in Port St. Lucie was hit by a car while walking to school, according to reporting from local media. The boy allegedly attempted to cross the road “against the pedestrian signal and entered the roadway in front of traffic that had the right
In Collier County, a local mother has taken matters into her own hands to act as a crossing guard after two middle schoolers were hit by cars in separate incidents within months of each other in her area. For the area to get a crossing guard, the school district told reporters with WINK News, the local sheriff’s office has to evaluate the area to ensure it meets the definition of a hazardous walking condition.
“Is it going to take a child getting killed for us to do something?” she told reporters while holding the stop sign she purchased herself for her self-imposed crossing guard duties. “Already, two have been injured … This is my solution. It’s the best I can do right now.”
In 2024, a 12-year-old was seriously injured after she was accidentally struck by her mother’s SUV during drop-off on the first day of school.
In January 2025, a middle school girl was tragically killed while getting off the school bus in Brooksville, Florida, after she was hit by a car. The child was walking north along an unpaved and unmarked road before she was struck. She was 11.
In Volusia County in August 2025, a 14-year-old e-bike rider was hit by a vehicle while on his way to school. The child had been using the crosswalk when he was hit by the vehicle and dragged 15 feet before the car stopped, trapping him underneath it. Thankfully, several Good Samaritans and bystanders were able to lift the vehicle and get him to safety, Fox 8 reported.
In a previous and tragic Leesfield & Partners case, a child’s life was forever changed one morning when he was hit by a speeding driver while trying to board his school bus. The boy’s school bus driver instructed him to cross the street while stopped in the middle of the road instead of as far to the right as possible. The driver also instructed our client and other children to cross the street where there was no designated crosswalk.
Trusting their school bus driver, the group of children began to cross the street. A speeding driver then hit our client, causing him to be knocked unconscious and needing to be airlifted to the hospital where doctors diagnosed him with a traumatic brain injury.
Not only should the speeding driver have taken more care, but an investigation by Leesfield & Partners revealed that the school bus driver was in violation of state law by failing to ensure there was at least 200 feet of visibility in the direction of oncoming traffic. She also failed to stop in the lane that was the furthest to the right and instead stopped in a middle lane, leaving the children vulnerable to this kind of incident.
Partner Justin B. Shapiro secured a confidential settlement for the minor and his family, which was over the insurance coverage of the at-fault vehicle.
School Zone and Bus Laws
As of Jan. 1, 2021, the penalties for failing to stop for a school bus and/or passing a stopped school bus on the side where children are boarding or disembarking have doubled. There were nearly 3,000 crashes involving school buses in 2022, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Per state law, cars traveling in either direction on two-lane roads must stop when a school bus initiates its stop signs and/or lights. These vehicles must stay stopped until the road is free of children. The same is true for vehicles traveling in either direction of multi-lane roads. On divided highways, vehicles behind buses must stop when it displays its lights and/or stop sign. Cars traveling in the opposite direction on the other side of the road may proceed with caution.
Failing to stop for a school bus displaying a stop signal, including flashing red lights and an extended stop arm, is a moving violation in Florida and can result in a hefty fine. When the violation is detected by a school bus camera system, the civil penalty can be up to $225. When the violation is enforced by a police officer, the minimum civil penalty can reach a total of $265. A conviction for a police-enforced violation generally carries four points on the driver’s license, while camera-enforced violations do not result in points. Florida also requires completion of a driver improvement course for school-bus violations.
If a driver unlawfully passes a school bus on the side where children are loading or unloading, the penalty increases to a minimum $400 fine and four points on the driver’s license. Repeat violations within five years may result in a driver’s license suspension of 360 days to two years.
In school zones, drivers must abide by the speed limits displayed. These limits are typically set at either 15 or 20 mph, but never more. A driver may have to pay a $100 fine if found guilty of speeding in these areas during active hours.
These rules of the road are imperative to keep schools and their surrounding areas safe for students who are walking to or from class.
Previous Cases
The firm handled the case of a child who was seriously injured due to a negligent driver. The child in that case was hit while he crossed the street and suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result. The firm secured a $1.2 million settlement for the child.
Leesfield & Partners secured an $8.5 million settlement following a $27 million arbitration award for the death of a young woman who was crushed by a pickup truck while trying to cross the street. The woman, a wife and mother to two young children, was visiting Fort Myers from Toronto, Canada, with her family. The at-fault driver claimed to not have seen her while she crossed the street the day of the crash.
Another woman, who was also hit by a pickup truck, was walking back to her office during a midday break. As she walked across the street in the marked crosswalk, a pickup truck making an illegal left turn hit her. As a result, our client suffered multiple skull fractures, brain hemorrhages and injuries to her left leg. She was left unconscious upon impact.
In that case, also handled by Mr. Shapiro, the maximum policy limits of $6 million was secured for the client.
The firm secured a $1 million recovery for a pedestrian who was killed in a bus accident.
Leesfield & Partners secured a $2.9 million recovery amount against a negligent driver for a pedestrian who was seriously injured in a crash.
Bernardo Pimentel, a Trial Attorney at the firm, secured a confidential amount for the family of a young boy who was hit by a car when it crashed through the front of a Florida discount store where he was shopping with his mother.
The firm secured a $1.5 million settlement for a client who was walking on the sidewalk in front of a distracted driver’s car. The driver struck our client on the sidewalk because they were distracted by a cell phone and an obstructed sign. Data from the phone showed that the driver was using it at the time of the crash.
A pedestrian whose case was handled by Leesfield & Partners awarded $1 million for serious injuries stemming from a truck crash.
Leesfield & Partners filed suit in the case of a man in a wheelchair who was hit by a speeding car. His severe injuries resulted in doctors being forced to amputate his leg.
Carlos A. Fabano, a Trial Lawyer with the firm, is handling the ongoing case.
Back-to-School Road Safety
- Never pass a school bus that is stopped, allowing children to board or disembark.
- Keep your eyes on the road and avoid distractions such as radios, GPS systems, and cell phones.
- Adhere to reduced speed laws when in school zones. In data from the FLHSMV, approximately 41,000 citations were issued across the state to drivers who did not adhere to school or work zone speeding regulations.
- Only drive or park in designated areas for pickup or drop-off.
- Always check and make sure you have proper visibility when putting your car in reverse. A 2023 survey showed that over 40% of all back over incidents injured children 10 years old and younger, according to the FLHSMV press release.
- Always use designated crosswalks when crossing the street.
- Always wear a seatbelt in the car and be sure your passengers have on their seatbelts as well.
- Always check your backseat for children and pets
