Electrocution

Published on: June 4, 2014

Electrocuted workers in Miami Beach in critical condition at Ryder Trauma Center

On 69th Street and Harding Avenue in Miami Beach, two men working on an apartment complex renovations and repairs were violently electrocuted when they came into contact with a power line.

The two workers’ identities have yet to be released by the authorities, but some of the facts of this incident seem to be without dispute at this early stage. The two men were in the bucket of a cherry picker. A Miami Beach resident whose window was close from where the incident took place, Greg Maas, woke up to loud screams outside his window. When he looked out into the street, he saw the two men laying flat at the bottom of the bucket.

Photo courtesy of wsvn – 7News

Published on: April 18, 2014

Fatal Electrocution of 7-year-old boy in North Miami likely caused by Code Violation

By Leesfield & Partners

7-year-old Calder Sloan was in his swimming pool with Gary, the son of his nanny, who was watching Calder and his younger brother Caleb in their home in North Miami Beach when the unthinkable happened. Gary felt a shock and jumped out of the water yelling for Calder to do the same. Calder did not hear him as he was swimming under water at the time. A split second later, Calder was thrown out of the water. Neighbors rushed to the backyard, performed CPR while getting zapped themselves.

Calder was rushed to Jackson North Medical Center, but the young boy could not survive the jolt of electricity that went through his body. The Miami Herald reported power source could have been as much as 120 volts.

A photograph of the pool light showed rust and corrosion which further evidences an electrical circuit issue with the repairs. Calder’s father, Chris Sloan, told media that about nine months ago, he had an electrician fix the pool light which was not working properly.

Published on: August 28, 2012

Awareness of Florida Resort Torts heightened in fatal electrocution case of young child

By Leesfield & Partners

Ira Leesfield pushes for national attention as he appeared on Nancy Grace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkMMPooQHhs

Published on: August 21, 2012

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

By Leesfield & Partners

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: 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: 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.

Published on: June 28, 2012

Electrocution suspected in death of 11-year-old – Latest Resort Tort Incident in Florida

By Leesfield & Partners

Ashton Jojo, an 11-year-old guest at an Orlando / Kissimmee Resort with her parents and young brother, died on Wednesday after she attempted to retrieve her golf ball from a pond while playing miniature golf.

As soon as the young Ashton reached inside the pond to get her golf ball, “she screamed as if she was in distress” said the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in a released statement. Christopher Burges, also a guest at the same resort, rushed to the rescue of the little girl when he heard the screaming, but as he grabbed the girl’s arm, he too became injured, and was unable to save her. Ashton was rushed to Celebration Hospital in Kissimmee where she later died.

Ashton’s family, from New York, was in Central Florida on vacation, where they celebrated Ashton’s eleventh’s birthday last Friday. Another witness to this tragic event told reporters that one of the Resort’s employees mentioned that the electricity to the pond may have had a “short”. By the time EMS arrived on the scene, the 11-year-old was not responding. The grandmother of one of Ashton’s friends spoke to reporters and said the girls asked her to go golfing with them, and she regrets saying no. “I wish to God that I would of gone because I might of made a difference and I’m going to have to live with that.”

The investigation is still ongoing and Deputies of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office have not confirmed the cause of death. If electrocution turns out to be what caused young Ashton’s death, this incident will be yet another resort tragedy that could have been avoided.

Resort tort incidents occur every year in Florida, whether in Orlando / Central Florida, or in Miami or the Florida Keys, in South Florida. Throughout the state of Florida, Leesfield & Partners have represented countless victims of acts of negligence attributed to resort employees. Recently, Thomas Scolaro settled a claim against a Time-Share / Central Florida Resort for injuries one of its guests sustained while she was using a jacuzzi. Due to some electrical malfunction, the suctioning system of the tub began to pump unexpectedly and caused catastrophic spinal damage to a healthy young woman.
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