"Eric Shane"

Published on: September 30, 2024

U.S. Postal Service Ranks Florida by Dog Attacks. Where Does Your City Fall on the List?

It’s a tale as old as time in cartoons, commercials and movies – Dog meets Postal Carrier. Dog chases Postal Carrier. Postal Carrier requests a neighborhood transfer.

As comedic as the bitter feud between man’s best friend and postal carriers might be in theory, for many mail carriers across the nation, it is a very real threat. Data from the U.S. Postal Service shows there were approximately 193 attacks on these employees from pets in 2023 alone.

In 2022, 61-year-old Pamela Jane Rock, a Florida mail carrier, was mauled to death by five dogs while on the job. The incident happened on Aug. 21, 2022, in Putnam County in northern Florida. Rock’s vehicle had broken down and she was delivering mail on foot when she was descended upon by five dogs.

Published on: July 16, 2024

Man’s family awarded $2 million in lawsuit after he died from burn at Kentucky motel. What do places like hotels and rental properties owe customers?

By Leesfield & Partners

The family of a 76-year-old Kentucky man was awarded over $2 million this month after his death from a burning incident in a motel shower, according to news outlets.

The incident happened in 2021 while the man was on a business trip. When he got in the shower, hot water estimated in the lawsuit to be 150 degrees Fahrenheit scalded him. The man fell and was unable to get up until coworkers who heard him screaming rushed into the bathroom to help. The man had third-degree burns following the incident and died seven months later after spending most of his time in and out of hospitals. Third-degree burns affect the deeper layers of the skin and burn down to the fatty tissue. They require immediate medical attention.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of the grieving family did not specify what caused the water to come out at 150 degrees. A judgment filed earlier this month stated that the hotel failed to properly inspect and maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition.

Published on: June 21, 2024

Leesfield & Partners continues to represent clients in Legionnaires’ Disease cases, closing out one last month and continuing work on multiple others

By Leesfield & Partners

Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured a settlement for a woman who contracted Legionnaires’ Disease following a stay at a Florida hotel where she routinely used the hot tub.

The woman began experiencing symptoms the day she checked out from the hotel, including swelling all over her body, attorneys said in court records. She broke out in a fever ranging from 101 to 103 degrees Fahrenheit and was diagnosed at the hospital with multifocal pneumonia and Legionnaires’ Disease. While she was in the hospital, the woman went into septic shock.

Records from the state department of health showed the hotel failed to maintain minimum chlorine levels in the jacuzzi. Leesfield & Partners attorneys also discovered that the hotel failed to maintain the hot tub in accordance with industry standards. As a result of her exposure, the woman suffered an acute kidney injury. To this day, the woman suffers from regular bouts of pain and fatigue.