"Leesfield Scolaro"

Published on: March 15, 2018

Human Error and Defective Construction Design go largely hand in hand

By Leesfield Scolaro

Collapse of Garage on Miami-Dade College Campus in 2012

Whether a developer is trying to make a delivery deadline on a construction project, or cut costs because the project was under-budgeted at inception, or hire fewer workers in the face of safety, typically construction incidents stem from developers, contractors, and subcontractors cutting corners. In recent memory, a garage collapse on Miami-Dade College campus in 2012, which caused injuries to eleven people, including four fatalities, ended in multi-million dollar settlements with the victims and Miami-Dade College. Four years later, the rebuild of the same garage collapsed again, injuring two workers.

In an article titled “Identifying Root Causes of Construction Accidents”, published in the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, several causes were discussed and ultimately identified after studying thousands of different cases. The authors concluded that one of the top three causes stems from management procedures which create and fail to identify, rectify and remove unsafe conditions that exist on and around a construction site. The other two causes were linked to workers lacking sufficient training or knowledge.

Published on: December 22, 2017

Leesfield Scolaro Launches a Travel Tort Division

By Leesfield Scolaro

Over the Christmas holiday weekend, 107.3 million Americans will be in transit. Leesfield Scolaro wishes everyone a safe holiday and best wishes for the new year.

Drive-Safely-Xmas-Weekend-2017-300x216

For more information, the Travel Tort Division will represent all clients involved in transit incidents, regardless of the method of travel. This includes motor vehicles, airplanes, boats, and trains.

Published on: December 20, 2017

2017 – Leesfield Scolaro’s “Cases from Other Places” and Our Own Backyard

By Leesfield Scolaro

Leesfield Scolaro, through its leading verdicts and results, has established a 43-year reputation representing injured clients throughout Florida, nationally and internationally. Our goal remains to resolve cases and bring financial security to injured clients. Representative of 2017 are the following results: (This is a partial list with the full compilation found in our website at this link)

A 14-year-old boy from Miami-Dade County who sustained extensive injuries to his leg caused by the defective bicycle bar handle manufactured in China. This case is set for trial.

A 61-year-old Miami Beach resident awarded $450,000 as a result of his toe being crushed and amputated when a negligently installed marble counter at a residential building collapsed on his foot.

Published on: November 14, 2017

Does Florida have a problem with the airboat industry?

By Leesfield Scolaro

Photographer: Tim Shortt
Media: Florida Today

Last week, two out of four boaters were killed after their airboat flipped in the air while traveling up the St. Johns River in Melbourne, Florida. Eyewitness and fellow airboater Timothy Young told USA Today the airboat “was going kind of fast” and the “back half of the boat was sitting kind of low” before the incident occurred, suggesting operator error may not be the sole cause for the tragedy.

Like in any boating incident, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) is in charge of the investigation and finding out whether the driver was negligent or whether the incident was precipitated by some sort of maintenance issue or mechanical failure.

Published on: November 10, 2017

Victims of Medical Malpractice agree to multi-million dollar settlements

By Leesfield Scolaro

Turned down by other law firms, a young widow whose husband had been abhorrently ignored by ER doctors at a Florida Hospital turned to Leesfield Scolaro for help. Ten months later, Partner Thomas Scolaro and Attorney Mason Kerns were able to secure a multi-million dollar settlement during the claim’s pre-suit period, for the loss of her husband and for her young son’s loss of his father.

Earlier this year, Scolaro and Kerns reached another multi-million dollar settlement on behalf of an adolescent girl whose doctor failed to recognize that his patient had sustained a stroke. The doctor’s unbelievable failure to diagnose caused delay in administering known effective treatment. Due to this physician’s negligence, our 17-year-old client was left with permanent cerebral sequelae which have drastically altered the quality of the remainder of her life.

These catastrophic medical malpractice cases were the main target of previous Administrations who actively sought (and succeeded to) limit the recovery of medical malpractice victims through arbitrary and unconstitutional laws. Indeed, since 2003, Justice for medical malpractice victims has been very hard to obtain due to insurance company-friendly laws. Governor Jeb Bush at the time forced the passage of statutory caps for plaintiffs who had been victims of medical malpractice, limiting the monetary compensation they rightfully deserved. The preeminent argument was that malpractice insurance premiums for Florida doctors were skyrocketing and causing good doctors to flee the state as a consequence.

Published on: October 13, 2017

Recreational Injuries and Verdicts Continue to Rise in spite of Deterrent Verdicts – $36.6 Million (October 10, 2017)

By Leesfield Scolaro

This week, Partner Justin Shapiro won a $36.6 million verdict on behalf of the parents of a skateboarder struck and killed by a distracted driver. That skateboard verdict follows a very recent jet ski settlement in Key West by Thomas Scolaro and Justin Shapiro in the amount of $2.88 million. “In the last decade, recreational injuries from all sources have skyrocketed, in spite of our law firm’s attempts urging remedial and protective legislation” says, Ira Leesfield, founding partner.

Leesfield Scolaro’s long-term interest in protecting the public from dangerous and unregulated recreational activities began over 25 years ago when Ira Leesfield took on the motorcycle and ATV industries, rounding up over $100 million in settlements and verdicts including a $19.8 million verdict against American Honda in Erie, Pennsylvania. The motorcycle sidestand defect has long been remedied. “3-wheeler ATV’s” have been totally replaced by the more stable 4-wheeler.

However, new activities and enticements have sprung up, including exotic water sports such as jet ski, parasailing, zip-lining, scuba diving, boating collisions, and an entire resort industry promoting “fun” while disregarding safety.

Published on: August 29, 2017

Leesfield Scolaro ramps up “Drop Fire” / Accidental Gun Discharge practice

By Leesfield Scolaro

Since 2014, Leesfield Scolaro has represented multiple victims of accidental gun discharge, including by “drop fire” where a loaded firearm discharges upon impact with the floor without the trigger ever being pulled.

The increase in accidental gun discharge cases has gone hand-in-hand with the increase in gun sales in the United States – and the numbers are telling. Between 2006 and 2016, the number of firearms processed by the National Firearms Act Branch (NFA) which maintains the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record has skyrocketed. In 2006, the NFA processed 296,127 firearms. In 2016, that number jumped by 850% with 2,538,397 processed firearms.

Why has this unprecedented increase in gun sales resulted in the explosion of accidental gun discharge cases in last decade?

Published on: July 19, 2017

Ira Leesfield Reappointed to Serve on the Federal Judicial Nominating Committee for Florida

By Leesfield Scolaro

Ira Leesfield, founder and managing partner of Leesfield Scolaro, P.A., was recently reappointed by Florida Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio to serve on the Federal Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) representing the Southern District Conference for the duration of the 115thCongressional term.

The JNC performs a critical public service in helping to identify the most qualified candidates to serve as U.S. District Court Judges in Florida. The JNC’s recommendations guide which prospective nominees will be forwarded to the White House for the President’s consideration.

As a member of the JNC, Mr. Leesfield will play an active role in this thorough review process.

Published on: May 16, 2017

Boat Tour Safety Regulations in Focus following latest Airboat Tragedy

By Leesfield Scolaro

Boating season is upon us, kicked off during Memorial Day weekend only days away. During the last weekend of Spring, South Florida will once again become the boating capital of the world for many weeks to come, and each year around this time Ira H. Leesfield, renews its boating safety warnings to the public and businesses who partake in recreational boating.

Focusing on boat tours, South Florida offers a wide range of attractions that entertain countless visitors and locals alike. Zipping through the Star Islands aboard a speedboat, gliding on an Airboat in the Everglades, renting a mini catamaran off Key Biscayne, touring the Florida Keys on a jet-ski, paddle-boarding with friends off the Bay, parasailing along North Miami Beach, kitesurfing or windsailing along Coral Gables and Coconut Grove, these are just a few available attractions where visitors rely on the experience, training, and competence of tour operators for their ultimate safety.

Unfortunately, there is no avoiding boat accidents at this time of year, yet, incomprehensibly, none of these accidents should ever occur. Whether a boat tour operator drives its vessel too fast, in a careless manner, causing injuries or death to its passengers, or whether a boat capsizes due to the overloading of passengers, or even whether two vessels collide due to alcohol consumption or lack of training, every single boat accident is avoidable.

Published on: March 6, 2017

Cases from other places and from our good friends here in Florida

By Leesfield Scolaro

Steady growth and continued client satisfaction marks the 40th anniversary of Leesfield Scolaro, P.A., as our statewide practice expands. This year, trial lawyers Mason Kerns and Adam T. Rose joined the Leesfield Scolaro team.

The firm continues to serve the State of Florida as our offices from Key West and Central Florida attract local and out-of-state business. A recent influx of clients and cases from the great state of Texas has allowed our firm to serve longtime co-counsel and friends with high value recent results. See “Texas Cases from Texas Places” (right). Texas visitors combined with clients and referrals from 26 other U.S. states, Canada, United Kingdom and around the world, have reinforced the firm’s cases from other places.

We have been fortunate to bring about outstanding results for clients nationwide and around the world, including: