Articles Tagged with personal injury law

Published on:

By

Leesfield & Partners recently filed a lawsuit following the gruesome and permanent injury of 11-year-old Catherine Viteri, a camper at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club’s summer camp.

The case is being handled by Partner Justin B. Shapiro and Trial Attorney Eric Shane.

On July 10, 2025, Catherine and children were separated into two groups for swimming and sailing activities that were monitored by three camp counselors. At around 2 p.m., Catherine was taking part in the swimming activity when a 21-year-old counselor was transporting a group of campers to the area, unaware of how many children were on board or already in the water. As a result of the inattentiveness of these counselors, Catherine was run over by the 13-foot Ribocraft motorboat and hit with the propeller. The propeller sliced through her right leg, causing a laceration so severe that it cut to the bone and nearly caused an amputation.

Continue reading
Published on:

By

Eric Shane, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Attorney, secured a $4 million recovery in a Legionnaires’ disease case, marking the largest of its kind for a single plaintiff in U.S. history.

“I am proud of this result not because of the number, but because it represents justice and accountability,” Mr. Shane said. “The family trusted us to make sure their loved one’s death wasn’t in vain, and we take that responsibility seriously.”

Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by inhaling vaporized water contaminated with Legionella bacteria. Common sources of exposure include cooling towers, hot tubs, decorative fountains, showers and plumbing systems in large buildings. Those who are at greatest risk include older adults, smokers, and people with weakened immune systems or chronic lung conditions.

Continue reading
Published on:

By

A high schooler was on her way to her school’s bus stop when she was hit and killed by a 60-year-old driver this week in Ocala, Florida, according to police.

The Ocala Police Department announced the death of Forest High School Student Shannon Rushing via a news release Monday. She was 18.

“We are heartbroken with this news and are supporting the family and school community during this difficult time,” officials with the police department said.

Continue reading
Published on:

By

A “serious or life-threatening” mistake resulted in Publix voluntarily recalling ice cream in Florida and five other states this week.

One lot of Publix Rich & Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream half-gallon containers with a June 19, 2026, sell-by date — UPC 41415 03043 — was recalled this week after it was revealed that there was an issue with the labeling of the product. Instead of the Rich and Creamy version, the cartons may contain the company’s Rich & Creamy French Vanilla Ice Cream, which lists eggs as a main ingredient.

“People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to eggs may run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions if they consume this product,” officials warned in the news release.

Continue reading
Published on:

By

A deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office has been put on a paid administrative leave after accidentally shooting an Orlando home invasion victim, according to media reporting.

As of Wednesday morning, the deputy has not been named and officials with the Florida Law Enforcement Division is investigating.

The shooting took place around 3 p.m. on Aug. 23 when a 911 caller reported a home invasion. The caller, a man in his 40s, told dispatchers that four people tried to break into his home and that he had fired shots at them. All four ran away before deputies arrived, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

Continue reading
Published on:

By

A therapist at a Miami women’s mental health and substance abuse treatment facility faces several charges after multiple women reported that he assaulted them during private sessions, according to local media.

Manuel Enrique Garcia, 33, was charged with at least three counts of felony charges related to sexual battery on clients.

Two women reported to police, alleging Garcia had assaulted them during private therapy sessions, according to reporting from CBS Miami. One woman said she was threatened with “job loss and homelessness if she spoke out,” reporters said in the article. Another woman told police that she was assaulted and that Garcia threatened to change her records to harm her standing in court, which would prevent her from “reuniting with her child.” This was not the only time that Garcia had approached the woman in this manner, according to police.

Continue reading
Published on:

By

Police have accused a mother of locking her toddler, 2, in a car outside a Florida movie theater when the girl became too “disruptive,” according to reporting from local media Monday, July 21.

The 18-year-old woman, of Lake City, has since been charged with neglect of a child without great bodily harm. The woman’s name is not being released to protect the identity of her children.

The incident happened on Saturday, July 19, when the mother took the toddler and her siblings to the movies. However, once inside, the 2-year-old girl allegedly caused “multiple disruptions.”

Continue reading
Published on:

By

Police have named the man who was killed in an officer-involved shooting following a chase in North Miami-Dade as 24-year-old Kristofer Lazaro Laboy.

Laboy, who was driving a yellow Corvette, is said to have fled from deputies with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office when they attempted to conduct a traffic stop Tuesday afternoon. The traffic stop was initiated near Northwest 62nd Street and Northwest 22nd Avenue.

Police initiated the stop because of illegal tints on his car windows, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. What ensued was a chase that lasted for about a mile — involving a helicopter to help police track down the car — and ended in an apartment community near Northwest Fourth Court and Northwest 85th Street.

Continue reading
Published on:

By

A family has lost their 13-year-old son after he hit a metal cable in a “freak accident” while riding his e-bike through the neighborhood, according to local media.

Emiliano Munoz, of Everett, Washington, was playing with friends at a neighborhood field on May 2. As he left on his e-bike, he took a shortcut through a yard where he did not see a braided cable strung up between two bollards in the grass.

The boy ran into the cable and cut his vocal cords, a spokesperson for the family told local media.

Continue reading
Published on:

By

A Detroit medical examiner concluded that two unhoused children found dead in their family’s van died from carbon monoxide and not the cold, as authorities initially believed.

The official cause of death for the children, 9-year-old Darnell Currie Jr. and 2-year-old A’millah Currie, was certified Wednesday. On Feb. 10, the children were found unresponsive in the family van by their mother after the vehicle stopped running. The children, their mother, their grandmother, two siblings and their mother’s sibling were allegedly living in the van at the time, according to reporting from The Detroit Free Press.

The five children in the van ranged in age from 2 to 13 years old.

Continue reading
Badges
Badges
Contact Information
Miami Office
2350 S Dixie Hwy
Miami, FL 33133
Phone: (305) 854-4900
Fax: (305) 854-8266
Toll Free: (800) 836-6400
Key West Office
615-1/2 Whitehead St
Key West, FL 33040
Toll Free: (800) 836-6400
E-Mail: info@leesfield.com
Orlando / Central Florida Office
By appointments only
Toll Free: (800) 836-6400
E-Mail: info@leesfield.com

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2016 – 2025, Leesfield & Partners
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design