"safety tips"

Published on: July 26, 2024

FWC urges boaters to be on the lookout for divers-down flags following several incidents on the water this month

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sent out a public notice urging boaters to keep an eye out for divers-down flags in a month known statistically for a high rate of accidents on the water.

In their advisory, FWC encouraged boaters to avoid distraction and watch out for divers-down flags. These flags and buoys are essential warnings to approaching vessels that there are people in the water. These flags must have the divers-down symbol and be prominently displayed. When spotting a flag of this kind, boaters must operate at idle speed within 300 feet of the flag when in open water or within 100 feet when in inlets and or navigational channels. Divers must stay within the outlined distance of their flags.

Recent Incidents

Published on: July 9, 2024

A 45-year-old Washington man was killed lighting holiday fireworks. How to celebrate safely.

By Leesfield & Partners

A Washington man was found unresponsive after the fireworks he was lighting accidentally hit him in the head, knocking him unconscious, according to reporting from local news outlets.

The incident happened around 2:30 a.m. on July 5 as the man lit mortar-style fireworks, a kind of firework legal in Washington that explodes into stars once the fuse has been lit. Emergency responders pronounced the man dead at the scene. In Florida, it is illegal to use fireworks that contain shells, mortars, multiple tube devices, Roman candles, firecrackers, and rockets.

Firework Injuries & Deaths in the United States

Published on: June 7, 2024

Police investigate after 8-year-old drowned in neighbor’s Fort Lauderdale pool. These incidents on the rise, the CDC says.

By Leesfield & Partners

While packing a cooler with juice boxes on the way to the community pool, racking their brains to recall if they remembered the sunscreen, drowning is the last thing a parent wants to think about. But, according to the latest available data from the CDC, they should.

In its latest report on accident drownings in the United States, the Center for Disease Control reported that these incidents are on the rise. About 4,500 people drowned in the United States from 2020 through 2022, an increase of approximately 500 people per year since 2019, the numbers show. The CDC pits drowning as the leading cause of death for children ranging in age from 1 to 4 years old. The rate of drowning increased 28% from 2019 and 19% in adults from 65 to 74 years old.

Broward County Incident

Published on: April 7, 2016

Boating Safety Tips

By Leesfield & Partners

As we approach the summer months in South Florida, we once again see the start of another boating season. Thousands of boaters in personal water craft will soon set out across our beautiful bays, sandbars, and offshore islands to take in all that our tropical paradise has to offer. As fun as a day spent out on a boat with friends and family can be, it is important to remember that boating can also be an extremely dangerous activity. Safety should always be the number one concern when planning for a day out on the ocean.

In 2014, Miami-Dade County ranked first in the state in boating accidents with 79. There were ten deaths due to boating accidents in the county alone, including four young adults who lost their lives in an extremely tragic collision near Dinner Key Marina on the 4th of July. In the Florida Keys, five people perished due to boating accidents in 2014.

safe boating is fun.jpg Our law firm has represented many individuals who were permanently injured in boating accidents. We have also represented the families of individuals who tragically lost their lives while boating. Regrettably, we have often seen that many of these accidents could have been prevented if simple boating safety provisions were obeyed.