Trial Lawyers

Published on: September 24, 2025

‘Unsafe Practices’ Allegedly Found at University of Miami Organ Agency. Here’s How Leesfield & Partners Has Represented Victims of Medical Negligence for 49 Years.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced this week its plans to decertify Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency, a major organ procurement organization (OPO) in Miami, following its federal investigation that allegedly uncovered years of “unsafe practices.”

The Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency is a division of the University of Miami Health System and is purported to service hospitals across South Florida and the Bahamas. Life Alliance is one of 55 nonprofits designated by the federal government that coordinates the transplantation of organs around the country. They are regulated by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, according to local media reporting.

In addition to unsafe practices, the investigation revealed “poor training, chronic underperformance, understaffing, and paperwork errors.”

Published on: September 18, 2025

Construction Site Accident Injured Two in North Miami Beach.

By Leesfield & Partners

At least two workers are hospitalized following an electrocution incident that caused one of them to fall nine stories at a construction site in North Miami Beach, according to local media.

The incident happened around 9:30 a.m. Monday at a building under construction near the 16300 block of Biscayne Boulevard. Both men were on a lift that malfunctioned, electrocuting one of the men and sending the other plummeting from the ninth floor of the residential building.

Officials told reporters with WSVN that the lift’s motor “blew out,” causing the incident. The man who was electrocuted is in stable condition while the other man is in critical condition, according to media.

Published on: September 18, 2025

Cutler Bay House Fire Leaves One Dead and Another Injured. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

Investigators have not released what they believe to be the likely cause of a Cutler Bay house fire that killed at least one person and left another hospitalized Friday.

Fire officials were called out to the blaze around 5:50 a.m. for a home on the 9700 block of Montego Bay Drive. When they arrived, they found heavy smoke coming from all sides of the home and rescued at least one person from inside, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. One other person self-evacuated.

Emergency responders took both people to the hospital where one of them was pronounced dead. As of Friday afternoon, the condition of the survivor had not been released.

Published on: September 4, 2025

Four People Rescued from Water After Boat Capsized Over Labor Day Weekend in Miami, officials say.

By Leesfield & Partners

At least four people were pulled from the water Sunday afternoon after their boat capsized near Haulover Inlet in Miami, according to reporting from local media.

All four were found sitting on the overturned hull of their 25-foot boat around 4 p.m. The boat was found nearly seven miles short of Haulover Inlet.

No Injuries were reported in this incident though Miami-Dade Fire Rescue teams have taken this as the opportunity to remind boaters to check the weather conditions before setting out on the water, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. Additionally, boaters should ensure they have a VHF radio on board that is turned to channel 16 — the quickest way to radio for help if in distress on the water.

Published on: August 22, 2025

Neighbor angry over bus stop placement uses sprinklers on students with disabilities, police say.

By Leesfield & Partners

Police say a man is facing charges after he sprayed students with disabilities using his sprinkler system during a dispute over a neighborhood bus stop in Ocala.

Antonio Roman, 61, was charged on Aug. 17 with four counts of stalking, two counts of battery on a disabled person and two counts of battery.

Since at least Aug. 8, 2024, police say Roman activated his sprinklers twice a day to “intentionally spray the family who lived next door,” officials with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office told Miami Herald reporters. This allegedly occurred specifically when two students with special needs were loaded and unloaded from the bus stop. Police told reporters that the father began wearing a swimsuit to “shield his children from Roman’s sprinklers.

Published on: August 19, 2025

Girl, 11, Hit by Car Near Bus Stop in Port St. Lucie. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

An 11-year-old girl has been hospitalized with critical injuries after she was hit by a car near a bus stop in Port St. Lucie Friday.

The crash happened before 8:40 a.m. near the intersection of SW Thornhill Drive and SW Gemini Lane, according to reporting from local media. A neighbor’s surveillance camera captured the moment the child attempted to cross the street on her way to her bus stop and was hit. The driver immediately stopped and called paramedics, according to the article.

The girl was airlifted to St. Mary’s Medical Center in critical condition.

Published on: August 18, 2025

Here’s How a Boat Scheduled to be Sunk Got Stuck Under a Florida Bridge. What to know about safety on the water.

By Leesfield & Partners

A 24-year-old diving boat scheduled to be purposefully sunk for use as a coral reef held on a bit longer after it got stuck under a bridge in the Florida Panhandle.

The 75-foot vessel, a diving boat named the Nekton Rorqual, was being towed by a tugboat beneath the William T. Marler Bridge, a four-lane bridge in Destin, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. Photos shared online of the vessel made it appear as though it were a perfect fit between the bridge pylons and commenters online drew comparisons to parallel parking. Officials said that as the boat was being towed, it got caught in the current, causing it to get stuck.

Officials reported no evidence of damage caused by the boat following the ordeal. It took about 15 minutes to maneuver the boat out from under the bridge. Authorities temporarily blocked traffic during this time while tugboat operators below attempted to free the vessel.

Published on: August 13, 2025

Child in Critical Condition Following Near-Drowning in Pembroke Pines, officials say

By Leesfield & Partners

A child remains in critical condition after being pulled from a pool Monday in Pembroke Pines, officials say.

The incident happened around 6 p.m. at a home near Southwest 69th Avenue and 12th Street. When emergency responders arrived, they found a 3-year-old had been pulled from the pool in cardiac arrest, according to local media reporting.

The child remains in critical condition and no names have been released.

Published on: August 5, 2025

Third Child Dies in Miami Beach Barge-Sailboat Crash. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

A 10-year-old girl has died at the hospital days after being involved in a barge-sailboat crash in Miami Beach that killed two other children.

Arielle Mazi Buchman died Thursday at Jackson Memorial Hospital, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

Mila Tankelevich, 7, and 13-year-old Erin Victoria Ko Han died on July 28, the day that the 17-foot Hobie Getaway they were on as a part of a Miami Yacht Club summer camp program was hit by a 60-foot barge. The barge was being pulled by a tugboat.

Published on: August 4, 2025

Coast Guard: Captain of Tugboat in Fatal Miami Beach Sailboat Crash Not Impaired. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

Neither the tugboat captain, a camp counselor, nor a person aboard the barge was under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the fatal boat crash that killed one child and injured others off Miami Beach on Monday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

These initial findings were reported Friday by The Miami Herald after a 60-foot barge being pulled by a tugboat slammed into a 17-foot Hobie Gateway carrying at five children with the Miami Youth Sailing Foundation and their camp counselor.

At least two girls died and two more were seriously injured in the crash, which occurred between Hibiscus and Monuments islands.