Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Anyone who has set foot in an airport has seen the lengths that weary travelers will go to get some good shuteye.
Somnolent passengers spread out across chairs, drape jackets over their heads and even stretch out on the floor in desperate attempts to sleep while they wait in bustling airport terminals. For those visiting the Miami airport, this struggle will be a thing of the past, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.
At least 15 rooms with beds were opened earlier this month in the north terminal, near Gate D15 near the Admirals Club, the newspaper reported. These rooms, operated by Wait n’ Rest, will be available to passengers 24/7.
To rent the space at the airport, Miami-Dade County officials struck a deal with Hotelzo LLC — the Boynton Beach parent company behind Wait n’ Rest. In it, the contract states that the company will pay the county’s aviation department either 25% of its yearly revenue or the minimum rent for the space at the airport, depending on which is more. The current agreement is slated to run for the first five years with an option to renew for a second five-year period. If the sleep centers do well, reporters noted, the county could receive over $5 million.
It will cost passengers anywhere from $40 to $245 to rent one of the rooms, depending on the number of people in the room and how long they intend to stay. Various room options can accommodate one, two, and up to four people. With a total of 30 beds, shared bathrooms, and showers, the rooms are an oasis when compared to crowded terminals.
Each room will provide bedding, towels, and touchscreen entertainment. In May, MIA will launch a second area of sleep centers near Concourse H.
So far, over 750 customers have used the space, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.
Leesfield & Partners
With five decades of experience handling the personal injury cases of individuals and families throughout Florida, our attorneys know just how quickly an unexpected and preventable accident can derail a vacation. From trip and fall incidents that have long-lasting and painful consequences to frightening violent crimes, our attorneys have seen just about every manner of injury that can occur. Started by Ira H. Leesfield in 1976, the firm has become one of the top personal injury law firms in the state and has repeatedly been recognized as one of the leading personal injury law firms in the U.S.
Leesfield & Partners has been routinely recognized by national and local entities including The Best Lawyers in America, Florida Legal Elite, South Florida Legal Guide Top Firm and Top Lawyers, South Florida Business Journal Key Partners Award, and Super Lawyers.
In Florida, negligent security cases are those in which a property owner and/or management company didn’t do enough to keep their property reasonably safe from criminal activity, and as a result, someone got hurt. These cases involve physical attacks, robberies or other assaults at places such as apartments, nightclubs, shopping centers or hotels.
Under general premises liability principles, property owners do not have a duty to prevent all third-party crimes, however, Florida law does impose a duty to take reasonable security measures when the risk of criminal activity is foreseeable.
Leesfield & Partners is representing a woman in an ongoing case who was the victim of video voyeurism after a crewmember on the ship she was traveling on was found to be planting hidden cameras in the cabins and bathrooms of various passengers. Our client was left traumatized following this incident. Many of the passengers who were filmed were children.
The crewmember was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for producing child sex abuse material.
Bernardo Pimentel II is the Trial Attorney at the firm handling the case.
Previous Cases
Our attorneys handle every case with the compassion and persistence necessary to achieve the best possible result in every case on behalf of our clients. Though no monetary amount will be enough to erase the immeasurable harm that is done by perpetrators of sexual abuse, it can help victims and survivors begin the life-long process of healing and moving forward from the deplorable actions of their abusers. Our firm is dedicated to holding accountable not only those directly responsible, but also those who knew — or who should have known — about their actions and chose to look the other way or conceal the truth.
In a historic negligent security case involving a Key West hotel, Leesfield & Partners represented a woman who was attacked by a hammer in an parking garage. The woman was attacked in the unlocked parking garage of a resort hotel in the area where a man was able to enter and roam around in a “drug-induced” state without being approached or questioned by any security. The man wandered for about 20 minutes before encountering our client and beginning the violent attack.
As a result of this horrific ordeal, she suffered serious and permanent injuries to her face and head. The hotel entered into a confidential settlement the night before a $40,580,000 verdict was handed down against the remaining defendant.
Partner Justin B. Shapiro represented a couple staying at a Florida hotel when they were viciously and brutally attacked. The hotel had a previous history of violent crime and officials within management were advised by police and a private security company to hire armed guards to patrol the property before this incident. To cut costs, this advice was ignored.
On the day of the incident, the assailant was able to enter the lobby without being a guest and travel up the elevator to our clients’ room. When the husband opened the door, the assailant rapidly launched his violent attack. This was before he turned to the wife who he beat, sexually assaulted, and raped.
At least part of this unthinkable and violent assault was witnessed by hotel employees and a security guard who did nothing to step in or help our clients as they were attacked.
Mr. Shapiro recovered $16 million for the couple,
A woman working as a maid at a Monroe County hotel was raped by a man who was allowed to be on the property despite the fact that he was not a guest. The man was left alone, allowing him to sleep by the pool and use drugs. He was not approached by security or any of the other staff at the hotel and was allowed to roam the property for hours before he entered a room that our client was cleaning and attacked her.
Other Travel-Related Cases
Leesfield & Partners represented a minor who was sexually abused by another passenger on the airplane. The minor was meant to be under the care of flight officials who did not take the proper care to watch over the child, allowing this horrific incident to take place.
A confidential settlement was obtained by the firm in that case.
One Leesfield & Partners case involving a married couple from Germany resulted in a multi-million dollar settlement after a gas leak caused an explosion at the resort in the Dominican Republic where they were staying. The two were severely burned in the incident and the wife tragically died after being transported to a hospital in Miami.
Another case handled by the firm involved that of a woman staying at a Florida hotel where she contracted Legionnaires’ Disease. The woman routinely used the hotel’s hot tub during her stay and presented with symptoms the day she checked out from the hotel.
Due to her exposure and diagnosis, the woman suffered an acute kidney injury, and regular bouts of pain and fatigue. Eric Shane, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Lawyer, was able to secure a $300,000 settlement for the woman in that case.
Trial Attorney Carlos Fabano secured a confidential recovery amount for the family of a cruise ship passenger who suffered a medical emergency and died while traveling on the ship.
In Monroe County, a man represented by the firm was staying at a rental property when he suffered a terrible fall on non-code-compliant stairs. He severely fractured his ankle due to the stairs varying in height. Compounding matters, he was unable to catch himself during his fall because the property owner had installed a boat oar as a makeshift railing.
Evan Robinson, a Trial Lawyer at the firm, was able to secure a $350,000 award for the man in that case.
