Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Josh was a broken man. Devastated from an unspeakable shooting tragedy that ravaged his family he was disillusioned from having his case turned down by Florida’s most prominent negligent security firm. When his personal family attorney tried to refer Josh to that other firm, he heard things like ‘impossible’, ‘a tragedy but not a case’, ‘likely to lose’, and then he heard ‘NO’. Those sentiments were terrible blows to Josh’s already gaping open-wounds. He felt completely and utterly hopeless.
Luckily, Josh’s well-intentioned family attorney did not take ‘no’ for an answer and reached out to Tom Scolaro having heard of his tenacity and success where others have said ‘no’. Mr. Scolaro understood that this case was previously investigated and vetted and ultimately declined by this top negligent security firm. Having litigated and tried many negligent security cases, he was not going to let another law firm’s decision affect his independent analysis. Mr. Scolaro saw a family man that was hurt and grieving for his loss and promised that he would take a fresh look at everything and turn over every stone. Despite the daunting facts, bad law and a team of expert witnesses that were sure to be hired by the biggest defense firms in the country, Mr. Scolaro had a hunch. On that hunch, the Leesfield & Partners firm took on the case, immediately filed the lawsuit and began intensive litigation which lasted over a year. Through discovery and depositions, Mr. Scolaro was able to prove that the assailant that killed his own family never should have been allowed to live on the premises in the first place. He successfully argued that the domestic nature of the crime, the cold-hard brutality and the assailant’s resolve to commit the heinous murder was ultimately irrelevant to the fact that he never should have been on the property in the first place. If he was not allowed to be on the property in the first place, he ultimately successfully proved that this incident would not have occurred.
Mr. Scolaro understood why the other firm turned down the case. It was a nearly impossible hill to climb but his passion for justice and helping people is all that he sees in front of him. The entire Leesfield & Partners team takes a personal approach to each case they are working on. Even though we do this day in and day out, it is the client’s only case and it is their most important case. We take that to heart and pursue each case as though it is the only one we have. It is a philosophy that has served the firm and its clients well over the last five decades.
Today, while Josh still grieves his loss, he does so knowing that he has obtained justice and that all those responsible have been held fully accountable. Obtaining this seven figure settlement for Josh underscores that he and his family matter and that they are not just a sad unpreventable statistic. Leesfield & Partners is proud to have obtained justice for Josh and his family.
Many Florida personal injury attorneys lack the expertise or the financial backing to take on these cases, and they rather work on less demanding cases – the proverbial low-hanging fruit. Leesfield & Partners has made its stellar reputation by achieving second-to-none results on behalf of clients with cases deemed “too difficult” by that collection of lawyers.
Across five decades, Ira Leesfield and Thomas Scolaro have represented countless clients who were told they did not have a case by other firms. That is especially true in the area of inadequate and negligent security cases such as the wrongful death of a patron during a bar fight, a customer shot while getting money at an ATM, a chambermaid raped during her shift, a driver gunned down while getting gas, a bystander hammered in the face in a hotel parking garage, a patron raped at an amusement park, a patron defaced in a club’s parking lot, an employee shot at work by a disgruntled former employee, a student killed on University campus, a driver shot in a bank drive-through, or the wrongful death of a patron while shopping at local grocery store. All these fact patterns present inherent difficulties that have caused seemingly competent personal injury attorneys to run away and turn down clients. Leesfield & Partners serves the South Florida Community (and beyond) best when it helps these victims face the perpetrators and hold all liable parties responsible in court.
Over the last fifteen years alone, Leesfield & Partners has obtained over $100 million in recovery to clients and families who were victims of a crime that could have been avoided but for the negligent or inadequate security of a responsible third-party. That is why both Ira Leesfield and Thomas Scolaro have spoken and been published on this topic. Beyond Florida’s state line, fellow personal injury attorneys have brought them on to assist in their own negligent security case.
Miami’s Leesfield & Partners continued to set itself apart through aggressive and efficient representation of its clients. The strategy and the creative lawyering vary from case to case, but the goal controls all: Reach a successful resolution for our clients whether through settlement or through trial.
