Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
A jet ski collision near the Miami Marine Stadium on Thursday, June 25, resulted in at least two hospitalizations, officials said.
The personal watercraft (PWC) incident occurred off the Rickenbacker Causeway, according to CBS News reporting. There were allegedly two men on each of the PWC’s, which were traveling in the waters north of the Rickenbacker Causeway when they crashed.
At least two men, described by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials as being in their 40s, were taken to the Ryder Trauma Center. The men were said to be in “serious but stable” condition and were taken to the hospital as a precaution, CBS News reported.
Additional information, including the men’s condition or how the collision occurred, was not immediately available Monday, June 29.
The investigation is ongoing.
‘Dangers from Boating are Entirely Underestimated’
In five decades of representing tourists and locals alike throughout some of the state’s worst boating and personal watercraft accidents, our attorneys have become extremely familiar with how dangerous the water can be. In that time, Leesfield & Partners has secured record verdicts and settlements on behalf of clients and has advocated for safer waters.
The firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, has been a staunch advocate for safe boating throughout Florida. Last year, he applauded the passage of Lucy’s Law, which went into effect on July 1, 2025.
“The dangers from boating incidents are entirely underestimated as South Florida becomes more congested, drinking on the water becomes more prevalent and distractions from cell phones and other devices increases,” he said. “Important safety standards must be enforced on all watercrafts.”
In 2025, the year with the latest available data from the FWC, there were 694 reportable boating accidents. The majority of these accidents took place in May of 2025. The area with the most accidents was Monroe County. That area reported 72 accidents with one death and 56 injuries.
The most common cause of a collision, resulting in 243 accidents, was a collision with a fixed object. In all, there were 51 deaths on the water in 2025 and 437 injuries. About 14% of fatal incidents involved alcohol or drug use, FWC officials said. Of these incidents, there were at least 161 that involved jet skis or personal watercrafts, according to the FWC’s annual report.
In an article discussing such crashes, Partner Justin B. Shapiro explained that no other water-related activity produces more injuries than jet ski crashes. The reason is twofold — not enough people are prepared for the sheer strength needed to maneuver these watercrafts through the waves and, though they are marketed as “beginner friendly,” the reality is starkly different.
“As the summer months yield their inevitable slew of injuries, prospective renters should be aware of the life-threatening dangers of jet skis, and their attorneys should be intimately familiar with the many regulations that were enacted to keep them safe,” he said.
Shockingly, FWC officials noted in their report, over half (67%) of boaters involved in fatal accidents on the water had no formal boaters education.
Leesfield & Partners attorneys handle numerous tragic and preventable boating cases every year. Mr. Shapiro and Evan Robinson, a Trial Attorney at the firm, are representing a teen who suffered a traumatic brain injury as the result of a water tubing accident.
Mr. Shapiro and Trial Attorney Eric Shane are representing a young girl who was enrolled in a South Florida summer camp when her leg was sliced by a boat propeller.
Leesfield & Partners is also representing those affected by the tragic sailboat-barge crash in Miami on July 28, including 13-year-old Erin Ko, who tragically died, and 7-year-old Calena Areyan Gruber, who survived.
That case is being handled by Mr. Shapiro and Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II.
Previous Jet Ski Cases
In the last six years alone, Leesfield & Partners has secured well over $10 million in combined verdicts and settlements stemming from jet ski injury cases. Whether it be from crashes with other vessels on the water, fixed objects or other jet skiers, Leesfield & Partners has seen just about every instance of jet ski injury that can occur. These injuries often have tragic and permanent results, impacting every aspect of our client’s lives from future earning capabilities to the participation in everyday life.
In one jet ski case, also handled by Mr. Shapiro, the firm represented a family visiting Key West from California. As one of the activities planned during their vacation, the family booked a guided jet ski tour. During the excursion, however, the guides meant to watch over and help the family navigate both the water and the personal watercrafts, routinely sped away from the family and failed to warn them about known hazards in the area.
When the family was led under a narrow bridge, they were given no warning or instructions and the father was significantly injured in a crash as a result.
In a case that caused the death of a woman on the water, Leesfield & Partners obtained $2.8 million for the woman’s family. The rental company in that case failed to ensure that all of their customers understood their safety briefing and general instructions the day of the crash. A French-speaking tourist eventually crashed into the woman, causing her fatal injuries.
The firm previously handled a jet ski case in which attorneys secured $1.6 million for the injured client.
In a crash involving a jet ski and a boat, the firm secured $935,000 for the injured client.
Additional Boating and Water-Related Cases
Previously, the firm secured a substantial settlement in a case involving a minor who lost a leg while not being supervised on a vessel.
The firm previously handled the case of a family whose young son was snorkeling when he was hit and killed by a passing boater. The boater in that case was also a minor who should never have been given permission to operate the vessel without supervision. Not only did this minor not stop, but he attempted to cover up evidence and lied to police when questioned.
Neighbors later testified that this minor regularly operated the boat in a reckless manner.
The firm represented the family of a young woman, 20, who tragically died when the vessel she was on crashed into a concrete dock. The firm secured over $1.3 million for the family when it was revealed that the boat operator had been drinking and speeding the night of the crash.
In a boat case involving a foreign resort, the firm secured an $800,000 recovery for the injured client.
Another boating accident involving a negligent operator resulted in a $500,000 recovery.
The firm represented the widow of a man who drowned while on a boat tour at the Dry Tortugas National Park. The company’s tour guides instructed the man where he should go to snorkel and, within minutes, his body was found unresponsive.
The firm secured a six-figure recovery in that case.
Mr. Pimentel represented the family of a young man and father-to-be who was lobster diving when he was killed by a law enforcement officer who negligently failed to adhere to divers-down flag laws.
