Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
A family has lost their 13-year-old son after he hit a metal cable in a “freak accident” while riding his e-bike through the neighborhood, according to local media.
Emiliano Munoz, of Everett, Washington, was playing with friends at a neighborhood field on May 2. As he left on his e-bike, he took a shortcut through a yard where he did not see a braided cable strung up between two bollards in the grass.
The boy ran into the cable and cut his vocal cords, a spokesperson for the family told local media.
“He went back running as fast as he could, without being able to catch any air, back to his friends to … call 911,” said Shantel Jenks, a friend of the family. “He ended up collapsing.”
Emiliano was rushed to the hospital where he was put on life support. He died just days later.
News outlets reported outrage among community members following what they called a “freak accident.” While the homeowners told Kiro 7 News that they were not responsible for putting the cables up, Jenks told reporters that it should have been removed “years ago when neighbors told her it was not safe.”
Ira Leesfield on E-Bikes
Ira Leesfield, the Founder and Managing Partner of Leesfield & Partners in Florida, has vehemently opposed the use of e-bikes, which have grown in popularity in recent years. Mr. Leesfield first expressed his reservations about micromobility devices – including e-bikes, e-scooters and hoverboards – in a 2019 op-ed that appeared in The Miami Herald. In it, Mr. Leesfield questioned the lack of regulation, licenses, and insurance requirements for these devices, which were causing thousands of injuries each year at the time.
“Just walk around, hear the buzz, watch the helter-skelter path of no rules overtaken by untrained and uncontrolled ‘operators,” he said. “No License? No problem! No helmet? No problem! No instruction? Who cares!? It’s every man, woman and child for themselves!”
In the February 2019 edition of Trial magazine, Mr. Leesfield and Partner Justin B. Shapiro co-authored an article discussing the pathways for litigation when injuries occur.
“Most cases against the major vehicle sharing services – including Lime, Spin, Bird, and Citi Bike – likely will include claims that fall into three broad categories: failure to adequately warn, instruct, and qualify users; negligent maintenance of vehicles; and failure to provide necessary safety equipment, such as helmets,” the attorneys wrote in the article.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s latest available data shows a 21% increase in injuries involving micromobility devices from 2021 to 2022 in the United States. Minors 14 years old and younger make up a “significant” amount of the reported injuries, according to reporting from CBS Miami. That number is double of their proportion of the U.S. population.
In his latest article published last month in the Daily Business Review, Mr. Leesfield said that enforcement is necessary.
“We must act now to create and enforce these regulations,” he said. “Proper regulation is how we will protect our children and loved ones and prevent further tragedies.”
Premises Liability
In Florida, premises liability refers to the legal responsibility of a management company or homeowner to maintain their property in a condition that is reasonably safe for guests and other invitees. This includes ensuring that walking surfaces like stepping and/or paving stones are stable and that walkways are free from trip hazards and warning invitees of the potential risks. If there are pets on the property that may potentially become aggressive, these owners must also ensure that they are secured and kept away from visitors to avoid a potential injury.
In an ongoing case being handled by Eric Shane, a Trial Lawyer at the firm, an elderly woman was attacked at her apartment complex’s pool by a neighbor’s pet bird in the Florida Keys. Our client was so startled by the bite that she fell violently to the ground and broke her hip. This incident was not the first time the pet had been known to be aggressive toward someone.
In Florida, however, cutting through a yard without the consent of a property owner would be considered trespassing. In most cases, a property owner is not liable for injuries sustained by a trespasser, unless the injury was the result of gross negligence (such as a hidden, dangerous condition) or intentional misconduct (such as deliberately setting a trap). Additionally, if the owner is aware of frequent trespassing and installs hazardous conditions without warning, they could be found liable for injuries that were caused.
Florida also recognizes the attractive nuisance doctrine, which increases the duty of care when children trespass due to a dangerous condition that is likely to attract them — these can include a pool or trampoline. The homeowner in these cases must take reasonable steps to secure the hazard as children — due to age and/or maturity level, could not anticipate the potential risks.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a personal injury law firm with offices throughout Florida, including Key West, Miami and Orlando. In nearly five decades of practice, this firm has secured numerous record verdicts and settlements on behalf of injured clients. In that time, the firm has litigated every manner of injury imaginable with a strong foothold in premises liability cases. Leesfield & Partners attorneys have represented clients against homeowners, stores, corporations, hotels and government properties.
In one case handled by the firm, a man was standing on a friend’s Miami Beach apartment balcony when the railing gave way. He fell from the second floor of the building to the concrete below and was paralyzed from the shins down.
As Leesfield & Partners attorneys investigated the case, they found an overwhelming number of building code violations and the blatant refusal from the building owner to listen to the tenants’ complaints. To save money, this owner took short cuts and ignored necessary repairs. No inspections were made that would have undoubtedly concluded that the balconies were not safe for either tenants or guests and no engineer or licensed contractor was hired to address the ongoing hazards.
That case settled for $7 million, far above the $1 million liability insurance policy of the apartment building.
In another case settled by the firm, Leesfield & Partners attorneys recovered over $5 million for a client who was paralyzed following an accident at a home.
A case in which our client suffered a concussion, the firm obtained $1.43 million against a the owners of a building where the accident occurred.
In a carbon monoxide injury case out of Key West, our attorneys were able to secure a multi-million recovery for a family who were guests at a hotel. A badly repaired roof vent was leaking carbon monoxide into their room. The colorless and odorless gas is highly toxic. Luckily, the family was able to call for emergency responders before they went unconscious.
This case caught nationwide attention and was especially important because it sparked a call to action for state legislation spearheaded by Mr. Leesfield.
Trial Lawyer Evan Robinson and Mr. Shapiro are handling an ongoing case involving a woman who suffered a severe spinal cord injury at a Key West resort. In that case, the woman attempted to lie down on an improperly installed and inadequately maintained hammock. As she did, the hammock flipped her and sent her head-first to the ground.
Our client required surgery and a year on continues to suffer with daily pain.
