Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
A man riding an electric scooter on July 19 died after falling into the road and getting hit by a tractor-trailer, according to a press release this week from the Spokane Police Department.
Sean Nolan, 21, was riding an electric scooter on a sidewalk in Spokane County, Washington, police said. He was the rear passenger on the scooter and lost his balance before falling into the road. The man driving the scooter also fell but landed on the sidewalk. Nolan was hit by an oncoming tractor-trailer.
The driver stopped and attempted to “render aid,” before police arrived, officials said. Both police officers and firefighters also attempted to give first aid, but Nolan was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Spokane County Medical Examiner said that Nolan died from blunt force injuries.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a personal injury law firm in Florida with offices in Key West, Miami and Orlando. In nearly five decades of personal injury practice, our attorneys have seen countless road injury cases and the devastating effects they can have on individuals and families. From speeding, drunk driving, texting and driving or from faulty road construction, our attorneys have seen just about every manner of injury that can occur on the road.
In that time, the firm has obtained numerous record and landmark results for injured clients and grieving families throughout the state and regularly speaks out about road safety issues.
As electric bikes and scooters have gained traction in recent years, our Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, has routinely cautioned users about the dangers associated with this mode of transport. From users who slow already bogged down traffic while in the road to users who snake in and out of cars’ paths on Miami highways, the clear safety risks are blatant. Currently, there are no laws requiring insurance, helmets or minimum ages for e-bikes and e-scooters in Florida, despite the mounting national injury rate.
In the U.S., data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission states that there was a 21% increase from 2021 to 2022 in injuries involving these electric modes of transportation in the United States. Minors 14 years old and younger made up a “significant” amount of the reported injuries, according to reporting from CBS Miami.
Previous Motor Vehicle Accident Cases
Partner Justin B. Shapiro represented a family in a wrongful death motor vehicle case involving a pedestrian. A verdict of over $36 million was obtained for the family in that case.
In a motor vehicle accident involving negligent road construction, Leesfield & Partners attorneys obtained over $29 million for the injured clients.
Mr. Leesfield obtained a $19.8 million verdict against Honda in a design defect case involving a motorcycle kickstand. In that case, our client was in the middle of a ride when the kickstand deployed and caused his motorcycle to spin out of control. He was paralyzed as the result of this violent collision.
This was the start of litigation against multiple manufacturers involving the same dangerous design defect handled by Mr. Leesfield on behalf of injured clients.
A $15.4 million recovery was obtained for a Fort Lauderdale handyman who was injured as a backseat passenger in a high-speed motor vehicle accident. The man in that case was in a car that was stopped at a drawbridge when another car hit it from behind, causing skull fractures, frontal lobe brain damage and facial fractures.
As a result of his injuries, our client developed a seizure disorder that could not be controlled by medication. This ended the then-22-year-old’s career as a handyman in the area.
Leesfield & Partners previously represented the families of three teenage girls after they were struck by a commercial truck driver making an illegal U-turn on the turnpike. The girls in that case were on their way to the library when the driver turned directly into their path. Tragically, one girl was killed and the other two sustained serious injuries.
Our attorneys worked tirelessly to settle the case for over $8.6 million for the families. The firm also obtained an over $7.6 million arbitration award for the family who lost their daughter.
In the case of a woman who was walking back to her office following a midday break, Mr. Shapiro secured the maximum recoverable amount set forth in the defendant’s insurance policy limits. The woman was crossing the street in a marked crosswalk when a pickup truck driver made an illegal left turn, claiming to not have seen her. Injuries to our client included skull fractures and brain hemorrhages in addition to injuries to her left leg.
A $6 million settlement was secured for the client in that case.
In another pedestrian-involved case, Leesfield & Partners obtained a $2.9 million recovery our client who was injured due to a driver’s negligence.
The firm obtained a $2 million recovery for a client injured in a motorcycle collision involving a trucking company.
In another case involving a well-known car dealership, Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured $2 million for a client injured as the result of a terrible crash.
The firm settled a pedestrian case in which our client was hit while walking on the sidewalk by a driver who was distracted by a cellphone. That case was resolved with a $1.5 million settlement.
In a tragic, fatal pedestrian case, Leesfield & Partners secured over $1.3 million for a driver’s negligence.
A child who was crossing the street suffered a traumatic brain injury after a driver hit him. In that case, Leesfield & Partners secured a $1.2 million settlement for the Fort Lauderdale family.
Previous Bicycle Cases
A case involving a bicyclist who was hit while stopped on the shoulder of the Overseas Highway in Key West resulted in a $5,350,000 settlement for the client. In that case, the bicyclist who was stopped on the side of the road was hit by a driver who was distracted by their car’s GPS.
A pedestrian-involved incident handled by the firm resulted in the maximum recovery amount of $6 million awarded to our injured client. In that case, a woman was walking back to her office following a mid-day break when she was struck by a truck making an illegal left turn whose driver claimed not to see her in the marked crosswalk. The woman had severe injuries including skull fractures and brain hemorrhages as a result of the driver’s negligence.
For a Toronto family, a vacation to Fort Myers turned into a nightmare after a pickup truck driver failed to see a young wife and mother attempting to cross the street. Leesfield & Partners attorneys recovered an $8.5 million settlement for the family following a $27 million arbitration award.
Another pedestrian-involved incident handled by the firm resulted in a $2.9 million recovery.
The firm previously recovered $3 million for a mother and son injured in a bicycle incident.
