"Leesfield & Partners"

Published on: July 2, 2024

Police investigating after 5-year-old drowned in Miami-Dade pool. What to know to stay safe in the water this summer

A 5-year-old boy died Thursday night after drowning in the backyard pool of a home in Miami-Dade County, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

Emergency responders were called out to the home, located on the 14800 block of SW 168th Terrace, just before 8 p.m. Thursday. The boy was taken to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital for emergency treatment but was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Additional details were not immediately available Friday. The incident is under investigation by the Miami-Dade Homicide Detectives.

Published on: June 20, 2024

A disturbance heading for the state is not a threat to Florida, but that won’t always be the case. How to make sure you’re prepared for the unthinkable this hurricane season.

By Leesfield & Partners

Rain is expected to hit South Florida Friday afternoon due to a disturbance being monitored by The National Weather Service in Miami.

As of Thursday, this disturbance is located about 150 miles east of the northernmost Bahamas and has a 40% chance of becoming a tropical depression over Thursday and Friday. Meteorologists do not anticipate this storm to be a serious threat to the state, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. The disturbance will bring extra rain to the area as it approaches the east coast before heading north.

Meteorologists with NWS in Miami have estimated about a quarter of an inch of rain beginning Friday afternoon. In areas where thunderstorms are predicted, rainfall estimates could be higher.

Published on: June 18, 2024

Leesfield & Partners secures almost half a million in settlements for Monroe County clients

By Leesfield & Partners

Leesfield & Partners proudly announces that the firm has secured $460,000 in combined settlements for two clients injured in separate Monroe County incidents.

The first of the two cases, both handled by Leesfield & Partners Trial Lawyer, Evan Robinson, took place in February of 2022 and resulted in serious injury to the client. The case was able to be settled with a $10,000 award for bodily injury and $100,000 in uninsured motorist policy coverage.

Uninsured motorist policies exist to protect injured drivers if the at-fault driver does not have coverage or cannot be identified, like in cases of a hit-and-run. This policy differs from under-insured motorist coverage which protects the injured driver if the at-fault driver’s policy cannot cover the full extent of the damages.

Published on: June 17, 2024

Leesfield & Partners to launch a college scholarship in honor of a beloved Key West High School teacher

By Leesfield & Partners

Dexter Butler, 38, was a pillar of his community in Key West, positively impacting the lives of his high school students, the young men on his basketball team and all who knew him.

With a planned athletic scholarship to be awarded in his name, Butler will be afforded the opportunity to continue doing just that for his students.

“Coach Dex” and Butler’s Legacy

Published on: June 17, 2024

Leesfield & Partners retained in case of 83-year-old woman attacked by neighbor’s pet bird. What happened?

By Leesfield & Partners

An 83-year-old Marathon, Florida, woman retained Leesfield & Partners to represent her after a neighbor’s pet bird attacked her while she folded towels at the community pool.

The woman lives alone in the Marathon community in a two-story condominium and was watching her granddaughter swim in the pool the day of the incident. When she returned to the pool later on to retrieve the beach towels her granddaughter had left, a neighbor came down to the pool area carrying their pet bird whose wings are clipped. As the woman folded the discarded towels, her neighbor put the bird on the fence around the pool near where the woman stood. The bird then reached out and bit the woman on her hand, startling her and causing her to violently fall to the ground. The woman was transported to hospitals a total of three times by ambulance and it was determined she had a broken hip requiring surgery.

Following the bird attack, the woman was left bedridden at the hospital for several weeks and likely has several months of painful recovery and physical therapy still ahead. Due to the incident, the woman “sustained permanent disabling and disfiguring injuries,” according to a lawsuit filed in Circuit Court for the 17th Judicial Circuit in Monroe County.

Published on: June 14, 2024

Boy hailed as hero after saving parents, siblings from close call with carbon monoxide at their West Virginia home, officials say

By Leesfield & Partners

Parents who chide their kids over playing late-night video games might think differently after hearing the news of Matteo Policano Wednesday in West Virginia.

Matteo, 10, was up late playing video games while his parents and four siblings slept when he heard a strange noise, according to reporting from a local news station. At first, the young gamer told reporters he thought the sound was from his game and ignored it. As the sound persisted, however, he became alarmed and woke up his father. They discovered the sound was coming from a carbon monoxide detector and, thinking it may need a battery change, the father decided to switch them out for new ones. When a second carbon monoxide detector within the home started ringing, the parents knew the situation was serious and rang emergency responders. An investigation discovered that “large amounts” of carbon monoxide was leaching into the basement from the family’s pool heater.

Hazards of Carbon Monoxide

Published on: August 11, 2020

KEY WEST- Leesfield & Partners Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Parasailing Operator on Behalf of 10-Year-Old Son Following Dad Nicholas Hayward’s Death

By Leesfield & Partners

Leesfield & partners attorneys have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Sunset Watersports, the company operating the parasailing tour that resulted in the death of Nicholas Hayward. Mr. Hayward is survived by his 10-year-old son.

On July 17, Sunset Watersports’ boat captain, Andrew Santeiro, harnessed Nicholas and his girlfriend to their parasail and launched them in the air despite dangerous weather conditions. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission’s investigative arm has already concluded that “severe weather [was] a contributing factor”. Leesfield & Partners say that “this incident would not have occurred but for Sunset Watersports’ utter disregard for the safety of its passengers and violations of Florida Law.” Attorneys further say that “Witnesses have already confirmed that the boat operator was displaying a ‘cowboy attitude’ ignoring passengers’ screams to slow down. Passengers report the operator never should have put them out there because they could not even stand on the deck without tipping over.”

Florida Statute 327.375 prohibits parasailing if the observed wind conditions are more than 20 mph or wind gusts are more than 25 mph. “Laws mean nothing if your health and safety are in the hands of cowboys who do not think the law applies to them. A young boy will grow up without a father because a boat operator wanted to play chicken with Mother Nature.”

Published on: July 19, 2020

Fatal Parasailing incident in Key West Underscores Limits of Florida Parasailing Laws

By Leesfield & Partners

This week, a tragic parasailing incident took the life of 36-year-old Nicholas Hayward and critically injured 28-year-old Azalea Silva. This is a very sad reminder that Florida laws regulating – or attempting to regulate – the parasailing industry are still utterly inadequate and do not protect life. A very similar case was handled by Leesfield & Partners in 2007, which resulted in the passage of the very first law of its kind in the state of Florida. Ira Leesfield and Leesfield & Partners have been at the forefront of this issue, and it is time for reform.

The Miami Herald has reported on the latest incident that the commercial boat used to launch tourists up their parasail was operated by Sunset Watersports. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which investigates all boating accidents, has already stated that “severe weather [was] a contributing factor with this boating accident.” The spokesman for FWC, Officer Bobby Dube, described to reporters that the boat was operating in the middle of “harsh weather” when the incident occurred at around noon. Dube added that the incident took place as the duo began their ascent, they apparently fell very quickly and crashed in the water.

Regulation of the Florida parasailing industry is very light. The Amber May Law came into effect on October 1, 2014. It was named after Amber May, a young teenager who perished in a similar parasailing incident in 2007 in Broward County. Amber and her younger sister were also sent in the air as a duo in the middle of severe weather. Neither the small boat nor the rope could resist the high winds, and ultimately the rope snapped. The girls were catapulted against nearby buildings and hotels. Crystal, Amber May’s sister, lost her best friend and sustained a traumatic brain injury in an incident that was 100% preventable. Leesfield & Partners filed suit against multiple defendants immediately and secured a settlement on behalf of the family.

Published on: October 18, 2018

Injuries Rise with Endless Innovation of Watersports and Boating Industries

By Leesfield & Partners

Over the course of Leesfield & Partners’s 42-year history, we have seen a remarkable increase in grievous injuries and fatalities with the evolution of the watersports and boating industries. As water excursion operators compete vigorously for the consumer dollar, the tours, vehicles, and equipment they offer become more thrilling, and in turn, more dangerous. We now live in a world where traditional boat charters and snorkeling excursions are not enough. The public now craves the thrill of high speed jet ski tours, parasailing at 800 feet in the sky, water-propelled hover boards and jet packs, amphibious duck boats, paddle boards, and so on. The industry is producing so many new products and services that it is impossible for the government to properly regulate the activities. This inevitably results in tragedy as members of the public put their lives in the hands of poorly trained excursion operators with negligently maintained equipment.

A prime example made national news in July 2018 when an amphibious duck boat capsized and claimed the lives of 17 passengers in a southwestern Missouri lake. Duck boats are unique vehicles that resemble a bus while traveling on land but can also operate as a boat in the water. Regulations are spotty, however, because they are technically neither a bus nor a boat. This particular tragedy encompassed all of the notoriously dangerous elements of water excursions that we have seen in our practice for decades: (1) an inherently dangerous vehicle, (2) reckless and poorly trained employees, and (3) a failure to provide necessary safety equipment.

Over the years, Leesfield & Partners has successfully prosecuted a large number of cases involving traditional and novel water-related incidents, including:

Published on: December 11, 2017

2017 – Watersports & Community Involvement – In Review

By Leesfield & Partners

2017 was, again, a record year for verdicts, settlements and community contributions for Leesfield & Partners. Clients from around the country and local residents of Key West and the Florida Keys selected our Firm in over 25 separate matters, including injuries from watersports, motor vehicle injuries, bicycles, moped disasters, hotels and resort injuries and many unimaginable events to visitors and residents alike.

When a private transportation bus crushed the vehicle of our clients visiting from Orange, Virginia, the result was a mediated settlement in excess of $1 million. The case was resolved in less than a year with our clients getting the financial assistance to put their lives together again.

A brief look at our Firm’s noteworthy results over the year would include: