"Leesfield & Partners"

Published on: June 18, 2024

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

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:

Published on: March 17, 2016

Leesfield & Partners – Key West Events

By Leesfield & Partners

On March 10, 2016, Leesfield & Partners co-sponsored the Monroe County Bar Association luncheon honoring Appellate Judge Ed Scales. The overflow luncheon crowd warmly received Judge Scales’ analysis of recent appellate decisions. This event, which coincided with Spring Break, marks the 40th year founding partner Ira Leesfield has worked with lawyers and clients in the Florida Keys. Says Leesfield, “I was overwhelmed by the activity, congestion and crowds surrounding Spring break in the Florida Keys.” “Unfortunately, drinking, combined with driving, mopeds, bicycles and all water sport activities, is not always a safe combination,” noted attorneys with the firm who recently obtained a $41 million verdict against a local resort for negligent security.

Ira Leesfield‘s career began in Key West with a $2 million medical negligence recovery against a Florida Keys hospital, followed by a $2.1 verdict for a motor vehicle/moped collision (Kemp v. AMR). In addition to settlements for medical malpractice, negligent security, water jet ski and boating safety, moped, bicycle and street safety, Leesfield & Partners holds record verdicts for settlements in Key West and throughout the Florida Keys. These results include the crash of a tourist stunt plane in Marathon, resulting in the death of a young mother with two children.

Following catastrophic injuries to bicycle and moped operators, the firm has aggressively pushed the “Share the Road” campaign, as well as supporting Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) and boating safety.

Published on: October 29, 2012

Key West’s Fantasy Fest coming to a close with a rash of traffic accidents

By Leesfield & Partners

Yesterday, the annual Fantasy Fest was drawing to a close, but countless visitors and locals will not forget several terrible accidents which caused Overseas Highway to be shutdown for several hours by police.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy Becky Herrin told the Sun-Sentinel that they “expect heavy traffic, possibly with a bottleneck in Islamorada that sometimes stretches to the Long Key Bridge. Our roads can only hold so many cars. And Fantasy Fest pretty much maxes out our traffic.”

During the last weekend of the festivities in Key West, Florida Highway Patrol and numerous Sheriff’s Deputies responded to more than 21 motor vehicle accidents. One of them involved the collision of a motorcycle with another car at mile marker 29.5 in Big Pine Key. One of the two people on the motorcycle was severely injured and rushed to Fishermen’s Hospital in Marathon where he was pronounced dead. The second occupant was flown to Miami by helicopter for further medical treatment.

Several hours earlier, two vehicles collided at mile marker 41 on the seven-mile bridge, which required the emergency rescue and transport to three people to Fishermen’s Hospital.

Over the years, the road to and from Key West has seen thousands of car accidents, with many resulting in fatalities. The causes for these crashes are often times attributed to speeding, alcohol, or texting. A study has revealed that between 2006 and 2010, Monroe County averaged 1,329 car accidents every year. Also, in the last 34 years, ending in 2009, the number of fatal car accidents throughout the county of Monroe was drastically higher than the average for the rest of the state of Florida. In the past ten years, there have been more than 220 fatal accidents in Monroe County.

Leesfield & Partners have established their offices in Key West over three decades ago and have been a staple in the personal injury landscape in Key West and throughout the Florida Keys.
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