A 17-year-old teenager died over the weekend while diving using a hookah rig in the Florida Keys, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.
The boy, later identified as Cameron Isaiah Ruwe, was diving with several others on Saturday using a hookah rig — a type of diving that uses a surface-based compressor to deliver air through a hose. The group and their vessel were near Grassy Key around 1:30 p.m. when Cameron attempted to swim back to his boat and “went underwater,” according to local media.
The people who were with him attempted to perform CPR before emergency responders arrived. He was taken to Fisherman’s Community Hospital in Marathon where he was pronounced dead.
Local media has reported that at least five people died in 2023 in diving-related accidents in Florida.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a personal injury law firm with nearly five decades of experience handling the cases of people who were injured on the water. From boating crashes and diving accidents to parasailing incidents and beyond, our attorneys handle every case with the diligence, care and compassion needed to achieve the best possible outcome for injured clients and families who have lost loved ones.
With offices in Key West, Orlando and Miami, we understand that life in Florida is deeply tied to the water. The hum of a boat engine is often the backdrop to cherished family memories, and time spent in the ocean plays a central role in the lives of many Floridians. But when proper precautions are not taken, these moments can turn tragic in an instant, changing lives permanently. This is a sad fact that our attorneys know better than most.
As a part of the firm’s public safety advocacy, safety tips and memos are regularly shared on the firm’s digital board outside of its Miami office, which is situated on South Dixie Highway and is passed by hundreds of commuters every day. Additionally, the firm contributed annually via its Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield’s, charitable foundation – The Leesfield Family Foundation.
Previous Drowning and Swim-Related Injuries
Leesfield & Partners obtained a historic settlement in a case involving a swimming pool incident at a Hotel Resort Orlando in Osceola County. In that case, our client’s son was swimming when he was caught in the suction of the pool’s drain. The child could not be removed because the hotel failed to have an emergency shut off switch.
For nearly 10 minutes, our client’s child remained underwater. As a result, he was later diagnosed with brain damage that would require life-long medical care. This case, which was handled by Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, is the largest result of its kind in Osceola County.
One family was forever changed when a father and husband lost his wife and two young daughters due to the U.S. Navy’s failure to maintain its pier in a safe condition.
“Ivan Grayson, tormented by the mind-numbing horror of the tragedy that wiped his family from the face of the earth, desperately needs to know why this happened,” U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King said of the case.
Grayson was awarded $2.95 million for the loss of his family.
Previously, the firm secured a seven-figure settlement for a family whose toddler drowned in South Florida. In that case, an inadequately installed child safety fence around the pool was found at the home.
The firm also represented the widow of a man who drowned while on a tour with a Florida boat company. The firm secured a $575,000 settlement in that case.
Previous Boating Injury 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 lie 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 jet ski and boat crash, Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured $935,750 for their client.
In a boat case involving a foreign resort, the firm secured an $800,000 recovery for the injured client.
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.
Bernardo Pimentel II, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Attorney, 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.