In the Courtroom
Partner Justin Shapiro represented a family visiting Key West from California that was involved in a jet ski incident and Partner Adam Rose represented the family of a Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy injured in a motor vehicle accident.
Unparalleled Experience and Success Representing Victims of Jet Ski Incidents
On Memorial Day, our client’s young boy who was snorkeling at the time was run over by a family boat operated by a 6-grader while at full speed and on a full plane. The propeller fatally injured him. Despite having a diver’s down flag prominently displayed, the reckless teenager who never should have been trusted with operating the boat alone fled the scene, went home, covered up evidence of his crime and lied to the police. Our investigation found five witnesses who saw him flee at full speed.
A lawsuit was filed against multiple defendants including the parents under counts of negligent entrustment and negligent supervision. Courts look at the following elements of negligent entrustment when the allegation is made against the parents of a young child: whether the parent entrusts an instrumentality to a child who because of his lack of (1) age, (2) judgment or (3) experience, may become a source of danger to others. In this case, our firm was able to satisfy every element by establishing that the recklessness behavior of the 13 year-old child/boat operator
Whether the parents knew or should have known with due care that injury to another was possible because of their child’s past reckless operation of the boat would constitute negligent supervision. We established through witness testimony, including from one neighbor who had previously seen the teen operating his boat in a reckless manner while the neighbor’s family was snorkeling at the docks off his house.
Over the course of Leesfield Scolaro’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 Scolaro has successfully prosecuted a large number of cases involving traditional and novel water-related incidents, including:
Diver down flag – Courtesy of diveasia.com
Recently, Leesfield Scolaro represented the family of a young child who was fatally injured while snorkeling by the propellers of a boat off of Cow Key Channel, in Key West, Florida. Last weekend, a very similar incident took place, this time near Edward B. Knight Pier, formerly named White Street Pier. While boating accidents involving swimmers / divers are statistically down, it remains one of the top 3 concerns in Florida according to the latest boating accident statistics released by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (“FWC”).
In this latest tragedy, 29 year old David Corlew was spearfishing approximately 200 yards off the pier with fellow spearfisherman. At around 8:30 a.m., a a twin-engine 32-foot commercial charter Sea Vee vessel operated by Robert Householder struck David Corlew, who was displaying a diver-down flag as required by Florida Law, which caused him to sustain traumatic leg injuries.
Every year the Coast Guard, Florida Marine Patrol, and local law enforcement agencies note a marked increase in injuries and deaths stemming from the negligent and careless operation of marine craft and water recreational vehicles. Ira Leesfield, Chairman of the Resort Torts Section of the American Association of Justice, has written extensively on this topic pointing out “it is not just small water craft but jet ski, parasailing, and small water related activities that are contributing to the high incidents of serious injuries in the Florida keys”. Tourists and visitors from all over the United States and abroad descend on the Florida keys for the beautiful waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean as well as inland waterways.
The firm of Leesfield Scolaro has promoted water safety and the necessity of regulating parasailing activities which coupled with snorkeling, diving, fishing, and boating are a huge industry for Monroe County residents. Now, there is an added safety fact as cell phone use and texting creep into the prevention and safety issues surrounding water activities that require full concentration.
This firm is now seeing boating collisions where an operator was distracted by cell phone use and in recent years the death of a Key West child was indirectly linked to the boat operator’s cell phone inattention. Unquestionably the news for that weekend will be an unnecessary loss or tragedy which could have been prevented by greater diligence and better enforced navigational rules. The waters surrounding the Florida keys are a majestic natural resource which must be treated with respect. Just recently, we are seeing injuries and deaths related to diving and pool activities including electrocution from water source. Leesfield Scolaro completed a $10 million result for electrocution from a faulty pool wire. Families must be on the look out and diligent to watch their young children in any water related environment. Hotels and other forms of lodging must be careful and selective about which vendors they allow to use their facilities for the purpose of water recreation rental.
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On Monday morning, Judy Montague was diving off Key West Bight, a historic seaport in Key West, was hit by the propellers of a 72-foot yacht.
Judy Montague was transported by helicopter to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami where she underwent surgery to her leg. Her status, while unknown, has been reported as remaining critical.
The cause of the incident is still unclear today. Capt. Pedro Arpon, who was operated the yacht, The Palagon, at the time, is still being heard by the investigators and charges have not been levied yet. The first element of answer came from Officer Bobby Dube of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) who is investigating the incident.
Published in a recent article in the Miami Herald, two boaters from Key West died in a boating accident that occurred at Boca Chica Channel. According to a fisherman who witnessed the accident and called 911, the boat collided with a bridge piling at the Lower Keys bridge in the evening hours of Sunday, July 1st.
Both men aboard the 150-horsepower vessel were catapulted on impact. One of the occupants, Stuart Chase Barber, 28, was found in the water about two hours after the accident. Gabriel Carlos Gonzalez, 35, was spotted earlier and rescued by helicopter. Intensive care treatment was administered at Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, but he died the following morning due to severe injuries.
While the U.S. Coast Guard and the the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission continue to investigate the cause of the accident, the Citizen, The Florida Key’s only daily newspaper, reported that Investigators are awaiting toxicology reports to determine whether drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash, according to Officer Robert Dube, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
This is the latest reminder to all Floridians that accidents and fatalities spike during and around festivities of National Holidays, such as the 4th of July. The Florida Department of Motor Vehicles just published statistics about last year’s July 4th, which also serve as a reminder to all Floridians and visitors to drive safely: “During the 96 hours of the fourth of July Holiday in 2011, 29 people were killed on Florida roads. . . . There were 90 DUI arrests during the July 4th weekend in 2011 (from July 1 to July 4, 2011) and 5 deaths related to alcohol.”
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Key West Injury Lawyer Blog