Personal Injury

Published on: November 1, 2024

Leesfield & Partners Attorney Recovers $350,000 for Woman Who Shattered her Hip at a Florida Tourist Attraction

Evan Robinson, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Lawyer, secured a $350,000 settlement for a woman who shattered her hip as a result of a violent fall at a Monroe County tourist attraction.

Our client visited the popular tourist attraction while on vacation in the Keys with her husband. As the couple navigated the property’s narrow and crowded walkway, that was supposed to be flanked with gravel on both sides, our client stepped off the edge of the walkway and into a trench in an area where there was no gravel. As a result, our client lost her balance and fell violently onto the concrete ground, causing an injury that would forever alter her previously active lifestyle.

During the course of the litigation, Mr. Robinson learned that the walkway on which our client fell posed a dangerous hazard that was well-known to numerous employees and managers who worked at the attraction. Specifically, the frequent displacement of gravel caused by visitors constantly kicking it around resulted in the walkway repeatedly becoming unlevel. This recurring hazard presented such a serious danger that it required daily inspections and maintenance for over 16 years. In fact, every employee who worked at the attraction was instructed to keep watch over this area and bags of additional gravel were kept on site so that maintenance personnel could re-level the walkway when the gravel was displaced.

Published on: October 15, 2024

Nephew of Famous Surfer Injured in Drowning Incident in Hawaii. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

The nephew of famed surfer, Bethany Hamilton, was injured over the weekend in a Hawaii drowning incident. Now, the family is taking to social media to ask for help.

The incident took place on Oct. 11. The child was medevacked to a different hospital and “has fight in him,” his aunt wrote on social media.

“We are wrecked,” Hamilton said in the post shared to her Instagram account with over 2.4 million followers. “But I know how proper medical support can make or break someone’s chance of survival and in this case we’re asking for help from anyone who has information [on] what we can do to give my nephew the best chance.”

Published on: September 18, 2024

Family Grieves the Snorkeling Death of a Couple on Maui Vacation. What to Know to Stay Safe on the Water.

By Leesfield & Partners

A woman pregnant with her second child and her husband have died following a snorkeling incident while on vacation in Maui.

The tragedy took place on Saturday, Sept. 14 just after noon on the north side of Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve, according to reporting from national news outlets.

The couple was out snorkeling while their oldest son, an 18-month-old, stayed with his aunt and uncle. The woman, 26-year-old Sophia Tsaruk, was allegedly found by a rescue team member on a jet ski who brought her to shore to begin CPR. Her husband, Ilya Tsaruk, 25, was found by firefighters with the Maui County Fire Department approximately 100-150 yards away from the shore.

Published on: September 18, 2024

Boat of Missing Man, 70, Found off Florida Gulf Coast

By Leesfield & Partners

The U.S. Coast Guard announced Friday that it was suspending its 8,462-square-mile search for a missing 70-year-old man following news of his boat being found abandoned, according to reporting from local news outlets.

Bert Erwin was on a 150-mile trip up Florida’s coast from Marco Island to Indian Rocks Beach and was reported missing Wednesday by a good Samaritan, according to a Coast Guard press release. The person who reported him missing told Coast Guard officials that Erwin was overdue to reach his destination, Indian Rocks Beach.

He was last seen Monday leaving Rose Marina on Marco Island.

Published on: August 15, 2024

Two dead following Florida Keys personal watercraft crash Tuesday, authorities say

By Leesfield & Partners

An adult and child have died following a crash on a personal watercraft in Marathon, Florida, according to local news outlets reporting.

Emergency responders were called to the area near 15th Street Ocean around 6:45 p.m. after the personal watercraft crashed into a sea wall.

Police shared a photo of the mangled watercraft which was then published on various news outlet websites and social media. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the crash.

Published on: August 13, 2024

Are You Prepared for Hurricane Season? What to Know

By Leesfield & Partners

A summer chock-full of dangerous floods, prompting iterations of the famed “Florida man” floating down city streets in a canoe to gain traction online are not the only threats to the state during hurricane season.

Hurricane season lasts from June until November each year and while Floridians may poke fun at the situation online, there is always the potential risk of an upcoming storm during these months. The latest system inching near the coast is expected to become Tropical Storm Ernesto, if it continues to gain strength, according to meteorologists with the National Weather Service.

Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and more than a dozen other islands in the Caribbean are under a tropical storm warning as of Monday as forecasters continue to monitor a system strengthening over the Caribbean. The system, which, if it continues to gather strength, could become Tropical Storm Ernesto, is expected to bring increased rain and flash floods to the islands.

Published on: August 1, 2024

Mother whose daughter died in 2017 boat crash calls for addition of rescue boats in Florida Keys following multiple incidents earlier this month

By Leesfield & Partners

When June Smith lost her 13-year-old daughter, Harlie Smith, in a boat crash off of Cudjoe Key in 2017, she said she didn’t realize how unprepared they would be in an emergency, according to reporting from WSVN Miami.

“We’ve spent many years down in the Keys and that day, when I needed help, I didn’t realize you are helpless,” she said.

Harlie, who her mother described to WSVN reporters as an outgoing, happy child who loved the ocean, was in the water on Aug. 11, 2017, when a boat propeller hit her, causing a severe laceration to her leg. The boat, a 2017 Boston Whaler, was driven by Harlie’s father who did not know his daughter was behind him when he put the boat into reverse, according to previous reporting by local news outlets.

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: May 28, 2024

Driver allegedly asleep at the wheel crashes into two marathon runners in Key West weekend race.

By Leesfield & Partners

Two pedestrians running in a weekend race on U.S. 1 near mile marker 17 in Key West were hospitalized after being hit by a car whose driver had allegedly fallen asleep at the wheel.

The driver, 23, was heading north when officials say she fell asleep at the wheel, eventually hitting two men identified by NBC 6 South Florida as a surgeon named “Matt D.,” and a University of Miami professor named “Gabriel.” The two men were hit around 2 p.m. Saturday, May 18, and were participating in the Keys 100, a 100-mile point-to-point race to benefit The Cancer Foundation of the Florida Keys Inc, which offers various services to cancer patients in the Keys who have to be shuttled to and from Miami for treatment. As the driver fell asleep, her car went out of her lane to the right, hitting the first runner and then the second before stopping on the road’s right shoulder.

The wife of Matt D. said in an interview with NBC 6 that part of her husband’s right arm had to be amputated and he remains in the hospital at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center for treatment. The wife of Gabriel, the other runner injured in the crash, said that doctors expect him to lose some function in his right arm. Both wives claim their husbands to be experienced runners with Gabriel’s wife adding that safety measures like cones and signs to tell drivers that there are runners in the area were missing. Keys 100 officials said in the article that the Seven Mile Bridge is coned, but not other parts of the course and “it [the entire course] never has been [completely coned off.]”

Published on: October 8, 2021

Leesfield & Partners Files Lawsuit On Behalf Of Key West Resort Guest Who Contracted Legionnaires’ Disease

By Leesfield & Partners

Leesfield & Partners has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a vacationer for her claims against Hawk’s Cay Resort for the negligent transmission of Legionnaires’ disease which caused significant injury and illness. Marcia Blanar was a guest at Hawk’s Cay Resort in Duck Key, Florida, from June 30, 2021 until July 6, 2021, where she contracted the disease.

An investigation and environmental assessment of the property by the Florida Department of Health revealed a positive growth result for Legionella bacteria in the fountain near the main pool of the Hawk’s Cay Resort. Legionnaires’ disease is a serious form of pneumonia that is spread from aerosolized water that contains Legionella bacteria. According to the Florida Department of Health at least two confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease were linked to individuals who had traveled to Hawks Cay during their exposure period.

The fountain near the main pool area where Legionella was positively identified by the Florida Department of Health is located at a main junction of the resort. Multiple pool chairs flank the decorative circular fountain, and the exterior of the fountain is also utilized as a seat for hotel guest. The area of the fountain is also immediately adjacent to a bar and several food service facilities. Mrs. Blanar was exposed to the Legionella while sitting next to the fountain enjoying a beverage. Hawks Cay Resort is a massive complex, advertised as having 427 villas and hotel rooms, six restaurants, a saltwater lagoon, five swimming pools, a full-service spa, as well as onsite watersports, fishing charters and Dolphin Connection facility on the premises.