Key West Injury Lawyer Blog
Community members and their local fire department gathered over the weekend to honor a Plantation after his diving death in the Florida Keys.
Community members and their local fire department gathered over the weekend to honor a Plantation 17-year-old, who had dreamed of becoming a firefighter, after his diving death in the Florida Keys.
Cameron Ruwe died while on a family trip off Grassy Key on Saturday, Sept. 13, just a week shy of his birthday, according to reporting from NBC 6 South Florida. He had been using a hookah rig, a surface-supplied air system, while he went underwater. He was given CPR before emergency responders took him to Fishermen’s Hospital in Marathon, Florida, where he was pronounced dead.
His stepmother, Katherine Zaensi, said Cameron was rarely seen without a smile and that he “never, ever, ever had a bad day.”
“Cameron was there to help every single person that needed it, whether they asked for it or not,” she told reporters.
The investigation into his death is ongoing.
Leesfield & Partners
With offices in coastal cities like Key West and Miami, Leesfield & partners attorneys have handled countless diving, swim, boating and other water-related injury and wrongful death cases on behalf of injured clients and grieving families. These devastating cases can have long-lasting impacts on the lives of those who have been injured or can leave a family forever fractured. Our skilled trial attorneys work tirelessly to secure the best possible outcome for every client through rigorous investigation, diligence and compassion for the families that have been affected.
While the water can be a way of life for many Floridians, that does not mean it comes without its risks. Leesfield & Partners has seen every manner of injury that can occur on the water from a rental company’s negligence and failure to warn to inexperienced or impaired boating.
In 49 years of representing clients in personal injury and wrongful death cases, the firm has returned multiple record verdicts and settlements throughout the state. It is this experience that is the primary reason why the firm releases regular safety advisories and why Ira Leesfield the Founde4r and Managing Partner of Leesfield & Partners, is so outspoken on issues such as lifejacket usage and sober boating.
“The dangers from boating incidents are entirely underestimated as South Florida becomes more congested, drinking on the water becomes more prevalent and distractions from cell phones and other devices increases,” he said. “Important safety standards must be enforced on all watercrafts.”
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.
