Key West Injury Lawyer Blog
A man was attacked by a shark on Saturday, Oct. 25, in the northern Florida Keys and told local media he was bitten nearly a dozen times.
Yosvany Echevarria, 46, of Hialeah, said he was attacked in Biscayne Bay while snorkeling off Boca Chita Key with friends. The incident, CBS News Miami reported, happened before 11:30 a.m. when a shark “suddenly lunged” at Echevarria. While speaking with reporters, Echevarria said he was bitten between seven and eight times on his hand and arm.
Luckily, he said, the group was close to shore and was able to quickly call for help. Emergency responders took him to Jackson South Medical Center where he received 27 stitches in total to repair the damage.
Echevarria, who came to the U.S. from Cuba three years ago, said that he loves to be out in the water but that this recent attack makes him have reservations and that “it’ll take a long time” for him to get back in the water.
“My advice to people is if they are going to get in the water, they need to be careful,” he told reporters in an interview translated from Spanish. “It could have been much worse. I was lucky it was just bites. He could have ripped my arm off.”
Additional information, including the exact species of shark involved in the attack was not immediately available.
Florida Shark Attacks
On Sept. 1, 8-year-old Richard Burrows was attacked by a shark while snorkeling near Key Largo with his family. The boy was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami and underwent surgery following the incident, which involved a blacktip shark. Since then, the boy has undergone additional surgeries but is reportedly recovering.
In 2024, there were about 14 unprovoked non-fatal shark attacks. As of October 2025, there have been approximately 10 attacks throughout the state.
While these recent incidents might cause one to panic, the Florida Museum of Natural History, which tracks and records data on shark attacks, has noted that the likelihood of being attacked by a shark is relatively low. In fact, the data shows that the chances of such an attack are about one in 3.7 million.
Everyone on the water should keep a safe and respectful distance from marine life. That being said, while shark attacks may grab headlines, they are not the most dangerous incidents on the water. That title goes to boating and other water-related incidents. In 2024, the year with the latest data available, about 685 reportable boating accidents occurred in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s annual report. Of these incidents, nearly 400 people were injured and 81 died.
These horrific and preventable incidents are why Leesfield & Partners places such a heavy emphasis on the importance of boating safety education and adherence to regulations to mitigate these risks.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a personal injury law firm with nearly five decades of experience handling boating and water-related accident cases on behalf of individuals and grieving families. The firm’s experience handling these tragic and preventable cases has led to our attorneys regularly speaking out about critical water safety issues such as sober boating, life jacket use and other important safety practices.
“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,” said Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner. “Important safety standards must be enforced on all watercrafts.”
The firm has represented countless victims of water-related injuries and their grieving families. In that time, the firm has secured numerous record verdicts and settlements for these clients, representing each one with the compassion, tenacity and knowledge of the law necessary to achieve the best possible result.
The firm is representing multiple victims of separate boating and water-related injuries in ongoing cases.
In an ongoing case, Partner Justin B. Shapiro and Trial Attorney Eric Shane are representing an 11-year-old girl whose leg was sliced by a counselor’s boat while attending a summer camp. The girl’s right leg was cut to the bone and nearly amputated. As a result of this unthinkable incident, our client’s life has been forever impacted.
Mr. Shapiro and Mr. Shane are also representing the 7-year-old survivor of a tragic sailboat-barge crash in Miami Beach that killed three other children.
The firm is representing the family of 13-year-old Erin Ko, one of the three girls who tragically died in that incident. That case is being handled by Mr. Shapiro and Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II.
“Many boaters are unfamiliar with the most basic navigation rules and actions necessary to avoid collisions in vessel traffic,” Mr. Shapiro said. “I look forward to the Coast Guard’s findings and hope the boating community can learn from this horrific incident.”
Mr. Shapiro and Evan Robinson, a Trial Attorney at the firm, are representing a teen who suffered a traumatic brain injury as the result of a water tubing accident.
Previous 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.
Mr. Pimentel 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.
If you, or someone you know, was involved in a boating accident or other water-related incident in Florida, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney today at 800-836-6400 to see if you may be eligible to make a claim.
