Key West Injury Lawyer Blog
Following a $1,320,000 recovery for a Key West motor scooterist, Leesfield & Partners is highlighting the importance of exhaustive personal injury investigations and the importance of a homeowner maintaining clear sight lines near roadways.
“Our investigations are always relentless in cases with limited insurance coverage, and this case was no different,” said Partner Justin B. Shapiro. “The at-fault driver had only $10,000 in coverage, but we found a path to justice and turned this into a seven-figure case with creative and tenacious lawyering.”
In December of 2024, our client was leaving the mechanic shop where he worked on his motor scooter. While traveling westbound on Northside Drive, he approached the intersection of 18th Terrace and had the clear right-of-way. A driver with a stop sign at the same intersection failed to stop and hit our client, sending him airborne before he crashed onto the asphalt and landed on his head. As a result, he suffered an ankle fracture that required surgery.
With an auto insurance policy of about $10,000, Mr. Shapiro and Trial Attorney Eric Shane began to explore other avenues of liability for their client and discovered that the driver was unable to see oncoming traffic due to overgrown vegetation on the property adjacent to intersection, a violation of Key West’s city ordinances.
The City of Key West expressly requires property owners to maintain vegetation on their property so it does not:
- Block traffic signs
- Obstruct roadways
- Obstruct rights-of-way
- Interfere with visibility at intersections
- Obstruct street lights or power lines
- Obstruct passage of pedestrians on a sidewalk
The city specifically states on its website that property owners are responsible for the vegetation that adjoins sidewalks and public streets.
While seemingly ordinary, overgrown vegetation and other visibility obstructions can present a danger and leave homeowners vulnerable to liability, as was the case in this instance, Mr. Shane said.
“This case serves as an important reminder that property owners have a responsibility to ensure their landscaping does not create hazards for the public,” he said. “When they do, however, they must be held accountable.”
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners has represented Florida crash victims for over five decades, securing record-breaking settlements and verdicts for those injured in motor vehicle accidents. These incidents have resulted in wrongful deaths, paraplegic injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and other catastrophic injuries stemming from trucking accidents, bicycle and motorcycle crashes, and pedestrian collisions caused by negligent or distracted drivers throughout Florida. With offices in Miami, Orlando, and Key West, Leesfield & Partners has a strong presence across the state.
The firm has maintained deep roots in the Florida Keys since the 1980s. The Leesfield & Partners office on whitehead Street was honored by The Florida Bar with its the “Historic Building Renovation Award.” In addition to regularly representing Monroe County accident victims, our firm is also an active voice in the community. Through academic scholarships and support for youth athletics and food banks, Leesfield & Partners remains committed to strengthening the communities we serve and helping local families thrive.
Previous Cases
In decades of representing the victims of horrific crashes on Florida roads, our attorneys have seen firsthand the devastating effects of these traumatic incidents on families. Leesfield & Partners relentlessly works to achieve the best possible outcome on behalf of every client.
In the case of a 27-year-old motorcyclist who suffered severe and life-altering injuries due to a defect with his kickstand, the firm obtained a $19.8 million award. As our client was traveling on his motorcycle, the kickstand suddenly engaged, causing it to spin out of control and rendered him a high-level quadriplegic.
Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, spent approximately two decades working on cases in which clients were severely injured or killed because of issues with a motorcycle kickstand, resulting in manufacturing changes that have saved countless lives.
A Key West crash involving a prominent local businessman resulted in a record verdict. In that case, our client had the green light at an intersection when an ambulance at a red light unexpectedly plowed through the road and hit him. In the crash, he was thrown into a cement wall, resulting in permanent injuries.
The ambulance driver claimed he was on his way to an emergency and had the right of way, however, this driver failed to deploy the necessary lights and sirens. Without these indicators, our client had no idea that the ambulance would not stop when at the red light and so he proceeded to cross the intersection.
Recently, Leesfield & Partners filed suit in the case of a man in a wheelchair who was hit by a speeding car. His severe injuries resulted in doctors being forced to amputate his leg. Carlos A. Fabano, a Trial Lawyer with the firm, is handling the ongoing case.
Previously, Leesfield & Partners obtained an $8.5 million settlement following a $27 million arbitration award for the family of a young woman who was killed by a pickup truck driver while attempting to cross the street. The woman, a wife and mother of two, was visiting Florida from her home in Toronto, Canada, when she was crushed by a pickup truck. The driver in that case claimed to not have seen her.
In a case involving a bicyclist who was hit while stopped on the side of the road on the Overseas Highway in Key West, the firm secured a $5,350,000 settlement. In that case, the bicyclist was hit by a driver who was distracted by their car’s GPS.
The firm previously recovered $3 million for a mother and son injured in a bicycle incident.
In a previous case involving a scooter accident, the firm obtained a $1 million award.
