Key West Injury Lawyer Blog
A scuba diver who died at a Florida Keys hospital after needing rescue this week has been identified as a Michigan man, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Stephen Matheny, 64, of West Bloomfield Township died at Fisherman’s Hospital in Marathon on Monday Aug. 10. Matheny was diving in the area around 11:20 a.m. Monday when he “became unresponsive,” authorities said. He was pulled from the water and those with him immediately began CPR.
The U.S. Coast Guard took him to the hospital where he later died. It was not immediately clear whether Matheny was with a commercial dive boat or not.
Matheny’s cause of death is being investigated but authorities told reporters that they do not suspect foul play, according to CBS News.
The hearts of the attorneys and staff at Leesfield & Partners go out to Matheny’s family and friends following this tragedy. With decades rooted in South Florida and the Florida Keys, our firm knows just how rewarding — and dangerous — the ocean can sometimes be.
From traumatic boating crashes to parasailing and jet ski incidents, Leesfield & Partners has worked tirelessly over the last 50 years to secure record verdicts and settlements for the families left fragmented and the individuals forever changed due to tragic and preventable accidents on the water, including diving and drowning-related incidents. Previously, the firm 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.
Leesfield & Partners: One of Monroe County’s Top Personal Injury Law Firms
Leesfield & Partners’ history throughout the Florida Keys spans back three years before it was established with Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, trying his first-ever case in Monroe County. From then on, the firm has maintained strong ties to the area and acquired its Florida Bar award-winning Key West office in the 1980s.
Fast forward to 2026, and the firm has obtained numerous landmark results in the area on behalf of tourists and locals alike. One such verdict was secured on behalf of a woman who was attacked in the parking garage of a Key West resort. Her assailant, who was not a guest at the hotel, was permitted to roam the parking lot in a drug-induced craze without the intervention of hotel officials. He wandered the area for 20 minutes with a hammer due to inadequate security before encountering our client and launching a violent attack that left her with serious and permanent injuries to her face and head.
The hotel entered into a confidential settlement with out client the night before a verdict of $40,580,000 was handed down against the defendant that remained. This marked the largest verdict in Monroe County history.
Additionally, Leesfield & Partners has forged strong bonds via support of Monroe County food banks and youth athletics. In 2024, following the tragic passing of Dexter Butler, a beloved Key West High School teacher and basketball coach, the firm established the Dexter Butler College Scholarship for seniors heading off to college. That scholarship has since been awarded two years in a row to Dylan Martinez, KWHS Class of 2025, and James Osborne, Class of 2026.
Over 50 Years of Experience with Boating and Water-Related Injuries
In five decades, Leesfield & Partners has represented individuals and families throughout just about every accident that can occur on the water. From fatal boating crashes to a negligent parasailing excursion company that caused serious injuries, our attorneys diligently pursue the best possible outcome for every client. In addition to litigation, our attorneys have remained outspoken about the need for safety and vigilance on the water. This has included sober boating and education campaigns as well as urging boaters and passengers alike to use life jackets and ensure they are equipped with other necessary emergency tools.
Mr. Leesfield, a National Board of Trial Advocacy-certified attorney, has consistently advocated for improved safety measures on the water throughout Florida for five decades.
“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.”
Last July, when Lucy’s Law — legislation named in honor of 17-year-old Luciana ‘Lucy’ Fernandez, who died in the 2022 Boca Chita boat crash — went into effect, our attorneys applauded the move and saw it as a sign for increased vigilance and safety on the water.
“I think these are long overdue changes,” said Partner Justin B. Shapiro at the time. “We have seen far too many fatalities and grievous injuries from boating crashes over the years.”
In their 2025 Boating Statistical Report, officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission note that there were 694 boating accidents for that year with 51 deaths and the injury to 437 others. About 67% of boaters involved in fatal boating accidents for that year had no formal boater’s education. Monroe County, officials said in the report, was the area in the state with the highest number of accidents.
Previous Boating Accident 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 lied 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.
Another boating accident involving a negligent operator resulted in a $500,000 recovery.
In addition to boating accident litigation, Leesfield & Partners have represented the victims of various water-related accidents, including drownings, jet ski crashes, parasailing, and other recreational activities.
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.
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.
Ongoing Boating Matters
Leesfield & Partners attorneys handle numerous tragic and preventable boating cases every year. 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.
Mr. Shapiro and Trial Attorney Eric Shane are representing a young girl who was enrolled in a South Florida summer camp when her leg was sliced by a boat propeller.
Leesfield & Partners is also representing those affected by the tragic sailboat-barge crash in Miami on July 28, including 13-year-old Erin Ko, who tragically died, and 7-year-old Calena Areyan Gruber, who survived.
That case is being handled by Mr. Shapiro and Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II.
