Key West Injury Lawyer Blog
An 81-year-old died Monday while with a commercial diving crew in the Florida Keys, according to local media.
Stephen Edward Plopper, of Carmel, Indiana, was swimming with a commercial dive boating around Sand Key Lighthouse off of Key West when members of the crew with the boat noticed him unresponsive in the water.
They immediately began CPR, according to reporting with The Miami Herald. Members of the Coast Guard who responded to the scene also performed life-saving measures and transported Plopper to the Lower Keys Medical Center where he died.
No foul play is suspected, a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told reporters.
An autopsy will be performed to determine Plopper’s cause and manner of death.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a personal injury law firm with offices in Miami, Orlando and Key West. In nearly five decades of practice, our attorneys have secured numerous record verdicts and settlements for injured clients and their grieving families. Many of these cases have come out of Key West, where the firm has occupied an office on historic Whitehead Street since the 1980s.
With cutting-edge trial techniques, strong community ties, and decades of experience litigating personal injury cases throughout the Keys, our attorneys know just how taxing and difficult these cases can be on clients and their families. Our six skilled trial attorneys approach every case with the compassion, diligence and knowledge of the law necessary to secure the best possible outcome for every client.
In a devastating case previously handled by Leesfield & Partners, a man died while snorkeling at Dry Tortugas National Park. In that case, the man was with a boat tour company and was directed by employees and crew of a place that was “good to snorkel.” Just moments later, his body was found floating nearby. He later died.
The firm secured a six-figure settlement on behalf of the man’s grieving widow.
Previous Cases
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.
The firm previously represented the family of a minor who was in the water snorkeling when he was killed by a passing boater who did not stop. The reckless boater, also a minor, was speeding and attempted to cover up evidence and lie to police when questioned later on. Tragically, our client’s son was killed as a result of this horrific incident.
At trial, neighbors testified that the teen boater was known to regularly operate the vessel unsupervised. A substantial settlement was secured for the family in that case.
In another case handled by the firm, Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II secured a settlement on behalf of a family grieving the loss of a young father-to-be who tragically died while diving for lobsters in the Florida Keys. The fatal incident occurred when a negligent law enforcement officer failed to observe divers-down flag laws, leading to the young man’s death in the water.
Pool Drowning Cases
Leesfield & Partners has also handled numerous cases involving pool drownings, an ever-present issue that has devastated families throughout the state. Data from the Florida Department of Health shows that approximately enough children under the age of 5 years old drown in the state every year to fill several classrooms.
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children under the age of 5 years old, according to the Safe Children Coalition, an organization dedicated to promoting education and awareness surrounding this tragic issue. There were about 60 drowning deaths in the state for the first half of 2024, according to the latest available data. Of the 60 people who tragically lost their lives, about 46 of them were children.
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.
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.
In an ongoing case, Partner Justin B. Shapiro and Eric Shane, a Trial Attorney at the firm, are representing a family whose 2-year-old drowned at a Central Florida pool.
If you or a loved one was involved in a water-related incident in Florida, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney today at 305-854-4900 or at 800-836-6400.
