Key West Injury Lawyer Blog
A woman and a dog have died, and a man was injured during a car crash on U.S. 1 in the Florida Keys Tuesday morning, according to reporting from local media.
The head-on collision occurred around 11 a.m. on Summerland Key at mile marker 19.
The woman, 44, whose name has not yet been released by authorities, was heading southbound on U.S. 1 in a Kia sedan when she drifted into the northbound lane, hitting a Ford pickup truck going in the opposite direction.
The woman was taken to a local hospital where she later died. Also in the car with her was a dog who was also killed in the crash.
The driver of the pickup truck, identified only as a 63-year-old man from Sugarloaf Key, was taken to a Miami-Dade County hospital in critical condition.
Both drivers wore seatbelts at the time of the crash.
The crash remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a personal injury law firm with offices in Miami, Orlando and Key West. The firm’s nearly five decades of experience across the state has resulted in numerous record verdicts and settlements obtained on behalf of individuals or grieving families. As any seasoned personal injury attorney will admit, motor vehicle accidents are among the most common claims that come across their desks. These accidents can involve anything from whiplash to more serious and permanent injuries, such as those that are seen by the skilled trial attorneys at this law firm.
Our attorneys handle every case with the care, diligence and knowledge of the law necessary to return the best possible outcome for every client. In 49 years, Leesfield & Partners has obtained some of the largest verdicts and settlements in the state. One case handled by the firm resulted in over $95 million secured for a young man and his parents following the devastating loss of his sister after a crash with a drunk driver. In that case, the family was headed to the airport to drop off their 23-year-old daughter at the airport for her medical school’s orientation. While on the way, they were hit head-on by a drunk driver speeding the wrong way down I-95.
The family lost their daughter in that devastating crash and their son, then only 21 years old, suffered life-long injuries. As a result, he requires a wheelchair, round-the-clock care, and can no longer speak.
“The result in this case shows what hard work and creative lawyering can do for clients with devastating injuries,” said Ira Leesfield, a board certified attorney and the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner. “Along with co-counsel Aaron Davis, we are happy to settle with two defendants and to obtain this record verdict for them.”
This marks the largest verdict in Miami-Dade County history and is the fourth-largest in the state of its kind.
In decades of representing crash victims and their families, Mr. Leesfield and the attorneys at his firm have seen firsthand just how devastating these incidents can be. Over the years, the firm has partnered with The Leesfield Family Foundation — the charitable organization of Mr. Leesfield and his family — to provide essential support to programs and organizations supporting these victims and their families. The firm has previously partnered with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and, in March of 2023, Mr. Leesfield joined the Board of Directors for The Underline, which aims to provide a community gathering space and improve pedestrian safety.
Previous Cases
Partner Justin B. Shapiro previously represented a family in a wrongful death motor vehicle case involving a pedestrian. A verdict of over $36 million was obtained for the family in that case.
In a motor vehicle accident involving negligent road construction, Leesfield & Partners attorneys obtained over $29 million for the injured clients.
Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, obtained a $19.8 million verdict against Honda in a design defect case involving a motorcycle kickstand. In that case, our client was in the middle of a ride when the kickstand deployed and caused his motorcycle to spin out of control. He was paralyzed as the result of this violent collision.
This was the start of litigation against multiple manufacturers involving the same dangerous design defect handled by Mr. Leesfield on behalf of injured clients.
A $15.4 million recovery was obtained for a Fort Lauderdale handyman who was injured as a backseat passenger in a high-speed motor vehicle accident. The man in that case was in a car that was stopped at a drawbridge when another car hit it from behind, causing skull fractures, frontal lobe brain damage and facial fractures.
As a result of his injuries, our client developed a seizure disorder that could not be controlled by medication. This ended the then-22-year-old’s career as a handyman in the area.
Leesfield & Partners previously represented the families of three teenage girls after they were struck by a commercial truck driver making an illegal U-turn on the turnpike. The girls in that case were on their way to the library when the driver turned directly into their path. Tragically, one girl was killed and the other two sustained serious injuries.
Our attorneys worked tirelessly to settle the case for over $8.6 million for the families. The firm also obtained an over $7.6 million arbitration award for the family who lost their daughter.
In the case of a woman who was walking back to her office following a midday break, Mr. Shapiro secured the maximum recoverable amount set forth in the defendant’s insurance policy limits. The woman was crossing the street in a marked crosswalk when a pickup truck driver made an illegal left turn, claiming to not have seen her. Injuries to our client included skull fractures and brain hemorrhages in addition to injuries to her left leg.
A $6 million settlement was secured for the client in that case.
In another pedestrian-involved case, Leesfield & Partners obtained a $2.9 million recovery our client who was injured due to a driver’s negligence.
Leesfield & Partners client represented a well-known businessman and restauranteur in Key West involved in a crash with an ambulance that left him permanently injured and disfigured. The driver of the ambulance in that case claimed he was on his way to an emergency but did not have on his lights or signals when he ran through an intersection in which he had the red light. Due to the lack of emergency signals, our client, who was riding a scooter, had no way of knowing that the ambulance would not stop as he crossed the intersection.
A jury awarded our client a $2.1 million verdict.
The firm represented injured clients in a case involving an officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission who was driving a truck towing a 31-foot fishing boat near Marathon, Florida. The officer was going the speed limit when the trailer began to fishtail from side-to-side and went into oncoming traffic. A driver in a van tried to avoid a collision but couldn’t.
At least two people died, and catastrophic injuries were suffered by multiple others. The driver of the van survived but had nine broken bones, numerous lacerations to her face and was left traumatized by the ordeal. An investigation from the Florida Highway Patrol concluded that the combined weight of the trailer and the boat exceeded the maximum towing capacity of the trailer hitch on the truck, causing the crash.
Leesfield & Partners settled the case for above the available insurance coverage.
The firm settled a pedestrian case in which our client was hit while walking on the sidewalk by a driver who was distracted by a cellphone. That case was resolved with a $1.5 million settlement.
In a tragic, fatal pedestrian case, Leesfield & Partners secured over $1.3 million for the driver’s negligence.
A child who was crossing the street suffered a traumatic brain injury after a driver hit him. In that case, Leesfield & Partners secured a $1.2 million settlement for the Fort Lauderdale family.
Bernardo Pimentel II, a Trial Attorney at the firm, secured a $1 million recovery for a family involved in a fatal car crash at the hands of a negligent driver.
Trial Attorney Eric Shane recently obtained a confidential amount for a young passenger who was injured in a severe Florida crash.
Mr. Pimentel obtained a confidential settlement for a family whose young son was severely injured when a car slammed through a Florida discount store’s windows.
Trial Attorney Evan Robinson secured a six-figure settlement for a client injured in a Monroe County crash.
In an ongoing case, Carlos A. Fabano, a Trial Attorney at the firm, is representing a pedestrian who was severely and permanently injured by a negligent driver.
If you or a loved one was involved in a Monroe County crash, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney today at 305-854-4900 or 800-836-6400 to see if you might be eligible for a claim.
