Justin B. Shapiro

Published on: February 26, 2026

Four Injured in Monroe County Boat Crash. What to Know.

At least four people were taken to the hospital after a boat hit a channel marker in the Florida Keys Friday afternoon, according to local media.

Emergency responders were called out to the crash around 4:45 p.m. of Tavernier where a boat had hit a channel marker and ejected at least six people. Other boaters in the area helped pull two people from the water, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

At least two of the four people who were injured were taken via helicopter to Jackson South Medical Center in Miami-Dade County and two others were taken to mariners Hospital in Tavernier.

Published on: February 20, 2026

‘One of Our Own:’ Community Bands Together Following Tragic Monroe County Blaze.

By Leesfield & Partners

A Florida Keys family that narrowly escaped a Jan. 19 fire and lost their home in the blaze is being bolstered by their community.

“We’re just glad we were there and we and all the other neighbors did what anyone would,” one neighbor, also a principal at a local school, told reporters with Keys Weekly.

The neighbor was with two others when they noticed the smoke at around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 19. Since it was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, many schools and offices were closed for the holiday.

Published on: February 18, 2026

Leesfield & Partners: 50 years of Representing Families, Locals and Tourists in Monroe County

By Leesfield & Partners

The story of Leesfield & Partners, a Florida personal injury law firm, is nearly inseparable from Monroe County and the Florida Keys.

“I was sort of thrust into the law by an eviction notice on my mom’s apartment when I was about 12 years old,” said Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, in a recent interview with Miami Today. “We couldn’t afford the rent, and she was a single mom with three children … My mom was standing there in tears, and I said to myself, ‘this is not the place I want to be for the rest of my life.’ I wanted better circumstances and to help others get to a better place as well.”

The law, he went on to tell reporters, was a good place to start. Following law school, Mr. Leesfield found himself trying his first-ever case in Key West in 1973. This was also the first trial in Florida under the state’s newly adopted comparative negligence law. That landmark case not only shaped the direction of Florida jurisprudence but also began the firm’s enduring commitment to the Keys community.

Published on: December 9, 2025

Three Dead After Vessel Capsizes Over the Weekend in Cape Coral. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

At least three people died over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend after a boat capsized on the Caloosahatchee River, according to reporting from News-Press.

At least one other person involved in the accident remained in “critical but stable condition” as of Monday morning.

The incident happened around 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29, near the Cape Coral Yacht Club and involved an MTI 390 powerboat that flipped while carrying at least four people onboard. All four were sent into the water.

Published on: November 26, 2025

Man Dies Following Dive at Florida Keys Shipwreck. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

A 50-year-old man has died after losing consciousness following a scuba dive at a Key West shipwreck over the weekend, according to local media.

Nicholas James Strazzulla, a certified diving instructor of Inverness, Florida, lost consciousness following the 150-to-200-foot dive to the USNS Hoyt S. Vanderberg. The former missile tracking ship was intentionally sunk nearly seven miles south of Key West in 2009 to be used as an artificial reef, according to the Miami Herald.

He was brought back to the dive boat and others in the group he was with performed CPR on him, officials told local media. He died at the Lower Keys Medical Center.

Published on: November 24, 2025

Two Injured in Florida Keys Boat Crash. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

At least two people were injured over the weekend when the boat they were on hit a channel marker in the Florida Keys, according to reporting from ABC Channel 7 News.

The incident happened Sunday, Nov. 16, when the boat hit the 74A channel marker in Cowpens Cut, west of Plantation Key, the U.S. Coast Guard said in an online statement. The marker was missing from the structure immediately following this incident.

Both people aboard the vessel were rescued by a nearby Good Samaritan and were taken to the hospital.

Published on: November 24, 2025

Ever-Evolving Shifts in E-Bike Regulations Leave Floridians with Questions. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

As e-bike regulations in Florida continue to evolve, riders face a patchwork of questions concerning liability and fault, especially in the Florida Keys.

Thanks to the provisions already in effect with Senate Bill 462, which took effect in July 2025, local governments may create minimum age limits, among other regulations. This allows every city to create their own standards based on their local traffic and safety concerns, including setting a minimum age limit. But, as legislators consider House Bill 243, which aims to establish statewide regulations, the rules could shift once more.

HB 243 is still under review, however, if it passes in its current form, it could go into effect by July 1, 2027. HB 243 would prohibit certain high-powered “electric motorcycles” from being operated by people under 16 and would require a license to operate Class 3 e-bikes.

Published on: October 22, 2025

Children Injured, Man Charged Following Florida WaveRunner crash this week.

By Leesfield & Partners

At least two children were hospitalized, one with life-threatening injuries, after a man accused of being under the influence slammed into them on a WaveRunner along Florida’s Gulf Coast this week, according to reporting from local media.

The incident happened around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12, near Madeira Beach where multiple adults were allegedly racing near where a man was riding a jet ski with two young children.

One man, identified by the Pinella’s County Sheriff’s Office as 48-year-old Daniel Patrick Grubert, of Piermont, New York, has since been charged with two counts of boating under the influence, causing serious bodily injury. Grubert was also charged with one count of reckless operation of a vessel.

Published on: October 22, 2025

‘Look for these kids who dart out of nowhere:’ Monroe County Sheriff Offers Advice for the Area Ahead of Halloween.

By Leesfield & Partners

Monroe County, a cluster of islands off Florida’s southern coast, is accustomed to an influx of tourists during events like Halloween, but, this year, the sheriff is emphasizing one priority above all — public safety.

In an advisory posted Monday, Oct. 20, to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office official Facebook page, Sheriff Rick Ramsey noted that the increased crowds in the keys in the week leading up to Halloween might cause traffic and other issues.

“So, look for officers giving you directions, but, more so, look for these kids who dart out of nowhere … ” he said. “Put your phones down, no distracted driving.”

Published on: October 3, 2025

‘Kind, Genuine Heart:’ Loved Ones Remember 20-Year-Old Killed in Kendall Personal Watercraft Crash

By Leesfield & Partners

Loved ones of a man, 20, who died in a personal watercraft incident in a Kendall canal spoke with local media to remember him.

The body of Name, of place, was found around Saturday morning in a canal in southwest Miami-Dade County, according to reporting from Channel 10 News. Name was reported as a missing boater to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials around 7 p.m. Friday. His body was found near Southwest 117^th Avenue and Bird Road.

Though reporters spoke with loved ones, no name or other identifiers were shared as of Monday.