Key West Injury Lawyer Blog
At least two men have died and a child was injured in three separate incidents in the Florida Keys during the area’s lobster mini-season.
On Wednesday, July 30, Clarence Shawyer, 82, of Palm City, was found unresponsive in Gulf waters, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in an online statement. He was taken to Fisherman’s Hospital in Marathon and later died.
In Islamorada at around 8:30 a.m. the next day, 61-year-old Raymond Bruce Sasser, of Loxahatchee, lost consciousness while snorkeling. Emergency responders took him to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier, where he later died.
At 11 a.m. Thursday, a child was injured when their leg was hit by a boat propeller in the Gulf waters about five miles off Big Pine Key. The child was airlifted to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami for treatment.
These incidents come at the start of Florida’s 2025 lobster two-day mini-season, which concluded Thursday, July 31. An average of at least three to four fatalities occur annually during the mini-season, according to reporting from the Miami New Times. Many others are injured.
The regular spiny lobster season runs from Aug. 6 to March 31.
On Monda, July 14, Stephen Edward Plopper, an 81-year-old tourist from Carmel, Indiana, died while snorkeling near San Key Lighthouse off of Key West. Members of the crew on the commercial dive boat he was on noticed him unresponsive in the water and performed CPR.
Plopper was taken to the Lower Keys Medical Center where he later died.
Leesfield & Partners
Boating and water-related accidents are a practice area in which Leesfield & Partners attorneys’ experience is both deep and long-standing. In nearly five decades of personal injury practice, our firm has handled numerous cases in which clients have been severely injured or in which families have suffered a bitter and preventable loss related to boating activities. Whether from operator inexperience, boating under the influence or mechanical failure, our attorneys approach every case with the diligence, compassion and knowledge of the law necessary to secure the best possible outcome.
Leesfield & Partners has secured numerous record verdicts and settlements for injured clients and grieving families throughout Florida. Our team is actively representing several clients in ongoing boating injury cases, each at a different stage in the legal process.
Partner Justin B. Shapiro and Eric Shane, a Trial Attorney at the firm, are representing a young girl who suffered a similar injury to the child in the lobster mini-season incidents. In that case, our client’s leg was hit by a boat propeller while participating in a South Florida summer camp activity.
Mr. Shapiro and Trial Attorney Evan Robinson are representing another minor, a teen, who was seriously injured during a boating incident. In that case, the teen suffered a traumatic brain injury following a tubing incident.
A History of Representing Florida Boating Victims
Water is a way of life throughout Florida. It’s a point of pride for locals and a powerful draw for millions of tourists each year. For individuals and families across the state, it can offer endless fun and unforgettable memories — but without proper caution, it can also become the source of unimaginable tragedy. Just recently, three girls lost their lives and one more is recovering following a devastating crash between a sailboat and a barge in Miami beach. While the exact details of the accident have not yet been made public, the incident underscores ongoing concerns about boating safety in Florida, all of which are concerns that Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, has been voicing for years.
“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,” Mr. Leesfield said. “Important safety standards must be enforced on all watercrafts.”
In decades of personal injury practice, Mr. Leesfield and the other attorneys at his firm have consistently spoken out about boating safety and advocated for stronger education and public awareness. Mr. Leesfield and Mr. Shapiro regularly speak to the media to provide legal commentary on fatal boating incidents across Florida.
Just last month, Mr. Shapiro was sought as a legal commentator to discuss Lucy’s Law — legislation named after 17-year-old Luciana “Lucy” Fernandez, a local high schooler who died in a tragic 2022 Boca Chita crash. In discussing the law, which will provide stricter penalties for violating boaters, Mr. Shapiro said the changes were “long overdue.”
As the Coast Guard continues its investigation, Mr. Shapiro said he hopes the information will provide some insight into how this tragedy occurred.
“Florida is the boating capital of the world, but sadly, it is also the boating fatality capital of the world,” Mr. Shapiro said. “There are no formal education or certification requirements for most boaters in Florida, leaving many grossly unqualified to navigate Florida’s unique and congested waterways. Many boaters are unfamiliar with the most basic navigation rules and actions necessary to avoid collisions in vessel traffic.”
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 also 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.
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.
Bernardo Pimentel II, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Attorney, 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 Jet Ski Injury Cases
In addition to boating, Leesfield & Partners attorneys have represented countless parasailing accident victims and those impacted by jet ski incidents.
In the last six years alone, Leesfield & Partners has secured well over $10 million in combined verdicts and settlements stemming from jet ski injury cases. Whether it be from crashes with other vessels on the water, fixed objects or other jet skiers, Leesfield & Partners has seen just about every instance of jet ski injury that can occur. These injuries often have tragic and permanent results, impacting every aspect of our client’s lives from future earning capabilities to participation in everyday life.
In one jet ski case, also handled by Mr. Shapiro, the firm represented a family visiting Key West from California. As one of the activities planned during their vacation, the family booked a guided jet ski tour. During the excursion, however, the guides meant to watch over and help the family navigate both the water and the personal watercrafts, routinely sped away from the family and failed to warn them about known hazards in the area.
When the family was led under a narrow bridge, they were given no warning or instructions and the father was significantly injured in a crash as a result.
In a case that caused the death of a woman on the water, Leesfield & Partners obtained $2.8 million for the woman’s family. The rental company in that case failed to ensure that all of their customers understood their safety briefing and general instructions the day of the crash. A French-speaking tourist eventually crashed into the woman, causing her fatal injuries.
The firm previously handled a jet ski case in which attorneys secured $1.6 million for the injured client.
Mr. Shapiro is also representing a woman in an ongoing jet ski injury case. Our client was a passenger on a cruise ship who signed up for a jet ski excursion marketed to beginners when she was injured. On the day of the excursion, she was violently hit from behind by the jet ski of her tour guide. As a result of the impact, she suffered spinal fractures and severe bruising.
