by

MIAMI, FL—A former Orlando hotel worker who was accused of raping a female hotel guest in the middle of the night was subsequently arrested and is now being detained at an Orange County jail in light of the sexual assault allegations. Upon being interrogated by police detectives in connection with the alleged hotel rape case, the suspect responded, “I’ve got nothing to say, take me to jail,” according to Orlando Police Department arrest reports acquired by the Orlando Sentinel.

Reports indicated 30-year-old Deoitre Gibbs was staying at the Vacation Lodge hotel, located along South Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, when 37-year-old hotel employee Irving Lee Gifford Jr. allegedly used his master key to slip into her hotel room. Gibbs claims she woke up to a man sexually assaulting her and that hotel surveillance footage could prove that Gifford did indeed enter her room on July 30. Despite her attacker’s verbal threats to her life, she reported the sexual attack to Orlando police.

“He said he was going to kill me, and if I was to say anything, I would be dead,” Gibbs said, maintaining that although she allowed the media to identify her in news coverage concerning the alleged hotel sexual assault case, she did so fully aware that her attacker could attempt to carry out his threats if he were to be released from jail. The alleged rape victim told reporters she wanted to prevent other women from being victimized in the same way. “He’s never going to do this to anyone again,” Gibbs stated.

According to information provided, the alleged rape suspect has a lengthy criminal history, including offenses from burglary to drug possession to aggravated battery against a law-enforcement officer with a deadly weapon. Gifford was booked into the Orange County jail on $5,000 bail and faces charges of sexual battery and burglarizing an occupied dwelling with assault or battery. Investigations into the apparent hotel rape case are ongoing.

Continue reading

by

MIAMI, FL— August 3, 2011 – Officials from the Lauderhill Police Department are on the lookout for a gunman who shot and killed a 34-year-old Coral Springs newlywed and father of three in the parking lot of a Broward County apartment complex. According to information provided by the Orlando Sentinel, the shooting victim was allegedly attempting to “make peace” between two people who were bickering outside the Olive Tree Apartments, located at 2051 NW 43rd Terrace, on June 30.
Reports indicated a man and a woman, both of whom remained unidentified, were arguing over money when Brandon James Lee approached them and tried to calm the quarrel. According to Samuel Preston, who was initially playing a game of cards with Mr. Lee, an unidentified man appeared from around the corner and began shooting just after 12 a.m.
Bystanders contended the gunman seemed to open fire upon suspecting that a certain group of people (who were hanging out on the north side of the complex at the time) had been disrespectful to the woman who was involved in the original dispute over $40. Preston told reporters that Lee suffered a gunshot wound to the back as he tried to run away from the gunman. He then suffered two additional bullet wounds during the Broward County shooting.
Friends of the shooting victim subsequently took him to Florida Medical Center. Lee’s traumatic injuries proved fatal after he was transferred to Broward General Medical Center. Reports note that Lee got married only a couple weeks prior to his death. It did not appear as if any others suffered any wounds during the shootout.
Reports did not specify whether there are surveillance cameras in place or security guards on duty at the Broward apartment complex. Nevertheless, investigations into the fatal South Florida apartment shooting, along with the search for the shooter who fled the scene, were expected to be underway.

Working closely with advocacy groups such as the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC), the Miami premises liability attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz have extensive and successful experience representing clients in all areas of security negligence and premises liability law. Having already spent more than three decades litigating a variety of complex injury and assault claims, the South Florida injury attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A. will fight to help crime victims obtain the justice a compensation they deserve.

Continue reading

by

MIAMI, FL—By examining various FBI reports and U.S. court cases involving cruise companies, a Canadian researcher determined that the number of sexual assaults that occur on cruise ships is approximately 50 percent higher than the number of sex assaults reported on Canadian land. According to information provided by Canadaeast News Service, the Atlantic researcher who conducted the study is a professor at the Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada and has long payed close attention to the closeted side of the cruise ship industry.

Memorial University Professor Ross Klein assessed Federal Bureau of Investigation reports filed between Oct. 2007-2008, as well as cruise line-involved court cases that took place between 1998 and 2005, as a means of determining the rate of sex assaults aboard cruise vessels.

Upon conducting his research, Klein not only concluded that the sexual assault rate on cruise ships was 50 percent higher than the rate of forcible sex crimes in Canada, 15 percent of the cruise ship sexual assault victims were said to be younger than 18.

Furthermore, Klein’s research indicated that in the past, the majority of onboard sexual attacks consisted of crew members assaulting passengers. Updated data appeared to suggest approximately 50 percent of the cases included passengers assaulting passengers or cruise ship employees assaulting their own co-workers.

According to the Washington State Department of Commerce Office of Crime Victims Advocacy (OCVA), “Sexual assault is a form of violence that uses unwanted sexual actions, contact, pictures and words in ways that are harmful and traumatic to another person.” Sexual assault is defined by the Canadian criminal code in a similar matter.

Professor Klein contended, “The cruise industry is a microcosm of society in a lot of ways… I think most people would find ways to ignore it… I know they have video cameras, but not all of them work. Rarely are they watched in real time. It’s not really surveillance so much as just keeping information.”
The Miami rape victim lawyers of Gerson & Schwartz added that the cruise line industry is in dire need of reform that will ensure the safety of both passengers and ship workers. Cruise ship companies must provide travelers and crew members with adequate protection from rape and sexual violence, as well as other crimes that could potentially occur on the high seas.

Continue reading

by

MIAMI, FL— July 21, 2011 – A California man employed as a masseur at a Seal Beach spa faces three felony charges after three women accused him of sexually assaulting them during massage treatments. According to information provided by the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County DA Office urged any additional sexual assault victims to come forth and report their cases to authorities.

Officials from the Orange County district attorney’s office recently charged Jason Michael Elliott, a 28-year-old Sunset Beach masseur, with “three felony counts of assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense.”
Although the first victim reported her case to the Seal Beach Police Department in Nov. 2009, Elliot apparently worked as a masseur at the Seal Beach-based Massage Envy spa between August 2009 and April 2010. Prosecutors stated that the Orange County masseur was fired after his employers were informed of the sexual assault accusations pending against him.

Prosecutors also told reporters from the Huntington Beach Independent that an investigation into the first alleged sexual attack appeared to connect Elliot to two additional workplace assaults.

Reports suggested that although the accused masseur managed to post $100,000 bail, he could face up to eight years and eight months in prison if convicted of the offenses. The sexual assault case is underway.

National Institute of Justice & Centers for Disease Control & Prevention statistics suggested 17.7 million American women (1 out of every 6 females in the U.S.) have been victims of attempted or completed rape.

According statistics posted on the website for the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence (FCASV), a total of 11,214 sexual assaults were reported statewide during the year 2007. Forcible sex offences resulted in 3,064 Florida arrests that year.

Continue reading

by

MIAMI, FL—On July 18, 2011, a Deltona toddler became the eighth child under the age of 4 to drown in a Volusia County swimming pool since the beginning of this year. According to information provided by the Daytona Beach News Journal, the recent drowning death has spurred county authorities and other organizations to take additional steps to advocate pool safety.

Reports indicated a young girl managed to sneak past her parents, as well as an older sibling, and fall into her family’s pool sometime before 7:39 p.m. The 21-month-old child’s parents noticed their daughter Rocio Vazquez Naranjo was not present and eventually found her unconscious in the pool.

Upon pulling her out of the pool, which was located in the backyard of the family’s house on 2064 Apricot Drive, family members rushed the unresponsive tot to a nearby home, where an unidentified resident performed CPR on her pending the arrival of emergency medical services (EMS) crews.

Although officials from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office and personnel from the Deltona Fire Department responded to the Deltona residence and had the child rushed to Orange City-based Florida Hospital Fish Memorial via EVAC Ambulance, her condition proved fatal around 8:30 p.m.

According to the Volusia County Health Department’s public information officer, Stefany Strong, “We all agree enough is enough… We don’t want to lose any more lives.” The Health Department and Florida Hospital Memorial Center are working with the Daytona Beach Fire Department, the Volusia Flagler Family YMCA and Safe Kids USA in an attempt to put an end to child drowning deaths.
Billboards and bus bench messages to be installed this month will encourage parents to keep a close eye on their children to prevent potentially fatal accidents. Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center’s marketing director Danielle Zili maintained, “We noticed a pattern and decided to be more proactive… It’s purely for the benefit of the kids.”
According to data provided by the Department of Health, drowning is the leading cause of death for kids between the ages of 1 and 4. Furthermore, Florida’s drowning death rate for children in that age group is the highest in the nation.

The Miami injury law firm of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A. urged Florida parents to consider the following pool safety tips to prevent future drowning injuries and deaths:

• TEACH KIDS TO SWIM
• Make sure children comprehend fundamental pool safety rules before they enter the water
• MAKE SURE CHILDREN ARE ALWAYS UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF AN ADULT
• Check the pool area before any other location if a child wanders off
• Install child proof pool fences around home swimming pools
• Make sure to have a phone nearby, in case of emergency
• Cover and lock saunas when they are not in use

Continue reading

by

MIAMI, FL—The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently faulted the U.S. Coast Guard for a 2009 boating accident that claimed the life of a child during the San Diego Bay Parade of Lights. According to information provided by CNN, the California boat collision not only resulted in one fatality, but also left four additional accident victims with serious injuries.

On June 12, 2011, federal safety board officials announced that a 33-foot Coast Guard vessel was speeding in the San Diego Bay during an annual holiday event when it smashed into a 24-foot recreational boat. There were 12 people aboard the recreational vessel, called the Sea Ray, at the time of the boat crash. An 8-year-old boat passenger, whom authorities identified as Anthony DeWeese, was tragically killed in the vessel collision. While none of the Coast Guardsmen aboard the crashed patrol vessel appeared to suffer any injuries, four of them were reportedly court martialed or subjected to non-judicial punishment.

NTSB investigators said the Coast Guard boat was traveling at speeds no less than 19 knots per hour, more than twice the speed that would have been suitable for navigating the bay during the holiday event, which took place at night. The Coast Guard vessel’s cruising speed should have remained around 8 knots per hour, given the fact that there were many boats in the area on the night that the fatal boat wreck took place. Safety board officials also seemed to consider the USCG boat’s speed too high due to the presence of fireworks and other distracting background lights.

According to Deborah A.P. Hersman, chairman of the NTSB, “The Coast Guard is an organization that traditionally fills the role of rescuer… It is especially sad that a family night of celebration in the Bay ended in tragedy because of a coxswain’s poor judgment and the Coast Guard’s ineffective oversight of vessel operations.”
Moreover, Lt. Cmdr. Christopher O’Neil, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard , stated, “We owe it to the DeWeese family, the memory of Anthony, and the public we serve, to learn all we can from this tragic accident… We take very seriously our role as the nation’s maritime safety agency and we’re profoundly saddened by the loss of life in an accident involving one of our crews.”
Statistical data provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) suggested 668 boating accidents occurred statewide during the year 2010. Those Florida accidents, 72 of which occurred in Miami-Dade County alone, resulted in a total of 79 fatalities and 389 injuries.

Continue reading

by

An 18-month-old boy was found dead at a Homestead day care on Tuesday. The boy was found dead at Jomiba Learning Center, 1005 N. Krome Ave., according to Miami-Dade Police. The investigation into how the boy believed to be named Dominicue Andrews died. His body was recovered from the center’s building according to Detective Fernando Morales said.Police officers and Florida Department of Children & Families are investigating. The family had few answers Tuesday night. According to records obtained The Jomiba Learning Center, records show, had been open less than a year.Records apparently show that in three inspections conducted by DCF, the facility was cited once for noncompliance — for not having the required “Child Care Attestation of Good Moral Character” paperwork properly completed for all child-care personnel, according to a DCF report dated June 7. The Department of Children and Families, Child Care Services Program Office, is statutorily responsible for child care licensing and training throughout Florida. It is still too early to determine whether or not there was any negligence committed by the Jomiva Learning Center as the investigation has just begun.
The law firm of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A., has been representing victims and families for the negligence of others including day care center abuse and day care center neglect cases for over 40 years. For a free initial consultation, contact a day care center negligence attorney at 305-371-6000, or by email at info@gslawusa.com

For more information about this incident see: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/12/2311266/police-investigating-child-death.html#story_link=email_msg#ixzz1S0eYZY9f

Continue reading

by

MIAMI, FL—July 13, 2011 – While authorities from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office deemed a toddler’s recent drowning to be accidental, the fatal swimming pool accident yet again sheds light on the dangers many children, and even inexperienced swimmers, face. According to information provided by the Tampa Tribune, a 19-month-old New Port Richie boy allegedly slipped past his sleeping mother before falling into the pool and drowning in his family’s pool on July 11, 2011.

Reports indicated Juan Bermudez’s mother was asleep when the 19-month-old managed to get to the pool area of his family’s home. Given that the pool did not have a child proof fence around it, the tot fell in and was found unconscious.

Though paramedics responded to the young drowning victim’s home, which is located at 3606 Heron Island Drive, and rushed him to Community Hospital just before 7 p.m., his condition ultimately proved fatal.

The toddler’s drowning death came only hours after a New Port Richie teen nearly drowned. Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel were contacted before 4 p.m., after a 14-year-old boy was discovered at the bottom of a residential swimming pool at  7007 Stone Road. Although the teen was apparently breathing upon being airlifted to an area hospital, his condition was not clear.

Department of Health (DOH) statistics suggested that among children between the ages of 1 and 4, drowning is the leading cause of death. Florida has the highest drowning death rate in the nation. In 2009, 48 Florida children in that age group drowned in swimming pools, specifically.

To help prevent potential drowning injuries and deaths in the future, the <Miami injury law firm of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A. provided the following tips:

·  Teach kids to swim at an early age
·  Make sure children understand basic pool safety rules before they step foot in any body of water
·  Never leave a child unattended
·  If a child does indeed wander away, check the pool area first
·  Set up child proof pool fences around residential swimming pools
·  Keep a phone nearby so authorities can be contacted in the event of an emergency
·  Cover and lock saunas when they are not in use

Continue reading

by

MIAMI, FL—With 668 boat accidents reported during the year 2010 alone, Florida leads the nation in boating accidents and resultant fatalities, according to statistical data provided by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Such accidents resulted in 79 boating deaths and left 389 crash victims injured last year.

In 2010, there were 4604 recreational boating accidents, 605 of which were deemed to be fatal, reported throughout the nation. Those incidents resulted in 672 deaths and 3,153 injuries. There were a total of 608 recreational boating accidents statewide in 2010, including 72 that were reported in Miami-Dade County alone. The additional 60 Florida boat accidents initially mentioned were considered “reportable”, but not “recreational.”

Focusing on all reportable boating mishaps throughout the state, statistics suggested that of 73 fatal accidents involving 82 boat operators, 71 percent (58 operators) had no prior boater education. Additionally, 7 percent of accident victims were unable to swim and 53 percent of 79 victims were not wearing life jackets (personal floatation devices—PFD) at the time.

Furthermore, alcohol played a role in 330 accidents throughout the nation, including 39 throughout the state. Last year, drunk boating accidents claimed the lives of 126 victims and left 293 others injured. The Coast Guard estimates that individuals who operate their vessels with a blood alcohol levels above .10 percent are 10 times as likely to die in a boat crash then boaters who choose to stay sober while operating a watercraft.

Maintaining that countless boaters take to the water with the intention of consuming alcohol at some point or another, the Miami injury attorneys of Gerson & Schwarz warned both passengers and drivers to heed caution for potentially negligent boat operators.

Continue reading

by

MIAMI, FL—Royal Caribbean Cruises was recently found negligent in the lawsuit filed following an onboard toxic gas leak that killed three ship crew members and injured 19 others, according to reports by NBC Los Angeles. “Royal Caribbean’s actions demonstrated a gross indifference to the life and health of not only the plaintiff but other passengers onboard the Monarch of the Seas when it continued to cruise with measures that allowed poisonous gas exposure to its passengers,” explained Judge Mark Schumacher, of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.

Reports suggested at least 3,4000 people, both cruise ship passengers and crewmembers, were on Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas vessel when hydrogen sulfide, a potent and sometimes deadly gas, leaked from the ship’s engine room pipes. Three crew member fatalities and 19 non-fatal injuries were reported following the cruise ship gas leak.

The court ruled that the Miami cruise line “failed to take reasonable measures to prevent exposure” to the poisonous gas. The Los Angeles County Department of Health said hydrogen sulfide is often called a “knockout agent,” because victims who suffer from acute exposure lose consciousness exceptionally fast.

Citing evidence in the case, Judge Schumacher also ruled that Royal Caribbean’s acts were “either intentional or constituted gross negligence.”
After the victim’s bodies were transported off the ship and officials from the U.S. Coast Guard conducted ship inspections, a new crew and passengers boarded the cruise. According to Monarch of the Seas passenger Monya Wright, “We were never told there was a significant problem on that ship.”
Ex-crew member Bjoern Eidiseen contended, “It was totally crazy… We should have never sailed… The cruise line knew about it and they ignored the danger.” Bjoern initially observed holes in several of the engine room’s pipes, prompting him to question the makeshift repair job. Though the ship worker warned his managers of potential safety hazards posed by the pipes, his superiors did not appear to take his concerns too seriously.

The judge’s recent ruling paves the way for Eidiseen, who claimed to have been fired for verbalizing his safety concerns, to seek punitive damages in the cruise line negligence lawsuit. Royal Caribbean representatives alleged that Eidiseen lost his job because he was not wearing protective equipment in the cruise ship’s engine room.

In earlier interviews with NBC LA reporters, the Miami-based cruise company maintained that safety was their main priority and even tried to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing that the accusations were unsubstantiated. Nevertheless, the cruise ship negligence case is ongoing.

Continue reading

Contact Information
Office MapView Larger Map
1980 Coral Way
Miami, FL 33145
Toll Free: (877) 475-2905Miami-Dade County: (305) 371-6000Broward County: (954) 845-0535Fax: (305) 371-5749Email: info@gslawusa.com
Fort Lauderdale Office
1451 W Cypress Creek Rd #300
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
Phone: (954) 845-0535
West Palm Beach Office
500 S Australian Ave #600
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Toll Free: (877) 475-2905

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2025, Gerson & Schwartz Accident & Injury Lawyers
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design