Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
A skydiving instructor made a daring rescue to save one of his students after a midair parachute malfunction.
No serious injuries were reported in the incident, which left the skydiving instructor dangling from a tree, The Miami Herald reported Monday.
First responders were notified of the incident around 5:30 p.m. on May 2 when a 911 caller reported that a skydiver had gone missing east of Palatka Municipal Airport. When the instructor noticed that the student’s parachute had failed, “he did not pull his own chute in order to reach the student,” officials with the Putnam Sheriff’s Office said via a Facebook news release.
Once the instructor had reached the student, the second parachute deployed. The student landed safely near the intersection of State Road 100 and State Road 19 while the instructor was pulled off course and caught in trees 40 feet from the ground.
Luckily, a Good Samaritan in the wooded area had an adequate lift to reach the instructor.
Other than scrapes, the instructor was not injured, officials said. No names were released as of Tuesday.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a Florida-based personal injury law firm with nearly five decades of experience representing injured clients and their grieving families. Our skilled trial attorneys have represented clients in boating accidents, medical negligence cases, cruise ship excursion accidents and premises liability cases. In premises liability, Leesfield & Partners has seen trip and fall, wrongful death, traumatic brain and paralysis-causing injuries take place at hotels, theme parks, airports, shopping malls, government properties and on cruise-ship-sanctioned activities like parasailing.
Much like jet ski rental companies, cruise ships and other tourist attractions available throughout Florida, skydiving companies have a duty to ensure equipment is properly maintained and that patrons and instructors alike have enough training. This duty of care stems from premises liability, a legal principle that refers to a business’ responsibility to maintain their premises and equipment in a condition that is reasonably safe for customers and employees. If there is a hazard or issue, then these businesses must take the necessary steps to amend it in a timely manner and warn customers of the potential for injury.
Leesfield & Partners has litigated numerous premises liability cases throughout Florida with record and historic results secured on behalf of our injured clients.
Previous Air Sport Activity Cases
Leesfield & Partners previously represented a family through a wrongful death case against a parasailing operator. The firm obtained a $17 million recovery on behalf of the family for the death of their loved one.
Another parasailing wrongful death case resulted in a $15 million recovery.
A cruise-ship-sanctioned parasailing adventure was purchased by a mother and daughter while the two were on board their cruise ship. Once they were up in the air, however, an equipment tragically malfunctioned and sent them hurdling toward the water. The mother was killed and her daughter was left with a traumatic brain injury.
Leesfield & Partners obtained a $7.25 million settlement for the family in that case.
Previously, the firm represented a client who suffered brain damage following a parasailing incident in Florida. The firm obtained a $4.46 million recovery in that case.
A $2.6 million recovery was secured for a family whose loved one was killed in a parasailing incident.
Leesfield & Partners represented a woman who suffered brain damage after a parasailing incident at a resort. The firm obtained over $1.5 million in that case.
Another resort parasailing case ended tragically with the death of a family’s loved one. The firm obtained over $1.2 million for the grieving family in that case.
In addition to parasailing, Leesfield & Partners has represented numerous clients in aviation and other air sport activity cases. Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured a $10 million recovery for a family in a wrongful death case.
In a case against an airline that involved the death of our client’s loved one, the firm secured over $8.5 million for the family.
Another tragic aviation case involving a death resulted in a $5.4 million recovery.
A private aviation disaster case was handled by Ira Leesfield the Founder and Managing Partner of the firm, and co-counsel, Mark A. Sylvester. The case involved the deaths of a pilot and his mother who were killed when their single-engine airplane crashed in severe weather. The plane’s manufacturer, a service facility, and the Federal Aviation Administration were named as defendants in this case. The FAA was named as a defendant because of the failure of their air traffic controllers, who are meant to give important weather information to pilots.
A settlement of over $2.8 million was secured in that case.
The firm obtained a $1.9 million recovery in a helicopter-involved case.
In a wrongful death case against Air Orlando, Leesfield & Partners attorneys obtained over $1.8 million for our grieving clients.
Another aviation case, which involved injuries to our client, was filed against the aircraft manufacturer. The firm obtained a $630,000 recovery in that case.
