You May Want to Avoid Swimming at North Beach.

The good ole' Army Corps of Engineers, recently lambasted in Harry Shearer's excellent documentary "The Big Uneasy," comes under fire by Judge Huck for negligently depositing large rocks along the North Shore beaches, causing at least one very severe injury:

The Court concludes that the government breached its duty to Downs because the Corps allowed rocks, up to a basketball in size, to be placed in the beach fill on Phase 2 and knowingly allowed at least some of these rocks to become exposed in the surf zone between 72nd and 73rd Streets. The Court also finds that the government’s breach of its duty was a proximate cause of the injuries that Downs sustained when he dove diagonally into the ocean and hit his head on a rock. The injuries sustained by Downs were a foreseeable result of the government’s negligence.  See Crislip v. Holland, 401 So. 2d 1115, 1117 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981) (“In order for injuries to be a foreseeable consequence of a negligent act, it is not necessary that the initial tortfeasor be able to foresee the exact nature and extent of the injuries or the precise manner in which the injuries occur. [A]ll that is necessary . . . is that the tortfeasor be able to foresee that some injury will likely result in some manner as a consequence of his negligent acts.”) The Court also concludes, as discussed above, that Downs’, Miami-Dade County’s, the State of Florida’s, and the City of Miami Beach’s negligence each contributed to Downs accident and resulting injuries.

Knowingly allowing basketball-sized rocks to be placed along the surf line on Miami Beach?

No doubt the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau will somehow turn this into a positive -- come visit Miami Beach get a free kettle bell/beach rock workout!