Trophy Page

This is a photograph of the tugboat which was the scene of an accident where my client slipped and fell injuring his knee. The "nonskid" paint on the deck had been replaced by regular paint, setting up a very slippery surface. Under the Jones Act sailors are entitled to a safe workplace and we were able to successfully pursue the case and obtain a recovery from the client. Jones Act cases are very interesting and like railroad crashes, governed by federal rules and procedures that make them refreshingly different. I learned all about the properties of nonskid paint and decking, which should always be used wherever people are walking.

This is a photograph from a dock which shows what our client's view was before he decided to dive into the water. He was also surprised by the shallow depth due to the fact there was a volleyball game taking place at the time, where he assumed the participants were standing but they were actually on their knees. It looked like the water was several feet deep but it was not. We had expert testimony that the deck, which was attached to the house, should have had railing. When the dock was attached to the deck the railing requirement of the building code extended. It was a commercial size operation and we had to try the case twice, but ended up with a result that was very satisfactory to our client.

This model skid-steer was used in a case where our client slipped and fell exiting the machine. The load had lifted. When he fell back and hit the lever it dropped the load on his leg causing a very severe injury. Our theory was that the lift should not operate unless someone is sitting in the driver's seat with their belt attached. This type of safety interlock is basic engineering and very critical in working machinery such as this, where workers need protection from foreseeable events like slipping and falling or accidentally operating equipment.

This is a wiring harness from a giant logging machine made by John Deere. It did not "interlock" the tractor's ignition so that it was able to be jumpstarted in gear. My client started the tractor and it ran over him causing his death. A simple interlock device should've been installed which would require that the machine start only with the driver in the seat. After our case settled there was a nationwide recall and all of the switches were replaced. The John Deere dealer where our client's machine was serviced provided me with the old interlock.

This Cheese Whiz container is a souvenir from a political campaign. We ran an upstart Democratic candidate against an entrenched Republican in a very conservative district. We were given no chance to win. The campaign manager for the incumbent sent me a note stating that we should stick to suing Cheese Whiz and not engage in politics. After we won I delivered an identical product with the warning that it could cause political disturbance. I need to quote the label.

Our client's son died when ejected from a SUV during a rollover. We believe that the impact of his hip on the back of his seatbelt caused "an inertial unlatch" of the seatbelt and allowed him to be ejected out the window. It was a very hard-fought trial. The focus of the case was a Type 1 seatbelt used at the time by many manufacturers, including General Motors. Unfortunately there was not a successful trial. However our client went on to found Partners for Highway Safety which was a very vigorous organization that urged young people to drive safely, buckle up and never to drink or text and drive.

This is a chest tube, used to relieve a pneumothorax in the chest cavity following a tear or rupture of the lung. My client broke his ribs in a car wreck. Air leaking out of the lung was filling his chest cavity. It became life threatening. To survive, all the doctor had to do was insert a chest tube to relieve the air from the lung and allow it to leak out. The doctor was not competent enough to do that. My client died. Critical witnesses in the case were the nurses that arrived in the helicopter from Shands. They were able to install a chest tube in minutes, but it was too late. This was a rural hospital that allowed a family practitioner with no emergency room training to be the only one in the emergency department and he was simply not up to the task. Like all these cases, very sad.

Medication errors have cost many of my clients the lives of their loved ones. We have had patients die from receiving the wrong medication, the right medication administered to the wrong patient, the right medication injected into a vein instead of a muscle, and of course the wrong medication being given. All these deaths would've been prevented had there simply been a mechanism to double check for safety. I was grabbing a McDonald's breakfast one morning and received the attached "double checked for accuracy" bag and thought I would keep it for use in these trials. Unfortunately double checking for safety is still not as common as it should be, and we continue to see catastrophic medication errors.

This is a photograph taken in Mexico with the survivors of farm workers that were tragically killed when a semi-truck crashed into their van. The case was defended in part upon the belief that we would not be able to get the widows and children to trial because the immigrant status. I flew to Mexico with outstanding immigration attorney Elizabeth Ritchey and we were able to obtain passports for the widows and children. Before we actually obtained the Visas the case settled. It was a interesting trip and the resilience and grit of the clients was inspiring, I'm proud that we were able to replace the income that they would've received from their husbands and fathers and hopefully provide a brighter future for the children.

This is a verdict form and photos are from a fascinating case in Madison County, Florida. My client was working for cash at night in a "gas station" when he was assaulted and beaten with a crowbar. He sustained a skull fracture. It seemed an unsolvable crime, but it was a small town and a notorious criminal named, I believe, Bobo Williams, had just been released from prison. He showed up and crushed Mr. Connor's skull and took the money. There was not much. I recall it being maybe $100.00. It ended up that the lack of workers' compensation insurance worked to our advantage in that we were able to sue the oil company that supplied the station. Under their lease agreement they had a right to make improvements which would've included such fundamental things as better lighting and a safe. The jury returned a million-dollar verdict on behalf of Mr. Connor. He was able to buy a farmhouse on a little pond where others would live with him and take care of him. He just wanted to watch the Cubs play baseball on TV. In the offseason he would watch replays. Add the thank you note from his widow.

Next this is picture of wiring under the seat a Toro riding lawnmower. My client was fueling the lawnmower when it somehow sparked and started a fire. He sustained burn injuries. It was my first million-dollar verdict.

Next, this is a brain, one of many "props" we have used in trials. I have knees, tibias, brain and at one point a complete skeleton at my disposal. Usually we rely upon professional medical illustrations.

This lighter fluid container is an example of what should've been used on the Royal Oak container that resulted in my client's severe burns. In our case a 4-year-old boy went next door and found the light fluid container next to a smolder grill. He squirted the lighter fluid on the fire and it flashed back into the container which then exploded causing him burns. If there is too much fluid in the container it will not burn or explode because the density of the fumes exceeds the upper explosive limit. If there's not enough fluid in the container it would be below the minimum explosive level. In this case the container was almost empty and it was perfect for the fire to flash back into the container and explode. The solution to this dilemma was simple, place a screen over the spout. I think the same effect is achieved using three holes. Back when they were mining coal and using lamps for light, it was discovered that a screen would prevent the fire from flashing through and exploding the methane gas. The lantern would glow brightly in the presence of the gas but it would not blow up the mine. Lanterns with screens were patented back in the early days of the United States Patent Office. The technology had been around for more than a century. It was not used on lighter fluid containers because, discovery showed, if there's one large opening the consumer will use more of the lighter fluid. To make sure that more fluid was used and thus more containers were sold they made one large opening instead of using a screen or three small openings to dissipate the flames and protect the unsuspecting consumer. Obviously you should never squirt lighter fluid on a fire, people do it and survive but only because they are lucky. If the m

This is the family of Ashley Moore, a delightful young girl who was killed by medical negligence. She had gastrointestinal issues and received IV fluids that were not sufficiently mixed with sodium. The low sodium condition caused her brain to swell and her death. The most interesting aspect of that case was a discovery that the nursing notes had been rewritten. In those days handwritten nursing notes were tagged to the client by a "addressogram" which was like a credit card sheet that put a carbon copy of the room number at the bottom of the page. Notes from the floor were written on a page with an addressogram of the intensive care unit. The problem was she was not in the intensive care unit at the time the notes were made, that would come much later. Once we caught them in the lies it was simply a matter of how much. I'm proud of the fact that the family has put together a scholarship to pay students wanting to become teachers. That continues to this day.

L-tryptophan is an amino acid. A Japanese manufacturer, Shoadinko [I'll figure out how to spell that later] made L-tryptophan using genetically engineered E. coli in large vats in Japan. It was imported into the United States where the L-tryptophan was sold to a variety of health food companies. They would put the L-tryptophan into plastic capsules and sell it as "all natural" product and health food. It turns out that somehow in the manufacturing process the L-tryptophan caused an autoimmune disorder resulting in eosinophilia myalgia syndrome. This was characterized by extremely high eosinophils in the blood, muscle pains and often respiratory distress. We advertised for the cases and handled several dozen. We were never able to get to trial as the Japanese manufacturer admitted to its fault and settled every case. To this day I do not trust over-the-counter medications and much of what is sold as "natural" is actually chemically manufactured. It is an unregulated industry. JAPANESE TRANSLATED COMPLAINT

I have several Florida Highway Patrol bears and plastic cars that were given to me by troopers over the years. I work closely with troopers in auto accident cases and find that meeting with them at the scene and spending time with them has been key to winning several tough cases. I wondered why they use a bear and not a pig?

I received over $32 million results suing Hungry Howie's Pizza Company for negligence on the part of a delivery driver. He ran a stop sign and hit a automobile causing serious brain injury to a infant in the backseat. The infant was the child of Korean law student and his wife. The cultural differences and translation issues complicated the matter but we had a substantial final judgment entered. Efforts to collect money had mixed results, we had a good settlement with the Hungry Howie's franchise **** but the insurance that excluded automobile crashes was held not to apply to the case by the appellate courts. LETTER FROM MOTHER TO BABY

Nighttime underrides are a significant problem with trucks especially flatbed trucks. This is a truck turning onto the roadway leaving the trailer across the road where it's not visible. The headlights of the truck blind the oncoming driver to the bed. Even if it wasn't for the headlights the flatbeds used to not have any reflective tape or other warning to prevent a driver from just plowing into the side of the truck and causing substantial injuries. That is what happened to my client. If you pay attention, you will notice that all flatbed trucks now have reflective tape down the side, result of litigation such as that brought by me in these cases and I think ultimately a regulation was adopted. 3M made the reflective tape and I remember obtaining their marketing material for use t trial, since they had provided it to every trucking company in the country. I think that evidence helped us obtain a settlement.