News & Events

Tom McCausland and Josh Nathanson, both partners in the Hollywood office, tried an admitted liability auto negligence case where Plaintiff sustained significant fractures to both wrists with surgery and hardware secured to both wrists. Plaintiff had additional claims of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and PTSD, which would require treatment for over 50 years following the accident. The defense was Plaintiff sustained a permanent injury from an orthopedic standpoint, but received a good result and did not need any future treatment and that she did not suffer from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. The defense stipulated to past medical bills of $126,439.51. The plaintiff’s attorney asked the Jury to award $20 million for her injuries and the Defense suggested the jury award $650,000. After deliberating for 3 hours, the jury returned a verdict of $1,465,439.51. There was over $5 million in coverage and there was never a demand of less than the policy limits. 

Hollywood partners Seth R. Goldberg, Joshua E. Nathanson, Michael J. Paris and appellate partner Hinda Klein recently obtained a defense verdict. This was a products liability case based upon a claim that the product, a portable generator was defective as it caused severe burns to the plaintiff. The defense was that there was no defect as several hundred of the same generators were sold by the defendant, our client without incident. Despite the fact that the plaintiff told the ER Doctor he was putting gasoline in the generator when it exploded, the plaintiff's attorney asked the jury to ignore this fact and argued that the generator was defective and that is what caused the injuries.

Thomas McCausland, partner, and Lauren McEndree, associate, obtained a defense verdict in a premises liability case that was tried over 4 days in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Plaintiff claimed she slipped and fell in the parking lot of the defendant gas station as a result of an improperly painted parking stripe. The jury ruled for defendant in under 15 minutes of deliberations having concluded that defendant was not negligent.

Congratulations to West Palm Beach attorneys Melissa McDavitt and Sarah Kippers for successfully prevailing on their Motion for Final Summary Judgment.  In granting the Defendant’s Motion, the Court found the recent Supreme Court ruling in MRI Associates of Tampa, Inc. v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co., NO. SC 19-1390 to be determinative of the issues and held there is nothing in the PIP statute or the Policy that would require an insurer to pay in excess of 80% of a submitted charge.

Click here to read the Order.

Esther Ruderman, a workers’ compensation partner in our West Palm Beach Office, and Diane Tutt, an appellate partner in our Hollywood Office, were successful in a significant workers’ compensation case involving a teacher whose leg fell asleep while sitting on a chair in the classroom, causing him to fall when he got up, sustaining injury.