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The Great Trials Podcast offers a series of laid-back, casual conversations with leading trial lawyers, taking listeners "behind the scenes" of America’s greatest trials. Hosted by acclaimed trial lawyers Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey, each podcast episode focuses on one important trial and includes in-depth, insightful interviews with the attorneys who successfully argued the case in front of a judge and jury.
Episodes
Tuesday Sep 14, 2021
Tuesday Sep 14, 2021
This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Karen Koehler of Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore Law Firm (stritmatter.com).
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Case Details:
Acclaimed trial lawyer Karen Koehler, also known as the “Velvet Hammer,” discusses how she secured justice for dozens of victims of the Sept. 24, 2015 mass casualty crash involving a defective duck boat -- a World War II vessel turned amphibious vehicle -- and a tour bus full of international students on the Aurora Bridge in Seattle. She held the state of Washington responsible for the dangerous undivided, two-lane highway on which the wreck occurred as well as the Ride the Ducks Seattle and Ride the Ducks International companies for their disregard for safety in maintaining their duck boats.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
In the mid-2000’s an opponent told me that other defense attorneys were calling me “The Velvet Hammer™”. When asked why, he said: because you smile so sweetly while you are hammering us into the ground. I thought that was funny and adopted the name.
Being a lawyer is part of my soul. My work is part of who I am. The stories of my clients will never leave me. The child who could not bear to see his father take his last breath... The son who waved goodbye to his mother as he headed off to school, not realizing that would be the last time he would see her… The teenager on a school trip who woke up to see bones coming out through her skin… The young man struck down and killed in front of the police who had been ordered not to enter the Mardi Gras riot zone…The siblings who were in the hospital for so long that they had to postpone the funeral for their parents by a year… The eighth grader sitting in the rear passenger seat when the bumper from another car went through the vehicle and into her lovely face… The Boeing worker whose leg was almost torn off from the impact, fragments of bone lying in the street… The maintenance lead burned to death by an acid solution… The widows who created shrines in their bedrooms for their beloved spouses…The sister who saw her baby sister die. So much preventable sorrow.
My job is to make sure that wrongdoers are brought to justice and that the lives and losses of my clients are fully honored and respected. I love my job.
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Trial Lawyer of the Year, Washington State Association for Justice (WSAJ), 2005
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Named as Top 10 Super Lawyer in Washington State, Super Lawyers, 2014
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Named as Top 100 Super Lawyer in Washington State, Super Lawyers, 2007-2018
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Named as Top 50 Women Washington Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers, 2003-2018
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Named as one of the top 500 leading Lawyers in America, Lawdragon Magazine, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015
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Listed in "The Best Lawyers in America", Best Lawyers publication, 2006-present
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Top Trial Practice Blawg, American Bar Association, 2011, 2012
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Rated AV, Martindale-Hubbell (highest available rating)
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Tuesday Sep 07, 2021
Tuesday Sep 07, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Ronald Johnson and Jay Vaughn of Hendy Johnson Vaughn Emery (https://justicestartshere.com/).
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New! Watch the video recording: https://youtu.be/vJAe3s1SkPo
Episode Details:
Kentucky trial lawyers Ronald Johnson and Jay Vaughn of Hendy Johnson Vaughn Emery explain how they held an asphalt paving company responsible for causing a car crash that killed Amy Skiba. On the morning of January 9, 2019, Amy was driving her 12-year-old twins to school on a two-lane road when a 2013 Chevrolet truck's front tire went off the side of the road. When the truck returned to the roadway, it hit Amy's Honda Accord, and she died on impact. In this episode, learn how Ronald Johnson and Jay Vaughn explained to the jury that Amy's death was not the fault of either driver, instead demonstrating that Eaton Asphalt Paving Co., Inc. was ultimately responsible due to the fact that the company incorrectly re-paved the road two months prior to the accident and created hazardous conditions by removing safety wedges and rumble strips. In spite of Eaton Asphalt Paving Co., Inc.'s attempts to assert they had the permission of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to not mill the road and to cast blame on the driver of the Chevrolet truck, the Boone County, Kentucky jury found in favor of the plaintiff. On July 12, 2021, the jury awarded Amy's surviving children $24 million in damages as well as $50 million in punitive damages against the defendant.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bios:
Ronald Johnson
Ronald Johnson is a veteran trial lawyer who has spent his career representing families and persons who have been injured or killed by defective drugs and medical devices, chemicals, dangerous conditions on a property, semi-truck collisions, automobile wrecks, medical malpractice, and other product liability claims.
Ron’s experience and success in this field have been recognized by his peers and by federal courts across the country. Ron is a former president of the Kentucky Justice Association and has been designated as “AV” rated (pre-eminent) by the peer-reviewed publication Martindale, as well as designated a “Super Lawyer” by his fellow attorneys. Ron has also been appointed to numerous leadership positions in nationwide litigation by federal judges. In fact, Ron is the only lawyer currently practicing in Kentucky who has been appointed as lead or co-lead counsel of multiple Multi-District Litigations (MDL’s) in Federal Courts. Ron has tried numerous complex cases, including a medical device case that resulted in a verdict over 7 million dollars. He has also negotiated settlements up to 230 million dollars.
Jay Vaughn
Jay Vaughn is one of the first attorneys to be Board Certified in Truck Accident Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.
Jay was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He received his undergraduate degree from Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky in 1999. Jay graduated from Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University in 2002. He is licensed to practice in both Kentucky and Ohio.
Jay has received Martindale-Hubbell’s esteemed “AV” rating, which recognizes lawyers with the highest ethical standards and professional ability. Since 2013, he has been named to the Kentucky Super Lawyers, which recognizes no more than 5% of attorneys in Kentucky. Jay has tried numerous cases ranging from automobile collision cases to multi-week nursing home neglect cases. He is asked to speak both locally and nationally to other lawyers on a variety of legal topics as he is very active in Kentucky Justice Association and American Association for Justice, serving on the Board for both trial organizations.
Jay focuses his practice on personal injury, car wreck, trucking crash, traumatic brain injury, and wrongful death cases. He understands that his clients have had their lives turned upside down due to the fault of someone else which is the reason for him working tirelessly to achieve justice for his clients, help make up for what was taken from them and giving them hope for the future.
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Tuesday Aug 31, 2021
Tuesday Aug 31, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Tyler Thompson of Dolt, Thompson, Shepherd & Conway, PSC (https://www.kytrial.com/).
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Episode Details:
Kentucky trial lawyer Tyler Thompson of Dolt, Thompson, Shepherd & Conway, PSC explains how he successfully represented a teenage girl who sustained a permanent brain injury after a crash involving a Monarch Environmental garbage truck parked on the wrong side of the road. On Thanksgiving Day in 2000, 17-year-old Shannon Houchin was driving to work when she crested the top of a hill and saw the headlights of a garbage truck in her lane. She quickly swerved to avoid the large Monarch Environmental truck and swerved again to avoid a pedestrian, which sent her car spinning and sliding sideways into the garbage truck. As a result of the crash, Shannon spent over 50 days in a coma and sustained brain and physical injuries that require round-the-clock care, including involuntary muscle contractions, bilateral third nerve palsy, dementia and hyperphagia -- a memory-related eating disorder. Trial lawyer Tyler Thompson shares how he utilized testimony from residents who had near collisions with Monarch Environmental garbage trucks and how the company ignored warnings about parking on the opposite side of the street for two years — some incidents being as recent as one week before Shannon's accident. In spite of the defense's arguments, a Warren County, Kentucky jury found that Shannon was not at fault and awarded her $27,335,667.87 in damages.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Tyler Thompson
Tyler Smyth Thompson is a graduate of Berea College and the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, and currently the senior partner at the law firm Dolt, Thompson, Shepherd & Conway, PSC in Louisville, Kentucky. He and his wife, Frances Travis Thompson MD, have three daughters, Calley, Madison and Ellery.
Mr. Thompson has represented clients in medical negligence and products liability cases throughout the United States. He has achieved a number of eight-figure settlements on behalf of injured clients and has obtained a number of multi-million dollar verdicts at trial, including three verdicts exceeding $10 million dollars and two verdicts exceeding $20 million dollars.
In 2008, Mr. Thompson became an invited member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, a trial lawyer organization limited to 100 lawyers in the United States, which the National Law Journal has called "a fraternity of superstar personal injury litigators" and the Washington Post recognized as "a select group of 100 of the nation's most celebrated trial lawyers." Super Lawyers Magazine has selected Mr. Thompson as one of the top 10 attorneys in Kentucky on multiple occasions and in the 2021 Edition, he was ranked number one among all Kentucky lawyers.
Mr. Thompson is an invited member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and a past recipient of the Peter Perlman Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award, given annually to an attorney in Kentucky who has demonstrated excellence in the courtroom. He has an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and is listed in Best Lawyers in America.
Mr. Thompson's community service consists of serving as a trustee of Berea College, where he serves on the Executive Committee and chairs the Development Committee, as well as serving on the Boards of the Kentucky Justice Association, Historic Locust Grove and the American Museum of Fly Fishing.
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Tuesday Aug 24, 2021
Tuesday Aug 24, 2021
This week we have a very special episode. Your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview each other and launch a new segment for listener questions.
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Episode Details:
Have you ever wanted to ask a question on The Great Trials Podcast? Well now you can!
We’re launching a new listener question segment where you can submit your questions to be answered live on the air.
To submit a question:
Send us a direct message on Instagram (@greattrialspodcast).
Send us a direct message on Facebook (@greattrialspodcast)
Email us at info@greattrialspodcast.com
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Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Gregorio "Greg" Francis of Osborne & Francis, PLLC (https://www.realtoughlawyers.com/).
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Episode Details:
Award-winning Florida trial lawyer Gregorio "Greg" Francis of Osborne & Francis, PLLC shares his experience serving as lead counsel for nearly 20,000 African-American farmers who received disparate treatment from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), resulting in the largest settlement of a civil rights case in the history of the American Civil Justice system. Widely known as the “Pigford” or "Black Farmers" cases, this national class action lawsuit sought to address the racial discrimination Black farmers experienced between 1981 and 1996, including the denial or delay of their applications for federal farm credit services, loans or benefit programs. Citing the USDA's internal report of a failed civil rights complaint management system and a lack of diversity in Farm Service Agency county-level commissioners, Greg was able to negotiate a record settlement with the USDA for $1.25 billion to be distributed to class members in the form of damages, forgiveness of debt owed to the USDA and/or a tax payment to offset the awarded funds. This historic settlement was reached on February 18, 2010. As part of the settlement, President Obama signed the Claims Resolution Act of 2010, which provided $1.15 billion to pay successful claims. In May 2021, Gregorio published Just Harvest, a book detailing these groundbreaking cases against the U.S. government.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Gregorio "Greg" Francis
Awarded the Vince Monroe Townsend Legends Award by the National Bar Association for historic leadership in the area of Civil Rights and designated as a Game Changer by Politic365. Gregorio (Greg) Antonio Francis currently serves as lead counsel for the historic Black Farmers case. This national class action challenged the ongoing disparate treatment of Black Farmers across the United States resulting in a $1.25 billion dollar settlement. Nearly 20,000 Black farmers or their descendants received the “JUSTICE” they had long demanded. In RE: Black Farmers is the largest settlement of a Civil Rights case in the history of the American Civil Justice system.
Francis began his legal career in 1994 as an associate with a statewide defense firm specializing in medical malpractice defense, nursing home defense and municipal defense.
In 2001, Francis joined the law firm of Morgan and Morgan, P.A., as a Partner, focusing his practice on medical malpractice, police misconduct, wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury cases. From 2004-2006, Morgan & Morgan, P.A., participated in a joint venture with famed trial lawyer Johnny Cochran to open an office in Miami, Florida where Francis served as the co-managing partner. After achieving great success with The Cochran Firm, Francis became a shareholder of Morgan & Morgan, P.A. As the firm expanded, Francis was instrumental in opening new offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Jackson, Mississippi. He held the position of managing partner for the Jackson, Mississippi office from its inception through 2014, Francis also served on the firm’s Executive Committee.
In 2018, Francis joined longtime friend and colleague Joseph A. Osborne in forming their own firm, Osborne & Francis, PLLC. The firm has offices in Boca Raton and Orlando. Their firm will focus primarily on product liability, medical device litigation, pharmaceutical litigation, medical malpractice and personal injury litigation.
In addition to his professional achievements, Francis serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Bethune Cookman University. Additionally, Francis has served as legal counsel to the Lay Ministry of the African Methodist Episcopal Church which boasts membership of over 3 million. In 2010, he was appointed to serve on the Ninth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission by Governor Charlie Christ. Francis is very active at all levels of the National Bar Association having served on the Executive Board of the Florida Chapter and as President of the Paul C. Perkins Bar Association from 2001-2003. In the community, Francis is an active member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Winter Park Chapter and was recently featured in the Kappa Journal, RYSE Magazine and Onyx Magazine for his contribution to the local community and for his national accomplishments.
Mr. Francis was born in the Panama Canal Zone and moved to the United States as a young child. He graduated from Oak Ridge High School with honors in 1986. Francis then earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Florida in 1991, and a Juris Doctorate in 1994 from the University of Florida Law School, where he was a Virgil Hawkins Fellow. In law school, he received writing and oral honors in Appellate Advocacy and was named to the Dean’s List. He was appointed as a Justice for the University of Florida Board of Masters, the highest Appellate Court for student disciplinary matters, and rose to the level of Senior Presiding Justice in 1994. He was also a member of the Frederick Douglas Moot Court Team and Publishing Editor for the UMDJA Law Journal. As a result of his academic achievements and extracurricular activities, he was inducted into the prestigious Florida Blue Key Leadership honorary society.
Currently, Francis volunteers his time to a number of local non-profit organizations. Most recently, he launched his own philanthropic platform, Believing In Good, which funds and hosts an annual “For the Kids” toy drive where he returns to the neighborhood of his childhood and distributes Christmas gifts to the children. He serves on the Board of Trustees for St. Mark AME, is a member of the Orlando Chapter of 100 Black Men of America and a Board member for Nap Ford Charter School. Francis is married to the former Keisha Berry, has a daughter, Grier, a son, Gregorio II (Rio), and resides in Windermere, Florida.
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Tuesday Aug 10, 2021
Tuesday Aug 10, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Tracey Dellacona of Dellacona Law Firm, LLC (http://www.dellaconalaw.com/).
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Episode Details:
Georgia trial lawyer and nurse Tracey Dellacona of Dellacona Law Firm, LLC shares how she strategically represented emergency room patient Ellen Wadsworth, whose misdiagnosed pain resulted in the amputation of both of her legs. On Thanksgiving Day in 2008, Ellen arrived at the hospital with severe pain in both of her legs and cold feet, which a physician's assistant -- after only a brief physical exam and vein testing -- determined to be cellulitis, a type of bacterial skin infection. Despite Ellen's inability to walk and pleas to be admitted to the hospital, the supervising doctor and physician's assistant sent her home with morphine. Hours later, Ellen returned to the emergency room after collapsing in her home, and it was discovered that she had arterial blockages in both of her lower legs. On December 4, 2008, Ellen underwent a double leg amputation below the knee. The defendants argued that Ellen's symptoms and physical conditions were entirely different at each emergency room visit and tried to place blame on Ellen's smoking and pre-existing medical conditions. In 2012, a Gwinnett County, Georgia jury found in favor of Ellen, awarding her $5 million in damages and charging the attending healthcare professionals and medical practice with ordinary negligence.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Tracey Dellacona
Ms. Dellacona graduated cum laude in 1985 from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing and worked as an emergency department nurse and cardiac care nurse for several years in North Carolina before moving to Georgia to attend law school. She maintains a current Georgia license as a registered nurse. Ms. Dellacona graduated in 1994 from Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law in Macon, Georgia, where she began her own law firm, Dellacona Law Firm.
In 2007, Ms. Dellacona obtained her Master of Business Administration Degree magna cum laude from Wesleyan College. She has served as president of the Middle Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, as an at large Vice-President for the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and is a member of the Bootle Inn of Court, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the Middle Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the State Bar of Georgia, the American Association for Justice, the Professional Negligence Group, Stroke Litigation Group and the Nursing Home Litigation Group. Ms. Dellacona is AV rated (the highest rating in competency and ethics attorneys can receive by their peers) and a selected Super Lawyer for the past 10 years.
Ms. Dellacona has served as a legal consultant on medical issues for Fox News in Macon, Georgia. She is a frequent guest lecturer on medical negligence issues at numerous legal workshops and healthcare facilities around the nation and in the state of Georgia. Ms. Dellacona also conducts peer review analysis on articles submitted to Trial magazine and is a published author in Trial. She has also been an invited guest speaker at the conventions for the national American Association for Justice.
For 27 years, Ms. Dellacona has worked with numerous attorneys all over the state on medical negligence cases as well as other personal injury matters and she has served as an adjunct professor at Mercer Law School. She also supports numerous charities such as the Alzheimer’s Association and Jay’s Hope and is a member of the Women In Unity Group, an organized group of women whose goals are to support voting, vaccinating and other worthwhile projects.
Ms. Dellacona has obtained numerous multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts including a $ 5 million dollar verdict that changed the law in emergency medicine, a $4.3 million dollar verdict for the wrongful death of a 23-week old fetus, a $5.2 million dollar verdict in a spinal injury case, and a $20 million dollar settlement in a wrongful death trucking case.
Representing clients and families who have been injured by the carelessness of others, whether by negligent healthcare providers (hospitals and/or doctors) or negligent drivers or other corporations, is Ms. Dellacona’s passion.
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Tuesday Aug 03, 2021
Tuesday Aug 03, 2021
This week we are replaying a GTP Classic episode. Your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Kay Van Wey of Van Wey, Presby, And Williams ( https://www.vanweylaw.com/ )
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Case Details:
In the first of a two-episode series, 17-time Dallas Super Lawyer Kay Van Wey shares how she held neurosurgeon Dr. Christopher Duntsch – widely known as “Dr. Death” – accountable for performing surgeries under the influence of drugs and alcohol and failing to execute procedures properly, often resulting in patient paralysis or death. Representing a number of Dr. Duntsch’s victims, Kay exposed the lack of protection from medical regulatory bodies that are supposed to protect patients from dangerous doctors. Dr. Duntsch is one of the first physicians to be criminally convicted for severely injuring a patient. His heinous actions and operating room horror stories were the focus of the popular Dr. Death Podcast, hosted by top medical journalist Laura Beil.
Click to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents:
Guest Bio:
Kay Van Wey
I’m Kay Van Wey, a Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer and Patient Safety Advocate. My clients are everyday people who have been seriously injured by a healthcare provider, medical device, or prescription drug or involved in a life-altering accident.
I am passionate about helping my clients. My team and I take a personalized, hands-on approach to helping our clients navigate the legal system and ultimately achieve the justice and compensation they deserve. I understand just how confusing the legal landscape is and how when you are injured or grieving it is difficult to understand the complexities and navigate through the legal maze.
In experiencing my own personal family tragedy in my late 30’s, I understand first-hand what it feels like to be a victim and go through the difficult process of healing and the road to justice. This is one of the primary reasons that I do this work.
My patient safety advocacy comes from my passion to ensure that bad medical practices, doctors, and procedures that lead to unfortunate outcomes that could be avoided are removed or lessened so that no one else suffers.
You may know me as one of the lawyers that prosecuted multiple civil cases against “Dr. Death.” I had the privilege of representing many of his victims. As I have always said and believed, most doctors are good doctors — and good people. But the system for how we identify, report, and stop bad doctors is failing patients. The tragedy of the Christopher Duntsch story is that so many patients were harmed before he could be stopped. This is just incomprehensible and unacceptable.
Accomplishments:
Texas Super Lawyer (2003 to 2018) – 15+ consecutive years, peer selection
Avvo, 10 rated, peer selection
Million Dollar Advocate Forum – based on results achieved for past clients
Multi-Million Dollar Advocate Forum – based on results achieved for past clients
D- Best Lawyer – peer selection, multiple years
Dallas Bar Association “Trial Legend”- peer selection
My track record is based on hard work, diligence, and pursuing each case that I take to help my clients achieve the justice that they are seeking.
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Tuesday Jul 27, 2021
Tuesday Jul 27, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Marc Diller of Diller Law, P.C. (https://www.dillerlaw.com/).
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Episode Details:
Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum member Marc Diller of Diller Law, P.C. explains how he secured justice for tenant Cathrine Erickson when her landlord failed to prepare her Watertown, Massachusetts rental property for winter, creating a dangerous situation that resulted in permanent injury to Cathrine's right leg. After being informed by Cathrine and other tenants that the drain at the end of the sloped driveway was not working properly, landlord Rosalie Cunio chose to withhold important property information and ignore the contractor's proposed solution in favor of a cheap fix. The repair was ineffective, as water continued to pool, taking days to drain. The drainage problem was compounded when winter came and Rosalie did not "winterize" the rental property, including shutting off the exterior water. In February 2013, Cathrine returned home from her job as head coach of Northeastern University's track and field team and slipped on black ice caused by water spraying from a hose. As a result, Cathrine sustained a serious injury requiring a titanium rod as well as seven screws to stabilize her right leg. Today, this accomplished coach struggles with mobility and suffers from chronic pain. In March 2019, trial lawyer Marc Diller detailed the landlord's negligence and violations of common sense safety practices to a Middlesex County, Massachusetts jury. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Cathrine, awarding $2,324,815.62 in damages.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Marc Diller
On May 15, 1992, Marc Diller was a senior in high school in Brookline, MA. Brookline’s local paper, The Brookline Citizen, profiled Marc Diller as its Brookline Student of The Week. The article was titled, “Diller, an attorney in training”.
Even back then, Marc’s passion for service and the law was evident.
Nearly 30 years later, Marc uses that passion to deliver safety and justice to his clients.
Marc helps people and their families during their most vulnerable times. It’s his ethos to hold corporations and insurance companies accountable for wrongdoings. Marc fights corporate and individual wrongdoers when it results in wrongful death or catastrophic injury.
Marc doesn’t back down from the fight. Throughout his 20+ year career, Marc has held property owners, who maintain dangerous conditions, accountable for their wrongdoings. He has made companies take responsibility for the death or losses that result from making, designing or selling dangerous products. Marc also makes employers on construction sites answer for unsafe work conditions. When motorcyclists, pedestrians, bicyclists and those in cars are killed or injured by dangerous drivers and the companies that employ them, Marc seeks justice. He goes after the drunk, distracted and drowsy drivers, the companies that employ them and the restaurants, bars, and clubs that ignore safe service practices and let drivers drive dangerously.
“Our client’s trust us to do right by them,” says Diller “and I insist that all Diller Law, PC’s lawyers care about safety and accountability in our community.”
Marc grew up in Brookline, MA, the son of a lawyer and an educator. At the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor he wrote for the Michigan Daily newspaper, majoring in English and communications. From there, he went to Suffolk University Law School, his father William’s alma mater. Marc worked with his dad at the Law Offices of William Diller starting in 1997. William mentored Marc until 2013.
Marc learned a lot from William’s 40+ years experience in law. William was the editor-in-chief of the Suffolk Law Review (’69), clerked for Justice Reardon at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (’70), was an associate at one of Boston’s premier law firms, and during William’s 40 years in private practice, he handled many complex and significant personal injury cases.
In 2013 Marc started DILLER LAW, P.C.
Marc’s aggressive, yet practical approach to litigating and resolving personal injury cases has earned him recognition from his peers in the legal community.
Professionally, Marc serves on numerous legal organizations and committees dedicated to the ethical and competent litigation of cases as well as the proper administration of justice.
Personally, Marc is the father of two children. He coaches recreational basketball for his sons. In his free time, Marc enjoys golfing and watching movies.
Lawyers all over the country consult Marc, who has appeared in State and Federal trial courts as well as our State’s appellate court.
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Tuesday Jul 20, 2021
Tuesday Jul 20, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Ryan Saba of Rosen Saba, LLP (https://www.rosensaba.com/) and Robert Karwin of the Law Office of Robert P. Karwin (https://www.karwinlaw.com/).
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Episode Details:
Ryan Saba of Rosen Saba, LLP and Robert Karwin of the Law Office of Robert P. Karwin explain how they successfully represented California high school student Nicholas Tusant after he was struck by a truck in a lighted crosswalk, resulting in severe, life-altering injuries. On March 24, 2017, 16-year-old Nicholas activated the crosswalk's flashing lights and yelled for Joseph Gervais, who was driving a Dodge Dakota truck, to stop. Instead, Nicolas was hit in the crosswalk and rendered unconscious. Nicholas, one of 10 teens injured in this crosswalk between 2007 and 2018, spent 30 days in a coma and months in the hospital healing from a stroke, bone fractures and severe brain damage — all of which continue to make it difficult for him to walk and talk. Despite the City of Hemet's attempts to use a design immunity defense, cast blame on Joseph Gervais' negligent driving and assert that an accident on public property does not constitute a dangerous condition, a Riverside County, California jury found in favor of the plaintiff. In February 2020, Nicholas was awarded $25,656,686.58 in damages, marking the largest personal injury verdict in California in 2020.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Ryan Saba
Ryan Saba is an accomplished civil litigation and trial attorney. Ryan’s practice consists of prosecuting and defending individual, class action and mass action claims. On the plaintiff side, each year Ryan obtains some of the largest settlements and verdicts. On the defense side, Ryan is widely considered one of the premiere “bet-the-company” trial lawyers in California. Ryan has extensive experience in a wide range of federal and state matters, including consumer litigation, employment litigation, women’s rights, complex business and entertainment disputes, catastrophic injury claims, professional responsibility, copyright/trademark, civil rights, maritime, and municipal, insurance bad faith, landowner, and product liability. Ryan has been working with Jim Rosen since 1999 and is a founding partner of Rosen“RosenSaba, LLP.
Robert P. Karwin
Robert P. Karwin began his career as a trial attorney for a personal injury defense firm in Glendale, California that represented such clients as Allstate, State Farm, Mercury, and Avis Rent-a-Car. With the experience gained there, he "has the other team's playbook" and uses those strategies in representing injured people against the insurance companies.
Mr. Karwin has a reputation of taking cases to trial, so insurance companies know he will not back down in his fight for you. He now represents injured people in such diverse matters as auto accidents, slip and fall, dog bites, medical malpractice, and other injury claims.
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Tuesday Jul 13, 2021
Tuesday Jul 13, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Timothy Trecek of Habush, Habush & Rottier S.C. (https://www.habush.com/).
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Episode Details:
Two-time Wisconsin Association for Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year Award winner Timothy Trecek of Habush, Habush & Rottier S.C. shares how he successfully represented Edward Vanderventer, Jr. and his wife Susan after Edward was rendered a paraplegic following a traffic accident due to a seatback defect in the 2013 Hyundai Elantra. In July 2015, Edward was driving a Hyundai Elantra when he slowed down to make a left turn and was hit from behind by a 17-year-old driver. Upon impact, Edward's headrest flew backwards into the back seat and the headrest guide poles within the seatback deformed toward his spine. The headrest guide poles separated his spinal column, rendering him a paraplegic. Despite Hyundai's attempts to blame Edward's spinal injuries on the rear-end crash and a degenerative spinal condition, the Racine County, Wisconsin jury found Hyundai negligent in the design and testing of the driver's seat. In February 2020, the jury awarded $38,164,263 in damages to Edward and Susan Vanderventer, resulting in the largest single plaintiff compensatory award in Wisconsin history and a landmark victory for Timothy Trecek in the same courtroom where he experienced his first trial victory as a high school mock trial attorney 36 years earlier.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Timothy Trecek
In 2020, as lead trial counsel, Tim Trecek obtained a $38.1 million verdict against Hyundai Motor Company, for a defectively designed seat back and head restraint system in his client’s 2013 Hyundai Elantra (see news story). The verdict is the largest single plaintiff compensatory award in Wisconsin history. The verdict included $7.77 million for the plaintiff’s spouse, another record for Wisconsin verdicts. Based on the significance of his 2020 verdict, Tim was honored to receive the Robert L. Habush, Trial Lawyer of the Year Award, the second time being recognized with said award (read acceptance speech). He was also awarded The Litigation Counsel of America’s Tommy Malone Outstanding Verdict Award, an honor bestowed upon one attorney in the US whose verdict is extraordinary in amount or significance.
Tim is the Vice President, Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Secretary of Habush Habush & Rottier and has been a member of the law firm since 1995. He is a managing partner of both the Milwaukee and West Bend offices. Tim specializes in all types of personal injury litigation. He has successfully litigated cases involving automobile defects (airbags, seatbelts, seats and structural integrity), construction accidents, mis-filled prescriptions, car/motorcycle accidents, truck/semi accidents, slip/trip and falls, dog bites, injuries involving horses, brain injuries, RSD (reflex sympathetic dystrophy), machine defects (saws, chippers, cement mixer defects, deer stands, snow blowers), child car seats, personal watercraft, and specialized experience with serious burn injuries from events such as explosions and utility/electrical accidents.
Tim has worked on cases throughout the United States. Due to his significant trial experience, he has been certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and has been selected for exclusive membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates. He was recognized in the January 25, 2006 issue of the Wisconsin Law Journal (see article) for holding three of the state’s top five settlements in 2005. In 2009, he obtained the third largest reported award in the State of Wisconsin ($6 million) for his client who was injured in an accident with a semi-trailer truck.
In February of 2011, Tim obtained a $16 million award on behalf of eight injured scaffold workers involved in a dust explosion at the WE Energies Oak Creek plant. This is the largest award in the State’s history involving injuries caused by an explosion of PRB (Powder River Basin) coal dust. It also makes Tim the only attorney in Wisconsin to have four multi-million-dollar recoveries against the State’s largest utility.
In 2011, the Wisconsin Association for Justice selected Tim as the annual recipient of the prestigious Robert L. Habush Wisconsin Trial Lawyer of the Year Award for the first time (read acceptance speech). Additionally, he was named as one of Wisconsin’s Leaders in the Law in 2008 by the Wisconsin Law Journal. In 2013 Tim was accepted as a Fellow in the prestigious American College of Trial Attorneys, one of the youngest recipients of this venerable honor. In 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021, he was honored to be listed as “Lawyer of Year” for Product Liability Litigation in Milwaukee, by Best Lawyers in America. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since 2010. In 2020, Tim was inducted into the invitation-only Summit Council, an exclusive group of the nation’s top civil justice attorneys. Membership requires at least three verdicts of $1 million and at least one verdict in excess of $10 million. From 1999 to 2007, Tim served two terms on the District 2 Committee of the Office of Lawyer Regulation at the request of the Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Since 2005, Tim has been teaching an Advanced Trial Practice course at Marquette University Law School. He has given speeches to other lawyers on a variety of legal topics. Using his experience in child car seat defect cases, he has given presentations to parents of preschool children concerning the safe use of child car seats. He is also a Fellow in the International Society of Barristers (proudly serving on their Board of Governors), the invitation-only Litigation Counsel of America, a Fellow in The American Bar Foundation, and a member of the invitation-only Summit Council. Additionally, Tim has been recognized on the Wisconsin Super Lawyers list each year since 2006, making the Wisconsin Top 10 list in 2014 and 2018 – 2020, and the Milwaukee Top 25 list since 2011; in 2020, he was one of the top vote recipients. Tim also serves on the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee’s Board of Directors. The Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee is one of the nation’s oldest, continuously operating, public interest law firms.
Although he was born, raised, and works in southeastern Wisconsin, Tim has earned a national reputation as a successful plaintiff’s trial lawyer. Tim’s successes have been so noteworthy that they have been chronicled in papers such as the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, the Fort Worth Star Telegram, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle and dozens of other publications. Tim is also actively involved in his church and the community.
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