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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 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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Tuesday Jul 06, 2021
Tuesday Jul 06, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Jennifer L. Lawrence of The Lawrence Firm (https://www.lawrencefirm.com/).
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Episode Details:
Top 25 Women Kentucky Super Lawyers honoree Jennifer L. Lawrence of The Lawrence Firm, PSC, shares how she secured justice for the parents of Kyle Smith, a young boy who suffered head trauma that was not thoroughly assessed by a physician and resulted in permanent injuries. In March 2002, 9-year-old Kyle Smith hit his head on a coffee table and later began vomiting, prompting Kyle's parents, Kristi Longbottom and Jesse Smith, to take him to the hospital, where Dr. Gary S. Huber of Qualified Emergency Specialists, Inc. sutured Kyle's laceration and discharged him, stating that the boy just needed to "sleep it off." Kyle was unresponsive the next morning, and an emergency CT scan revealed a large epidural hematoma in the brain that required immediate surgery. Kyle spent over three weeks in the Rehabilitation Care Unit re-learning how to swallow, eat, communicate and walk. A permanent brain injury has affected his mobility. Despite the defense's claims that Dr. Huber advised Kyle's parents to follow the hospital's head injury pamphlet, which stated that patients should be awakened every two hours, a Clermont County, Ohio jury found Dr. Huber negligent. In September 2010, Kyle was awarded $2,112,899 in damages as part of a $2.41 million verdict.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Jennifer L. Lawrence
Jennifer L. Lawrence is a partner of The Lawrence Firm, PSC, in Covington, Kentucky. Ms. Lawrence practices law with a particular focus on product liability, mass torts and medical malpractice. She represents a wide variety of clients throughout the United States including the State of Ohio and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Ms. Lawrence has concentrated her practice representing clients and their families injured as a result of defective medical devices, dangerous drugs and medical and hospital negligence. It is part of Ms. Lawrence’s mission to help families gain closure through the discovery of not only an explanation of what happened but why it happened. Ms. Lawrence hopes that through helping families one at a time that ultimately the quality of production of medical devices and drugs and the quality of care within the healthcare system will improve within our country.
Ms. Lawrence graduated with a B.A. from The Ohio State University and earned her law degree from Salmon P. Chase College of Law. She graduated within the top of her class and earned the highest grades in several classes. While in law school, she was an active participant of Moot Court. She is admitted to practice in Kentucky and Ohio, as well as before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky. Ms. Lawrence is a member of the Cincinnati Bar Association, the Northern Kentucky Bar Association, the Kentucky Justice Association, serving as a District Vice President and a member of the Ohio Association for Justice. She is also a member of the American Association for Justice and has served as a Co-Chair of the da Vinci Robotic Surgical Litigation Group and previously as a board member of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group. Ms. Lawrence has been a member of the Salmon P. Chase American Inn of Court. Ms. Lawrence previously served by appointment on the Ohio CLE Commission and on the Kentucky Supreme Court Committee on the Admission To The Bar. She has also served as a board member for the Children's Law Center, the Kenton County Library Foundation Board and has served on boards for various other organizations.
Ms. Lawrence has successfully concluded to verdict trials in both the State of Ohio and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. She has successfully argued before the Ohio Supreme Court, and Appellate courts in Ohio and Kentucky. Ms. Lawrence has been recognized for her accomplishments as an attorney by Super Lawyers and has been named as one of the Top 25 Super Lawyers and Top 50 Super Lawyers in Kentucky for 2021. She has previously spoken on products liability and medical malpractice for a variety of professional organizations including The Ohio Association of Justice, Kentucky Justice Association, American Association of Justice and the Northern Kentucky Bar Association and has co-authored an article on medical malpractice published in the Northern Kentucky Law Review. With her law practice Ms. Lawrence is involved in a wide variety of professional and volunteer activities. She has served as an adjunct professor at Chase College of Law and serves as a volunteer at moot court competitions, local non-profit organizations and serves as a volunteer for her children's activities and school. Ms. Lawrence practices law with her husband and law partner, Rob Lewis.
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Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Eric Rosen of Rosen Injury Law (https://roseninjurylawyers.com/).
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Episode Details:
Rosen Injury Law founder Eric Rosen explains how he secured justice for the family of Vivian Wilkinson, a lifelong smoker who died from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) caused by her addiction to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company's cigarettes. Building upon the success of the 1994 Engle class action lawsuit comprised of Florida smokers, trial lawyer Eric Rosen successfully took Broward County, Florida jury members on a journey back in time to when smoking was deeply ingrained in American society, helping them see how that environment influenced Vivian's decisions as well as the actions of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Despite the defense's attempts to convince the jury that the timing of Vivian's initial COPD symptoms failed to meet the statute of limitations, the jury found in favor of Vivian's estate, awarding $3 million in compensatory damages to her children, Vivian and Eugene, and $10 million in punitive damages against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company for knowingly concealing information that ultimately contributed to Vivian's death.
Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents
Guest Bio:
Eric Rosen
Eric Rosen is a Fort Lauderdale injury lawyer and founder of Rosen Injury Law, P.A. Mr. Rosen is Board Certified by the Florida Bar as a civil trial specialist, a certification held by less than 2% of all attorneys licensed to practice law in Florida.
Eric devotes his practice to representing plaintiffs who have suffered injury or death as a result of another person’s or corporation’s negligence.
As lead trial attorney, Eric has obtained over $100 million in jury verdicts for his clients in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. Eric has also co-chaired and served on trial teams obtaining combined jury verdicts in excess of $300 million. His verdicts have been featured extensively in the Daily Business Review, Courtroom View Network and other media outlets.
Eric began his legal career as a prosecutor at the Office of the State Attorney in Broward County, Florida, where he tried dozens of jury trials and countless bench trials to verdict. Mr. Rosen left public service to pursue his passion for helping people who have suffered due to someone else’s misconduct. Mr. Rosen then rose through the ranks to become a partner at a prominent South Florida personal injury and wrongful death firm. For over a decade, Eric dedicated his practice to catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. After unparalleled success, Mr. Rosen pursued his dream of opening his own law firm and established Rosen Injury Law, P.A. As a Fort Lauderdale accident lawyer, he expanded his practice to not only include catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, but to also help those who have suffered a range of injuries that may not be life threatening, but still result in serious pain, inconvenience and loss of enjoyment of life.
In addition to his law school education and his career in both public and private practice, Eric is also a graduate of the renowned Trial Lawyers College established by Gerry Spence; one of the country’s premiere trial schools. This is an intensive three-and-a-half-week trial skills program held in Dubois, Wyoming, by top litigators and trial instructors from around the country. While there, Eric immersed himself in new trial techniques for jury selection, opening statement, direct and cross examination, and closing arguments. He incorporates those skills to this day.
As a Fort Lauderdale injury lawyer, Eric has served on the faculty for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy where he has taught trial skills to lawyers from around the country. He also spends time teaching law students and high school students about personal injury practice, product liability, and trial practice.
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Tuesday Jun 22, 2021
Tuesday Jun 22, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Arash Homampour of The Homampour Law Firm (https://www.homampour.com/).
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Episode Details:
Award-winning California trial lawyer and The Homampour Law Firm founder Arash Homampour discusses how he successfully represented grieving widower Kenneth Shinedling and his three daughters after a defective space heater designed and manufactured by Sunbeam Products, Inc. started a fire that tragically killed Kenneth's wife and the girls' mother, Amy Shinedling. In the early morning hours of January 5, 2011, Kenneth woke up to a blazing fire in his bedroom, caused by a Holmes Sunbeam HQ307 radiant heater that did not shut off after heating up and igniting nearby clothing, starting the deadly blaze. Sunbeam failed to provide consumers with warnings about not using the heater while sleeping, per the Consumer Product Safety Commission's 2005 bulletin, and neglected to alert consumers that the advertised automatic safety feature would not shut-off the heater before it started a fire. In spite of the defense's attempts to blame Kenneth for not saving his wife's life, the Los Angeles, California jury found Sunbeam Products, Inc. guilty of negligent design as well as failure to warn. As a result of trial lawyer Arash Homampour's efforts, 80% of the responsibility for Amy Shinedling's wrongful death was assigned to Sunbeam. In a landmark jury verdict, Kenneth and his daughters were awarded $58,650,000 in damages.
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Guest Bio:
Arash Homampour
Arash Homampour is a trial lawyer and founder of The Homampour Law Firm, a nine lawyer firm that represents individuals in catastrophic injury/wrongful death, employment and insurance bad faith matters throughout the State. The Homampour Law Firm is considered one of the top trial law firms in the State with record setting verdicts (twelve 8 figure and fifteen 7 figure verdicts) along with many outlier settlements.
In 2021, he was the 5th ranked lawyer in Southern California by Super Lawyers in all practice areas. He was previously named one of the top 30
Plaintiff lawyers in the State by the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He was the recipient of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles 2018 Ted Horn Memorial Award, presented to the lawyer who has provided outstanding service to the Association and the legal community. He also received trial attorney of the year awards from the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association and the Ventura County Trial Lawyers the Association. In 2007, he was named one of the Top 20 Attorneys Under the Age of 40 by the Los Angeles Daily Journal.
Arash Homampour also handles appellate work, including successfully briefing and arguing before the California Supreme Court, and appears as a legal analyst on television. He gives back daily by teaching and helping other lawyers to be the best lawyer they can be. He also started a non-profit called There is a Light Foundation, that will give financial assistance and grants to individuals so they can get to the next level in their life.
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Tuesday Jun 15, 2021
Tuesday Jun 15, 2021
This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Chuck Clay of Pratt Clay LLC (https://www.prattclay.com/).
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Episode Details:
Georgia Super Lawyer Chuck Clay of Pratt Clay LLC shares his experience -- from a record-breaking verdict to an overturn on appeal -- representing construction crane operator Tyler Lee after his left leg was crushed on the job, resulting in an above-the-knee amputation. In September 2013, an effort to free a stuck auger on a Houston, Texas construction site caused a lattice-boom crane to collapse. A piece of the collapsing crane struck Tyler and crushed his leg. Trial lawyer Chuck Clay and his team asserted that Berkel & Co. Contractors Inc. violated standard safety practices in an attempt to save time and money and neglected to ensure that the 21-year-old crane operator was qualified. In 2015, a Brazoria County, Texas jury found Berkel & Co. Contractors Inc. as well as the business that owned the crane, Maxim Crane Works L.P., negligent and awarded plaintiff Tyler Lee and his family a record $43,943,006 million verdict, including $8.5 million in punitive damages against Berkel & Co. Contractors Inc. In 2017, the verdict -- the largest single leg amputee verdict in history -- was overturned on appeal due to the Texas Workers Compensation Act. Listen as Chuck Clay shares what this case taught him about hedging his bets, choosing when to settle and much more.
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Guest Bio:
Chuck Clay
Chuck Clay represents survivors of catastrophic injuries and the families of victims of fatal disasters and violent crimes.
He’s built a reputation for taking on cases with a narrow path to victory, overcoming complicated legal challenges, and boxing defendants into optimal settlement resolutions.
Always ready for a trial, Chuck has had jury trials across the country. The combination of personality, worth ethic, and fiercely competitive spirit is loved by clients and respected by nearly all. Chuck had record-setting jury awards in Georgia and Texas. As a zealous yet charismatic litigator, he has a knack for connecting with juries and communicating complex issues in plain language that produces extraordinary results.
Over the last several years, Chuck has accumulated an impressive string of multi-million dollar recoveries for victims and their spouses.
Chuck and his partner Bradley Pratt, enjoy a successful track record for handling complex product liability resolving complicated cases requiring highly specialized knowledge including product defect.
Before establishing a plaintiff’s firm in 2013, Chuck practiced corporate defense law for 14 years where he defended and mitigated hundreds of disputes on behalf of Fortune 500 companies, product manufacturers, insurers, and countless small firms and individuals.
Chuck has litigated cases in more than states, and he’s tried numerous multi-million dollar cases. Outside of his practice, Chuck is a frequent lecturer and author on topics such as distracted driving claims, handling catastrophic injury claims, dram shop liability, children’s products liability in Georgia and Nevada, jury trial strategy, deposition tactics and strategies, and premises liability claims.
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