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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 May 21, 2024
Tuesday May 21, 2024
This week, we’re replaying a classic episode where Steve and Yvonne interview Brian McKeen of McKeen and Associates, LP (https://www.mckeenassociates.com/).
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Case Details:
Detroit medical malpractice attorney Brian McKeen explains how he secured justice for a two-month-old boy who suffered brain damage resulting in cerebral palsy after William Beaumont Hospital technicians failed to act urgently. The baby turned blue after receiving an IV for an outpatient renal scan and was without oxygen for 12 minutes because nuclear medicine technicians neglected to immediately issue a "code blue" or to begin administering chest compressions. Despite the defense's attempts to convince the jury that the incident occurred due to pre-existing conditions, an Oakland County, Michigan jury returned a landmark $130.5 million verdict.
Guest Bio:
Brian McKeen
Brian McKeen began practicing law in 1982. During his career, he has become a powerful advocate for his clients and one of the foremost medical malpractice attorneys in Michigan. He has tried cases throughout the United States. He currently sits on the executive boards of the Michigan Association for Justice (MAJ) and the American Association for Justice (AAJ). Mr. McKeen formerly served as chair of the AAJ Professional Negligence Section, Medical Negligence Exchange Group, and Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG).
Since 2001, McKeen & Associates has generated the year's top verdict in Michigan four times, including securing the state's largest medical malpractice verdict on record in 2001, when a jury rendered a verdict award of $55 million in the case of Hall v Henry Ford Health System. McKeen & Associates also topped all Michigan verdict awards in 2002, with an award of $22.5 million in the case of Blazo v McLaren Regional Medical Center, et al; in 2006, with an award of $16 million in the case of Lowe v Henry Ford Health System; and in 2007, with an award of $35 million in the case of Oppenheim v Aeneas C. Guiney. Mr. McKeen was recently inducted into The Inner Circle of Advocates and named Top Attorneys in Michigan as published by The New York Times in September 2012.
Professional Associations and Memberships:
Inner Circle of Advocates - The Inner Circle of Advocates is an invitation-only group, limited to 100 lawyers of excellent character and integrity, representing people throughout the United States. To qualify, members must have tried at least 50 personal injury jury trials and at least three verdicts in excess of one million dollars or one verdict in excess of ten million dollars.
International Society of Primerus - Primerus is an international network of top-rated, independent law firms that have earned the right to display the Primerus seal of quality. Candidates for membership must have the maximum AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the peer review rating source that lawyers use to find other lawyers. Further, a law firm must submit to a rigorous evaluation, which includes candid assessments from judges, fellow attorneys, current and former clients, bar associations, and malpractice insurance carriers. Firms must also attest to their commitment to the exacting standards of the Six Pillars of Primerus Quality: Integrity, Excellent Work Product, Reasonable Fees, Continuing Legal Education, Civility, and Community Service. And it doesn't end there. Primerus firms are audited annually to ensure that they continue to be the "best of the best," year after year.
American Association for Justice (AAJ)- Chair of the Professional Negligence Section 2006 - 2008; Co-chair of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group (BTLG); Co-chair of the AAJ's Medical Negligence Exchange Group 2005 - 2007 (MNIEG); Board of Governors; Leaders Forum; Sustaining Member; National Finance Counsel; Litigation Group Coordination Committee; Executive Board.
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Tuesday May 07, 2024
Tuesday May 07, 2024
This week, Steve and Yvonne interview David Yarborough and William Applegate of Yarborough Applegate Law Firm, LLC (https://www.yarboroughapplegate.com/).
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Case Details:
Yarborough Applegate secured a landmark jury verdict against Amazon for $44.6 million, including $30 million in punitive damages, after a man was catastrophically injured in a motorcycle collision with an Amazon van on Orangeburg Road in Summerville, South Carolina. This distracted driving case marks the first time Amazon has tested with a jury the issue of whether the online retail and global logistics giant will be held responsible for injuries caused by one of its 285,000 Amazon Delivery Associates (drivers) it calls independent contractors.
Yarborough Applegate attorneys David Yarborough, Alexandra Heaton, and William Applegate, working alongside Nick Clekis of the Clekis Law Firm in Charleston, represented a motorcyclist who sustained a traumatic brain injury and numerous orthopedic injuries in September 2021 when an Amazon Delivery Associate failed to yield to the right of way and turned left directly into his path. We filed suit against the driver, the local delivery company MJV Logistics, and Amazon, Amazon Services, and Amazon Logistics Inc. Source.
Guest Bios:
David Yarborough
David has a history of achieving record-breaking jury verdicts and settlements for his clients. In December 2023, David and partners obtained a $44.6 million jury verdict against Amazon.com, Inc. in the first case to hold Amazon vicariously liable under an agency theory for the vicarious and negligent acts of its delivery drivers, whom Amazon claims are independent contractors. This was the largest personal injury verdict ever awarded in conservative Dorchester County and is believed to be one of the largest jury verdicts in South Carolina history in an injury case not involving death. Read more about this case here.
In October 2021, David achieved the largest dram shop verdict ever in Charleston County, South Carolina, for the sale of alcohol to minors by a Sunoco gas station. David and the firm also achieved one of the top 100 jury verdicts in the United States from their $35.9 million verdict against PEPCO in conservative Montgomery County, Maryland.
David has collected jury verdicts and settlements totaling hundreds of millions of dollars for his catastrophically injured clients in cases involving bad faith against insurance companies; industrial plant injuries resulting in worker deaths; product liability from automobile rollovers and industrial machine injuries; toxic chemical spills by railroad companies; pool drownings; trucking and auto accidents; nursing home and daycare negligence; dram shop and alcohol liability negligence by bars and restaurants; and negligence by retail stores, energy companies, apartment complexes, hotels, and construction contractors for job-site, balcony collapse and premises injuries.
He is a member of the Charleston Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), the South Carolina Association of Justice, the American Association for Justice, the Charleston County Bar’s Mental Wellness Committee, Lawyers Helping Lawyers, and the Board of Regents of TriCounty Family Ministries. For the past twenty-five years, David has been heavily involved in mentoring and counseling people suffering from alcoholism and addiction who are seeking recovery. He places a large emphasis on giving back to the local community through free legal work and generous financial and service contributions to local charities each year. He and his wife, Jessica, are Charleston natives and have four children.
Prior to founding Yarborough Applegate, David was a partner at another Charleston-based law firm, where he was part of a national trial team defending products liability cases in trials across the United States. His experience handling national litigation and having represented both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts around the country provides him with a varied perspective in discovery strategy, negotiations, and trial.
William Applegate
With nearly twenty years of experience in the courtroom, William is a seasoned trial lawyer with a track record of success. He has successfully litigated complex cases involving toxic torts, electrocutions, police negligence, medical negligence, and premises liability, representing clients suffering from the most severe catastrophic injuries. Beyond having had numerous trial victories, he has also achieved two record-breaking verdicts, been recognized by his peers as one of the top litigators in the state, won numerous awards as a leader in the law, and has been consistently given Martindale-Hubbell’s highest ranking as an AV lawyer.
Beyond his experience and hard work, he is a passionate advocate for his clients, who are defined by determination and perseverance. William understands that his clients, many of whom find themselves in desperate situations following serious trauma, such as the death of a loved one or experiencing life-altering injuries, are relying on him, and he takes this responsibility personally.
In 2014, William and his team represented 28-year-old paralyzed construction worker Hugo Hernandez against PEPCO (Potomac Energy and Power Company). After a two-week trial against PEPCO in Montgomery County, Maryland, the jury awarded Mr. Hernandez $35.9 million in damages in compensation for the overwhelming cost of Mr. Hernandez’s future medical care as a young, C4 paraplegic as well as for his pain and suffering and loss of income. This was the largest verdict in Montgomery County history and was one of the largest verdicts in American history for an undocumented worker.
In 2019, William represented an undocumented worker who was killed when electrocuted by a power line that was hidden by vegetation, which Dominion Energy had failed to maintain, and a jury returned a $21 million dollar verdict, the largest verdict in the history of Colleton County, SC.
In 2021, William represented a Claflin College student who suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of a car crash caused by a road construction defect. After a two-week trial, the jury returned a $13.1 million dollar verdict against the road contractor Archer Western and the Department of Transportation, also awarding punitive damages against Archer Western. In all three of these cases, William refused offers of millions of dollars to ensure his clients were fully compensated by a jury.
William was born in Charleston, SC, and with the exception of studying abroad to become fluent in Spanish, he has remained in SC his entire life. He is a graduate of the College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina School of Law. As a law student, he received the Public Interest Law Society Grant to work in Washington, D.C., served as vice-president of the Pro Bono Board, and was a student member of the John Belton O’Neal Inn of Court. Following law school, he served as law clerk to the Honorable James R. Barber, III, of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the State of South Carolina before starting in private practice with Motley Rice, one of the largest plaintiff’s firms in the country.
William has a deep commitment to South Carolina and is very involved in his community in Charleston. He serves on the board of the Historic Charleston Foundation and actively supports numerous charitable organizations, including One80 Place, in their fight against homelessness, Communities in Schools, the Coastal Conservation League, and the Southern Environmental Law Center.
William is a regular speaker at various legal conferences, is a member of the American Bar Association and Charleston County Bar Association, and is an active member of the South Carolina Association for Justice. When not working, William and his wife, Lydia, enjoy raising their two children in South Carolina.
Links:
Yarborough Applegate IG: @yarboroughapplegate
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Tuesday Apr 23, 2024
Tuesday Apr 23, 2024
This week, Steve and Yvonne interviewed Lee Hunt of Hunt Law Firm (https://huntlaw.com/).
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Case Details:
James Razo, age 55, suffered a spinal cord injury while working on Only the Brave, a movie about a group of elite hotshot firefighters filmed in 2016. Mr. Razo was transporting camera equipment, which tipped over, crushing him. He suffered a spinal cord injury, internal injuries, and brain damage.
Guest Bio:
Lee Hunt
You want to know more about your lawyer than whether he is capable of handling your case. By the end of the case, you and your lawyer better trust each other, know each and honestly care about each other. My belief is that to help a person in a legal crisis, I must know you as a person – not just another case.That means you should know more about me than where I went to school.
I am a husband. My wife Kristi is a native New Mexican who grew up on a cattle ranch in Roy, New Mexico. Her family settled the ranch back in the early 1940s and have raised cattle and kids there ever since.
I am a father. I have three wonderfully full of life children.
I am also a Christian. My faith and my belief in redemption is what drives me to do this work. I don’t think that you have to be a trial attorney to make the world better and to live in the likeness of Jesus, but it is what makes sense to me. If I can help people in crisis and be a calm witness in the midst of the storm, then maybe God can use that to His Glory.
I am also an athlete. I love to get away from everything with a hard run in early morning hours or a solitary bike ride.
I have raced the Hawaii Ironman twice and ran 100 miles at the Leadville Trail 100. I think balance in life is difficult to find, but even harder to get back aligned when out of whack. Trust me when I say, that I work as hard as anyone I know, but I will always find time for my family and for myself. In the end that time away makes me a better lawyer.
As a lawyer, I have always wanted to try difficult cases to juries. To be respected by the other side, they must know that we are willing to fight all the way to the end and get results in Court. Our track record at trial speaks to who we are and how far we are willing to go to make things right.
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Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
This week, we're replaying a classic episode where Steve and Yvonne interviewed Kyle Farrar and Wesley Ball of Farrar and Ball, LLP (http://fbtrial.com/).
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Case Details:
Farrar & Ball trial attorneys Kyle Farrar and Wesley Ball share how they secured justice for Shanika Brown and her infant daughter, who underwent arm and leg amputations, respectively, after being ejected from a car that hit a blown truck tire from a concrete mixer owned by Silvi Concrete on I-295 in New Jersey. The failed Bridgestone L315 tire, which was poorly retreaded by McCarthy Tire and negligently maintained by Silvi Concrete, was left in the roadway and caused the car Brown and her daughter were riding in to swerve and crash. Bridgestone, the original manufacturer of the tire, settled pre-trial. McCarthy Tire settled early in the trial and Silvi Concrete settled with the infant daughter before the case was presented to the jury. A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania jury ultimately assigned 85 percent of the blame to Silvi Concrete. It returned a verdict of $10.6 million to Shanika Brown and $65,000 to Shanika's mother, who was driving the vehicle. Combined with delay damages, the verdict totaled $11.7 million.
Guest Bios:
Kyle Farrar
Kyle Farrar is a veteran litigator with an active trial caseload in state and federal courts across the country. He has secured record jury verdicts and settlements on behalf of individuals injured by dangerous products and reckless and negligent parties. In addition, he has taken leading roles in high-profile multidistrict litigation (MDL) in cases involving dangerous and defective medical products.
Kyle began his career at one of the nation’s largest law firms, representing Fortune 500 companies in multimillion-dollar lawsuits. He founded his firm to focus on representing individuals who have suffered catastrophic injuries caused by tire blowouts, tread separation, and tire failure linked to defective tires and automotive products.
Kyle is a national thought leader regarding tire and vehicle safety, and his work has helped spur manufacturers to improve safety and recall defective products. In this capacity, Kyle routinely assists peers and helps educate lawyers at product liability litigation conferences nationwide. He is often asked to assist as trial counsel in cases and trials, having appeared in Courts in over twenty different states and trying cases to a successful outcome in ten different states.
Wesley Ball
In 2005 – three years after graduating from Baylor Law School – Wesley Todd Ball co-founded Farrar & Ball, LLP, and built it brick by brick to what it has become today. In 2013, the firm joined forces with Kaster & Lynch, LLP to create Kaster Lynch Farrar & Ball, LLP, one of the top product liability law firms in the nation.
Mr. Ball’s work is concentrated on automotive defect cases, including tire failures, rollover incidents, airbag failures, seat failures, fuel-fed fire cases, and related design and manufacturing defects. In addition, he has extensive experience handling major multiparty products liability litigation against virtually every major domestic and international vehicle manufacturer, tire company, and automotive component manufacturer in both state and federal court. As such, Mr. Ball has tried cases to successful outcomes in eight different states, including Texas, Kentucky, Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Minnesota, California, and New Mexico.
Mr. Ball has earned some of the highest honors in the legal profession, including being selected by peer attorneys to Texas Super Lawyers every year since 2014. From 2009 to 2014, he was one of a very small number of Texas lawyers to be recognized by Texas Super Lawyers and its companion Rising Stars publication simultaneously. The National Trial Lawyers organization has named him to its 40 under 40 and, most recently, among is National Top 100 Trial Lawyers. In 2017, Mr. Ball was elected to and currently serves on the Attorneys Information Exchange Group (AIEG) executive board, which focuses on obtaining successful outcomes in the product liability arena against mainly Fortune 100 companies.
Mr. Ball is a frequent media commentator on matters of product liability and other legal issues and has been featured in media outlets, including the Houston Chronicle, CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg, CBS, ABC, and others.
Over a career spanning nearly 20 years, Mr. Ball has taken dozens of cases to trial and earned multiple jury verdicts exceeding eight figures. Clients represented by Mr. Ball have collectively recovered more than $150 million in awards and settlements.
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Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
This week, Steve and Yvonne interviewed Matt Cook of Cook Law Group LLC (www.cook-lawgroup.com) and Shane Lazenby of Lazenby Law Group (lazlawgroup.com).
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Case Details:
On April 23, 2016, a fatal crash resulted in the loss of Taliah Freeman, a 32-year-old resident of Gainesville, GA, who lost her life in a devastating collision along Interstate 85 in Gwinnett County. Sandra Gallo, Freeman's mother, brought the case on behalf of her six-year-old son. The defendants in the case were C&T Durham Trucking Company of Greensboro, North Carolina, and ACE American Insurance Company. The case ended nearly eight years later, with a settlement totaling $10 million between the parties, with approximately 95% of the settlement amount going to Freeman's family. Source
Guest Bios:
Matt Cook
Matt grew up in Northeast Georgia, the son of a single mom. While he and his mother had very little worldly means, they had grit, determination and a commitment to decency and fairness. Matt’s upbringing gave him a healthy respect for hard work and for standing up for the underdog. Matt spent three years working in cotton mills and other manual labor jobs before graduating college and attending law school. After graduating law school, Matt joined a nationally renowned trial lawyer firm where he spent six years as an associate and five years as a partner handling a broad range of complex, catastrophic injury and death cases across the United States ranging from trucking collisions to product liability claims and everything in between. Matt is a frequent speaker at trial lawyer seminars, has published numerous articles, and has served as an expert witness in several cases. Matt is an aviation enthusiast and has his private pilot’s license. Matt’s unique style, genuine empathy, ability to relate to juries, and fearlessness have led to hundreds of millions of dollars of recoveries for clients. Matt has secured more than $225 million for clients in just the past 10 years.
Shane Lazenby
Shane Lazenby is the founder and managing member of Lazenby Law Group. After more than a decade of defending those accused of negligence in personal injury cases, Shane decided to reverse course and help the victims of serious injuries. With unparalleled compassion and limitless commitment, Shane quickly learned how much more rewarding and uplifting service as a victim’s advocate can be. Shane now focuses his practice on helping the victims of catastrophic personal injury and the families whose loved ones have passed as a result of the negligence of another.
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Tuesday Mar 12, 2024
Tuesday Mar 12, 2024
This week Steve and Yvonne interview Jude Basile of The Basile Law Firm (https://www.basilelaw.com/).
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Guest Bio:
Jude Basille
Jude first began practicing law in 1982. Over the years, he has earned numerous awards as a result of his fierce dedication to protecting families and people. Jude has been named Trial Lawyer of the Year four times, and Outstanding Trial Lawyer nine times by various trial lawyer organizations. He is the only lawyer between Los Angeles and San Francisco to be part of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates, a national invitation-only organization that includes only the 100 top plaintiff trial lawyers in the United States. In addition, he has earned the highest rating among his peers in the legal community while enjoying the friendship and gratitude of his clients.
Nothing gives him more satisfaction, however, than finding out and overcoming injustice in the form of abuse of power and corporate greed - a mission he began in childhood. Those who know Jude best will tell you he demonstrates a depth of intensity that even those who oppose him in the courtroom cannot deny. He is simply the very best at what he does, and believes in quality over quantity when it comes to caseload, spending time with his clients in order to better understand each unique situation.
Jude is an invited speaker and presenter at numerous State Bar Associations and invited to teach at various Trial Lawyer programs.
EDUCATION
- University of Notre Dame
- Edinboro University of Pennsylvania B.A. Social Science
- Indiana University of Pennsylvania M.S. Business
- Thomas Jefferson School of Law J.D. with honors
BAR ADMISSIONS
- US Supreme Court
- California 1982
- Georgia 1982 (inactive)
- US Federal Court
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Tuesday Feb 27, 2024
Tuesday Feb 27, 2024
This week, we’re replaying a classic episode where Steve and Yvonne interview Lee Hunt of The Hunt Law Firm (https://huntlaw.com/).
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Case Details:
Top 25 New Mexico Super Lawyers honoree Lee Hunt discusses how he secured justice for Eric and Luke Armstrong, two brothers who were hit by bullet fragments fired from neighboring hunters on Express Ranches, LLC’s Atmore Ranch. Their guide mistakenly told the hunters that their targets were between 240 and 250 yards away, causing them to aim high at the elk, which were actually only 160 yards away. While walking on the main road between Atmore Ranch and neighboring Ute Creek Ranch, Luke was hit in the mouth with a bullet fragment, which left him with permanent facial nerve damage and a numb limp. Eric had a bullet fragment lodged in his abdomen. A New Mexico jury found Express Ranches, LLC negligent for failing to adhere to safe hunting practices and awarded $5,256,000 in damages to the Armstrong brothers.
Guest Bio:
Lee Hunt
You want to know more about your lawyer than whether he is capable of handling your case. By the end of the case, you and your lawyer better trust each other, know each and honestly care about each other. I believe that to help a person in a legal crisis, I must know you as a person – not just another case. That means you should know more about me than where I went to school.
I am a husband. My wife Kristi is a native New Mexican who grew up on a cattle ranch in Roy, New Mexico. Her family settled on the ranch in the early 1940s and have raised cattle and kids there ever since.
I am a father. I have three wonderfully full-of-life children.
I am also a Christian. My faith and my belief in redemption is what drives me to do this work. I don’t think that you have to be a trial attorney to make the world better and to live in the likeness of Jesus, but it is what makes sense to me. If I can help people in crisis and be a calm witness in the midst of the storm, then maybe God can use that to His Glory.
I am also an athlete. I love getting away from everything with a hard run in the early morning or a solitary bike ride.
I have raced the Hawaii Ironman twice and ran 100 miles at the Leadville Trail 100. I think balance in life is challenging to find, but even harder to get back aligned when out of whack. Trust me when I say that I work as hard as anyone I know, but I will always find time for my family and myself. In the end, that time away made me a better lawyer.
As a lawyer, I have always wanted to try difficult cases to juries. To be respected by the other side, they must know that we are willing to fight all the way to the end and get results in Court. Our track record at trial speaks to who we are and how far we are willing to go to make things right.
Show Sponsors:
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Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
This week, we’re replaying a classic episode where Steve and Yvonne interview William Ricigliano of Ricigliano and Filopei, P.C. (www.rfinjurylaw.com).
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Case Details:
One of America’s Top 100 Attorneys, William Ricigliano shares how he secured justice for Jason Kowalsky, a Verizon technician in New York who was hit by a negligent driver in a Suffolk County Parks, Recreation & Conservation pickup truck. Jason was collecting safety cones and putting away his equipment when the driver struck him from behind with enough force to thrust him into the roadway and push his parked vehicle forward. Jason sustained damage to his knee and back, requiring surgery and a costly chronic pain management regimen. Despite the defense’s attempts to pin Jason’s back injury on pre-existing conditions, a Suffolk County, New York jury returned a $5,088,000 verdict.
Guest Bio:
William Ricigliano
William Ricigliano is the founding partner of Ricigliano & Filopei, P.C. with offices in Manhattan, the Bronx, and soon, West New York, New Jersey. Mr. Ricigliano founded the firm with the single goal of helping victims of catastrophic personal injury on both sides of the Hudson River. He has obtained significant verdicts in every borough of New York City, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk counties, and various counties in New Jersey. He has been named a Metro Area Super Lawyer every year since 2013 and has been named as one of America’s Top 100 Attorneys.
Mr. Ricigliano’s victories in the courtroom have provided the opportunity to focus his attention on various areas of specialty. A $3.775 million verdict in Suffolk County for an 8-year-old boy who suffered a traumatic brain injury and required a lifetime of medical care sparked Mr. Ricigliano’s devotion to victims of traumatic brain injury. Similarly, a $2.6 million settlement after three weeks of trial in Brooklyn influenced his work with clients suffering from complex regional pain disorder, a chronic pain condition caused by trauma.
Mr. Ricigliano has also dedicated his practice to representing construction workers who sustain life-altering injuries on the job. These hard-working men and women include carpenters, ironworkers, roofers, and industrial bridge painters, who typically cannot return to their former occupations.
A significant portion of his practice is also related to handling spinal injuries, including a 5 million verdict in Suffolk County in 2015 for a Verizon Technician who was struck by a Suffolk County Parks vehicle, was forced to undergo spinal surgery, and never returned to work. Mr. Ricigliano’s trial results have been included as the verdict of the year on multiple occasions.
Mr. Ricigliano graduated from Touro Law School in Huntington, New York, in 1994 in the top 20% of his class and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Cum Laude, in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts in 1989. He is a proud member of the North American Brain Injury Society, the American Association for Justice and is on the Board of Directors for Pink Concussions. Mr. Ricigliano has authored more than thirty legal articles and a legal book, Premises Liability Claims: A Guide to Defending Owners.
Facebook: facebook.com/rfinjurylaw
Instagram: @rfinjurylaw
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Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
This week Steve and Yvonne interview Jordan Strokovsky of Strokovsky LLC (https://actionafterinjury.com/).
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Case Details:
Jordan won his client a $30 million recovery against Temple University Hospital in one of the largest medical malpractice cases in Pennsylvania's history. Despite the hospital's denial of wrongdoing, Jordan refused their offer of $3 million and prepared tirelessly for court to ensure a just outcome for his client. The hospital admitted fault and the jury awarded $25.9M to Jordan's Mr. Parks ($6M for future medical costs and $20M for pain and suffering) after a comprehensive investigation and a hard-fought trial.
The hospital hired three law firms in an attempt to overturn the verdict and offered a settlement less than the awarded amount. Jordan's client refused to settle, and Jordan won every argument against the big firms. The court refused the hospital's request to reduce the verdict, and $3.7 million in delay damages were added. The total recovery now exceeds $30 million, including over $600,000 in interest. No appeal was filed.
Guest Bio:
Jordan Strokovsky
Jordan Strokovsky is a trial lawyer serving the catastrophically injured in a diverse range of cases, including medical malpractice, birth injury, truck accidents, fires, explosions, plane crashes, premises liability, product liability, workplace injuries, toxic torts, civil rights, car accidents, and sexual assault.
His hard work ethic, integrity, and compassion earn him the trust of his clients and the respect of his opponents. These attributes have also helped him obtain significant verdicts and settlements. For good reason, many lawyers refer or seek to co-counsel their serious injury and wrongful death cases with Jordan.
Jordan handles countless catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases and routinely handles cases pro bono to help his community. His volunteer work includes taking a civil rights case to verdict with the Volunteer Attorney Panel of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, representing victims of sexual abuse with the Support Center for Child Advocates, and successfully handling various cases from Philadelphia VIP. He has been recognized by the court for his service and was a featured volunteer by Philadelphia VIP.
As an animal lover and dog owner, Jordan has also championed animal rights causes, helping establish that pets should not be viewed as property under the law.
He also serves on the Pennsylvania Association for Justice Board of Directors and has previously served on boards for non-profits that help animals, homeless people, and refugees.
Jordan is the former co-chair of the State Civil Litigation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association and was proud to help implement town halls at the start of the pandemic, which allowed the court and legal community to communicate during those uncertain times. He now co-chairs both the Civil Rules and Wellness Committees at the bar association. Jordan has served as an adjunct law school professor and occasionally speaks at seminars to other personal injury lawyers. He is also regularly asked by news outlets to provide legal commentary.
Jordan graduated from Widener University Delaware Law School as Valedictorian of his class, where several of his professors would comment that his academic performance and mind for the law were among the most impressive they had ever seen. While in school, he interned with three Philadelphia judges: the Honorable M. Faith Angell (E.D. Pa), the Honorable Arnold L. New (Common Pleas), and the Honorable Paul P. Panepinto (Common Pleas) and used these internships as opportunities to get in the courtroom and watch many trials. He was also a member of the Law Review. After his commencement speech at graduation, the Governor of Delaware declared that he would never want to follow Jordan in speaking again.
While practicing law full-time, Jordan obtained a Master of Law in Trial Advocacy at the nationally renowned Temple University Beasley School of Law LL.M. Program in the Spring of 2018, where he received special recognition from the faculty for his trial performances and was a jury favorite—earning the highest scores from the jury at his showcase trial.
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Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
This week, we’re replaying a classic episode where Steve and Yvonne interview Dan Blouin and Jim Kramer of Simmons, Hanly, Conroy (https://www.simmonsfirm.com/).
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Case Details:
Accomplished mesothelioma and asbestos attorneys Dan Blouin and Jim Kramer explain how they secured justice for the family of laborer Pietro Macaluso, who died from mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos dust while servicing and removing boilers. Despite the fact they knew it was hazardous, three boiler manufacturers used asbestos-filled insulation, cement, gaskets, tape and wire in their equipment and failed to warn workers like Pietro of potential health hazards or to offer safe handling methods. A New York City jury found the three manufacturers negligent and assigned 25 percent of the blame for Pietro's wrongful death to each company, along with smaller percentages to seven other manufacturers. The jury awarded a $60 million verdict, including 21 years of compensation to Pietro's son and daughter.
Guest Bios:
Dan Blouin
Attorney Daniel Patrick Blouin is a shareholder at Simmons Hanly Conroy in the asbestos litigation department. Based in the firm’s New York office, Daniel has secured hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of clients diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma and lung cancer. In his frequent role as lead trial-attorney and co-counsel, he has litigated against numerous national corporations involved in the manufacture and sale of dangerous products and equipment. He involves himself with every aspect of the litigation process, from client intake to discovery, to motion practice through trial verdict, keeping his clients’ needs and rights foremost in his priorities.
In 2013, Daniel obtained a $190 million verdict on behalf of two tradesmen who developed mesothelioma decades after their occupational exposure to asbestos. The verdict was the largest consolidated asbestos verdict in New York history. In addition, the $60 million the two cancer patients received ranked among the largest individual damages awarded in a New York asbestos case. In 2014 and 2015, Daniel had unprecedented successes at trial in Delaware, New York City and Upstate New York. He obtained excellent settlements for clients before and during trial and won a jury verdict in a very contentious case in Syracuse, New York. In 2018, Daniel and fellow shareholder Jim Kramer secured a $60 million verdict in New York City against boiler manufacturers A.O Smith, Burnham, LLC, and Peerless Industries, Inc. This historic verdict, secured on behalf of a former laborer, marks one of the highest verdicts for an individual with mesothelioma ever received in New York. Later that year, Daniel and Jim secured a $40.1 million verdict against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. on behalf of a United States war veteran and former naval boiler tender suffering from pleural mesothelioma. This verdict is considered one of the largest compensatory verdicts in New York State.
Daniel is a recognized member of the renowned National Trial Lawyers “Top 40 under 40” for 2014 and 2015. Also in 2014 and 2015, the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys named him a winner of its “Top Ten Under 40” award and is a member of the American Bar Association and the New York Bar Association.
Jim Kramer
Attorney Jim Kramer is a shareholder at Simmons Hanly Conroy. He joined the firm in 2017 an accomplished trial attorney, having secured more than $35 million in verdicts for his clients. Jim focuses his practice on complex toxic tort litigation with a specialization in mesothelioma- and asbestos-related cases. His responsibilities include managing cases from inception through trial.
Jim knew from a young age that he wanted to be an attorney and devote his life to fighting on behalf of those who had been wronged by others.
“I have always been attracted to professions that allow people to help others in need,” he said. “Being a trial attorney allows me to do that. I truly consider myself a zealous advocate, one who genuinely enjoys fighting for those need a voice in their most difficult times.”
Jim brings this passion to every case he tries. One of the most important things to him in an attorney-client relationship is the personal connection forged between the two.
“I pride myself on my ability to form strong connections with my clients,” he said. “I understand that being involved in a legal case is not ideal, especially at such a rough time in their lives. It’s important to me that clients know that I am there for them at any time on any day. In my opinion, being an effective advocate doesn’t end with merely hearing about the facts of a client’s case. Being able to relate and connect with human beings who need their stories to be told is the most fundamental part of our profession. Even when my representation ends, I find that the bond I form with clients continues.”
Jim’s devotion to his clients is mirrored by the attention he gives to the details of each case.
“I always view every case from the perspective of a possible trial – what facts need to be brought out, where exposures might have occurred, and what legal outcomes we can anticipate and prepare for right from the start,” he said. “I genuinely enjoy the research and preparation that goes into making sure that a legal argument or trial will go as well as it can.”
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