June 2008 – Sarah Vazquez obtained final summary judgment in a premise liability case in Martin County where the Plaintiff alleged that the Defendant, a general contractor performing road work in the area in question, negligently maintained the sidewalk on which Plaintiff alleges she fell. The Defendant countered that they did not owe a duty to Plaintiff to maintain the sidewalk as they did not own, possess or control the premises. The judge agreed there was no genuine issue of material fact and entered final summary judgment on those grounds.

June 2008 - J.P. Goshgarian obtained a final summary judgment on behalf of a defendant in a premises liability action. The plaintiff claimed shoulder and spine injuries following a bicycle accident caused by a broken sidewalk slab abutting the defendant's premises. Medical bills exceeded $12,000.00. The summary judgment was granted on the grounds that the evidence established that the defendant owed no duty to the plaintiff to maintain the sidewalk or warn of its alleged dangerous condition.

April 2008 – Ted Mortell obtained a defense verdict in a jury trial involving an automobile accident which occurred in Vero Beach. The judge bifurcated the trial and the issue of liability was presented to the jury, who returned a verdict for the Defendant.

April 2008 – Bart Cozad obtained a successful verdict in a jury trial involving an auto accident in Palm Beach County, Florida. The defendant admitted responsibility for rear-end multiple car collision and the case was tried on damages only. Plaintiff claimed lumbar herniated disc, radiculopathy and a fractured tooth and ultimately had a percutaneous discectomy almost five years after the accident. The total medicals presented to the jury were $71,316. The evidence showed plaintiff was involved in an intervening auto accident and we argued that the vast majority of the medical bills and need for surgery was attributable to the second accident. The jury agreed and awarded the exact amount of past medicals defense counsel suggested together with a nominal amount of past non-economic damages. Plaintiff requested $206,000 and the gross jury verdict before set off was $13,264 which was less than a settlement offer that had been on the table for two years.

March 2008 – Brian Russell obtained a summary judgment in favor of a pain management physician in a medical malpractice case in Martin County, Florida. The Plaintiff alleged that the defendant doctor used improper medications during facet blocks in the lower back and failed to perform a prompt evaluation following the procedure which resulted in the Plaintiff falling and fracturing her right leg. The presiding judge agreed with the defense that, as a matter of law, the pain management physician was not negligent, nor did he cause any injury to the patient.

February 2008 – Bart Cozad obtained a defense verdict in a jury trial involving a bicycle-automobile collision in Palm Beach County, Florida. Plaintiff bicyclist claimed that Defendant was driving too fast for conditions and failed to take appropriate evasive action after he saw the bike. The evidence showed that it was the plaintiff who ran a red light, causing the accident and the jury agreed. The case had been bifurcated and was tried on liability only. This was a significant win because the past economic damages far exceeded the available insurance coverage.

November 2007 - Edwin “Ted” Mortell and James Morrison obtained final summary judgment on behalf of a defendant in a malicious prosecution and negligence action after over seven years of litigation. The case involved an alleged altercation in Palm Beach when the defendant confronted the plaintiff in defendant’s neighbor’s vacant home. The Plaintiff, a real estate attorney, allegedly went onto the property without authority to obtain the name of the owner in order to deny the Defendant, a real estate agent, a commission on the vacant home. The Plaintiff was subsequently charged with trespass, petit theft, and battery. After the Plaintiff was found not guilty on all counts in the criminal trial, he sued the Defendant for malicious prosecution and negligence. The Court determined the plaintiff could not maintain an action for malicious prosecution, as the elements of probable cause were present, and the Defendant was not a legal cause of the criminal prosecution. As to the negligence claim, the Court agreed that the Defendant did not owe any legal duty of care to the Plaintiff arising out of the encounter. The Defendant’s motion for attorney’s fees and costs is pending.

November 2007 - Jerome Silverberg obtained a Defense Verdict on behalf of a physician in a wrongful death suit. This case involved a patient who was admitted by the Defendant physician for treatment of suspected deep vein thrombosis. The Defendant physician entered orders for complete bed rest. However, the patient was provided bathroom privileges with assistance and sustained a fractured ankle from a fall resulting in a deterioration of the patient's underlying medical condition and subsequent death. It was alleged that the Defendant physician failed to take appropriate precautions, failed to recognize that his orders were not being followed that led to the fall, and failed to follow the patient in the rehabilitation facility to which Defendant physician had admitted Plaintiff. The defense was able to establish that Defendant physician rendered standard of care orders upon admission to the hospital and that he did, in fact, see and evaluate the Plaintiff in a timely manner at the rehabilitation facility. Further, the defense established that the subsequent deterioration and death of the Plaintiff was unrelated to the injury sustained.

November 2007 – Brian Russell successfully defended a bariatric surgeon in a medical malpractice case in Palm Beach County, Florida wherein the Plaintiffs chose to voluntarily dismiss their case after 2 ½ years of litigation. The case involved allegations that the defendant surgeon mismanaged the Plaintiff’s care following bariatric surgery which led to the onset of Guillian-Barre syndrome. The defense focused on the lack of a causal link between bariatric surgery and Guillian-Barre syndrome.

October 2007 - Jerome Silverberg obtained a Summary Judgment in favor of a physician in a medical malpractice case in Broward County, Florida. The Plaintiff was a participant in an HMO that required all in-hospital treatment to be provided by a hospitalist authorized by the HMO. The HMO contracted with a Group to provide hospitalists to render care to all in-hospital patients. This Group, in turn, contracted with the Defendant physician to provide hospital care to HMO patients such as the Plaintiff. The Defendant physician entered into a verbal agreement with a covering Co-Defendant physician to provide medical care and/or treatment to HMO patients admitted to the hospital. It was alleged that the Plaintiff presented to the hospital with acute lower limb ischemia that was not timely treated by the covering Co-Defendant physician resulting in loss of Plaintiff's leg. It was further alleged that the contract between the Group and the Defendant physician constituted a non-delegable duty, and therefore, the covering Defendant physician was an agent of Defendant physician thereby making the Co-Defendant physician vicarious liable for the acts of the covering Co-Defendant physician.
Cross Motions for Summary Judgment were filed and the defense of the Defendant physician successfully asserted that the non-delegable duty doctrine did not apply to these facts and that the covering Co-Defendant physician was an independent contractor and that vicarious liability could not be imputed to Defendant physician.

October 2007 - Following Heather Rogers Barrow’s filing of a Motion for Sanctions, the plaintiff elected to file a voluntary dismissal in a significant personal injury suit involving a claim of a paralyzed diaphragm.

October 2007 – Brian Russell obtained a summary judgment in favor of a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) in a medical malpractice case in Palm Beach County, Florida. The Plaintiff alleged that the CRNA failed to timely recognize and treat severe hypotension and anemia during cardiac bypass surgery which caused the Plaintiff to develop bilateral ischemic optic neuropathy. The presiding judge agreed with the defense that, as a matter of law, the defendant CRNA was not negligent, nor did he cause any injury to the patient.

September 2007 - Jerome Silverberg obtained a Final Summary Judgment on behalf of a physician in a wrongful death action. The case involved a Plaintiff who was admitted to the hospital for blunt trauma to the chest following a fall from a tree which caused a pulmonary contusion and subcutaneous emphysema. Admitting diagnosis was multiple fractured ribs and pneumothorax. Following two hypotensive episodes following placement of epidural catheters, the Plaintiff was diagnosed with bloody fluid in the chest requiring a chest tube. The Plaintiff's condition deteriorated resulting in the death of the Plaintiff. It was alleged that there was a failure to timely diagnose and treat the hemothorax and perform diagnostic bronchoscopy to obtain a definitive diagnosis. The defense successfully established through the Plaintiff's experts that the care and treatment rendered by the Defendant physician was within the standard of care and did not cause, or contribute to cause, the death of the Plaintiff.

September 2007 – Sarah Vazquez obtained a voluntary dismissal for her client in a gas leak case venued in St. Lucie County. Plaintiff, a utilities company, claimed that the Defendant company improperly buried cable in a residential area, which resulted in a severed gas line and substantial loss of profits. The defense was predicated upon the theory that Defendant did not lay the type of cable which allegedly caused the gas leak.

August 2007 – Shelli Healy prevailed on a Motion to Dismiss, in part, on behalf of a rental car company pursuant to the Federal Transportation Equity Act. Plaintiffs sued the rental car company under a theory of vicarious liability for significant injuries sustained in a May 2007 motor vehicle accident. The Court granted Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, limiting Plaintiffs’ claimed damages to $10,000/$20,000 pursuant to Fla. Stat. 324.021(7).

June 2007 – Brian Russell prevailed on an appeal before the Fourth District Court of Appeal where the Court upheld a defense verdict from a medical malpractice case in Palm Beach County, Florida.  The appeal resulted from a six week jury trial in April of 2005 where Dennis Vandenberg and Brian Russell successfully defended an anesthesiologist.  The case involved a patient that had undergone back surgery which included a fusion and an autologous bone graft.  During the bone graft, an artery was nicked which caused an internal bleed.  The patient alleged that the defendant doctors and hospital failed to timely recognize and treat the bleed which eventually resulted in bilateral foot drop and an alleged brain injury.  The jury deliberated for approximately two hours before returning a verdict in favor of all defendants.

June 2007 – Dennis Vandenberg and Brian Russell successfully defended an anesthesiologist in a medical malpractice case in Palm Beach County, Florida wherein the Plaintiff chose to voluntarily dismiss his case on the even of trial and after 2 years of litigation.   The case involved allegations that the anesthesiologist administered and/or allowed the patient to be given a medication that she was allergic to during a transforaminal epidural steroid injection.  The patient died from a severe anaphylactic reaction shortly after the epidural injection.  The defense established that there was no plausible evidence that the anesthesiologist gave the medication that triggered the anaphylactic reaction.

May 2007 – Dennis Vandenberg and Brian Russell successfully defended an anesthesiologist and a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) in a medical malpractice case in Palm Beach County, Florida wherein the Plaintiffs chose to voluntarily dismiss their case after 2 ½ years of litigation. The patient had been hospitalized following an automobile accident wherein he fractured his neck and wrist. Following surgery to repair his wrist, the patient’s condition began to deteriorate and the Plaintiffs alleged that there was a failure to timely secure the patient’s airway via a blind nasal intubation which resulted in a hypoxic brain injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and resulting cognitive and physical impairment. The defense was able to establish that the cause of the patient’s brain injury was most likely the result of a vertebral artery dissection that occurred around the time of the automobile accident.

April 2007 – Jerome Silverberg obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a physician in a wrongful death suit. The case alleged that there was a failure to adequately and timely treat the patient with a nasogastric tube following resection of a colorectal cancer. The defense was able to establish that the patient died form a mesenteric celiac axis artery embolus which could not have been timely diagnosed or treated.

April 2007 – Jerome Silverberg obtained a voluntary dismissal on behalf of an infection disease physician. The case involved a patient who developed a post-knee joint replacement infection requiring long term antibiotic suppressive therapy. The patient required a second prosthetic knee replacement and it was alleged that there was a failure to institute an antibiotic holiday leading to chronic infection and above-the-knee amputation. The defense was predicated on the argument that the patient was going to be on long term antibiotic suppression and that there was a lack of sufficient authority upon which to base plaintiff’s theory of an antibiotic holiday.

March 2007 - Brian Russell successfully defended a developer of high rise condominiums in a general liability case in Palm Beach County, Florida wherein the Plaintiff chose to voluntarily dismiss her case on the eve of trial and after more than 1 year of litigation.   The case involved allegations that the developer negligently constructed an area of a condominium tower which caused the Plaintiff to fall and suffer a comminuted fracture of her proximal humerus and back injuries.

January 2007- J.P. Goshgarian obtained a final summary judgment on behalf of a defendant who filed a cross-claim for contractual indemnification against a co-defendant. The main action arose out of a motor vehicle accident on the I-95 expansion project.  The defendant, a consultant on the project, and several construction/engineering firms were sued by the plaintiffs.  Following resolution of the main action, the defendant continued with prosecution of its cross-claim for contractual indemnification seeking damages, including attorney's fees the defendant incurred when forced to defend itself in the main action after its demand for indemnity was rejected.  After summary judgment was granted, the co-defendant settled and has agreed to pay $75,000.00 to the defendant/consultant.

December 2006 –  Sarah Vazquez obtained a voluntary dismissal on behalf of her client under threat of a motion to dismiss due to fraud upon the court, after receiving testimony from Plaintiff's former employer that the Plaintiff removed evidence of disciplinary action from her personnel file. Plaintiff alleged injuries which ultimately resulted in surgery to her neck.

November 2006 – Jerome Silverberg and Dennis Vandenberg obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a family physician after a 5 day jury trial in Lee County, Florida.  The case involved an alleged failure to diagnose breast cancer.  The testimony focused on the self-reported history given by the patient to the defendant doctor during one office visit and as corroborated by two witnesses.  At the time of trial, the plaintiff had Stage IV breast cancer.

October 2006 – Jerome Silverberg obtained a directed verdict on behalf of physician in a wrongful death suit.  The case involved a 67 year old patient who underwent a 10 hour surgery and subsequently developed a venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism resulting in her death. The Court concluded that there was no evidence “but for” the negligence of the defendant, the decedent would have, with probability, survived.

October 2006 – Jerome Silverberg obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a physician and medical facility provider in a wrongful death suit.  The case involved a patient with a long standing history of coronary heart disease. The patient underwent a percutaneous rotational angioplasty when the Rotablator  system failed resulting in the fracture of the burr. This necessitated an open-heart procedure with a bypass graft.  Subsequently, the patient died. The defense was predicated on the risk and complication of the procedure and the failure of the device.

September 2006 – Brian Russell obtained a favorable opinion from a probate judge in Broward County, Florida relating to a contingent claim for attorney’s fees and costs in a multiparty, wrongful death case.  After various filings in the trial and probate courts, the probate judge acknowledged that the defendant radiologist had a valid, albeit contingent claim, for possible post trial attorney’s fees and costs per an unaccepted proposal for settlement.  Since he found that the defendant had what he considered to be a valid claim, the probate judge ruled that he would set aside portions of any future settlements in the wrongful death case to satisfy the defendant’s contingent post trial claim for attorney’s fees and costs.

August 2006 – Dennis Vandenberg obtained a defense verdict in a dental malpractice after a 5 day jury trial in Broward County, Florida.  The Plaintiff alleged that the Defendant dentist failed to timely diagnose an ameloblastoma and failed to refer the patient to an oral surgeon for treatment.  The Plaintiff eventually underwent jaw surgery to remove the tumor and reconstruction of the jaw.  As a result, the Plaintiff experienced a nerve injury which affected facial symmetry and compromised everyday jaw functions.  The jury deliberated for 90 minutes before returning a verdict on behalf of the Defendant.

August 2006 – Bart Cozad obtained a final dismissal with prejudicefor lack of prosecution by the plaintiff despite his claim that the failure to prosecute the case was due to medical conditions.  This was a serious injury case in which the plaintiff incurred over $100,000 in medical bills.

July 2006 – Dennis Vandenberg and Brian Russell successfully defended an anesthesiologist in a medical malpractice case in Palm Beach County, Florida wherein the Plaintiffs chose to voluntarily dismiss their case one the eve of trial and after 2 years of litigation.  The case involved an alleged perforation to the Plaintiff’s left eye during a retrobulbar anesthetic block which resulted in a hemorrhagic choroidal detachment and eventual blindness.  Based on careful review of pre-operative ultrasounds, the defense successfully demonstrated that the hemorrhagic choroidal detachment actually began 2 days prior to the administration of the retrobulbar anesthetic block.

June 2006 - Shelli Healy obtained a final summary judgment on behalf of a landlord in a premises liability incident that occurred on September 22, 2000.  Plaintiff alleged that while he was renting the home owned by the defendant, a fan fell from the ceiling without warning, striking plaintiff in his neck and back.  The ceiling fan was installed by a former tenant without the landlord’s knowledge or consent.  Plaintiff occupied the premises for nearly seven months prior the incident and operated the ceiling fan on a daily basis and never noticed any problems with the fan.  The defendant/landlord moved for final summary judgment since Plaintiff failed to provide any evidence that he had actual or constructive knowledge of the alleged dangerous condition.

June 2006 –  J.P. Goshgarian obtained a final summary judgment  on behalf of a defendant in a premises liability action. The plaintiff fractured her ankle when she tripped and fell on a sidewalk abutting the defendant’s home. The injury required two surgeries. The plaintiff demanded $300,000.00.  The summary judgment was granted on the grounds that the evidence established that the defendant owed no duty to the plaintiff to maintain the sidewalk or warn of its alleged dangerous condition.  Costs were also awarded in the amount of $2,800.00.

June 2006 – Dennis Vandenberg successfully defended an anesthesiologist in a medical malpractice case in Hillsborough County, Florida wherein the Plaintiffs chose to voluntarily dismiss their case against the Defendant anesthesiologist on the eve of trial and after more than 1 ½ years of litigation.  The case involved an alleged nerve injury and resulting brachial plexopathy caused by an interscalene anesthetic block before a shoulder surgery.

May 2006 – Brian Russell successfully collected attorney’s fees and costs from a Plaintiff in a medical malpractice in Palm Beach County, Florida.  In June of 2005, Dennis Vandenberg and Brian Russell obtained a defense verdict after a two week jury trial in which the Plaintiff alleged that the Defendant certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) failed to properly intubate the Plaintiff during an emergency surgery to remove a small bowel obstruction.  The Plaintiff aspirated gastric content and developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and alleged cognitive and physical impairment.  After dropping his appeal in March of 2006, the Plaintiff paid attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the defense from approximately 1 year before trial through verdict.

March 2006 – Brian Russell obtained a summary judgment in favor of an anesthesiologist in a medical malpractice case in Palm Beach County, Florida.  The Plaintiff underwent a partial nephrectomy and suffered severe post-operative complications, including the development of a retroperitoneal bleed and bleeding from the carotid artery and subclavian vein.  The Plaintiff alleged that that the defendant doctor failed to timely recognize the post-operative complications.  The presiding judge agreed with the defense that, as a matter of law, the defendant doctor was not negligent, nor did he cause any injury to the patient.

April 2006 – Jerome Silverberg obtained a defense decision in Arbitration which was subsequently voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on behalf of a physician in wrongful death action who died as a result of a myocardial infarction.  It was alleged that the physician failed to appreciate that the patient had an MI and/or impending MI and did not order a cardiology consult on a STAT basis. Before the cardiologist could evaluate the patient, the patient died of an MI.

April 2006 – Jerome Silverberg obtained a voluntary dismissal in favor of a physician in a wrongful death case involving  treatment of a long standing patient regarding an allegation that there was a failure to timely diagnose colon cancer that resulted in death. The defense was able to establish that the physician had timely and appropriately referred the patient to a gastroenterologist for a diagnostic colonoscopy. 

February 2006 – Jerome Silverberg obtained a defense verdict in favor of a physician in a matter involving a 78 year old male patient with a history of coronary artery disease and prior coronary artery bypass graft surgery with atrial fibrillation.  The defense was predicated on the nature of the procedure and that the injury was a risk and complication.

December 2005 – Jerome Silverberg obtained a final judgment of dismissal on behalf of a physician in a claim involving a 37 year old patient with a history of insulin-dependent diabetes. The patient presented to the North Broward Medical Emergency room with complaints of a five-day history of weakness, dizziness/lightheadedness. She was evaluated by the defendant and was given insulin and IV fluids, discharged home in improved stable condition. The patient returned to the emergency room the following day with a small vessel CVA resulting in left-sided weakness and slurred speech. Damages were claimed for permanent neurological impairment and disability.

October 2005 – Sarah Vazquez obtained a voluntary dismissal on behalf  of her client in a case where the plaintiff alleged that the defendant negligently installed a heater in their home, which subsequently burned to the ground. The dismissal was predicated under a threat of a 57.105 motion, based upon sworn testimony from the fire inspector regarding the origin of the fire.

September 2005 - Eric Peterson and Shelli Healy obtained a final summary judgment on behalf of an employer in a wrongful death action arising out of a work related accident. The employee was killed on a job site when a road grader backed over him.  Plaintiff’s estate argued that the employer had engaged in conduct that was substantially certain to result in injury or death based upon a non-functioning back up alarm on the grader.  The  motion for final summary judgment predicated upon workers compensation immunity  pursuant to Fla. Stat. 440.11. The plaintiff appealed the court’s ruling to the 4th DCA where the trial court’s ruling was affirmed.

September 2005 - Shelli Healy obtained a final summary judgment on behalf of a popular restaurant against plaintiff’s claim that she developed food poisoning from a meal she ate on January 10, 2003.  Plaintiff was unable to demonstrate that her injuries were caused by the meal.

August 2005 - Bart Cozad obtained a final summary judgment in a case where the plaintiff brought a personal injury claim following a trip and fall on a sidewalk under construction by defendant/construction company. 

August 2005 - Eric Peterson and Shelli Healy obtained a final summary judgment on behalf of a defendant in a third party action for contribution.  Plaintiff, an employee of the defendant was seriously injured on July 31, 2001 when the tractor he was operating was struck by a golf cart. The plaintiff was thrown from the tractor and was then run over by the tractor.  The owner and the driver of the golf cart both  filed a third party complaint against the defendant alleging that it engaged in conduct that was substantially certain to result in injury or death since the tractor was not equipped with a seatbelt.  The defendant’s motion  for final summary judgment was predicated upon workers compensation immunity under Fla. Stat. 440.11. 

June 2005 - Dennis Vandenberg and Brian Russell obtained a defense verdict after a two week jury trial in Palm Beach County, Florida.  The plaintiff alleged that the Defendant certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) failed to properly intubate the plaintiff during an emergency surgery to treat a small bowel obstruction.  The plaintiff aspirated gastric content and developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and alleged cognitive and physical impairment.  The jury found that there was no negligence on the part of the CRNA that was a legal cause of injury or damage to the plaintiff.

May 2005 –  Bart Cozad obtained a final summary judgment on behalf of a defendant in a premises case involving a fall from a swing which was permanently affixed to the defendant’s house. The defendant had rented the property out and summary judgment was granted on the basis that he owed no duty to the plaintiff because the renter had installed the swing and there was no notice of a dangerous condition.

April 2005 – Dennis Vandenberg and Brian Russell obtained a defense verdict on behalf of an anesthesiologist after a six week jury trial in Palm Beach County, Florida.  The plaintiff had undergone back surgery which included a fusion and an autologous bone graft.  During the bone graft, an artery was nicked which caused an internal bleed.  The plaintiff alleged that the defendant doctors and hospital failed to timely recognize and treat the bleed which eventually resulted in bilateral foot drop and an alleged brain injury.  The jury deliberated for approximately two hours before returning a verdict in favor of all defendants.

November 2004 - Eric Peterson and Shelli Healy obtained a final summary judgment on behalf of  the owner of a tractor-trailer in a wrongful death action brought by the decedents estate against the owner for vicarious liability under Florida’s Dangerous Instrumentality Doctrine.  Plaintiff was killed instantly when her vehicle was struck from behind by the tractor-trailer owned by the defendant.  The tractor-trailer was driven by an employee of the co-defendant company that leased the tractor-trailer from the owner.  The owner moved for final summary judgment arguing that it was exempt from liability as the owner of the tractor-trailer pursuant to Fla. Stat. 324.021(9)(b)(1).  This statute relieves an owner/lessor from liability under Florida’s Dangerous Instrumentality Doctrine so long as the lease term is for one year or longer and the lessee maintains liability insurance that provides coverage limits not less than the limits set forth in the statute.  The trial court entered final summary judgment in favor of the owner and plaintiff appealed the ruling to the 4th DCA where the ruling was affirmed.  The case proceeded to trial against the co-defendants and the jury awarded over $12,000,000 in damages.