Case Results

Verdicts

Case Results — our past record of recovering large jury verdicts and settlements on behalf of our clients. Whether it’s in the courtroom or out, proven past experience counts.

This is a partial list of verdicts obtained for our clients over the last forty years…*

$1,200,000 – Jury verdict for a welder who sustained burns to over 50% of his body when a tank exploded spewing acid onto his body. Sowell v. American Cyanamid, U. S. District Court, Pensacola, FL Case No. 84-4463-RV

$56,001 – Verdict. Resmondo v. Mason and Erickson, Santa Rosa Co. Circuit Court Case No. 83-C-364

$1,500,000 – Jury verdict in a medical negligence action where the physician installed a prosthetic patella femoral joint in an upside down position. Sewell v. Flynn, 459 So. 2d 372 (Fla. App. 1 Dist. 1984)

$35,000 – Verdict. Brenita Price v. General Electric Co., et. al., Escambia Co. Circuit Court Case No. 82-3967

$250,000 – Verdict. Wynn v. Division of Corrections, Escambia Co. Circuit Court Case No. 80-1960

$650,000 – Ball, et al. v. First Floridian Auto and Home insurance Co., Car Accident, Personal Injury, 2017

$5,000,000 – Jury verdict in a products liability action against a crane manufacturer awarded to a man who was badly injured in a crane accident. The crane operator was working with a ground crew to attach a four-part line to a heavy load. The operator inadvertently moved the crane boom out far enough to break a single line holding a large hook and ball (“headache ball”) that was pulled up out of the way. The “headache ball’ fell and struck our client. This is a well-known crane hazard called “two-blocking”. The defendant crane company had developed an anti-two-blocking device, but made it an extra cost option. The defendant in the case made only a modest pre-trial offer, relying on its defense that the operator and our injured client were both at fault. This case prompted a worldwide change in the crane industry. Sidner v. Harnischfeger, Escambia Co. Circuit Court Case No. 82-50

$500,000 – Verdict in a product liability case where the defense never made a pre-trial settlement offer. The decedent, who was killed when he fell from a ladder, was the only one present when the ladder was being used and thus, there were no witnesses to his fall. After the trial court was upheld by the 1st DCA, the defendants paid the full judgment plus costs and interest. Lang v. White Metal Rolling & Stamping Co. and Sears Roebuck, Okaloosa Co. Case No. 87-2126

$3,698,664 – Jury verdict as a result of an unnecessary and negligently performed medical procedure resulting in irreversible anatomical and neurological damage. Camp v. Kimbell, 526 So. 2d 691 (Fla. App. 1 Dist. 1988)

$900,000 – Jury award in product liability action against the manufacturer of a water heater for the death of a woman who died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The verdict was substantially more than the defendant offered pre-trial. The defendant claimed that the death was caused by improper venting during installation. Plaintiff successfully argued to the jury that the manufacturer had substantial warnings that the water from the heater would be hot, but failed to adequately warn about the carbon monoxide hazard, which could have steered sales towards an electric water heater. Compton v. Rheem Manufacturing Co., Escambia Co. Circuit Court Case No. 90-0520

$120,000 – Verdict. Johnson v. Bahama Cruise Line, U. S. District Court, Northern District, Pensacola, FL Case No. 85-4256-RV

$500,000 – Verdict. Richbourg v. USAA, Escambia Co. Circuit Court Case No. 1985-CA-002246

$2,300,000 – Jury award for a mechanic who was severely injured while repairing a truck. Culbertson v. Coastal Insulation, Escambia Co. Circuit Court

$750,000 – Jury verdict. Amber Nall v. Loretta Epps, M.D. & Associates and James Boyd, M.D., Escambia Co. Circuit Court Case No. 1994 CA 001261

$37,001 – Verdict. Frye v. Mason, Escambia Co. Circuit Court Case No. 01-CA-1487

$2,747,000 – Jury verdict for a young woman who sustained a severe hand injury when a garbage truck backed into the path of her vehicle. Stolfi v. ECUA, Escambia Co. Circuit Court Case No. 99-1920-CA

$140,000 – Verdict. Ralph Frye v. Suttles, Escambia Co. Circuit Court Case No. 86-5657

$28,000,000 – Jury verdict for the death of a 12 year-old child killed by a habitually drunk driver. Slaughter v. Parrish, Santa Rosa Co. Circuit Court Case No. 83-C-969

$8,000,000 – Jury verdict for a man who suffered severe and debilitating injuries after being assaulted by a bouncer at a bar. Parrish v. Kent Ins. Co., et. al., Escambia Co. Circuit Court Case No. 83-775

$750,000 – Verdict. Powell v. Rosso, U. S. District Court of Florida, Northern District, Case No. 82-0593

$25,000,000 – Verdict for the death of a 17 year-old girl killed when a tractor-trailer turned in front of her. This stands as the largest contested wrongful death verdict in Santa Rosa County history. Bernadette Cook as Personal Representative of the Estate of Dana Rose Cassulo v. Paschall Truck Lines, Inc. and Robert L. Burger, Santa Rosa Co. Circuit Court Case No. 03000947CA

$3,825,000 – Jury verdict in Chavers v. Thompson, Escambia County Case 2008 CA 001105. A motorcyclist was killed after being hit by an oncoming car in an Escambia county intersection. The motorcyclist was severely injured and died as a result.

$8,322,546 – Jury verdict for the parents of 2 teenaged children killed by a high performance boater while riding a jet ski. Richmond v. Smith, Santa Rosa Co. Circuit Court Case No. 2000-631-CA-01

$13,000,000 – Jury verdict in a bad faith case against an insurance company. Hartford v. Gillette, 519 So. 2d 1059 (Fla. App. 1 Dist. 1988)

$350,000 – Verdict. Davidson v. Gaillard, 584 So. 2d 71 (Fla 1st DCA 1991)

$40,000 – Verdict. Fitzpatrick v. Allstate, Escambia Co. Circuit Court Case No. 85-4567-CA-01

$144,000 – Verdict. Maloney v. Southeastern Fidelity Ins., et. al., Santa Rosa Co. Circuit Court Case No. 82-419

$250,000 – Verdict. Cecil Lee v. Southern Bell, Escambia Co. Circuit Court Case No. 1986-CA-004493

$3,000,000 – Verdict Miller v. John Affleck, M.D., and Hodnette Medical Center Clinic, d/b/a Medical Center Clinic, P.A., Escambia Co. Circuit Court Case No. 87-5696-CA-01

Settlements

NOTE – This is a partial list of settlements obtained for our clients over the last forty years.

$200,000 – A 69 year-old brick mason was building a fire place when he went to step on decking boards that, unbeknownst to him, had been moved. He fell through the ceiling and landed on the first floor. The homeowner and the insurance company contended the only people in the attic were the brick mason and his helper. After filing suit, the claim was successfully resolved for $200,000.

$1,800,191 – Settlement in medical malpractice case for death of man against doctor who failed to diagnose cardiac arrest in Bay County.

$3,000,000 – Settlement for elderly woman attacked by a patient at an assisted living facility in Escambia County.

$2,450,000 – Settlement for 70 year-old woman who sustained severe injuries in motor vehicle accident in Okaloosa County.

$750,000 – An 18-wheeler blocked both southbound lanes of a divided interstate highway. Our client wasn’t able to see this vehicle in the dark and ran into it. The defense vigorously maintained that it was our client’s fault because the truck driver couldn’t have anticipated the failure of a component and our client should have seen him blocking the road. The case was settled for $750,000 after the firm secured the failed part and had it inspected. The inspection revealed that a factor in the failure was improper maintenance.

$3,750,000 – Settlement for two young children whose mother, a New Orleans police officer, was killed in an interstate accident while returning home from a family vacation to Disney World.

$175,000 – A 31 year-old female was rear-ended and it caused approximately $5000 worth of damage to her mini-van. The other passengers in her vehicle were not injured. However this young mother of one child continued to complain of neck and arm pain. She saw a medical specialist who advised her that, at some point in her life, she would probably require surgery on her neck. After settling with the person that caused the accident, and then filing suit against the clients own insurance company, the case settled shortly before trial for $175,000.

$2,500,000 – Settlement for man maimed in motor vehicle accident in Gulf County.

$3,500,000 – Settlement for a 62 year-old woman and her 39 year-old son who both suffered multiple broken bones in a MVA (motor vehicle accident). They were riding together in a small vehicle when a construction truck crossed the centerline of a four lane highway and struck them almost head on. The case was settled at mediation.

$3,100,000 – Settlement for a 35 year-old father of two minor children. The father was injured when he collided with a logging truck blocking both lanes of travel on a rural road. Our client, the father, sustained a serious head injury. The policy limit settlement was achieved despite a vigorous effort on the part of the logging truck’s insurance company to place the fault on our client.

$2,900,000 – Settlement for a young Boy Scout who sustained a back injury caused by an uninsured drunk driver. The settlement funds were placed into an annuity that will compensate the young client for many years.

$2,600,000 – Settlement for woman killed in motor vehicle accident in Escambia County.

*The list of Verdicts and Settlements is provided as a partial list of some of our successes in achieving compensation for our clients. You should not use this list as a guide or to gauge what may or may not happen in your particular case. All cases are different, as well as, the results.