Find Lawyers in Florida, United States for Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants

Sami R. Achem, Jr. practices in the area of general defense litigation, with an emphasis upon complex litigation involving premises liability, automobile negligence, products liability, trucking/transportation, indemnification disputes, insurance disputes, Lemon Law litigation, landlord/tenant litigation, and negligent security. Mr. Achem has been recognized by Best Lawyers of America since 2023. He was also elected to Florida Super Lawyers as a Rising Star for 2017-2021. He is as an AV Preem...

Richard B. Adams is a partner in the firm’s Miami office. For more than thirty years he has been one of the most active trial lawyers in South Florida. Mr. Adams' practice has encompassed all aspects of civil litigation, with a focus on the defense of personal injury, professional malpractice lawsuits, and insurance coverage issues. He also has experience in appellate practice, and carries an "AV" rating with Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Adams earned his Bachelor's Degree at Washington &...

Brian J. Aull is a partner in the Jacksonville office. He practices in all phases of civil litigation, including personal injury litigation, construction litigation, employment and labor, insurance coverage and carrier representation, trucking/transportation and professional liability litigation. Prior to joining Cole, Scott & Kissane, Mr. Aull practiced as an Assistant State Attorney, in the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida, where he was a member of the Homicide/Major Crimes Division a...

David Banker is an experienced civil trial lawyer who has tried a broad range of cases in federal and state courts involving products liability, employment discrimination, medical negligence, personal injury, commercial disputes and consumer disputes. Mr. Banker has also litigated mass tort and class action cases involving prescription drugs, medical devices and consumer products.

Chris Barkas is a shareholder in Carr Allison’s Tallahassee, Florida office where his practice focuses primarily on the defense of commercial vehicle claims, employment-related claims, professional liability claims and retail/premises liability claims. An AV-rated attorney through Martindale-Hubbell, Chris has practiced law in the North Florida area for more than 20 years and has conducted jury trials in many of the counties in the area. In the early part of his career, Chris was an Ass...

Michelle Bartels is a partner in Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A.’s Tampa office and a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney. Ms. Bartels' practice focuses in the areas of catastrophic and personal injury, general civil litigation, premises liability, trucking defense, professional malpractice, security negligence, vehicle negligence, significant wrongful death, defective products, foster care lead agency and community based care defense. Ms. Bartels earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, magn...

Michael Brand is a partner in the firm’s Miami and Key West offices. He practices across all fields of litigation, including medical malpractice, personal injury claims and professional liability claims, premises liability, negligent security, legal malpractice, automobile and trucking claims, bad faith/extra-contractual liability and others. He has tried approximately 300 jury trials to verdict in his career. Mr. Brand received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in English at...

Renee L. Brant is a partner in Wicker Smith’s Fort Lauderdale office handling cases concerning medical malpractice and general negligence matters. Mrs. Brant graduated from Baylor University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in business administration and environmental sciences. She then continued her education at Stetson College of Law, where she earned a Juris Doctor cum laude in 2000. She has been practicing medical malpractice for approximately 15 years, including local and regional f...

Oscar J. Cabanas is a managing partner of the firm and works in the Miami office of Wicker Smith where he has been a shareholder since 1999. He holds an AV Preeminent® rating from Martindale-Hubbell and focuses his practice in healthcare, professional liability, products liability, commercial litigation, and transportation. Mr. Cabanas has been honored as Best Lawyers in America’s® Miami Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants “Lawyer of the Year” in 2022 and 2018...

As Managing Partner, Richard P. Cole is responsible for the overall management and supervision of the firm. He is recognized as a Florida Leading Attorney in the areas of personal injury defense law, medical, legal and professional malpractice. Mr. Cole has experience handling Errors and Omissions claims, including those brought against insurance brokers and agents. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida and his Juris Doctor from t...

Michael J. Corso is chair for the Tort and Insurance Litigation practice area. His current civil trial practice area is heavily involved in the defense of non-medical professionals, including lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers and surveyors, copyright/trademark infringement, product liability and also more general tort defense matters in litigation. Mike frequently writes and speaks on issues regarding the defense of non-medical professionals and law office risk management issues to ...

Michael Costello was born and raised in Central Florida. In his youth, his competitive spirit became apparent through his participation in local sports. His drive manifested itself in high school as he received Varsity letters in baseball, football, and track, and was named captain of the baseball team. He has always played to win, and he continues to carry this determination for success on behalf of his clients. Michael attended Saint Leo University near the Tampa area of Southern Florida fo...

William E. Crabill is a partner in the Miami office of Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A. Mr. Crabill focuses on the defense, litigation and trial of personal injury (including catastrophic injury and wrongful death) matters and premises/products liability cases in the state/territorial and federal courts of Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition to representing self-insured individual and corporate defendants directly, Mr. Crabill and his experienced team of associates are routinely r...

Mr. Eglinton is a partner in our Miami office. He practices in general liability litigation, personal injury defense and SIU/fraud defense. He graduated cum laude from the University of Connecticut in 2001 with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology. While at the University of Connecticut, Mr. Eglinton won the New England Scholar Award in 2000. He attended and graduated from Quinnipiac University School of Law in 2004, and was a member of the Moot Court Honor Society. Prior to joining CSK, M...

Antwon M. Emery is a partner in the Fort Lauderdale West office of Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A. Mr. Emery practices in the areas of hospitality defense, first party insurance litigation, property damage claims, wrongful death, negligent security, trucking accident defense and personal injury litigation. Mr. Emery is a native of Flint, Michigan and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law in 2006 and his Bachelor of Science from Southern Illinois University in 2002...

Mr. Evangelista practices in all facets of civil litigation, focusing on cases involving professional liability, medical malpractice, medical device and drug manufacturers, pharmacies, aviation mishaps and aircraft manufacturers, airports, sports and recreation, products liability, transportation liability, and catastrophic loss. He also concentrates a major portion of his practice to health care related disputes and operational issues involving hospitals and medical providers. Represents: Pr...

David, a shareholder at Taylor Day, leads the automobile insurance team in defending first and third-party insurance claims. This includes work in the areas of personal injury protection (PIP), Bodily Injury (BI), Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist and Coverage issues. In addition to advocating for his clients, David has also served as an expert witness for several national insurance companies and is a Florida state-certified continuing education instructor. When it is time to take a break f...

Mr. Hart’s area of practice include retail and hospitality, trucking and transportation, premises liability, negligent security, product liability, property damage and medical malpractice.

Dale Hightower was born and raised in Lakeland, Florida, a town between Tampa and Orlando. He grew up loving adventures on the water, paddling a canoe and fishing alone in nearby lakes. His leadership skills became apparent in his youth as he was an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts, Senior Class President at Lakeland High School, and Student Body President at Florida Southern College. He also was elected Student Body President at Cumberland Law School in Alabama. After law school, he began worki...

John is a Shareholder in the firm’s Litigation Group. He is an active trial lawyer who has tried more than 100 jury trials in both state and federal court throughout Florida. His cases have included personal injury, products liability, medical malpractice, premises liability, long-term healthcare, and pharmaceutical litigation. John has represented several major national corporations in defense of personal injury litigation. In addition, he has served as counsel for pharmaceutical corpo...

Gabriel Imperato’s personal practice includes representing individuals and organizations accused of healthcare fraud and assisting and advising healthcare organizations on corporate governance and compliance matters. Mr. Imperato is board certified as a specialist in Health Law by the Florida Bar. He is also certified in Health Care Compliance (CHC) by the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and the Health Care Compliance Association (SCCE/HCCA). This national accreditation refle...

Daniel J. Kissane is a partner in the Jacksonville Office. His areas of expertise include: product liability defense litigation, personal injury defense, banking and financial, class actions, commercial litigation, construction defects, premises liability, consumer law, pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, wrongful death defense, insurance coverage issues and toxic tort (asbestos, Benzene and other exposures). Mr. Kissane is a 1984 graduate of the University of Miami (B.A.) and recei...

Gene P. Kissane is a partner in the firm’s Miami and Key West offices. Mr. Kissane is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated Preeminent attorney. He practices personal injury litigation, transportation litigation, negligent security litigation, premises liability litigation and professional liability litigation, including legal malpractice, medical malpractice and nursing home litigation. He has experience handling Errors and Omissions claims, including those brought against insurance brokers an...

Chris N. Kolos focuses his practice on the defense of environmental contamination suits, CERCLA litigation, toxic substance exposure cases, and pharmaceutical, products liability, nursing home, assisted living facility, and many other types of personal injury cases. He has substantial experience defending cases involving industrial chemicals and asbestos. He also defends insurers in bad faith and insurance coverage cases. He has served as national coordinating counsel and regional trial couns...

Craig's practice involves the defense of products liability and high-exposure personal injury claims on behalf of manufacturers and businesses. Craig has represented and served as national trial and litigation management counsel for a diverse range of clients, including global medical device companies, a major tobacco company, international hotel brands, asbestos manufacturers and numerous other Fortune 500 industrial, commercial and consumer manufacturers headquartered in the United States a...

Grayson Miller is a partner and attorney in the firm’s Pensacola office where he handles litigation primarily throughout the Florida panhandle and southern Alabama. Grayson earned an AV-Preeminent Rated attorney – the highest legal and ethical rating awarded – by Martindale-Hubbell, has been recognized in “The Best Lawyers in America” for “Personal Injury – Defendants” for 2023 - 2025, and has been recognized as a Florida Super Lawyer, Rising St...

Michael has been practicing law for over 35 years, of which the last 20 have been devoted to insurance defense litigation. He tries significant product liability cases where there is catastrophic damage and/or serious injury or death. Michael also defends doctors, dentists, hospitals, and their employees, as well as other professionals such as lawyers, in malpractice suits and claims brought against them. To date, Michael has tried over 300 cases to verdict. Michael has also handled matters i...

Out of well over 1000 civil trial attorneys in North Florida, Michael Fox Orr was recognized by Attorney-at-Law Magazine as one of the “top 8 civil litigators.” Michael tries civil jury and bench trials primarily in the area of complex commercial and civil litigation with significant damages at issue. Most of his cases involving situations where the company could be bankrupted or an individual stands to lose their net worth. His experience and success as a civil trial lawyer has l...

Rhett Parker focuses his practice on litigation. His trial and litigation experience includes premises liability, traffic accident, wrongful death, personal injury, criminal defense and insurance coverage. He also practices in construction litigation for engineers, contractor and developers and is licensed to practice in all Florida state and federal courts, including the northern, middle and southern districts. Prior to joining Phelps Dunbar, Rhett served as an assistant public defender in t...

Richard D. Rusak is a partner in the Miami office of Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A and Board Certified in Marine/Admiralty Law by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Education and Specialization since 2010. He is an accomplished trial lawyer with two decades of litigation and appellate experience in federal and state courts and primarily represents major insurance companies, ship owners and marinas in marine/admiralty defense cases. Mr. Rusak also practices in the areas of hospitality defense, tr...

With more than 40 years of experience as an appellate lawyer, and more than 2,000 appeals in state and federal courts, Elliot brings a practical and client-centered approach to his work. Elliot's practice covers a wide range of substantive law, which enables him to counsel his clients on both their legal rights and structuring their transactions. He is the co-chair of the firm's National Appellate Practice Group.

Howard Scholl is a partner based in our firm’s Tampa office and an experienced trial lawyer. He handles cases involving personal injury, wrongful death, nursing home neglect, trucking defense, hospitality industry defense, medical malpractice, contract disputes including insurance claims, construction defect claims, SIU fraud investigations as well as other general liability issues and claims for professional malpractice. Mr. Scholl is a native Floridian and graduated from the Universit...

Robert Schrader is a shareholder in the firm and has over 25 years of state and federal litigation experience. He concentrates his practice in the areas of general litigation and trial advocacy. He serves a diverse client base and maintains an active caseload throughout Florida in matters involving premises liability, general liability, automobile personal injury defense, trucking liability, negligent security, wrongful death, and products liability. Mr. Schrader has tried numerous jury and n...

Sherry Schwartz is a partner in the firm’s West Palm Beach Office. She received her Bachelors of Science, with Highest Honors from the University of Florida, followed by her Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Miami in 2001. Both in law school and in her early years as an attorney, Ms. Schwartz has successfully tried cases for her clients in criminal, civil, family, and probate matters. She joined Cole, Scott, and Kissane with experience in more than 30 jury trials, following her...

Dan Shapiro is a board-certified trial attorney who has tried in excess of 200 significant civil cases over his 25-year legal career. He provides aggressive trial counsel and defense in the areas of medical malpractice, health care, bodily injury litigation, automobile litigation, premises liability, pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, product liability cases, class action lawsuits and all matters of complex civil litigation, Medicaid and Medicare compliance, SIU/affirmative mass to...

Kurt M. Spengler, a partner in the Orlando office, is a board certified trial lawyer by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education. He is also certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in Civil Trial Law. Kurt has over 30 years of experience and has tried approximately 70 civil jury trials, including at least 10 wrongful death cases. Kurt has represented motor carriers for most of his career, but over the past 10 years, his work in this area has increased to approxima...

Linda C. Sweeting is a civil trial attorney in the firm’s West Palm Beach office. She has had a diversified practice that includes litigation and management of civil cases including catastrophic and personal injury, wrongful death, automobile negligence, premises liability, medical malpractice, negligent security, product liability, toxic tort, trucking accident litigation, general civil litigation, and alternative dispute resolution. Over the years, Ms. Sweeting has represented both de...

Lee Philip Teichner practices in the area of business litigation, with an emphasis in the areas of product liability, tort, commercial and insurance litigation. He has extensive experience in products liability, involving a wide variety of products, including motor vehicles and their components, material handling equipment, people moving equipment, construction equipment, electricity, machine guarding, firearms, medical devices, aviation and other vessels. He is equally experienced in tort li...

Krysta Torok is a partner with the firm’s Tampa office. Her practice areas include premises liability, defense of claims against condominium, homeowner and community associations and their officers and directors, SIU insurance fraud, fraud litigation, actions for breach of vendor contracts, as well as personal injury and general civil litigation. Ms. Torok attended Gannon University, in Erie, Pennsylvania, where she graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science....

Michael C. Tyson, originally from Brooklyn, New York, is a partner in the Orlando office. He focuses his practice on legal matters involving medical malpractice, premises liability, negligent security, trucking litigation, general civil litigation and appellate law. Prior to joining Wicker Smith, Mr. Tyson was a shareholder with an Orlando firm that provided legal services in the areas of corporate, tax, real estate, litigation, bankruptcy, estate planning and probate, and workers’ comp...

Kristen Van der Linde devotes her practice exclusively to the defense of cases and appeals involving trucking liability, automobile liability, premises liability, wrongful death, bad faith, negligent security, and coverage issues. She is admitted to practice law in Georgia as well as Florida. Ms. Van der Linde is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by The Florida Bar, which means that she is an expert in civil litigation before state and federal courts, administrative agencies and arbitrators....

Brandon G. Waas is a partner in the firm’s Miami office who primarily practices personal injury litigation and first party property/coverage litigation, while co-managing a group of approximately 30 attorneys. In addition, Mr. Waas also practices in the areas of general civil litigation, legal malpractice, real estate malpractice, bad faith/extra-contractual liability, hospitality industry defense, and commercial and residential property damage claims. Born and raised in Miami, Florida,...

Gregory J. Willis practices in the firm’s Fort Lauderdale West office where he concentrates on civil litigation but has a diverse practice that includes all areas of insurance defense litigation including construction litigation, bad faith/extra-contractual liability, liquor liability defense, environmental/toxic spills and trucking accident defense. Mr. Willis is also experienced in transactional law and health law matters. He has lectured extensively on many areas of law. Previously, ...

Victoria is a partner who works for the firm in Jacksonville, Florida. She focuses her practice in the areas of first and third-party automobile liability defense and insurance coverage disputes. Prior to joining the firm, she worked for a local litigation firm for five years defending first and third-party claims and handling Personal Injury Protection (“PIP”) / No-Fault litigation. She has significant experience conducting Examinations Under Oath and working with insurance SIU d...