Representative Verdicts

Bowes v. Landis (2012 Jury Verdict, St. Lucie County Circuit Court). $553,726.90 jury verdict in mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) case of a 55-year-old white male who works as head grounds keeper for the New York Mets at their Port St. Lucie, Florida, facility. Our client suffered from a concussion and had a 10 minute loss of consciousness due to a head on motor vehicle collision. He suffers from both short- and long-term memory loss. He had normal brain CT scans as well as normal standard brain MRI's. A Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) MRI scan showed abnormal brain function and damage to the axons (white matter) of the brain. This scan assisted the treating physicians and neuropsychologist in making the mild TBI diagnosis. The verdict was over 5 times greater than the highest insurance company offer pretrial. After the court entered an order awarding attorney's fees, the case settled for $725,000.00.

DeAyala v. Florida Farm Bureau Insurance, 543 So.2d 204 (Fla. 1989): Successfully held portion of worker's compensation law unconstitutional. Resulted in survivors of deceased worker obtaining $100,000 death benefit which had been denied them. Roger Messer handled the underlying trial as well as arguing the appeal at the 4th District Court of Appeals and the Florida Supreme Court. This was a victory, not only for Mr. Ayala's family, but also the families of other legal resident aliens (with green cards) who are killed on the job in Florida.

Valencia vs. Comcast and MacDonald, Circuit Court of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit in and for St. Lucie County, Florida, Case No. 56-2015-CA-001074. December, 2016 - $450,000.00 settlement for female sheriff's deputy who was injured in a collision with a cable company truck. The client suffered injuries to both her lumbar and cervical spine. The cervical spine required fusion surgery while the lumbar spine required a less invasive surgical procedure. The client had returned to work at the time of the settlement.

Menar vs. Russell, Gator Trace Golf & Country Club and PNC Equipment Finance, Circuit Court of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit in and for St. Lucie County, Florida, Case No. 56-2016-CA-001667. February, 2017 - $2 million settlement at mediation in a case involving a 72-year old male that had severe injuries to both legs as a result of a golf cart crash.

Stacy Lynne West, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Santia Myriah Feketa, deceased vs. Joseph A. Zacharzewski, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Walter Roney, deceased, United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Case No. 2:18-cv-14155-RLR. April, 2019 - $5 million plus verdict. Wrongful death of an 18-year old college student who was killed in a crash with a Prevost motor home traveling the wrong way on a 4-lane highway. Prior to trial, we also settled with the passenger in the Prevost for her limits of $500,000.00.

Steven A. Messer

Ok Kyong Dong, Seung C. Hong, and Su Y. Chon v. Joon Koo Lee and Kung Ae Lee, Case Number: 50-2010-CA-4673 Palm Beach County Circuit Court, August 2012 - Trial wherein Steven Messer successfully represented the plaintiffs in a case where the pastor of a church had illegally and improperly removed the plaintiffs who were members of the board of directors and then illegally obtained monies from church bank accounts. Mr. Messer was successful in reinstating the plaintiffs as board members and obtaining an order requiring the defendants to return monetary sums to the organization that were illegally obtained.

Buckner vs. Wood, Circuit Court of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit in and for St. Lucie County, Florida, Case No. 2017-CA-000045. March, 2019 - $267,608.50 jury trial verdict for a 38-year old male injured in an automobile collision. His injuries result in a single level disc replacement surgery in his neck.

Harrison v. Hochfeld, August 2017, $100,000 settlement with limited coverage for an individual injured when he was struck by a vehicle while riding his motorized scooter.

Angelone v. First Community Insurance, April, 2016, confidential settlement after trial sufficient for the full and complete repair of the Angelone home in the wake of Hurricane Wilma. Mr. and Mrs. Angelone suffered a catastrophic loss when Hurrican Wilma caused their home to "rack," or twist, on its foundation, causing structural instability and interior and exterior damage to the entirety of the home. First Community Insurance initially denied the claim entiredly, stating that the damages were due to wear and tear and an improper construction of the home.