Case Autopsy: The Settlement and Verdict Podcast (Lawyer Minds)

In this episode, Mike Campbell and Chris Finney sit down with Wes Shumate of Davis Bethune & Jones to talk about a recent case verdict he and his firm were able to achieve for a sheriff’s deputy who was sexually assaulted in her own hotel room in 2016 while attending a crime scene investigation seminar in downtown St. Louis.

The jury awarded the woman $177 million, including $149 in punitive damages. The court agreed with Wes Shumate that the hotel needed to be held accountable for letting the assault occur. The assaulter was a security guard employed by the hotel who used his master key to enter the victim’s room while she was sleeping.

During the pod, Wes dives deep into the details of the case and how it transpired.  

Robin Frazier Clark is an incredibly accomplished plaintiff’s lawyer practicing in Atlanta, Georgia. She has served as Past President of the Georgia Trial Lawyer’s Association, as well as Past President of the Georgia State Bar Association. Beyond her trial practice — where she has tried over 75 trials (as well as handling over 30 appeals before the Georgia Appellate Courts) — Robin dedicates her time to her community doing volunteer work and to the trial bar through lectures, written publications, and helping new lawyers.

In this episode, Robin sits down with Mike and guest co-host, Heidi DiLorenzo, to discuss two cases. First, Robin breaks down her case on behalf of the Estate of Diane Smith McIver against Claude “Tex” McIver. Robin explains her reasoning for taking on this case: All human lives have value. Robin knew the way to show the value of Diane’s life was to hold Mr. McIver accountable for causing his wife’s untimely death. After Robin navigated both a challenge by Tex and his legal team to the wrongful death case itself and a separate declaratory judgment action filed by the insurer, Robin was able to obtain an outstanding result which proved that Diane’s life had value.

In carrying that general theme over to her next case, a medical malpractice suit against Emory Hospital, Robin discusses how important it was to hold Emory Hospital responsible for its negligence and had a jury affirm the true value of her client’s life. In discussing this case, Robin outlines the facts of the case and the evidence she used to prosecute the suit against Emory Hospital. Robin emphasized the use of her deceased client’s journals, which she wrote in daily for decades and how the journals ended when her life was cut short by Emory’s negligence. Robin’s powerful arguments made all the difference for the family of the deceased and helped to hold those who did their loved one wrong accountable.

To learn more about Robin’s practice, please visit: https://www.gatriallawyers.net/robin-frazer-clark.html

Do you have a verdict or settlement you want to discuss on the podcast? Please mail Mike at mike.Campbell@Thomaslawwoffices.com

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Over a decade ago, a University of Virginia womans’ lacrosse player, Yeardly Love, was murdered by her boyfriend. Even though a jury found him guilty and sentenced him to 25 years in prison, Love’s family was left without closure. Partial closure was finally received by the family when a trial team, led by Kevin Biniazan, was able to convince a civil jury that the murder of Yeardly Love was willful and wanton. Through outstanding lawyering, Biniazan was able to ensure the jury found both that Huguely willfully murdered Love and the ensured the verdict would not be dischargeable in bankruptcy. Biniazan joins Tad and Mike to discuss the verdict, his work on the case, and the meaning it had for the family.

Michael Young of Reichardt Noce & Young in St. Louis, Missouri joins Mike Campbell and Chris Finney to talk about insurance cases from the defense angle. Michael is a litigation partner at Reichardt Noce & Young. For over 20 years, he’s represented insurers in complex insurance coverage matters in all steps of the claims process.

During the pod, Mike Young and our hosts shed light on the realities of insurance defense and some of the issues that insurers deal with when they seek aid from a firm like Michael’s. They also discuss the complexities of some of the cases Michael handles and how the language of insurance policies changes over time to better suit both insurers and insureds.

To learn more about Michael Young, please visit: https://www.reichardtnoce.com/michael-young

Chris Nace is a trial lawyer who tries medical malpractice and catastrophic injury cases with his firm, Paulson and Nace, in Maryland and West Virginia. In the pod, Chris and Mike discuss Nace’s transition from general injury cases to medical malpractice and what it’s like to try cases with members of his family. In one of those cases, Chris and his father tried a difficult, multi-week trial in West Virginia involving a birth injury. Nace breaks down the theory behind his case, how he handled experts in trial, and his team’s approach to the division of trial work. One of the key strategies explored on the pod is Nace’s strategy to not depose any of the Defendants’ experts before trial and how that played out at trial. Due to Nace and his father’s outstanding trial work and preparation, the jury rendered a very favorable verdict to the family they represented.

Rick Barrera and Adrian Vega join the pod today to discuss an outstanding result they obtained in a very complicated medical malpractice case on behalf of a very deserving child. As listeners will learn, the experts in this case were not getting behind Adrian’s theories of liability. Through resilience, hard work, and countless hours, Adrian was able to find a path to liability and managed to get experts on board. The case also speaks to the power of teamwork, as Adrian’s partners Rick and Kent were able to look at this very complicated case from a “10,000 foot view” and help establish a theme that jurors could follow. As discussed on the pod, even though the medicine was complicated, the reason why these doctors failed their patient was not. Through grit and determination, these outstanding lawyers were able to guide this case to a result that ensured the injured child will have a lifetime of care.

In this episode, attorney Mark Prince talks about his how theme, “time is of the essence,” resonated with jurors during a recent medical malpractice trial. Mike and Mark talk about Mark’s approach to jury selection, opening, and evidence presentation. In his practice, Mark Prince concentrates on representing people who have been harmed in any manner by the wrongful conduct of other people or corporations. His passion for lending a helping hand to those in need has resulted in Mark handling just about every type of personal injury case we can imagine.

Attorney Kenneth “Kenny” Berger of the Law Office of Kenneth E. Berger joins Chris and Mike to discuss how he built a powerful trial firm in the heart of South Carolina and the key components to making his firm run smoothly while he builds his cases for trial. In this wide-ranging interview, Kenny discusses how he manages to focus his efforts on running a successful practice and working within that practice to obtain outstanding results for his clients. Beyond obtaining multiple seven-figure results for his clients, Kenny is also a regular speaker on topics ranging from handling brain injury cases to injuries to minors, as well as a published author. 

Case Autopsy: The Settlement and Verdict Podcast

Tad Thomas, co-host of the official Lawyer Minds podcast, is one of most sought-after CLE speakers in the country, presenting on topics ranging from technology in the courtroom and litigation skills to modern law practice management. He speaks from experience too — Tad is regularly in the courtroom and tries cases around the country. After obtaining two seven figure verdicts in 2019, Tad could’ve sat 2020 out and waited until the pandemic had passed to get back in the courtroom. But, that’s not Tad.

If you try enough cases, you know losses are going to happen and there are obstacles in your way that you have to manage. In this podcast, Tad sits down to talk with Mike about a medical malpractice case he recently tried and the obstacles he and his co-counsel faced, as well as how the trial judge, opposing counsel, and jurors handled the unique challenges presented by COVID-19. Although ultimately unsuccessful at trial, Tad’s graciously shares his experiences about the trial in this podcast in the hopes that listeners can learn from the lessons and implement strategies from those lesson in their cases.

To learn more about Tad’s practice, visit: https://www.thomaslawoffices.com

Do you have a verdict or settlement you want to discuss on the podcast? Please mail Mike at mike.Campbell@Thomaslawoffices.com

Lawyer Minds: https://www.lawyerminds.com

Case Autopsy: The Settlement and Verdict Podcast.

In this episode, Chris and Mike dissect three cases that Chris recently tried. While one resulted in a defense verdict, Chris explains that the lessons he learned provided him with the right direction for his successful seven figure verdict later that year.

To learn more about Chris Finney’s practice, visit: https://finneyinjurylaw.com

Lawyer Minds: https://www.lawyerminds.com

Matt Sharp of Law Office of Matthew L. Sharp in Reno joins Mike Campbell and Chris Finney to discuss an outstanding result where Matt Sharp and his co-counsel obtained $200 Million in a health insurance bad faith verdict. The case was against the largest health insurer in the country that denied a client the proton beam radiation therapy he needed to treat his lung cancer. The denial was made automatically—without conducting a proper investigation and examining the risks of alternative treatment.

During the pod, Matt Sharp dives deep into the reasoning of the denial and the occurrences that led up to his client passing away due to horrible complications from the alternative treatment he was forced to undergo and how he and his co-counsel handled the 14-day trial and approached their arguments and courtroom strategies.

To learn more about Matt Sharp and his practice, please visit: https://mattsharplaw.com/

Matt Nakajima and Lindsay Lawrence teamed up to represent a deserving plaintiff and managed to get a verdict in excess of $800,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the pod, Matt and Lindsay break down how they were able to take a very difficult case with very difficult facts and show how an injury to any human has meaning and value.

Beyond presenting the human element of the case, Matt and Lindsay both deployed pre-trial and trial strategies that framed the case in the best light possible. In this regard, Matt and Lindsay discuss every element of the case.

Any person who has a trial coming up should consider some of the tactics and strategies used by the team in this case. Even though many would have strongly considered the insurance company’s offer in this case before trial, Matt and Lindsay plowed forward and had faith the jury would do the right thing. In this case, they certainly did.

To learn more about Matt and Lindsay’s practice, please visit:  https://www.rittgers.com

Do you have a verdict or settlement you want to discuss on Case Autopsy?  Feel free to email Mike at Mike.Campbell@thomaslawoffices.com

Jurors care. That’s patently obvious from a recent and righteous verdict obtained by medical malpractice trial attorneys Brendan Lupetin and Greg Unatin on behalf of a very deserving client. Despite the concerns many trial attorneys have about trying a case during COVID-19, Brendan and Greg went the distance and showed that despite the challenges we’re all facing, jurors can sit and listen to evidence, render a fair verdict, and hold medical providers responsible for reckless and negligent conduct even during a pandemic.

Brendan and Greg break down the strategies they used in preparing for trial, as well as how the court and opposing counsel handled a trial during COVID-19. Helping to break down the verdict and strategies employed is guest co-host Chris Finney. Chris and Mike have a very candid and wide-ranging conversation with Brendan and Greg about pre-trial and trial strategy. We think Brendan and Greg’s passion and commitment to their client’s case come across in this episode and that every trial lawyer can benefit from the lessons imparted.

To learn more about Greg and Brendan’s practice, check out their firm’s site: https://www.meyersmedmal.com

Lawyer Minds: https://www.lawyerminds.com

Coming off several outstanding verdicts, Nolan Drafahl sits down with Chris and Mike to discuss a wide range of topics. In the pod, Nolan describes a recent medical malpractice trial, his own experience with serving as a juror, and how all of his experiences form his approach to trying cases. The discussion was good enough to break this podcast into two episodes. This is part 2 of the discussion.

Render Freeman joins the pod to discuss a recent verdict he obtained on behalf of a very deserving family in a rural Georgia venue. The passion Render has for justice for this family is evident throughout the podcast. In the pod, we drill deep into the challenges Render faced in developing the direct examination of his client’s surviving spouse and daughter, and the raw emotion and authenticity that was alive in the courtroom. Render also describes how he overcame obstacles in developing his liability case against a complex web of corporations and against a defendant who denied liability throughout. An outstanding listen for anyone who is struggling with any type of case, large or small, as Render is truly one of the best trial lawyers in the country. The advice he shares will improve anyone’s practice.

John Fisher joins Chris and Mike in Episode Five to discuss how his firm’s guiding purpose “Stopping Medical Injustice” affects nearly every decision the firm makes. Through reading his wildly popular books, “The Power of a System,” and his recent “The Law Firm of Your Dreams,” the legal community knows how passionate John is about protecting consumers from medical malpractice and negligence.  In this episode, John dives deep with Chris and Mike to discuss how stopping medical injustice guided him recently to have a press conference about some of the injustices his clients are facing, as well as how that guiding purpose informs him about trial tactics and strategies.

Indiana personal injury attorney Barry Rooth is a widely respected medical malpractice lawyer who has managed to make a real difference in his community by prosecuting rogue doctors on behalf of his injured clients.  Barry’s first notable case prosecuting a rogue doctor was featured in a Vanity Fair expose on how Indiana surgeon Mark Weinberger injured more than 350 people performing unnecessary and harmful surgical procedures.  Barry then spearheaded a legal team that held Dr. Arvind Gandhi responsible for harming nearly 300 hundred patients performing unnecessary and harmful procedures (covered in the NY Times:  https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/business/a-small-indiana-town-scarred-by-a-trusted-doctor.html).  Barry sits down with Chris and Mike to discuss how he ended up handling such prominent cases and the process he went through to make sure his clients received justice.

Attorney Rob Sachs of Shrager and Sachs joins Chris and Mike to discuss how his firm works endlessly to ensure their seriously injured clients are compensated to the fullest extent of the law. In the episode, Rob breaks down his work on a significant injury case for a pedestrian who was hit while walking in a crosswalk. Some of the challenges in this case involved the financial circumstances and age of the plaintiff, as well as the defendant’s ability to garner sympathy.

Most lawyers believe they can handle an auto vs. pedestrian case, but Rob shows us how we can handle them well. At the outset of this case, Rob’s firm and investigators began canvassing the scene to gather evidence. As you’ll hear in the Pod, the quick work done by Rob’s firm provided evidence that was critical in establishing liability. Rob also explains how he built his damages case and the steps he took to ensure he could present the best damages case possible.

We are grateful for Rob’s time and willingness to share his wealth of wisdom on the Pod.

To learn more about Rob’s practice, please visit his website: https://www.shragerlaw.com/about-us/

Do you have a verdict or settlement you want to discuss on Case Autopsy? Feel free to email Mike at Mike.Campbell@thomaslawoffices.com.

Coming off several outstanding verdicts, Nolan Drafahl sits down with Chris and Mike to discuss a wide range of topics. In the pod, Nolan describes a recent medical malpractice trial, his own experience with serving as a juror, and how all of his experiences form his approach to trying cases. The discussion was good enough to break this podcast into two episodes. Part II of our discussion with Nolan will be released in Episode 16.