Palm Beach Shores Medical Malpractice Lawyers

MATTHEW K. SCHWENCKE began his legal practice as a defense attorney, where he gained experience in all facets of civil litigation. Defending hospitals and healthcare providers against multi-million dollar claims has given him insight into defense strategies and tactics, especially in medical malpractice litigation. Mr. Schwencke earned his law degree from Stetson University College of Law, where he was a member of Stetsons award-winning Moot Court Board. While in law school, he served as intern to a federal magistrate judge, and prosecuted misdemeanor criminal offenses as a Certified Legal Intern for the Pinellas County State Attorney’s office. As an undergraduate,...

ELISE SHERR ALLISON joined Searcy Denney in 2019 after clerking for The Honorable Jose E. Martinez, United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of Florida, and then working with a complex commercial litigation and personal injury firm in Miami. At Searcy Denney, she represents clients in personal injury and wrongful death cases resulting from medical malpractice, defective products, motor vehicle accidents and unsafe premises.

T. HARDEE BASS III earned his law degree from Stetson University College of Law and his undergraduate degree from The Florida State University. Prior to joining Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley PA, Mr. Bass served as a felony prosecutor in the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office. During his tenure, he handled nearly 50 jury trials to verdict, prosecuting crimes ranging from Driving Under the Influence to first degree felonies punishable by life in prison. Currently, Mr. Bass works with C. Calvin Warriner and David J. Sales. He is a member of The Florida Bar and the Palm...

JORDAN A. DULCIE began his legal career in medical malpractice defense at a boutique firm in Palm Beach Gardens, followed by broader civil litigation practice at a larger civil defense firm in Florida. His practice areas include not only medical malpractice, but automotive accidents and nursing home and assisted living cases. In 2019, 2020 and 2021 he was selected by Palm Beach Illustrated magazine as a top lawyer in the area of medical malpractice, and Florida Super Lawyers Magazine lists him as a 2021 “Rising Star.” As an attorney with Searcy Denney, Mr. Dulcie shares the firm’s...

Greg Yaffa joined Cunningham Whalen & Gaspari in 2004 and currently concentrates his practice in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death and insurance company bad faith. Prior to joining the firm, Greg practiced in the Miami-based law office of Stewart G. Greenberg, where he focused on automobile negligence, wrongful death, medical malpractice and product liability cases. Greg is admitted to practice law not only in the State Courts of Florida, but also in the Florida Federal Courts, including the United States District Court, Middle District Court of Florida, the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida...

Florida personal injury lawyer Christopher Speed joined Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley PA as a Shareholder in 1994 after representing plaintiffs in Virginia for 20 years. He has spent his entire career pursuing justice for victims of personal injury, medical and legal negligence, aviation accidents and defective products.

DAVID P. VITALE, JR. is an experienced trial attorney who has litigated cases throughout the state of Florida. Mr. Vitale was recently recognized for his achievements by The National Trial Lawyers, as a Top 40 Under 40 Civil Plaintiff attorney in Florida. In addition to pursing personal injury, wrongful death, and medical malpractice claims on behalf of injured victims, Mr. Vitale also handles complex commercial and business litigation matters. As a result of his prior career as a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York, Mr. Vitale has a unique business perspective in developing strategies that are efficient, effective,...

Trial attorney focused on wrongful death, automobile negligence, medical malpractice, products liability, and premises liability.

BORIS ZHADANOVSKIY brings to the Searcy Denney team not only a law degree, but an undergraduate degree in business administration and fluency in both English and Russian. He draws upon his experience in complex insurance litigation to make sure that insurance companies keep their promises to policyholders who have been harmed.

MARA RITCHIE PONCY HATFIELD, who holds dual degrees in environmental law, began consulting with Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley on issues related to environmental and entertainment law in 2006 before becoming an associate with the firm in 2012. Since then, she has assisted the firm’s clients in obtaining recoveries for injuries arising out of environmental contamination, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, catastrophic automobile crashes, defective products and premises liability (including but not limited to slip and falls). She continues to work on intellectual property and consumer-based class action lawsuits as well.

KATHERINE A. KIZIAH is an attorney with Searcy Denney’s pharmaceutical and medical device mass torts litigation unit.

ADAM HECHT, a veteran of more than 75 felony and misdemeanor jury trials as an Assistant State Attorney, now works with Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, P.A. handling medical malpractice, personal injury, wrongful death and products liability cases.

KAREN E. TERRY is a shareholder at Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley in West Palm Beach, and has been with the firm for 14 years. She recently received the highest honor of being chosen by the Daily Business Review as the "Most Effective Lawyer" in the State of Florida for products liability, along with Chris Searcy. She also was selected as one of The Best Lawyers in America. Ms. Terry has tried many big cases, but in August of 2007, Ms. Terry received a jury verdict of over 25 million dollars in Polk County, Florida against Walgreens for misfilling...

I'm passionate and dedicated to the things I care about in life - my career, my family, art, music, and culture - and that passion is what drives me to serve my clients to the fullest extent of my human abilities, every day. I live to see my clients find some closure and relief when I settle or successfully litigate their personal injury case to terms that exceed their expectations. It's a feeling of pride that I cannot duplicate outside of my profession as a personal injury attorney. As a former medical malpractice defense attorney, I know the ins-and-outs of...

I focus my practice on the representation of plaintiffs in pharmaceutical and medical device product liability claims and other complex personal injury, products liability and medical malpractice claims.

Phil is a founding partner of the law firm of Thompson & Thomas, P.A. He was a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society at Auburn University and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Auburn in 1992 . Phil attended the University of Florida College of Law and graduated with Honors in 1995. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1996 and was licensed to practice before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals that same year. He was also admitted to the U.S. Federal District Court for both the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida...

Ted Babbitt has won more than lawsuits over the past four decades. He’s won accolades and esteem. Since 1973, Mr. Babbitt has been a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group limited to just 100 of the top plaintiffs’ lawyers in the country. He’s written more than 100 articles that have appeared in national and local publications, given lectures for other attorneys, chaired nearly a dozen professional committees, and been listed – for more than 20 years — in The Best Lawyers in America. All the while, he has successfully tackled some of the toughest personal injury...

C. CALVIN WARRINER III joined the firm in 1988 as a seasoned attorney, with experience defending personal injury cases that included medical malpractice and products liability. His distinct areas of practice include mass tort and complex litigation arising from institutional wrongdoing in the pharmaceutical, medical device, healthcare, and insurance industries. Mr. Warriner is Board Certified in Trial Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and by The Florida Bar. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys and has been named as one of South Florida's top lawyers by Miami Metro Magazine's South Florida Legal Guide. An...

JOHN A. SHIPLEY III is a vice president of Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley PA, and serves as a member of the firms board of directors. He is a Florida Bar Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer in the areas of personal injury and wrongful death. Mr. Shipley's primary practice focuses on personal injury cases, with an emphasis on complex medical malpractice and trucking cases. Drawing upon 30 years of litigation experience in West Palm Beach, both prosecuting and defending civil cases, he has obtained numerous multi-million dollar settlements and jury verdicts on behalf of injured plaintiffs. He has tried cases...

CHRISTIAN D. SEARCY is President and CEO of Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, PA. For over 30 years, he has litigated cases primarily involving catastrophic injury and death in venues throughout Florida, as well as other states. At age 30, he had the distinction of being the youngest lawyer in the United States to achieve a verdict of $1 million for a single personal injury lawsuit. In 2006, Mr. Searcy was one of only two lawyers in the country to receive the “War Horse Award” from the Southern Trial Lawyers Association, honoring his outstanding skill as a trial advocate...

DAVID K. KELLEY, JR., brings to the firm substantial unique experience. He served as a criminal prosecutor for the United States serving as Assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, concentrating on white collar fraud and tax evasion cases. He also served as a member of the Federal Court as a criminal defense attorney in the Federal Public Defender's Office for the Southern District of Florida. He became a member of the Federal Court Trial Bar in its first year 1976. Mr. Kelley's trial practice with Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley PA focuses on personal injury, product liability...

BRIAN R. DENNEY is a native of West Palm Beach who received his undergraduate degree from Stetson University, where he was awarded the Outstanding Senior Award for Academic Excellence in Sociology. While at Stetson, Mr. Denney was actively involved in student affairs, serving on the Stetson Judicial Council and as Vice President of his social fraternity. A “double hatter,” he went on to receive his Juris Doctor degree, with honors, from Stetson University College of Law where he was the recipient of the Victor O. Wehle Trial Advocacy Award. Upon graduation, Mr. Denney joined the general trial division of a well-known...

F. GREGORY BARNHART is an honors graduate of Vassar College and The Cornell Law School. He is a frequent lecturer and author in the jury trial field. He is the past president of the Federal Bar Association and was an elected member of the board of directors of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers. Mr. Barnhart has served as treasurer, secretary, and president of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, which is now the Florida Justice Association. In addition, he has been named in The Best Lawyers in America for the past 16 years. He...

Ryan Ingraham, Esq. is an accomplished trial attorney. Mr. Ingraham began his career as a law clerk at a longstanding Estate & Trusts practice in North Palm Beach, FL. After working as a clerk for 4 years, Mr. Ingraham decided to pursue law school in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, where he ultimately graduated with high honors. Mr. Ingraham began working at an insurance defense firm as a paralegal while finishing law school, and then as an attorney. Mr. Ingraham experienced success in the insurance defense litigation world and decided his services were best suited serving the people. Mr. Ingraham is a...

Steven L. Frankl practices personal injury law statewide with the law firm of Frankl Kominsky, PA. He represents clients in cases of catastrophic injury, wrongful death, motor vehicle injury, trucking accidents, medical malpractice and products liability, as well as slip/trip fall accidents and nursing home negligence. Mr. Frankl's practice is built on the pursuit of justice and fair compensation for his clients, who appreciate his aggressive and thorough representation. A highly skilled negotiator and seasoned litigator with a strong results orientation, Mr. Frankl works passionately to achieve exceedingly positive outcomes through settlement and in court. "I have an energy and passion...

Ethan F. Kominsky is a veteran of over 65 trials in Florida and Illinois. Ethan has practiced insurance defense, representing the same side he now fights daily. His experience working for the other side has given Ethan valuable insight into their tactics and methods. He uses this knowledge to the advantage of his clients.

He began representing injured individuals and their families when he moved to Florida, having been recruited by a name partner at one of South Florida’s largest injury law firms. Ethan has a passion for representing the underserved and underrepresented members of society. He has seen firsthand how...

George Trautmann IV serves as an attorney at Frankl Kominsky specializing in personal injury cases caused by motor vehicle accidents, slip and falls, trip and falls, premises liability and wrongful death. His key functions include guiding clients through the case process, advocating to protect client's rights and aggressively negotiating with insurance companies on behalf of clients. Mr. Trautmann found his passion to become an attorney after his grandmother passed away from an unfortunate personal injury accident. To this day this tragedy propels George to exhaust every means available in his pursuit to help every client recover the justice and settlement they...

Andrew Agnini is a dedicated injury attorney at the law firm of Frankl Kominsky. He is committed to pursuing compensation for individuals in Palm Beach County, Broward County, Dade County, St. Lucie County, Martin County and throughout South Florida who have been hurt because of the negligent or wrongful conduct of others. Among the types of harm that his clients have suffered are brain trauma, spinal cord damage, burns, amputations, and fractures. Along with his colleagues at the firm, Mr. Agnini works diligently to seek damages on behalf of injured individuals so that they can move on with their lives. Mr....

Richard K. Slinkman is the managing partner in the law firm of Slinkman & Slinkman, P.A. Rich is a board certified civil trial attorney by the Florida Bar and is AV rated by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is the top rating an attorney can receive from his peers and judges. Rich is in his 20th year of practicing law in Palm Beach County. Since being admitted to practice law, Rich has focused his practice on representing injured persons and their families in the areas of personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability, and wrongful death. Rich...