Palmetto Medical Malpractice Lawyers

With more than 20 years of Florida & NY City experience as an attorney, I am dedicated to fight for your legal rights. My family law practice includes divorce, adoptions and custody disputes. My personal injury experience includes complex litigation including a variety of medical malpractice cases.

My business law experience includes contracts, franchise law; commercial leases; sales of business entities; and bulk asset sales. I have further expertise in residential real estate sales.

My virtual office and traveling legal practice allow me to pass savings on to my clients. This winning combination has resulted in highly satisfied clients,...

While I have experience handling catastrophic injury cases of all types, I focus my practice on medical malpractice cases. I became the youngest partner at Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen, P.A., before starting McArdle Law, P.A.

Over my career, I have gone to trial in malpractice cases in Manatee, Sarasota, and Charlotte Counties. I have fought in deposition, mediation, and trial for clients robbed of their health by negligent healthcare providers, helping clients obtain million-dollar results multiple times through settlement and trial. I have dealt with cases involving amputations, blindness, brain damage, serious burns, misdiagnosed cancer, spinal-cord injury, and wrongful death.

In these...

Born in Kentucky and raised in Ohio, Matt graduated Magna Cum Laude and with University Honors from the University of Central Florida with a B.S. in Business Administration (Marketing). He received his law degree, Cum Laude, and his Masters in Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Stetson University. While in law school, Matt completed internships with the Chief Judge for the US District Court, Middle District of Florida, the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, and the 12th Judicial Circuit's Office of the State Attorney in Florida. Matt also earned Book Awards in Evidence, Criminal Procedure II,...

From a young age, I was captivated by the law and envisioned becoming a lawyer. During law school, I explored various legal fields through clerkships in Wills & Trusts, Probate, Family Law, Criminal Law, Construction Law, Health Law, and general litigation. Despite these experiences, it was my work representing injured individuals that truly resonated with me. Since passing the bar in 2008 and joining the firm of Legler, Murphy & Battaglia, LLP, I have dedicated my career to personal injury law. This area presents unique challenges and deep satisfaction, particularly when advocating for clients against well-funded insurance industry lawyers. At our firm,...

Personal injury attorney Steven E. Heintz is a founding partner at Heintz & Becker. He grew up in Bradenton and has degrees from Manatee Junior College and the University of South Florida. Before attending law school, he was a private investigator. He received his Juris Doctorate from Florida State University, College of Law, in 1980. Admitted to the Florida Bar in 1980, Mr. Heintz worked in the Public Defender's office in Bradenton and the State Attorney's office in West Palm Beach. For the last 25 years, he's been exclusively representing catastrophic personal injury and accident victims. Mr. Heintz is a board...

Attorney Jason M. Melton, is a founding partner of Whittel & Melton. As a former state prosecutor, he continues fighting for victims bringing in some of the largest single event results in Central Florida. Jason is a lifetime member of the Multi-Million and Million Dollar Advocates Forum, AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and continues to be listed among SuperLawyers in Florida by Thomson Reuters. He is a Founding Member of the National Academy of Motorcycle Injury Lawyers, and in 2023 was named President. Attorney Melton is dedicated to providing clients with personalized, high-quality representation. We handle Auto Accidents, Slip and Fall, Injury, Nursing...

Michael Perenich is a third-generation personal injury lawyer. Guy Perenich, his grandfather, founded a personal injury law firm in Clearwater, Florida, in 1955, and Michael's father Mark Perenich is a personal injury lawyer as well. Born in Clearwater and raised in Tarpon Springs, Michael currently resides in Palm Harbor. He went on to complete his philosophy degree at the University of South Florida. Following his graduation from USF, Michael, like his father, enrolled in Loyola University's New Orleans College of Law. Michael interned as a law student for Honorable Judge Robert Morris of the Second District Court of Appeals. In addition, he participated in...

Carol Avard is a member of the Medical Malpractice, Social Security, Federal Torts, and Motor Vehicle Collision sections of the American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America). She is also a member of the Bad Faith, Disability Law, Employment Law, ERISA Litigation, Insurance Law, Medical Negligence, Nursing Home, PI/Wrongful Death, Products Liability, Professional Negligence, and Social Security Disability Law sections of The Florida Association for Justice. Additionally, she is an Accredited Veterans Disability Attorney. Carol is a member of the NOSSCR Board of Directors – a professional association of Social Security Disability practitioners.

James "Jay" Horne, Jr., is an AV Preeminent Rated trial attorney. He focuses his practice on medical malpractice, personal injury and wrongful death matters. He has successfully represented clients from intake through trial in state and federal court.

Jay and his team of medical professionals can handle any complex medical malpractice case. He has handled cases involving Sudden Unexpected Postnatal Collapse (SUPC), misdiagnosis and misreading of MRIs and other diagnostic methods, which resulted in catastrophic injuries to the patient. A new study published by John Hopkins Professor of Surgery, Martin Makary, indicated that Medical errors,...

With over 20 years of experience, Sarasota injury lawyer Damian Mallard has won several million dollar and multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts for his clients and is Board Certified in civil trial law, an accomplishment achieved by less than 2% of attorneys in Florida. Along with his wife, Sara Mallard, and Michael Murphy, the team of personal injury attorneys at the Mallard Law Firm serves as advocates for injury victims throughout Florida and offers free case evaluations.

Ronald W. Chapman is the owner of Chapman Law Group and has been practicing law for over 25 years in Michigan and Florida. He is AV® Rated. Ron is a recognized leader in the legal community and a frequent speaker in the area of medical malpractice and risk management. In 1997 Ron was ranked as one of the top ten speakers for Skillpath, Inc. Ron graduated from California State University, Sacramento (BA, Cum Laude 1979), University of Southern California School of Administration (MPA 1980) and Wayne State Law School (JD 1984). After receiving an Honorable Discharge from the United States Air...

I fight insurance companies, big companies, or a person who is trying to bully and railroad another person into an unfair result. I believe that the Courtroom and the American Jury is the great equalizer in civil justice. I spend my team handling auto wreck, truck accident, and premises liability cases.

At the office I am lucky that one of my law partners is my Wife Nicole, and extremely accomplished trial lawyer. My other law partner is a great friend and accomplished trial lawyer, Lee. Great people make up my team. I am excited to get to work in the morning....

About Personal Injury Attorney Mark Perenich Academics Bachelors in Public Administration: Loyola University New Orleans Juris Doctorate: Loyola University New Orleans Mark H. Perenich was born in Clearwater, Florida in 1956 and is the son of firm-founder, Guy N. Perenich, Esquire. Mark Perenich graduated from Loyola University New Orleans with a Bachelor of Public Administration in 1981 and a Juris Doctorate in 1984. Following graduation, he joined the firm where he is now a senior partner. Mark received the James Masters Award in 1981 and the American Jurisprudence Award in Wills & Estates and Corporations in 1983. Moot Court Member Taught business and corporate law at St. Petersburg...

Attorney Bryan D. Caulfield is a partner with Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers. Bryan has handled over 3000 cases in his exceptional 32-year career; he practices exclusively personal injury and wrongful death law. Bryan has experience working with car accidents, workplace accidents, motorcycle accident, and pedestrian accident cases, to name but a few. Bryan has received numerous accolades and has many exceptional achievements as part of his legal career. Attorney Bryan Caulfield has achieved Board Certification as a Civil Trial Lawyer from the Florida Bar. Less than 2% of attorneys in the State of Florida have received this...

Patrick W. Harland, Jr. is a seasoned litigator and personal injury attorney having tried cases in both Florida State and Federal Court.

Upon graduating from Stetson University College of Law in 1999, Mr. Harland focused his law practice on defending insurance companies as well as some of the nation’s largest nursing home chains in liability suits relating to patient care. Mr. Harland also defended physicians in correctional healthcare cases brought by inmates alleging civil rights violations due to inadequate healthcare.

Today, Mr. Harland uses that defense background to the advantage of St. Petersburg clients who have been injured by the negligence of...

Sara is a health care attorney for Chapman Law Group’s Sarasota Of?ce. She is dedicated to the defense of individual health care practitioners as well as health care entities.

Prior to joining the Firm, Sara worked for the Board of Governors of the State of Florida University System under the University of Florida J. Hillis Miller Health Center Self-Insurance Program defending participating health care providers. She worked on an array of topics related to trial preparation and alternative dispute resolution for malpractice defense cases.

Her passion for health care law brought her to work for the University of Florida Health System and...

Attorney Hillary Johnson is a former prosecutor who brings experience and exceptional legal knowledge to each case she tries. She holds a degree in communication from Florida State University and Juris Doctor from the Jones School of Law at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama. While she was in law school, Ms. Johnson completed an internship with the State Attorney’s Office in Panama City. After graduation, she worked as an attorney with Florida’s Department of Children and Families before accepting a position at the State Attorney’s Office in Manatee County and Sarasota. It was while she was at the...

Tracee L. Ivins graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology. After graduation she worked for the State of Florida as a certified investigator, before deciding to pursue a law degree. As an attorney Ms. Ivins has handled files from inception all the way to a jury verdict. Her experience has included claims involving serious bodily injury, product liability injury and wrongful death arising from auto accidents, slip and falls, dog bites, negligent security, motorcycle and tractor trailer accidents.

Lawsuits including Negligence, Breach of Contract, Negligent Entrustment, Uninsured Motorist Insurance Claims, Under-Insured Motorists Insurance disputes, Wrongful Death, Bad...

Maria Gerber is an attorney devoted to the practice of personal injury law in Sarasota, Florida. As a Florida native with two decades of legal experience, Attorney Gerber knows exactly what it takes to help a client get the amount of compensation they deserve. In addition, Ms. Gerber’s firm operates on a contingency fee basis, which means that her clients do not owe anything unless she is able to help them win. To find out more about working with Attorney Gerber, be sure to contact her firm, The Gerber Law, PA, today.

I practice civil litigation and criminal defense. I began my legal career in the Washington, D.C. office of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, a New York-based international law firm, where I was a member of the business fraud litigation group. In 2010, I returned to Sarasota, where I was born a raised, to practice law with my father, a board certified civil trial lawyer with over 40 years of experience, and his law partner, Elliott Metcalfe, an AV rated former public defender with over 30 years and thousands of trials worth of experience. I have experience representing commercial...

Chris Lancaster graduated the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan, concentrating in Litigation. At the end of his educational career he completed a 14-week externship at the Clearwater Public Defender's office. He then began his legal career in Clearwater, Florida at Public Defender's Office for the 6th Judicial Circuit as an Assistant Public Defender, and in 2010 had the most first-chair jury trials in his office. Since then he has had experience as a defense attorney specializing in litigation of nursing home actions, professional liability and general liability cases.

Matthew Emerson been a practicing attorney for more than 24 years. He has been trial counsel on a multitude of cases resulting in jury verdicts, settlements, or judgments amounting to more than $1,000,000.

Matt earned his juris doctorate degree at Stetson University College of Law in 1993 where he graduated cum laude. Throughout his time there, he was awarded many recognitions some of which include honors grants, Dean’s Lists, and book awards.

After a clerkship, Matthew worked as an associate attorney with Rwyant, Alvarez, Jones, Russo & Guyton, P.A., a well-respected law firm in Tampa, FL.

While with Rwyant law firm, he represented...

Frank F. Fernandez, III, was born in Tampa, Florida. After obtaining his degree in Finance from the University of Florida in 1989, Mr. Fernandez attended Stetson University, College of Law, in St. Petersburg, Florida, receiving his Juris Doctorate law degree in 1992. Following an internship with the U.S. District Court, for the Middle District of Florida, Mr. Fernandez began his legal career as an Assistant State Attorney prosecuting criminal cases in Tampa, Florida.


In 1994, Mr. Fernandez joined the Orlando-based law firm of Meyers, Mooney and Meyers specializing in plaintiffs’ personal injury law and worker’s compensation disputes. In 1996,...

Tom Masterson is a native of St. Petersburg, Florida. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida in 1972 and his Doctorate of Jurisprudence, Magna Cum Laude, from South Texas College of Law in 1975.

Tom Masterson has been practicing law since 1975 and is the managing partner of Masterson, Hoag & Smith, P.A. His father, Barney Masterson, was the founding member of the firm. Mr. Masterson concentrates his practice on medical malpractice, legal malpractice, personal injury and wrongful death claims.

Matt Powell has been protecting injured victims and their families in the Tampa Bay area for over 30 years. He is dual Board Certified as a Civil Trial Lawyer by The Florida Bar and National Board of Trial Advocacy. At his firm MattLaw, he handles cases involving car crashes, trucking crashes, birth injuries, medical malpractice, wrongful death, bicycle crashes, negligent security, products liability, and many other types of injury cases. Matt first practiced law with a well-known defense firm in Tallahassee that represented over 20 insurance companies, negligent drivers and doctors. During that time, Matt learned the techniques insurance companies use...

The Founding Partner of The Frank Santini Law Firm graduated summa cum laude from Stetson University Law School. Prior to founding The Frank Santini Law Firm, he worked with a large Florida law firm representing corporations, banks, and insurance companies. Now, Frank Santini represents individuals who have suffered an injustice. More specifically, Frank Santini is a personal injury lawyer who handles personal injury matters from serious car accidents to mesothelioma and cancer-causing products and drugs.

Attorney Santini is a former professional wrestler and is recognized as the only known attorney in the history of the National Wrestling Alliance...

Christian Myer is a prominent civil litigation attorney in the Tampa Bay area. Formerly a criminal defense attorney, Christian now defends and advances the rights of injury victims with the Dolman Law Group. If you are in the need of a personal injury attorney or a criminal defense attorney in the Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Crystal Beach, Ozona, Dunedin, Largo, Pinellas Park, Bradenton, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Tampa or Trinity areas, contact me at christian@dolmanlaw.com

You really can’t be sure how a tragedy will affect your life, and the lives of those around you, until someone else causes injury to you, or takes the life of someone you know. Once it happens, you may be angry. Maybe you can’t work, or pay your bills, or get the medical care you need, or you just want to make sure the wrongdoer is held accountable. Whatever your reason, and whatever your questions, we are here to help you. At Distasio Law Firm, we put the wants and needs of our clients first. We fight for those...

Board Certified Trial Specialist Chris Limberopoulos is the Lead Trial Lawyer at the Florida Law Group. With more than three decades of legal experience, his primary focus is on helping clients with catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful death claims.

Chris maintains membership in a variety of professional associations, including the American Association for Justice, the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocated Forum, among others. In addition, he has authored published works on personal injury and civil trial law.

Chris’s board certification by the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification places him among the top...