Civil Trial Defense Law Firm
La Cava Jacobson & Goodis handles litigation and appeals in all Florida state and federal courts.
Fort Lauderdale
550 West Cypress Creek Rd.
Suite 150
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
Tel: (754) 301-5060
Fax: (754) 551-6884
St. Petersburg
200 Central Avenue
Suite 250
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701
Tel: (727) 477-1013
Fax: (727) 550-0811
Jacksonville
1200 Riverplace Boulevard
Suite 201
Jacksonville, Florida 32207
Tel: (904) 564-1900
Fax: (904) 980-9231
Tampa
501 East Kennedy Blvd.
12th Floor
Tampa, Florida 33602
Tel: (813) 209-9611
Fax: (813) 209-9511
Miami
7700 North Kendall Drive
Suite 411
Miami, FL 33156
Tel: (786) 724-2600
Fax: (305) 847-3788
West Palm Beach
701 Northpoint Parkway
Suite 330
West Palm Beach, FL 33407
Tel: (561) 282-1470
Fax: (561) 689-5013
Naples
9150 Galleria Court
Suite 100
Naples, Florida 34109
Tel: (239) 300-9679
Fax: (239) 734-3546
Jaclyn Jones Obtained a Final Summary Judgment for a Defendant Hospital
/in Firm ResultsLou La Cava and Andrew Hudson Obtained a Directed Verdict for a Medical Malpractice Case Tried in Hillsborough County
/in Firm ResultsJon Lynn and Cynthia Lynn Obtained a Defense Verdict for a Medical Malpractice Case in Naples, Florida
/in Firm ResultsThe Plaintiff did not argue that there was any negligence in connection with the actual administration of the spinal anesthesia. The claim was that there was a lack of consent and therefore, the spinal anesthetic should not have been used. If it was not used, they argued she would not have suffered the complication which requires her to catheterize herself 5-6 times a day. The Plaintiff’s position was that she had had a bad experience with an epidural anesthetic when she had delivered her children (30 years before her knee surgery) and testified that she had a heated argument with the Defendants during her pre-anesthesia evaluation, but ultimately gave in to the anesthesia team who insisted that she have a spinal anesthetic so that she could get her knee repaired. Neither of the Defendants (the anesthesiologist or the CRNA) nor the student nurse anesthetist who participated in the patient’s anesthetic management had an independent recollection of the surgery or the encounter with the patient which had occurred 9 years before the trial. Both the Plaintiffs’ and the Defendants’ called a series of expert witnesses to address the lack of consent, causation and damage issues in the case. The Plaintiff asked the jury to award close to two million dollars. After deliberating for 2 1/2 hours, the jury returned a total defense verdict.
Lou La Cava and Andrew Hudson Obtained a Defense Verdict in a Medical Malpractice Case in Saint Petersburg, Florida
/in Firm ResultsLou La Cava’s Successful Defense Leads to Dismissal of Florida Department of Health Administrative Complaint Against Physician
/in Firm ResultsLou La Cava and Andrew Hudson Obtained a Defense Verdict in a Medical Malpractice Case in Ocala, Florida
/in Firm ResultsJeffrey Goodis and Jaclyn Jones Obtained a Defense Verdict in a Medical Malpractice case in Hillsborough County
/in Firm ResultsAt trial, the defense presented evidence that the physician acted quickly and appropriately in her care and treatment of the patient. In triage, the patient could not talk and his only communication with the Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician was a few short letters typed out on is phone, an acronym for his hereditary condition. She called for anesthesia to assist with intubation of the difficult airway and was about to intubate herself when anesthesia walked in and quickly intubated on the first attempt. Our retained Pediatric Emergency Medicine expert testified that the intubation not only occurred quickly, but likely 7 minutes after the Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician first saw the patient in triage. Further, the defense established that an endotracheal tube becoming dislodged is a known complication and likely occurred shortly after a chest x-ray confirmed appropriate endotracheal tube depth. The patient’s oxygen saturations and HR started dropping after the x-ray, and the Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician recognized the issue and heroically started CPR. The patient was reintubated during CPR and there was a return of spontaneous circulation shortly thereafter. The defense expert testified that the Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician did not act with reckless disregard.
Three (3) months prior to the patient’s presentation to the ER, he had stopped taking the medication prescribed for his hereditary condition, which historically prevented laryngeal swelling. The defense established that the decedent likely waited hours or even a day, after onset of symptoms, before coming to the hospital after the episode began. The defense expert established that the failure to take his medications was the cause of his death.
After a short deliberation, the jury returned a verdict for the defendants having found that the Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician did not act with reckless disregard in her care and treatment of the patient. After rejecting reasonable offers of settlement, the plaintiffs were not awarded any monies by the jurors.
Tia Jones and Kari Jacobson Obtained a Defense Verdict for a Hotel in Orange County in a General Liability Lawsuit
/in Firm ResultsAt trial, Plaintiff admitted to walking through the area multiple times without any issues prior to her fall. Moreover, all the Hotel witnesses testified that the Hotel was unaware of a leak in the ceiling prior to the incident and it would have been checked by Hotel staff prior to renting the room to Plaintiff. The Defense called a neurosurgeon at trial who testified that Plaintiff had pre-existing lumbar conditions which was the cause of her pain not the fall. The jury concluded that there was no negligence on part of the hotel which was the legal cause of injuries and damages to Plaintiff.
Andrew Hudson obtains Dismissal with Prejudice in a Medical Malpractice Case
/in Firm ResultsBrittany Hudson Obtained a Summary Judgment on Behalf of Podiatrist
/in Firm Results