LexisNexis Practice Guide: Florida Personal Injury

Ervin A. Gonzalez is a 1985 graduate cum laude of the University of Miami School of Law where he now serves as an adjunct professor for the trial skills litigation program. He is licensed to practice law in Florida (state and federal), Washington D.C., Texas (state and federal), New York, Colorado (state and federal), the U.S. District Courts of Arizona and Michigan, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Gonzalez is Florida Bar Board Certified in Civil Trial Law and Business Litigation. He formerly served on The Florida Bar Board of Governors and is a former member of The Florida Bar Civil Procedure Rules Committee. He is also a member and past president of the Dade County Bar Association and the Dade County Trial Lawyers Association, and is a former director of the Florida Justice Association (f/k/a the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers). Mr. Gonzalez is an elected member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and an appointed member of the National Board of Trustees for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.

Mr. Gonzalez frequently writes and lectures for the American Bar Association, the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, The Florida Bar, the Dade County Trial Lawyers Association, and other bar associations. He has appeared on 20/20, CNN, Dateline, and NPR, and his published works include the Dade County Trial Lawyers Advanced Trial Handbook. Since 2005, he has consistently been ranked as one of America's leading lawyers by various sources, including Lawyer Weekly USA, The Daily Business Review, Florida Super Lawyers, Florida Trend Magazine, South Florida Legal Guide, and Who's Who Legal: Florida. Mr. Gonzalez is a partner with Colson Hicks Eidson Colson Matthews Martinez Gonzalez Kalbac & Kane in Coral Gables.

Lyndall M. Lambert is a partner at Holland & Knight LLP, in the firm's Miami, Florida office. Ms. Lambert has 25 years of litigation experience in the defense of aviation and product liability cases. She has represented major commercial airlines in multi-district litigation arising out of various domestic and foreign airline crashes, including the crash of Delta Flight 191 in Dallas, Texas; the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland; the accident involving American Airlines Flight 965 near Cali, Colombia, and the accident involving American Airlines Flight 1420 in Little Rock, Arkansas. In product liability cases, she has represented manufacturers and sellers of many diverse products, including tires, construction equipment, lifting equipment, medical products, elevators and aircraft components. Her litigation experience also includes medical malpractice defense, toxic tort litigation, wrongful death damages and personal injury claims, appellate practice and alternative dispute resolution. Ms. Lambert is a member of The Florida Bar, and she is admitted to practice law before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals; the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida; and the Florida Supreme Court. She is also the Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Dade County Defense Bar Association. Ms. Lambert earned her B.A. in biology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1977, and her J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law in 1980.

Jack J. Fine is a partner with Fine, Farkash & Parlapiano, P.A., in Gainesville, FL. Mr. Fine is an experienced personal injury plaintiffs' attorney who graduated from the University of Florida College of Law with honors in 1976. Mr. Fine is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell. He also has served as an Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Florida Levin College of Law since 1984, where he teaches trial practice. Mr. Fine's notable cases include Graham v. Vann, 394 So. 2d 176 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981), and Turner v. PCR, Inc., 754 So. 2d 683 (Fla. 2000).

Daniel J. Kissane is a partner with Seipp, Flick & Kissane, a civil litigation firm emphasizing product liability defense, commercial litigation, maritime litigation, as well as estate and probate litigation, with offices in Miami, Jacksonville and Lake Mary, Florida. He is a 1984 graduate of the University of Miami (B.A.) and received his J.D. in 1988 from St. Thomas University (magna cum laude ). His area of substantial experience is product liability defense litigation, with an emphasis on automobiles, tires, construction equipment, motorcycles, forklifts, ATV's, hand tools and personal watercraft. Mr. Kissane is a member of the Automobile Products Subcommittee of the Products Liability Committee of the American Bar Association, and a Prime Member of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys. He is a frequent contributor to the Trends Report and other publications prepared by the Automobile Products Subcommittee of the ABA. Mr. Kissane has represented, among others: Honda Motor Co.; Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motor Sales, USA; Isuzu Motor Co.; Mitsubishi Motor Co.; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.; Snap-On Tools; The Procter & Gamble Co.; Deere & Company; Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.; Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. and various other product manufacturers. Mr. Kissane is a member of The Florida Bar (1988), the United States District Court for the Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Florida and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He is also AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Glenn M. Burton is the Managing Shareholder in the Tampa law firm of Burton, Schulte, Weekley, McLaughlin and Beytin, P.A. He is AV-rated by Martindale Hubbel and board-certified in civil trial by The Florida Bar. He presently serves on the Executive Board of the Trial Lawyers Section of The Florida Bar. Practice areas include professional liability with an emphasis on representation of defendant health care providers and hospitals. General litigation practice includes defense of general casualty, personal injury, and product liability claims. He is a frequent author and lecturer in seminars, law schools and grand round presentations. He teaches annually at the Advanced Trial Advocacy Course of The Florida Bar. [Editor's Note: Mr. Burton provided consultation and commentary for Chapter, 5, Medical Malpractice, and Chapter 6, Nursing Home, Assisted Living, and Adult Family Care Actions].