Rich Newsome | Pat Dougherty and Anita Forester, as Co-Personal Representatives of the Estate of Abigail Dougherty v. WCA of Florida, LLC | $25 million verdict

This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Rich Newsome of Newsome Melton Law Firm (https://www.newsomelaw.com/).

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Episode Details:

Orlando trial lawyer Rich Newsome of Newsome Melton Law Firm shares how he successfully advocated for the parents of deceased University of Florida student Abigail Dougherty after she was struck and killed by a Waste Corporation of America (WCA) garbage truck while riding her bicycle. On October 28, 2016, Abigail was riding her bike in the dedicated bicycle lane near 17th Street and University Avenue in Gainesville, Florida, when a 15-year veteran WCA driver made a right turn, striking the rear tire of Abigail's bike in the crosswalk. Abigail and her bicycle were pulled under the truck, dragged and crushed by the right rear tires of the 2,000-ton vehicle. Despite the defense's attempts to blame Abigail for this tragic collision, Rich convinced the jury that WCA was responsible due to its driver's negligent actions, including not checking the right-side mirrors and making a sharp turn at a high speed. In October 2018, an Alachua County, Florida jury assigned 80% of the blame for Abigail's death to WCA and awarded a sum of $12,500,000 in damages to each of Abigail's parents, Pat Dougherty and Anita Forester, resulting in a major $25 million verdict.

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Guest Bios:

Rich Newsome

Rich Newsome is the senior partner of the Newsome Melton law firm and represents people and families in complex civil litigation.

After graduating from the University of Florida College of Law in 1989, Rich worked as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida. Rich left the U.S. Attorney's Office in 1993 and went to work for a large product liability defense firm in Orlando, Florida where he represented manufacturers. After defending a manufacturer in a case brought by a family who lost a child, Rich felt compelled to leave the defense practice and began representing only families and individuals. Since then, for more than 25 years, Rich’s practice has focused on representing people who have suffered catastrophic or fatal injuries.

In 2001, Rich was appointed by the Florida Governor to the Fifth District Court of Appeals Judicial Nominating Commission and served as the JNC’s Chairman during his term. He is a Past-President of the Orlando Federal Bar Association, Past-President of the Florida Justice Association, Past-Member of the Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice, Past-President of the Central Florida Trial Lawyers Association, and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocacy.

Rich is a graduate of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyer’s College and was invited to serve as a member of the College Faculty. Rich is a member of the Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and Oregon Bar Associations.

In 2016, Rich was selected as the “Orlando Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers, a peer-review publication. In 2015, Rich received the Steven C. Sharpe Public Service Award from the American Association for Justice, in recognition of his representation of Corey Burdick who was severely injured by a defective Takata airbag. The Steven C. Sharpe Award is awarded annually to one attorney and their client.

In 2017, Rich was appointed to the Constitution Revision Commission by Richard Corcoran, the Speaker of Florida’s House of Representatives. The 37 member Commission drafted and submitted 32 amendments to the Florida Constitution which were placed on the ballot and approved by Florida voters to be part of the Florida Constitution in November 2018.

In 2019, Rich was recognized by the National Law Journal as having won two of the Nation’s 100 largest verdicts in 2018.

Rich is a member of the Summit Council, a national group of America's best plaintiff trial lawyers. Membership is limited to less than thirty trial lawyers from across the country, is by invitation only, and is extended to lawyers who have a proven record of large jury verdicts and are recognized as leaders of the national plaintiffs bar.

Rich is a founding faculty member of Trial School, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that seeks to foster collaboration between lawyers on today’s best trial advocacy methods and to provide free education and practice for trial lawyers who exclusively represent people and families.

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Free Resources:

Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1

Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2