Case Autopsy: The Settlement and Verdict Podcast

Michael Young of Reichardt Noce & Young in St. Louis, Missouri joins Mike Campbell and Chris Finney to talk about insurance cases from the defense angle. Michael is a litigation partner at Reichardt Noce & Young. For over 20 years, he’s represented insurers in complex insurance coverage matters in all steps of the claims process.

During the pod, Mike Young and our hosts shed light on the realities of insurance defense and some of the issues that insurers deal with when they seek aid from a firm like Michael’s. They also discuss the complexities of some of the cases Michael handles and how the language of insurance policies changes over time to better suit both insurers and insureds.

To learn more about Michael Young, please visit: https://www.reichardtnoce.com/michael-young

Matt Sharp of Law Office of Matthew L. Sharp in Reno joins Mike Campbell and Chris Finney to discuss an outstanding result where Matt Sharp and his co-counsel obtained $200 Million in a health insurance bad faith verdict. The case was against the largest health insurer in the country that denied a client the proton beam radiation therapy he needed to treat his lung cancer. The denial was made automatically—without conducting a proper investigation and examining the risks of alternative treatment.

During the pod, Matt Sharp dives deep into the reasoning of the denial and the occurrences that led up to his client passing away due to horrible complications from the alternative treatment he was forced to undergo and how he and his co-counsel handled the 14-day trial and approached their arguments and courtroom strategies.

To learn more about Matt Sharp and his practice, please visit: https://mattsharplaw.com/

In this episode, Mike Campbell and Chris Finney sit down with Wes Shumate of Davis Bethune & Jones to talk about a recent case verdict he and his firm were able to achieve for a sheriff’s deputy who was sexually assaulted in her own hotel room in 2016 while attending a crime scene investigation seminar in downtown St. Louis.

The jury awarded the woman $177 million, including $149 in punitive damages. The court agreed with Wes Shumate that the hotel needed to be held accountable for letting the assault occur. The assaulter was a security guard employed by the hotel who used his master key to enter the victim’s room while she was sleeping.

During the pod, Wes dives deep into the details of the case and how it transpired.  

Coming off several outstanding verdicts, Nolan Drafahl sits down with Chris and Mike to discuss a wide range of topics. In the pod, Nolan describes a recent medical malpractice trial, his own experience with serving as a juror, and how all of his experiences form his approach to trying cases. The discussion was good enough to break this podcast into two episodes. This is part 2 of the discussion.

Coming off several outstanding verdicts, Nolan Drafahl sits down with Chris and Mike to discuss a wide range of topics. In the pod, Nolan describes a recent medical malpractice trial, his own experience with serving as a juror, and how all of his experiences form his approach to trying cases. The discussion was good enough to break this podcast into two episodes. Part II of our discussion with Nolan will be released in Episode 16.

In this episode, attorney Mark Prince talks about his how theme, “time is of the essence,” resonated with jurors during a recent medical malpractice trial. Mike and Mark talk about Mark’s approach to jury selection, opening, and evidence presentation. In his practice, Mark Prince concentrates on representing people who have been harmed in any manner by the wrongful conduct of other people or corporations. His passion for lending a helping hand to those in need has resulted in Mark handling just about every type of personal injury case we can imagine.

Rick Barrera and Adrian Vega join the pod today to discuss an outstanding result they obtained in a very complicated medical malpractice case on behalf of a very deserving child. As listeners will learn, the experts in this case were not getting behind Adrian’s theories of liability. Through resilience, hard work, and countless hours, Adrian was able to find a path to liability and managed to get experts on board. The case also speaks to the power of teamwork, as Adrian’s partners Rick and Kent were able to look at this very complicated case from a “10,000 foot view” and help establish a theme that jurors could follow. As discussed on the pod, even though the medicine was complicated, the reason why these doctors failed their patient was not. Through grit and determination, these outstanding lawyers were able to guide this case to a result that ensured the injured child will have a lifetime of care.

Over a decade ago, a University of Virginia womans’ lacrosse player, Yeardly Love, was murdered by her boyfriend. Even though a jury found him guilty and sentenced him to 25 years in prison, Love’s family was left without closure. Partial closure was finally received by the family when a trial team, led by Kevin Biniazan, was able to convince a civil jury that the murder of Yeardly Love was willful and wanton. Through outstanding lawyering, Biniazan was able to ensure the jury found both that Huguely willfully murdered Love and the ensured the verdict would not be dischargeable in bankruptcy. Biniazan joins Tad and Mike to discuss the verdict, his work on the case, and the meaning it had for the family.

Render Freeman joins the pod to discuss a recent verdict he obtained on behalf of a very deserving family in a rural Georgia venue. The passion Render has for justice for this family is evident throughout the podcast. In the pod, we drill deep into the challenges Render faced in developing the direct examination of his client’s surviving spouse and daughter, and the raw emotion and authenticity that was alive in the courtroom. Render also describes how he overcame obstacles in developing his liability case against a complex web of corporations and against a defendant who denied liability throughout. An outstanding listen for anyone who is struggling with any type of case, large or small, as Render is truly one of the best trial lawyers in the country. The advice he shares will improve anyone’s practice.

Attorney Rob Sachs of Shrager and Sachs joins Chris and Mike to discuss how his firm works endlessly to ensure their seriously injured clients are compensated to the fullest extent of the law. In the episode, Rob breaks down his work on a significant injury case for a pedestrian who was hit while walking in a crosswalk. Some of the challenges in this case involved the financial circumstances and age of the plaintiff, as well as the defendant’s ability to garner sympathy.

Most lawyers believe they can handle an auto vs. pedestrian case, but Rob shows us how we can handle them well. At the outset of this case, Rob’s firm and investigators began canvassing the scene to gather evidence. As you’ll hear in the Pod, the quick work done by Rob’s firm provided evidence that was critical in establishing liability. Rob also explains how he built his damages case and the steps he took to ensure he could present the best damages case possible.

We are grateful for Rob’s time and willingness to share his wealth of wisdom on the Pod.

To learn more about Rob’s practice, please visit his website: https://www.shragerlaw.com/about-us/

Do you have a verdict or settlement you want to discuss on Case Autopsy? Feel free to email Mike at [email protected].