This week on The Great Trials Podcast, Steve & Yvonne welcome trial attorneys Robert Chaiken of Chaiken + Chaiken and Paul Perkins of Paul & Perkins to break down how they held a municipality accountable—winning a $37.54 million verdict for a victim devastated by a high-speed police pursuit that should have been called off.
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View/Download Trial Documents:
Transcript of Proceedings Excerpt
Jocelyn Holt Amended Expert Report
Guest Bios:
Robert Chaiken
Rob Chaiken was born in Falls Church, Virginia on March 26, 1966. He attended the University of Texas in Austin, where he graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science Degree. He attended law school at the University of Florida and graduated from law school in 1991. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and is a member of the United States District Courts for Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He is also a member of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) and Texas Trial Lawyers Associations (TTLA). Rob began his legal career working for the largest downtown Fort Worth, Texas law firm and focused his practice initially on the defense of large complex commercial cases and personal injury defense. Over time, he developed his practice to include the representation of individuals in various catastrophic personal injury matters as well representation of individuals and companies in all matters of business and commercial litigation. In 1998, he decided to start the firm and combine his practice skills with those of his brother Ken to form a boutique trial practice without the bureaucratic limitations of a large firm. Although Ken has now retired, the firm remains dedicated to its roots as a family-focused but complex-oriented litigation and trial firm. Rob’s philosophy for the firm has always been to focus on a discrete number of serious cases where complete and meticulous preparation enables the firm to effectively win cases at trial and/or force the best resolutions for its client where cases resolve without a trial. Rob focuses his injury and wrongful death practice on serious, catastrophic injuries arising out of workplace injuries, product liability, trucking and 18-wheeler injuries, aviation crash cases, helicopter crash cases, oilfield injuries, trucking and commercial vehicle injuries, medical malpractice, medical device and pharmaceutical injuries, electrocution and electrical shock injuries, burn injuries, brain injuries, amputations, paralysis, blindness, drunk driver cases, dram shop cases, and child injury cases.
He has been selected as Texas Monthly Super Lawyer on several occasions. This is a distinction that is awarded to only a select few (less than 5%) lawyers throughout the State of Texas. He is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell which is the highest ethical and professional rating. He frequently speaks and lectures on various legal topics to various legal organizations. He is also a participating member and Texas representative of the Child Injury Network. This is an association of lawyers dedicated to child safety issues and the protection of children through litigation when necessary. Rob is happily married with two children who are both lawyers and spends his spare time enjoying his family, watching sports, reading, traveling, working out and playing with his dogs. Along with his family, he raises puppies to become service dogs for Canine Companions for Independence.
Paul Perkins
Paul C. Perkins, Jr. was born and reared in Orlando, Florida. He developed a passionate desire to seek justice at an early age by watching his father Paul C. Perkins display his skills in court and act as a business and civic leader the community in which they lived. Paul’s parents instilled in him an understanding of the blessings he was given and the obligation he had to society to make an impact. “Of whom much is given, much is required.” After graduating from Trinity Preparatory School, he enrolled at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, surmising that there would be no better place to be prepared to serve than the training ground for some of America’s greatest leaders. At Morehouse, Mr. Perkins finally decided that the best way for him to make an impact was to follow in his father’s footsteps and seek justice in America’s courtrooms on behalf of those less fortunate. Knowing he would be returning to his home town, he enrolled at the University of Florida College of Law in Gainesville.
Mr. Perkins has won many verdicts in Florida Courtrooms, including a recent $5.9 million verdict on behalf of a man whose foot was run over by a forklift while he was working in a local warehouse. More recently, Paul obtained a confidential multi-million dollar settlement on behalf of a man whose arm was traumatically amputated when the automobile he was repairing was knocked off the lift by a co-worker. Mr. Perkins has also represented countless homeowners whose insurance companies have wrongfully denied or underpaid their hurricane, hail damage, water loss or fire claims in Florida, with multiple successful jury verdicts against the largest insurance companies in the state.
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