Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are extremely serious injuries that can affect victims and their families for a lifetime.

A traumatic brain injury is often caused by a blow to the head or a penetrating injury that causes a disruption in brain function. Other common causes of TBI include physical assault, athletic injuries, shaken-baby syndrome and accidents at home, work or outdoors. 

The leading cause of TBI for adolescents and adults is motor vehicle accidents and newborns can also suffer brain injuries at birth due to lack of oxygen to the brain.

Leighton Panoff Law is committed to representing clients who have been affected by brain injury in Miami at the hands of another’s negligence or mistake. The firm’s attorneys seek to bring justice to those who have suffered.

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Mr. Leighton has lectured extensively on catastrophic injuries including traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury, and is considered one of the best brain injury lawyers in Florida. 

He frequently works with some of the leading experts in medicine, biomechanical engineering, and life care planning when representing our clients to obtain them best possible verdict or settlement.

A History of Successful Brain Injury Cases

Leighton Panoff Law and our attorneys have represented many clients who have sustained brain injuries of all types. These include:

• brain damage from medical mistakes at birth (hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy)
• surgical mistakes
• deprivation of oxygen
• slip and falls
• motor vehicle and trucking crashes
• medication errors
• boating mishaps
• violent crimes
• head trauma from any impact to the body
• diving and water sports

In one case, Mr. Leighton successfully obtained a multi-million dollar recovery for a man who was shot in the head and suffered brain damage during the course of an armed robbery at a convenience store. 

In another, a man was struck in the head as he was taking his luggage out of the trunk of his rental car at a hotel.  A confidential settlement was obtained for the tourist who suffered mild traumatic brain injury.

Mr. Leighton obtained the largest jury verdict in Seminole County history, a $24,100,000 award for a brain damaged child and her parents as a result of oxygen deprivation at birth. Shoaf v. Geiling, Seminole County Circuit Court Case No.2000-CA-201-09-K. (Orlando Business Journal, June 20, 2005.)

In a recent case, our client suffered a catastrophic brain injury following a routine surgical procedure when she was improperly monitored and resuscitated.

A confidential $9,000,000 settlement was obtained by Mr. Leighton to provide lifetime care for this wonderful family. Jane Doe v. Anonymous Hospital.

Mr. Leighton represented another client in Chicago, Illinois, who was rendered brain damaged when a hospital failed to properly diagnose and treat her condition.

We obtained a $4.3 million recovery for our client and her family. R. W. v. Major Teaching Hospital (Cook County Circuit Court, Chicago, IL).

Motor vehicle crashes are often the prime cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBI).  Mr. Leighton has represented many clients with traumatic brain injuries ranging from mild to moderate to severe. 

In one recent case Leighton Panoff Law recovered $3,500,000 for a man who sustained a brain injury in a motorcycle crash in Central Florida.

Sometimes nursing homes fail to protect their residents. The elderly are at great risk of traumatic brain injury, because their balance may be poor, their bones more brittle and their ability to heal from trauma weak. 

In one case, John Leighton won $1 million for a woman who suffered a brain injury after falling numerous times at a Key West nursing home.

Mr. Leighton also obtained a $2.1 million recovery for a woman who sustained a brain injury from a closed head trauma suffered in a boating accident in Broward County, Florida. 

Although this young woman’s MRI and CT scans did not show organic damage, which can often be the case, the injury to her brain resulted in concentration problems and executive function disorders that Leighton was able to prove through litigation and expert testimony.

In another maritime case, Leighton represented a man who suffered a closed head injury when the mooring line of a large cruise ship was improperly handled by the crew. 

The line snapped, crashing through the window of the room where the passenger sat.  He was thrown across the room and suffered closed head trauma.  Mr. Leighton won a verdict in court on behalf of this passenger. Johns v. Norweigian Cruise Line, Miami Dade Circuit Court.

Leighton Panoff Law recently recovered $1,000,000 for a child who had suffered a mild traumatic brain injury while a passenger in a taxicab that was in a crash. 

Though not apparent immediately, over time the child developed problems that experts related to the incident where he suffered a traumatic brain injury. 

After aggressive litigation and the involvement of forensic experts in the field of traumatic brain injury, including forensic pediatric neuropsychologists, the firm was able to secure a recovery for this young man and ensure that his medical costs and future educational needs were provided. 

John Leighton and Max Panoff followed that recovery by winning $1,000,000 for a man who fell and struck his head on a walkway. 

Despite the fact that he did not seek medical attention for almost six months, Leighton and Panoff were able to develop evidence through cutting edge medical evidence that the client sustained a traumatic brain injury with delayed onset of symptoms.

The lawyers, paralegals, nurses, investigators and staff at Leighton Panoff Law are available to speak with you about any brain injury case. Please feel free to call us at 888-395-0001 or contact us through our online contact form and we will get back to you right away.

Disclaimer: The information about past verdicts and settlements of the firm’s cases are based on the unique facts of each case. These amounts reflect the gross recovery in each case (before attorneys fees, expenses and medical costs are deducted). Although these results were obtained by our firm, they may not indicate the success or value of any other case as each case is unique. By reviewing this material and the firm’s past results you are acknowledging that every case is different and each case must be evaluated on its own merits. The information contained here has not been reviewed or approved by The Florida Bar.