Over the last forty-plus years, Mr. Eriksen has completed over 175 jury trials involving severe injuries or deaths – and has handled and successfully settled many more – involving automobile liability, premises liability (including on-premise crimes, and slips, trips, and falls resulting in severe injuries – only),  product liability (involving defective or unreasonably dangerous vehicles, machines, drugs, and medical devices), and maritime liability.

Michael D. Eriksen personally handles all cases accepted by his firm. He personally deals with his clients, who are not relegated to paralegals or legal assistants. All preliminary client consultations with Mr. Eriksen are absolutely free; and Mr. Eriksen charges a “contingent fee,” which means he gets paid and reimbursed for expenses only if he recovers money damages for his client.

Mr. Eriksen, is one (1) of only four (4) active plaintiffs’ trial lawyers (out of several thousand personal injury lawyers in Florida) who are dual-Board Certified by the Florida Bar as a Specialist in both Civil Trial Law and Admiralty & Maritime Law; and he is well-known to the defendants, insurance companies, and defense lawyers he regularly opposes.

He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and all federal and state trial courts in Florida.

Mr. Eriksen personally handles all cases accepted by the firm.

Unless a lawsuit for death or severe injury is settled beforehand, a jury (or, rarely, a judge) sets the amount of compensation due at a trial in a court.

Insurance companies and self-insured defendants often wait to offer their “top dollar” settlement amount until just before (and sometimes during) the trial itself.

Insurance companies and self-insured defendants first want to see that the plaintiff’s attorney is a technically-skilled, experienced trial lawyer who is willing to spend the time and money necessary to fully prepare a winning case for trial and who possesses the medical knowledge required to contend with the doctors hired by the defense to discount the plaintiff’s injuries.

Having the knowledge, experience and ability to win significant automobile liability, premises liability, product liability or maritime lawsuit for the plaintiff means much more than just having a law degree and a knack for advertising and self-promotion.

Instead, it comes only from years of experience actually handling such lawsuits and trials to conclusion and becoming immersed in the latest, relevant technical and medical developments and literature in the process.

A rational way to evaluate and select a plaintiffs attorney is to identify, contact, and ask lawyers who have opposed them (rather than relying on an advertisement or website of an unfamiliar plaintiffs lawyer). Defense law firms which have opposed Mr. Eriksen in the recent past, and are familiar with him, include Horr, Skipp & Perez; Mase, Seitz, & Briggs; and Fertig & Gramling.