Partners Tom & Eric Speaking at Annual FLABOTA Convention

Posted on | July 22, 2011 | No Comments

Partners Tom Edwards and Eric Ragatz are speaking at this year’s 14th Annual FLABOTA Convention at the Hammock Beach Resort. Both are speaking Friday morning during the Educational Program held on Friday, July 22, 2011.  The first part of the presentation features Tom giving an update on the 2011 Legislative Session Report. Then Eric give a presentation on Updates in Trial Practice Case Law. Their session is scheduled to last from 9:00am-9:50am. FLABOTA is the Florida Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. It is an organization consisting of 6,300 experienced attorneys who have represented both plaintiffs and defendants in civil cases. The mission of the ABOTA is to To elevate the standards of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession, To aid in further education and training of trial lawyers; to work for the preservation of our jury system; to improve methods of procedure of our present trial court system, To establish relations and cooperate with other legal organizations, and finally to cultivate a spirit of loyalty, fellowship, and professionalism among our members; to advance the interests of....  Read more...

Albert Lechner receives AV rating from Martindale Hubbell

Posted on | April 18, 2011 | No Comments

Albert H.Lechner, an associate at Edwards & Ragatz has received an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating available by the national attorney peer review rating service. An AV ® Rating signifies that the lawyer has reached the heights of professional excellence, has usually practiced law for a number of years and is recognized for the highest levels of ethical standards and legal ability. Albert is the 3rd attorney at Edwards & Ragatz, P.A. to receive this honor. Firm partners, Tom Edwards and Eric Ragatz also have AV® Ratings.  Martindale-Hubbell has maintained Ratings for lawyers for more than a century. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of bar members and the judiciary, and attest to the individual lawyer’s legal ability and adherence to accepted professional standards of ethics. Exclusively developed and assigned by the Martindale-Hubbell ® Law Directory, ratings are considered valuable benchmarks intended for use by members of the profession.   Albert practices law in the following areas: personal injury, nursing home negligence, medical malpractice, and auto accidents  Edwards and Ragatz, is a law firm located in Jacksonville, Florida, that represents the injured, victims and consumers in all courts. The firm’s Read more...

E&R announces plans for 2nd Annual Law Day in May Celebration

Posted on | April 7, 2011 | No Comments

Edwards & Ragatz, P.A., will host its 2nd Annual Law Day in May Celebration, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 5, which will benefit Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. The social/benefit will be held at EverBank Plaza Veranda and Lobby at 501 Riverside Ave., Jacksonville, and will feature a live DJ, dancing, open bar with frozen margarita machines, locally brewed beer and heavy hors d’ oeuvres. The suggested donation for JALA is $25 at the door. Look for the check-in table in the lobby.

In Memory of Judge Jeff Morrow

Posted on | March 9, 2011 | No Comments

Partner, Thomas S. Edwards Jr. on his friend Jeff Morrow as quoted in the March 7, 2011 Daily Record:


"Both as a lawyer and as a judge, Jeff’s great talent was that he loved people and treated everyone with respect. If he leaves a legacy to our bench, it would be a legacy of patience and respect for the people before the court.

But the law, while important to Jeff, was only a part of his life. Jeff was a unique individual who had many extraordinary talents outside the law. He was an accomplished pianist, a poet, an author, a professor, a movie writer and director of screen plays, a basketball player, a father and coach to his children, and a best friend to his wife and to many, many other people.

Jeff had an extraordinary ability to work hard and then enjoy the many other pursuits of life, while convincing the rest of us to forget about the demands of the moment. He approached everything he did with an almost childlike excitement and exuberance that was infectious and whether it was diving in the Galapagos Islands, fishing off of Guatemala, cooking out in the Bahamas or sitting....  Read more...

Update on Memorial Cases:Motion for Punitive Damages filed in Chandler case

Posted on | January 19, 2011 | No Comments

A motion was filed in the matter of George Clay Chandler v. Memorial Hospital Jacksonville, et. al. seeking punitive damages on Mr. Chandler’s behalf. The Motion presented the following facts: Clay Chandler entered Memorial Hospital in March of 2007 for bariatric surgery. Clay’s suit claims that following his surgery, he suffered from complications which were ignored and resulted in sepsis, a respiratory arrest, followed by a cardiac arrest and ultimately severe brain damage. In the aftermath, he was held in Memorial Hospital’s Critical Care Unit as a total care patient for weeks.  During his stay in the critical care unit, he suffered severe injuries to his eyes, contractures (frozen joints), and bedsores.  His claim for punitive damages seeks to prove this all happened due to a lack of the most basic human care. The motion presents evidence that Memorial Hospital nurses failed to perform basic managerial review of Clay’s medical records which should have caught and corrected these problems.  Recently (December 14, 2010), Clay’s attorneys took the deposition of Memorial Hospital’s wound care nurse. The wound care nurse testified that in the year following Clay Chandler’s problems, she resigned from Memorial Hospital in protest over Memorial Hospital’s administration and management refusing to....  Read more...

Edwards & Ragatz receives JALA President’s Award

Posted on | December 30, 2010 | No Comments

Jacksonville Area Legal Aid presented Edwards & Ragatz with it’s prestigious President’s Award at the annual Equal Justice Event Nov. 30 at the River Club.

“All of us greatly appreciate all of  your efforts to raise funds for JALA and bring awareness to our work by hosting the Law Day in May barbeque benefitting JALA,” said Christa Figgins, JALA development director, in an e-mail notifying the firm of the award.

 Partner,  Thomas S. Edwards Jr. accepted the award for the firm. Edwards and Ragatz, along with 12 other firms, also received the 100% Firm Participation Award.

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Albert Lechner joins E&R

Posted on | December 28, 2010 | 1 Comment

Albert H. Lechner, Esq., has joined Edwards & Ragatz P.A. as a civil litigation attorney.

 Lechner specializes in personal injury, medical malpractice, nursing home and product liability cases. He is licensed to practice in Florida, Maryland and the District of Columbia, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Middle Districts of Florida, U.S. District Courts in the District of Columbia and the District of Maryland.

 He has represented clients in more than 70 trials to verdict, including numerous verdicts in excess of $1 million. Lechner also has negotiated numerous settlements in excess of $1 million. He has supervised and trained litigation associates, and has extensive experience utilizing focus groups for trial preparation.

 He is on the board of governors for the Jacksonville Justice Association and a member of the Jacksonville Bar Association, Florida Bar Association, Florida Justice Association, American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) and the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington D.C. He has been a guest lecturer for the Jacksonville Justice Association, Maryland Trial Lawyers Association, Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington D.C. and the National Business Institute.

 Lechner graduated cum laude from the University of....  Read more...

Katherine Loper rejoins E&R

Posted on | December 28, 2010 | No Comments

Katherine E. Loper, Esq., has rejoined Edwards & Ragatz, P.A., as a civil litigation attorney, following a leave of absence.

 Loper specializes in estate litigation, personal injury and wrongful death cases arising from premises liability disputes, nursing home abuse and vehicle negligence. She is licensed to practice in Florida, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida, and Southern District of Alabama.

 She is a member of the American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America,) Florida Justice Association, Catholic Lawyers Society, Jacksonville Bar Association and a board member of the Jacksonville Justice Association. Loper also is on the board of the Northeast Florida Division of the March of Dimes.

 Loper, a native of Jacksonville, earned her juris doctorate from Cumberland School of Law, Birmingham, Ala., and her bachelor’s degree in international studies from Florida State University and is a graduate of The Bolles School.

 Edwards & Ragatz, P.A., is a law firm located in Jacksonville, Florida, that represents the injured, victims and consumers in all courts. The firm’s attorneys are experienced in handling all types of personal injury and death cases, as well as....  Read more...

E&R collecting donations for march of dimes

Posted on | November 15, 2010 | No Comments

2010 is rapidly coming to a close, and November not only brings the cooler weather but also the Holiday season. As we start to plan the big feast for Thanksgiving and buying presents for Christmas, it is important to think of others. This year, Edwards and Ragatz, P.A. is teaming up with the local, Jacksonville March of Dimes to help collect donations for Bundles of Love.

This year is the 2^nd annual Bundles of Love project. The plan is to deliver approximately 150 care packages on Christmas Eve Day to local NICU’s for families spending the holidays with their baby(ies) in the hospital.

Most of the items on the list can be picked up at your local grocery store while you are shopping or even at the Dollar Store. These “Bundles of Love’ can provide some much needed supplies for families going through a stressful time this holiday season.

You can view our BundlesofLove Flyer for a list of items needed to make up these care packages. Please bring any donations to our office at 501 Riverside Ave, Suite 601, Jacksonville, FL 32202 no later than close of November 29^th. 

"Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts." ....  Read more...

Car Accident Settlement featured in AAJ Law Reporter

Posted on | November 9, 2010 | No Comments

Edwards and Ragatz’s policy-limit settlement in a semi vs. car accident case made the American Association for Justice’s Motor Vehicle Law Reporter. The October 26, 2010 article describes how the semi truck driver swerved and hit our client causing multiple, painful injuries that will affect the mother and son for the rest of their lives.

Our clients sued both the truck driver and his employer, alleging the company was liable for his negligent driving after he tested positive for cocaine in a post-accident drug test. The parties settled before trial for the defendant’s $1-million policy limit. You can view more information about this case in our August 13, 2010 press release.

Please note that the facts and circumstances of your case may differ from the matters in which these results and have been provided. All results of cases handled by the lawyer/firm are not provided and the results provided are not necessarily representative of results obtained by the lawyer/firm or of the experience of all clients or others with the lawyer/firm. Every case is different, and each client’s case must be evaluated and handled on its own merits.

“Truck driver swerves, collides with vehicle merging onto highway”

Screenshot of the....  Read more...