United States Supreme Court; United States Circuit Court for the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals; United States District Courts for the Western, Northern, and Eastern Districts of Oklahoma; Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA); Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA); OBA Administration of Justice Committee (2001); Chairman OTLA Continuing Legal Education Committee (2000, 2002); OTLA Board of Directors (2000 to present); Vice-chair OTLA Member Benefits Committee (1999); Vice-Chair OTLA Amicus Curiae Committee (1995); Association of Trial Lawyers of America; Advocate, National College of Trial Advocacy; American Bar Association; Garfield County Bar Association; Charter Member of National Air Traffic Controllers' Association (Chicago ARTCC--Air Traffic Controllers' Union); United Aerospace/Automotive/Agricultural Workers Local 2130 (Gulfstream Aerospace).

 EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:

J.D., with Highest Honors; University of Oklahoma; May, 1992

Oklahoma Law Review; Order of the Coif; Graduated number 8 in a class of 224; Earl A. Brown Award (relating to the law of Oil & Gas); Earl T. Warren Memorial Award (relating to the law of Wills & Trusts); American Jurisprudence/Academic Achievement Awards in Property II, Wills & Trusts, Oil & Gas, Remedies, and Conflicts of Law.

B.A., University of Oklahoma, Journalism/Advertising; May, 1984

University Scholar; Department of Sociology Statistical Research Assistant; Speakers' Bureau; American Advertising Federation; American Marketing Association; American Advertising Federation Award for Excellence in Advertising.

PUBLICATIONS & PUBLISHED OPINIONS AND ARTICLES:

Personal Injury Settlements: Subrogation, Rights of Recovery, Liens, Taxation and Other Financial Issues, 74 Okla. Bar Jour. 2377 (Sept. 6, 2003)

Kraszewski v. Baptist Hospital, 916 P.2d 241 (Okla. 1996).

Evidentiary Principles Relating to Blood Alcohol Tests, 66 Okla. Bar Journal 995 (March 25, 1995).

Oklahoma Adopts the Tarasoff Doctrine, OTLA Advocate, Vol. 24, No. 6, p. 22 (November/December, 1991).

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS:

Moderator, Successful Deposition and Trial Testimony, OBA/OTLA Continuing Legal Education Seminar, October 11, 2002, Tulsa, and October 18, 2002, Oklahoma City.

Moderator, Business Torts, OBA/OTLA Continuing Legal Education Seminar, October 6, 2000, Tulsa, and October 13, 2000, Oklahoma City.

Moderator, How to Hammer Allstate, OTLA Continuing Legal Education Seminar, May 19, 2000, Oklahoma City.

Moderator, Effective Motion Practice in Civil Cases, OBA/OTLA Continuing Legal Education Seminar, April 14, 2000 Oklahoma City, and April 21, 2000, Tulsa.

Effective Discovery and Winning Motion Practice in Civil Cases:  Written Discovery and Medical Issues, OBA/OTLA Continuing Legal Education Seminar, February 12, 1999, Tulsa, and February 19, 1999, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Advanced Litigation Strategies: Technology and the Use of Demonstrative Evidence, Oklahoma Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Seminar, December 3, 1998, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and December 10, 1998, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Personal Injury Practice for Paralegals, February 27, 1998, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The Technology and Psychology of Modern Litigation, Oklahoma Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Seminar, December 6, 1996, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and December 13, 1996, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Using the Internet in a Personal Injury Practice, Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association Continuing Legal Education Winter Seminar, December 1, 1995, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Handling the Protective Order, Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association Continuing Legal Education Summer Seminar, June 16, 1995, Las Vegas, Nevada.

LITIGATION EXPERIENCE:

Fuselier v. Green Country Nursing Home (Tulsa Co. 2003).  Fatal infection after an e. coli outbreak in the kitchen of the nursing home.

Jamison v. Shawnee Care Center (Pottawatomie Co. 2003).  Eighty-one year old was placed in a nursing home for assistance while a slight fracture healed. She was allowed to fall and her fracture worsened into a complete break. The nursing home permitted pressure sores to develop from the splint on the fracture. An infection developed which induced a fatal pneumonia.

Clary v. Callaway Nursing Home (Murray Co. 2004).  Resident was dropped on her head during a single assistant transfer. The injury was fatal.

Owen v. IHS Nursing Home (Oklahoma Co. 2004).  Resident suffered fatal wounds during a fall.

Williams v. Clinton Nursing Center (Custer Co. 2004).  Nursing home permitted pie pan sized pressure ulcers. Resident contracted an infection and died.

Goombi v. Christian Care Retirement Village (Grady Co. 2004).  Nursing home had poor hygienic practices and failed to administer medications. Resident contracted infection and developed fatal pressure sores.

Kepford v. Kenwood Manor (Garfield Co. 2004).  Resident was permitted to fall, causing worsened fractures. Bed sores were permitted to develop. Nursing home had poor hygienic practices. Resident was allowed to become dehydrated. Resident was administered coumadin overdose. Resident contracted septicemia and died from the infection.

Fleming v. Quail Creek (Oklahoma Co. 2004).  Resident had his bladder and rectum punctured during implantation of a suprapubic catheter. This led to serious infections which the nursing home did not care for. The resident dies.

Fen-Phen Litigation (Individual and Class Action Claims).  Product liability litigation resulting from diet drugs which caused heart valve damage.

Wilson v. OG&E (Garfield Co. 2001).  ERISA subrogation case involving application of the "made whole" doctrine, under which, the ERISA or other insurance carrier may not obtain subrogation unless the injured party has been made whole.

Farrimond v. Mid-Continent Life Insurance Company, (Oklahoma Co. 2001).  Class of 282,000 policy holders of Mid-Continent Life Insurance Company policies which were fraudulently sold and marketed as “level premium” policies.  The insurance company attempted to kill the claims of the policy holders through a receivership action, which is the equivalent of bankruptcy for insurance companies.

Dobson Cellular Litigation, (Garfield Co. 1999).  Class counsel in action involving violations of federal telecommunications law, 47 U.S.C. § 227.

Donovan v. Schimandle,(Oklahoma Co. 2002).  Jeffrey Schimandle had an extensive disciplinary history (which was excluded from evidence) relating to his own Demerol usage. Mr. Donovan had an inoperable congenital defect at the base of his skull which caused pain and loss of range of motion. Mr. Donovan's condition should have been managed with pain relievers. Despite radiological studies to the contrary, Dr. Schimandle told Mr. Donovan that his pain was from a neck fracture which could be healed by fusing Mr. Donovan's skull to his neck. This induced Mr. Donovan to undergo an unnecessary surgery. See the verdicts for $975,000 compensatory and $115,000 punitive damages.  

North v. Hardin, (Payne Co. 2002). Dr. Hardin negligently managed a post-partum hemorrhage which led to the removal of Ms. North’s uterus and ovaries.  

Gaither v. Ricketson, (Oklahoma Co. 2002). During the time period in which Dr. Ricketson was taking narcotics on a regular basis, Dr. Ricketson negligently performed a delicate hip surgery which caused permanent damage that disabled an automotive body shop worker.  

Clanton v. Schimandle,(W.D. Okla. 2001).  Negligent credentialing of physician with a history of drug addiction. Physician was permitted to perform a delicate spine surgery after loss of operating privileges at hospital, causing disastrous financial losses to patient when the surgery was negligently performed. 

Bennett v. Wright, (Oklahoma Co. 2000).  Negligent credentialing of physician.  During a carpal tunnel release, Dr. Wright severed the median nerve of his patient, who was a plastic surgeon.

Mangual v. Sevilla, (W.D. Okla. 1999).  Dr. Sevilla negligently induced premature labor.  The child's lungs could not deliver enough oxygen to its blood stream.  As a result, the baby was born with cerebral palsy.

Young v. Ricketson, (Garfield Co. 1998).  Medical malpractice case against Edmond spine surgeon Robert Ricketson, M.D. Dr. Ricketson severed nine of Mrs. Young's nerve roots during an arthroscopic diskectomy in July 1997.  The surgery was intended to relieve the pain caused by an extruded intervertebral disc.  The nerve root damage caused Mrs. Young to become partially paralyzed below the waist.  See, Malpractice Suit Settled, Enid News & Eagle, November 25, 1998.

Thacker v. Ricketson, (Garfield Co. 2000).  Dr. Ricketson negligently implanted “Ray cages” in Mr. Thacker’s spine, causing bilateral foot drop and other permanent injuries.

Kraszewski v. Baptist Medical Center, 916 P.2d 241 (Okla. 1996).  The Oklahoma Supreme Court first recognized the right to recover for the negligent infliction of emotional distress in this case arising from a man witnessing his wife being run over by a drunk driver. Baptist Medical Center negligently permitted the patient to bleed to death.

Schaefbauer v. United States, (W.D. Okla. 1999).  Automobile passenger Matt Schaefbauer received severe orthopedic and brain injuries after being struck by a postal carrier at a rural intersection.

Myers v. Diamond B Trucking Co., Inc., (Kingfisher Co. 2002). Truck driver failed to adjust and monitor her brakes and mismanaged her gear selection, which led to a runaway truck situation on Monarch Pass, Colorado which killed three people.

Black v. Ken Vogt Contracting, (Kay Co. 2001). Trucking Company obstructed an interstate highway at night, in poor weather, without proper warning equipment, causing a fatal wreck.

Ross v. Geronimo Trucking, Inc., (Garfield Co. 1998). Trucking Company obstructed the highway at night below a hill crest without proper warning equipment, causing injuries to a crew of oil field workers headed to a job site.

Hinds v. Warren Transport, 882 P.2d 1099 (Okla. Ct. App. 1994), reh'g denied June 28, 1994, cert. denied, Sept. 22, 1994, (Tried in Rogers Co. 1992). A young man was rendered quadriplegic when his vehicle struck the back of a tractor-trailer rig. The tractor-trailer rig had violated five safety laws in the process of illegally parking at night on a heavily trafficked highway bridge without warning flashers or warning triangles. 

Hudson v. General Motors Corporation, (Canadian Co. 1996). The driver of a 1989 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer was struck from the rear in a relatively low speed impact. Her seat failed, causing her to be in a reclined position. Because she was not in a position to control her vehicle, the Blazer struck a tree in a subsequent frontal impact. The driver submarined under her seat belt to receive fatal abdominal injuries. A product crashworthiness case was brought against General Motors under a breach of warranty theory because the Blazer was not reasonably fit under foreseeable accident conditions.

Fitter v. General Motors Corporation, (Oklahoma Co. 1994). This case was a product liability action. A Lawton doctor was killed when the left front wheel of his Geo Prizm locked up, pulling him into oncoming traffic. His seat belt then failed in a head on collision, causing his death.

Fitter v. Kansas City Fire & Marine Insurance Company, (Oklahoma Co. 1996). Following the product liability action in the previous paragraph, a breach of insurance contract action was brought to enforce a claim under an uninsured motorist policy issued by Kansas City Fire & Marine Insurance Company.

Kansas City Fire & Marine Insurance Company v. General Motors Corporation and Fitter, (W.D. Okla. 1996). Kansas City Fire & Marine then brought a declaratory judgment action in federal court in an attempt to invalidate the insurance coverage under the policy it had issued.

Brock v. Willbros International, (W.D. Okla. 1994). In this admiralty case, a pipeline worker slipped on an unsafe surface while boarding a boat at a Nigerian pipeline project. As he attempted to break his fall with his arm, his biceps ruptured, ending his twenty year welding career.

Johnson v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., (Okla. Ct. App. 1996); Branchcomb v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., Cook v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., Robinson v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., (Muskogee Co. 1994-1996). Four separate railroad-automobile collisions at extrahazardous railroad crossings in Ft. Gibson caused nine deaths within a two year period. The railroad had recognized the dangerous nature of the crossings, according to its own applications for federal funding to upgrade the signals. Nevertheless, the railroad chose to drag its feet for two years before installing gates and lights.  The Johnson decision was appealed to the United States Supreme Court and stands as one of the if not the only decision permitting a verdict against a railroad based upon violation of a local speed ordinance.

Union Pacific Railroad Co. v. City of Ft. Gibson., (E.D. Okla. 1996). After the Railroad had a judgment entered against it in Johnson v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., above, it attempted to invalidate the Ft. Gibson train speed limit, in Federal Court. The Wall Street Journal published an article about the railroad's lawsuit against the city. See, Trains Leave People Shaken, Not Heard, Wall Street Journal, August 13, 1998, p. 1.

McSpadden v. Burlington Northern Railroad Co., (Rogers Co. 1995). Clem McSpadden, Will Rogers' grand-nephew, former U.S. Congressman, and celebrity rodeo announcer, was injured in a collision at an extrahazardous grade crossing.

Rush and Dearinger v. Burlington Northern Railroad Co., (Creek Co. 1997). Burlington Northern's seven man engineering crew determined that the crossing was hazardous and needed gates and lights. Nevertheless, Burlington Northern negligently delayed installation of gates and lights at the crossing over a year before the fatal Dearinger collision, and more than a year and a half before the Rush collision.

Thomason v. Cessna, (Oklahoma Co. 1997). This was a multiparty manufacturers' product liability claim based upon the failure of a fuel pressure sensing switch in a Cessna 421B twin engine aircraft. The fuel pressure sensing switch failed shortly after takeoff, causing one engine to flood. The resulting crash killed six people.

St. John v. Eaton Corp., (W.D. Okla. 1997). This was a multiparty, multistate manufacturers' product liability claim based upon the failure of a valve and lifter in a Lycoming engine in a Piper aircraft. The engine failed over mountainous terrain due to the defective parts. The crash killed three and severely injured one passenger.

H.F. Payne Construction Co. v. Corporate Aviation Services, Inc., (Okla. Ct. App. 1998). The Defendant failed to fulfill express warranties and misrepresented that a Gulfstream Twin Commander Aircraft was maintained to Part 135 Air Taxi standards.

Hobbs v. Rutledge, (Okla. Co.1993). Breach of contract and fraud arising when the Defendant took a sizable down payment in a helicopter sale contract, but never delivered the helicopter.

Puckett v. United of Omaha. This was an insurance bad faith action which arose when Mutual/United of Omaha refused to pay medical bills under a health insurance policy. The insured had suffered a heart attack. Her employer went out of business. When the insurance company refused to pay the medical bills associated with the heart attack, it forced the insured into bankruptcy.

Past results are not a guarantee of future performance. 

Each case must be considered on its own merits.