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West Palm Beach, FL 33409
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West Palm Beach, FL 33401
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324 N Lakeside Ct
West Palm Beach, FL 33407
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2504 Vista Parkway Ste. 400
West Palm Beach, FL 33411
Smith & Vanture, LLP is a Florida personal injury law firm representing persons injured as a result of any kind of accident. We handle all types of serious injury and wrongful death cases including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, dog bites, slip and falls, brain injuries and spinal cord injuries.
Our staff includes experienced trial attorneys and paralegals that are committed to providing personalized legal services in a professional manner. Our Tallahassee and West Palm Beach attorneys have extensive courtroom experience and are willing to take your case to trial, if necessary.
Brian W. Smith has extensive experience handling personal injury and wrongful death cases. For the past 25 years, Mr. Smith has devoted his time to representing those injured as a result of the negligence of others. Mr. Smith is currently the managing partner of the West Palm Beach office.
Mr. Smith served as lead counsel in litigation against the McDonald’s Corporation related to McDonald’s failure to disclose that food allergens were used in producing McDonald’s French fries. Mr. Smith was also lead counsel in litigation against ConAgra Foods, related to the presence of salmonella in Peter Pan peanut butter.
Mr. Smith also served as lead counsel in a case against America Online, seeking to hold the Internet giant liable for the dissemination and marketing of child pornography through its online service. The case, Doe v. America Online, was actually litigated over a period of 9 years and brought national attention to the issue of the marketing and sale of child pornography through online services. Despite a set back at the trial level and the local appellate court level, Mr. Smith brought the issue before the Florida Supreme Court, where a close 4-3 decision effectively ended the legal battle. Mr. Smith filed a Petition for Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court in 2001, but the court declined the Petition.
Mr. Smith’s Doe v. America Online case has continued to be a much debated decision and was featured in a National Law Journal article on Immunity for Web Service Providers (April 21, 2006). The Doe v. AOL decision has been discussed at countless seminars and conferences and has been the focus of a number of law review articles. The issues that were brought forth by Mr. Smith in the Doe case have also prompted a move toward the enactment of new legislation, as indicated in the NLJ article.
At Smith & Vanture, we realize how important your claim is to you. That's why we thoroughly review each case and monitor our caseload, so we can give your personal injury lawsuit the personalized attention that it deserves. We invite you to contact our attorneys to privately discuss the details of your accident and help determine the best course of legal actions to seek a fair settlement.
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Call 800-443-4529 for initial free consultation.
Attorney/Partner
Smith & Vanture, LLP
January 2000 – Present
West Palm Beach, FL
Solo Practioner
Brian W. Smith, P.A.
January 1993 – 2000
N/A
Partner
Fogarty & Smith, P.A.
January 1990 – January 1993
N/A
United States Supreme Court
United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
Florida
1985
Florida State University
B.A. (Psychology)
1981
Associations
Honors / Awards
Please describe a case in the last year or two where you made a big difference.
A few years ago, I filed several lawsuits against McDonald's Corporation, on behalf of children who had food allergies and/or who suffered from medical conditions (including autism), that required them to avoid foods containing wheat and milk. McDonald's had failed to warn customers that a flavoring added to their French Fries and hash browns contained wheat and milk. Terms of the resolution of the cases are highly confidential, but we are proud that our efforts brought about change in the labeling of food products at McDonald's.
How did you build a successful practice?
I built a successful practice by giving each client's case individual attention and always monitoring the status of cases in my office. Though paralegals handle a lot of the initial paperwork on a case, I have always made myself available to meet or speak directly with clients about the status of their case and any questions that they might have.
What should clients look for in a lawyer?
Clients should look for a lawyer who went to a reputable law school, who has years of experience handling personal injury cases and who has successfully tried personal injury cases before juries. Insurance companies take a lawyer's jury trial experience into account when deciding whether to settle that lawyer's client's case. Also, clients should hire a lawyer who will be actively involved in the handling of the case and not one that will pass the case off to a paralegal to handle it.
How important is local knowledge to the success of your cases?
Local knowledge of the adjusters who handle claims and judges who preside over trials is very important. Though I have tried cases in many counties in Florida and even out of the state of Florida, local knowledge of the tendencies of adjusters and judges is invaluable.
What information can you provide in a free phone consultation?
We offer an initial consultation to discuss the facts of an individual case, the law that applies to the facts and a preliminary assessment of the likelihood of success of the case, based on the facts.
What information do you need in a free phone consultation?
In the initial consultation, we need information about how an accident happened, the injuries suffered by the potential client, whether there is insurance available to cover the damages and whether the potential client has been in prior accidents and/or suffered similar injuries before. It is important that we know more about the client than the insurance company does or will find out.
What differentiates you from other lawyers in your community?
From what I have heard from clients, our personal attention to a client's case separates us from a majority of lawyers in this area. A lot of lawyers pass cases off to paralegals and have no personal involvement in the handling of the cases. My jury trial experience also differentiates me from a lot of lawyers in this area. I have tried nearly 150 criminal cases in front of a jury and over 50 civil jury trials. We have gotten substantial verdicts on a number of significant cases and I am a member of the ""Million Dollar Advocates Forum"", a prestigious group of trial lawyers, which limits membership to lawyers who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. Fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers are members.
What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
Helping injured people seek justice in a broken system. In the litigation against McDonald's, as well as cases against ConAgra Foods, America Online and Johnson & Johnson, we helped our clients in their role as David against Goliath.
What are your other interests in addition to law?
I enjoy spending time with family, coaching youth sports and deep sea fishing. Living in Southern Florida, we have some of the most amazing fishing spots anywhere.
Are you involved in your community?
I am involved in my church and with our local community sports programs. I coach a number of sports, including basketball, football and lacrosse and I have served on the Board of Directors for a number of the local sports teams
Founded 1993
Accident & Injury, Car Accident, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Slip & Fall Accident
