Overview
His experience in medical malpractice is unmatched. He is a fierce advocate who obtains exceptional results.
- Chambers USA 2022
Thomas G. Aubin, a shareholder and a member of the Firm’s Board of Directors, is a trial lawyer in the Litigation Department. For more than twenty-eight years he has focused his practice on medical malpractice defense for healthcare institutions and practitioners, product liability defense, commercial litigation, and the defense of corporations in other commercial matters. Thomas also has extensive appellate experience.
Representative Experience
- Represented Cleveland Clinic Florida (“CCF”) and Cleveland Clinic Hospital (“CCH”) at trial in the United States District Court Southern District of Florida. The Plaintiff alleged that CCF, through its employed emergency medicine physician, and CCH, committed medical malpractice in failing to diagnose, treat, and admit the patient to the hospital for an abdominal infection thus leading to multiple surgeries and permanent scarring. The Plaintiff sought damages in excess of $2,000,000. The trial lasted six days (with deliberations briefly spilling over to a seventh day). CCH’s motion was granted for directed verdict at the close of our case in chief. The jury subsequently returned a verdict in favor of the remaining Defendant, CCF. The jury took less than three hours total to deliberate before finding the CCF’s emergency room physician met the standard of care in all regards as it related to the Plaintiff’s medical care.
- Represented South Broward Hospital District in physician privilege dispute and obtained partial summary judgment at trial court level with subsequent written appellate opinion extending protection for hospitals in regards to confidentiality of credentialing and peer review materials from discovery. Opinion had statewide effect of benefiting hospitals and institutional healthcare providers.
- Represented Martin Memorial Healthcare Systems, Inc. in commercial dispute in which MMHS sought multi-million dollar claim for breach of contract and obtained summary judgment on all counts.
- Representation of major healthcare institutions in Florida in all aspects of litigation, including professional liability, commercial liability, general liability, and licensing for physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals.
- Represented a publicly-traded holding company, BFC Financial Corporation, now BBX Capital Corporation, its subsidiaries, and certain officers and directors in a complaint seeking to challenge the merger of BFC and BBX valued at over $250 million. The case was dismissed with prejudice because the Florida appraisal statute provided the exclusive remedy. The order has since been affirmed by Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal.
- Handled multiple managed-care lawsuits involving multi-million dollar counterclaims and fee disputes arising out of no-pay, slow -pay or incomplete-pay claims.
- Representation of The Dow Chemical Company as statewide counsel for national mass-tort silicon breast-implant litigation. Coordinated discovery, filed and argued dispositive motions, attended regional and national counsel meetings, and appeared in state and federal courts.
- Representation of Michelin North America in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases involving tire defect claims In Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.
- Representation of drug manufacturer as Florida counsel in cases alleging defective drug and pharmaceutical products.
- Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a South Florida hospital and emergency room personnel in high-profile, multi-million dollar medical malpractice claim.
- Obtained a defense verdict in month-long medical malpractice trial seeking more than $10,000,000 in damages.
- Obtained a defense verdict in a medical malpractice case in the United States District Court Southern District of Florida on behalf of an international healthcare company and its affiliated South Florida Clinic and Hospital in which the Plaintiff sought over $2,000,000 in damages.
- Represented Knauf companies, global producers of building materials and construction systems, in all Florida state court cases brought for damages arising out of alleged defects in the manufacture of drywall imported from China to the U.S. Served as Knauf’s primary counsel for Broward County cases.
- Defense of multi-million dollar commercial fraud dispute involving the purchase and sale of nationally-known companies.
- Representation of business clients in litigations over employees’ non-competition agreements.
- Representation of national health food chain for general liability issues.
- Franklin v. Public Health Trust of Dade County, 759 So.2d 703 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000) Amicus Curiae for the Florida College of Emergency Physicians.
- Holmes Regional Med. Ctr. Inc. v. Rose, 721 So.2d 764 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998).
- Archbold Health Services, Inc. v. Future Tech Bus. Sys., 659 So.2d 1204 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995).
- Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. McCrone, 655 So.2d 1319 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995).
- Mitchell v. S. Broward Hosp. Dist., No. 4D18-2809 (Fla. 4th DCA Jan. 10, 2019).
- South Broward Hospital District v. Feldbaum, 321 So. 3d 828 (Fla. 4th DCA 2022)
Professional & Community Involvement
- Broward County Bench-Bar Subcommittee on Local Administrative Rules, Chair, 2010-2014
- Broward County Bench-Bar Committee, 2010-2014
- Florida Hospital Association
- Broward County Bar Association, 1994-Present
- Broward County Federal Bar Association
- Executive Committee, 2002 - 2012
- Past Vice President
- Broward County Bar Young Lawyers Division, 1994-2000
- Defense Research Institute, 1994-2004
- Harvard Club of Broward County, 1994-Present
- Phi Delta Phi, 1993
- Meritas, Firm Representative
- Southern District of Florida Court Appointed Guardian Ad Litem
Recognition
- Chambers USA, Litigation: Medical Malpractice Defense (South Florida), Band 1, 2021-Present
- The Best Lawyers in America®, 2014-Present
- AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
Publications & Presentations
Government Affairs News Update, Publications:
Rotunda Report Week 7 | February 19-23, 2024
Stearns Weaver Miller News Update|February 2024
Events:
Maximizing the Potential of the Adolescent Athlete
Cleveland Clinic Florida in association with Florida Atlantic University and the United States Tennis Association|June 2009
Newsroom
Firm Announcements:
29 Stearns Weaver Miller Lawyers in 11 Practice Areas Ranked In Chambers USA 2023
June 2023
Firm Announcements:
28 Stearns Weaver Miller Lawyers in 12 Practice Areas Ranked In Chambers USA 2022
June 2022
In the Media:
Suspended Florida Doc Can't Get Files From Hospital
Law360|June 2021
Firm Announcements:
29 Stearns Weaver Miller Lawyers in 12 Practice Areas Ranked In Chambers USA 2021
May 2021
In the Media:
Stearns Weaver Team Successfully Defends Cleveland Clinic in $2M MedMal Suit
Daily Business Review|May 2019
In the Media:
Cleveland Clinic Defense Team Wins Malpractice Case
Daily Business Review|April 2015
In the Media:
Hidden Camera Shots, Expert Testimony Lead to Defense Win in Former Pilot's $6.5M Med Mal Case
Courtroom Connect|April 2015
Firm Announcements:
Stearns Weaver Miller Congratulates Client Memorial Healthcare System on “Best Companies To Work For” 2014 Award
August 2014