Attorney Michael E. Levine

Trusted Miami Personal Injury Lawyer

Michael is a shareholder with Stewart Tilghman Fox Bianchi & Cain where he represents people and families across Florida in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. Prior to joining the firm, Michael was a law clerk to United States District Court Judge Paul C. Huck and an associate in the litigation group at Bilzin Sumberg. He graduated with honors from the University of Florida and summa cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law. While in law school, Michael was a member of the University of Miami Law Review and the Charles C. Papy, Jr. Moot Court Board.

Michael has successfully handled cases involving medical malpractice, products liability, alcohol and dram shop liability, car accidents, and trucking accidents. Michael also represents clients that were killed or injured due to unsafe conditions on property.

Michael’s practice also involves the representation of families of those who died or were severely injured as a result of dangerous hazing incidents. In 2019, along with David Bianchi, Michael drafted a bill to help strengthen Florida’s Anti-Hazing law. The bill, which was signed into law in June of 2019, is named “Andrew’s Law,” after Andrew Coffey, an FSU student who died in November 2017 during a fraternity hazing tradition. Michael and David represented Andrew’s parents in a civil suit against the national fraternity and 14 other defendants.

Notable Cases

• Michael represented the parents of a nine-month-old that died while under the supervision of a local daycare. Less than six months after the tragic death, Michael resolved the case for $5,000,000, which was $2,000,000 more than the available insurance coverage.
• Working alongside Gary Fox and Stephen Cain, Michael represented a woman diagnosed with significant heart problems, including atrial fibrillation, whose physicians negligently discontinued her medication, causing her to suffer a stroke rendering her hemiplegic. The jury awarded approximately $8,000,000.
• In a product liability action against a medical device company, discovery revealed that the company knew of its products’ failure but failed to initiate a recall or take any measures to alert consumers and fix the issue. The case settled for over $7,000,000 on the eve of trial.
• Michael represented the family of a young woman murdered at a shopping mall in Coral Gables, Florida. This case was settled less than a year after the incident.
• After Michael’s client was struck by a speeding 18-wheeler, she suffered a terrible back injury in addition to receiving nerve damage to her hand that required multiple surgeries. Five months after the accident, the case settled for $5,000,000.
• After a young mother went in for routine surgery, the hospital’s nurses failed to monitor her appropriately. Meanwhile, extremely high doses of narcotics were administered resulting in our client’s respiratory arrest and death. The case settled on the eve of trial for over $10,000,000.
• Obtained a $2,000,000 settlement after a construction accident resulted in the electrocution and death of a worker. Michael and partner Dax Bello were able to overcome the hurdles posed by Florida’s Workers’ Compensation law in order to resolve this case on behalf of the worker’s two young daughters.
• Obtained a $1,400,000 settlement in a workplace wrongful death case. The details of the incident remain confidential, but this settlement was obtained in less than 6 months despite challenges posed by Florida’s Workers’ Compensation laws
• Obtained a $15,000,000 settlement in a case involving the negligent care of a baby following delivery. As a result of the firm’s efforts, this child will have the care she requires for the rest of her life.

Community Involvement

Michael is active in the community serving on the board of directors of Jewish Community Services of South Florida. He is also involved in the legal community, serving on the board of governors of The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division and as co-chair of the Personal Injury Committee for the Miami-Dade Bar Association. Michael was also recently appointed to The Florida Bar’s Civil Procedure Committee.

In his free time, Michael enjoys spending time with his wife Sari, sons Cameron and Aiden, and friends and family.

Awards & Honors

• Best Lawyers® for Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs (2021-2024)
• Best Lawyers® for Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs (2024)
• Florida Super Lawyers® Rising Stars (2019-2022)
• Top Up & Comer by South Florida Legal Guide (2019)
• Top 40 Under 40 South Florida Lawyers, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (2018)
• Daily Business Review On the Rise Award (2021)

Publications

Michael also writes and speaks on topics relevant to his practice. His articles include:

• Latent or Patent? 'Slavin' Presents Headaches for Plaintiffs and Defendants Alike - Law.com, September 2020
• Florida’s Second District Certifies Conflict in Medical Malpractice Case - Law.com, July 2020
• Hazing Horrors: Who’s Accountable? –Trial Magazine, June 2019
• Avoiding Legal Malpractice in Prosecuting Medical Malpractice Claims, Dade County Bar Association Bulletin, April 2019.
• Down Goes Daubert (written prior to the Florida Supreme Court decision adopting Daubert), Dade County Bar Association Bulletin, November 2018
• Court Affirms Judgment in Favor of Contractors in Motorcycle Accident Wrongful Death Case, Dade County Bar Association Bulletin, August 2018

Speaking Engagements

• Basic Personal Injury Law CLE, The Florida Bar, Moderator, 2017
• From Law Student to Young Lawyer – Judge Paul C. Huck Federal Observer Program, Moderator, June 2016, June 2017, June 2018
• Andrew’s Law, National Hazing Prevention Week, University of Miami, September 2019
• Andrew’s Law, National Hazing Prevention Week, Florida State University, September 2019
• Andrew’s Law, National Hazing Prevention Week, University of Central Florida, September 2019
• Deposition 360: Preparation, Strategy, & Execution of Taking an Effective Deposition, Dade County Bar Association Young Lawyers Section and the Florida Association for Women Lawyers, Moderator 2019
• Preparing for Trial in Personal Injury Cases Bench & Bar Conference, Dade County Bar Association Bench & Bar Conference, Moderator 2019
• Deposition 360 Webinar Series, Dade County Bar Association and the Miami-Dade Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers, June 2020
• The Blueprints CLE: How to be an indispensable associate, Dade County Bar Association and the Miami-Dade Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers, March 2021
• Hazing Horrors: Holding fraternities accountable – Arkansas Trial Lawyer Association April 2021
• The Blueprints: Oral Advocacy in State Courts – May 18, 2021 – MDFAWL, DCBA – presented with Marianne Curtis and Judge Samantha Ruiz Cohen
• “Preparation and Execution of an Effective Deposition” Civil Litigation Skills for New Lawyers, University of Florida Levin College of Law January 2022