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, The Florida Bar’s Civil Procedure Committee, and the University of Miami Law Alumni Association Board of Directors.

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
• Florida International University Honors College Guest Lecturer, Torts, February 2020
• Deposition 360 Webinar Series with Marianne Curtis, August 2020
• Paralegals: A Key to Your Firm’s Success, Broward Chapter of the Paralegal Association of Florida, Inc., March 2021
• Civil Law Update, Florida Justice Association Annual Convention, June 2021
• The Blueprints CLE: Not Your Law School Evidence with Marianne Curtis and Judge Lisa S. Walsh, July 2021
• The Blueprints CLE: No Elevator to Success with Marianne Curtis, Katie Phang, and David Markus, September 2021
• The Blueprints CLE: Preparation and Execution of an Effective Deposition with Marianne Curtis, November 2021
• Florida International University Honors College Guest Lecturer, Torts, January 2022
• Miami Dade Bar Inns of Court Bench & Bar Conference, Panelist with Gary Fox and Dax Bello, February 2022
• Andrew’s Law, National Hazing Prevention Week, Florida Gulf Coast University, September 2022
• The Blueprints CLE: Discovery – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, September 2022
• The Nuts & Bolts of Med Mal Presuit with Paige Saperstein presented by Miami Dade Bar Association, November 2022
• The Blueprints CLE: Writing to Win with Marianne Curtis, Judge Beth Bloom and Ana Kauffmann, November 2022
• The Blueprints CLE: How to Prepare for Your First (or 100^th) Deposition with Marianne Curtis, March 2023
• The Blueprints CLE: Mastering Your Craft and Building Your Own Practice, May 2023
• Deposition Preparation for Paralegals, Florida Justice Association Annual Seminar, June 2023
• Antonio Tsialas Leadership Foundation, National Hazing Prevention Week Roundtable, September 2023
• Legal Faceoff Guest Speaker: Northwestern Hazing Scandal, July 2023
• The Blueprints CLE: Effective Advocacy with Marianne Curtis, Chief Judge Sayfie, Judge Walsh, and Dax Bello, October 2023
• Paralegals: A Key to Your Firm’s Success, Broward County Trial Lawyers, March 2024