Safe is Sorry (Why Caution Kills Verdicts)

One Voir Dire Question, One Record Verdict, with Victor Pribanic

A "completely defensible" gallbladder case the defense refused to settle became the second-largest verdict in Jefferson County in 222 years. Returning guest Victor Pribanic [https://pribanic.com/pittsburgh-attorneys/victor-h-pribanic/] explains how he won $1.5 million in all non-economic damages for Sandra Whisman, a 47-year-old whose surgeon transected her common hepatic duct. With host Brendan Lupetin [https://www.pamedmal.com/pittsburgh-attorney-brendan-lupetin/], Pribanic breaks down the tools behind the win: one voir dire question that surfaced jurors' expectations of a surgeon, custom surgical animations tied to the medical record, an opening that teaches rather than argues, a cross that trapped the defense expert, and a "man in black" closing on damages. Tune in for a masterclass in surgical malpractice trial strategy, from voir dire to verdict. LEARN MORE AND CONNECT ☑️ Victor H. Pribanic [https://pribanic.com/pittsburgh-attorneys/victor-h-pribanic/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-pribanic/] ☑️ Pribanic & Pribanic [https://pribanic.com/about-us/] ☑️ Brendan Lupetin [https://www.pamedmal.com/our-team/brendan-lupetin/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-lupetin-64903a7/] ☑️ Lupetin & Unatin, LLC [https://www.pamedmal.com/] ☑️ Connect: Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/LupetinUnatin] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lupetin-and-unatin/] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@lupetin_unatin/videos] ☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trial-medical-error/id1696181757] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/6IyvKFioZCilBS1NwdO0Y5] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLask1nFQd0NyxK7B0gLxeReBapxnYvnhj] EPISODE PREVIEW 1. The defense called this gallbladder case "completely defensible" and made no offer; Pribanic took it to trial in Jefferson County, where defendants were counting on the local trend of low verdicts. 2. Dr. Denny Tang, the surgeon, insisted he had only cut the cystic duct and blamed "aberrant anatomy" — even though the common hepatic duct was transected and the common bile duct clipped. 3. One voir dire question — what do you expect of your surgeon? — drew out a juror's "magical answer" that Pribanic turned into a resonating theme for the whole case. 4. Custom courtroom animations, edited 15 times and tied to the medical record, showed jurors the “critical view of safety” and exactly how the surgery should have been done. 5. Following David Ball’s approach, Pribanic structured an opening focused on teaching rather than arguing and put his "cross-proof" client on the stand as the very first witness. 6. On cross, Pribanic had Dr. Tang write three undisputed facts in his own hand — including dissecting at least an inch of cystic duct — making the surgeon's story impossible. 7. The defense expert, sequestered and unaware of Dr. Tang's testimony, contradicted the defendant on the stand; the jury returned $1.5 million, 11–1 in favor of the plaintiff. Ready to refer or collaborate on med mal, medical negligence, and catastrophic injury cases? Visit our attorney referral page at PAMedMal.com/Refer. We handle cases in Pennsylvania and across the United States. PRODUCED AND POWERED BY LAWPODS [https://lawpods.com/]

One Tower, Two Lives, and the $18.3 Million Price of Silence

Bryan and Jovan Maldonado came to the mainland United States from Puerto Rico to make better lives for themselves. They found work on a telecom construction crew – but at their very first job, swapping an antenna affixed to a Delaware water tower, they were killed when the boom lift they were on tipped over in high winds. To get justice for the brothers’ family, the trial team of Mike Zettlemoyer [https://www.smbb.com/attorney/michael-j-zettlemoyer/] and Dave Kwass [https://www.smbb.com/attorney/david-l-kwass/] listened to focus group jurors who revealed what made them really mad about the case. “That was when we began to recognize, ‘Oh, wait a minute. This is what the case is actually about,’” Dave explains to host Brendan Lupetin [https://www.pamedmal.com/our-team/brendan-lupetin/]. It wasn’t wind gusts or training failures. Tune in to find out what that was and how the team secured $18.2 million. LEARN MORE AND CONNECT ☑️ Mike Zettlemoyer [https://www.smbb.com/attorney/michael-j-zettlemoyer/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikezettlemoyer/] ☑️ Dave Kwass [https://www.smbb.com/attorney/david-l-kwass/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-l-kwass] ☑️ Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky [https://www.smbb.com/] on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/saltz-mongeluzzi-barrett-and-bendesky-pc]| Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/SaltzMongeluzzi/] | YouTube [http://www.youtube.com/@SMBBlaw] ☑️ Brendan Lupetin [https://www.pamedmal.com/our-team/brendan-lupetin/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-lupetin-64903a7/] ☑️ Lupetin & Unatin, LLC [https://www.pamedmal.com/] ☑️ Connect: Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/LupetinUnatin] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lupetin-and-unatin/] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@lupetin_unatin/videos] ☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trial-medical-error/id1696181757] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/6IyvKFioZCilBS1NwdO0Y5] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLask1nFQd0NyxK7B0gLxeReBapxnYvnhj] EPISODE PREVIEW 1. After arriving in the mainland United States from Puerto Rico in 2020, the Maldonado brothers joined a telecom construction crew. Bryan’s 22nd birthday was November 2 – the day that he and his brother Jovan were killed at their first job. 2. The boom lift the brothers were on toppled over in high winds. The trial team's engineering analysis revealed that gusting winds created a resonance effect — like pushing a child on a swing in rhythm — that amplified movement in the 40,000-pound ultra boom until there was no point of return. 3. The defendants were Nexius Solutions, the general contractor, and Myndco, the firm responsible for training the crew. 4. The trial team found that Nexius had sent a replacement aerial lift to the site after the crew mistakenly believed the first was defective. In fact, the machine was locking them out because the crew was overloading it, a direct result of inadequate training. 5. A Nexius vice president shut down aerial lift work across the Northeast due to a National Weather Service wind advisory anticipating gusts up to 45 mph — but the region where the accident occurred was never contacted, and the work continued. 6. Mock jurors in a focus group were most angered not by the training failures but by the company's selective shutdown decision. 7. The jury awarded $18.2 million, including $2.5 million in mental anguish per parent per son and $1.5 million in pain and suffering per son. Ready to refer or collaborate on med mal, medical negligence, and catastrophic injury cases? Visit our attorney referral page at PAMedMal.com/Refer. We handle cases in Pennsylvania and across the United States. PRODUCED AND POWERED BY LAWPODS [https://lawpods.com/]

Safe is Sorry (Why Caution Kills Verdicts)

In the second episode about Rick Friedman's “Becoming a Trial Lawyer: A Guide for the Lifelong Advocate,” host Brendan Lupetin [https://www.pamedmal.com/our-team/brendan-lupetin/] takes a deep dive into Chapter 10. Titled “Forget Playing it Safe,” the chapter argues that there is no safe way to try a case — and there never was. Brendan shares two of his own trial stories: one where going all in on a single theory drew his client's fury before producing a strong verdict and another where the same bold approach backfired and ended in a loss. He closes by reviewing Friedman’s six-step framework for making tactical decisions grounded in your client's best interests, not your own fear of criticism. LEARN MORE AND CONNECT ☑️ Brendan Lupetin [https://www.pamedmal.com/our-team/brendan-lupetin/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-lupetin-64903a7/] ☑️ Lupetin & Unatin, LLC [https://www.pamedmal.com/] ☑️ Connect: Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/LupetinUnatin] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lupetin-and-unatin/] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@lupetin_unatin/videos] ☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trial-medical-error/id1696181757] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/6IyvKFioZCilBS1NwdO0Y5] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLask1nFQd0NyxK7B0gLxeReBapxnYvnhj] EPISODE PREVIEW * Chapter 10 of Rick Friedman's “Becoming a Trial Lawyer” opens with a blunt declaration: There is no safe way to try a case, and tactical decisions will seldom feel safe. * In a case with two viable theories, Brendan went all in on the stronger one after focus groups backed his instinct; his client berated him after opening statement, and he spent the entire trial second-guessing himself before the verdict proved him right. * In a second case, Brendan made the bold call to go all in on "trying the lie" — a doctor whom he believed had written a CYA letter and hidden it in a drawer. It backfired, and he lost. But Brendan leans on Friedman’s philosophy that “in all tactical decisions, you give up something to gain something new.” * Friedman's framework for tactical decision-making includes thinking through the problem thoroughly on your own, brainstorming with partners, focus grouping the issues, and continuing to weigh the pros and cons as the case evolves. * The framework closes on two non-negotiables: Base every decision on your client's best interests and accept that you may look foolish for the choice you made — because if you're not willing to risk that, you have no business being a trial lawyer. Ready to refer or collaborate on med mal, medical negligence, and catastrophic injury cases? Visit our attorney referral page at PAMedMal.com/Refer. We handle cases in Pennsylvania and across the United States. PRODUCED AND POWERED BY LAWPODS [https://lawpods.com/]

What Rick Friedman's "Beyond Technique" Teaches Trial Lawyers

“Lawyers with nearly flawless technique can lose case after case while lawyers who appear clumsy and bumbling can win repeatedly," writes Rick Friedman in Becoming a Trial Lawyer — Brendan Lupetin's favorite book of all time. In this solo episode, Brendan digs into Friedman's chapter "Beyond Technique," exploring why mastering courtroom mechanics is only part of the equation. Drawing on his own experience trying cases — including a close federal trial where a juror later told him she could tell he truly cared — Brendan makes the case that personal investment and vulnerability in the courtroom can be the deciding factor in cases that hang in the balance. LEARN MORE AND CONNECT ☑️ Brendan Lupetin [https://www.pamedmal.com/our-team/brendan-lupetin/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-lupetin-64903a7/] ☑️ Lupetin & Unatin, LLC [https://www.pamedmal.com/] ☑️ Connect: Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/LupetinUnatin] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lupetin-and-unatin/] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@lupetin_unatin/videos] ☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trial-medical-error/id1696181757] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/6IyvKFioZCilBS1NwdO0Y5] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLask1nFQd0NyxK7B0gLxeReBapxnYvnhj] PRODUCED AND POWERED BY LAWPODS [https://lawpods.com/]

Three Sisters, One Firm: Building a Practice with the Kelly Sisters

Host Brendan Lupetin [https://www.pamedmal.com/our-team/brendan-lupetin/] wanted to focus this episode on building your own firm. He turned not to one inspiring lawyer. Not to two. But to three. No coincidence: They are sisters Lauren Kelly Gielarowski [https://kellyfirmlaw.com/about], Gianna Kelly [https://kellyfirmlaw.com/about], Erica Kelly Curren [https://kellyfirmlaw.com/about], who launched The Kelly Firm [https://kellyfirmlaw.com/#] earlier this year. They also happen to be daughters of celebrated Western Pennsylvania personal injury attorney Larry Kelly. With just a bit of sisterly talking over each other, the three reflect on their past careers on the defense side, the challenge of keeping work coming through the door, and why being women-owned and female-led is central to their brand. And for anybody thinking of hanging a shingle, all three encourage you to go for it and not wait for the perfect time. It will never come. LEARN MORE AND CONNECT ☑️ Lauren Kelly Gielarowski [https://kellyfirmlaw.com/about] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenmkelly/] ☑️ Gianna Kelly [https://kellyfirmlaw.com/about] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gianna-kelly-6846b15b/] ☑️ Erica Kelly Curren [https://kellyfirmlaw.com/about] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-kelly-curren/] ☑️ The Kelly Firm [https://kellyfirmlaw.com/#] on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-kelly-firm-llc/] | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/thekellyfirmllc/] ☑️ Brendan Lupetin [https://www.pamedmal.com/our-team/brendan-lupetin/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-lupetin-64903a7/] ☑️ Lupetin & Unatin, LLC [https://www.pamedmal.com/] ☑️ Connect: Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/LupetinUnatin] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lupetin-and-unatin/] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@lupetin_unatin/videos] ☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trial-medical-error/id1696181757] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/6IyvKFioZCilBS1NwdO0Y5] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLask1nFQd0NyxK7B0gLxeReBapxnYvnhj] EPISODE PREVIEW 1. Lauren, Gianna, and Erica describe how their career paths were shaped growing up watching their father, Larry Kelly, a stalwart of Western Pennsylvania personal injury law. 2. Starting their own firm was a decision that took years of planning, saving, and working up the courage to leave the "golden handcuffs" of steady defense firm paychecks. 3. The sisters take advantage of virtual office assistants, Filevine case management, office sharing, and remote work to run a modern firm. 4. The sisters and Brendan weigh the real risks of AI over-reliance in legal practice, with Lauren sharing how she insists on reading every page of the medical record herself — even when using AI tools to prep for depositions. 5. Erica identifies keeping work coming in the door as the firm's biggest ongoing concern and explains why boutique firms like theirs can offer clients something the "big box" firms simply can't: direct access to the attorney actually working on their case. 6. Each sister offers advice for lawyers thinking about going out on their own — from Gianna's reminder that there's never a perfect time, to Erica's "you can do it,” to Lauren's call to lean on the Pittsburgh legal community. Ready to refer or collaborate on med mal, medical negligence, and catastrophic injury cases? Visit our attorney referral page at PAMedMal.com/Refer. We handle cases in Pennsylvania and across the United States. PRODUCED AND POWERED BY LAWPODS [https://lawpods.com/]