Our dedication to pursuing justice has played a large role in our success. At Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen (GRYC) we’ve had the opportunity to change the lives of thousands of people by securing favorable outcomes for our clients and providing the best legal representation possible.
We have made it our goal to become experts for those seeking legal counsel. With a broad scope of experience under our belts, we want our clients to know they can count on us during some of the most trying chapters of their lives.
From our success in national, high-profile wrongful death and stem cell therapy malpractice cases, to years of consistent industry recognition, it’s no surprise clients have been trusting us with their cases for the past three decades.
With such a rich history, we feel the need to take a moment and reflect on some of GRYC’s biggest cases.
Haile Brockington
In 2010, firm partner Andy Yaffa represented the mother of Haile Brockington for the wrongful death of her child.
Brockington was just two and a half years old when she was left inside a Delray Beach daycare van where she eventually died of heat exhaustion. When a parent or primary care provider enrolls their son or daughter in a daycare, they are trusting them with their child’s life. This mother’s trust was betrayed, and she will never get the opportunity to see her daughter again.
Yaffa made it a point to give Haile a voice and tell her story in the most meaningful way possible. By advocating for her justice, Yaffa and Brockington’s family created an astounding impact on the community, and the firm continues to fight for victims of hot car deaths to this day.
Nubia Barahona
GRYC co-founder, Neal Roth represented Nubia Barahona and her siblings in one of the cruelest cases of child abuse in Florida’s history. Barahona and her siblings were frequently abused and often forced to spend their days locked in a bathroom at home. She was eventually found dead alongside her convulsing brother in their foster father’s truck on I-95.
We brought justice to Nubia’s name by filing a civil case against the Florida Department of Children and Families for their failure to act after seeing numerous red flags that these horrendous acts were taking place in the Barahona household.
After an arduous battle in state and federal courts from 2011 to 2017, we secured an eight-figure settlement for Barahona and her siblings. Additionally, our efforts prompted Gov. Rick Scott to sign a claims bill into law that provided a $3.75 million settlement for the surviving foster children.
In complex litigation cases such as this one, we make it our mission to bring justice to those who have been neglected and subjected to senseless acts of violence. By continuing to bring light to this incident and others, we can help prevent future cases of child abuse.
Goldberg vs. Florida Power & Light
In one of the most significant wrongful death cases in Florida history, GRYC co-founder Stuart Grossman victoriously led a case that is still cited in courtrooms to this day.
During the repair of a fallen power line in Pinecrest, an intersection light had been shut off without a single person directing traffic. When a police officer offered to help guide traffic, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), the leading utility in the state of Florida, turned him away.
When two young mothers drove through that intersection shortly after, their cars collided, killing one of the children riding with them. FPL’s negligence to execute a simple safety procedure cost the life of a young girl and created a deep void in the family that may never be filled again.
While tragic events can happen to innocent people, it’s our job to defend these victims who often have no voice to speak the truth. As seasoned attorneys, we strive to provide the utmost support to our clients.
Palm Beach County Cases
GRYC partner Gary Cohen and his team represented three women who died under the care of medical personnel at several hospitals throughout Palm Beach County.
The first victim was Barbara Masterson, a 53-year-old nurse with three children who woke up feeling weak and slurring her speech. She was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with a hemorrhagic stroke. Despite the gravity of her diagnosis, none of the hospitals’ neurosurgeons were willing to perform the surgery she needed. It wasn’t until five hours later that a doctor in Fort Lauderdale agreed to operate on her. Masterson died due to complications resulting from her delayed treatment.
The second victim was a 37-year-old mother, Susan Steen. When leaving church on Mother’s Day, Steen collapsed into her husband’s arms. A CT scan later revealed she had an aneurysm and was bleeding in her brain. Even with a life-threatening medical emergency, the hospital left Steen lying in a bed for three hours. When the doctors finally transferred her to JFK Medical Center, the personnel’s attempts to save her life were too late, and Steen died shortly after.
Unfortunately, the third victim’s case was no different. 53-year-old Mary Stone was rushed to the hospital at 7 a.m. after suffering a seizure. Her CT scan later revealed that she had a right frontal cerebral bleed which was treated with Mannitol. With no neurosurgeons on ER call that day, Stone was not operated on until later that evening, when the doctors opted to airlift her to another facility at 6 p.m. She died shortly after as a result of her delayed surgery.
With over a dozen neurosurgeons in Palm Beach County at the time of these incidents, these self-proclaimed “full-service” hospitals that treated our clients did not have a system to efficiently route them to the care they needed.
As a result of our legal efforts and media attention garnered from the severity of the lawsuits, that changed when the Palm Beach County Health District introduced Senate Bill 1590. The Bill, also known as the Florida Stroke Act, declared that designated stroke centers must either have a neurosurgeon on staff or must quickly reroute a patient to a center that does.
In each of these cases, GRYC’s team was able to successfully tell each victim’s story, provide their family with a favorable outcome, and pursue justice to help prevent these tragic incidents from happening again.
Having created this firm 30 years ago, our goal remains the same – to provide support to those who need it most. With a team consisting of highly specialized attorneys, we will fight for your case and bring peace back into your life.
