David M. Carter
David M. Carter was born in Vero Beach and founded and chairs Gould Cooksey Fennell's Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Group. He joined Gould Cooksey Fennell upon returning to Vero Beach in 1994. Since that time, he has litigated significant cases involving catastrophic injuries on behalf of his clients, specializing in the areas of medical malpractice, products liability, automobile claims, commercial and probate litigation. He has had recent jury verdicts which rank among the highest awards in personal injury cases in the history of our community, and was recently featured in Florida Lawyer Magazine.
Mr. Carter attended the University of Florida College of Law where he was a Senior Editor of the Florida Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. After graduating with honors from law school, Mr. Carter accepted a position with the Tampa law firm of Trenam, Simmons, Kemker, Scharf, Barkin, Frye & O'Neill. While at the Trenam firm, he gained experience in the areas of complex personal injury, medical malpractice and commercial litigation defending health care providers, product manufacturers and businesses. During that time, he was also selected by the Florida Board of Bar Examiners to serve as a writer and grader for the Bar Exam.
Mr. Carter serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Justice Association and has been a speaker at continuing legal education seminars. He is a member of the Trial Lawyers Section of the Florida Bar, a member of the American Association for Justice and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Mr. Carter is Board Certified as a Specialist in Civil Trial Law by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education. He maintains an "AV" rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the largest and most comprehensive ratings document of lawyers in the world. From 2006 through the present, he has been named a "Super Lawyer" by Law & Politics Magazine. In 2007 he was named in Law Dragon 3000 which lists the Leading 3000 Attorneys in America. In 2009 Mr. Carter was appointed by the Governor to serve on the 19th Judicial Circuit's Judicial Nominating Commission.
Mr. Carter is a fourth generation Floridian and a member of one of Vero's pioneer families. His great grandfather, a land surveyor who moved to the area in the early 1900's, is credited with staking out the original town of Vero Beach.