On Friday March 8, 2024, GCF attorney David Carter earned a verdict of $31.9 million for the family of Saverio Sasso, deceased, in a medical malpractice wrongful death trial against Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston Hospital.
The case arose out of a negligent, non-emergency intubation that caused Mr. Sasso to suffer a catastrophic anoxic brain injury leading to his death. Mr. Carter and Mr. Ullian served as lead trial counselors with a trial team that included South Florida attorney Diana Santa Maria and appellate attorney Phillip Parrish..
The case, brought by the family of Saverio Sasso, arose out of a negligent, non-emergency intubation that caused Mr. Sasso to suffer a catastrophic anoxic brain injury leading to his death.
Mr. Sasso was admitted to Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital on September 23, 2018, with a urinary tract infection. By 7:00 am the next morning, Mr. Sasso was in an induced coma, having suffered an anoxic brain injury during a botched, 15-minute intubation.
The most explosive issue in the trial was an allegation by Mr. Sassoโs fiancรฉe, Andrea Oriolo, who witnessed the event, that the first person to attempt the intubation was a first-year resident acting without the mandatory supervision of an attending physician. Numerous physicians disputed Ms. Orioloโs account, but the trial team was able to demonstrate that the physiciansโ descriptions of the event contradicted one another and the electronic medical record data.
The trial involved complex medical and technical issues relating to critical care medicine, infectious disease, hospital administration, and electronic medical record systems. The outcome is a product of the passion, sincerity, and love of the Sasso family and the hard work of the entire trial team, attorneys and paralegals alike.
Related: Hospital Negligence Lawyers in Florida
About Our Attorneys

David M. Carter chairs the firmโs Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Group. Throughout his career, he has served as lead counsel in numerous trials ranging from auto collisions to complex medical malpractice cases and has obtained numerous multi-million-dollar verdicts. Mr. Carter is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law and maintains an AV rating by Martindale Hubbell. He has been included on The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 List, named as one of Florida Trendโs โLegal Eliteโ and for the last decade has been listed as a “Super Lawyer” by Law & Politics Magazine. Mr. Carter has been included in the U.S. News and World Reports โBest Lawyerโ rankings since 2012. That publication has also twice named him Personal Injury Litigation Plaintiffโs Lawyer of the Year for the Orlando area which encompasses 46 cities and 9 counties.
Related: Birth Injury Lawyers Vero Beach