Insight

Legal Déjà Vu

Trial lawyer Steve Yerrid, a National Trial Lawyers Association Hall-of-Famer, again achieves institutional change in a case reminiscent of an earlier tragedy.

The Yerrid Law Firm
SS

Sean Stonefield

September 9, 2016 12:00 AM

On February 7, 2014, the University of California football team was finishing up a strenuous early morning workout when Ted Agu, a walk-on defensive lineman, repeatedly collapsed. After his final collapse, Agu was transferred to a nearby hospital, where, at just 21 years old, he was pronounced dead.

Initially, the Alameda County coroner’s office attributed Agu’s death to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition that impedes the heart from pumping blood. University officials meanwhile reported that the workout had been routine and that Agu had been helped as soon as he started struggling. But Agu’s teammates who had witnessed the tragic event came forward and told a different story.

“Depositions proved that the workout was new, designed to push players to their edge and way beyond it,” says attorney Steve Yerrid, the lead lawyer representing Agu’s parents in their wrongful death lawsuit against the university. “Numerous players also testified that Ted had been visibly struggling for an extended period of time, and that team trainers and coaches failed to intervene or provide assistance until after his final, fatal collapse.”

“Team trainers and coaches failed to intervene or provide assistance until after his final, fatal collapse.”

Indeed, the sworn testimony elicited in the case raised questions as to whether campus officials had provided the coroner’s office with the complete police report, complete witness statements, accurate factual information, and medical records indicating Agucarried sickle cell trait—a blood disorder that can activate and cause death under prolonged and extreme exertion.

“Cal doctors and coaches knew of Ted’s condition since his freshman year in 2010, and once the coroner’s office was informed of the real facts concerning the severity and length of Ted’s sickling symptoms, the County’s chief medical examiner changed the official cause of death from cardiac death to exercise collapse associated with sickle cell trait,” explains Yerrid, who relied on Tampa lawyer Jeff Murphy and well-known California attorney Brian Panish to meticulously prepare the case for trial.

In early 2016, after numerous depositions, the university finally admitted liability in Agu’s death and exonerated him from any wrongdoing. While this resolution of fault did not establish the amount of damages, the University of California ultimately settled the litigation shortly before trial by agreeing to pay Agu’s parents $4.75 million. UC also guaranteed a number of health and safety reforms across all 11 of its campuses, and agreed to provide coaches, team doctors, and players with further education on sickle cell trait, its associated complications, and methods of prevention.

“Monitoring players with sickle cell trait is a basic and essential safety requirement. We were astonished to learn that Cal’s head football trainer, Robbie Jackson, who ironically attended to Agu as he was dying, had a unique history that should have made him acutely aware of its dangers,” says Yerrid. Amazingly, six years before Agu’s death, Jackson, who was then a trainer at the University of Central Florida, had personally assisted Ereck Plancher, a 19-year-old UCF football player with sickle cell trait, when he collapsed during a workout. As in the Agu tragedy, the coaches and training staff failed to intervene until Plancher was in the latter stages of sickling, resulting in his death minutes later.

In 2011, as the lead attorney for Plancher’s family in their wrongful death jury trial, Yerrid, with a legal team that included his partner David Dickey and Tampa lawyers Jeff Murphy and J.D. Dowell, won a $10 million verdict against the UCF Athletics Association. But eight years after Plancher’s death, the appeals process remains ongoing and the Plancher family has yet to be compensated.

“Easily the best trial lawyer I have seen in my career.” – Tampa lawyer Jeff Murphy

“Despite our repeated overtures, UCF has chosen to protect its Ohio-based insurance company instead of the student athlete’s parents,” says Yerrid. “The insurance company, contracted and paid to provide $11 million in coverage, is clearly responsible for the damages in this horrific and unnecessary death case, but the insurance company has refused to pay, and the school has supported that decision. Frankly, the school’s conduct has been unconscionable, and I believe demonstrates an utter disregard for Ereck’s loss and the welfare of his parents.”

Yerrid has a long history of seeking justice against powerful and well-moneyed defendants. Over his four-decade career, he has won more than 250 verdicts and settlements of $1 million or more, including a $330 million verdict in 2009 that remains one of the nation’s largest wrongful death verdicts, and a $217 million verdict in 2006 that stands as the largest medical malpractice verdict in Florida’s history. Yerrid currently holds Tampa’s top five personal injury verdicts, all of which are $30 million-plus results (the most recent being a $64.5 million jury award for a man seriously injured in a building collapse, which was the largest verdict in Florida for 2015).

Along with these precedent-setting results, Yerrid regularly battles large defense firms and corporate giants in challenging and socially significant cases of personal injury, wrongful death, medical negligence, premises liability, and products liability. Murphy, who worked with Yerrid on the Plancher and Agu cases, calls him “easily the best trial lawyer I have seen in my career.” And Yankees owner, the late George Steinbrenner, a longtime friend and client, once noted, “If I were in a foxhole I’d want Steve Yerrid right next to me.”

Yerrid is currently part of a Florida team of trial lawyers representing more than 200 professional football players in landmark concussion-related litigation against the NFL. Moreover, his track record includes some of the country’s most influential legal cases.

In the mid-1990s, for example, Yerrid was the youngest of 11 private trial lawyers selected by the late Governor Lawton Chiles as part of his legal “Dream Team” to represent the State of Florida against the then unbeaten cigarette industry. Three weeks into the jury trial, Big Tobacco finally relented, agreeing to one of the largest civil settlements ever recorded—over $17 billion—as well as landmark advertising concessions that ended Joe Camel, retired the Marlboro Man, halted many of the industry’s marketing practices, and banned cigarette vending machines, billboards, and other forms of public advertising. In addition, millions of dollars from the settlement went to creating and funding the nationwide “Truth” campaign.

For Yerrid, who lost both of his parents to tobacco-related illnesses, the outcome was a deep personal victory in addition to being transformative for society (the incriminating “smoking-gun” documents obtained by the Dream Team and the settlement’s concessions were extended nationally, benefiting every state in the country). “There was a sea change in American culture regarding smoking as a result of our case, and that demonstrated the profound difference trial lawyers can make.”

Most recently, Yerrid secured a $27.4 million settlement for the City of Tampa in its lawsuit against BP over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill—the largest recovery of any city in Florida. As a result, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn personally praised him and pledged to use the funds for community legacy projects. “Like many people, I was sickened by the rig’s explosion,” says Yerrid, an avid fisherman. “It was a tragedy both in terms of the eleven people who lost their lives and the profound damage to our environment. I was honored by the opportunity to hold BP responsible for its wrongdoing.”

Yerrid’s significant and far-reaching results have solidified his reputation as one of the nation’s best trial lawyers. This year, the National Trial Lawyers Association inducted him into its Hall of Fame—a group comprising 49 of the country’s most distinguished trial lawyers, who have all earned recognition as champions for justice.

“As a way to help people, I certainly chose the right profession,” says Yerrid, who also helps others through his family’s self-funded charity, The Yerrid Foundation, which has donated millions of dollars to more than 500 charities and causes over the years.

“My successes have always come about through the help of others, and that’s why I believe it’s important to give back and provide others with a helping hand. After many wonderful years of being a trial lawyer, what continues to drive me are those wonderful moments when I can say to a client, ‘Congratulations, you got justice.’”

Related Articles

The Benefits of Charitable Giving in New York Estate Planning


by Best Lawyers

In this article, Best Lawyers breaks down the advantages and disadvantages of factoring in charitable donations when estate planning in New York state.

Animated hand giving a gift with bow on top

IN PARTNERSHIP

Shine with Wine: One Firm’s Heroic Efforts to Combat Pediatric Cancer


by Best Lawyers

Block O’Toole & Murphy’s annual event has raised millions—and counting—for the world’s premier pediatric cancer treatment facility. Their commitment to the cure is unmatched, and each year boasts more success than ever before.

Two candles on table in front of framed child's artwork and large screen at event

Success and Leadership by All Measures


by Justin Smulison

Lubin & Meyer Continues to Secure Medical Malpractice and Injury Results That Protect Victims and Inspire Change

Lubin & Meyer Continue to Secure Legal Result

Loaded Arguments


by Justin Smulison

The historic Sandy Hook settlement may set precedent for future liability, while some states loosen their gun laws.

Historic Settlement in Sandy Hook Litigation

Opioid Settlement Clears One Obstacle, but There Is More To Go


by Rasha Aly

A recent court settlement is requiring a family most notable for their production of Oxycontin to pay billions to recovery organizations, a huge win in the battle against the opioid crises plaguing the country.

Opioid Settlement with Purdue Pharma

Champions of Change: Record Breaking LGBTQ Olympic Athlete Representation


by Rebecca Blackwell

LGBTQ Olympic Athletes Make History

America’s Favorite Pastime: The Talk of the Town and the Courtroom


by MaKenli Ladd

Major League Baseball's disapproval of new voting legislation in Georgia is facing harsh criticism after they opted to move out of the state.

MLB Moves Out of Georgia After Voting Law

WATCH: Best Lawyers Discusses COVID-19 & Sports Franchises


by Best Lawyers

Three legal experts join the CEO of Best Lawyers to discuss the legal challenges sports franchises face as the reality of reopening looms closer.

COVID-19 Panel: Sports Franchises

Fighting for Justice


by Best Lawyers

How They Have Fought for Clients Every Step of the Way

Fighting for Justice

How College Athletes Will Be Paid Under California’s Fair Pay to Play Act


by Hugh F. Murray III

Another Challenge to NCAA’s Financial Structure

College Athletes Will Be Paid Under New Law

A Record Settlement


by Justin Smulison

Rouda, Feder, Tietjen & McGuinn

A Record Settlement

Lecher Pays


by Ann E. Evanko and Katherine L. Wood

Can social change be sped up via legislation? A key provision of the recent tax-law overhaul, clearly written with #MeToo in mind, suggests it can.

Social Change Amid #MeToo

Courtroom Mastery


by Justin Smulison

Thomas Moore's latest multimillion-dollar verdict secures justice for a near-fatally injured client.

Marion Hedges Injury Settlement

In The News: New York


by Compiled by Nicole Ortiz

A summary of newsworthy content from New York lawyers and law firms.

New York In The News 2018

Steve Yerrid Proves He’s a Top Gun among America’s Trial Lawyers…Again


by Nicole Ortiz

Trial lawyer Steve Yerrid’s career spans four decades, with continuous inclusion in Best Lawyers® since the 80s and over 250 verdicts and settlements of seven figures or more.

Steve Yerrid

Current Status of Image Rights Structures in Spain


by Eduardo Montejo

Image Rights in Spain

Trending Articles

Announcing the 2023 The Best Lawyers in America Honorees


by Best Lawyers

Only the top 5.3% of all practicing lawyers in the U.S. were selected by their peers for inclusion in the 29th edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.

Gold strings and dots connecting to form US map

Announcing the 2022 Best Lawyers® in the United States


by Best Lawyers

The results include an elite field of top lawyers listed in the 28th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and in the 2nd Edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for 2022.

2022 Best Lawyers Listings for United States

2021 Best Lawyers: The Global Issue


by Best Lawyers

The 2021 Global Issue features top legal talent from the most recent editions of Best Lawyers and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch worldwide.

2021 Best Lawyers: The Global Issue

The U.S. Best Lawyers Voting Season Is Open


by Best Lawyers

The voting season for the 31st edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and the 5th edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America is officially underway, and we are offering some helpful advice to this year’s voters.

Golden figures of people standing on blue surface connected by white lines

How To Find A Pro Bono Lawyer


by Best Lawyers

Best Lawyers dives into the vital role pro bono lawyers play in ensuring access to justice for all and the transformative impact they have on communities.

Hands joined around a table with phone, paper, pen and glasses

The Best Lawyers in Australia™ 2024 Launch


by Best Lawyers

Best Lawyers is excited to announce The Best Lawyers in Australia™ for 2023, including the top lawyers and law firms from Australia.

Australian Parliament beside water at sunset

How Palworld Is Testing the Limits of Nintendo’s Legal Power


by Gregory Sirico

Many are calling the new game Palworld “Pokémon GO with guns,” noting the games striking similarities. Experts speculate how Nintendo could take legal action.

Animated figures with guns stand on top of creatures

What the Courts Say About Recording in the Classroom


by Christina Henagen Peer and Peter Zawadski

Students and parents are increasingly asking to use audio devices to record what's being said in the classroom. But is it legal? A recent ruling offer gives the answer to a question confusing parents and administrators alike.

Is It Legal for Students to Record Teachers?

Inflation Escalation


by Ashley S. Wagner

Inflation and rising costs are at the forefront of everyone’s mind as we enter 2023. The current volatile market makes it more important than ever to understand the rent escalation clauses in current and future commercial lease agreements.

Suited figure in front of rising market and inflated balloon

The Upcycle Conundrum


by Karen Kreider Gaunt

Laudable or litigious? What you need to know about potential copyright and trademark infringement when repurposing products.

Repurposed Products and Copyright Infringemen

8 Different Types of Criminal Defenses in Law


by Best Lawyers

Learn about the different types of criminal defenses available in law, including innocence, self-defense, insanity and more. Protect your rights today.

Silver handcuffs laying on finger printed papers

A Celebration of Excellence: The Best Lawyers in Canada 2024 Awards


by Best Lawyers

As we embark on the 18th edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada™, we are excited to highlight excellence and top legal talent across the country.

Abstract image of red and white Canada flag in triangles

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for 2023


by Best Lawyers

The third edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™ highlights the legal talent of lawyers who have been in practice less than 10 years.

Three arrows made of lines and dots on blue background

Wage and Overtime Laws for Truck Drivers


by Greg Mansell

For truck drivers nationwide, underpayment and overtime violations are just the beginning of a long list of problems. Below we explore the wages you are entitled to but may not be receiving.

Truck Driver Wage and Overtime Laws in the US

Choosing a Title Company: What a Seller Should Expect


by Roy D. Oppenheim

When it comes to choosing a title company, how much power exactly does a seller have?

Choosing the Title Company As Seller

The 2024 Best Lawyers in Spain™


by Best Lawyers

Best Lawyers is honored to announce the 16th edition of The Best Lawyers in Spain™ and the third edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Spain™ for 2024.

Tall buildings and rushing traffic against clouds and sun in sky