Mr. Gonzalez is admitted to the Bars of the United States Court of Appeals
for the Eleventh Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals of the Armed
Forces, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
and the State Bars of Florida and the District of Columbia. He is also
a member of the Hillsborough County Bar Association, the American Bar
Association, and the Florida Justice Association.
Mr. Gonzalez has been practicing law since 1983, starting with the Appellate
Division of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Houston,
Texas. Mr. Gonzalez has been with the Yerrid Law Firm for over 25 years.
Mr. Gonzalez has extensive civil, commercial, and appellate litigation
and administrative practice experience. He was heavily involved in Florida’s
landmark litigation against Big Tobacco and the Firm’s medical malpractice
clients. He has successfully tried numerous complex medical malpractice,
personal injury, and business cases.
Acting as co-counsel with Mr. Yerrid, he participated in multiple multi-million
dollar verdicts, including a $30 Million Dollar verdict for the personal
injuries of a Hillsborough County woman, a $16 Million Dollar verdict
for the wrongful death of a Pinellas County man, and $6.8 Million Dollar
verdict for the wrongful death of a diving contractor working on an unsafe
construction site in Rosarito, Mexico.
Other cases he took to trial included a $4.6 Million Dollar verdict against
Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, $3.8 Million Dollar verdict for the injuries
sustained by a former electrical linesman living in Wesley Chapel, $2.8
Million Dollar verdict for an optometrist for injuries he sustained after
an automobile accident, a $1.249 Million Dollar damage award for the wrongful
death of a former president of the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company, and a
$1.0 Million Dollar verdict for a Pinellas County woman who was injured
a low impact rear end collision.
Mr. Gonzalez has also obtained significant financial recoveries in commercial
litigation matters including a six figure award in a securities fraud
arbitration and a seven figure settlement on a property claim. Additionally,
Mr. Gonzalez has drafted, monitored, and negotiated legislation before
the State Legislature and county government and frequently appeared before
various county and city commissions in Florida and Texas, including the
Texas Public Utility Commission. In 1994, Mr. Gonzalez was selected by
the Florida Public Service Commission Nominating Council as one of seven
nominees as a Commissioner to the Florida Public Service Commission from
a field in excess of three hundred and fifty applicants.