Across the past three decades, Stuart Ratzan has combined hard work and imagination to successfully try and resolve some of the most significant cases heard in state and federal courtrooms in Florida and throughout the United States. Mr. Ratzan embraces the demanding role of plaintiff attorney with aptitude and study, perseverance, and moral courage.
Stuart Ratzan’s extensive experience in handling catastrophic brain injury and medical malpractice cases throughout the United States, and successfully obtaining multiple multi-million dollar judgments and settlements on behalf of his clients and their families, have earned him the highest recognition by his peers and the most respected national legal publications. Stuart Ratzan is a Cum Laude graduate of Amherst College in Amherst, MA. In 1991 he graduated Cum Laude from the University of Miami School of Law and was admitted to the Florida Bar.
After years of successful practice with a prestigious Miami law firm, he established his own practice in 2001. As founder and shareholder of Ratzan Weissman & Boldt, not only does he aggressively pursue multi-million dollar judgments and settlements on behalf of his clients to help offset a lifetime of treatments and medical expenses, but also Mr. Ratzan is well aware of the significance of bringing cases of negligence to trial. Jury verdicts provide incentives for public safety and good medical care, to which Stuart ardently asserts we are all entitled.
Mr. Ratzan believes that the system’s purpose includes deterring wrongful and socially unacceptable conduct and he has dedicated his life to that mission. Stuart Ratzan is a trial attorney who goes above and beyond his responsibility to obtain just compensation for his clients who have suffered catastrophic injuries or wrongful death. Among his peers, Stuart Ratzan is considered a David among Goliaths when he fights alongside his clients to take on the most powerful hospitals, doctors, manufacturers, corporations, and insurance companies.
On at least five separate occasions, Mr. Ratzan earned a place amongst The Top 100 Verdicts in America for his role in securing justice and enforcing safety on behalf of his clients and the communities in which they reside. In 2017, Mr. Ratzan led the trial team in securing a $46.5 million medical malpractice verdict – the largest ever in the State of Arkansas – for a three-year-old child who suffered brain damage after she was left untreated for jaundice as a newborn; and also led the way in a $45 million verdict involving the death of a medical student following a late-night crash at an Interstate 75 construction site in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
By first gathering evidence, and then through top-flight courtroom advocacy, Stuart Ratzan restored balance in each case in the lives of his clients. The juries who rendered verdicts in those cases fulfilled their important role in our democratic society by compensating Stuart’s clients for their harms and losses and making the communities they live in safer.
With a knack for thinking on his feet and showing pure authenticity in every case, Stuart Ratzan extends the boundaries and traditional means of courtroom techniques. For this, he often makes national headlines. As lead trial lawyer, he successfully argued on behalf of the family of a Florida wife and mother whose 1996 lung cancer death resulted in a $42.5 million verdict against cigarette companies R.J. Reynolds and Phillip Morris; and in another trial in which he represented a brain-injured baby in a $23.2 million verdict against a major Florida hospital chain; and, in yet another trial, he represented a whistleblower in a $2.8 million verdict against a major Florida hospital.
When wrongdoers are held accountable, Mr. Ratzan believes a jury has enforced the safety rules and all of us can rest a little easier. Mr. Ratzan is annually recognized by Best Lawyers in America, the South Florida Legal Guide, Florida Trend magazine and Florida Super Lawyers as one of Florida’s top attorneys. Mr. Ratzan has an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating available. He is also a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Stuart N. Ratzan was President of the Young Lawyers Division of the Florida Bar in 2000-2001, and proudly served the Florida Bar Board of Governors from 1999-2001. He has also served on the Executive Council of the Florida Bar Association’s Trial Lawyers Section from 2009 until 2014; was a Member of the Board of Directors of Florida Justice Association from 2003-2009 and was part of the Executive Committee from 2006-2008.
Additionally, Mr. Ratzan served on the Board of Directors of Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc. from 2003-2007; and is a Member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), the American Association for Justice, the Miami Dade Trial Lawyers Association and the Dade County Bar Association.
Currently, he serves as Chair of the ABOTA Miami COVID19 Jury Trial Task Force and as President of Temple Beth Am in Pinecrest, Florida. Drawing courage and inspiration from his clients, Mr. Ratzan is active in legal organizations. The Florida Justice Association has recognized his fundraising efforts. Mr. Ratzan is also a frequent lecturer at seminars for the Florida Bar Association and FJA, speaking throughout the country on trial practice, catastrophic injury litigation and consumer advocacy.
Most of all, Stuart Ratzan is authentic. He gets real with jurors and judges and develops the bond of trust that is essential for trying cases. An avid cyclist and fly fisherman, Mr. Ratzan has ridden thousands of miles to raise funds for a handful of charities, such as the Davis Phinney Foundation, the Dolphins Cancer Challenge and Best Buddies International. He also participates annually in the Keymorada Fishing Tournament to raise money to fight Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn’s and Colitis).
Lecturing
Stuart N. Ratzan is a frequent lecturer at CLE seminars for the Florida Bar’s Trial Lawyers Section and for the Florida Justice Association. Recently, Mr. Ratzan spoke at the 1st Annual Glenn Burton Trial Lawyers’ Summit on the topic of “Medical Malpractice.”
Honors & Awards
“AV” Rating from Martindale Hubbell;
South Florida Legal Guide — Top Lawyers;
Florida Super Lawyers — Top Lawyers;
Florida Trend Magazine — “Legal Elite”
Professional Associations & Memberships
American Bar Association;
The Florida Bar Association (Trial Lawyers Section, Executive Council, 2008 – present; President, Young Lawyers Division, 2000 – 2001);
American Association for Justice;
Florida Justice Association (Member, Board of Directors, 2003 – 2009; Executive Committee 2006 – 2008);
Board of Directors, Temple Beth Am, Pinecrest, Florida;
Dade County Bar Association;
Miami-Dade Justice Association;
Board of Directors of Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc., 2003 – 2007
