Mr. Burnett has been a trial lawyer for over 20 years and focuses his practice on representing individuals and businesses who have been wrongfully injured and damaged. Mr. Burnett represents and advocates for people and companies who have suffered physical injury or financial harm due to the fault of others—whether the fault be intentional or accidental.
Mr. Burnett concentrates a large portion of his legal practice on maximizing recoveries in wrongful death matters where a loved one—spouse, child, parent or other family member—has been lost to untimely death due to the fault of others. Mr. Burnett represents individuals who have been injured as the result of another person’s negligence or intentional misconduct. He has significant experience in trucking accident litigation, motorcycle accident litigation, car accident litigation, pedestrian accidents, golf cart accidents, premises liability (e.g., dangerous property conditions, slip and fall, trip and fall), products liability (i.e., defective consumer products), intentional tort litigation [e.g., battery, defamation (libel and slander)], medical malpractice and cases involving traumatic brain injury and paralysis. Mr. Burnett’s practice focuses on representing and seeking the maximum recovery for individuals who have suffered severe, life-altering personal injuries.
Mr. Burnett’s experience—which includes formerly defending medical malpractice matters on behalf of a major national hospital and formerly defending personal injury matters on behalf of a national insurance company—provides him with the insight and knowledge regarding the most effective strategies for pursuing these types of claims to maximize his clients’ recoveries. Mr. Burnett also has valuable experience handling cases where pharmaceuticals (i.e., drugs and medications) have caused catastrophic injuries, including death, whether it be due to tainted drugs, improper drug prescriptions, improper drug monitoring, or pharmacy malpractice (e.g., prescription misfills, incorrect drug, incorrect dosage, adverse drug interaction).
In addition, Mr. Burnett has represented thousands of homeowners and businesses in property insurance disputes related to sinkhole claims, fighting for their rights against some of the biggest insurance companies in the country. He has also represented homeowners against their insurance companies related to fire, hurricane and water losses. Mr. Burnett has also represented property associations and hundreds of homeowners in individual actions and class actions against builders for construction defects, including improper and defective stucco application. Mr. Burnett has also represented numerous home buyers who have been defrauded by sellers who intentionally concealed and failed to disclose latent defects in the property.
Mr. Burnett has represented numerous Fortune 500 companies in complex commercial litigation matters, national class action litigation and investigations, and enforcement proceedings by the Florida Attorney General. Mr. Burnett’s clients have included nationally and internationally known magazine and book publishing companies, motion picture companies, and broadcasting companies. Mr. Burnett has also represented many local businesses with national and international presences. In addition, he has handled numerous banking litigation matters.
Mr. Burnett has been awarded the AV-Preeminent rating by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is the highest possible rating for legal ability and ethical standards. He is admitted to practice before all state courts in Florida and Tennessee, the United States District Courts for Middle, Southern and Northern Districts of Florida, the Middle District of Tennessee and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION • AV-Preeminent Rated by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory • Florida Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, 2009 • Named One of Tampa Bay's Top Lawyers by Tampa Bay Magazine, 2010-2015.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS • The Florida Bar • American Association for Justice • Florida Justice Association • The American Bar Association • Hillsborough County Bar Association • Tampa Bay Trial Lawyers Association • Million Dollar Advocates Forum • Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
EDUCATIONAL AWARDS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Undergraduate
· Graduated First in Class with Perfect 4.0 grade point average [University of Florida College of Business]
· Mortar Board National Honor Society
· Beta Gamma Sigma National Business Scholastic Honor Society
· Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society
· Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society
· Golden Key National Honor Society
· Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society
· Omicron Delta Epsilon International Economics Society
· Anderson Scholar with Highest Honors
· University of Florida H.B.A. International Business Case Competition Team (among only four (4) students selected to compete against teams from around the world in London, Ontario)
· Outstanding Student Scholar of the Year in the College of Business Administration
Law School
· Florida Blue Key Leadership Honorary
· Florida Law Review (Senior Galleys Editor; Senior Managing Editor)
· Justice Campbell Thornal Moot Court Board
· Deputy Attorney General, University of Florida Student Honor Court
· Teaching Assistant, Appellate Advocacy
· Teaching Assistant, Legal Research and Writing
