Melvin B. Wright

Melvin Bowen Wright was born and raised in rural South Georgia. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Mercer University Law School in Macon, Georgia, and was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1985. He then moved to Central Florida and began practicing law in Orlando in 1985, where he, his wife, and their two children enjoy living.

He has over forty years of real trial experience in all types of personal injury and wrongful death litigation, including auto and trucking accidents, premises liability, product liability, and nursing home and other institutional abuse and neglect.

Education

Melvin B. Wright graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree from the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences in 1981. In 1985, he graduated from Mercer University Law School in Macon, Georgia, one of the oldest law schools in the United States and the first law school in Georgia to earn accreditation by the American Bar Association.

Experience & Accomplishments

Mr. Wright began the practice of law with an emphasis on wrongful death and personal injury litigation and represented both the injured and the insurance industry until 1993. Since then, he has devoted his practice to exclusively representing victims of severe personal injury and death in all types of cases, including

• Motor Vehicle and Trucking Liability
• Dangerous Property and Premises Liability
• Dangerous Products and Product Liability
• Nursing Home Negligence
• Assisted Living Facility Negligence
• Neglect and Abuse of the Developmentally Disabled
• Pharmacy Negligence
• Child Care Negligence
• Drownings
• Burn and Electrocution Injuries
• Paralysis Injuries
• Traumatic Brain Injuries

Admissions to Practice

Mr. Wright is admitted to practice in all state courts in Florida and the Supreme Court of Florida, and he is also admitted to practice in Georgia and Tennessee. Experienced in Federal court litigation, he is also admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the Northern District of Florida, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. He has tried over one hundred civil jury cases in both state and federal courts and handled even more appeals in various Florida courts at state and national levels. 

Top Verdicts & Case Samples

• One appeal handled by Melvin B. Wright was against a funeral home operator for negligence in the supervision and direction of a funeral procession crossing a busy state highway, resulting in serious and permanent injuries to a family member of the deceased, and was decided by the Supreme Court of Florida in favor of Mr. Wright’s client. That ruling prompted the funeral home industry to join together in hiring powerful lobbyists to convince Florida legislators to enact statutes partially immunizing funeral home operators from liability for future auto accidents that occur during processions. The client recovered a significant settlement after winning her appeal.
• In a 2012 case, Mr. Wright was selected to serve as one of only eight attorneys as a member of the Official Creditors’ Committee representing injured victims nationwide in the Massachusetts bankruptcy litigation involving New England Compounding Center, which manufactured, sold, and distributed injectable steroid solutions that were contaminated with mold and/or fungus in their laboratory. Hundreds of people across the nation suffered from serious and life-altering infections. A nationwide settlement of almost $200,000,000 was reached in 2015 in the bankruptcy proceedings with the makers of the tainted drugs, as well as others alleged to have been responsible for the contamination of the drugs.  
• In another case involving the rape and impregnation of a young but mentally disabled nursing home resident, Mr. Wright sued the nursing home and co-authored an article in the American Journal of Nursing entitled “Born into a Diaper.” The case was successfully prosecuted and settled on behalf of the resident and her minor child.  
• In 2017, an Orange County, Florida jury awarded Mr. Wright’s client $6,800,000 against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. The verdict of compensatory and punitive damages was on behalf of Mary Sheffield for the wrongful death of her husband, a retired Florida Highway Patrol officer and decorated World War II veteran, from multiple bouts of lung cancer caused by his addiction to nicotine. The case was one of many Engle progeny cases in Florida arising from the negligence and intentional conduct of R.J. Reynolds and its co-conspirators in hiding the addictive nature and health hazards of using its cigarettes during the approximately 40 years that Mr. Sheffield was a regular and addicted smoker.

Board Certifications & Professional Associations

• Melvin Bowen Wright has been board-certified as a civil trial specialist by The Florida Bar, Board of Legal Specialization and Education since 1996. This certification is the highest level of recognition by the Florida Bar of the competency and experience of an attorney in the field of civil litigation. Only 7% of Florida lawyers are board-certified in their area of expertise, and only 1% of all Florida lawyers are board-certified in civil trial law.
• Since 1999, Mr. Wright has also been board-certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, accredited by the American Bar Association to certify attorneys in the specialty of civil trial law and civil pretrial practice—Less than 1% of attorneys nationwide have this certification. Mr. Wright is a Certified Civil Pretrial Advocate and a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate as well as a member of the NBTA advisory committee.

Bar and Professional Associations and Recognitions:

Mr. Wright is recognized by these bar and professional associations and more:

• The State Bar of Georgia
• The Florida Bar
  • The Trial Lawyers Section of the Florida Bar
• The Central Florida Trial Lawyers Association (CFTLA)
• The Florida Justice Association (FJA) EAGLE Member
• The American Association for Justice (AAJ)
  • The Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway and Premises Liability Section of the AAJ
  • The Professional Negligence Section of the AAJ
  • The Nursing Home Litigation Group of the AAJ
  • The AAJ’s Section on Toxic, Environmental, and Pharmaceutical Torts
• American Board of Trial Advocates
• International Society of Barristers
• Southern Trial Lawyers Association
• The National Trial Lawyers Association
• Best Lawyers in America
• Super Lawyers
• Million Dollar Advocates Forum
• AV Rated by Martindale Hubbell Law Directory

Lectures and Presentations

Mr. Wright has lectured to attorneys, expert consultants, and colleagues over the years on issues pertaining to motor vehicle negligence, premises liability, product liability, personal injury, and wrongful death as well as nursing home and institutional abuse and neglect. In 2008, he was asked to present a seminar on nursing home neglect and harm to the legal nurse consultants and staff of the State of Florida Department of Children and Families.

In 2013, Mr. Wright was asked by the AAJ to present a portion of a seminar on the handling of meningitis cases arising from a nationwide outbreak caused by contaminated steroid medications sold by a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy. He also presented at the Florida Justice Association’s (FJA) 2015 Annual Convention on Annual Nursing Home Legislative and Case Law Update and demonstrated “Cross-Examination of an Expert by The Defense.” In 2015 and 2016, Melvin Wright served as moderator of workshops at the AI J. Cone Trial Advocacy Institute trial skills sponsored by the Florida Justice Association. He also presented “The Common Law Collateral Source Rule in Florida” at the FJA’s Masters of Justice Seminar.

Community Service:

Mr. Wright is active in his community in support of senior citizens and disabled children and adults. He serves on the advisory board of Easter Seals Florida.