Morgan & Morgan Vows to Fight Proposed Class Action on ‘Botched’ Injury Claims

Morgan & Morgan calls itself the nation’s largest injury law firm, with offices in most states. But perhaps the Orlando-founded firm has grown too big, too quickly, suggests a proposed class-action lawsuit that claims the firm has botched hundreds of cases and had operated illegally in Georgia.

“The law in this state prohibits entities from bringing and maintaining civil suits if they are not registered to transact business in this state with the Georgia Secretary of State,” reads the complaint filed on behalf of the lead plaintiff, a deputy sheriff who was badly injured when his patrol car was rear-ended by a car traveling 114 mph.

Deputy Brandon Walker, of Glynn County, Georgia, said in the lawsuit that he called Morgan & Morgan after he was contacted by the at-fault driver’s insurance company, which offered only the policy limits – less than $25,000.

Walker was told his case would be handled out of Morgan’s Brunswick, Georgia, office, then by the firm’s Savannah team. Walker’s suit argues that Morgan was not properly registered with the state when it claimed local lawyers were involved.

The lawsuit also alleges that Walker had very little contact with any lawyer from the Morgan firm. When Morgan attorneys did communicate, they erroneously told him he would need to quit his job to be eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits. When he said he couldn’t leave his job, the Morgan law firm took no action, allowing the one-year statute of limitations on the comp claim to lapse, the suit contends.

It gets worse, the complaint notes. After the deputy’s group health insurance carrier, the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia, paid for some of his medical treatment, the association sought $17,319 in reimbursement from Walker, from the at-fault motorist’s auto insurance payout. Morgan lawyers went ahead and paid this amount on behalf of Walker, the suit contends.

The complaint and an affidavit from a workers’ compensation expert witness maintains that the subrogation likely would not have been pursued if a workers’ comp carrier had been involved.

“This claim should have been paid by the worker’s compensation carrier. The comp carrier would not have had a viable subrogation interest; therefore, Mr. Walker would have had $17,318.78 more net funds in settlement,” reads the statement by workers’ comp attorney Bruce Edwards, of Douglas, Georgia.

Although some insurers may request that claimants leave their employment as part of a comp settlement, that’s only done in some cases, Edwards said. And even then, a claimant has options. Other Georgia workers’ compensation attorneys said Tuesday that it is common for employees to be asked to resign as part of a workers’ comp settlement, but not before a claim is filed. They also agreed that comp insurance would have paid for most of the medical, and would not have sought subrogation from the claimant.

In other respects, Morgan failed to explore other sources of compensation for Walker, who will need surgery and other care in coming years, the suit charges: The Morgan firm did not investigate enough to show that the errant driver was a severe diabetic and, despite a previous accident, was never advised by his physicians to refrain from driving.

All of that is considered a breach of the legal standard of care for attorneys, the lawsuit claims.

Morgan & Morgan representatives could not be reached for comment Tuesday. The firm has not yet answered the complaint or filed a motion to dismiss. A lawyer with Bradley Arant, the firm representing Morgan in the case, downplayed the suit’s significance.

“This case is meritless and we intend to provide a vigorous defense,” said Justin Gunter, partner with Bradley in Atlanta.

The Walker lawsuit, led by Savannah lawyer Brent Savage, argues that many others in Georgia have been misled and ill-represented by Morgan & Morgan. The number of potential class members is so numerous that individual claims would be impractical and would swamp the court system.

The suit, removed to federal court in southern Georgia by Morgan, asks for more than $5 million in damages, plus punitive damages and attorney fees and expenses.

“The defendants have been stubbornly litigious, acted in bad faith, and caused plaintiff unnecessary trouble and expenses, entitling plaintiff to recover for litigation costs and attorney’s fees…” the complaint notes.

It acknowledges that, like many class-action lawsuits, the ultimate payout per class member may be small “relative to the complexity of litigation.”

Morgan & Morgan has earned the ire of many property insurers and insurance defense attorneys, especially in Florida. Last year, the firm’s attorneys sent notice to Florida defense lawyers that they were about to file tens of thousands of insurance claims lawsuits in the days just before a Florida tort-reform law took effect.

And this is not the first time that Walker’s attorney has tangled with the Morgan law firm. In 2023, Savage filed a similar malpractice lawsuit against Morgan & Morgan in a personal injury claim. It was only after that suit was filed, Savage argues, that Morgan registered as a business with the Georgia Secretary of State – long after it had begun representing Georgia clients in legal matters.

Part of that case is pending before the Georgia Court of Appeals.