Michael Neff on a $35M Verdict against Six Flags in Georgia | On Premises podcast

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Episode description

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Episode description

In this episode of On Premises, host Landon Stinson sits down with Atlanta-based attorney Michael Neff to discuss a landmark premises liability trial in Georgia. Neff represented Joshua Martin, a young man who suffered permanent brain damage after being brutally assaulted by a group of teenage gang members who were also employees of Six Flags.

Neff provides an in-depth look at the case that rocked the theme park industry, unpacking the investigation, the courtroom battle, and the unprecedented $35 million settlement awarded to Martin. He also explores the broader implications of the case, including corporate responsibility and the need for increased safety measures at public venues.

Speaker Bio

Mike Neff founded Neff Injury Law in April 1996. After a successful solo career, Mike added Dwayne Adams, Susan Cremer and Shane Peagler to the firm. Mike has been lead counsel in trials where the jury returned verdicts totaling over $100 million.

In 2011, 2012, and 2013, Mike was lead counsel in three record-setting verdicts in Georgia, according to CaseMetrix: a $9 million verdict in a negligent security and rape case; a $2.79 million verdict in a grocery store fall case where the client developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome; and a $35 million verdict against the amusement park Six Flags in a premises liability case.

In 2017, Mike was lead counsel in two trials that resulted in a total of $54 million in verdicts against an international car rental company, its agents, and an employee who stole a car and catastrophically injured two women.

Neff Injury Law is based in Atlanta and currently has cases pending in Georgia, Arizona, and California involving wrongful death, sexual assault, premises liability, trucking and bus wrecks, and products liability.

Mike is the author of Premises Liability: A Guide to Success and Premises Liability: A Guide Through Trial, both published by Trial Guides. He is active in the American Association for Justice (AAJ) and is member of the Executive Committee for AAJ’s Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group and AAJ’s Inadequate Security Litigation Group. In 2014, Mike was elected Chair of AAJ’s Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Litigation Group. He is recognized as an Advocate by the National College of Advocacy and has served on the Executive Committee of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. In 2023, Mike was appointed the first chair of AAJ’s Premises Liability Section.

Mike is also the founder of the National Association of Premises Liability Attorneys (“NAPLA”), an organization for attorneys seeking justice for those injured or killed on the premises of another person or business. NAPLA’s mission is to educate attorneys, build community, and promote safety.