Gabriel A. Assaad (Dkt. 239-2, S.D. Fla.)

Summary

Document 239-2 in Case 1:21-md-02989-CMA, entered on the FLSD docket April 26, 2021, is a six-page resume of Gabriel A. Assaad of McDonald Worley in Houston, Texas. The resume states a practice over the past 17 years primarily focused on medical malpractice, products liability, and FLSA cases, with hundreds of depositions of experts, treating physicians, government officials and fact witnesses. The resume lists oral argument before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Virginia, and memberships including the American Association of Justice and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association.

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Date: 2021-04-26

Cite this document

“Gabriel A. Assaad (Dkt. 239-2).” Original at archive.org, dated 2021-04-26. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2021-04-26-victoria-smith-v-peter-a-moskovitz-m-d-et-al-case-no-2011-ca-005467-district-of/, SHA-256 4a14d4b0ab83b5693af8556fb0195ffbe430ca2fb97680e2c80ecefb04d8e148.

Full text

Case 1:21-md-02989-CMA Document 239-2 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/26/2021 Page 1 of 6
Gabriel A. Assaad
1770 Saint James Place
Suite 100
Houston, TX 77056
(713) 523-5500
gassaad@mcdonaldworley.com
_________________________________________________________________________________________

For the past 17 years1, my practice has primarily focused on medical malpractice, products
liability, and FLSA cases. I have conducted hundreds of depositions of experts (doctors,
engineers, economists, life care planners, etc.), treating physicians, nurses, government officials
and employees, lawyers, and fact witnesses. Most of these complex cases involved many
Daubert challenges, discovery motions, summary judgment motions, and motions in limine. In
addition, I have also presented oral argument to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the
Supreme Court of Virginia on multiple occasions.

I have ample experience with federal practice and procedure. Over the past nearly 10
years, I have handled numerous FLSA cases in federal courts across the country. Many of the
FLSA cases dealt with FRCP Rule 23 class actions and collective actions. Given that experience,
I am very familiar with federal practice and procedures and many of the local rules of may courts.
My litigation experience in the Bair Hugger MDL, Smith & Nephew MDL, and 3M Combat
Arms MDL has also provided me experience litigating and trying cases in an MDL.

Bair Hugger MDL

My specific litigation experience in mass tort litigation began with the Bair Hugger MDL
that was formed in 2015. However, my firm commenced the Bair Hugger litigation in 2013, and I
spent the two years between filing and the MDL consolidation litigating these complex products
liability cases without the assistance of a team of plaintiffs’ attorneys.

When the JPML consolidated the Bair Hugger cases and assigned the MDL to the District
of Minnesota, I remained very involved in all aspects of this case, including discovery and
experts. To date, I have taken ten expert depositions, five depositions of study authors, many fact
depositions of 3M’s current and former employees, two depositions of corporate representatives,
and six treater depositions. In addition, I defended five expert depositions. I was also involved in
the selection and vetting of our Plaintiff’s experts.

The Bair Hugger MDL consisted of millions of pages of documents produced by the 3M. I
was involved in reviewing and compiling subsets for many of the depositions given the complex
issues in the case. In addition, I also was part of the team that was involved in the Bellwether
selection process, reviewing Bellwether specific documents, and preparing the bellwether cases
for trial.

Also, in the Bair Hugger MDL, I was responsible for briefing and arguing a several of the
Daubert motions on issues related to general causation (and thus applicable to all the cases in the
MDL), as well as discovery motions and motions in limine for the first bellwether trial. In
particular, one of the issues we dealt with in a Bellwether case was the Touhy doctrine.

1 Upon graduating law school, I practiced in patent litigation for a large Washington, DC firm for

two years.
Case 1:21-md-02989-CMA Document 239-2 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/26/2021 Page 2 of 6

Finally, I am also part of the settlement team in categorizing the 5,000+ cases for future
discussion regarding possible settlement and future Bellwether selection (if needed). This process
involves issues critical analysis of key issues ranging from product identification to statute of
limitations and statutes of repose.

Smith & Nephew MDL

In the Smith & Nephew MDL litigation, I conducted numerous depositions taken thus far
including depositions of key internal witnesses overseas relating to adverse event reporting
company-wide, requiring knowledge of both the technical systems used and the regulatory
requirements in tracking such reports. Furthermore, because of my engineering background, I was
nominated to be on the science committee to identify and vet potential experts, as well as conduct
expert depositions. Furthermore, I am one of the four attorneys that will be on the trial team in
the first Bellwether case this year.

Representative Trial Experience

1. Louis Gareis v. 3M Corporation, et. al., Case No. 0:16-cv-04187-JNE-FLN (D. Minn.
2018)
a. Trial Dates: May 14-30, 2018
b. 1st Bair Hugger MDL Bellwether trial
c. The Bair Hugger litigation involved claims of liability that the Bair Hugger
disrupts the airflow in an operating room causing an increase in particles and
bacteria over the surgical site and, ultimately, infection. In orthopedic implant
surgery, it is generally accepted that an increase in particles/bacteria of the surgical
site significantly increases the risk of a periprosthetic joint infection.
d. My role in the MDL and in the Gareis trial was focused on the engineering and
science supporting plaintiffs’ claims. My background in engineering was utilized
with respect to particle flow, the effect of airflow in an operating room, and
computational fluid dynamics (CFD). I was tasked with cross-examining
Defendants’ key engineering expert on the shortcomings and limitations of his
CFD model.

2. Victoria Smith v. Peter A. Moskovitz, M.D., et al., Case No. 2011 CA 005467 (District of
Columbia Superior Court 2015)
a. Trial Dates: September 24 – October 2, 2015
b. First Chair
c. Smith was a medical malpractice case in which the orthopedic surgeon did not
align her tibia while surgically placing a tibial nail.
d. I presented both of Plaintiff’s orthopedic expert witnesses as well as cross-
examined Defendant’s orthopedic expert witness.

2
Case 1:21-md-02989-CMA Document 239-2 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/26/2021 Page 3 of 6

3. McDonald v. District Lounge et al., 2011 CA 003216 B (District of Columbia Superior
Court 2013)
a. Trial Dates: October 15 – 22, 2013
b. First Chair
c. DRAM Shop/Wrongful Death case against a DC Nightclub
d. I presented and cross-examined all the experts in this case, which included
toxicology and security experts.

4. Houston v. Holt et. al., Case No. 2011-01306 (Harris County, TX 2013)
a. Trial Dates: September 24 – October 2, 2013
b. Second Chair
c. Houston was a medical malpractice case in which the hospital failed to recognize
that the Plaintiff had internal bleeding in his arm post shoulder surgery.
d. I presented the orthopedic surgeon and the cardiovascular surgeon.

5. Jamal Javaid v. Grand Central, LLC, Case No. 2011 CA 000911(District of Columbia
Superior Court 2013)
a. Trial Dates: September 16-20, 2013
b. First Chair
c. Negligent Security involving a patron that was injured at a bar.
d. I presented all the experts and treating physicians, including a premises security
expert.

6. Hanan v. Washington Hospital Center, Case No. 2004 CA 003683 (District of
Columbia Superior Court 2006)
a. Trial Dates: September 20-28, 2006
b. Second Chair
c. Medical malpractice case involving prolonged intubation with a breathing tube that
caused injury to Plaintiff’s larynx and vocal cords.
d. I presented the nursing experts regarding standards of care for patient monitoring.

7. Huffman v. Wynn et. al., 5:05-cv-00074-GEC-BWC (Western District of Virginia 2006)
a. Trial Dates: August 21-23, 2006
b. Second Chair
c. Medical malpractice case in which Huffman claimed that Dr. Wynn negligently
performed elbow surgery that caused nerve damage in his arm.
d. I was responsible for the presentation of Plaintiff’s orthopedic expert and the cross
examination of the Defendants’ orthopedic expert.

3
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EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

McDonald Worley, Of Counsel: Houston, TX
November 2019 to present

I oversee the complex litigation cases which include product liability, multidistrict
litigation, medical malpractice, class actions, and employment litigation. This includes the
managing and training of a team of attorneys and staff to handle these cases.

In addition, I have been appointed to the Steering Committee for the TPC litigation and
Co-Lead Counsel in the Boston Scientific Corporation Greenfield IVC Litigation.

Kennedy Hodges, LLP, Partner: Houston, TX
January 2012 to November 2019

During this period, I was responsible for the mass tort litigation practice as well significant
involvement in multidistrict litigation cases throughout the country. This included the
management of numerous attorneys and staff in the handling of thousands of cases in multiple
litigations.

In addition, during this period, I was appointed to numerous Plaintiff Steering Committees
including Science and Discovery Committee in Bair Hugger litigation, the Science Committee in
the Xarelto litigation, the Discovery Committee in Taxotere PSC, and the Plaintiff Steering
Committee Member in the Smith & Nephew Hip Litigation.

During my tenure, I was also involved in medical malpractice litigation and Fair Labor
Standards Act collective and class action litigation.

Assaad Law, PLLC, Owner: Washington, D.C.
October 2008 to December 2014

Paulson & Nace, Associate: Washington, D.C.
June 2004 to July 2008

o Litigated numerous cases involving products liability, medical malpractice, personal
injury, and legal malpractice cases
o Responsible for every aspect of litigation from client screening, discovery,
depositions, motions practice, mediation and arbitration, and trial, and appellate
practice including the drafting of numerous appellate briefs
o Conducted over one-hundred depositions, which included medical doctors and
experts
o Argued in front of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the Supreme
Court of Virginia

4
Case 1:21-md-02989-CMA Document 239-2 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/26/2021 Page 5 of 6

Dickstein, Shapiro, Morin & Oshinsky LLP, Associate: Washington, D.C.
August 2001 to October 2003; Summer of 2000

o Litigated various matters for clients including intellectual property matters
o Litigation includes all aspects of discovery, including the drafting and responding to
interrogatories; organizing and analyzing discovery documents; and summarizing
and analyzing deposition transcripts
o Draft and respond to various motions and briefs
o Participated in a multimillion-dollar patent and trademark infringement suit
involving high tech surveillance equipment
o Patent prosecution of mechanical as well as semi-conductor patents

EDUCATION

Vanderbilt University Law School, Nashville, TN
JD Received May 2001
Vanderbilt Trial Lawyers Association; Intellectual Property Society; Phi Delta Phi; Legal Aid
Society; Moot Court Participant

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, May 1996
Dean’s List; American Society of Mechanical Engineers; Society of Automotive Engineers

MDL EXPERIENCE

• MDL 2666: In re: Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming Products Liability Litigation
o The Bair Hugger litigation involves a forced air warming device used to warm patients
during surgery. The Bair Hugger is manufactured by 3M Corporation. Plaintiffs in the
Bair Hugger MDL assert numerous claims against 3M including design defect claims and
failure to warn claims. To date, there has been only one Bellwether trial in this case which
is presently being appealed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. General discovery has
been completed and the parties are currently creating a matrix for future discussions.
o Member of the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee, Trial Team, Appeal Team, and
Settlement Committee
o Co-chair of the Discovery Committee and the Science Committee
o Member of the Trial Team

• MDL 2765: In Re Smith & Nephew Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) Hip Implant
Products Liability Litigation
o Smith & Nephew BHR litigation involves metal-on-metal hip implants. This MDL
contains issues of preemption of some of the claims. The case is currently in general
causation discovery.
o Member of Plaintiff’s Steering Committee and Science Committee

5
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• MDL 2885: In Re 3M Combat Arms Earplug Products Liability Litigation
o The 3M Combat Arms MDL involves a flanged hearing device with two sides that has
both a linear and non-linear attenuation. This case involved significant defenses such as
the government contract defense. This case is currently in the Bellwether trial phase.
o Member of the Science Committee and Law & Briefing Committee

• MDL 2592: Xarelto Products Liability Litigation
o Pharmaceutical Drug Case
o Member of the Discovery Committee

• MDL 2740: Taxotere (Docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation
o Pharmaceutical Drug Case
o Member of the Discovery Committee

• Boston Scientific Corporation, Greenfield IVC Filter Litigation: Case No. 1881CV02059
o This case pertains to a permanent intravenous filter (“IVC”) that was marketed as a
permanent filter, however, hundreds of patients IVC filters either migrated, perforated the
vein, or fractured.
o Lead Counsel

In re: TPC Group Litigation: Cause No. A2020-0236-MDL
o The TPC Group Litigation involved damages regarding the November 2019 plant
explosion in Port Neches, TX
o Member of the Executive Committee, Discovery Committee, and Science Committee

BAR ADMISSIONS

State Bars Admissions: Texas; District of Columbia; Commonwealth of Virginia

Federal Court of Appeals: United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; United States
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit;
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the
Seventh Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit; United States Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit; United States
Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Federal District Court: United States District Court for the District of Columbia; United States
District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia; United States District Court for the Western
District of Virginia; Southern District of Texas, Western District of Texas; Northern District of
Texas; District of Colorado

PROFESSIONSAL ASSOCIATIONS

American Association of Justice (member and litigation chair of the Bair Hugger Litigation
group); Texas Trial Lawyers Association; DC Trial Lawyers Association; Houston Trial Lawyers
Association

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Original: archive.org