Weston F. Smith - St Petersburg, FL

30 Plus Years of Trial Experience

Weston F. Smith has been a trial lawyer for 32 years, with a civil trial practice representing injured parties and their families in significant, often catastrophic, personal injury, medical malpractice, and nursing home lawsuits.

His cases frequently involve people who have been severely and permanently injured or who have died due to the negligence of others, including health care providers and nursing homes.

Wes is a third generation native of St. Petersburg, Florida, having grown up on St. Pete Beach in the 1970's and 1980's. Wes attended St. Jude's Cathedral School and St. Petersburg Catholic High School. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1989 and attended Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama, graduating in 1992.

Wes became a criminal prosecutor in 1992, working for Bernie McCabe as an Assistant State Attorney for the 6th Judicial Circuit's State Attorney's Office in Pinellas County, Clearwater, Florida. He worked there for over five years, conducting over 60 jury trials while prosecuting misdemeanor and felony crimes, including DUI manslaughter, rape and murder cases.

Upon leaving the State Attorney's Office in 1997, Wes began defending people sued in automobile accident, premises liability and other types of personal injury cases. He eventually began defending nursing homes, health care providers (such as doctors and nurses) and health care facilities in nursing home and medical malpractice lawsuits.

During this time, Wes worked with Deacon, Moulds & Smith, in St. Petersburg, where he was a partner and shareholder for a decade, from 2004 to 2014.

In 2014, Wes left Deacon, Moulds and Smith and effectively "switched sides" to become a shareholder at Masterson, Hoag & Smith, where he joined two close friends and began representing the injured and their families in personal injury, medical malpractice and nursing home lawsuits.

Finally, in 2021, Wes opened this firm, his own office, Weston Smith Law, PLLC, where he continues to represent those who have suffered severe and permanent injuries due to the neglect of others. He continues to focus his practice on catastrophic injury and death cases in the areas of medical malpractice, nursing home, auto and other personal injury cases.

Litigation and Trial Experience

Wes has had the advantage of overseeing litigation and conducting trials in the criminal arena, and on both the defense and plaintiff side of personal injury, medical malpractice and nursing home litigation.

Now, as a plaintiff attorney representing the injured party and their family, he has the advantage of understanding the strategies employed by defense attorneys and insurance companies.

Wes is a trial attorney. He has conducted over 80 jury trials, more than 20 of those being medical malpractice and nursing home trials. He has conducted countless mediations and arbitrations.

Wes teaches trial advocacy to other lawyers every year at The Florida Bar Trial Lawyers Section's Advanced Trial Advocacy School. This is a week-long interactive program in which lawyers conduct every aspect of a trial while receiving detailed instruction, feedback and lectures.

Wes is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocacy (ABOTA). This is an invitation only national association of experienced trial lawyers and judges. The members must have conducted the required number of jury trials and exhibited the virtues of civility, integrity and professionalism required of the organization.

He currently serves as the Chapter's President in 2024.

Wes is a member of The Florida Bar's Trial Lawyers Section Executive Council. The Executive Council is the board that oversees the activities of the Trial Lawyers Section which consists of over 5000 trial lawyers throughout the State.

The Trial Lawyers Section conducts seminars for trial lawyers, oversees various programs for judicial and civics education, monitors legislative activity important to the State's trial lawyers, and publishes guidelines and handbooks related to the conduct of trial lawyers in the State. Wes is currently the Chair of the Section beginning June 2022.

Wes lives in St. Petersburg with his wife of 25 years, Peggy Smith, a pre-school teacher, and they have three children. Aidan. He is a devoted father, an accomplished triathlete, a retired little league baseball, softball and soccer coach, an ongoing fan of his children's sports and a celebrator of their successes.