Matthew Douglas Powell

My name is Matt Powell, and I am Board Certified by the Florida Bar as a specialist in Civil Litigation. My firm only represents people who have been injured, we never represent insurance companies. If you have questions about an injury case, please call our office, Eaton & Powell at (813) 254-4600.

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Matt Powell is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer who represents injured victims and their families in cases involving catastrophic injuries, wrongful death, automobile crashes, brain injuries, sexual assault, trucking crashes, pedestrian accidents, medical malpractice, defective products, birth related injuries, rape cases, dog bites, motorcycle crashes, negligent security, and many other injury cases. He first practiced law with a prominent insurance defense firm in Tallahassee, Florida. The firm represented over 20 insurance companies and defended negligent drivers and doctors. During that time he learned the methods, techniques and strategies that insurance companies use to reduce the amount of money they pay to people and families who have been injured or killed in accidents or by neglect.  After learning these methods and techniques, he decided to stop representing insurance companies. He left the insurance defense law firm and opened his own law firm to represent individuals. One year later, he moved his practice to Tampa to be closer to his family. Matt has practiced in the historic landmark building known as the Hutchison Mansion on Plant Avenue in Tampa since 1989.  In 1996 Matt Powell started working with his partner David Eaton, and soon thereafter was joined by David Tirella.  The three lawyers are partners in the law firm of Eaton, Powell and Tirella.  Matt Powell is an AV rated lawyer and is Board Certified by the Florida Bar as  a specialist in the area of civil litigation.  Matt has studied and mastered neuron-linguistic programming, and utilizes his skills in all areas of his representation of clients.

He has been involved in the advancement of imaging protocols for cervial ligament injuries.  His use of the Digital Motion X-Ray combined with anitomical studies done with an Upright MRI.  This combination of technology has allowed him to show and sucessfully prove "soft tissue" injuries in the necks of his clients.

 Admissions and Certifications:

• 1987 - Admitted to the Florida Bar

• 1988 - Admitted to the Missouri Bar

• 1989 - Admitted into the Federal United States Middle District Court of Florida

• 1990 - Admitted into the Federal Eleventh District Court of Appeal

• 1992 - Admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States of America

• 2007 - Certified by the Florida Bar as a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer.

Formal Education:

• 1987 - Earned Juris Doctorate with honors from the Florida State College of Law

• 1984 - Received B.S. from the University of Central Florida

Legal Associations:

• 1988 - present - Sustaining member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America now known as the American Justice Association

• 1989 - Admitted Eagle Member, Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers now known as the Florida Justice Association

Books Authored by Matt Powell:

• 1996 - Author "What to Do in Case You Are in an Automobile Accident"

• 1998 - Co-Author of: "Knowing Your Rights Concerning Medical Malpractice"

• 1999 - Co-Author of "Automobile Accident Injury Guide"

Films produced by Matt Powell:

• 2008 Produced the documentary film Hidden Damage.  This film addresses the legal and medical issues that most people must address after a car accident.

Advanced Education:

• 1987 - Harvard Negotiation Project – Getting to Yes Negotiation seminar

• 1999 - Harvard Law School Trial Advocacy Graduate

• 2007 - NLP Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming -- Sydney Australia by Steven Linder

•  2007 – NLP Certified Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming by Steven Linder

•  2008 – NLP Trainer Certification Neuro-Linguistic Programming by Richard Bandler

Teaching, Lecturing and Presentations given by Matt Powell:

•  2003 – “Operation manual for the witness chair”  How to testify clearly and effectively.

•  2004 –  “How to prove soft tissue injuries with the use of Digital Motion X-Ray”.

•  2005 – “Proving Cervical Injuries through basic physics, understanding the phases of motion that injure the spine”

•  2006 – Presentation to the Minneapolis Trial Lawyers Association:  Proving Cervical Injuries for their true value, how to use Upright MRI to show ligament injuries.

•  2007 – Workhorse Seminar presented before the State of Florida Justice Association: Cutting Edge Imaging For Soft Tissue Injuries - What is new for 2007

•  2008 – Workhorse Seminar presented before the State of Florida Justice Association:  Medical Causation Issues That Come Up In Several Cases