Thomas J. Jerla Jr. Esq.

Tom is an experienced litigator who handles personal injury and wrongful death matters arising out of a wide array of accidents including but not limited to the use and operation of an automobile, premises liability negligence, cruise ship negligence, and the negligence of vendors of alcoholic beverages. Mr. Jerla is also working on expanding the firms Traumatic Brain Injury practice. In addition, Tom has also agreed to handle select criminal defense matters involving white collar crime

After a recent stint with another South Florida personal injury firm, Tom has rejoined Whittel and Melton, to continue his passionate and aggressive representation of those who have become the victim because of another's negligence. He has also worked as an Assistant State Attorney in the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office from August of 2002 through January of 2007. Prior to leaving the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, he was assigned to the Economic Crimes Division where he was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of investment fraud, insurance fraud, mortgage fraud, healthcare fraud, embezzlement and identity theft.

During his career, Tom has tried more than forty cases to verdict including a number of civil cases. Most recently, Tom was successful in aggressively prosecuting a contentious wrongful death dram shop case against a national restaurant chain that resulted in a significant resolution for the estate of the deceased. In addition, Tom worked on another wrongful death case involving an accident at a concrete plant that also resulted in a significant recovery for an estate.

• Personal Injury
• White Collar Crime
• Criminal Law
• Medical Malpractice
• Nursing Home Abuse

• Automobile Accidents
• Negligent Security
• Premises Liability
• Wrongful Death
• Trucking Accidents
• Motorcycle Accidents
• Dog Bites/Attacks
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Cruise Ship Accidents
• Dram Shop & Alcohol Vendor Liability

• FaceTime
• Google Hangouts
• Skype
• Zoom
• GoToMeeting
• Pexip, TeamViewer, ezTalks Meetings, Cisco Webex, Apache OpenMeetings, me

• Free Consultation
• Contingent Fees

Florida

United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Whittel & Melton, LLC

Current

Pace Law School

J.D. (2002)

1999 - 2002

Honors: Graduated Cum Laude Casenote & Comment Editor, PACE LAW REVIEW Georgetown White Collar Crime Trial Competition Team Fall 2001 National Trial Competition Team Spring 2002 (Recipient of Regional Award for Best Cross Examination)

Temple University

B.S. | Environmental Engineering Technology

1999

AV Distinguished Peer Review Rating

Martindale-Hubbell

Florida Bar Association

Member, Student Education/Admissions to The Bar Committee

Current

Florida Bar Association

Member, Registered Paralegal Committee

Current

Florida Justice Association

Eagle Member

2017 - Current