Meet William Wichmann

 

William J. Wichmann has been a practicing trial lawyer for more than 28 years. He has represented hundreds of victims and families seriously injured in personal injury, wrongful death and mass tort cases throughout the United States and overseas.

 

Currently, he represents hundreds of family members of victims killed by a terrorist group in Colombia that was financed in part by Chiquita Brands International, Inc. The case, know as “Carrizosa” has been filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida in part under the Alien Tort Claims Act, which allows residents of other countries to file suit in U.S. courts for damages resulting from illegal actions in their country by U.S. entities. In March of 2007, Chiquita Brands International, Inc., entered into a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., in which it agreed to pay a $25 million fine to settle a criminal complaint that accused the company of making more than 100 payments, totaling more than $1.7 million, to the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), which has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Government.

 

In addition, he represents over 100 families of lung cancer and COPD/Emphysema victims against Big Tobacco who have individual “Engle” suits in State Court in Florida. In December of 2006, the Florida Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in a case against the tobacco industry that is known as the “Engle” case. The Court upheld a jury verdict finding Big Tobacco liable for smoking-related injuries and deaths, but found that smokers and their families must bring individual suits in order to prove that smoking harmed them and to prove their individual damages.

 

Bill Wichmann is a skilled and experienced Trial Lawyer and a member of the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates. He was born in the Panama Canal Zone, holds dual Panamanian and U.S. Citizenship, speaks Spanish and has traveled extensively throughout Latin America. He also represents individuals and businesses seeking to invest in Panama together with Panamanian attorney Eduardo Duran-Jaeger of Abogados Mercantiles, http://www.eduranattorney.com/, situated in Panama City, Panama.

 

Affiliations and Area of Expertise

• Florida Bar
• Texas Bar
• American Board of Trial Advocates
• Mass Torts
• Personal Injury & Wrongful Death
• International Law