Michael Baska is a deeply experienced Tampa personal injury attorney focused on litigating auto accidents and trucking cases. With an early career built on defending insurance companies and large corporations in high-stakes accident cases, Michael made the switch to plaintiff’s work, where he gets to help real people recover. He uses his tremendous firsthand experience in defense litigation to his client’s advantage, maneuvering around every roadblock the opposition may put up and ensuring they can seek maximum compensation for their loss.
Focused and Competent Are What We’re About
One of the first things you’ll notice about Farah & Farah is that our entire team is incredibly focused and competent in what we do. Here in the Tampa office, we’re able to tap the entire network of Farah & Farah attorneys and resources to get the best results possible. We have a great winning culture here that’s focused entirely on the client. The culture Eddie and Chuck created with the firm extends to every location across Florida and Georgia, which translates to a better experience both for attorneys and our clients.
I Know the Defense Team’s Playbook
Right out of law school, my first job was defending insurance companies focused on medical malpractice. I worked in some of the most well-respected firms in Tampa, where our clients were top medical practitioners in Tampa Bay. I’ve also worked in first-party insurance, where I defended insurance carriers in property damage claims. However, the bulk of my experience has been defending trucking companies in personal injury cases. I was even part of an elite rapid response team that went straight to the scene of accidents at a moment’s notice. We’d investigate the accident and work to build a case literally from the ground up. I’ve defended some of the biggest trucking companies and even giant corporations in all aspects of a case from pre-suit to litigation as well as trial and post-trial work.
All of that experience is absolutely invaluable to what I do now as a trucking accident attorney for victims. I know every element of how the defense team is going to approach a case, and I can use that knowledge to avoid any potential hurdles they may try to throw our way. I’m glad for all of the experience I gained in defense work, but here in plaintiffs’ work, people are the reason we do what we do. We have someone we’re fighting for. Defense attorneys work to get a result for a giant corporation, but there’s something so much more fulfilling about helping someone with a life-changing injury recover.
Connecting With People Is How We Get Great Results
Out of all of the cases I’ve worked on, I’ve learned that one of the greatest skills an attorney can have is people skills. You absolutely need to know how to connect with people. Of course, we need to communicate with our clients, but we also need to connect to the defense team, the jury, and the judiciary. As a courtroom attorney, you have to be able to get on a jury’s level and paint your client’s argument in a way that resonates and connects with them. It’s about making sure people know the facts of the case and how an accident changed your client’s life.
There are times when we have to be able to communicate a strategy to our clients that they might not have expected, but that truly is in their best interest. I can recall a case where I was able to mediate between the plaintiff and the defense teams in order to reach a mutually beneficial settlement pre-trial because it really was the best way to protect my client. Getting to that level of trust with my clients, where they know I’ll negotiate fiercely on their behalf and in their best interest, is why connections are so crucial to our success.
Weekends Are for Family, Football, and Fitness
On the weekends, my wife, Julia, our daughter, Ella, and our Bernese Mountain Dog, Moose, and Collie, Huck, love getting outside and enjoying everything that Tampa has to offer. Bel Mar Saloon is one of my favorite local spots. I was born and raised in the Tampa area, and it’s a fantastic place to raise my own family.
I love college football and went to two big football schools for both college and law school, which is why I’m such a huge FSU and Penn State fan. If it’s football season, you can bet I’ll be watching my teams as often as they play. I also love catching our local Tampa Bay Lightning for some on-the-ice action.
I’m also an avid runner and actively compete in IRONMAN. I’ve run several IRONMAN 70.3 races so far, which is 70.3 miles of biking, swimming, and running. My goal is to eventually run every IRONMAN in North America.
