Ricardo M. Luces is a partner in the Miami office of Roig Lawyers and Co-Chair of our first-party property division.
As a civil litigator with over 25 years of experience, Ricardo has tried over 40 civil jury trials to verdict in circuit court. Ricardo focuses his practice primarily on all types of first-party property matters which include Assignment of Benefits litigation cases and cases involving insured property losses. He also represents insurers in cases involving fraud, coverage disputes, and represents insureds in bodily injury claims. Ricardo manages matters that involve claims that have been denied pursuant to policy exclusions, claims denied pursuant to failure to comply with policy conditions, and claims wherein payment was issued and the amount of recovery due remains in dispute. In addition, Ricardo also handles Special Investigations cases and extra-contractual defense litigation.
Prior to joining the firm, Ricardo served as Managing Attorney for the in-house counsel office of a national insurance company. Ricardo dedicated the first three years of his legal career to public service as an Assistant State Attorney with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office where he handled serious felony cases. As an Assistant State Attorney, he tried over 25 jury trials and 75 bench trials. The trial and courtroom experience Ricardo gained as an Assistant State Attorney served as the foundation for the success he has enjoyed in the civil litigation arena.
Experience
- Obtained a settlement on behalf of a national insurance carrier in a Bodily Injury case wherein the Plaintiff suffered injuries to his neck that resulted in a cervical discogram and cervical discectomy. After effectively deposing the Plaintiff and investigating the Plaintiff through discovery, the Plaintiff’s demand of $100,000.00 was rejected and the case settled at mediation for $2,000 over the Defendant’s Proposal for Settlement amount of $10,000.
- Obtained a defense verdict in a bodily injury case in Miami Dade County circuit court wherein the Plaintiff had undergone a double lumbar fusion following a car accident with extensive property damage.
- Effectively cross examined Plaintiff’s accident reconstruction expert in a serious bodily injury case in Miami Dade County involving 2 Plaintiffs and obtained a defense verdict in Circuit Court.
- Won a defense verdict in an Uninsured Motorist case in Broward County Circuit Court where the Plaintiff had undergone cervical disc surgery following his auto accident. The past medical bills exceeded the amount of the Plaintiff’s policy limits.
- Won a defense verdict in a bodily injury case in Broward County involving a motorcycle accident. Plaintiff claimed he had suffered a permanent injury to his ankle as a result of the subject accident.
- Obtained a defense verdict in Sarasota Circuit Court in a bodily injury case wherein the Plaintiff was a nurse and claimed permanent injuries to her neck,
shoulder and low back. Ricardo effectively used Plaintiff’s own medical records to impeach Plaintiff’s experts and obtain a defense verdict. - Obtained a settlement on behalf of a national insurance carrier in an uninsured motorist claim wherein Plaintiff suffered injuries to his low back that resulted in a double lumbar fusion surgery. After effectively deposing Plaintiff’s surgeon, Plaintiff’s excess demand of $750,000 was reduced significantly to $100,000 thereby saving the carrier substantial amounts of money and exposure to a bad faith lawsuit.
- Won a defense verdict in Monroe County Circuit court in a bodily injury case wherein Plaintiff was claiming permanent injuries to his lumbar spine with objective findings on MRI. Ricardo impeached the Plaintiff and his experts with the use of Plaintiff’s own medical records and surveillance video of Plaintiff.
- In Martinez
v. UAIC, Ricardo argued against a motion for summary judgment and the motion was denied by the court. Eventually, the case made its way to the Florida Supreme Court and the arguments made by Ricardo at the county court level were upheld by the Court thereby substantially changing PIP litigation.
Successes
News & Events
News
- Miami Partner Ricardo Luces to Present at the 2019 IASIU “Fire for Hire” Fraud Awareness Symposium
September 11, 2019 - Roig Lawyers Sponsors 2019 IASIU Live Burn Symposium
August 16, 2019 - Roig Lawyers Partners Selected to Present at the 2019 Florida Liability Claims Conference
April 1, 2019 - Roig Lawyers Partners Selected to Present at 2019 FIFEC Conference
March 18, 2019 - Roig Lawyers Sponsors and Presents at the 2018 Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee Conference
April 6, 2018 - ROIG Lawyers Attorneys Selected to Present at the 2018 Florida Liability Claims Conference
March 28, 2018 - ROIG Lawyers Kicks Off Continuing Education Webinar Series
September 27, 2017 - Helping You Navigate the Choppy Waters of Hurricane Claims
September 26, 2017 - ROIG Lawyers Attorneys Present Property and Medical Malpractice Continuing Education Courses at 2017 Florida Liability Claims Conference
June 1, 2017 - ROIG Lawyers Sponsors the 18th Annual Windstorm Insurance Conference
January 23, 2017 - ROIG Lawyers Promotes Five Attorneys to Partners in their Deerfield Beach, Miami and Tampa Offices
August 17, 2016 - Ricardo Luces Presents on Social Media: Ethics, Investigating and Defending Claims
February 17, 2016 - Roig Lawyers Adds Former Senior Trial Attorney for National Insurance Carrier to its Expanding Litigation Practice Group
March 3, 2015
Media Mentions
- ROIG Lawyers Newest Partners Named in Law360 List "Law360 Names Attys Who Moved Up The Firm Ranks In Q3"
October 28, 2016 - ROIG Lawyers Partners Featured in The Miami Herald Movers Column
August 30, 2016
Events
- Roig Lawyers Complimentary Webinar - Game of Drones: Advances in Technology
September 18, 2019 - Roig Lawyers Complimentary Webinar Series - When Adjusting Goes Too Far: The Best Interest of the Insured
July 25, 2018 - Complimentary Webinar: Using Social Media to Investigate and Defend Claims
October 25, 2017 - 2017 Florida Liability Claims Conference
June 8, 2017
Speaking Engagements
Speaker, "The Best Interest of the Insured - When Public Adjusters Go Too Far," Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee Conference, June 2019
Speaker, "Evidence: The Building Blocks to a Successful Jury Trial," FDLA - Florida Liability Claims Conference, June 2019
Speaker, "Evidence: The Building Blocks to a Successful Jury Trial," FDLA - Florida Liability Claims Conference, June 2019
Speaker, "Using Social Media In Fire Investigations," Florida Advisory Committee on Arson Prevention Seminar, March 2019
Speaker, "Evidence: The Building Blocks to a Successful Jury Trial," December 2018
Speaker, "When Adjusting Goes Too Far," Roig Lawyers Continuing Education Webinar Series, July 2018
Speaker, "Liability Law Update," CEU Institute, June 2018
Speaker, "The Best Interest of the Insured - When Adjusting Goes Too Far," 2018 Florida Liability Claims Conference, June 2018
Speaker, "Using Social Media to Investigate and Defend Claims," 2018 Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee Conference, June 2018
Speaker, "Using Social Media to Investigate and Defend Claims," Roig Lawyers Continuing Education Webinar Series, October 2017
Speaker, "Water Mitigation Claims," 20th Annual Florida Liability Claims Conference (FLCC), June 2017
Speaker, "Social Media: Ethics, Investigating and Defending Claims," Bunch CareSolutions, LLC, January 2015
Speaker, 2015 Domestic Violence Program, October 2015
Speaker, “Impeaching Plaintiff Experts using CPT code and ICD9 coding”
Speaker, “Uncovering Medical Billing Fraud"
Speaker, “The Positive Effects of Diversity & Inclusion”
Speaker, “The Use of Internet/Social Media Investigations in BI/UM Cases”
Speaker, “Proximate Cause and Comparative Negligence”
Speaker, “Effective Teamwork: How to go from “ME” to “WE””
Speaker, “How to Conduct an Effective Impeachment of Plaintiff’s Expert Using Plaintiff’s own Medical Records”
Speaker, “Damages in a BI/UM Case”