About Gerson & Schwartz Accident & Injury Lawyers
Philip M. Gerson is a top-rated Miami personal injury lawyer and the founder and senior partner of Gerson & Schwartz Accident & Injury Lawyers, a nationally recognized plaintiff-only law firm based in Miami. For more than five decades, he has devoted his legal career to representing individuals and families harmed by negligence, reckless conduct, corporate misconduct, and intentional wrongdoing. Widely recognized for his courtroom strength, litigation experience, and client advocacy, Gerson has earned a reputation among clients, peers, and colleagues as one of the best and most respected personal injury trial lawyers in South Florida. Client testimonials frequently highlight his professionalism, accessibility, and unwavering commitment to securing justice for injured victims and grieving families.
Philip M. Gerson and his firm have also earned substantial national recognition in cruise ship and maritime litigation. The firm represents both passengers and crew members injured aboard cruise vessels and has handled claims involving slip and falls, gangway accidents, tender injuries, shore excursion incidents, onboard assaults, sexual assault cases, negligent shipboard security claims, water slide injuries, medical negligence aboard ships, and other maritime injury matters. Their maritime litigation experience includes claims against many of the world’s largest cruise lines, including Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Virgin Voyages, MSC Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, and Holland America Line.
The firm’s maritime and cruise ship litigation work has included significant advocacy involving passenger safety, shipboard crime litigation, and federal maritime accountability. Philip M. Gerson has testified before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation regarding cruise passenger safety and crime victim protections, further reflecting his longstanding commitment to maritime safety advocacy and victim rights. The firm’s advocacy has also intersected with issues related to the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010, legislation designed to strengthen passenger protections and improve accountability within the cruise industry. In addition, the firm’s work has included involvement with organizations and initiatives supporting victims’ rights and crime victim advocacy, including the International Cruise Victims Association, the National Center for Victims of Crime, and the National Crime Victim Bar Association.
Since founding the firm in 1970 alongside longtime partner Edward Schwartz, and now working closely with partner Nicholas Gerson, Philip M. Gerson has helped build one of the nation’s longest-standing and most respected plaintiff-only personal injury and maritime litigation practices. The firm exclusively represents plaintiffs in complex litigation involving catastrophic injuries, wrongful death, cruise ship accidents, maritime injuries, medical malpractice, negligent security, defective products, trucking accidents, premises liability, and other serious negligence claims. Over the decades, the firm has earned national recognition for handling high-stakes litigation both on land and at sea while consistently delivering outstanding client results.
Gerson graduated cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law, where he served on the law review editorial board, competed successfully in moot court competitions, and graduated near the top of his class. He is admitted to practice before all Florida state courts as well as numerous federal courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Claims, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida.
Under Philip M. Gerson’s leadership, Gerson & Schwartz Accident & Injury Lawyers has grown into a nationally recognized trial firm with more than 100 years of combined litigation experience devoted exclusively to plaintiff advocacy. The firm’s attorneys have collectively taken more than 350 jury trials to verdict and secured hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts on behalf of injury victims and their families. The practice handles a broad range of serious injury and wrongful death matters, including automobile accidents, trucking collisions, motorcycle crashes, construction accidents, drunk driving injuries, negligent security claims, catastrophic trauma, maritime accidents, and complex wrongful death litigation. The firm’s trial-focused approach and reputation for aggressive advocacy have helped position it among Florida’s best and top-rated personal injury and maritime law firms.
Throughout his distinguished legal career, Philip M. Gerson has remained focused on protecting the rights of seriously injured individuals and families facing life-altering tragedies. Today, alongside Nicholas Gerson and Edward Schwartz, he continues to lead one of Florida’s premier litigation firms for catastrophic injury, wrongful death, federal maritime litigation, cruise ship litigation, and serious negligence claims. Known for compassionate client service, trial advocacy, and relentless plaintiff representation, Philip M. Gerson continues to represent clients throughout Florida, across the United States, and internationally in some of the most complex injury cases being litigated today.