Plaintiff attorney Andrew Rainer delivers his opening statement. Click here to see video from the trial. 

Jacksonville - A Massachusetts-based personal injury firm taking its first ‘Engle progeny’ tobacco case to trial squared off against two of the industry’s most experienced litigators in a Florida state courtroom on Thursday.

Plaintiffs' attorney Allan Kaiser delivers his opening statement. Click here to see video from the trial. 

Miami - A Florida state court jury heard opening arguments on Monday in a lawsuit filed against R.J. Reynolds Inc. and Philip Morris USA by the widow of a woman who began smoking cigarettes as a teenager and died of lung cancer, accusing the companies of intentionally withholding the dangers of smoking from the public for years. 

Kevin Boyce delivers the opening statement for R.J. Reynolds at trial over the COPD death of Totsie Fleming, a smoker for 60 years. Judge John Kest decalred a mistrial in the case Tuesday because Boyce suffered unexpected health problems. 

Stock image. 

West Palm Beach, FL—A diving gear company prevailed Friday against claims it was responsible for the drowning death of a renowned underwater cinematographer.  Skiles v. Lamartek Inc., et al., 2012-CA-013132. 

Michael Trentalange delivers his closing argument at trial against R.J. Reynolds over the lung cancer death of Jane McCabe. Jurors Thursday awarded McCabe's children $5 million in compensatory damages and found Reynolds liable for potential punitives. 

Update 5/20/16: Jurors imposed a $6.5 million punitive award against R.J. Reynolds for its part in the death of Dorothy McCabe, a former nurse and addiction counselor who smoked for more than 50 years.

The verdict, when combined with the $5 million in compensatories the jury handed down Thursday, brings the unreduced damage award to $11.5 million in the case. 

The original story follows below. 

Tampa, FL—A jury Thursday awarded $5 million to the children of a former addiction treatment counselor who died from cancer after smoking for more than five decades, and it found R.J. Reynolds liable for potential punitive damages for its role in her death. McCabe v. R.J. Reynolds, 2007-CA-017632.