Maria Tejedor graduated from the University of South Florida, Magna Cum Laude, in 1992. In 1993, she commenced law school at Stetson University, the number one ranked law school in trial advocacy. In 1994, she participated in a college-wide competition and was selected by her peers at Stetson to join the law school’s prestigious and exclusive trial team. She spent the following two years representing Stetson College of Law in national and statewide trial competitions. Throughout the years she competed, Stetson College of Law maintained its number one national ranking in trial advocacy.
In 1995, Maria Tejedor was the first-place winner of the American Criminal Defense Bar National Trial Competition . Ms. Tejedor secured second place in both the Florida Bar’s State Trial Competition and the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers State Competition. She was the 1996 Regional Champion in the American Bar Association National Trial Competition and was awarded the American College of Trial Lawyers Medal for Excellence in Trial Advocacy. In 1996, upon graduation, Stetson University College of Law presented her with the Harris Ferrell Competition Award for Individual Excellence in Intercollegiate Trial Competition.
In 1996, she joined the law firm of Martinez, Manglardi and Diez-Arguelles. In 2004, she became one of the youngest women to be board certified in the state of Florida. That same year she was named a full partner at the law firm and the name was changed to Martinez, Manglardi, Diez-Arguelles & Tejedor.
In 2009, fueled by a passion for helping women and children, she founded the law firm of Diez-Arguelles & Tejedor and became its managing partner. That passion and focus have led to her numerous successful statewide appellate and Supreme Court decisions, which have established laws that protect the rights of the most vulnerable.
Those include:
The Supreme Court of Florida affirmed a $2,000,000.00 verdict for the parents of a baby boy who died due to the negligence of a hospital.
Pub. Health Tr. of Miami-Dade Cty. v. Acanda, 71 So. 3d 782, 783 (Fla. 2011).
The appellate court held that a negligent healthcare provider could not get a vulnerable patient to sign away their right to bring a lawsuit in the event of malpractice.
Crespo v. Hernandez, 151 So. 3d 495, 496 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2014), approved, 211
So. 3d 19 (Fla. 2016).
The appellate court ruled the victim of medical malpractice had a right to their day in court. The courts had to provide one upon request.
Garcia v. Lincare Inc., 906 So. 2d 1268, 1269 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2005).
The court held that a child who has suffered brain damage due the negligence of her hospital has a right to sue that hospital and that a law imposing a three-year limitation on such a right was not applicable.
Exposito v. Pub. Health Tr. of Miami-Dade Cty., et al., 141 So. 3d 663, 664 (Fla. Dist.
Ct. App. 2014).
Reversing a lower court’s dismissal of brain-injured infants’ claim against a negligent hospital and proceeding to trial later resulting a several million dollar jury verdict in favor of the injured child.
Mobley v. Homestead Hospital, 291 So. 3d 987 (Fla. 3 Dist., 2019)
Reversed lower court’s order dismissing an injured child’s medical negligence claim based on the statute of limitations. The appellate court determined the statute of repose had not expired and allowed the case to proceed to recovery.
Reyes v. Baptist Hospital et. al., 360 So. 3rd 438 (Fla. 3 Dist., 2023)
Reversing a lower court’s dismissal of a brain-damaged minor child’s claim based on the statute of limitations. The appellate court ruled in favor of the injured child and allowed the claim of the child to proceed to trial.
Over her career she has successfully tried numerous medical malpractice cases throughout the nation recovering over $500 million in awards for injured families. She has been awarded record verdicts in medical negligence cases, many of which are the highest ever recovered by a woman trial lawyer in her state.
In the state of Florida, she has successfully tried cases in almost every county, including Dade, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Hillsborough, Clay, Polk, Leon, Broward, and Alachua. She has also been admitted to practice and has litigated cases to success on a national level.
She was awarded a judgment over $64 million in a medical negligence case, making that judgment, the largest judgment entered by a jury to a single plaintiff in a medical negligence case in Orange County history.
She was also awarded over $40 million dollars by a jury in a brain damage in fact case, also reflecting a record verdict for an injured child in the state of Florida.
Her jury awards in medical negligence death cases have also been record-setting. In 2019, she obtained an $18 million award for the death of mothers during a delivery and 2012 an $11,600,000.00 verdict in Volusia County, which is the highest medical malpractice wrongful death verdict in the county’s history.
She was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Florida Justice Association. During that time, she successfully testified before Congress and passed legislation to protect the rights of the women and children injured from malpractice. In 2011, after much success before the Florida Senate, she was appointed to the governing body of the Florida Justice Association.
Ms. Tejedor focuses on medical malpractice cases, including injuries to children, as well as mass torts and dangerous drugs. She is a member of the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum. She has served as Treasurer of the Hispanic Bar Association. In 2009, she was appointed to the Orange County Grievance Ethics Committee and served as its chairperson in 2011. She is also a frequent speaker on medical malpractice. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Florida Justice Association, and in 2011 was appointed to their Executive Committee.
Board certification recognizes Ms. Tejedor as a specialist in personal injury trial work. Board certification is an achievement acquired by less than 3% of all lawyers in the state of Florida. She is also recognized as an AV rated lawyer, which means she has been recognized by her peers as having reached the highest levels of professional excellence, skill, and integrity a lawyer can achieve.