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Meet Our Attorneys


About Us

Who We Are


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Donald Van Dingenen

FOUNDER & ATTORNEY
Donald Van Dingenen, known as “Don” to his friends and colleagues, is a proud graduate of the University of Central Florida in 1985, where he focused on Finance, Marketing and Drama. After graduating, Mr. Van Dingenen started a highly successful sub-contracting firm which he later sold to pursue a legal career. Mr. Van Dingenen then graduated from Mercer University School of Law in 1993 and was admitted to the Florida Bar that same year.

Mr. Van Dingenen joined the firm of Simmerman & Morgan, P.A., a long-standing Orlando firm that represented injured workers throughout Central Florida. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Van Dingenen became the managing partner at this firm – Morgan & Van Dingenen, P.A. – focusing on workers’ compensation law.

THE CASE THAT CHANGED IT ALL
In February 2002, Mr. Van Dingenen represented a young bank teller that was shot, paralyzed, and rendered a quadriplegic in Lake County, Florida. With Mr. Van Dingenen’s assistance, the client was awarded the largest civil trial verdict in Lake County history, $26.7 million. After this record-setting achievement, Van Dingenen, P.A. was founded along with the introduction of the 1(800)WORKERS toll-free phone lines for all of Central Florida’s injured workers. His focus on workers’ compensation law has led to the representation of thousands of injured workers throughout the State of Florida.
MAKING HISTORY
In 2004, Mr. Van Dingenen was hired by a young construction worker that was paralyzed on the job and rendered a quadriplegic in Brevard County, Florida. In January 2009, after five years of litigation, Mr. Van Dingenen was successful in obtaining his client the largest civil trial jury verdict in Brevard County history, $76.6 million. That jury verdict stands as the fourth largest civil trial jury verdict in the United States for 2009. Mr. Van Dingenen and his family reside in Winter Park, Florida, and enjoys spending family time in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, and Kaluga, Russia.

Blaze Schwartz

ATTORNEY

Blaze Schwartz is an attorney at Van Dingenen Law. Blaze was born in Pensacola, Florida, and he moved to the Orlando area in 2007 to attend UCF. He was captain of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Team and completed all four years of NCAA eligibility at UCF. After graduating from UCF with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in criminal justice, Blaze played tennis on the professional tour for a short period.


After that, he made the decision to enroll in law school at Florida State University. He graduated cum laude in 2017 and was admitted to the Florida Bar that same year. Blaze began his legal career practicing as a civil defense attorney representing insurance companies across the state. He switched career paths and began working at Van Dingenen Law to focus on workers’ compensation law. He now takes pride in representing injured workers in their fight against the same insurance companies he used to represent.

Rising Stars are selected through peer nominations and evaluations combined with independent research of candidates 40 years old or younger, and that less than 3% of lawyers in the state are named to the Rising Stars list. He has recovered millions of dollars for his clients and has relentlessly fought to secure life altering medical treatment and workers’ compensation payments.


Blaze resides in Winter Park, and enjoys playing tennis, freediving, watching UCF football, and traveling.


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SELECTED AS A RISING STAR BY SUPER LAWYERS

Brandon Newsome

ATTORNEY

Brandon Newsome is an attorney at Van Dingenen Law, and has been at Van Dingenen Law for eight years. He was born in Kissimmee, Florida and has been a resident of Central Florida his entire life. He attended the University of Central Florida (UCF) where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. While a student at UCF, Brandon began working at the firm in 2015. After three years of assisting injured workers as a paralegal, he decided to advance his legal career by enrolling at Florida A&M University College of Law. He graduated with his Juris Doctor degree in 2022, and was admitted to the Florida Bar the same year.



As an attorney, he now utilizes his 8+ years of experience in Workers’ Compensation law to aid our clients in obtaining their medical and lost wage benefits. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He also is a car enthusiast and likes to fish.


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Florida registered Paralegal & office manager

Nadia Hasildar

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FLORIDA REGISTERED PARALEGAL


Alexa Marino

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