Practice Areas: Personal Injury, Aviation & Aerospace, Medical Malpractice; view more
Licensed in Georgia since: 1999
Education: Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2012 - 2025 Call today:
678-940-9454
Free Consultation Cook Law Group, LLC
800 Jesse Jewell Parkway SWSuite 100
Gainesville, GA 30501 Visit website
Details
Matthew E. Cook is partner at Cook Law Group LLC and represents clients in matters of personal injury in the state of Georgia. He takes injury cases related to defective products, railroad accidents, nursing home abuse and neglect, premises liability, workplace accidents, commercial vehicle collisions, construction accidents, wrongful death, car accidents, and tractor-trailer cases. Selected for inclusion in the Top 100 Trial Lawyer list by The National Trial Lawyers Association, he has also received an invitation to join the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
Admitted to practice in the state of Georgia, Mr. Cook is also admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1996 from Piedmont College before attending law school. In 1999, he graduated cum laude from the Mercer University School of Law with his Juris Doctor.
While in law school, he was a member of the Mercer Law Review and published several works. Mr. Cook also earned the CALI Award for Excellence in several areas, including constitutional law, legal writing and advanced legal research, statutory analysis, and criminal law. A recipient of the Thomas Ryals Foundation, he also earned a scholarship for his academics and extracurricular activities during law school.
Mr. Cook is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, The E. Wycliffe Orr Sr. American Inn of Court, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice and the American Bar Association. With over 20 years of experience as a personal injury attorney, he is fierce and passionate when protecting the rights of his clients.
Practice areas
Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff, Aviation and Aerospace, Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff, Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff, Professional Liability: PlaintiffFocus areas
Assault, Birth Injury, Brain Injury, Construction Accident, Delayed or Incorrect Diagnosis, Dram Shop Laws, Ethics & Professional Responsibility, Legal Malpractice, Medical Devices, Medical Malpractice, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Motor Vehicle Defects, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Pharmaceutical, Premises Liability - Plaintiff, Professional Malpractice - Other, Sexual Abuse - Plaintiff, Trucking Accidents, Wrongful Death
- 60% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
- 10% Aviation and Aerospace
- 10% Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff
- 10% Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff
- 10% Professional Liability: Plaintiff
First Admitted: 1999, Georgia
Professional Webpage: https://www.cook-lawgroup.com/matthew-e-cook.html
Bar/Professional Activity:
- GTLA Auto Torts Seminar Speaker: Trucking Cases in the Age of Technology, 2023
- GTLA Annual Convention Speaker - Illegal Runners: The Biggest Threat to Our Practice, 2024
- Georgia, Member Since: 1999
- The American Association for Justice
- Middle District of Georgia
- U.S. District Court, Member Since: 2000
- Frequent speaker at various GTLA and ICLE seminars. Member: American Bar Association, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Wyc Orr Inn of Court, Mountain Bar Association.
Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):
- $10.1 Million - Pedestrian struck in crosswalk - Our client suffered serious injuries to her hip and leg after being ran over by a utility truck. , 2024
- $7.6 Million - Dog Bite - Hall County trial , 2023
- $33 Million - Wrongful Death, 2024
- $2 million - car wreck, personal injuries. Our clients were injured when a van struck them head on. Our firm discovered that the van driver was supplied by a temp agency who failed to conduct a background check on the driver who had a prior history of multiple citations. The case settled for the insurance policy limits after extended discovery., 2015
- $1.3 Million - Hydroplaning wreck - The negligence of the GA DOT and a contractor's substandard work resulted in serious losses for our clients. The wreck occurred in Peach County. After years of collecting affidavits from other victims, engineering studies and accident reconstruction testimony, we were able to resolve this case for our clients. , 2024
- $9.5 Million - Wrongful Death - This case was settled during a week-long trial in DeKalb County. The best pre-trial offer from defense was $1.5 million. , 2024
- $3 Million - Wrongful Death involving mismanaged anesthesia care, 2023
- $2.515 - street racing, personal injury/wrongful death. Our clients were hurt and one was killed after another vehicle cut them off on the highway while racing. The wrongful death case was tried for a week in Gwinnett County, Georgia. The insurer offered $0 and the jury returned a verdict of $2.5 million. The case settled post-verdict., 2014
- $4.45 million - construction site, wrongful death, personal injury - Our clients sustained injuries when a piece of construction equipment was left parked near a highway at night time. The defense blamed our clients for failing to see the equipment but ultimately settled the case shortly before trial., 2012
- $4.25 million - Tractor-Trailer, wrongful death - our client was killed after a wheel dislodged from a tractor-trailer and was laying in the highway at nighttime. Our client struck the dislodged wheel, lost control and was killed. The case settled after we proved that the truck driver had failed to perform a proper pre-trip and enroute inspection of the trailer wheels., 2017
- $4 million - construction site, personal injury - Our client was injured when the welds on an elevated walkway fractured and caused our client to fall nearly 2 stories to the ground. The case settled for the insurance policy limits after Google Streetview allowed us to prove the prior condition of the walkway., 2015
- $4.3 million - Dram Shop, personal injury. Our client suffered a leg injury after being struck head-on by a drunk driver leaving a country club. The case settled for the insurance policy limits., 2007
- $5.47 million Verdict - Tractor-trailer, personal injury case. Our client sustained broken ribs, a broken ankle and a neck injury when a truck driver turned left in front of our client. The insurer refused a pre-suit offer for the policy limits of $1 million. We subsequently tried the case for a week to the jury who returned a verdict for $5.47 million, which was the largest jury verdict in the history of Mitchell County, Georgia at the time., 2015
- $5 million - Commercial truck wreck. Our client was killed when a commercial truck driver attempted to pass our client on a rural highway as the client was turning left. The trucking company initially blamed our client for the wreck and denied all responsibility. The evidence revealed that the company had received several complaints from the public about the driver’s prior reckless driving in commercial vehicles. The case settled just 3 days before trial was to begin., 2008
- $5.47 million - Our client died after being ran over by a dump truck during construction work at the Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. The case was tried to verdict in 2009. Following the verdict, we pursued claims against the General Contractor on the job who failed to ensure that the sub-contractors on the worksite had at least $5 million in insurance coverage. The case went to the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court. After winning the appeals, the insurers were required to be pay the verdict in full which ultimately exceeded more than $6 million. After their loss on appeal, lobbyists for the Defendants persuaded the Georgia Legislature to change the law so that injured victims could no longer pursue third-party beneficiary claims against contractors even if they fail to abide by their own contractual provisions., 2009
- $6 million - Tractor-trailer wrongful death settlement. Our client was killed at an intersection when the Defendant truck driver ran a red light. Our discovery proved that the truck driver had been fired from his previous two employers for drug use and was otherwise unfit to drive. The insurer paid its policy limits to resolve the case., 2010
- $6.35 million - Commercial Van driver caused serious personal injuries to our clients. One of our client suffered a traumatic brain injury in the collision. The defense attempted to devalue the case by arguing that our client was already in special education classes prior to the collision. As trial neared and the cruelty of the defense became more manifest in video depositions, the insurer chose to settle rather than face a jury with its claims., 2016
- $9.35 million - Personal Injury, Construction Worksite Injury - our client was injured by a subcontractor on a construction site in Tennessee. After protracted litigation and just before trial, the case settled. A key defense was to blame our non-English speaking client for his own injuries., 2010
- $18 million - Verdict in Legal Malpractice/Fraud case. Our client was the victim of legal malpractice and fraud committed against him in his personal injury case. The Defendant lawyer failed to properly serve the defendants, allowed the case to be dismissed and then lied to our client for 3 years about the status of the case., 2019
- $2 million Settlement - Product Liability/Trucking Case - Wrongful Death , 2018
- $2 million - Wrongful death of young man on a bicycle. Our client was riding his bike home to his father’s home when he was struck by a non-emergency transport van. The Defendant insurer originally claimed there was only $1 million of insurance coverage. After filing the case, engaging in discovery and an exhaustive analysis of the corporate relationship the case settled for $2 million - the true limits of insurance coverage., 2019
- $6 million jury verdict - Our client was a truck driver who was seriously injured and later died after a load of steel beams he was delivering fell from his semi-trailer on top of him during the unchaining process. The incident occurred in North Carolina where even 1% of negligence on the part of the victim is a total bar to recovery. The insurers offered $550,000 on the first day of trial. After a two week trial the jury returned a verdict of $6 million (the largest verdict in the history of the county). Pre-judgment interest increased the award to $7.7 million., 2019
- $1.1 million Settlement - Our client suffered a serious knee injury after being struck by a commercial vehicle. Defendant’s insurance company initially denied coverage for the incident. After extensive discovery proved that the vehicle was negligently maintained, the insurer capitulated and paid the policy limits., 2020
- $2.7 million jury verdict (car wreck; herniated disc), 2018
- $11.1 million - commercial truck wreck, personal injuries and wrongful death (2006); $9.35 million – construction accident, personal injuries (2010); $6.5 million – tractor-trailer, personal injuries (2010); $6 million – tractor-trailer, wrongful death (2010); $5.47 million – commercial truck/construction accident, wrongful death (2009); $5 million – commercial truck wreck, wrongful death (2008); $4.75 million - commercial truck wreck (2015)(largest verdict in Mitchell Co., Ga. history; $4.3 million – dram shop/drunk driver, personal injuries (2007); $4 million - billboard accident - paralysis (2015); $4 million – commercial truck wreck, personal injuries (2008); $4 million – tractor-trailer wreck, wrongful death (2009); $3.3 million – commercial vehicle wreck, personal injuries (2007); $3.25 - car wreck, wrongful death (2011); $2.875 million – tractor-trailer wreck (nighttime), wrongful death (2008); $2.7 million verdict - car wreck, herniated disc (2018); $2.515 million - road rage/wrongful death; $2.25 million - tractor-trailer/personal injury (2012); $2 million - personal injury - 2015; $1.4 million – tractor-trailer wreck (nighttime), personal injuries (2007); $1.325 million – car wreck, wrongful death (2008); $1.25 million – car wreck, personal injuries (2008); $1.25 million – car wreck, personal injuries (2008); $1.15 million –dram shop/drunk driver, personal injuries and wrongful death (2006); $1 million – school bus wreck, wrongful death (2008); $1 million – tractor-trailer wreck, personal injuries (2008); $ 1 million – nursing home abuse, wrongful death (2009); $1 million – tractor-trailer wreck (nighttime), wrongful death (2010); $900,000 - railroad accident, personal injuries (2005), 2006
Pro bono/Community Service:
- Ramp Build Project, 2015; , 2014
Honors/Awards:
- Super Lawyers, 2011- Present, Super Lawyers
- 2014 Litigator Award nominee (fewer than 1% of lawyers in America qualify); Invited to join Million Dollar Advocates Forum; Top 10 GA Verdicts, 2009; J.D., cum laude, Walter F. George School of Law; Member, Mercer Law Review, 1997-99; Brainerd Currie Society; Recipient, CALI Awards for Excellence: Criminal Law, Statutory Analysis, Constitutional Law, Legal Writing II, and Advanced Legal Research, 1996-1999; Lead Counsel for Three Cases Achieving Top Verdicts Selection in Fulton County Daily Report.
- Recipient of Thomas Ryals Foundation and Mercer Law School Merit of Scholarships
Educational Background:
- Piedmont College, Demorest, Georgia, B.A., 1996
Scholarly Lectures/Writings:
- Lectures: ICLE Trial Practice, Voir Dire and Opening Statement (2016): ICLE Trial Practice, Depositions (2015); GTLA Auto Torts Seminar: Trucks, Trailers and Cars: Getting What You Need and Making the Most of What You Get (2014); Maximizing the Value of Cases Involving Drugs and Alcohol - ICLE Trial Advocacy Seminar (2013); Co-Chair: Commercial Vehicles - GTLA Annual Seminar (2012); Trying Cases in North Georgia - GTLA Auto Torts Workshop (2012); Winning At Trial: Persuasion through Preparation - GTLA Fall Workshop (2012); Personal Injury Cases, Best Verdicts: Pitts v. A&G Trucking; GTLA: Making Sure Your Hydroplaning Case is Watertight; AIEG: The Wolves at the Door:Dealing with Reimbursement Claims; GTLA: Identifying Defendants and Locating Sources for Client Recovery; Published Works: Author U.S. v. Mitchell: The Fifth Amendment At Sentencing, 49 Mercer L. Rev. 865 (1998); Co-Author, Trial Practice & Procedure, 51 Mercer L. Rev. 487 (1999), Trial Practice & Procedure, 52 Mercer L. Rev. 447 (2000), Trial Practice & Procedure, 53 Mercer L. Review 475 (2001). , Speaker, Co-Chair Trucking Seminar, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association - Annual Convention, 2012
- Trying a "Race" Case: Zero to $2.5 million in Four Days, Speaker, Trying a, Georgia ICLE, 2015
- How to Get a $2.7 million Jury Verdict in a Low Speed, Herniated Disc Case, Goldberg Trial Lawyer Breakfast, 2018
- Goals and Approaches to Voir Dire, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention, 2018
- Jury Trials in Cobb County, Cobb County Trial Lawyers Association, 2018
Office location for Matthew E. Cook
800 Jesse Jewell Parkway SW
Suite 100
Gainesville, GA 30501
Phone: 678-940-9454
Selections
14 Years Super Lawyers
- Super Lawyers: 2012 - 2025
