Practice areas: Personal Injury, Civil Rights, Products Liability; view more
Licensed in Michigan since: 1994
Education: University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2011 - 2026 Call today:
248-945-0100
Free Consultation Moss & Colella, P.C.
28411 Northwestern HighwaySuite 1150
Southfield, MI 48034 Visit website
A. Vince Colella is a founding partner and shareholder of Moss & Colella, P.C., a Southfield, Michigan-based law firm specializing in personal injury trial law and civil rights. For more than two decades, Vince has tried and won cases in state and federal courts throughout Michigan, earning a reputation as an aggressive, skillful, and powerful trial lawyer.
With extensive experience in automobile negligence, civil rights, police brutality and misconduct, premises liability, sexual assault, construction and trucking accidents, insurance disputes, sexual harassment, discrimination, and wrongful death cases, Vince and his law firm co-founder David Moss have obtained millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for their clients.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Vince is a charitable supporter of Detroit's Downtown Boxing Gym and established the A. Vince Colella Scholarship to support law students considering a career in civil rights at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. He has played rugby for 23 years throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the West Indies. Additionally, he earned a 3rd-degree black belt in martial arts and has spent time teaching defensive tactics to women, children, and police officers.
Vince supports charitable organizations such as Downtown Boxing Gym, University of Detroit Mercy– Law Charitable Endowment, Orchard’s Children Services, and the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan.
PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA
Vince writes a monthly legal column, "Colella in Context," in the Detroit Legal News, exploring such topics as the need to eliminate qualified immunity for police officers. Colella hosts a podcast called "Cases Gone Wild" where he discusses notable legal cases and provides insights on various legal topics.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Vince has served as a member of the Executive Board of the Michigan Association for Justice (formerly known as the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association) and is an active member of the American Bar Association, State Bar of Michigan, Detroit Bar Association, and Oakland County Bar Association. He is certified as a mediator and regularly serves as a Case Evaluator for the Oakland and Wayne County Circuit Court Case Management Offices.
AREAS OF PRACTICE
- Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
- Civil Rights
- Employment Litigation: Plaintiff
- Police Misconduct
- Wrongful Death
- Product Liability
- Premises Liability
CONTACT INFORMATION
Moss & Colella, P.C. 28411 Northwestern Highway, Suite 1150 Southfield, MI 48034 Phone: 248-945-0100 Website: www.mosscolella.com
Practice areas
Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff, Civil Rights, Personal Injury - Products: PlaintiffFocus areas
Americans with Disabilities Act, Animal Bites, Assault, Brain Injury, Construction Accident, Disability, Discrimination, Dram Shop Laws, Medical Devices, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Motor Vehicle Defects, Native Peoples Law, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Pharmaceutical, Police Misconduct, Premises Liability - Plaintiff, Race Discrimination, Sexual Abuse - Plaintiff, Slip and Fall, Trucking Accidents, Wrongful Death
- 60% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
- 30% Civil Rights
- 10% Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff
First Admitted: 1994, Michigan
Professional Webpage: https://www.mosscolella.com/team-members/vince-colella
Bar / Professional Activity
- Michigan
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)
- Along with senior partner and firm co-founder David Moss, Colella has built a personal injury firm that has secured over $100 million in verdicts and settlements on behalf of their clients and has grown to include five attorneys – all litigators.
- $2.75 million verdict in a dental malpractice case in Macomb County, Michigan. The case involved an oral surgeon's failure to properly diagnose a vascular lesion and negligent attempt to remove it, which resulted in life-threatening consequences for the 32-year-old patient., 2022
- Recent victory securing a $450,000 settlement for a motorcycle accident victim who suffered serious fractures to his hand and foot.
- $750,000 settlement for a truck accident victim who suffered a neck injury requiring surgery.
- $1.55 million settlement on behalf of the family of an 8-year-old girl who drowned in an apartment complex swimming pool in Battle Creek, Michigan. This represents the second-largest reported drowning case settlement in Michigan history., 2021
- $1.8 million insurance property and business interruption settlement for a local Detroit wholesale cellular phone company.
- $3.2 million settlement for an injured HVAC repair worker who fell from a hi-lo.
- $3.85 million settlement for the wrongful death of two Michigan Department of Corrections inmates and the brutal stabbing of another inmate.
Special Licenses / Certifications
- Certified Mediator, Oakland County Circuit Court Mediation Program
Educational Background
- J.D., University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
- B.A., Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing
Other Outstanding Achievements
- LANDMARK $7 MILLION SETTLEMENT: THOMAS CARR JAIL DEATH CASEA. Vince Colella recently secured a landmark $7 million settlement in the wrongful death case of Thomas Carr, who was brutally beaten to death by his cellmate while serving a brief sentence for a misdemeanor OWI (operating while intoxicated) at Wayne County Jail. This settlement, awaiting final judicial approval, stands as one of the largest lawsuit settlements in Wayne County's history and by far the largest negligence payout by the county since at least 2010. The case began when Thomas Carr, 53, was placed in a Wayne County Jail cell with Claude Lewis III on July 13, 2023. Lewis had a history of violent convictions and documented mental health issues, including schizophrenia and previous involuntary psychiatric commitments. Despite multiple red flags and warnings in the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN) that Lewis "may harm self or others," jail officials placed him with Carr, who was serving his first day of a 26-day sentence for a non-violent misdemeanor. Within 24 hours of Carr's arrival, he was brutally attacked by Lewis in an assault that sources say lasted between 30 minutes and two hours. The attack occurred while the deputy assigned to their ward failed to perform required rounds. Carr died on July 20, 2023, after suffering catastrophic trauma to his head with multiple facial fractures. In December 2023, Colella filed a $10 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Wayne County Sheriff's Department on behalf of Carr's family. The suit alleged systemic failures beyond the actions of a single employee, highlighting severe understaffing and failure to follow proper inmate classification procedures that would have prevented housing a mentally ill inmate with violent tendencies alongside a non-violent offender.
- A thought leader in personal injury and civil rights law, Vince has been recognized by multiple peer review organizations, including Super Lawyers, DBusiness (Top Lawyers), and The National Trial Lawyers. His insights are frequently sought by media outlets including the Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, WWJ News Radio 950, Fox2 Detroit, Crain's Detroit Business, and Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
Honors
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025, Best Lawyers
- Named to the Leaders in the Law class of 2019 by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Michigan Lawyers Weekly
- Named to the 2022 DBusiness Top Lawyers list in the personal injury category, DBusiness Top Lawyers
- The firm was designated as a tier-one law firm by Best Lawyers® in the 14th edition of the United States Best Law Firms®, with a Tier 1 ranking at the metropolitan level in the Personal Injury Litigation–Plaintiffs category., Best Lawyers
Office location for A. Vince Colella
28411 Northwestern Highway
Suite 1150
Southfield, MI 48034
Phone: 248-945-0100
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2011 - 2026
