Paul T. Hofmann
Top rated Transportation & Maritime attorney in New York, New York
Hofmann & Schweitzer
Practice Areas: Transportation & Maritime, Construction Litigation, Personal Injury; view more
Licensed in New York since: 1982
Education: New York Law School
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2006 - 2011, 2013 - 2023 Details
The managing partner at Hofmann & Schweitzer, Paul T. Hofmann focuses his practice on personal injury and wrongful death litigation, with a particular emphasis on maritime, railroad and construction site accidents. Based in New York City, he provides representation to clients throughout New York state and across the country. Admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey, Mr. Hofmann is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York as well as before the U.S. District Court for the 2nd and 3rd Circuits.
In his maritime law practice, Mr. Hofmann represents workers who have been injured on the job as well the surviving members of their families in the event that the accidents were fatal. He has handled cases governed by the Jones Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act involving seamen, longshoremen, cruise ship crew members, ship builders, fishermen, and dock workers, among others. Throughout his career, Mr. Hofmann has been able to obtain millions of dollars in compensation for his clients, whether through jury awards after a trial or through settlements that he has negotiated out of court with defendants and their insurance providers.
Mr. Hofmann has achieved similar beneficial results on behalf of railroad and construction workers and their surviving family members. His colleagues have taken note of his successes both in and out of the courtroom, and they have awarded him an AV Preeminent* peer review rating through Martindale-Hubbell and a 10.0 “Superb” peer review rating through Avvo. A frequent lecturer on topics related to his practice area, Mr. Hofmann is a 1981 graduate of New York Law School and a member of several professional organizations.
*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.
Practice areas
Transportation/Maritime, Construction Litigation: Consumer, Personal Injury - General: PlaintiffFocus areas
Admiralty & Maritime Law, Brain Injury, Construction Accident, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Railroad Accident, Transportation Law, Trucking Accidents, Wrongful Death
- 50% Transportation/Maritime
- 30% Construction Litigation: Consumer
- 20% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
First Admitted: 1981, New Jersey
Professional Webpage: https://www.hofmannlawfirm.com/bio/paul-t-hofmann-work-accid...
- New York Super Lawyer, 2006 - Present
- Elite, Multi-Million Dollar Advocates
- Protect the Seaman's Wage Act for Cruise lines Class Actions., Section Vice-Chairman, 1996 - 1997
- Protect the Seaman's Wage Act for Cruise lines Class Actions., Section Secretary, 1995 - 1996
- Protect the Seaman's Wage Act for Cruise lines Class Actions, Section Chairman, 1997 - 1998
- Member, New Jersey Association of Rail Passengers
- Member, Traumatic Brain Injury Association
- Coach, Warren Youth Basketball Association
- Legal Advisor, New Jersey Association of Rail Passengers
- Member, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Association
- American Association for Justice, Admiralty Executive Committee
- Maritime Law Association of the United States, Maritime Torts Section, Secretary
- New York State Trial Lawyers Association
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York, 1982
- U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit, 1985
- U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 1982
- U.S. District Court District of New Jersey, 1981
- U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit, 1986
- New Jersey, 1981
- New York, 1982
- Vice-Chairman, American Association for Justice, 1996-97
- New Jersey Bar Association
- Maritime Law Association of the United States
- Chairman, American Association for Justice, Admiralty Section, 1997-98
- Member, American Association for Justice, Railroad Section, 1995 - Present
- New Jersey Association for Justice
- Member, American Association for Justice
- Secretary, American Association for Justice, Admiralty Section, 1995-96
- New York Association for Justice
- Calcaterra v. City of New York, 45 A.D.3d 270 (1st Dept. 2007)
- Guenther v. Sedco, Inc., 1998 WL 898349 (S.D.N.Y. 1998)
- Angeles v. Norwegian Cruise Lines, Inc., 2002 WL 1997898 (S.D.N.Y., 2002)
- Olsen v. Reinauer Transportation Companies, L.P., 300 A.D.2d 76 (1st Dept. 2002)
- Dahingo v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., 312 F.Supp. 2d 440 (S.D.N.Y. 2004)
- Aggarao v. MOL Ship Management, Inc., 675 F.3d 355 (4th Cir. 2012)
- Rodriquez-Alvarez v. Bermuda Star Lines, 898 F.2d 312 (2d Cir. 1990)
- Aragona v. State of New York, 74 A.D.3d 1260 (2d Dept. 2010)
- Lee v. Astoria Generating Co., L.P., 55 A.D.3d 124 (1st Dept. 2010)
- Harrison v. State of New York, 88 A.D.3d 951 (2d Dept. 2011)
- Wesley v. City of New York, 2010 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6815
- Becker v. Poling Transportation Corp., 356 F.3d 381 (2d Cir. 2004)
- Marcic v. Reinauer Transportation , 397 F.3d 120 (2d Cir. 2005)
- Garner v. Energy Transportation Corporation,1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 15368 (2d Cir. 1996)
- Cammon v. City of New York, 95 N.Y.2d 583 (2000)
- Abbud v. City of New York, 1997 WL 633463 (S.D.N.Y. 1998) affd 159 F.3d 1345 (1998)
- Olsen v. James Miller Marine Service, Inc., 791 N.Y.S.2d 92
- Brogan v. United New York Sandy Hook Pilots' Association, Inc., 213 F.Supp.2d 432 (D.N.J. 2002)
- Coppinger v. Metro-North Commuter Railroad, 861 F.2d 33 (2d Cir. 1988)
- Eriksen v. Long Island Lighting Co., 653 N.Y.S.2d 670 (2d Dept. 1997)
- Razo v. Nordic Empress Shipping, Inc., Affd. 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 23713 (2009)
- Cammon v. City of New York, 721 N.Y.S. 2d 579 (2000)
- Deisler v. McCormack Aggregates Co., 54 F.3rd 1074 (3rd Cir. 1995)
- Razo v. Nordic Empress Shipping, Inc., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57618 (D.N.J. 2008)
- Olsen v. James Miller Marine Services, Inc., 16 A.D.3d 169 (1st Dept. 2005)
- Alvarez-Rodriquez v. Bermuda Star Lines, 898 F.2d 312 (2d Cir. 1990)
- Guenther v. Sedco, Inc., 866 F.Supp. 786 (S.D.N.Y. 1994)
- Rutgers University, B.A. in Communications, 1975
- Lecturer, "From Sea To Sky", A general overview of maritime personal injury claims, New Jersey - Institute for Continuing Legal Education (I.C.L.E.), 2004
- Lee V. Astoria Generating - its Impact on Cammon v. City of New York, New York's Labor Law and the Issue of Preemption under the Longshore and Harborsworkers compensation Act ("LHWCA'), 2011
- Lecturer, Thoughts on the Legal Decision in the Staten Island Ferry Crash - a Plaintiff's Personal Injury Attorney's Perspective, Maritime Law Association, 2007
- Lecturer and Paper, "The ISM Code's Applicability to, and Benefits for, Injured Maritime Claimants" AAJ Convention, 2008
- Lecture, "Is the Jones Act Dead for the Foreign Seaman? Some Current Topics in Application of the Jones Act and General Maritime Law to a Foreign Seafarer's Personal Injury Claim", New York County Lawyer's Association, 2010
- "Claims Arising on Government Vessels", ATLA Admiralty Section Newsletter, 1992
- An Analytical Framework for Maritime Preemption Cases Involving Wrongful Death Damages - The Legacy of Miles, Yamaha, Amtrack and Others, Tulane University Law School Maritime Law Journal, 1999
- Guest Lecturer, Comparative American and Scottish Civil Procedure, University of Glasgow, School of Law, 1989
- Lecturer, "Use of Professional and Regulatory Standards to Prove Liability in Maritime Personal Injury Cases", ATLA Annual Convention, 1993
- Lecturer, Negotiations for Draft Hague Convention on Foreign Jurisdiction and Enforcement of Judgments, The Hague, Netherlands, Delegate to the U.S. Committee, 1999
- Lecturer, Claims Arising on Government Vessels, ATLA Winter Convention, 2002
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2006 - 2011, 2013 - 2023
