Practice Areas: Personal Injury, Products Liability, Medical Malpractice; view more
Licensed in New York since: 1992
Education: Vanderbilt University Law School
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212-571-7171
Sakkas Cahn & Weiss, LLP
110 E 42nd StSuite 1508
New York, NY 10017 Visit website
Details
Matthew Sakkas is an accomplished trial lawyer and appellate lawyer in the field of personal injury and wrongful death. He draws on more than 25 years of experience – on both the plaintiff and defense sides of the equation – to advocate effectively for people who have been injured through the negligence or willful actions of others.
His long and distinguished record includes published appellate decisions, notable recoveries in big cases, and representing the family of a victim of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.
A Career Spent In injury Law
Matthew Sakkas graduated from Clark University (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) in 1988, including undergraduate studies at the prestigious London School of Economics. He graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1991 and passed the New York State Bar exam the same year. He was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1992. He is also admitted to practice law in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Sakkas began his law career as an associate at a well-known insurance defense law firm, defending clients primarily in premises liability and construction accident cases. After several years working for the defense, Mr. Sakkas put those skills and insights to work on behalf of the injured. He joined a plaintiff's law firm where he was responsible for prosecuting a wide variety of personal injury cases from intake through trial, as well as preparing and arguing appeals.
In 2000, Mr. Sakkas opened his own law firm concentrating on plaintiff's personal injury practice and worked in an "of counsel" capacity to other law firms, where he conducted depositions, tried cases and handled appeals. In 2005, Mr. Sakkas and Mr. Cahn joined their practices. In 2008, they merged their practice with Mr. Weiss, forming the partnership of Sakkas Cahn & Weiss.
A True Trial Lawyer
Mr. Sakkas is a long-standing member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, New York County Lawyers' Association and the American Association for Justice, where he has served as a judge for the Student Trial Advocacy Competition. Mr. Sakkas has also served as an arbitrator for the New York City Civil Court.
Following the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center towers, Mr. Sakkas participated in the Trial Lawyers Care (http://triallawyerscare.org/) initiative in which attorneys volunteered their services to advocate for the families of 9/11 victims. He successfully represented the family of a woman who died in the attack on the North Tower.
Matthew Sakkas is best known in some circles for his skill and accomplishments in civil appeals. His noteworthy appellate cases include:
· Washington v. Montefiore Medical Center et. al., 9 A.D.3d 271, 780 N.Y.S.2d 322 (1st Dept. 2004) which held that the plaintiff produced sufficient evidence to raise a question of fact as to the defendants' negligence in the fatal stabbing of the plaintiff's decedent at her workplace.
· Barnett v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, 40 A.D.3d 325, 835 N.Y.S.2d 183 (1st Dept. 2007) which held that the plaintiff established a sufficient connection between an engineer's job-site duties and the conditions that created an unreasonable risk of serious injury to the plaintiff in a New Jersey construction accident case.
· Felton v. Tourtoulis, 87 A.D.3d 983, 929 N.Y.S.2d 493 (2nd Dept. 2011) which reinstated the plaintiff's claim for punitive damages in a drunk driving accident after it was dismissed by the trial court.
Practice areas
Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff, Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff, Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: PlaintiffFocus areas
Animal Bites, Birth Injury, Brain Injury, Construction Accident, Delayed or Incorrect Diagnosis, Dental Malpractice, Medical Devices, Medical Malpractice, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Motor Vehicle Defects, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Pharmaceutical, Premises Liability - Plaintiff, Sexual Abuse - Plaintiff, Slip and Fall, Trucking Accidents, Wrongful Death
- 80% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
- 10% Personal Injury - Products: Plaintiff
- 10% Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff
First Admitted: 1992, New York
Professional Webpage: https://www.sakkascahn.com/attorneys/matthew-sakkas/
- U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
- Member, American Association for Justice
- New York County Lawyers' Association, Member
- New York, 1992
- U.S. District Court of Southern District of New York
- New York Academy of Trial Lawyers, Member
- U.S. District Court of Eastern District of New York
- Member, New York State Trial Lawyers Association
- Several undisclosed substantial verdicts against local churches for sexual assaults by clergy
- Barnett v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, 40 A.D.3d 325 (1st Dept. 2007)
- $11 million settlement during trial against a major automobile manufacturer
- $1.24 million verdict for lead poisoning to an infant
- $585,000 settlement during trial for an infant caused to suffer a severe shoulder injury during birth due to improper delivery techniques
- Washington v. Montefiore Medical Center et. al., 9 A.D.3d 271 (1st Dept. 2004)
- $4.8 million settlement for an individual run over by an out of control car
- $1.05 million verdict for a warehouse manager who fell from a defective roof
- Successfully recovered more than $100 million on behalf of his clients through verdicts, mediations, arbitrations and settlements
- Felton v. Tourtoulis, 87 A.D.3d 983 (2nd Dept. 2011)
- $5 million settlement for a New Jersey woman struck by a drunk driver
- $1.425 million verdict in a products liability case involving a defective home exercise device
- Certified Arbitrator for the New York City Civil Court
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Clark University, B.A., Magna Cum Laude, Fiat Lux Honor Society, Honors: Phi Beta Kappa, 1998
- London School of Economics, 1987
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2011 - 2024