Top Rated Personal Injury Attorney in Cleveland, OH

Bar/Professional Activity

• Ohio Employment Lawyers Association, Member
• American Association for Justice, Member, 1985 - Present
• Cleveland Employment Lawyers Association, Member
• Cleveland Academy of Trial Attorneys, Member
• Ohio Association for Justice, Member, 1985 - Present
• OAJ Trucking Safety Section, Member - Former Trustee
• Ohio State Bar Association, Member

Honors/Awards

• Who's Who in American Law for the Millennium Edition
• Cleveland State Law Review, Managing Editor, 1981
• Elected Trustee to the Ohio Association for Justice - Trucking Litigation Section for a 2 year term., Trustee, Ohio Association for Justice, 2016
• Awarded AV® rating in Martindale-Hubbell® identifying a lawyer with very high to preeminent legal ability and highest professional and ethical standards., AV® Rating, Martindale-Hubbell®, 2003

Educational Background

• Bowling Green State University, B.L.S. in Law, Pi Kappa Alpha, 1979
• Completed Institute on International and Comparative Law held in Paris, France through The University of San Diego School of Law, 1981

Pro bono/Community Service

• Legal counsel to W.A.G.S.4 Kids which is a non-profit service dedicated to training and placing mobility service and skilled companion animals (dogs) for children with disabilities. www.wags4kids.org, 2008

Verdicts/Settlements

• Co-counsel for Plaintiff-Appellant in Houdek v. Thyssenkrupp Materials in the 8th Ohio Appellate District securing reversal of the grant of summary judgment in an employer intentional tort case under O.R.C. section 2745.01., 2011
• Porter v. Osinski, Cuyahoga County Jury Verdict - Recovery was Tripple Settlement Offer, 2019
• Jane Doe v. Gadd's Olympic Inn - Obtained an $8,910.794.00 judgment in a Trumbull County case involving brain damage to a woman shot in the head by a stray bullet., 2015
• Farnsworth v. Bergan (Medina County, Ohio) Achieved 1.1 million dollar settlement in a highly contested motorcycle versus SUV collision.  Victim was a passenger on a motorcycle struck by a SUV pulling out of a driveway.  Issues of liability and damages were resolved in favor of decedent's 2 children who lost their mother.  All of available insurance coverage was recovered., 2011

Scholarly Lectures/Writings

• Is the Intrastate Transportation of Waste Subject to PUCO Regulations and the FMCSR?  This article reviews the obligations imposed by the PUCO upon intrastate waste haulers.  The question centers on whether the the hauler is a "motor carrier" bound by PUCO safety regulations where "waste" is excluded by definition from "property.", Author, Is the Intrastate Transportation of Waste Subject to PUCO Regulations and the FMCSR?, Ohio Association For Justice - Trucking Litigation Section, 2015
• Discussion of how the Ohio Apportionment of Fault statute applies in trucking litigation with emphasis on the "Empty Chair" defense., Author, Ohio’s Apportionment of Fault Statute Pointing at the Empty Chair in the Context of Trucking Litigation Cases, Ohio Association For Justice - Trucking Litigation Section, 2017
• Managing Editor, Cleveland State Law Review, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, 1982
• Presentation at the Seventeenthth Annual Select Strategies For Insurance And Estate Planning Seminar to 400 financial planners and insurance agents.  Topic was UM/UIM and Umbrella insurance policies., Speaker, Seventeenth Annual Select Strategies For Insurance And Estate Planning Seminar, Financial Planners And Insurance Agents, 2010
• Presentation on current topics in liability insurance., Speaker, Eighteenth Annual Select Strategies for Insurance and Estate Planning Seminar, 2011
• Presentation on current topics in liability insurance, Speaker, Nineteenth Annual Select Strategies For Insurance And Estate Planning Seminar, Financial Planners And Insurance Agents, 2012
• Presentation on current topics in liability insurance, Speaker, Twentieth Annual Select Strategies For Insurance And Estate Planning Seminar, Financial Planners And Insurance Agents, 2013
• Presentation on current topics in liability insurance., Speaker, Twenty First Annual Select Strategies for Insurance and Estate Planning Seminar, Insurance Agents And Financial Advisors, 2014