Top Rated Personal Injury Attorney in Washington, DC

I have been a trial lawyer since 1974. I completed 5 years in the Office of the Solicitor, Division of Civil Rights, U.S. Dept. of Labor and departed in the position of a Senior Trial Attorney. I litigated numerous class action civil rights enforcement cases seeking compliance with the obligation of federal contractors not to discriminate and to take affirmative action. One such case was against Uniroyal Tire & Rubber Co., Inc., alleging that approximately 1,200 women and minorities were subjected to discriminatory employment practices. My team of attorneys were successful and Uniroyal was “debarred”, by Order of President Gerald Ford, from engaging in contracts with the United States until they came into compliance with their civil rights obligations.

I began at Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. in 1980. I became the Managing Partner in 2000. I have represented thousands of individuals injured as a result of the carelessness of others. I have focused my practice on the representation of individuals with traumatic brain injuries. I am a founding member of the Brain Injury Association of D.C. (BIADC). I assisted in the drafting of the Athletic Concussion Protection Act of 2011 – a District of Columbia law that protects youth athletes suspected of sustaining a concussion from reentering play unless cleared by a healthcare provider. BIADC sponsors a support group for victims of TBI. I represented approximately 15 of the families of developmentally disabled wards of the District of Columbia that died in the D.C. operated group home system. A plaque memorializing the deaths of these individuals has been placed in their honor, as a result of this litigation, outside the door of the Director of HHS of the District of Columbia.

I have represented numerous children that suffered brain injury at birth as well as individuals that suffered profound brain injury as a result of the use of cyanoacrylate (the chemical equivalent of Superglue®) as an embolization device. I have also successfully represented a 6-year-old child that suffered profound brain injury as a result of near drowning.

In December 2012, I was elected to the Board of Directors for the Brain Injury Association of America. In January 2014, I was elected to a 2-year term as Treasurer of the Brain Injury Association of America.

Highlights of 2020 and 2021 include the continued successful management of Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. and the mentoring of all partners and associates regarding trial technique and litigation strategies, as well as the approaches most likely to lead to the successful resolution of cases with values of $100,000 or more. The successful management of our firm is exemplified by the fact that we did not apply for, nor receive, PPP funding. Additionally, we have successfully transitioned to working remotely during the extended period of the Covid-19 crisis. Although the closure or reduced accessibility of the Courts and other institutions in the DMV area resulted in an inability to proceed with litigation as planned, we have continued to aggressively and successfully represent clients’ with cases in litigation and those that have retained our firm since the onset of the crisis. Moreover, although perhaps not a customary measure of those that are honored to be named in the “Superlawyers” list, I believe it is noteworthy that our law firm supported our local charities by donating $25,000.   Spring of 2021 brought the customary explosion of tulips, cherry blossoms, and azaleas, along with the reentry of the country and our community into a greater sense of “normalcy.”  Our firm was managed to greet this opportunity with a planned, smooth transition, starting with …… return to the office.  Despite the significant interruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, our entire law firm is proud that we managed through the crisis, and now in this gradual reentry, to continue to provide service to our clients at the highest level of representation.

In terms of management of the major cases in litigation, we have had several cases that resolved for $1,000,000 or more during 2019-2020 to date, but all were confidential. Nevertheless, I can disclose that our firm was extraordinarily successful with four cases resolved in excess of $1,000,000 during this time period. I am extremely proud of the on-going success of the law firm of Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. during this challenging period of time.

In short, my entire career has been dedicated to successfully representing those that have been adversely affected by the careless behavior of others.