Episodios

  • Defense-Turned-Plaintiff’s Lawyer Lands a Record Verdict in Somerset County, with Doug Olcott

    Defense-Turned-Plaintiff’s Lawyer Lands a Record Verdict in Somerset County, with Doug Olcott
    Oct 23 2025
    Doug Olcott believes his 15 years as a defense attorney gives him a “leg up” representing plaintiffs. It did in his case against a snow tubing park, where his client suffered a catastrophic injury. “I think I have a better understanding as to what the defendants are going to do and then being able to anticipate how they're going to approach a game because, quite frankly, in my 35 years doing this, not a lot has changed on the defense bar side,” he tells host Brendan Lupetin. In this case breakdown, Doug explains how he overcame a signed waiver, exposed defense contradictions, and challenged an expert witness who said his client “lacked common sense.” The result: a $693,000 verdict, Somerset County's largest in at least 20 years: Learn More and Connect☑️ Doug Olcott | LinkedIn☑️ Edgar Snyder & Associates on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube☑️ Brendan Lupetin | LinkedIn☑️ Lupetin & Unatin, LLC☑️ Connect: Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTubeEpisode PreviewDoug’s client was attending a children's birthday party at Hidden Valley's snow tubing park when her tube accelerated down the hill and launched off the back of a runout embankment.She suffered a T12 burst fracture requiring surgical placement of two rods across five levels of her thoracic spine, along with a pelvic fracture and other lesser fractures.After the court granted summary judgment on negligence claims based on a signed waiver, the case proceeded to trial on recklessness only—a significantly higher burden requiring proof of intentional or reckless disregard for known risks.Doug and co-counsel Jerry Hutton proved recklessness by establishing three critical failures: no workers stationed at the bottom to stop tubes, no deceleration mats deployed, and no barrier to prevent riders from going over the embankment.The defense's own policies and procedures contradicted their trial testimony—interrogatory answers identified specific safety protocols that witnesses couldn't verify had been followed on the day of the...
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    56 m
  • Father-Son Team Vault Over the Case Tipping Point, with John and JJ Gismondi

    Father-Son Team Vault Over the Case Tipping Point, with John and JJ Gismondi
    Oct 9 2025
    John Gismondi has never said to an associate, “You’re just going to work as my caddy for a few years, and then we're going to start to give you your own cases.” That goes for his son JJ. Just four months after JJ passed the bar, he joined his father in representing a 60-year-old woman who suffered a ruptured aneurysm due to a missed diagnosis. In this case breakdown with host Brendan Lupetin, the father-son team reveal how they faced a critical ruling that prevented an ex-defendant’s testimony from being read in – “the tipping point,” as John describes it. “It kept JJ and me up until literally two o'clock.” Tune in to hear how they made it over the tipping point to secure a verdict split equally between the wife's pain and suffering and the husband's loss of consortium.Learn More and Connect☑️ John Gismondi | LinkedIn☑️ JJ Gismondi | LinkedIn☑️ The Law Offices of Gismondi & Associates on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube☑️ Brendan Lupetin | LinkedIn☑️ Lupetin & Unatin, LLC☑️ Connect: Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTubeEpisode PreviewThe case involved a 60-year-old woman whose abdominal aortic aneurysm was missed by a radiologist and eventually ruptured.The case was tried in Mifflin County, where court personnel informed them that "this was only the second civil trial of any type that had gone to a jury in 12 years."The crisis day defendants who delayed transferring the patient and getting her to surgery settled before trial, leaving only the case against the radiologist and his practice.The defense radiologist dropped his cross-claim against the vascular surgeon on the morning of trial—a strategic move to prevent the Gismondis from reading in favorable deposition testimony from the vascular...
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    1 h y 16 m
  • From $45,000 Offer to $694,500 Verdict, with Bob and Zach Janssen and Ryan Froelich

    From $45,000 Offer to $694,500 Verdict, with Bob and Zach Janssen and Ryan Froelich
    Sep 23 2025
    When an insurance company told an injured driver to “take it or leave it,” the team at Janssen Law took the company to trial. In this case breakdown with host Brendan Lupetin, Bob Janssen, Ryan Froelich, and Bob’s son Zach Janssen explain that the insurer offered $45,000 – while their client had $93,000 in medical bills alone. They faced challenges, including a conservative Green Bay market and a client who didn’t have surgery and continued to work full-time. But they focused on her chronic pain and leveraged innovative trial strategies, like Ryan's memorable analogy to a grocery store visit gone wrong. The jury awarded $694,500.Learn More and Connect☑️ Bob Janssen☑️ Ryan Froelich | LinkedIn ☑️ Zach Janssen☑️ Janssen Law on LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube☑️ Brendan Lupetin | LinkedIn☑️ Lupetin & Unatin, LLC☑️ Connect: Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTubeEpisode PreviewThe Janssen Law team’s client suffered a meniscal tear when she was rear-ended while driving her son on a snowy Wisconsin day.Progressive Insurance paid their $100,000 limits, but Wadena Insurance offered only $45,000 against the client's $500,000 underinsured motorist coverage.The defense contested liability even in a clear rear-end collision, creating opportunities for the plaintiff's team to highlight their failure to accept responsibility.Two treating doctors...
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    39 m
  • When Doctors Had “No Plan” to Save a Patient, with Sam Martin and Nathan Werksman

    When Doctors Had “No Plan” to Save a Patient, with Sam Martin and Nathan Werksman
    Sep 9 2025
    “Have you seen this record?” Sam Martin asked trial partner Nathan Werksman. “This is unbelievable.” That record? "So far, there is no plan.” It became the theory of liability that the team leveraged against a surgeon whose 23-year-old patient died from abdominal compartment syndrome. Host Brendan Lupetin explores how the former Stanford Law School classmates navigated their case in a state where wrongful death damages are severely limited. Sam, an associate at Patrick Malone & Associates, and Nathan, a partner at Merson Law, combined their complementary skills—Sam's meticulous case analysis and Nathan's commanding trial presence—to secure a $2.3 million verdict.Learn More and Connect☑️ Nathan Werksman | LinkedIn☑️ Merson Law on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube☑️ Sam Martin | LinkedIn☑️ Patrick Malone & Associates on LinkedIn | YouTube | Facebook☑️ Brendan Lupetin | LinkedIn☑️ Lupetin & Unatin, LLC☑️ Connect: Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTubeReady to refer or collaborate on med mal, medical negligence, and catastrophic injury cases? Visit
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    1 h y 17 m
  • When It’s Inevitable that the Product Will Fail, with Dave Kwass

    When It’s Inevitable that the Product Will Fail, with Dave Kwass
    Aug 23 2025

    When a 900-pound flail mower crushed a Delaware Department of Transportation mechanic, the defense claimed it was his fault and insisted his return to work proved minimal injury. When Dave Kwass sued the mower manufacturer, he exposed defense lies and revealed missing evidence. He also took jurors on a journey through the company’s history – including the “bizarre moment” when it rejected a design modification that would have made the mower safer because it would have increased repair costs. As Dave explains to host Brendan Lupetin, he set up the “narrative inevitability" that the flawed machine would injure someone. “The ‘Jaws’ music has been playing,” Brendan observes, “and they know that the attack is inevitable.” The jury awarded Dave’s client $11 million.

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    ☑️ Dave Kwass | LinkedIn

    ☑️ Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

    ☑️ Brendan Lupetin | LinkedIn

    ☑️ Lupetin & Unatin, LLC

    ☑️ Connect: Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube

    ☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Ready to refer or collaborate on med mal, medical negligence, and catastrophic injury cases? Visit our attorney referral page at PAMedMal.com/Refer. We handle cases in Pennsylvania and across the United States.

    Produced and Powered by LawPods
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    1 h y 4 m
  • Trial Nugget: Shanin Specter’s Punitive Damage Blueprint: Reframing Net Worth

    Trial Nugget: Shanin Specter’s Punitive Damage Blueprint: Reframing Net Worth
    Aug 12 2025

    In the second Trial Nugget devoted to punitive damages, host Brendan Lupetin breaks down Goretzka v. West Penn Power, in which a woman was fatally electrocuted when a power line fell on her. Brendan reads key moments from the punitive section of Shanin Specter’s closing argument, including when he reframed West Penn Power’s $244 million net worth. Shanin showed the jury a $10 bill and suggested that the appropriate way of considering damages would be to say, “‘What would it be if it were a guy with $10? How much would that be to make him feel it? To make him not do it again?’ And then just do the math on that $244 million.” The jury awarded $109 million. Unpacking Shanin’s strategies, Brendan observes: “One clever point that Shanin pointed out: Whether they're worth $1 or $20 billion, it doesn't matter.”

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    13 m
  • Smoking Guns that Turned $300K into $4.4M, with Blankingship & Keith

    Smoking Guns that Turned $300K into $4.4M, with Blankingship & Keith
    Aug 9 2025
    At Blankingship & Keith, they often say: "There's a smoking gun in every case; just, sometimes, you don't find it." With tenacity and strategy, a firm team found smoking guns in their recent case against a commercial trucking company. The team – Rob Stoney, Chidi James, Barkley Horn, and Matt Tsun – uncovered inspection failures that allowed a truck with inadequate brakes and safety features to be on the road. It collided with their client’s vehicle, causing her life-altering injuries. Listen to this case breakdown with host Brendan Lupetin to learn how they turned a $300,000 insurance policy into a $4.4 million jury verdict.Learn More and Connect☑️ Chidi James | LinkedIn☑️ Barkley Horn | LinkedIn☑️ Matt Tsun | LinkedIn☑️ Rob Stoney | LinkedIn☑️ Blankingship & Keith on LinkedIn | Instagram | X ☑️ Brendan Lupetin | LinkedIn☑️ Lupetin & Unatin, LLC☑️ Connect: Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTubeReady...
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    1 h y 11 m
  • From Policy Violation to $5.25M Verdict, with Dorothy Dohanics, Carmen Nocera, and Ben Cohen

    From Policy Violation to $5.25M Verdict, with Dorothy Dohanics, Carmen Nocera, and Ben Cohen
    Jul 23 2025

    The hospital had a good policy that would have prevented a 67-year-old woman from being prematurely discharged. Instead, she was discharged and found dead 12 hours later. Host Brendan Lupetin unpacks this wrongful death case with the trial team of Dorothy Dohanics, Carmen Nocera and Ben Cohen. Tune in to hear how Dorothy's meticulous discovery work and Carmen and Ben's strategic courtroom work drove their $5.25 million verdict.

    Learn More and Connect

    ☑️ Ben Cohen

    ☑️ Dorothy Dohanics | LinkedIn

    ☑️ Carmen Nocera | LinkedIn

    ☑️ Harry S. Cohen & Associates on LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

    ☑️ Brendan Lupetin | LinkedIn

    ☑️ Lupetin & Unatin, LLC

    ☑️ Connect: Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube

    ☑️ Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

    Ready to refer or collaborate on med mal, medical negligence, and catastrophic injury cases? Visit our attorney referral page at PAMedMal.com/Refer. We handle cases in Pennsylvania and across the United States.

    Produced and Powered by LawPods
    Más Menos
    58 m