Michael Phelan: Focused on Winning

Michael and his wife, Laura, met at Ohio Wesleyan University, and have been married 24 years.  They have three children, and their eldest son graduated from their alma mater, Ohio Wesleyan.

Mr. Phelan volunteers countless hours with organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), United Parents Against Lead to reduce the hazards of lead to children, and Northstar Academy, a Richmond non-profit shool for children with learning disabilities. Mr. Phelan is a past Chairman of the Board of Directors of Northstar. The Board presented in January, 2010 the first annual Special Needs Forum for educators, health care providers, and parents of special needs children. Mr. Phelan is also on the board of the Commonwealth Community Trust, a nonprofit trust for people with disabilities.

Mr. Phelan's practice focuses on complex litigation, ranging from tractor-trailer truck and automobile accidents, lead poisoning of children, products liability, prescription drug and medical device cases, and business litigation. After his very first jury trial, a product liability case involving the construction of a bridge in Richmond, Virginia, Mr. Phelan won a $1 million dollar verdict for his client, and qualified for and is now a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.  Mr. Phelan was selected to the American Trial Lawyers Association 2007 Top 100 Trial Lawyers.  He was also selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® in the fields of Personal Injury Litigation, Mass Tort Litigation and Product Liability Litigation (Copyright 2008, 2009, and 2010 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC) and for includion in Virginia Super Lawyers (2008, 2009, and 2010).

Since 1996, Mr. Phelan has maintained an AV rating from the Martindale-Hubbell National Law Directory. This rating is based upon an extensive and confidential peer review by members of the bar, and is the highest rating available for legal ability and ethical standards. He also serves as an elected board member on the Virginia Trial Lawyer’s Association’s Board of Governors.

Mr. Phelan has extensive trial experience in state and federal courts, and has gained a national reputation for handling complex brain injury, lead poisoning, pharmaceutical, medical device and toxic substance cases. He achieved one of the largest recoveries in the country in a benzene exposure case involving an oral dental adhesive. Mr. Phelan is the past Chair of the Product Liability Section of the Virginia Trial Lawyer’s Association and has lectured at the Section’s annual retreats, at the 2006 ATLA Pharmaceutical/Medical Device seminar, and at many other seminars on numerous litigation topics.

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Results

 

• $3,500,000.00 recovery on behalf of brain damaged former school teacher in motor vehicle case
• $3,500,000.00 on behalf of children brain damaged by lead poisoning
• $2,850,000.00 recovery in a products liability case for a woman who developed pre-leukemic disease from benzene-containing medical device
• $1,650,000.00 for a child brain damaged by take home exposure to lead from mother’s factory job
• $1,550,000.00 for siblings brain damaged by lead paint
• $1,500,000.00 for man with mild brain injury and severe aggravation of depression following motor vehicle crash
• $1,250,000.00 recovery in mild traumatic brain injury case with little property damage and significant pre-existing neurologic and psychiatric conditions
• $1,250,000.00 verdict in a Fen Phen diet drug trial
• $1,000,000.00 for child brain damaged by lead in soil
• $1,000,000.00 verdict in products liability case for bridge construction worker who suffered orthopedic injuries in a bridge collapse
• $900,000 result for a woman who suffered a mild brain injury after being struck by a radio station promotional tent, which was improperly erected and not secured on a windy day 
• $850,000.00 for a man rear-ended by a pickup truck that aggravated pre-existing back problems and suffered post-concussive symptoms
• $825,000 for man assaulted by bouncer who suffered closed-head injury with cognitive deficits
• $750,000.00 verdict for a man involved in a motor vehicle accident with a hit and run driver
• $740,000 arbitration award for a woman who suffered a brain injury in a motor vehicle crash.  Her IQ decreased from Superior range to Above Average range.
• $550,000.00 for a woman who suffered a fractured calcaneus (heel) in a crash with a commercial truck
• $220,000 verdict for a former business executive who injured his neck in a hit-and-run MVC.  The insurance company's final offer was $40,000.

THE RESULTS OF SPECIFIC CASES ARE NOT MEANT TO BE A PREDICTION OF THE OUTCOME OF ANY OTHER CASE. EACH CASE IS UNIQUE.

Publications

• “Federal Preemption: The Bush Administration’s Attempted Executive Branch Tort -Reform,” The Journal of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, Spring 2007.
• “Current Issues in Pharmaceutical Litigation,” Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Products Liability Retreat, November 2005.
• “The Discovery of Information Concerning Other Similar Accidents, Incidents, or Occurrences,” Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Product Liability Retreat, October 1999.
• “The Admissibility of Evidence Concerning Other Similar Accidents, Incidents, or Occurrences,” Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Product Liability Retreat, October 1998.
• “Federal Preemption,” Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Products Liability Retreat, September 1996.

Education

• J.D., University of Richmond School of Law, 1987 (Law Review and Moot Court boards)
• B.A., Ohio Wesleyan University,cum laude, 1984 (Omicron Delta Epsilon Honors Society)

Admitted

• Virginia, 1989
• Massachusetts, 1987

Community and Pro Bono

• Northstar Academy (Chairman, Board of Directors)
• Commonwealth Community Trust board member
• United Parents Against Lead
• Mothers Against Drunking Driving

Professional Memberships and Affiliations

• Richmond Bar Association
• Virginia Bar Association
• Massachusetts Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• American Association for Justice
• American Trial Lawyers Association
• Southern Trial Lawyers Association
• Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (Member, Board of Governors; Past Chair, Products Liability Section)
• Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Inn of Court Master of the Bench

Professional Honors

• The 2007 Top 100 Trial Lawyers in American Trial Lawyers Association
• Best Lawyers in America 2009 and 2010
• Super Lawyers 2009 and 2010
• Million Dollar Advocates Forum