Fall, Robert J.

Richard Cohn is a persistent, aggressive trial attorney who takes a "turn every stone" approach toward the legal matters he handles. He was recognized as one of the "Top 500 Litigators in the Nation" in the inaugural issue of Law Dragon Magazine, and was one of only three lawyers in Orange County, California to receive that distinction. The magazine again recognized him as one of the Nations Top 3000 Platiff's Lawyers in America in 2007. He has been repeatedly designated a Southern California "Super Lawyer" by Los Angeles Magazine and Law and Politics.

Mr. Cohn is "AV" rated by Martindale-Hubble's Law Directory which issues such ratings only to those attorneys who have demonstrated preeminent legal ability and the highest professional and ethical standards. In 2008, he received the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association's prestigious "Top Gun" award, for his work in the field of Medical Malpractice.

Mr. Cohn received his Bachelors Degree, Cum Laude, from University of California at San Diego (UCSD) in 1985 with a double major in Political Science and Communications. He obtained his juris doctorate degree from U.S.C. Law School in 1989, graduating among the top quarter of his class. He began his legal career at the law firm of McGinnis, Fitzgerald, Reese, Sharkey & McIntyre in San Diego, California, specializing in the field of medical malpractice defense.

Mr. Cohn joined Wylie Aitken in practice in July of 1990 and became a named Partner in January 2001. Mr. Cohn handles a wide variety of cases in major tort litigation including wrongful death and serious personal injury, medical malpractice, aviation tort law, insurance bad faith, products liability, construction site accidents, automobile and trucking accidents, premises liability, and governmental tort liability. (The sub-specialty of medical malpractice has always constituted over 50% of his caseload.)

Mr. Cohn is a past President of the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association, having assumed the Presidency of that organization in January 2001. Mr. Cohn has also served on the Board of Directors of a variety of other legal and charitable organizations, including the Orange County Bar Association and the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Orange County among others. He is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education seminars including for California Continuing Education for The Bar (CEB) as well as for the State and Local Trial and Bar Association. He is also a frequent author of articles in legal publications. He has also been interviewed on multiple occasions by both television and print news media regarding a variety of high profile cases.

Exemplary Results

Mr. Cohn has been trial counsel in a variety of lengthy, complex and high profile trials which have resulted in multimillion dollar verdicts. Examples include:

• Small v. County of Orange (involving the attack of a mountain lion on a young child in a public park Verdict: $2,100,000);
• Chavez v. Altig (a complex medical malpractice case wherein a 25 year old man was blinded as a result of anesthesia during ankle surgery Verdict: $3,800,000);
• Scott v. Burges Transportation, et al (wherein a Journeyman immigrant plumbing contractor was seriously injured when he was run over by a dump truck on a construction site Verdict: $1,900,000);
• "M" v. Wings Express Aviation, et al. (an aviation case wherein a Piper Cherokee VI aircraft crashed at Fullerton Airport due to a combination of contaminated fuel and poor maintenance Verdict $2,760,535)
  Mr. Cohn also has achieved numerous multimillion dollar settlements on behalf of his clients.

Most recent highlights include:

• a $3 million settlement for the wrongful death of a construction site worker struck by a dump truck (Bodine v. Western Trucking) (2006);
• a $7.25 million dollar settlement for a new mother who received a morphine overdose in the hospital after a C-Section, (Case I.D. confidential) (2007);
• a settlement for over $3 Million for the wrongful death of an elderly woman struck by a bus in a crosswalk (Case I.D. confidential) (2006);
• a $1.8 Million settlement for the wrongful death of a husband/father electrocuted when he contacted power lines (Case I.D. confidential) (2006);
• a $2.4 million settlement in a medical malpractice matter involving the wrongful death of an executive/father of three due to anesthesiology error (Brown v. Neff, M.D., et al.)

He also obtained a record $2.1 million dollar settlement for an 80 year old auto v. pedestrian victim (believed to be the highest personal injury award in California history for a victim over the age of 80). (Rubio v. Allstate Ins.) (2003). In other recent medical malpractice results, Mr. Cohn obtained a $4.0 million dollar settlement in a hard fought, complex birth injury case (Doe v. Roe Hospital) (2007), and a 2.4 million settlement on the eve of trial in another Orange County birth injury matter (2008). Mr. Cohn has also briefed and argued a variety of appellate matters, and argued before the California Supreme Court in an insurance coverage dispute which resulted in over 140 pages of majority and dissenting opinion.

Personal

Mr. Cohn was married in 1993 and has two children. They live in Newport Beach, California.