Overview

Paul M. da Costa, Esq. is a partner at Sarno da Costa D’Aniello Maceri and is the head of the firm’s Medical Malpractice/Personal Injury Department. He is a certified civil trial attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. The New Jersey Law Journal has selected Paul as a finalist for the 2022 New Jersey Legal Awards “Attorney of the Year.” In their profile article, “Paul da Costa Harnesses ‘Immense Power to Cause Change’ as a Trial Litigator,” the New Jersey Law Journal described Paul as a “formidable litigator” and noted that he was selected as a finalist for “his high-impact – and high-profile -work.” In 2021, Paul was appointed by the Supreme Court of New Jersey to a three-year term as a member of the Board on Attorney Certification, Civil Certification Committee. Paul is an American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) member and a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He has been admitted to practice law in both the State of New Jersey and the District of Columbia. The National Law Journal selected Paul M. da Costa and his Medical Practice Department for its prestigious 2022 Elite Trial Lawyers Awards in the medical malpractice category.

Paul regularly lectures on the topics of medical malpractice, trial techniques, and strategy. He dedicates his practice to protecting the rights of all individuals that have been wronged through no fault of their own.

Paul has substantial experience handling high-profile cases that garner national, state, and local media attention. His cases have been covered by numerous media outlets, including Time, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, Star-Ledger, Bergen Record, The Huffington Post, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, New Jersey Law Journal, VICE News, NJTV News, AP news, New Jersey 12, CBS radio, The New York Times, and others. He has a unique ability to offer his clients the care and compassion needed during difficult times while simultaneously providing aggressive legal representation in the courtroom, the media, and in the legislature.

Throughout 2020, 2021, and 2022, Paul represented numerous families and staff members who have fallen victim to COVID-19 inside nursing homes, such as the Veterans Memorial Homes at Menlo Park and Paramus. His representation of the veterans and their families included testifying before the New Jersey Legislature. Paul ultimately obtained settlements totaling $44 million for his clients.  Many articles from prestigious news outlets were published about this monumental achievement, including ones featured in the New York Times, NJ.com, News 12 New Jersey, NorthJersey.com, Newsweek, and NBC Philadelphia.

In addition, Paul also represented many of the families and children that were victims of the Adenovirus outbreak at The Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in late 2018. As part of his representation of the victims of the Adenovirus outbreak that claimed the lives of eleven children, he testified on behalf of his clients before the New Jersey Senate Health & Human Services Committee. His testimony on behalf of his clients and their children was described by a columnist for the North Jersey Record/USA Today Network as having spoken: “eloquently on their behalf.” His zealous advocacy on behalf of his clients resulted in a $6.2 million settlement.

In 2023, Paul secured a precedential victory in the Appellate Division.  In a published opinion, Lasiw v. Hackensack University Medical Center, the Appellate Division agreed that our client had a right to obtain metadata and to inspect the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) of her deceased husband from the Defendant Hospital.  In a case of first impression, the Appellate Division found that every patient has a right to relevant EMR metadata, and need not show an initial “need” for the data in order for it to be produced.

Paul is dedicated to providing a voice to individuals that have been the victim of medical malpractice, nursing home malpractice, car , truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, defective products, construction accidents, sexual abuse, birth injury, brain damage, burn injuries, spinal cord injuries, and wrongful death. He focuses his practice in the areas of medical malpractice, products liability, mass torts, and catastrophic personal injury cases.

Paul has handled a vast array of medical malpractice cases involving claims of, among others, failure to diagnose cancer, obstetrical injuries, wrongful birth, and wrongful death Paul has also handled motor vehicle accidents, bus crashes, pedestrian accidents, worksite toxic exposure, and products liability cases involving pharmaceutical and medical device products, sports and recreational products, construction equipment, ladders, and tires. In addition, he has experience handling cases involving sexual tort claims against religious institutions and mental health professionals.

Through his tenacious and diligent advocacy, Paul makes it his priority to “right the wrongs” that have been forced upon his clients. Paul is not afraid to take cases to trial because he is a firm believer that pursuing the truth through litigation will prevent potential future wrongs. Paul has obtained seven-figure trial verdicts and settlements for his clients, including an $8.5 million and $4.5 million jury verdicts in surgical error cases, as well as a $1.5 million trial verdict in an OB/GYN case. His most recent seven-figure settlements include a $6.2 million nursing home infection outbreak case, a $1 million cancer recurrence case, a $3.2 million anesthesia medical malpractice case, a $1.6 million settlement at trial in failure to timely diagnose case, $1.275 million settlement in failure to timely diagnose case and $1 million settlement at trial in emergency medicine malpractice case. He also settled a $2.5 million case against New Jersey Transit (“NJT”) where his client was a pedestrian struck by an NJT bus. In 2023, Paul secured a precedential victory in the Appellate Division. In the published decision, the Appellate Division agreed that our client had a right to obtain metadata and to inspect the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) of her deceased husband from the Defendant hospital. This is the first New Jersey Appellate Division decision on this issue, which had previously caused confusion and unreasonable delay in the discovery process in medical malpractice cases. This decision should provide guidance for discovery requests of this kind going forward in all manners of litigation. In 2024, he obtained a $1.25 million settlement in a Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) case involving toxic exposure through clients’ employment at NJ Transit.

In 2023-2024, Sarno da Costa D’Aniello Maceri LLC was ranked in the Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” Regional Tier 1 – New Jersey list in 6 practice areas including personal injury and medical malpractice.  In 2022, Paul and his team were recognized as having two of the top 20 largest personal injury awards in the state of New Jersey as ranked by New Jersey Law Journal’s Personal Injury Top Awards 2022. In 2018, Paul was recognized for his work when the New Jersey Law Journal listed him three times on their list of Top 20 Settlements and Verdicts. In 2017, Paul received recognition for his accomplishments while securing two spots in the New Jersey Law Journal’s Top 20 Personal Injury Awards of the Year. His cases landed him in the 6^th and 17^thspot for the year. Earning him 6^th place was a case of unnecessary surgery that a Monmouth County court awarded $8.5M. The 17^th spot was awarded in the case of spinal surgery complications leading to a $4.5M verdict in Union County. In 2019, TopVericts.com listed one of Paul and Daniel Devinney’s cases amongst their list of top 50 Verdicts and Settlements in the United States for a $3.25 million anesthesia malpractice case. The list is comprised of cases filed either in a state or federal court, as well as those settled prior to commencing a lawsuit. More information regarding the list can be found here.

In 2016, Paul secured a $2.6 million settlement from the State of New Jersey on behalf of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP), formerly known as DYFS. The settlement was for the estate of a seven-year-old boy, which the New Jersey Law Journal identified in its “2016 Personal Injury Special Section.” In 2016, two of Paul’s settlements, $3 million and $1 million, were included in Verdict Search’s “Top New Jersey Settlements 2016” publication. The $3 million settlement was ranked third in the professional negligence category, and the $1 million settlement was ranked fourteenth in the medical malpractice category.

Paul is a 2003 graduate of Seton Hall University’s J.D. / M.A.D.I.R. joint-degree program, a collaboration of the School of Law and the School of Diplomacy and International Relations. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Rutgers University, Rutgers College. Paul has also successfully completed the trial advocacy institute administered by the National Trial Advocacy College at the University of Virginia School of Law.

Paul is a frequent lecturer and presenter at continuing legal education (“CLE”) programs.