David C. Cook

David C. Cook was admitted to the Bar of the State of New York in 1973, has been with the firm for 28 years and a partner at the firm since 1988.

He has focused on litigation for over 35 years, including aviation disasters, products liability, motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, job site and construction disasters, property and fire damage as well as flood insurance litigation.

He has served as vice-chair of the ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Section's Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, a member of the New York State Bar Association's Executive Committee for Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law, and Chairman of its Fire and Property Insurance Section.  He has been a member of the New York County Lawyers Association, American Bar Association and the American Association of Justice. 

He practices throughout the New York Metropolitan Tri-State area as well as nationally and has been admitted in many state and federal courts, including New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Utah, Georgia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

He has tried cases in federal and state courts the past 35 years and has been noted for his accomplishments by his peers and regularly named as one of "New York's Top Lawyers," "Best Lawyers in America," "The National Million Dollar Advocates Forum," as well as "America's Registry of Outstanding Professionals" and "Strathmore's Who's Who."

He is a co-author of the recognized three volume treatise "New York Law of Torts."

Mr. Cook prides himself and his firm in their hands-on approach in the aggressive representation of each of their clients and recognizes that each client's case is the most important in each of their respective lives.

He has litigated many high profile cases throughout the United States obtaining numerous multi-million dollar results, including:

• 1999 American Airlines Flight 1420 crash near Little Rock, Arkansas, Co-Chair of the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee
• 1999 Egypt Airlines Flight 990 crash off the Coast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts
• 1998 Swissair Flight 111 crash near Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
• 1998 Raytheon Beech Model 200 aircraft crash near Abidgan, The Ivory Coast
• 1996 United Express Beech 1900 runway incursion at Quincy, Illinois
• Catastrophic construction and premises litigation, including:
  •   1990 Happy Land Fire Disaster 
  •   1990 Elevated Subway Wrongful Death 
  •   1987 Fire Destruction of Long Branch Pier and Kids World Amusement Park (five month jury trial)
• Counsel to multiple plaintiffs in wrongful death litigations for product liability of General Motors in the design and production of its "X Car" design
• General aviation wrongful death litigations against manufacturers and maintenance organizations, including representation of a U.S. Naval Submarine Commander
• Dram Shop actions causative of wrongful death and quadriplegia
• 2002 Derailment of Amtrak Auto Train P052-18 near Crescent City, Florida
• Traumatic brain injury cases emanating from:
  • falls into elevator shafts
  • stairways and construction sites
  • turbulence on board commercial airlines (most recent million dollar result 2011)
  • Wrongful death of construction concrete worker resulting from 2008 collapse of a  Manhattan high  se superstructure (concluded 2011)
• Mr. Cook won a record setting verdict in New York State for a young man paralyzed as a result of an automobile accident under New York's prior vicarious liability laws.  He has written and lectured on the flawed 2005 Federal Graves Amendment which has since preempted state vicarious liability laws and exposed innocent victims to lives without needed comfort, care or necessary life extending medical attention.
• Actions against municipalities and states for wrongful death catastrophic personal injuries within various venues, including Court of Claims.
• Pending Second Avenue subway construction catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases.