Adam M. Slater

Adam M. Slater is a highly regarded New Jersey trial lawyer and a member of Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, LLC. Mr. Slater specializes in complex civil litigation cases, including mass torts against pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers, personal injury, medical malpractice, product liability, construction accidents, wrongful death, class actions and commercial litigation. He has established a national and international reputation as a hard nosed, creative courtroom lawyer who welcomes challenges and opportunities to fight for the rights of his clients.

Adam Slater has obtained numerous multi-million dollar jury verdicts at trial and multi-million dollar settlements for his clients, and his verdicts and settlements total in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Results will vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.  Examples of Adam Slater’s verdicts and settlements, which also demonstrate the wide scope of his experience, include the following: 

$358 million – Settlement of Benicar Federal MDL (see below)

$84 million – Value of settlement of class action against Volkswagen and Audi for breach of warranty

$68 million – Verdict in Pelvic Mesh product liability trial (see below)

$15 million – Verdict in Pelvic Mesh product liability trial (see below)

$14.7 million – Settlement of auto/pedestrian case for RSD/CRPS

$12.5 million – Verdict in Pelvic Mesh product liability trial (see below)

$11.1 million – Verdict in Pelvic Mesh product liability trial (see below)

$9.7 million – Verdict in hematology/oncology medical malpractice trial arising from bone marrow donation (verdict reduced by Court because the amount was found to be “shockingly” high)

$7 million – Settlement of construction site accident case for unsafe scaffolding involving back injuries and partial paralysis

$4.15 million – Settlement of product liability case involving closed head injury

$3.9 million – Settlement of ENT medical malpractice case arising from damage to eye during sinus surgery.

$3.5 million – Verdict in medical malpractice trial arising from hospital failure to communicate positive test results for Hepatitis C (verdict reversed on appeal based on workers compensation bar)

$3.45 million – Settlement of medical malpractice case for wrongful death due to failure to diagnose internal bleeding.

$3.25 million – settlement of breach of commercial lease case

$3.18 million – Settlement with Newark, NJ for unsafe road, causing car to go into Passaic River, and drowning death

$2.75 million – Settlement of medical malpractice case involving delayed diagnosis of nerve injury

$2.5 million – Settlement of ophthalmology medical malpractice case for failure to properly diagnose and treat glaucoma

$2.4 million – Settlement of class action on behalf of pharmaceutical sales representatives against pharmaceutical company for breach of contract

$2 million – Verdict in auto/pedestrian trial involving orthopedic and pelvic floor injuries

$1.9 million – Settlement of obstetrical medical malpractice case

$1.6 million – Settlement of train derailment case involving orthopedic and neurological injuries

$1.6 million – Settlement of Lasik medical malpractice case

$1.5 million – Settlement of construction site accident involving use of boom truck

$1.45 million – Settlement of Lasik medical malpractice and product liability case

$1.45 million – Verdict in Lasik medical malpractice trial

$1.4 million – Settlement of car/truck accident case involving orthopedic and neurologic injuries

$1.4 million – Settlement of car/motorcycle accident case involving orthopedic injuries

$1.2 million – Settlement in Cataract removal medical malpractice case

$1.01 million – Verdict in medical malpractice case for failure to remove a laparotomy pad at the end of cancer surgery

Many of Adam Slater’s largest settlements totalling in the hundreds of millions of dollars are confidential. Results will vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.  

In addition to his track record as a trial lawyer in the courtroom, Mr. Slater has extensive experience as an appellate lawyer, having argued many appeals, including in the New Jersey Supreme Court, New Jersey Appellate Division , and in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Adam Slater has taken a leadership role in large complex national litigations. He was appointed as plaintiffs’ lead counsel in New Jersey state court consolidated litigation involving thousands of pelvic mesh cases filed against Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon, Inc. and C.R. Bard, Inc. In February, 2013 Mr. Slater was lead trial counsel in the first pelvic mesh trial against Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon in the United States, resulting in a compensatory and punitive damages verdict of $11.1 Million. He has obtained additional pelvic mesh verdicts of $12.5 Million, $15 Million, and $68 Million with some of those cases later settled during or after the appeals by the defendants. Click here to learn more about the Pelvic Mesh Litigation.

Adam Slater’s leadership roles also include his appointment as co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the ongoing In re: Valsartan, Irbesartan, Losartan Federal Multi-District Litigation (“MDL”) in the District of New Jersey which involves economic loss class actions, medical monitoring class actions, and claims on behalf of individuals who got cancer related to the contamination of blood pressure pills with NDMA and NDEA, substances that are genotoxic, probable human carcinogens, and are used to give cancer to laboratory animals. He has also been appointed as lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the New Jersey State Court Multi-County Litigation (“MCL”) and as a plaintiffs’ Executive Committee member for the Federal MDL with regard to Allergan BIOCELL textured breast implants that cause BIA-ALCL, a form of lymphoma. He was also appointed as plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel for the Benicar (Olmesartan) federal MDL in the District of New Jersey, related to the manufacturer’s failure to warn of severe intestinal side effects very similar to celiac disease that settled for $358 Million. Mr. Slater was also appointed co-class counsel in a class action against Volkswagen and Audi that settled for benefits worth $84 Million. Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.

Adam Slater is routinely consulted by the media regarding complex litigation issues.  He has been interviewed by the media including Bloomberg News, the Wall Street Journal, and other outlets.

Adam Slater has also appeared and been featured in documentary films, including the critically acclaimed Netflix documentary The Bleeding Edge, which exposed the lack of effective safety regulation, and profit-driven misconduct, of the medical device industry, focusing on pelvic mesh, the Essure birth control device, and metal on metal hip implants. He has also appeared on podcasts, including for example The Great Trials Podcast https://www.greattrialspodcast.com/podcast/episode-102-adam-slater-mcginnis-v-cr-bard-inc-et-al-68-million-verdict, the Pain Game Podcast, https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-pain-game/25-the-hypocrisy-of-doctors-hQzoxrNkEUb/ and the Holistic OB-GYN podcast https://www.belovedholistics.com/blog/158..

Adam Slater has also established an international presence in his legal work. On February 24, 2015 Mr. Slater testified before the Scottish Parliament on behalf of severely injured women in support of a petition to ban pelvic mesh devices in Scotland.  He informed the Parliament of the horrible complications caused by the devices, deceptive marketing, manipulation of medical societies and medical journals, and the destruction by Johnson & Johnson of tens of thousands of relevant documents, among other topics during his testimony.  This testimony helped to persuade the Scottish government to ban pelvic mesh implants. Click here to read article.  Mr. Slater has also been interviewed by RADAR TV in the Netherlands, the BBC, and other international news outlets regarding product liability law.

Adam M. Slater has been designated by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney, a status earned by less than 2% of the attorneys in New Jersey.

Mr. Slater has been recognized by Super Lawyers and is listed in the Best Lawyers in America. He is also listed in the Law Dragon 500 leading consumer lawyers in the United States. Mr. Slater also has lectured on trial practice for the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the American Association for Justice, the New Jersey Association for Justice, Harris Martin, and at Mass Torts Made Perfect.

Mr. Slater’s educational background: Tulane University, B.A., 1989; Boston University, J.D., 1993, Paul J. Liacos Scholar, Edward F. Hennessey Scholar.

Mr. Slater is admitted in the following jurisdictions: New Jersey, District of New Jersey, Third Circuit Court of Appeals, New York, and has tried cases in numerous courts around the United States.

Mr. Slater is a member of the following organizations: New Jersey State Bar Association, Essex County Bar Association, American Association for Justice, and New Jersey Association for Justice.

Watch Adam Slater’s Opening Statement in the medical malpractice/wrongful death trial in Estate of David Tobe v. Trinity Hospital, et al., in the New Jersey State Court in October, 2014.