Paul M da Costa

Paul M. da Costa, Esq., is a partner at Snyder Sarno D’Aniello Maceri & da Costa LLC, and he is a certified civil trial attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Mr. da Costa is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)¹ and a Fellow of the prestigious Litigation Counsel of America and is admitted to practice law in both the State of New Jersey and the District of Columbia. Mr. da Costa has also been selected for inclusion in Woodward White’s The Best Lawyers in America. Specifically, he was selected in 2020 for the field of Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, and he was selected in 2021 in the fields of Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs and Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs.² In 2020, Mr. da Costa was also selected for inclusion in Thomson Reuters’ New Jersey Super Lawyers Top 100 list.⁴ He dedicates his practice to protecting the rights of all individuals that have been wronged through no fault of their own.

Mr. da Costa has substantial experience handling high profile cases that garner media attention on a national, state and local level. 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 and others.  He has a unique ability to offer his clients the care and compassion needed during their difficult times while simultaneously providing aggressive legal representation in the courtroom, in the media and the legislature.

Currently, Mr. da Costa is representing numerous families and staff members that have fallen victim to COVID-19 inside of nursing homes, such as the Veterans Memorial Homes at Menlo Park and Paramus and the Andover Subacute and Rehab facility where seventeen bodies were found piled up in a makeshift morgue.  In addition, Mr. da Costa also represents 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.”

Mr. da Costa is dedicated to providing a voice to individuals that have been the victim of medical malpractice, nursing home malpractice, car accidents, 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.

Mr. da Costa 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. Mr. da Costa has also handled motor vehicle accidents, bus crashes, pedestrian accidents, work site 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 in handling cases involving sexual tort claims against religious institutions and mental health professionals.

Through his tenacious and diligent advocacy, Mr. da Costa makes it his priority to “right the wrongs” that have been forced upon his clients. Mr. da Costa 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.  Mr. da Costa 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 $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 recently settled a $2.5 million case against New Jersey Transit (“NJT”) where his client was a pedestrian struck by an NJT bus.

In 2018, Mr. da Costa continued to get recognized for his work when the New Jersey Law Journal listed Mr. da Costa three times on their list of Top 20 Settlements and Verdicts. In 2017, Mr. da Costa again received recognition for his accomplishments while securing two spots in 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 Mr. da Costa and Mr. 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, Mr. da Costa 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 Mr. da Costa’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.

Mr. da Costa has been included on Thomson Reuters’ New Jersey Super Lawyer list from 2017 – 2020³, Thomson Reuters’ New Jersey Super Lawyers Top 100 list in 2020⁴, and Thomson Reuters’ New Jersey Rising Stars list in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.³ He is on the Board of Governors for the New Jersey Association for Justice (NJAJ).

Mr. da Costa 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. Mr. da Costa has also successfully completed the trial advocacy institute administered by the National Trial Advocacy College at the University of Virginia School of Law.

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

No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court. 

2003 – New Jersey

2004 – U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

2008 – U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

2009 – District of Columbia

2000 – B.A., Rutgers University

2003 – J.D., Seton Hall University School of Law

Mr. da Costa was also selected by his peers for inclusion in Woodward White’s The Best Lawyers in America; in the field of Personal Injury Litigation for 2020 (Copyright 2013 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC). The list is generated entirely on peer review. A further description of the selection methodology can be found here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

_{Mr. da Costa has been included in the New Jersey Super Lawyers list published by Thomson Reuters in 2017-2019. The list is generated using a patented selection process involving three basic steps: creation of the candidate pool using peer nominations; evaluations of candidates by the research department; and peer evaluation by practice area. Prior to that she was included on the Rising Stars List published by Thomson Reuters in 2008, 2010-2016. The list is generated using a patented selection process involving three basic steps: creation of the candidate pool using peer nominations; evaluations of candidates by the research department; and peer evaluation by practice area. A further description of the selection methodology can be found here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.}

_{Mr. da Costa has been included on Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers “Top 100” list for the New Jersey area. The Super Lawyers list is generated using a patented selection process involving three basic steps: creation of the candidate pool using peer nominations; evaluations of candidates by the research department; and peer evaluation by practice area. A further description of the selection methodology can be found here. Some states are broken into several regions, thus inclusion on the list does not mean that there are only 100 recipients in the state. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.}

NJ Spotlight News – Grand jury probes COVID-19 deaths at NJ veterans homes: First Aired 1/05/2021

NJ Spotlight News – It’s a race: COVID-19 vaccine vs. a second surge at nursing homes: First Aired 12/10/2020

NBC News – New Questions Over Outbreak at Veterans Nursing Home in NJ: First Aired 10/19/2020

Vice News – How NJ Failed its’ Veterans at a Nursing Home During COVID: First Aired 10/15/2020

NJ Spotlight News – NJ veterans home staff & families demand answers on COVID-19 deaths: First Aired 09/16/2020

NJTV News – COVID Death Count Higher than Reported: First Aired 08/17/2020

NJTV News – NJ Veterans Home COVID-19 Cases: First Aired 08/11/2020

NBC News – NJ Veterans Home COVID-19 Cases: First Aired 07/03/2020

NBC News – NJ Veterans Home COVID-19 Cases: First Aired 06/29/2020

NorthJersey.com – Wanaque Adenovirus Outbreak Cases: First Aired 10/19/2019

ABC7 Eyewitness News – Wanaque Rehab Center Cases: First Aired 12/03/2018

November 2020
$1 million settlement in a recurrence of cancer following surgery case.

May 2020
$1.69 million settlement in failure to timely diagnose and treat liver cancer case.

March 2020
$1 million settlement at trial in emergency medicine malpractice case.

March 2020
$847,500 combined pre-trial settlement and verdict in an emergency medicine malpractice case.

December 2019
$1.6 million settlement at trial in failure to timely diagnose and treat anastomotic leak.

October 2019
$1.275 million settlement in failure to timely diagnose and treat gastrointestinal cancer malpractice case.

June 2019
$3.2 million settlement in an anesthesia and cardiology malpractice case.

October 2018:
$2 million settlement in uro-gynecological medical malpractice case

April 2018
$4.5 million jury verdict in surgical medical malpractice trial.

January 2018
$8.5 million jury verdict in surgical medical malpractice trial.

October 2017
$1 million settlement in wrongful death case against the United States relating to care at the East Orange VA Hospital.

September 2017
$800,000 settlement in a failure to diagnose and treat subcutaneous melanoma case.

July 2017
$2.5 million settlement in 72-year old pedestrian hit by New Jersey Transit (“NJT”) bus case.

October 2016
$400,000 settlement from Co-Defendant homeowners results in $3 million total settlement in wrongful death action on behalf of seven-year old boy who perished in house fire.

April 2016
$2.6 million settlement in case against the State of New Jersey’s DCPP (formerly known as dyfs) in wrongful death of seven-year old boy.

February 2016
$1 million medical malpractice settlement in case against orthopedic spine surgeon relating to delay in timely diagnosing and treating cauda equina syndrome.

October 2015
$1.5 million medical malpractice verdict in case against ob/gyn relating to perforated uterus and small bowel during D&C hysteroscopy procedure.