Paul M. da Costa, Partner
Medical Malpractice & Personal Injury

Throughout 2020, 2021 and 2022, Mr. da Costa was representing numerous families and staff members that have fallen victim to COVID-19 inside of long-term care 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. Mr. da Costa 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.  On September 7, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey published its findings in the investigation of the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Homes at Menlo Park and Paramus.  The report states that the U.S. Department of Justice finds “reasonable cause to believe that the State of New Jersey has systematically violated the Fourteenth Amendment rights of the residents of the Veterans Memorial Homes at Menlo Park and Paramus” and that those violations continue.  To view the report in its entirety, please visit https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/USDOJUSAO/2023/09/07/file_attachments/2607463/NJVeteransHomesFindings.Report.pdf.

Mr. da Costa is experienced and specialized in handling medical malpractice and negligence relating to the care and treatment of disabled children.  Mr. da Costa 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 addition, Mr. da Costa is currently representing parents of a 19 year old disabled son with congenital muscular dystrophy, confined to a wheelchair and required specialized one-to-one nursing care who died while being transported on a school bus. 

Mr. da Costa is dedicated to providing a voice to individuals that have been the victim of medical malpractice, nursing home /long-term care malpractice, infectious disease outbreaks, 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, infectious disease outbreaks in medical facilities, including hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities and ambulatory surgery centers, failure to diagnose cancer, obstetrical injuries, wrongful birth, and wrongful death. Mr. da Costa 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 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 $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, Mr. da Costa 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 2023, Snyder Sarno D'Aniello Maceri & da Costa LLC was ranked in the 2023 U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" Regional Tier 1 - New Jersey list in 6 practice areas including personal injury and medical malpractice.  In 2022, Mr. da Costa 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, Mr. da Costa was 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 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 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 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.   

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NBC 4 New York - Heartbroken New Jersey parents filed lawsuit after school bus death.
First Aired 8/7/2023

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

Attorney Paul da Costa represents dozens of family members of residents, employees, and current residents at New Jersey’s veterans homes. They’re suing the state for the vet homes’ responses to the COVID pandemic.

Watch our full report here: https://t.co/lFzq5HSbyy pic.twitter.com/akrpIfVqMA

— VICE News (@VICENews) October 15, 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

NJ Spotlight News - NJ Veterans Home COVID-19 Cases
First Aired 05/19/2022

Paralegal: Walter Ramos
wramos@snydersarno.com
425 Eagle Rock Avenue, Suite 100
Roseland, NJ 07068
(973) 274 - 5200 | Fax: (973) 274 - 5202

Paralegal: Christian Lopez
clopez@snydersarno.com
425 Eagle Rock Avenue, Suite 100
Roseland, NJ 07068
(973) 274 - 5200 | Fax: (973) 274 - 5202

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