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George E. McLaughlin

McLaughlin Law Firm

5.0 (1 reviews)
Colorado
After more than 30 years of success in trying product liability cases at the national level, Mr. McLaughlin is uniquely qualified to handle claims involving defective or dangerous products.
Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer in Denver

Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer in Denver

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5

George was brought in to consult on our case after my husband was seriously injured in a bike crash due to a carbon fork failure. He thoroughly impressed us with his interrogation of oversees bike manufacturing and the process of laying up carbon fiber forks by hand. With his help, we made a formidable case against a giant in the bicycle industry. I admire his passion and highly recommend him.
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George was brought in to consult on our case after my husband was seriously injured in a bike crash due to a carbon fork failure. He thoroughly impressed us with his interrogation of oversees bike manufacturing and the process of laying up carbon fiber forks by hand. With his help, we made a formidable case against a giant in the bicycle industry. I admire his passion and highly recommend him.

About George

Mr. McLaughlin has more than 34 years’ experience as a trial lawyer, trying over 100 jury trials to verdict in State and Federal Courts across the country. He focuses his practice on representing victims of defective medical devices and consumer products. Mr. McLaughlin also is a national expert on Wright Medical Profemur hip fracture cases, and electric blanket and heating pad fires. Mr. McLaughlin is former chair of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Product Liability Section, and a member of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Board of Directors. He is a frequent author and speaker on continuing legal education issues related to the trial of product liability cases.

Education and Experience

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Mr. McLaughlin considers Wheeling, West Virginia to be his home town. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 1976, and the University of Denver College of Law in 1979, he returned to his home town of Wheeling to practice law and have a positive impact on his community. George spent the first 21 years of his legal career as a partner in the Wheeling law firm of Bachmann, Hess, Bachmann and Garden, while also serving as the Municipal Judge of the City of Wheeling for 10 years. It was in West Virginia that Mr. McLaughlin honed his skills as a trial lawyer, trying a variety of civil cases from automobile and truck crash cases, to complex medical malpractice and product liability injury and death cases. George developed particular expertise in representing families with children who had suffered catastrophic brain injuries as a result of Group B Streptococcal (GBS) bacterial infections acquired at birth. Having published and lectured on that subject, George represented the families of children across the country that were affected by this devastating infection.

Coming off a trial in 1995 that resulted in a multi-million dollar settlement for a little boy affected by GBS, George was asked to look at a potential case involving the death of a woman in a house fire suspected to have been caused by an electric blanket. Little did he know that case would send him on an 18-year journey that continues to this day, representing victims of fires caused by electric blankets and heating pads.

After several cases against Sunbeam, the largest manufacturer of electric blankets sold in the United States, George persuaded the ABC News program 20/20 to produce an exposé of this product and the fires that electric blankets have caused. The 20/20 exposé aired on April 16, 1999. To date, George has represented nearly 100 victims of electric blanket and heating pad fires and injuries more than 35 States. Tragically, more than a dozen of those cases involved a death or horrific burn injuries. Electric blanket fires continue to occur.

Publications, Memberships and Associations

Mr. McLaughlin is a frequent lecturer at state and national trial lawyer continuing legal education seminars.

He has also published several articles in attorney journals, including TRIAL, the Journal of the American Association for Justice. However, it is not only attorneys who have in interest in Mr. McLaughlin’s professional work. He has been invited to speak at state and national seminars of fire investigators and insurance industry professionals, including the International Association of Arson Investigators, and the National Association of Subrogation Professionals. He's been designated a Colorado "Super Lawyer" from 2007 to 2018. He is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocacy (ABOTA), the West Virginia Association for Justice, and Public Justice. He has also published articles in Fire Findings, a journal that is a reference resource for fire investigation professionals. He has also been published in TRIAL, Products Liability Law Reporter, and Trial Talk.

Mr. McLaughlin has been admitted by examination and remains in good standing to the State Bars of Colorado, Ohio, and West Virginia. He is also a member in his own right to fifteen Federal District Court Bars, four Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the American Association of Justice (AAJ), where he is past Chairman of the Product Liability Section, founder of the Electric Blanket Fire Litigation Group, and co-chair of the Wright Medical Hip Litigation Group. He is also a member of the AAJ Political Action Committee, Membership Committee, and Finance Committee. In Colorado, Mr. McLaughlin has serves as a member of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Board of Directors, as well as co-chair of its Product Liability Committee.

Outside the Courtroom

Mr. McLaughlin’s interests are not limited to the law. During his years in West Virginia he served in a wide variety of community service positions. For several years he was a board member, and then president, of The Friends of Wheeling, one of the oldest historic preservation advocacy organizations in the United States. He also served as an appointed member of the Wheeling Center Market Commission, the board of directors of the local division of Salvation Army, and the West Virginia Literacy Council. At the request of the Governor of West Virginia in 1994, Mr. McLaughlin headed the successful effort to bring to Wheeling one day of the week-long West Virginia K-Mart Classic Tour of West Virginia, profession bicycle race. The following year he served as the state-wide liaison with the Governor’s office for all six host cities for the race. Mr. McLaughlin also lead West Virginia’s successful bid to the USA Cycling Federation to be one of the host venues for the 1996 U.S. Olympic Cycling Trials. Mr. McLaughlin’s prior experience in West Virginia, and his continuing passion for professional cycling, lead to the Governor of Colorado to appoint him in 2010 to a committee to bring professional cycling to Colorado. The result was the 2011 inaugural year of the U.S. Pro Cycling Challenge. Now in its third year, the US Pro Challenge [unofficially called by its Tour de France level participants as the “Tour of Colorado”] has in just three years become the largest and most watched professional cycling race in the United States, with over one million spectators.

Finally, Mr. McLaughlin has always remained active in his college alumni association. For several years he was a board member and then president of the Notre Dame Club of the Ohio Valley. After moving to Denver, he served for two years as president of the Notre Dame Club of Denver. It was during his tenure as president of the Denver Club that the University of Notre Dame Alumni Association bestowed upon the Denver Club its Lennon Award, recognizing Denver Notre Dame Club as the number one club among the University’s more than 200 world-wide chapters. Mr. McLaughlin, a winner of an ND Athletic Monogram as a student, now is a regional representative to the Notre Dame Monogram Club.

To learn more and ask questions about your particular case, contact Denver accident attorney George E. McLaughlin today.

Publications

Investigating the Neonatal Group B Strep Case

Trial, Journal of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America May 1998, Pg. 42.

Fire in the Night (electric blanket fires)

Trial, Journal of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, November 1999.

Special Report - Electric Blanket Fires

Fire Findings, Fall 2000, Vol. 8, No. 4.

Mining Discovery In Other Cases

TRIAL, Journal of the American Association for Justice Vol. 43, No. 11, p. 32 (Nov. 2007) (with William J. Hansen).

Toxic Hip Replacements

TRIAL, Journal of the American Association for Justice Vol. 48, No. 2, (February 2012).

Medical Device Litigation in the post-Lohr and Riegel World

Trial Talk, Journal of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association

January 2013

Case In Point: Laser Orientation Mark was Burned too Deeply, Causing Hip Implant to Fail.

Products Liability Law Reporter, American Assoc. for Justice

July 7, 2015

Finding The Right Balance

TRIAL, Journal of the American Association for Justice Vol. 53, No. 3, p. 46

(March, 2017)

Papers and Presentations

Neonatal Group B Strep Injuries and Death

American Trial Lawyers Association

Annual Convention, Washington, DC

July 14, 1998

Investigating Electric Blanket Fires

International Association of Arson Investigators - Arkansas Chapter Annul Convention, Hot Springs, AR

October 27, 2000

Glade Plug-Ins Fires

American Trial Lawyers Association

Annual Convention, Toronto, Canada

July 23, 2005

Investigation of Electric Blanket and Heating Pad Fires

International Association of Arson Investigators

Annual Convention, Denver, CO

April 29, 2008

Electric Blanket & Heating Pad Fires

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, Philadelphia, PA

July 15, 2008

How to Use Discovery from Other Product Liability Cases

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA

July 28, 2009

Other Similar Incidents

American Association for Justice

Winter Meeting, Maui, HI

January 31, 2010

DePuy Hip Failures

American Association for Justice

Winter Meeting, Miami Beach, FL

February 6, 2011

DePuy Hip Failures

Western Trial Lawyers

Winter Meeting, Vail, CO

February 26, 2011

DePuy Hip Failures

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, New York, NY

July 13, 2011

Medical Devices & Other Product

Colorado Trial Lawyers Association

Annual Convention, Steamboat Springs, CO

August 5, 2011

Electric Blanket and Heating Pad Failures

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, Chicago, IL,

July 28, 2012

Medical Device Update

Colorado Trial Lawyers Association

Annual Convention, Steamboat Springs, CO

August 10, 2012

Wright Medical Hip Failures

American Association for Justice

Weekend with the Stars, New York, NY

December 8, 2012

Titanium Failures in Consumer Products & Medical Devices

Western Trial Lawyers

Association Summer Meeting, Maui, HI

June 13, 2013

Titanium Product Failures

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA

July 21, 2013

Wright Medical Hip Failures Update 2013

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA

July 21, 2013

Cross Examination Survival Techniques:

What Every Expert Should Know

SEAK Expert Annual Conference Orlando, FL

May 4, 2014

Expert Witnesses: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Western Trial Lawyers Association

Summer Meeting, Maui, HI

June 12, 2014

Bicycle Cases: Emerging Issues and Litigation Trends

American Association for Justice - Webinar

June 19, 2014

Wright Medical Hip Failures Update 2014

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, Baltimore, MD

July 27, 2014

Wright Medical Hip Failures Update 2014

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, Baltimore, MD

July 27, 2014

What to do with Just One Case in an MDL of Thousands

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, Baltimore, MD

July 29, 2014

Ethical and Practical Considerations of Co-Counseling

Western Trial Lawyers Association

Summer Meeting, Maui, HI

June 6, 2015

Wright Medical Hip Failures Update 2015

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, Montreal, Canada

July 12, 2015

Panel: Problems in Products Litigation from Discovery to Foreign Defendants

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, Montreal, Canada

July 14, 2015

Wright Medical Hip Failures Update

American Association for Justice

Winter Meeting, Boca Raton, FL

February 28, 2016

Cross Examination of the Repeat Expert Witness

Western Trial Lawyers Association

Winter Meeting, Steamboat, CO

February 2016

Ethical and Practical Considerations of Co-Counseling II

Western Trial Lawyers Association

Summer Meeting, Maui, HI

June 8, 2016

Litigation at Sunrise: Preparing a Consumer Products Liability Case

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, Los Angeles, CA

July 25, 2016

Pitfalls and Ethics of Co-Counseling

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, Los Angeles, CA

July 23, 2016

Ethical and Practical Considerations of Co-Counseling

Colorado Trial Lawyers Association

Annual Convention, Steamboat Springs,Colorado

August 4, 2016

Wright Medical Hip Failures Update 2016

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, Los Angeles, CA

July 22, 2016

Wright Medical Hip Failures Update 2017

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, Baltimore, MD

July 23, 2017

Wright Medical Hip Failures Update

American Association for Justice

Winter Meeting, Maui, HI

February 3, 2018

Ethical Considerations in Settlements

Western Trial Lawyers Association

Summer Meeting, Kona, HI

June 13, 2018

Wright Medical Hip Failures Update 2018

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, Denver, CO

July 9, 2018

Ethical Considerations in Settlements

American Association for Justice

Annual Convention, Denver, CO

July 10, 2018

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