Howard Janet, Managing Principal

Best Lawyers® 2012 Lawyer of the Year–Plaintiffs Personal Injury Litigation, Baltimore, MD
Maryland Super Lawyers ®
The Best Lawyers in America ®
Martindale-Hubbell® (AV)
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Howard Janet has been representing plaintiffs in complex civil litigation for more than 30 years in states across the country.  His efforts on behalf of clients have repeatedly produced record-breaking verdicts and settlements and have led to a national reputation for helping individuals and communities in three key areas:

• Medical malpractice, with an emphasis on handling cases involving brain injury and cerebral palsy often from mismanaged labor and delivery
• Pharmaceutical and medical device product liability
• Environmental litigation

Nationally Recognized for Legal Work

Howard Janet has been recognized for his expertise and ethics by the legal profession’s most respected peer review organizations. Best Lawyers in America® honored him as the 2012 Lawyer of the Year–Personal Injury, Baltimore, MD.   Martindale-Hubbell® has repeatedly awarded him its highest possible rating (AV), and  Best Lawyers in America® and Super Lawyers® have consistently identified him as one of the nation’s top attorneys. He has also been recognized in the media as a leading trial lawyer with cases reported on by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, ESPN, and Jet Magazine, among others. .

A substantial part of Mr. Janet’s career has been devoted to advocating for the rights of children who have sustained life-altering injuries from medical negligence or other wrongful conduct. Over the course of his career, Mr. Janet has investigated over 15,000 cases nationwide involving cerebral palsy, most often in the context of suspected obstetrical negligence. His expertise also has been called upon in child sexual abuse litigation, including the Penn State/Sandusky/Second Mile scandal.

Mr. Janet’s accomplishments on behalf of children with cerebral palsy have frequently broken new ground. In his efforts to achieve full justice for his clients and provide them with the peace of mind they deserve, he has won landmark verdicts and settlements in multiple jurisdictions. Among them are a $24 million verdict in the District of Columbia, and record-breaking $9.3 Million and $15.5 Million verdicts in Minnesota. Precedent-setting settlements have reached eight figures.

In other types of medical malpractice cases, he also has obtained exemplary results for his clients, often exceeding $10 Million. These cases have involved substandard care that caused brain damage unrelated to cerebral palsy, quadriplegia, paraplegia, misdiagnosed cancer, amputation, stroke, heart attack and death.

 Advocating for Rights of Victims

Expanding the rights of victims of medical malpractice has also been a focus of Mr. Janet’s career. His appellate court victories lengthened the statute of limitations for patients who are victims of fraud and malpractice, and established the right of brain damaged children to be compensated for future medical expenses when their parents’ claims for those expenses are barred by the statute of limitations. He also was instrumental in developing a national nonprofit organization, Cerebral Palsy Family Network, to help families find resources and share information.

Taking on Cases of Legal Malpractice

Mr. Janet has successfully represented clients who received improper representation by their prior medical malpractice attorneys. He has won many multimillion dollar recoveries in cases of this nature, including a $12 Million verdict for a previously botched anesthesia malpractice claim. Representation of clients in legal mal practice actions has involved missed statutes of limitations, failure to identify and sue appropriate defendants, failure to obtain expert support, failure to timely and effectively prosecute filed cases, and fraud.

Environmental and Toxic Hazards Cases

Howard Janet’s environmental experience includes claims involving medical monitoring, property damage and remediation arising out of mishandling of toxic materials.  Currently, he is representing clients in litigation in Ohio, Nevada,  and in New Jersey.   The state of New Jersey has retained Mr. Janet against a major oil company to recover extensive damages for harm to the state’s natural resources.

Representing Individuals and Communities Nationwide

Mr. Janet is a member of the Maryland bar.  Over the course of his career he has been specially admitted to represent clients in Minnesota, North Carolina, Illinois, Ohio, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Iowa, Tennessee, Nevada, and numerous other states.  Representation of clients in litigation outside of Maryland is accomplished in concert with local counsel and with the permission of the applicable state or federal court.

Dangerous Drugs and Medical Device Litigation

In pharmaceutical and medical device litigation,  Janet, Jenner & Suggs has represented  individuals and states including South Carolina and West Virgina.  Cases include Actos®, vaginal mesh, Prodaxa®, Propecia®, and shoulder pain pumps.

Legislative Testimony and Articles on Medical Malpractice

Howard Janet is also an active leader in the legal community. In addition to having testified before legislative bodies regarding issues of concern to people injured by medical malpractice, Mr. Janet has lectured to fellow attorneys on such subjects as “Maximizing Your Results in a Medical Malpractice Case,” “Birth Injuries and Brain Damage: Legal and Ethical Implications,” “Wrongful Death,” and “Settling a Medical or Legal Malpractice Case Before Suit.” Mr. Janet also served on the National Legal Education Advisory Committee of the American Bar Association Program entitled, “The Experts Analyze Brain Damaged Baby Cases.”

Community and Philanthropic Activities

Mr. Janet is a past president of the Gary I. Strausberg Foundation, Inc., a private, nonprofit institution dedicated to “the professional education of the legal community and the education of the public on issues of safety, the civil justice system, and the role of the jury.”   Mr. Janet has been a sponsor and participant in the United Cerebral Palsy of Maryland telethon. He also is actively involved in numerous community and philanthropic endeavors, having served as chairman of various organizations.

Education

• University of Baltimore School of Law, J.D – 1978 (cum laude) Heuisler Honor Society
• University of Maryland, B.S. – 1976; Kappa Tau Alpha (Journalism Honor Society)

Bar Admissions

• Maryland Bar
• U.S. District Court for District of Maryland

Memberships

• Maryland Trial Lawyers Association, Past Governor
• MTLA President’s Club, Founding Member
• Gary I. Strausberg Foundation, Inc., Past President
• American Association of Justice, Member

Public Service Activities

• National Legal Education Advisory Committee
• Cerebral Palsy Family Network
• Israel Bonds for State of Maryland, Past Chairman of the Board
• The Associated:  Jewish Federation of Baltimore, Past Board Member
• Shoshana S. Cardin School, Past Chairman
• Gilman School Capital Campaign, Parents’ Division Co-Chairman