Timothy O’Brien

Levin Papantonio shareholder Timothy O’Brien is a board-certified civil trial attorney who concentrates his practice in the areas of mass tort litigation, product liability, personal injury, wrongful death, and transactional liability. Mr. O’Brien is rated “A-V Preeminent” by the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell lawyer peer-rating service (the “A-V Preeminent” rating is the highest rating an attorney can receive). In September 2018, Mr. O’Brien was appointed by the United States Southern District of Ohio as Co-Lead Counsel for the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in MDL No. 2846, In re Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation. In January 2021, he was appointed by the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey to the Plaintiffs Executive Committee and as the Discovery Chair in MDL No. 2973, In re Elmiron (Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium) Products Liability Litigation.

He previously served as Plaintiffs Steering Committee Lead Counsel for MDL No. 1789, In re Fosamax Products Liability Litigation, as co-chair of the Discovery Committee In re Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2100, on the Plaintiffs Executive Committee in In re Invokana (Canagliflozin Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2750, as national co-lead counsel in In re Cisco Systems Securities Litig., MDL No. 1527, as Discovery co-chair in In re Accutane Products Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1626, as Discovery co-chair in In re Medtronic, Inc., Implantable Defibrillators Product Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1726, as a member of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in In re Guidant Corp. Implantable Defibrillators Product Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1708, and served on the discovery committee of In re Phenylpropanolamine (“PPA”) Products Liab. Litig. , MDL No. 1407.

He has been interviewed by and extensively quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Pink Sheet, The Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg News, and by National Public Radio, CBS Radio, and Air America Radio, as well as several European national news organizations.

In recognition of his accomplishments representing the injured, Mr. O’Brien has been frequently chosen as one of the Super Lawyers by the annual publication of the same name. Further, in 2011, he was named by Florida Trend as one of the 2011 Florida Legal Elite, an honor bestowed upon fewer than 100 civil trial attorneys in the State of Florida.

After graduating with honors from the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law, Mr. O’Brien worked for two years as a law clerk for the Honorable William T. Moore, Jr., United States District Judge for the Southern District of Georgia. Mr. O’Brien then entered private practice in Georgia where he concentrated his practice in the area of federal civil litigation. He returned to his hometown of Pensacola and began practicing law with Levin Papantonio in the year 2000.

Year Joined Law Firm
2000

Areas of Practice
Mass torts
Personal injury
Product liability
Wrongful death
Transactional liability

Bar Admissions
Florida
Georgia
Mississippi
U.S. District Court Northern District of Florida
U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida
U.S. District Court Southern District of Georgia
U.S. District Court Middle District of Georgia
U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia
U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi
U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi
U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. Supreme Court

Education
Law Degree, University of Florida College of Law; Gainesville, Florida; 1995
Honors: With Honors
Honors: Vice-Chairman, Moot Court Board
Honors: University of Florida College of Law Award for Appellate Advocacy
B.A., University of Virginia, 1992
Honors: With Distinction

Published Works
Clients and Fees: Ethical Issues for Criminal Defense Attorneys (Co-Author), Vol. 4:4 Georgia Bar Journal 10, 1999
Fosamax: The Powers of Equity, Harris Martin Publishing, Vol. 5:5 Drugs and Supplements, 2006
Fosamax and the Public Hazards Discovery Doctrine, Product Liability Law & Strategy, Vol. 25: 1 & 2, 2006
Fosamax and the Risk of Osteonecrosis of the Jaw: Flying Under the Radar, Mealey’s Emerging Drugs & Devices, Vol. 11:17, 1-5, 2006
Drug Companies and Failure to Warn: The Case Against Fosamax, ALM Medical Malpractice Law & Strategy, Vol. 24: Nos. 5:1 & 6:1, 2007
The Bisphosphonate Irony: Fosamax-Induced Femur Fractures (Co-Author), Journal of the Florida Justice Association, Vol. No. 551: 26-31, 2011
Evidence: How Certain is “Reasonably Certain”, Journal of the Florida Justice Association, Vol. No. 599: 36-38, 2017
Invokana: The Diabetes “Wonder Drug” that Causes Amputation, Journal of the Florida Justice Association, Vol. No. 600: 30-33, 2018
Elmiron: A Failure of Vision, Journal of the Florida Justice Association, Vol. No. 615: 34-36, 2020

Professional Associations and Memberships
Florida Bar, member
Georgia Bar, member
Mississippi Bar, member
American Association for Justice, member
Florida Justice Association, member
American Bar Association, member

Representative Cases
As a trial lawyer, Mr. O’Brien tries several cases per year and has received numerous multi-million dollar verdicts and judgments. The most recent of these include:

Santa Rosa County, FL: $8.3 million personal injury verdict for man who suffered fractured ribs, femur, ankle, and calcaneus as a result of a collision with an 18-wheeler tractor trailer.
Columbus, OH: Lead trial counsel on final C-8 bellwether trial which resulted in a $670 million national settlement shortly before closing argument (environmental contamination liability)
Columbus, OH: $5.6 million verdict for a man who developed testicular cancer as a result of drinking C-8 contaminated drinking water (environmental contamination liability)
Columbus, OH: $1.6 million verdict for a woman who developed kidney cancer as a result of drinking C-8 contaminated drinking water (environmental contamination liability)
New York, New York: $8 million verdict for a 72-year-old woman who suffered osteonecrosis of the jaw as a result of taking Fosamax (product liability)
Dooly County, Georgia: $1.25 million wrongful death verdict for the death of a truck driver in a middle-of –the-road collision (motor vehicle personal injury and wrongful death)
Escambia County, Florida: $7 million verdict against pharmaceutical company Hoffman-LaRoche, Inc., on behalf of a young man who developed inflammatory bowel disease as a result of taking the popular acne medication, Accutane (product liability)
Santa Rosa County, Florida: automobile wreck verdict in the amount of $1.2 million for the non-paralyzing fracture of a woman’s cervical vertebra (motor vehicle personal injury)
Mobile County, Alabama: judgment in the amount of $12 million for a brain-damaged child (Mobile County, AL) (personal injury)
Escambia County, Florida: wrongful death verdict in the amount of $2.4 million for the death of a construction superintendent (trucking personal injury and wrongful death)

Prior Employment
Oliver Maner & Gray LLP; Savannah, Georgia (1997-2000)
Hon. William T. Moore, Jr., United States District Judge for the Southern District of Georgia, law clerk (1995-1997)