Your Zantac Case is in Good Hands with Our Firm
Lawyers refer cases to Wisner Baum for a number of reasons. In their own words, they like that we are “a strong group of lawyers” and that we “thoroughly understand the law and fight vigorously for the rights of their injury victims.” Referring and co-counsel lawyers find that we are a “pleasure to work with and bring vast knowledge and experience to every project” and that we are “always on the cutting edge of creative legal theories and exciting cases.”
Whether a firm simply wants to refer their cases or work them up with us, we welcome the opportunity to partner with like-minded lawyers, to hold wrong-doers accountable, and make a huge difference in the lives of our clients.
Michael Baum, Wisner Baum’s senior partner, is both an exemplary attorney and human being. He has flawless integrity, compassion and relentless commitment to the highest ideals. Those qualities have become the aspirational virtues for all the attorneys in the firm. During my many interactions with Wisner Baumlawyers, including multiple visits to their offices, this firm strikes me as an idyllic and joyful place to work. I have watched Michael and his partners during three month long trials and I have partnered with them in other lawsuits. They are all diligent, responsible and gifted attorneys. I want to say a word about one young partner, Brent Wisner. I have watched many of America’s greatest trial lawyers in action, but none better than Brent. Both judges and juries love him for his integrity, his lightening wit, easy humor, buoyant wit and infectious magnetism. His grasp of both science and law is encyclopedic. His greatest gift is his capacity to distill complexities into a simple and compelling cascade of moral outrage. His mesmerizing cross examinations begin as piercing and end in annihilation. Brent is a wrecking ball with charm. It’s no accident that all of the great plaintiff’s firms that are part of the Monsanto Multi-district litigation chose Wisner Baumto try the first three cases. You can’t get a more convincing endorsement than that.
-Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. | Kennedy & Madonna | First published in Best Lawyers®
Since 1973, Wisner Baum has obtained more than $4 billion in verdicts and settlements on behalf of clients across all areas of practice, which include cases other firms referred to us. Our firm has worked with hundreds of lawyers and law firms across the U.S. in every area of practice we litigate.
In 2018, The Miller Firm of Orange, Virginia, invited Mr. Wisner to serve as co-lead trial counsel in the first Monsanto Roundup case to go before a jury. The case, Johnson v. Monsanto Co., was the first case of three against Monsanto that Brent and a highly-skilled team of Wisner Baum lawyers, including Michael Baum and Pedram Esfandiary, and staff would help try, along with lawyers and support staff from The Miller Firm.
Brent delivered the opening and closing statements in Johnson, which culminated in a $289.2 million jury verdict.
In 2019, The Miller Firm invited us again to co-try the third Roundup cancer case against Monsanto on behalf of a California couple who alleged exposure to Roundup weed killer caused them to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Brent was honored to deliver the opening and closing statements in this trial as well. The jury trial of Pilliod et al. v. Monsanto Co. culminated in a $2.055 billion verdict for our clients, the eighth-largest personal injury jury verdict in U.S. history, according to CNN.
Andrus Wagstaff and The Moore Law Group invited Brent to join their trial team in the second Roundup trial, representing Edwin Hardeman. Brent presented one of the key fact witnesses for the plaintiff and cross-examined many of the corporate witnesses. The jury rendered an $80 million verdict in favor of the plaintiff.
In the Roundup litigation, our firm holds leadership positions in the federal multidistrict litigation and in cases consolidated in the California JCCP. In the past, members of the firm served on plaintiff steering committees in a wide variety of litigations, from commercial airline disasters to pharmaceutical product defect cases.
One of the First Law Firms in the Country to File Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Zantac Lawsuits
In October of 2019, Wisner Baum filed several of the first Zantac cancer lawsuits on behalf of multiple plaintiffs for personal injury.
Among other things, the Zantac lawsuits allege that the drug manufacturers knew they could turn a profit by convincing consumers that Zantac was harmless to humans, and that full disclosure of the true risks of Zantac would limit the amount of money they could make. Despite the fact that the makers of Zantac knew or should have known that Zantac posed a grave risk of harm, the lawsuits allege that the drug makers failed to exercise reasonable care to warn of the dangerous risks associated with use and exposure.
Our Team of Zantac Lawyers
Michael L. Baum – As senior managing shareholder and president of the firm, Michael Baum has successfully represented thousands of clients injured by defective drugs, medical devices, and other consumer products. He has an impressive understanding of biomedical and scientific research, clinical trials, statistics, and industry marketing schemes. He has been involved in numerous monumental verdicts and settlements and served in the leadership in several major litigations, including the Monsanto Roundup multidistrict litigation in federal court. Michael has been honored with numerous honors and awards.
R. Brent Wisner – The firm’s vice president, Brent Wisner has become one of the most feared trial attorneys in the country after handing Monsanto Company two court losses worth a combined $2.344 billion in jury verdicts. His work in the Monsanto litigation has earned him top accolades. He was named 2019 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyer of the Year by National Trial Lawyers and ALM and listed as one of “America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyers.” Law360 named him a “Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar,” a lifetime achievement award. In addition to his Monsanto work, Brent has handed numerous complex pharmaceutical and medical device claims and has been appointed to leadership positions in several mass torts.
Bijan Esfandiari – One of the firm’s leading pharma attorneys, Bijan Esfandiary has years of experience fighting for clients who have been harmed by drug companies and medical device makers. Bijan has successfully argued wrongful death and personal injury cases in state and federal courts across the United States.
Pedram Esfandiary – Named one of Law360’s Top 40 Under 40 Rising Stars, Pedram Esfandiary was a vital part of the three legal teams that obtained massive verdicts in the Monsanto Roundup litigation. For those verdicts, The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 honored Pedram and his colleagues with 2019 Trial Team of the Year and The National Law Journal and Trial Lawyer magazine awarded them 2019 Elite Trial Lawyers Mass Tort Trial Team of the Year.
Adam Foster – Recognized as a Super Lawyers “Rising Star,” a National Trial Lawyers “Top 40 Under 40” attorney, and a Best Lawyers “One to Watch,” Adam Foster focuses on class action and mass tort litigation. He has worked on major cases for the firm involving pharmaceuticals, consumer products, and product liability.
Helen Tokar – With nearly a decade of experience in personal injury law, Helen Tokar has handled a variety of matters related to complex and multidistrict litigation, toxic torts, consumer fraud, and pharmaceutical drug product liability. She has been honored as a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” and a Best Lawyers “One to Watch.”