Los Angeles, California
phone (888) 406-6726
fax (310) 820-7444
Email Me 

Ronald L. M. Goldman is a veteran trial lawyer; board certified as a civil trial lawyer, certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is the senior trial attorney for Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman.

He is a pilot and the head of the firm's aviation disaster litigation team. Ron taught for 21 years at Pepperdine School of Law as an adjunct Law Professor, where he created and taught the course on Aviation Accident Law.

Since 1969, Ron has been handling aviation cases and has represented passengers in many general aviation and airline disasters such as the 1972 British European Airways crash near London; the 1978 Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 / Cessna 172 Midair Collision at San Diego, California; the 1986 Aero Mexico Flight 498 / Piper Midair Collision at Cerritos, California; the September 11, 2001 aviation (passenger) tort litigation in which he also served on the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee; and the Continental Connection / Colgan Air crash near Buffalo in 2009.

He was the lead negotiator in one of Baum Hedlund's most significant aviation litigation achievements. Ron won, as part of the settlement agreement from the January 8, 2003 Air Midwest Flight 5481 crash in Charlotte, NC, the agreement of the airline and maintenance company, in an organized ceremony, to deliver an unprecedented official public apology to the families for the crash.

As the firm's senior trial lawyer, Ron is also involved in preparing its upcoming antidepressant injury and wrongful death trials. He first began handling pharmaceutical litigation in the 1960s, when he was involved in ground-breaking pharmaceutical litigation which helped pave the way for the drug product liability litigation lawyers are facing today. In that case, he helped expose Richardson-Merrell's, (later known as Marion Merrell Dow) cholesterol-lowering drug, MER/29 (triparanol) which was blamed for severe side effects and birth defects.

Ron is AV Peer Review Rated lawyer through Martindale Hubbell and is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, Who's Who in America, and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He is also published in Million Dollar Verdicts by the Masters and has been selected for inclusion in the 2005-2009 Southern California Super Lawyers.

As lead trial counsel, Ron won one of the largest verdicts in Ohio's state's history in December of 2006 for the death of an unmarried person in a Tyson Foods truck accident case in Brumfield v. Tyson Foods, Inc., N.D. Ohio Case No. 1:05CV847 before Judge Donald C. Nugent that resulted in a jury verdict of $7,028,687.

Ron Goldman has appeared in the media more than 350 times concerning aviation accidents and pharmaceutical drug product liability, including safety oversight issues.

Ron received his B.S.L. in 1960 and his law degree in 1962, both from the University of Southern California.

Certification/Specialties:

Certified Civil Trial Advocate , National Board of Trial Advocacy

Bar Admissions:

California, 1963

U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1963

United Kingdom High Court, 1972

District of Columbia, 1979

U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 1983

U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, 2006

U.S. District Court Eastern District of California, 2006

U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois, 2008

U.S. District Court Western District of New York, 2009

U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York, 2009

U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit, 1970

U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1973

U.S. Court of Federal Claims, 1974

U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit, 2008

U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit, 1977

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit, 1982

U.S. Supreme Court, 1971

Education:

University of Southern California Law Center, Los Angeles, California, 1962, J.D.

University of Southern California, 1960, B.S.L.
     Honors: Private Pilot License, USA (1980)

Published Works:

"Another Level of Justice: The Public Apology", Andrews Aviation Litigation, , Reporter,Volume 24, Issue 5 / April , 2006

Representative Cases:

U.S.A. vs. Moore, 427 F.2d 1020 (10th Cir. 1970)

People vs. Powell, 14 C.A.3d 693, 92 C.R. 501 ( 1971)

Cacciaguidi v. Elliott, 39 Cal.App.3d 261, 114 Cal.Rptr. 93 (Cal.App. 2 Dist. 1974)

Cacciaguidi v. Elliott, 39 Cal. Comp. Cases 963 (Cal.App. 2 Dist. 1974)

Drenzek vs. Inmont Corp., 57 C.A.3d 878, 129 C.R. 429 ( 1976)

Dassin vs. Darlene Knitwear, 387 F.Supp. 958 (USDC, D.Puerto Rico 1974)

Baxter vs. Superior Court, 19 C.3d 461, 138 C.R. 315 ( 1977)

Benjamins vs. British European Airways, 572 F.2d 913 (2nd Cir. 1978)

Cable vs. Sahara Tahoe Corp., 93 C.A.3d 1025, 155 C.R. 770 ( 1979)

La Pietra vs. Freed, 87 C.A.3d 384, 151 C.R. 554 ( 1979)

Flashman v. Superior Court (Pacific Southwest Airlines), 107 Cal.App.3d 117, 165 Cal.Rptr. 680 (Cal.App. 4 Dist. 1980)

Sevilla vs. Stearns-Roger, Inc., 101 C.A.3d 608, 161 C.R. 700 ( 1980)

Harris Corp. vs. Comair, 712 F.2d 1069 (6th Cir. 1983)

Gradus vs. Hanson Aviation, 158 C.A.3d 1038, 205 C.R. 211 ( 1984)

In Re Aircrash Disaster Near Cerritos, DiCosta vs. Aeronaves de Mexico, SA 973 F.2d 1490 (9th Cir. 1992)

Brooks vs. St. Mary's Hospital, 57 C.A.4th 241, 66 C.R.2d 820 ( 1997)

McCoy v. Southwest Airlines Co., Inc., 211 F.R.D. 381 (C.D.Cal. 2002)

McCoy v. Southwest Airlines Co., Inc., 208 F.R.D. 617 (C.D.Cal. 2002)

Tucker v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., (granting plaintiff's motion for reconsideration and holding that plaintiff's claims are not preempted by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act)., 596 F.Supp.2d 1225 (S.D.Ind. 2008)

Knipe v.SmithKline Beecham (Denying Defendant's motion for summary judgment and holding that plaintiffs' failure to warn claims are not preempted by the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act), 583 F.Supp.2d 553 (E.D.Pa 2008)

Knipe v. SmithKline Beecham (Denying defendant's motion for summary judgment and holding that defendant had a duty to issue warnings regarding off-label uses and also allowing plaintiff's claims for punitive damages to proceed to the jury), 583 F.Supp.2d 602 (E.D.Pa. 2008)

Collins v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 2008 WL 744070 (Pa. Ct.Com.Pl. 2008)

 

Classes/Seminars Taught:

Adjunct Professor of Law, Aviation Accident Law, Torts and Insurance, Legal Writing and Analysis, Pepperdine University School of Law, 1968 - 1989

Lecturer and Delegate, World Peace Through Law Conferences: New York, Manila, Madrid

Special Guest Lecturer, Christchurch Polytechnic, School of Broadcasting, Christchurch, New Zealand

Lecturer and Delegate, Shanghai School of Social Science, Shanghai, P.R.C.

Belli Seminars Lecturer

Town Hall Lecturer, Aviation Law, Product Liability, Personal Injury, Tort Law, Legal Malpractice, Right of Privacy, Medical Malpractice, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

Honors and Awards:

Listed, Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers

Published in Million Dollar Verdicts by the Masters

Southern California Super Lawyers, 2005 - 2009

Member, The Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, April 2, 2009 - Present

Professional Associations and Memberships:

State Bar of California

District of Columbia Bar

Public Justice

American Bar Association, The Forum on Air and Space Law, Litigation Section and Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section

The American Association for Justice, Aviation Law Section, STEP-Toxic, Environmental and Pharmaceutical Torts Section, Heparin Group 

Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association

Experimental Aircraft Association

World Jurist Association of the World Peace Through Law Center

Founding Member, World Association of Law Professors of the World Peace Through Law Center

International Bar Association

Lawyers Professional Liability Bar Association

Consumer Attorneys of California

Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles

Los Angeles County Bar Association

National Board of Trial Advocacy

Ostriches Anonymous Association (OAA), Promoting Aviation Safety and Risk Awareness

Life Member

September 11, 2001 Tort Litigation, September 11, 2001

Member, Plaintiffs' Executive Committee,

Paxil Products Liability Litigation, MDL-1574

Member, Lead Trial Counsel, Plaintiffs' Steering Committee

1998 Bell Helicopter crash in Los Angeles, California, 2006

Lead Trial Counsel

2004 Tyson Foods truck crash near Crestline, Ohio

Lead Trial Counsel

MDL-1953, Heparin Products Liability Litigation

Member, Plaintiffs' Steering Committee,

Pro Bono Activities:

Served as Chairman of the Board, and was a founder of the Family Assistance Program

Founder, General Counsel, The Women's Clinic