Douglas Sanchez

Biography

Douglas V. Sanchez is the managing partner of the New Jersey office of Cruser, Mitchell & Sanchez, LLC.  He has been certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a civil trial attorney and specializes in civil litigation.  Doug represents individuals, corporations, and insurance carriers in state and federal courts throughout New Jersey.  His practice emphasizes the areas of transportation and premises liability as well as civil rights, employment practice claims and commercial litigation.  In these areas, Doug has tried and arbitrated cases throughout New Jersey.

Doug is presently a member of the Bergen County Civil Practice Committee and New Jersey State Bar Associations.  He has served as chairperson and panelist on the Bergen County Fee Arbitration Panel, a member of the Juvenile Conference Committees for the Boroughs of Oradell, Lodi and Mahwah, a member of the Bergen Community College Legal Assistant Advisory Board, an adjunct professor at Bergen Community College, a director of the Hispanic Business Council of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey, Inc., legal counsel to the Hispanic Business Council Scholarship Foundation, Inc. and as Public Defender in Oradell, New Jersey.  Mr. Sanchez is fluent in Spanish.   Representative Cases/Experience: Successfully tried to defense verdict a wrongful death action in which Plaintiff’s 5 year-old daughter witnessed her mother’s death as a result of a horrific accident.  Plaintiff’s pre-trial demand was $7,000,000 and the trial judgment recommended a settlement in excess of $2,000,000. Successfully tried to defense verdict a head-on collision involving a commercial truck at a portion of a roadway under construction, resulting in Plaintiff being heliported to a local trauma center and undergoing four surgical procedures to his femur and hip. Successfully tried to defense verdict a medical malpractice claim wherein Plaintiff claimed that a resident physician and nurses should have foreseen a patient’s subsequent criminal conduct and utilized appropriate restraints. Successfully tried to defense verdict a medical malpractice claim against an orthopedic surgeon wherein it was claimed that Defendant should have reimplanted Plaintiff’s four severed digits. Successfully tried to defense verdict a medical malpractice claim wherein it was claimed that a pediatrician and nurses left an intravenous needle in the infant Plaintiff’s arm too long, resulting in significant and permanent neurological damage and scarring. Successfully tried to defense verdict a premises liability action wherein Plaintiff sustained significant injuries, requiring internal as well as external fixation devices, with a workers’ compensation lien in excess of $100,000.  Plaintiff’s pre-trial demand was $500,000. Successfully tried to defense verdict a premises liability claim wherein Plaintiff and an independent witness claimed Plaintiff slipped and fell due to a dangerous condition caused by Defendant, resulting in significant spinal damage and a recommendation for surgery. Obtained a dismissal by way of summary judgment in favor of a police officer in a civil rights case wherein Plaintiffs alleged that the Officer used excessive force in fatally shooting Plaintiffs’ decedent who was armed with a knife.  Summary judgment was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, finding that the Officer’s conduct was objectively reasonable and, thus, constitutional.  Certiorari was denied by the United States Supreme Court.  Obtained a dismissal by way of summary judgment in a race discrimination case against a corporation. Obtained a dismissal by way of summary judgment in a whistleblower/wrongful discharge claim  by a former employee against a public entity involving claims of improper campaign funding. Obtained a dismissal by way of summary judgment in a legal malpractice case involving a complex real estate transaction. Successfully tried to a verdict of $41,000 (representing Plaintiff’s medical bills) a product liability action wherein Plaintiff sustained multiple ligament tears to both knees, resulting in bilateral knee surgery with a recommendation for total knee replacements.  Plaintiff’s pre-trial demand was $500,000. Successfully tried to a verdict of $50,000 a product/premises liability claim wherein Plaintiff sustained a traumatic amputation of her left ring finger.  Plaintiff’s pre-trial demand was $400,000. Obtained a settlement at binding arbitration of more than four times the pre-arbitration offer in a shareholder dispute involving a multi-million dollar company. New Jersey counsel for the second largest waste management company in the United States. National counsel for an international cosmetics manufacturer.

Areas Of Practice:

  Civil Rights Commercial Bankruptcy Commercial Litigation Coverage Disputes Employment Liability Insurance Defense Personal Injury Premises Liability Products Liability Professional Malpractice Trucking/Automobile Liability Wrongful Death/Survivorship Named New Jersey Super Lawyer (top 5% lawyer) in 2010.   Certified Civil Trial Attorney, Supreme Court of N.J., 1994 Certifications/Specialties: New Jersey Florida U.S. District Court District of New Jersey U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit U.S. Supreme Court Rutgers Law School, Newark, New Jersey, 1989 Fairleigh Dickson University, B.A., 1986 Bergen County Bar Association, Trustee Bergen County Bar Association, Co-Chair - Civil Practice Committee Supreme Court of New Jersey District II-A Ethics Committee, Member, 2008-present Bergen County Division of Community Development, Member Hispanic Business Council Scholarship of NJ, Inc., Legal Counsel Bergen County Community College, adjunct professor,  2004-2008 Bergen County Community College Legal Assistant Advisory Board, Member, 2004-2008 Bergen County Fee Arbitration Panel, Chairperson and Panelist, 1997-2000   Fee Arbitration - Chairperson/Member, 1997 - 2000 Juvenile Conference Committee, 1997 - 2003 Supreme Court of New Jersey District II - Ethics Committee Member, 2008-present   Languages:   Spanish

Education

No information available.

Admissions/Licenses

• Bar Admissions: NJ, FL, CT, PA, NY, MA, IL