Based in Los Angeles, Gary K. Kwasniewski is an experienced, pre-eminent lawyer who has practiced for over 32 years.
Recently selected as one of the TOP 100 Lawyers in California for 2013 by the Los Angeles/San Francisco
Daily Journal.
Gary Kwasniewski has reached the heights of professional excellence. He is “AV-rated”, the highest rating possible for legal ability and integrity by Martindale-Hubbell, a national lawyer directory (a rating that only about 12% of all lawyers nationwide achieve).
Gary Kwasniewski has Successfully Litigated and Tried Insurance Bad Faith Cases On Behalf of Individual & Small Business Policyholders
Since founding the Los Angeles law firm of Viau & Kwasniewski with his partner Jeanette L. Viau, Gary has developed a strong and effective expertise in pursuing catastrophic injury, wrongful death and insurance bad faith cases for his clients.
The law firm handles matters involving all types of insurance, including: Homeowner, Automobile, Motorcycle, Theft, Commercial Liability Policies, Truck Policies, Cargo Policies, Health Care Policies, Life Insurance Policies and Disability Policies. Viau & Kwasniewski has been very successful in cases involving insurance company refusals to pay, under payment of claims, refusals to defend, delay, and abuses of the appraisal, Examination Under Oath, and policy cancellation processes. Complex insurance dispute and insurance bad faith cases in California have become the primary specialty at the Law firm of Viau & Kwasniewski.
Gary Kwasniewski’s Product Liability experience includes cases involving chemicals, explosives, guns, solvents, PCBs, EMFs, cars, seatbelts, insecticides, indoor air pollutants, caustics, solvents, fumigants, defective packaging, farm machinery, forklifts, industrial explosions, bottled gases, military ordnance, bicycles, climbing equipment, hydraulic hoses, high pressure gas hoses, medical devices, and other products and chemicals.
Gary Kwasniewski Has Litigated and Tried Cases Involving Heavy Earthmoving Equipment & Construction Accidents
These Construction & Heavy Equipment cases have involved bulldozers, wheel tractor scrapers, wheel loaders, track loaders, excavators, wheel dozers, motor graders, asphalt removers, loader backhoes, trenchers and skid steer loaders. Most of these cases have dealt with serious injuries such as extensive third degree burns, paralysis from spinal cord injuries, de-gloving injuries, brain injuries, respiratory injuries, amputation, fractures, and/or cancer from exposures to carcinogens.
In addition Gary Kwasniewski has handled many cases involving wrongful death, toxic exposures and serious personal injury.
Gary Kwasniewski has tried cases in both California Federal District and State Courts in serious and complex matters.
Gary Kwasniewski is admitted to practice in California State Courts, the Federal District Courts in California and the Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is also admitted to practice in New York and has a license to practice in Ohio (presently inactive).
Additional Background on Gary K. Kwasniewski
Gary Kwasniewski graduated from Clarkson University in 1973, a very well regarded private engineering school in Potsdam, New York, with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering.
In July 1973, Gary Kwasniewski joined the Procter & Gamble Company (“P&G”) in one of its research and development divisions as an entry level engineer in Cincinnati, Ohio. At P&G he learned how to apply science and engineering in the real world as well as manufacturing, management and marketing in one of the largest and most successful international companies in the world. He was promoted to a group leader position and led teams of engineers and technicians in the development of large volume manufacturing processes that were transformed into multi-million dollar manufacturing plants.
Although the experience at P&G was positive, as Gary Kwasniewski gained valuable experience as an engineer and manager, he felt that engineering was not what he was destined to do for the rest of his life. In 1985, he graduated from Chase College of Law. He passed the Ohio and California bar exams in 1986. After 14 years as an engineer, Gary Kwasniewski left P&G and moved to Los Angeles. He began actively practicing law in 1988 at a medium sized law firm where he defended hospitals in medical malpractice and wrongful termination cases.
In 1989, Gary Kwasniewski joined the large litigation and trial firm of Haight, Brown and Bonesteel, where he defended major corporations in serious personal injury, toxic exposure and products liability actions.
In 1994, Gary Kwasniewski joined Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold in their Los Angeles office, where he continued his practice of defending large corporations in serious personal injury, toxic exposure and products liability actions. He was promoted to a partnership position in 1998 at Sedgwick. Although his experience in large trial law firms was that they are a great place to learn how to litigate and try complex cases, he felt that his true calling as a lawyer was to fight for the victims rather than the rich and powerful.
In 2000, Gary Kwasniewski left his partnership position at Sedgwick to use everything he learned working for insurance companies and defending large companies for the benefit of individuals/plaintiffs. He started the Los Angeles law firm of Viau & Kwasniewski with Jeanette Viau, an experienced insurance bad faith litigator and represents individuals and small businesses in insurance bad faith matters and individuals in serious personal injury, products liability, toxic exposure and wrongful death cases.
To contact Gary call (213) 842-8164, complete our online Contact Us Form, or send an e-mail to gkk@vklawyers.com.
For additional information, please see the “What We Do” web page.
