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Tom Kline
In three decades of practicing personal injury law, Thomas R. Kline has forged an incomparable record of courtroom victories -- some with remarkable results against seemingly incredible odds. As a result Kline has received a litany of accolades and recognition, including his elected position as immediate past president of the Inner Circle of Advocates, described by The Washington Post as "a select group of 100 of the nation's most celebrated trial lawyers."
Kline also has been honored for eight consecutive years, 2004 through 2011, as the No. 1 attorney in Pennsylvania by Super Lawyers magazine. He was also chosen in 2010 and 2011 as among the top 500 "Leading Lawyers in America" and as “the leading personal injury plaintiffs' lawyer in Pennsylvania” by the survey group Lawdragon, which also called Kline “one of Philadelphia’s legendary litigators.” The publication Best Lawyers selected Kline as Philadelphia Personal Injury Litigator of the Year for 2009 and Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year for 2010 while listing him among the nation's best lawyers every year since 1995. Kline was named to the National Law Journal's Winners Hall of Fame. And Kline was referred to recently by the Editorial Board of the The Philadelphia Inquirer as "the high-powered plaintiffs' attorney... who has won a number of eight-figure awards for clients injured or killed due to negligence or incompetence by businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit health-care providers."
Yet Kline, a former sixth grade school teacher from Hazleton, Pa., counts among his greatest honors the letters of thanks he has received from people and families he has represented, clients who suffered severe injuries or the loss of a loved one, clients for whom he was able to obtain a measure of justice.
Kline has appeared on hundreds of television news programs and been featured or quoted in hundreds more newspaper and magazine articles. In a cover story, the Philadelphia Daily News summarized Kline’s career in a profile titled "Wheels of Justice: The lawyer who beat SEPTA," an article in which Kline was described as "the Babe Ruth of personal injury litigation." The newspaper story followed the celebrated Hall v. SEPTA case, which resulted in a $51 million verdict for a four-year-old boy whose foot was torn off in a subway escalator. The 1999 case against the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority also resulted in Kline's selection to the "Winners" edition of The National Law Journal, which included him among "Ten of America's Top Litigators." In 2009 the publication selected Kline to its Winning Hall of Fame as one of fewer than 100 lawyers selected for compiling “significant bench or jury trial verdicts and who has a record of success over many years.”
Kline is known for his expertise in a courtroom, particularly his examination of witnesses and his moving opening and closing arguments. More than anything, he is known for getting results. Among his other better-known cases are:
- A $33.1 million jury award by a Lehigh County jury in Welteroth v. Spectrascan to the estate of a woman late diagnosed with breast cancer.
- The Sears case in which $15.2 million was awarded to a child who suffered brain injury during heart surgery.
- The Borkowski case in which a jury awarded $15 million to a Downs Syndrome child injured during heart surgery.
- An Indiana County jury’s multi-million dollar verdict in the Chichy case for a baby injured during delivery.
- A Montgomery County jury’s multi-million dollar verdict for the estate of a woman who died of breast cancer after a doctor misread her mammogram. The Lackman case was featured on ABC's Nightline.
- A $40.5 million settlement for six people killed and others injured in an explosion and fire at the Village Green apartment complex in Hatboro, Pa.
- The $36.4 million settlement with Motiva Enterprises for the death of a worker in an oil refinery explosion. The settlement was believed to be the largest-ever in the nation for a single worker death.
- A $29.6 million settlement for three women who were killed and others who were injured in the collapse of Pier 34 on the Delaware River, a case in which Kline was co-lead counsel.
- A $10 million agreement in the highly publicized Cozzolino case in which a kindergarten student was killed when a lunch table collapsed on him in the school cafeteria.
- The Keen case, in which Kline won an $18.5 million jury verdict for a 12-year-old girl who suffered heart damage due to a medical error.

Tom Kline as featured in Super Lawyers 2004 magazine.
Most recently, Kline won a $14 million verdict for a teenager whose leg was amputated after she was run over by a school bus. The December 2011 verdict for Ashley Zauflik against the Pennsbury School District was reportedly the largest-ever in Bucks County Common Pleas Court. (See extensive news coverage)
Kline also was representing one the victims in the Pennsylvania State University child sexual abuse matter and was featured in numerous television and newspaper stories about the scandal. (View coverage)
Earlier in 2011, Kline obtained a settlement against an unlicensed psychotherapist who had sex with a teenage patient. The agreement came with a mandated public admission and apology in open court by the Allentown therapist. The settlement with two of the therapist’s employers was for $1.8 million but the actual payment was expected to reach as much as $3.8 million pending further litigation with insurance companies. (See The Thatcher Case).
Kline in December 2010 won a $5.2 million jury verdict for the family of a Philadelphia woman who developed internal bleeding following a routine procedure and died after doctors failed to treat the condition in time. (See The Sacks Case)
Earlier in 2010, Kline settled for $10.5 million a federal lawsuit in the case of a Philadelphia teenager who died after he was placed in a restraint hold at a Tennessee treatment center. Defendants included the City of Philadelphia and its Department of Human Services, which had sent the troubled youth to the facility. (See Leach)
In 2009, Kline won a $3.2 million settlement for the husband of a Wayne County woman who was killed when her car struck a piece of farming equipment that broke loose from an oncoming truck. The settlement was believed to be the largest ever in the rural northeastern Pennsylvania county. (See Curtis)
In 2008, Kline won a $5.5 million jury verdict for the family of an 18-year-old man fatally shot while working as a parking lot attendant at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia. The hospital had failed to improve safety and security after an armed robbery at the same exit booth only 12 days earlier. (See Palmer)
In addition to his full catastrophic injury practice, Kline has been, as stated by The Wall Street Journal, a “key player” in the litigation over Vioxx, the pain medication removed from the market in late 2004. He is a member of the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee directing the federal MDL proceedings against Merck & Co. Kline took the testimony of top Merck executives and independent scientists which became key evidence at trial in numerous multi-million dollar awards against Merck and helped lead to a $4.85 billion settlement in which hundreds of Kline & Specter clients will benefit.

American College
of Trial Lawyers

International Academy
of Trial Lawyers

A Conversation with Tom Kline,
CLE program July 2011
Tom Kline grew up in the Pennsylvania anthracite coal region, son of a dress factory manager, and graduated from Albright College, where he has been honored with the school's Distinguished Alumni award. Kline began his professional career not as a lawyer but as a middle school teacher, teaching sixth grade social studies. He attended Lehigh University, where he earned a master's degree in American History and completed all of the Ph.D. course work. Kline then attended Duquesne University School of Law, where he graduated with the school's Distinguished Student Award and just this year received its Distinguished Alumni Award (see more). He went on to work as law clerk to Pennsylvania Supreme Court for Justice Thomas W. Pomeroy.
Kline's private legal career quickly blossomed, first at The Beasley Firm in Philadelphia and later, when he joined forces with Shanin Specter to open their own firm in 1995.
In the early 1980s Kline won a $5.1 million verdict against the makers of the Dalkon Shield, at the time the largest compensatory verdict in the United States against the maker of the defective birth control device. Later, in an epic legal struggle that spanned 16 years against a drug manufacturer, Kline won multi-million dollar punitive damage awards twice against Merrell Dow for its manufacture and sale of a prescription drug. (See Blum.)
Kline has been a prolific teacher of continuing Legal Education. Recent CLE's include: “A Conversation with Tom Kline,” a major event at the PaTLA July 2011 annual meeting, and his program “Tom Kline’s Real World in the Courtroom: Real Testimony, Real Trials" at Drexel University. He delivered the keynote address at the Bench-Bar & Annual Conference sponsored by the Philadelphia Bar Association in Atlantic City in October 2011. Atlantic City in 2011. Kline starred in the latest version of his Trial as Theatre series, this one titled "Bob Dylan: Music, Lyrics and the Law" and performed at the Wilma Theater, in November 2011. (more ...)
Kline is a frequent lecturer at law schools, medical schools and continuing legal education programs. He has taught at many institutions from Temple University Beasley School of Law to Jefferson Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. Kline has also taught complex litigation at The National Judicial College in Reno, Nev., and addressed the Conference of State Trial Judges at its annual meeting in 2010 on Medical Malpractice. In 2003, Kline was featured in the acclaimed Masters on Trial seminar. And Kline is the producer, director, writer and performer in the acclaimed one-man show "Trial As Theatre (TM)" as well as The Modern Trial and Tom Kline on Technology. He is the author of "Robert C. Grier: Jacksonian Unionist" and is the author of numerous other published articles. He recently wrote an Op-Ed piece for The Philadelphia Inquirer titled "Immunity Is Bad Medicine."
Kline served U.S. Senators Specter, Heinz, Santorum and Casey on the Federal Judicial Nominating Commission for the United States District Court for federal courts in Pennsylvania from 1989 through 2011. The 14-member citizen merit selection panel has screened applicants for the federal bench and made recommendations to the two senators from Pennsylvania, who in turn recommended candidates to the President of the United States. Kline served as Chairman of the Eastern District panel from 1998 to 2010. As of 2011, every active member of the USDC ED Pa. was screened and recommended by the Commission. (read article)
Kline is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New York. He is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and other federal courts.
Kline is listed in Best Lawyers in America and in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He is AV-rated in Martindale-Hubbell and is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, which limits membership to 500 attorneys in the United States recommended by their peers and trial judges for outstanding skills and abilities as well as character and integrity. Kline was also selected for the 2007 edition of the World's Leading Product Liability Lawyers.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and serves as vice chairman on the Board of Advisors of the Drexel University Earle Mack School of Law and the Board of Advisors of WXPN, the University of Pennsylvania public radio station.
Kline is an avid Philadelphia sports fan who is often found behind home plate at Phillies games and courtside at Sixers games (read the article)
To contact Tom Kline, email him at
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More About Tom Kline
- More about Tom Kline's Notable Cases...
- More about Tom Kline's Seminars...
- "Immunity Is Bad Medicine" - Tom Kline Philadelphia Inquirer Op-Ed, 3/7/2008
- See Tom Kline On Trial Technology
Tom Kline on TV and Radio

- Tom Kline interviewed about Penn State case, CBS 3 - 12/8/11, 6am; CBS 3 - 12/8/11, 5am; CW 57 - 12/8/11, 7am; 1210am Big Talker - 12/9/11 (More Coverage)
- Kline, Caputo win $14M verdict in Pennsbury school bus accident case, CBS 3 - 12/5/11, 6pm; CBS 3 12/5/11, 11pm; NBC 10 12/5/11; Fox 29 12/5/11 (More Coverage)
- Closing arguments to begin in Zauflik case, NBC 10 News 12/1/11
- Trial begins in Zauflik case, NBC 10 News 11/30/11
- Tom Kline comments on Penn State matter, Fox 29 - 11/15/11; Fox 29 11/14/11; CBS 3 - 11/14/11; NBC 10 11/14/11;
- Tom Kline comments on city DROP program, Fox 29 2/18/11 7:40am; 6pm; 10pm
- Tom Kline mentioned on Good Day Philadelphia, 12/16/11
- Tom Kline on student death due to silicone injection, Fox 29 2/9/11
- Kline, Inscho, Baldwin obtain $1.8M in psychologist sex case, Fox 29 2/1/11
- Tom Kline comments on W. Phila. abortion clinic case, Fox 29 1/21/11
- Tom Kline discusses NEJM report, Sacks case, Fox 29 12/7/2010
- Tom Kline on New York child lawsuit ruling, Fox 29 11/3/10
- Tom Kline comments on bone cement deaths, Fox 29 10/5/10
- Tom Kline comments on massive Fisher Price recall, Fox 29 9/30/10
- Tom Kline comments on school bullying civil suits, Fox 29 8/26/10
- Tom Kline interviewed on lawsuits over school bullying, Fox 29 8/25/10
- Tom Kline analyzes duck boat tragedy, 7/8/10 - ABC 6; Fox 29
- Tom Kline comments on distracted bus drivers, ABC 6 5/20/10
- Tom Kline comments on Oprah Winfrey's defamation case, Fox 29 3/23/10
- Tom Kline on the medical malpractice debate, Fox 29 3/18/10
- Kline & Specter files suit in school bus case, 3/15/10; CBS 3, 11pm; CBS 3, 6am; Fox 29, 10pm; Fox 29, 7am; ABC 6
- Tom Kline speaks on the danger of Poligrip, CBS 3 3/10/10
- Tom Kline files suit in Poligrip case, CBS 3 3/8/10
- Tom Kline comments on case of patient denied hospital care,Fox 29 - 3/3/10; CBS 3 - 3/3/10; ABC 6 - 3/3/10; Good Day Philadelphia - 3/2/10
- Tom Kline comments on West Phila. abortion clinic case, Fox 29 2/25/10
- Tom Kline testifies before City Council Committee on the Rivera case, NBC 10 2/2/10
- Tom Kline interviewed on "sexting" case, Good day Philadelphia 1/15/10
- Tom Kline interviewed on the possible hazards of Zhu Zhu Pets, Fox 29 12/8/09
- Tom Kline comments on ER waiting room death, death, robbery CBS 3 12/3/09
- Tom Kline comments on dangerous toys, Good Day Philadelphia 12/2/09
- Tom Kline interviewed on child death case, Fox 29 10/23/09
- Tom Kline warns viewers about handbag hazards, Good Day Philadelphia, 9/16/09
- Tom Kline addresses cheerleading injuries, Good Day Philadelphia, 8/25/09
- Tom Kline comments on beating death outside McFadden's pub, Fox News 7/29/09
- Tom Kline on botched VA prostate cancer cases, Fox News 6/22/09
- Tom Kline on Legal Perspective show on "The Big Talker" 6/6/09
- Tom Kline discusses American's "risky behavior", Fox 29 2/25/09
- Tom Kline interviewed on hotel cleanliness, Fox 29 1/30/2009
- Tom Kline on RX company pay to doctors; Follow-up story, Fox 29 12/12/08
- Tom Kline demonstrates dangerous toys on "Good Day Philadelphia" 12/3/08
- Tom Kline demonstrates dangerous toys, Fox 29 12/3/08
- Tom Kline on pizza delivery auto insurance, NBC 10 11/19/08
- Tom Kline interviewed on youth center death, Fox 29 11/11/08
- Kline represents family in youth center death case, Fox 29 11/10/08
- Tom Kline wins major verdict in shooting case, CBS 3, 9/10/08
- Tom Kline on Philadelphia VA cancer treatment problems, Fox News 8/13/08
- Tom Kline interviewed on DHS case, Fox News 8/4/08
- Tom Kline interview on Gardasil, Fox News 7/25/08
- Click here for the complete Tom Kline on TV archive
Tom Kline In The News
- Kline comments on Supreme Court emotional distress ruling, The Legal Intelligencer 1/3/12
- Bucks jury awards $14Mil. for school bus accident, The Legal Intelligencer 12/7/11; Bucks County Courier Times 12/6/11; The Philadelphia Inquirer 12/6/11; Erie Times-News 12/6/11; The Trentonian 12/6/11
- Ashley's mom: 'I kept saying 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry. We had to save you.', Bucks County Courier-Times 12/4/11
- Mom: Amputation in Pa. bus crash 'excruciating', The Lebanon Daily News 12/3/11
- Testimony ends in Pennsbury crash case, Courier-Times 12/2/11
- Parents' decision: 'Take her leg off, or she would die', Bucks County Inquirer 12/2/11
- Expert: Bus crash victim's care could cost $2.5M, Courier-Times 12/2/11
- Bucks woman tells of personal agony after 2007 accident, The Philadelphia Inquirer 12/2/11
- Amputee seeks millions from Bucks school district, The Philadelphia Inquirer 12/1/11
- Bus crash victim seeks at least $3M, Courier-times 12/1/11
- Civil trial begins in school bus accident, Ch 69 News 11/30/11
- Pennsbury admits liability in 2007 bus-crash lawsuit, Courier-Times 11/30/11
- Pa. school: Bus driver hit accelerator, not brake, Associated Press 11/29/11
- Pa. Superior Court upholds $5.2M Volutza verdict, Reading Eagle 8/20/11, The Legal Intelligencer 8/26/11
- Tom Kline comments on hospital bed case, The Allentown Morning Call 08/13/11
- Tom Kline quoted on Pa. legislation. The Legal Intelligencer 7/19/11
- Jury awards $1.87 million in carbon monoxide death, The Pennsylvania Record 6/1/11
- Tom Kline featured in "Where are they now?", Super Lawyers 2011
- Tom Kline comments on medical malpractice climate in PA, The Legal Intelligencer 3/15/11
- Settlement reached in teacher sex abuse case, The Morning Call 2/1/11
- Tom Kline speaks at the Portrait Presentation for the Hon. Sheldon C. Jelin, 12/14/10
- Kline, Becker win wrongful firing appeal, The Legal Intelligencer 12/30/10
- Tom Kline on document technology, Pa Law Weekly 9/21/10
- Zinc in dental adhesives can cause "horrific injuries," lawyer says, Philadephia Daily News 3/10/10
- Penn hospital sued for allegedly turning away uninsured patient, The Philadelphia Inquirer 3/2/10
- Tom Kline comments on Toyota lawsuits, The Legal Intelligencer 2/18/10
- The Philadelphia Inquirer Editorials, "Where's the justice?" 2/15/10
- Strangulation death of youth in detention center settled for $10.5M, The Philadelphia Inquirer 2/12/10
- Firm Settles Amusement Park Death Case for $1.9 Mil. , The Legal Intelligencer 1/29/10
- Tom Kline settles Kennywood Park case for nearly $2 million, The Pittsburgh-Post-Gazette, 1/26/10
- Kline comments on the Haun v. Phoenixville Hospital case, The Legal Intelligencer 11/30/09
- Pfizer faces $103 million in Prempro damages, The Philadelphia Inquirer 11/24/09
- Tom Kline comments on escalator safety after Atlantic City escalator fatality, The Philadelphia Inquirer 9/25/05
- Tom kline interviewed on "First Impressions", The Philadelphia Inquirer 9/2/09
- Kline, Inscho win $3.2 M settlement in rural PA, The Legal Intelligencer 4/15/09
- Tom Kline comments on increased Mass Torts drug cases, The legal Intelligencer 3/19/09
- Tom Kline honored as Duquesne Law Distinguished Alumnus, 4/29/2008
- "Immunity Is Bad Medicine" - Tom Kline Philadelphia Inquirer Op-Ed, 3/7/2008
- Tom Kline on the Vioxx lawsuits settlement, The Philadelphia Inquirer 11/10/07
- Tom Kline discusses "massive" Vioxx legal effort, The Philadelphia Inquirer 11/10/07
- Kline named President of Inner Circle of Advocates, The Legal Intelligencer 9/5/2007
- Tom Kline on Vioxx risk with short-term use, Business Week 7/20/07
- Plaintiffs build case against diabetes drug, Lawyers Weekly 6/18/2007
- Tom Kline on $47.5 million Vioxx verdict, The Philadelphia Inquirer 3/13/07
- Tom Kline on Vioxx trial "shadow juries," The Star-Ledger 2/13/07
- Tom Kline quoted on Pa. Supreme Court voir dire decision 1/10/07
- Tom Kline quoted on Vioxx litigation, Wall Street Journal, 3/17/06
- Wall Street Journal quotes Tom Kline on Vioxx "Trial in a Box", 4/17/06
- Tom Kline quoted on 2006 appellate court jury selection ruling 2/6/06
- Wall Street Journal quotes Tom Kline on federal drug labeling policy 1/14/06
- The Philadelphia Inquirer - Lawyers' new credo: Keep it entertaining 12/26, 2004
- Hazleton Standard Speaker - City native bolsters 'Ruthian' reputation 10/8/04
- Kline & Specter donates $50,000 to AIDS Law Project- Spring 2004
- Tom Kline in National Law Journal article concerning Medical Malpractice 2/9/04
- Tom Kline in Philadelphia Inquirer about Medical Malpractice in Philadelphia 8/31/03
- Tom Kline quoted in Legal Intelligencer article concerning new venue rule 3/7/03
- Tom Kline quoted in article about Justice Pomeroy 12/23/02
- Tom Kline on verdicts affected by 9/11 11/14/01
- National Law Journal Profile on Tom Kline 8/14/2000
- Hazelton Standard Speaker: Magazine honors 1965 HHS grad 1/4/00
- Philadelphia Daily News Article: Wheels of Justice 12/29/99
- Duquesne Alumni Article: InKLINEd to Win
To contact Tom Kline, email him at
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