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s the partner heading up Kline &
Specter’s Mass Tort Department, Lee B. Balefsky
is involved in lawsuits dealing with a wide range of products
and toxic substances, from pharmaceuticals such as Vioxx
to defective medical devices, from asbestos to water contaminants.
 Balefsky’s 25 years of experience
in complex litigation puts him at the forefront of Mass
Torts, a burgeoning area of the law whose genesis can
be traced only as far back as the late 1960s and “mass
accident” claims (generally airline mishaps) and
to “Agent Orange” claims that arose in the
1970s over the herbicide used in the Vietnam War.
Balefsky has been active in mass tort
claims in recent years involving asbestos and, most commonly
today, pharmaceuticals. He currently serves as Plaintiff's Liaison Counsel in Philadelphia Vioxx litigation.
Balefsky's experience helped earn him
a spot among “The Best Attorneys in Pennsylvania”
as selected by Super Lawyers magazine for 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America.
Mass tort practice requires knowledge
and the ability to handle several issues simultaneously,
with cases often filed in both state and federal courts
and with multiple plaintiffs and defendants. Clients are
individually represented in mass tort cases but the system
allows for centralizing and sharing of information, such
as documents and depositions, among various parties in
trials and settlement negotiations.
Balefsky’s department at Kline
& Specter is currently representing clients in claims
against the makers of prescription and over-the-counter
medicines as well as cases involving asbestos,
medical
devices and MBTE,
a gasoline additive that has been found to have polluted
community water supplies.
In addition to his lead role with Philadelphia Vioxx cases, Balefsky has been named Philadelphia
Mass Tort Program Liaison Counsel in cases targeting the
diet drugs commonly known as Fen-Phen,
as well as for cases involving PPA,
an ingredient used in over-the-counter cold remedies.
In that liaison role, he aids the court in case management
while providing other attorneys with information in the
various cases.
Balefsky’s Mass Tort Department
recently obtained significant settlements in lawsuits
against the makers of Baycol, Fen-Phen and PPA.
His department also is involved in
claims involving Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra,
Ephedra,
and Atypical
Antipsychotic medications including Zyprexa and Risperdal.
Over the past two decades, Balefsky
has won numerous cases, particularly those in which clients
were found to have contracted cancer because of their
exposure to asbestos, a substance which still poses a
danger to the general public and, most commonly, to workers
at aging factories and facilities.
Balefsky is a member of the Plaintiff’s
Steering Committee in Pennsylvania Diet Drug Litigation.
He has lectured extensively in the area of pharmaceutical
litigation. Balefsky is board certified in civil litigation by the
National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is an active member
of the American Association for Justice, the Pennsylvania Association for Justice and the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers
Association.
A graduate of Temple University in
1974 and Wake Forest University Law School in 1977, Balefsky
has been admitted to practice in the U.S. District Eastern
and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania as well in the U.S.
Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.
To contact Lee Balefsky, email him at
Lee.Balefsky@KlineSpecter.com |
