Jonathan Gdanski
Attorney | Schlesinger Law Offices, P.A.
Jonathan Gdanski is a product liability, personal injury and wrongful death trial lawyer and attorney at Schlesinger Law Offices, P.A. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. J.D., Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (2006).
Meet Jonathan
Contact
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33316
Jonathan R. Gdanski is a trial attorney with Schlesinger Law Offices, P.A. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His practice centers on complex civil trials involving catastrophic personal injury, products liability, wrongful death and consumer protection claims, and he has tried more than 40 cases to verdict.
Gdanski joined the firm after earning his law degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2006. Much of his trial work has come in tobacco litigation, including service as co-lead counsel in Calloway v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., which ended in a $75 million verdict in 2012, and lead counsel roles in a long series of Engle-progeny trials. He was appointed Plaintiff’s Liaison Counsel for tobacco cases pending in Broward County, was named to the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee in the federal JUUL e-cigarette litigation, MDL No. 2913, and sits on several committees in the Natural American Spirit MDL.
His recent trial results include a $6.4 million medical malpractice verdict in Charlotte County and a $5.6 million negligent security verdict in Broward County, both in 2026. He has also published research on tobacco warning labels in Nicotine & Tobacco Research. He belongs to the American Association for Justice, the Florida Justice Association and the Broward County Trial Lawyers Association, and serves on the board of Beth Israel Congregation in Miami Beach.
Experience and Expertise
Qualifications
Timeline
- J.D., Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, 2006
- B.A., Yeshiva University, 2003
- B.A., Genesis Jerusalem Institute, 2000
- Plaintiff's Steering Committee, JUUL Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2913 (N.D. Cal.), appointed 2019
- Plaintiff's Liaison Counsel, Broward County tobacco cases, appointed 2012
Practice Areas
- American Association for Justice
- Florida Justice Association
- Broward County Trial Lawyers Association
- Broward County Justice Association
- The National Trial Lawyers
- Attorney Information Exchange Group
- Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco
- B'nai B'rith Justice League
- Beth Israel Congregation, Miami Beach (Board of Directors)
- Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2014-2019
- Lawdragon Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyer, 2021, 2026
- $157.4 Million Verdict: Caprio II v. R.J. Reynolds, et al. (2019), a tobacco case in which Gdanski served as lead counsel, per his firm bio.
- $75.35 Million Verdict: Calloway v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al. (2012), where he was co-lead counsel; the first case in which one smoker prevailed against all four major tobacco companies at once.
- $37.85 Million Verdict: Grossman III v. R.J. Reynolds, et al. (2013), a tobacco verdict listed among his lead-counsel trials.
- $37 Million Verdict: Mahfuz v. R.J. Reynolds, et al. (2019), a tobacco verdict listed among his lead-counsel trials.
- $35 Million Verdict: Boatright v. R.J. Reynolds, et al. (2014), a tobacco verdict listed among his lead-counsel trials.
- $20 Million Verdict: Landi v. R.J. Reynolds, et al. (2018), a tobacco verdict listed among his lead-counsel trials.
- $15 Million Verdict: Lima v. R.J. Reynolds, et al. (2017), a tobacco verdict listed among his lead-counsel trials.
- $10.5 Million Verdict: McCoy v. R.J. Reynolds, et al. (2015), a tobacco verdict listed among his lead-counsel trials.
- $9.37 Million Verdict: Moyer II v. R.J. Reynolds, et al. (2024), a tobacco verdict listed among his lead-counsel trials.
- $6.43 Million Verdict: Jarvis v. Yaege, Vakil & Foot & Ankle Centers of Charlotte County, P.A. (May 2026), a medical malpractice case involving a below-knee amputation after an untreated MRSA infection; Gdanski was lead counsel.
- $5.605 Million Verdict: Mardy v. Marksman Security Corp. (July 2026), a Broward County negligent security verdict for a newspaper carrier trapped in a condominium elevator; Gdanski was lead counsel.
- Over $10 Million Net Recovery: Represented 1,250 claimants in the Engle Trust Fund in 2007.
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