Thomas Vertetis
Managing Partner | Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC
Thomas Vertetis is a medical malpractice, personal injury and wrongful death trial lawyer and managing partner at Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC in Tacoma, Washington. Admitted in Washington, Oregon, New Jersey and New York; J.D., Villanova University School of Law (1997).
Meet Thomas
Contact
Suite 700
Tacoma, Washington 98402
Thomas B. Vertetis is the managing partner of Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC and practices from the firm’s Tacoma, Washington, office. He represents people harmed in serious injury and wrongful death cases, with a practice that spans medical malpractice, sexual abuse, school liability, civil rights and product liability claims.
Vertetis has led more than 50 jury trials. His results include a $165 million verdict against Pharmacia LLC, a Monsanto spinoff, on behalf of former Sky Valley Education Center employees exposed to PCBs, and a $13.95 million medical malpractice verdict for a young adult who suffered a stroke during an elective cardiac catheterization. Before joining private practice, he clerked for Judge Jane B. Cantor of the New Jersey Superior Court and worked as an assistant prosecutor in Middlesex County, New Jersey.
He was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2023 and received the Washington State Association for Justice Professionalism Award in 2025. He leads the Washington chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates as president and is a past president of the Washington State Campaign for Equal Justice. Vertetis earned his law degree from Villanova University School of Law in 1997 and his undergraduate business degree, cum laude, from the University of San Diego. The father of a child with special needs, he supports nonprofits serving medically fragile children and autism awareness.
Experience and Expertise
Qualifications
Timeline
- J.D., Villanova University School of Law, 1997
- B.B.A., Business Economics, cum laude, University of San Diego, 1994
- Admitted, Washington
- Admitted, Oregon
- Admitted, New Jersey
- Admitted, New York
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Washington
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Practice Areas
- American College of Trial Lawyers (Fellow)
- American Board of Trial Advocates, Washington Chapter (Executive Board, President)
- Washington State Association for Justice (Medical Negligence Section, Past Chair)
- International Society of Barristers (Fellow)
- Litigation Counsel of America (Fellow)
- Foundation for Washington State Courts (Trustee, Incoming President)
- Washington State Campaign for Equal Justice (Board of Directors, Past President)
- M. Margaret McKeown (M3) Federal Bar Association (Secretary, Incoming Vice President)
- Federal Bar Association, Western District of Washington (Trustee)
- Western District of Washington Ninth Circuit (Lawyer Representative)
- Pierce County Bar Foundation (Past President)
- Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association (Volunteer Services/Pro Bono Committee, Past Chair)
- King County Bar Association
- Washington State Association for Justice Professionalism Award, 2025
- American Board of Trial Advocates, Washington Trial Lawyer of the Year, 2019
- Best Lawyers in America, Lawyer of the Year, Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs, Seattle, 2023
- Best Lawyers in America, Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, 2022–2025
- Washington Super Lawyers, Top 10 Attorney in Washington, 2025
- Washington Super Lawyers, Top 100, 2015–2025
- The National Trial Lawyers, Top 100 – Civil Plaintiff, 2024
- The Recorder, Top 25 Verdicts & Settlements of the West, 2020
- Litigation Counsel of America Peter Perlman Service Award
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent
- $165 Million Verdict: Jury verdict against Monsanto spinoff Pharmacia LLC for a group of former Sky Valley Education Center employees exposed to PCBs.
- $25 Million Settlement: Medical malpractice settlement against a hospital system that misdiagnosed a pregnant mother of twins with cancer and gave her chemotherapy, leading to the loss of one child and injuries to the other.
- $13.95 Million Verdict: Medical malpractice jury verdict for a 22-year-old who suffered a catastrophic embolic stroke during an elective cardiac catheterization.
- $12.5 Million Settlement: Medical malpractice settlement for an infant who suffered birth injuries in a negligent delivery.
- $11 Million Settlement: Medical malpractice settlement for a minor whose delayed bacterial meningitis diagnosis caused neurological injury.
- $8 Million Settlement: Federal civil rights excessive-force settlement, reached on the eighth day of trial, for a client shot by Tacoma police during a low-speed pursuit.
- $8 Million Settlement: Medical malpractice settlement for an infant who suffered brain injuries from a prolonged delivery.
- $7 Million Settlement: Medical malpractice settlement against a hospital that failed to diagnose and promptly treat a patient with stroke-like symptoms.
- $6.25 Million Settlement: Settlement for a woman left with partial permanent vision loss after delayed treatment of idiopathic intracranial hypertension.
- $6 Million Settlement: Settlement with Kiwanis International for failing to protect children from sexual abuse at Kiwanis Vocational Home.
- $5.425 Million Settlement: Auto accident settlement for a client struck by a motor vehicle who suffered a serious injury.
- $5 Million Settlement: Wrongful death settlement for a client struck by a motor vehicle whose injuries resulted in her death.
- $4.5 Million Verdict: Federal personal injury verdict for a 19-year-old Amtrak passenger seriously injured in a train derailment.
- $3.075 Million Verdict: Jury verdict for the wrongful termination and defamation of a decorated senior county prosecutor.
- $1.4 Million Verdict: Jury verdict for a family-owned business against the State of Washington for unlawful conduct.
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