Attorneys
Derek R. Layser
Derek R. Layser is a founding shareholder of Layser & Freiwald, P.C. With more than 75 jury trials to verdict, Mr. Layser maintains an active civil trial practice throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Until 1996, Mr. Layser worked and tried cases as a defense lawyer. Since then, he has brought his understanding and perspective to the handling of cases exclusively for plaintiffs, concentrating his practice in medical malpractice, products liability and other complex, personal injury matters.
In 1999, Mr. Layser won an $8.25 million dollar verdict on behalf of the widow of a young man whose family physician failed to diagnose and treat colon cancer. It so happened that the defendant physician was the patient’s brother. The case and the extraordinary verdict were all the more unusual because the trial took place in Media, Pennsylvania, seat of the usually conservative Delaware County. In the past few years, he has successfully obtained confidential settlements for many families, including those who have lost children and other family members due to the negligence of others.
Mr. Layser has handled cases involving product defects, surgical and pharmacy errors, premises liability, such as apartment building fires, and HMO liability for catastrophic injuries.
Originally from the Reading, PA area, Mr. Layser attended Shippensburg University and then was an honors graduate of the Delaware Law School of Widener University. He is admitted to practice in state and federal court in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and is a member of both state’s bar associations and trial lawyers associations. In addition, Mr. Layser has been recognized by his peers with an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, their highest rating. He is listed in the Bar Register of Pre-eminent Lawyers and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. For four consecutive years, Mr. Layser has been selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer for Medical Malpractice by the publishers of Philadelphia Magazine. He has also been recognized as one of the Outstanding Lawyers of America in 2003.
Mr. Layser lectures frequently in continuing education courses for attorneys. He has been a course planner for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and other organizations for trial seminars on pharmacy liability, legal issues involving settlement releases, trial practice and trial evidence issues. He has also been retained in several matters as an expert witness.
Mr. Layser lives in Collegeville, Pennsylvania with his wife and three children.
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