John. M. Polena is a Principal in the firm's Casualty Litigation Department and Toxic Tort Liability Litigation Practice Group. He counsels clients in matters involving commercial general liability, products liability, construction defect and injury, premises liability, toxic tort liability, and asbestos exposure, and defends them in related litigation, arbitrations, and/or mediations. His clients include commercial entities and companies in the construction, energy and utilities, manufacturing, and insurance industries, among others.
Barred in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, Mr. Polena defends clients in both federal and state court, handling matters from initial draft pleadings through judgment or settlement. He has successfully defended clients in matters involving alleged negligence, product failure, asbestos exposure, and hard metal exposure, among others.
During law school, Mr. Polena interned with the Office of Administrative Law Judges, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), working primarily under the Honorable Raymond Zimmet, and in the legal department of Strategic Energy, LLC., a deregulated energy supplier.
While in law school, Mr. Polena served as the web editor for the Pittsburgh Journal of Environmental and Public Health Law and was a certified legal intern at the Environmental Law Clinic.
While in college at Washington and Lee University, Mr. Polena was a four-year letter winner and team captain for the University's wrestling team.
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- Polena, John M., Pennsylvania Negligence: Philadelphia: George T. Bisel Company, Inc., 2012-21 editions
Construction
- Defended specialty rubber coating installer in action for breach of contract and negligence involving agitator failures due to corrosion at a state-of-the-art zinc production facility.
- Defended construction company in action for negligence involving failed bolted steel waste water tanks at commercial brewing facility.
- Defended contractor in action for negligence involving safety guard failure of a fine screw conveyor at concrete production facility resulting in an above-the-knee amputation to an employee.
- Defended excavation contractor in negligence action for property damage involving building-wide structural damage in an elementary school due to alleged inadequate compaction and negligent construction.
- Represented concrete contractor involving pre-suit contract claims related to concrete footing failures at an under-construction municipal building.
Products Liability
- Defended tire retailer in strict products liability and negligence action involving a tire failure of a tri-axle dump truck resulting in catastrophic injuries to a driver.
- Defended refractory manufacturer in strict products liability and negligence action involving industrial furnace accident resulting in catastrophic burns to 2 employees.
- Defended tire retreader in strict products liability and negligence action involving a tire failure on a tanker truck resulting in catastrophic burns to driver.
- Defended speech-generating device manufacturer in action for negligence, breach of contract, and unfair trade practices filed by ALS patient for failure of device to operate as promised.
- Defended fast food franchisee involving strict products liability, breach of warranty, and negligence claims involving foreign object found in food.
Personal Injury/Wrongful Death
- Represented energy consulting company in negligence action related to site safety supervision involving the fatal death of a subcontractor when a blowout preventer fell on him at an oil and gas well site.
- Defended industrial process and control company in action for negligence involving pallet failure during offloading of steel regulator housing resulting in a driver suffering crush injuries to his foot.
- Defended elevator maintenance company and mall in action for negligence involving freight elevator whose doors amputated the finger of a delivery driver.
- Represented commercial tractor-trailer owner involving negligence action related to faulty brakes causing motor vehicle accident resulting in alleged spinal injuries to plaintiff.
- Represented commercial tenant in negligence action involving automatic door malfunction in a common area of a multi-tenant unit resulting in a hip fracture suffered by the plaintiff.
Asbestos/Toxic Tort
- Represented commercial valve retailer in multiple asbestos cases.
- Represented multiple tungsten carbide manufacturers in hard metal lung cases.
- Bryan v. Erie County Office of Children & Youth, et. al., 861 F.Supp. 2d 553 (W.D.Pa. 2012)
- Humberston v. Chevron U.S.A., et. al., 2013 Pa. Super. 238 (Pa. Super. 2013)
- Falor v. Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority, 102 A.3d 584 (Pa. Cmwlth 2014)
- Nazarak v. Waite, 216 A.3d 1093 (Pa. Super. 2019)
- Miely v. Hackett, et. al., 224 WDA 2021 (Pa. Super. 2021)
