Powers & Santola LLP

4 Best Lawyers awards

Powers & Santola LLP logo

Awarded Practice Areas

Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs

Biography

Daniel R. Santola
Albany, New York

Partner, since 1987
phone (518) 465-5995
(800) 540-8742
fax (518) 426-4012
email Email Me


Daniel R. Santola is a senior partner and co-founder of Powers & Santola, LLP. His practice is limited to the representation of catastrophically injured individuals, the field of law in which he has over 25 years experience.

After graduating from Albany Law School, he became an assistant professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 1987, he and longtime friend and colleague, John K. Powers, decided to form the firm of Powers & Santola, with a simple mission statement: To provide our clients with the best possible legal representation.

Dan has spent more than twenty-five years teaching various topics within the specialty of personal injury law, covering subjects such as construction accidents, medical malpractice, trial tactics, evidence and products liability. He has lectured for the Office of Court Administration in its Continuing Legal Education programs for judges and court attorneys, the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, the New York Trial Lawyers Association, the New York State Bar Association, the Albany County Bar Association, the American Board Of Trial Advocates, Albany Law School, the Capital District Trial Lawyers Association, Albany Medical Center, Syracuse University Law School, and a number of other scholastic and professional institutions.

Powers & Santola LLP

4 Best Lawyers awards

Powers & Santola LLP logo

Overview

  • English

  • Albany Law School of Union University, J.D., graduated 1974
  • State University of New York at Buffalo, BA, graduated 1971

  • New York, Albany County Bar Association
  • New York, New York Academy of Trial Lawyers
  • New York, Capital District Trial Lawyers Ass.
  • New York, New York State Bar Association

  • American Association for Justice - Sustaining Member
  • American Board of Trial Advocates - Senior Member
  • New York Bar Foundation - Fellow
  • New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers - Dean of Continued Legal Education and Charter Member

  • New York State
  • Federal District Court Northern, Southern Eastern and Western Districts
  • English
  • New York, Albany County Bar Association
  • New York, New York Academy of Trial Lawyers
  • New York, Capital District Trial Lawyers Ass.
  • New York, New York State Bar Association
  • American Association for Justice - Sustaining Member
  • American Board of Trial Advocates - Senior Member
  • New York Bar Foundation - Fellow
  • New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers - Dean of Continued Legal Education and Charter Member
  • Albany Law School of Union University, J.D., graduated 1974
  • State University of New York at Buffalo, BA, graduated 1971
  • New York State
  • Federal District Court Northern, Southern Eastern and Western Districts

Client Testimonials

If you would like a very meticulous, competent lawyer and someone you can talk to that is non-judgmental, then Dan Santola is the lawyer for you. He takes the time to thoroughly investigate and understand all aspects of the case with which he is dealing. He genuinely cares for his clients' well-being and wants the best outcome for them. He takes the time to research and study all aspects of his cases. Again, he is very personable, and I highly recommend him to anyone in need of an excellent lawyer. We are very happy with the outcome of our case and working with an excellent person like Dan Santola.

As stated above, Dan's compassion and heartfelt discussions helped us through a very difficult time. Dan's knowledge and intelligence are instantly evident upon meeting him, and we could not have been more impressed with how he handled himself at all times.

Joseph Raker (individual)

Del Mar, NY

Mr. Santola has a great knowledge of the law and he always made me feel like he was looking out for me and my best interests.

John Tassone (individual)

Dan took the extra time with me to make sure I understood what was involved in the matter.

Robin Trombley (individual)

When tragedy unfairly strikes people, the world can become a very scary and confusing place. At 19 years of age, the unthinkable happened to me. As I laid in the hospital, my parents struggled with a mountain of legal paperwork they didn't understand as they were coming to grips with having a newly paralyzed son. Dan Santola stepped in, took control of the situation and became a legal guardian angel to me and my family. Dan spoke with insurance companies, the hospital, and countless other entities. He put my parents' minds at ease, which made recovering from my injury a little easier. Dan also became a mentor to me during the legal process. I know lawyers are translators of sorts -- a bridge between the courts and the rest of us, but Dan went above and beyond, way above and beyond. He was happy to answer any questions I had. About law, about life, and about why he chose to do what he does. Everywhere I went with him, I felt protected. After leaving his office and speaking with him, I normally felt enlightened. He is a man that worked extremely hard to get to where he is and he whole-heartedly believes that what he is doing is making the world a better place. For the majority of my life, I viewed lawyers as cold blooded ambulance chasers that only cared about making a payday. Dan shattered all those false assumptions for me. Needless to say I was extremely happy with the services that Dan Santola provided for me and my family. His skill, expertise, empathy and passion to succeed within the parameters of the law inspired me to become a better person. It's not enough to say that Dan is a great lawyer. His personality and integrity put him squarely in that rare category of people that you only come across once in a lifetime. I feel that I am a better human being for having the chance to spend time with him.

Christopher Lee (individual)

Awards & Focus

Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2015 - Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2012 - Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs
Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
  • Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs, Albany (2015)
  • Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs, Albany (2012)
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
  • Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs
  • Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
  • Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs
Additional Areas of Practice:
  • Medical Malpractice Law
  • Personal Injury Litigation
  • Product Liability Litigation
Special Focus:
  • Automobile
  • Automobile Collision
  • Birth Trauma
  • Brain Injury
  • Catastrophic Injury
  • Construction
  • Hospital Malpractice
  • Medical Malpractice
  • Medical Negligence
  • Nursing Homes
  • Personal Injury
  • Premises Liability
  • Product Liability
  • Professional Malpractice
  • Wrongful Death
Awards:
  • Selected as one of New York State's Top Ten Lawyers, upstate region, by Super Lawyers in 2011
  • American Trial Lawyers Association - Top 100 Lawyers (Multi-year listing)
  • New York Magazine's "New York Area's Top Lawyers"
  • Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers (Multi-year listing)
  • Super Lawyers' Magazine "Super Lawyer" Designation in Medical Malpractice (Multi-year listing)
  • Martindale-Hubbell "AV" Peer Rating (Multi-year listing)
  • "Who's Who in American Law" (Multi-year listing)
  • "Who's Who in America" (Multi-year listing)
  • "Who's Who in the East" (Multi-year listing)
  • "Who's Who in the World" (Multi-year listing)
  • Selected as Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers for 2012 Medical Malpractice
  • Powers & Santola, LLP is nationally ranked as a Tiear 1 Law Firm (top ranking) by US News and World Report - Best Lawyers in America in the field of Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, and Products Liability
  • Selected as Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers for 2014 Medical Malpractice
  • Chosen as one of the Best Lawyers in America for over 25 consecutive years

Additional Information

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Case History

Cases
  • Trombley v. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.
Union electrician working on project to replace section of transmission lines and poles, killed when top of deteriorated pole snapped off striking the bucket lift he was in knocking it off the end of the boom falling 20'' with worker still tied off to the designated location on the inside of the bucket settled for $2,750,000. Difficulty was to overcome fact that the cause of the accident was almost exclusively plaintiff''s co-employees fault who were immune from suit.
Transactions
  • Client requested confidentiality
$4,500,000 recovery for an infant who suffered permanent brain injury at the age of 4 weeks when a nurse inadvertently administering heparin, an anticoagulant, to the baby. As a result, the baby began to bleed and that bleeding went undetected by the medical staff for several hours. The blood was so extensive that the baby''s brain was deprived of oxygen, resulting in permanent brain damage.
  • Client requested confidentiality
$7,250,000 recovery for an 11 year-old girl was sustained a broken neck, causing permanent damage to her spinal cord which rendered her quadriplegic, as the result of being directed to dive into the shallow end of a swimming pool while participating in a beginning swimming program run by an aquatic club at a pool owned by a local school district.
  • Tassone v. Mid-Valley Oil
$9,443,177 recovery for a 22 year-old man from Pennsylvania who suffered brain damage when he lost his balance while installing satellite communications equipment on the roof of the Mobil Xtra-Mart in Valatie, New York and fell 16 feet onto a concrete loading dock because he was not provided with adequate safety devices.
  • Client asked confidentiality be maintained
$4,000,000 recovery for an infant who suffered HIE (hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy), anoxic brain injury and cerebral palsy as the result of a mid-wife''s malpractice in failing to promptly contact an obstetrician to perform a cesarean section to deliver a baby who was experiencing fetal distress that was evidenced by persistent, variable and late decelerations of her fetal heart rate.

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