Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs Workers' Compensation Law - Claimants
Robert R. Sheldon
Recognized in Best Lawyers since 1995 Awarded Practice Areas
Biography
When I was in seventh grade, I was hit by a speeding car while I was walking home after playing basketball at a local Boys & Girls Club. The force of the impact propelled me approximately 15 feet and I landed, unconscious, on the porch of the Hebert Candy Shop. I was rushed by ambulance to Bridgeport Hospital, where I was treated for a concussion and injuries to my right arm and hand. I remained in the hospital for three days and missed nearly one month from school. Fortunately, after excellent medical treatment, I was able to recover from my injuries.
During the course of my legal career, I have successfully represented numerous men, women and children who have been injured in motor vehicle collisions, construction accidents, falls, workplace incidents, or as a result of legal malpractice, medical malpractice or sexual abuse. My own personal experience as an injury victim has been invaluable in helping me to understand the pain and suffering that these individuals have endured and how their injuries have adversely affected their daily life.
I believe that my job as a trial lawyer is to tell my injured client’s story to the people who will ultimately decide their case, whether it be an insurance adjuster, a defense lawyer, a jury, a judge, an arbitrator or a workers’ compensation commissioner. In order to properly convey that information, it is important that I get to really know my clients and learn as much as I can about their lives, their family, their work, their interests, etc. That means spending quality time with my clients, listening to them, and establishing a strong relationship with them.
It is also important in earning my clients’ trust that they learn more about me. I was born in Bridgeport and grew up in Fairfield. My Dad was a postal worker, and my Mom was a secretary. My parents instilled in me a strong work ethic and a desire to always try and do my best in everything that I did – in school, at work and on the athletic field. Those qualities have served me well throughout my life.
I graduated from Holy Cross College and the University of Connecticut School of Law. After successfully passing the Connecticut Bar exam, I joined my late partner and mentor, Paul Tremont, in the practice of law and I continue to practice in the same office with his son and two colleagues. Paul was a brilliant attorney, a prodigious worker, a great teacher and a wonderful colleague. My success as a trial lawyer is largely attributable to the skills that I learned under his tutelage and guidance. I strongly believe in “giving back” to the legal profession that has been such an important part of my adult life. During my career, I have served for many years as a member of the Board of Governors of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association. I was honored to be elected as its President. I also served as the first Chairman of its Workers’ Compensation Section. In both capacities, I drafted legislation and testified on numerous occasions before the Connecticut Legislature in support of bills that have safeguarded and enhanced the rights of accident victims and injured workers. I also was nominated by the Governor and served a four-year term on the state Judicial Review Council, the body that investigates the conduct of Connecticut judges and workers’ compensation commissioners.
In selecting an attorney, it is important to know what their peers and others think of them. I have been selected every year since 1995 for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, which is universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence, in the areas of both personal injury law and workers’ compensation law. I am also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, an invitation-only organization of personal injury trial attorneys who have demonstrated significant trial experience. In addition, I have also been designated as one of the top attorneys in the state by Connecticut Super Lawyers. I also have been awarded the top “AV” rating given by Martindale-Hubbell only to those lawyers with the highest professional ability and ethical standards.
Overview
- University of Connecticut, J.D., graduated 1974
- College of the Holy Cross, B.A., graduated 1971
- Connecticut, Connecticut Bar Association
- Connecticut Bar Association - Member
- American Bar Association - Member
- American Association for Justice - Member
- American Board of Trial Advocates - Associate Member
- Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association - Member, Board of Governors; Past President (1995-96)
- Connecticut, Connecticut Bar Association
- Connecticut Bar Association - Member
- American Bar Association - Member
- American Association for Justice - Member
- American Board of Trial Advocates - Associate Member
- Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association - Member, Board of Governors; Past President (1995-96)
- University of Connecticut, J.D., graduated 1974
- College of the Holy Cross, B.A., graduated 1971
Client Testimonials
Awards & Focus
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
- Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
- Workers' Compensation Law - Claimants
Additional Areas of Practice:
- Legal Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs
- Personal Injury Litigation
- Workers' Compensation Law
Awards:
- AV Rated - Martindale Hubbell
- Connecticut Super Lawyer
News & Media
Case History
Cases
- Mendes v. Automobile Ins. Co. of Hartford, 212 Conn. 652 (1989)
In this case, the Connecticut Supreme Court voided as contrary to public policy an "escape clause" in an automobile insurance policy that permitted either party to the contract to demand a trial de novo when an uninsured or underinsured motorist arbitration award exceeded the minimum limits ($20,000) mandated by the Connecticut Financial Responsibility Act. The court unanimously found that this provision unfairly favored the insurer and was therefore invalid and unenforceable. Our highest court also noted that the clause could be used as leverage by an insurance carrier to coerce a claimant who received an arbitration award in excess of $20,000 to accept a compromise or settlement less than the amount awarded upon the threat of a demand for a trial de novo.
- Safeco Insurance Companies v. Vetre, 174 Conn. 329 (1978)
This case permitted, for the first time in Connecticut, an injured insured to aggregate or "stack" the separate coverages afforded by the uninsured motorists endorsements of a single policy of insurance covering two vehicles where separate premiums were paid for each vehicle, where the terms of the policy applied separately to each vehicle, and where the actual damages incurred exceeded the maximum sum of those coverages. Prior to this decision, only inter-policy stacking was allowed in Connecticut. The Vetre case substantially enhanced the ability of injured persons to recover adequate compensation for losses which they suffered as the result of the negligence of uninsured or underinsured motorists until January 1, 1994 when intra-policy stacking and inter-policy stacking was abolished by statute.
- Rokus v. City of Bridgeport, 191 Conn. 62 (1983)
This case establises that evidence of subsequent repairs is admissable for a purpose other than to prove negligence, e.g., to show the configuration of the streets and adjacent sidewalks in an intersection.
- Royston v. Factor, 1 Conn App. 576 (1984)
This case holds that a trier of facts can conclude, by inference, that an injury will be permanent, particularly if the disability still exists two years after the accident, even though there is no medical testimony expressly substantiating permanency.
Your browser is not fully compatible with our automatic printer friendly formatting.
Please use the print button to print this profile page.