W. Matthew Sakkas

Practice areas

Personal Injury – General: Plaintiff, Personal Injury – Products: Plaintiff, Personal Injury – Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff

Focus areas

Animal Bites, Birth Injury, Brain Injury, Construction Accident, Delayed or Incorrect Diagnosis, Dental Malpractice, Medical Devices, Medical Malpractice, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Motor Vehicle Defects, Personal Injury – Plaintiff, Pharmaceutical, Premises Liability – Plaintiff, Sexual Abuse – Plaintiff, Slip and Fall, Trucking Accidents, Wrongful Death

Matthew Sakkas is a highly accomplished attorney with extensive expertise in personal injury and wrongful death litigation. With over 25 years of experience on both sides of the legal spectrum, representing both plaintiffs and defendants, he effectively advocates for individuals who have suffered injuries due to the negligence or deliberate actions of others.

His distinguished career includes a track record of published appellate decisions, notable successes in significant cases, and his representation of a 9/11 attack victim’s family in the World Trade Center tragedy.

A Career Devoted to Personal Injury Law

Matthew Sakkas graduated from Clark University with honors (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) in 1988, which included completing undergraduate studies at the prestigious London School of Economics. He earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1991, passing the New York State Bar exam the same year and gaining admission to the New York State Bar in 1992. He is also authorized to practice law in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York, and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mr. Sakkas embarked on his legal career as an associate at a prominent insurance defense law firm, where he primarily defended clients in cases involving premises liability and construction accidents. After several years defending such cases, Mr. Sakkas redirected his skills and insights to advocate for injured parties. He joined a plaintiff’s law firm, where he handled a wide range of personal injury cases from initial intake through trial, as well as appellate work.

In 2000, Mr. Sakkas established his own law firm, focusing on personal injury cases for plaintiffs and serving in an “of counsel” capacity with other law firms, conducting depositions, trying cases, and handling appeals. In 2005, he joined forces with Mr. Cahn, and in 2008, they merged their practice with Mr. Weiss, forming the partnership of Sakkas Cahn & Weiss.

A Respected Trial Attorney

Mr. Sakkas is an esteemed member of several legal associations, including the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, New York County Lawyers’ Association, and the American Association for Justice. He has also contributed his expertise as a judge for the Student Trial Advocacy Competition and served as an arbitrator for the New York City Civil Court.

In the aftermath of the 2001 World Trade Center attacks, Mr. Sakkas participated in the Trial Lawyers Care initiative, where attorneys volunteered their services to support 9/11 victim families. He notably represented a family who lost a loved one in the North Tower attack and achieved a successful outcome for them.

Matthew Sakkas is particularly renowned for his mastery of civil appeals. Some of his notable appellate cases include:

• Washington v. Montefiore Medical Center et. al., 9 A.D.3d 271, 780 N.Y.S.2d 322 (1st Dept. 2004), which affirmed that the plaintiff had presented sufficient evidence to raise questions regarding the defendants’ negligence in a fatal stabbing at the plaintiff’s workplace.
• Barnett v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, 40 A.D.3d 325, 835 N.Y.S.2d 183 (1st Dept. 2007), which established a substantial link between an engineer’s job-site duties and the conditions that posed an unreasonable risk of severe injury in a New Jersey construction accident case.
• Felton v. Tourtoulis, 87 A.D.3d 983, 929 N.Y.S.2d 493 (2nd Dept. 2011), which successfully reinstated the plaintiff’s claim for punitive damages in a drunk driving accident, overturning its previous dismissal by the trial court.