Denise Pentino is the Managing Partner of the firm's Wheeling office. Leveraging 17 years of extensive experience in mass tort, toxic tort and products liability law, including medical monitoring claims, Denise takes an aggressive approach to meeting client needs. Denise's clients include an international chemical company, steel companies, logging and lumber companies, coal companies as well as various insurance companies.
Denise's experience with complex litigation in both state and federal courts includes the management, discovery, resolution and/or trial of class actions, multi-party suits and mass tort claims including: West Virginia class action float sink litigation, polyacrylamide class action litigation and Fixodent denture cream litigation. She has managed complex litigation as lead counsel or assisting counsel in matters relating to medical monitoring and claims for personal injuries relating to neurologic disease, genotoxicity, reproductive toxicity and cancer.
Denise has a thorough knowledge of West Virginia deliberate intent litigation and offers counsel to clients as they face the complex and unique challenges encompassed by West Virginia law. Drawing on her deep reservoir of knowledge surrounding workplace safety regulations, workers' compensation law and industry operations, Denise helps clients plan and strategically implement policies to limit their exposure. Leveraging her knowledge of the region's industries and operations with experience in front of a number of state and federal courts, Denise provides clients the efficient solutions they need to keep their company moving forward.
Denise also has extensive experience representing insurance companies in bad faith litigation, both in Ohio and West Virginia in state and federal courts.
Memberships & Affiliations
· Ohio County Bar Association
· West Virginia Coal Association
· Defense Research Institute
· Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce
· BB&T Bank, Board of Directors
· West Virginia Northern Community College Paralegal Program, Advisory Board Member
Distinctions
· Peer Review Rated AV in Martindale-Hubbell
· West Virginia Generation Next presented by The State Journal, 2006
· Leadership West Virginia, 2008
· Dinsmore, Board of Directors
Experience
Fixodent Denture Cream Litigation
The Procter & Gamble Distributing LLC
Dinsmore's Products Liability Team recently received a ruling in favor of The Procter & Gamble Defendants ("P&G") which is the first in the country to assess and reject the scientific basis for lawsuits filed by a number of Fixodent® users.
Ohio and West Virginia Workers Compensation Claims
Erb Electric Company
Representation in Ohio and West Virginia Workers Compensation claims
Ohio and West Virginia Workers Compensation Claims
Norris Environmental
Representation in Ohio and West Virginia Workers Compensation claims
Ohio and West Virginia Workers Compensation Claims
Bridgeport Equipment & Tool
Representation in Ohio and West Virginia Workers Compensation claims
Ohio and West Virginia Workers Compensation Claims
Riverview Cleaning
Representation in Ohio and West Virginia Workers Compensation claims
Safety Policies
Pittsburgh Forest Products
Develop and implement safety policies
Trial Counsel
Water Treatment Company
Lead trial counsel for chemical manufacturer in case filed by over 100 plaintiffs seeking medical monitoring.
Various Forms of Injunctive Relief
Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Corporation
Preparation and litigation with respect to labor union strike; injunctive relief
Successor Liability
Urgent Care America
We represented Urgent Care America, a consulting company that manages urgent care and treatment centers across the county.
Trial Counsel
Water Treatment Company
Lead trial counsel for chemical manufacturer in case filed by over 100 plaintiffs claiming a variety of injuries.
Extra Contractual Litigation
State Farm
Ongoing representation of State Farm Insurance in multiple extra-contractual allegations.
Fortune v. Nalco Company et al.
Nalco Company
Represented manufacturer of chemicals held in a storage tank on property owned by a coal company which overturned during a flood which occurred in Raleigh County, West Virginia.
Angelo v. Weirton Steel Corporation
Weirton Steel Corporation
Suit for intentional tort by employee alleging injury after stepping into molten metal
Carol Miller v. Rollins Leasing Corporation
Rollins Leasing Corporation
Limitation of the application of the Doctrine of Statutory Employment
Hatfield v. Nalco Company
Nalco Company
Suit for negligence and deliberate intent for injuries sustained by worker who fell down a flight of stairs
International Chemical Company Litigation
International Chemical Company Manufacturer
Represent international chemical company manufacturer of polyacrylamide flocculants in multi-state class action litigation involving claims for medical monitoring filed against eight defendants as a result of coal preparation plant workers exposure to residual amounts of acrylamide in polyacrylamide flocculants.
International Chemical Company Personal Injury
International Chemical Company Manufacturer
Ongoing representation of manufacturer of polyacrylamide flocculant in personal injury claims filed against three Defendants on behalf of nineteen named Plaintiffs.
Hilton v. Stockhausen, Ciba and American Cyanamid
Stockhausen, Ciba and American Cyanamid
Represented manufacturer (Stockhausen) of polyacrylamide flocculants in first personal injury case filed in West Virginia in which Plaintiff claimed neurologic injury/polyneuropathy as a result of exposure to residual amounts of acrylamide.
Jeran v. Nalco Company
Nalco Company
Suit for personal injuries suffered by golf outing guest who had consumed alcoholic beverages and suffered injuries resulting in quadriplegia
Publications
July 26, 2010, Insurance Companies Beware: Recent West Virginia High Court Ruling May "Unleash a Flood of Lawsuits"
July 9, 2009, Two Million Dollars Awarded to Worker with Wrist Injury in Workers Compensation Retaliatory Discrimination Case
September 16, 2008, Recent OSHA Interpretation Letter Requires Reporting Of Injuries Sustained by Employees In Company Parking Lot
Presentations
September 28, 2011, "Marcellus Shale Drilling: A Health Perspective," Speaker at Ohio Valley Medical Center
May 18, 2009, "Implementing Office Policies: The Price of Being Inconsistent"
April 14, 2009, "Leadership Wheeling Healthcare Session," Speaker
March 4, 2009, "Payment Made Easier, Mechanic's Lien Law," Ohio Valley Construction Employer's Council
February 24, 2009, "Hot Topics in West Virginia Workers' Compensation Law," presented to Specialty Risk Services in Cleveland, Ohio
April 10, 2008, "Drugs and Alcohol in the Work Place" - Ohio State-funded Employers
April 8, 2008, "Leadership Wheeling Healthcare Session," Panelist
April 7, 2008, "Estate Planning Issues Presentation" - Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Local Union 1238
April 10, 2007, "Leadership Wheeling Healthcare Session," Speaker
February 15, 2006, American Academy of Neurology Toughens Guidelines for Expert Witness Testimony
October 1, 2005, Physicians Should be Advised to Obtain Written Expert Witness Fee Agreements
July 10, 2005, Recent West Virginia Supreme Court Decision Declares Portions of Medical Professional Liability Act Unconstitutional
July 1, 2005, West Virginia Supreme Court Rules that Alleged Defects in Pre-Suite Notice of Claim and Screening Certificate of Merit do not Warrant Dismissal of Plaintiff's Lawsuit
March 1, 2005, West Virginia Human Rights Act: Is Your Workplace in Compliance? A Review and Reminder of the Major Theories of Liability Under the Human Rights Act
February 18, 2005, The Use of an Unambiguous Disclaimer May Help Hospitals Prevail in Apparent Agency Claims
February 1, 2005, West Virginia Supreme Court Puts Limits on Class Actions for Medical Monitoring