FOUNDING PARTNER
Scott I. Palumbo is a co-founder of Palumbo Wolfe & Palumbo. Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Mr. Palumbo received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, where he was a letterman on the varsity football team. He went on to obtain his law degree from the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. He has since dedicated his legal career to defending the rights of personal injury victims and those who have lost loved ones to wrongful death.
Mr. Palumbo is a past President of the Arizona Association for Justice / Arizona Trial Lawyers Association and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Mr. Palumbo is included in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Plaintiffs Personal Injury Litigation and Medical Malpractice Law, being named the 2020 and 2023 “Lawyer of the Year” for Plaintiff’s Medical Malpractice Law and the 2023 “Lawyer of the Year” for Personal Injury Litigation. Super Lawyers® has included Mr. Palumbo in its Super Lawyers lists and recognized him as one of the “Top 50 Arizona Super Lawyers” every year since 2014, making him the youngest Arizona attorney to ever receive that recognition. Mr. Palumbo has been repeatedly honored by AZ Business Magazine as one of the “Top 100 Arizona Lawyers.” He maintains an AV® peer review rating by Martindale-Hubbell® – its highest rating for legal ability and ethical standards.
In 2024, Mr. Palumbo obtained the largest personal injury verdict in Arizona history ($90,000,000). He is also a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum – an organization that maintains membership exclusively for those lawyers who have recovered settlements or verdicts in excess of $2 million dollars. He has held a “Superb” 10/10 rating on Avvo.com for well over a decade.
Mr. Palumbo currently lives in Phoenix, AZ, with his wife Emily and their two wonderful children.
If you have further questions or if you would like to discuss your potential case, you should not hesitate to call or email Mr. Palumbo as soon as possible. He understands how daunting it can be to file a claim or pursue a lawsuit and is dedicated to ensuring his clients get the high-quality assistance they deserve.
Areas of Practice:
- Plaintiffs’ Wrongful Death
- Plaintiffs’ Serious Personal Injury
- Plaintiffs’ Medical Malpractice
- Plaintiffs’ Product Liability
- Plaintiffs’ Traumatic Brain Injury
Bar Admissions:
- Arizona
- U.S. District Court District of Arizona
Education:
- Arizona State University, College of Law, Tempe, Arizona, J.D.
- University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, B.A.
Honors and Awards:
- Best Lawyers in America, 2016 – present
- Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year” – Best Lawyers in America, 2020, 2023
- Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year” – Best Lawyers in America, 2023
- “AV” Peer Review Rated – Martindale-Hubbell, Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Litigation
- “Top 50” Arizona Super Lawyer – Super Lawyers, 2014 – present
- Southwest Super Lawyer – Super Lawyers, 2013 – present
- Top Lawyer – Phoenix Magazine, Medical Malpractice Plaintiff & Personal Injury, 2022, 2023
- Top 100 Arizona Lawyers – AZ Business Magazine
- Rated 10/10 “Superb” – AVVO.com, 2010 – present
- Member, Arizona’s Finest Lawyers
- Local Litigation Star – Benchmark Litigation
- Top 10 Best Car Accident Lawyer in Phoenix – Forbes, 2024
- Member, Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, 2008 – present
*Representative Cases Handled By Mr. Palumbo:
- $92,409,000 verdict ($90M) and settlement in a wrongful death case involving a fatal car collision caused by drunk driver.
- $7,850,000 recovery for the family of a man killed by a defective vehicle.
- $7,000,000 jury verdict for a motorcyclist injured by a driver who pulled from a private drive into the path of the plaintiff’s motorcycle.
- $6,000,000 resolution in a strict product and premises liability case.
- $5,750,000 recovery in a nursing malpractice case.
- $3,400,000 settlement for the family of a man who died as a result of orthopedic medical negligence.
- $3,400,000 resolution on behalf of a repairman who was severely burned on the job.
- $2,370,000 recovery for a couple injured as a result of a defectively designed freeway intersection.
- $2,250,000 recovery for the death of a father killed by a negligent driver.
- $2,110,000 settlement for a man injured by a drunk driver.
- $2,100,000 recovery for injuries sustained by a motorcycle rider hit by an automobile.
- $2,000,000 resolution for a family whose husband/father was killed in a hospital.
- $1,750,000 settlement for woman who broke her spine in a bus crash.
- $1,700,000 recovery for man hit by a pick-up truck.
- $1,700,000 settlement for automobile crash caused by drunk driver.
- $1,655,000 settlement for a couple injured by a tractor trailer on the Interstate.
- $1,600,000 settlement for a woman run over by a car.
- $1,500,000 recovery for family whose mother was killed in car collision.
- $1,500,000 recovery for a man who sustained permanent injury during surgery.
- $1,475,000 recovery for a couple who each sustained permanent injuries after being run over by a USA government boat.
- $1,300,000 settlement on behalf of the family of a man killed on a construction site.
- $1,250,000 recovery for a man hit by a car while walking in a crosswalk.
- $1,250,000 recovery for a mother and father of a son killed on a bicycle.
- $1,245,000 settlement for a young woman attacked by a dog.
- $1,160,000 recovery for the family of a wife and mother who died as a result of medical negligence.
- $1,115,000 settlement on behalf of a gentleman injured by a driver who pulled her vehicle into the path of the plaintiff’s truck.
- $1,100,000 recovery for a family injured in a rollover car crash on the Interstate.
- $1,030,633 jury verdict ($991,633) & additional auto insurance settlement ($40,000) in car crash case.
- $1,025,000 recovery on behalf of a truck driver injured when a loading dock gate toppled on top of him.
- $1,000,000 recovery for a victim of medical negligence.
- $1,000,000 recovery for a victim of hospital negligence.
- $1,000,000 settlement for a family who lost their father and husband due to medical negligence.
- $30,000,000+ in recoveries serving as local counsel assisting out-of-state lawyers in Arizona cases.
Published Works
- Getting Back to Basics: Tort Law 101, Advocate, September 2017
- Other Arizona Liens, Arizona Personal Injury Lien Law and Practice, Ch. 5, 2006
- Balance Billing = HIPAA Violation, Advocate, July 2004
Classes/Seminars Taught:
- Health Privacy and Ethics, Arizona Trial Lawyers Seminar 2005
- Settling the Case – Mediation Techniques and Skills, Arizona Trial Lawyers – Advanced Trial Advocacy Conference 2006
- Everything You Need to Know About Affidavits of Merit, Arizona Trial Lawyers – Medical Malpractice Seminar
- Collateral Sources – What Qualifies and How to Handle Them at Trial, Arizona Trial Lawyers – Medical Malpractice Seminar 2008
- Battling the Hospital: The Pros and Cons of Litigation, Arizona Trial Lawyers Association – Liens Seminar 2009
- Ethical Considerations in Liens, Arizona Trial Lawyers – Ethics Seminar, 2009
- Mining the Internet: Using Social Network Sites to Your Client’s Advantage, Arizona Trial Lawyers, 2010, 2011
- Trial Masters- A Look Inside the Value Options Case, Voir Dire, Arizona Trial Lawyers, 2011
- Personal Injury Fundamentals, Maricopa County Bar Association, 2011
- Balance Billing: Who Would Have Thought This Would Be the Easy Part of the Seminar?, Arizona Trial Lawyers Association – Liens Seminar, 2012
- E-Ethics: Ethical Issues Facing Plaintiff Attorneys In the Electronic Age, Arizona Trial Lawyers Association Ethics Seminar, 2013; State Bar of Arizona 2013
- Legal Pads to iPads, Arizona Trial Lawyers Association Seminar, 2014
- Multiple Plaintiffs in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Cases: Plaintiff and Defense Perspectives, State Bar of Arizona CLE, 2014
- Tips, Tactics & Tools for Trial Lawyers, Arizona Trial Lawyers Association Seminar, 2014
- Personal Injury Fundamentals, “Pre-Litigation: Setting Client Expectations,” Maricopa County Bar Association, 2015
- Next Generation Visual Evidence Using Tablet Computers and Apps, State Bar of Arizona, 2015
- Personal Injury Liens 101, Maricopa County Bar Association, 2016
- Auto Injuries: Advanced Plaintiff Strategies, National Business Institute, 2016
- Advanced Liability, Causation and Damage Issues in Motor Vehicle Crash Cases – Plaintiff and Defense Perspectives, State Bar of Arizona 2017
- As Judges See It: Best (and Worst) Practices in Civil Litigation, National Business Institute, 2017, 2018
- How Not to Get Sued, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine Selective, 2017, 2018
- Medical Malpractice Case Evaluation: Perspective of a Plaintiff’s Attorney, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine Selective, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
- Medical Malpractice Litigation, Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Fall 2017, Spring 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021; Fall 2022; Fall 2023
- Personal Injury From A to Z, National Business Institute, 2019
- Judges Tell All:Practical Advice for Working With the Court, National Business Institute, 2019
- Let’s Get Physical: Cross-Examining Rule 35 Experts (And More!), Arizona Trial Lawyers Seminar, 2019
- Rules of The Road For Experts, CLE by the Sea, State Bar of Arizona, 2019
- Advanced Personal Injury Conference, CLE In the Red Rocks, State Bar of Arizona, 2020
- Advanced Deposition Techniques, Maricopa County Bar Association, 2020
- Communicating With Judges – Motions, Conferences and More, National Business Institute, 2020
- A Debate On The Non-Lawyer Ownership Of Law Firms Between Gary Stuart and Scott Palumbo, Arizona Trial Lawyers Annual Ethics Seminar, 2020
- The Judges’ View: Arizona Civil Litigation Do’s and Dont’s, National Business Institute, 2022, 2023
- Working Up Your Personal Injury Brain Injury Cases – Arizona Trial Lawyers, 2023
- Ask Civil Court Judges: A Candid Conversation With the Bench, National Business Institute, 2024
Professional Associations and Memberships:
- State Bar of Arizona
Former Chair, Trial Practice Section Executive Board - Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
Adjunct Professor - American Association for Justice
- Arizona Trial Lawyers Association / Arizona Association For Justice
Past President, Board of Directors - University of Notre Dame National Monogram Club
Member (Football) - National Football League Players Association, 2002 – 2003
Certified Contract Advisor - Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law Alumni Association
Former Member, Board of Directors - Superior Court of Arizona, 2009 – 2017
Judge Pro Tempore - Arizona Supreme Court Attorney Discipline Unit
Hearing Panel Judge / Settlement Officer - Brain Injury Alliance of Arizona
Former Chair, Board of Directors
Former Chair, Advisory Council - Holtz’s Heroes Foundation
Member, Board of Directors Vice President
*These results are not typical and should not create an expectation of future results.
View Scott’s legal profile on Avvo, Justia, Lawyer Central and HG.