About John Collins
John B. Collins is Of Counsel at Bongiovanni, Collins & Warden, P.C. and the firm's former senior partner. He concentrates his practice on plaintiff's medical malpractice and product liability matters involving catastrophic injuries and wrongful death. In March 2023, he tried Sapp v. Ogunkoya, a medical malpractice case in which a Superior Court jury returned a $20.9 million verdict following a ten day trial before Judge Annette Scoca, apportioning liability among three co-defendant physicians and a preexisting condition; the case and the verdict were reported by the New Jersey Law Journal in August 2023. His other case work includes Sharpe v. Bestop, Inc. (158 N.J.
329, 1999), Conklin v. Hannoch Weisman (145 N.J. 395, 1996), Lovenguth v. D'Angelo (258 N.J. Super. 6, 1992), and Crowe v. M & M/Mars (242 N.J.
Super. 592, 1990). He was commissioned through the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, earned his B.S. in Economics from Upsala College in 1973, and earned his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1976. He is admitted to practice in New Jersey, before the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Proven verdicts and settlements
Wyatt Sapp collapsed twice in the summer of 2014 and was sent home both times; by the time surgeons relieved the pressure on his spinal cord he was immobile, developed clots in both legs, and lost them above the knee. After a 10-day trial against the last remaining defendant, an Essex County jury awarded $20.9 million on March 8, 2023.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.
