About J. Kirk Goza

Manages high-stakes litigation matters nationwide, including mass torts, class actions and catastrophic injury cases J. Kirk's current practice focuses on representing individuals harmed by products, drugs and medical devices J. Kirk’s litigation experience is wide-ranging and includes both plaintiffs and defense side work. On the defense side, he has represented Fortune 500 companies in some of the most significant product liability litigations of the last decade, including cases involving pharmaceuticals, talcum powder and vehicle defects. He has also represented one of the world’s largest pharmacy benefit managers in lawsuits seeking billions of dollars for alleged antitrust violations. He has defended government contractors facing false claims act allegations, and a world renowned shipping registry facing breach of contract claims.

Today, J. Kirk focuses on representing individuals and schools that have been harmed by defective products and business practices-work that he finds far more rewarding. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife and two children. Wagstaff & Cartmell 4740 Grand Avenue, Suite 300 Kansas City, MO 64112 Wagstaff & Cartmell 1717 K Street NW Suite 900 Washington, DC 20006

Proven verdicts and settlements at Wagstaff & Cartmell

These results are credited to Wagstaff & Cartmell. A result appears under an attorney's own name only when a published source names them as counsel on the case.

San Francisco Unified School District's case was the first JUUL bellwether trial against Altria; after the plaintiffs rested, Altria agreed to pay $235 million to resolve roughly 6,000 pending e-vapor claims nationwide.

U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (MDL No. 2913) · 2023Product LiabilityRead the full story →
$20 millionVerdictTop 20 in Indiana · #12

A federal jury in Hammond, Indiana found that Ethicon's Prolift transvaginal mesh was defectively designed and inadequately warned against, awarding Barbara and Anton Kaiser $35 million. A judge reduced the punitive damages, leaving a $20 million verdict that the Seventh Circuit affirmed in full in 2020.

U.S. District Court, N.D. Indiana, No. 2:17-cv-114 · 2018Product LiabilityRead the full story →

Kathryn Gant died at the scene of a head-on crash on K-58 in Kansas on June 10, 2011, after a driver crossed the center line in a no-passing zone. Her husband sued the driver, the driver's parents and the family oil company. After a five-day bench trial in June 2015, a Coffey County judge found all of them liable and awarded $6,723,021. Under a pretrial agreement, none of the judgment could be collected from the defendants themselves.

Coffey County District Court, Kansas · 2015Wrongful DeathRead the full story →
$6 millionVerdict

A Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google's YouTube negligent in designing platforms that harmed a young woman identified as K.G.M., who began watching YouTube at age 6 and joined Instagram at 9. On March 25, 2026, it awarded $3 million in compensatory damages, split 70 percent to Meta and 30 percent to YouTube, plus $3 million in punitive damages. It was the first bellwether trial in the coordinated California social media addiction cases.

Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County (JCCP 5255, Judge Carolyn Kuhl) · 2026Product LiabilityRead the full story →
$5.7 millionVerdict

A Kern County jury handed Coleen Perry a $5.7 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon unit on March 5, 2015, in the first trial ever to reach a jury over Ethicon's TVT-Abbrevo polypropylene mesh sling.

Superior Court of California, Kern County · 2015Product LiabilityRead the full story →

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.

Practice areas

Education

Georgetown University Law Center
J.D., 2013
Columbia University
Undergraduate, 2007

Bar admissions & credentials

State Bar of District of Columbia
State Bar of New York
State Bar of California

Other attorneys at Wagstaff & Cartmell

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Proven verdicts and settlements from other Washington firms

Regan Zambri Long Personal Injury Lawyers
Regan Zambri Long Personal Injury Lawyers
$6.17 Million Verdict for Skier Brain-Injured in Fall Off Unmarked Drop-Off at Massanutten Ski Resort
Ashcraft & Gerel, LLP
Ashcraft & Gerel, LLP
$5.5 billion · J&J Agrees to Pay at Least $5.5 Billion to Resolve 76,000 Talc-Cancer Claims
Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner LLP
Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner LLP
$20 Million Judgment Against U.S. for Driver Paralyzed When Smithsonian Bus Ran Red Light
Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C.
Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C.
$17.11 million · $17.1 Million Verdict After Missed Ectopic Pregnancy Kills Young DC Mother
Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis LLP
Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis LLP
$13.5 Million Default Judgment Against Iran for Passenger Tortured in 1984 Kuwait Airways Hijacking

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.