Mr. Clark has an extensive background in civil litigation, including personal injury, product liability and professional malpractice actions. Mr. Clark did defense work at the Seattle firm Karr Tuttle Campbell for nearly 15 years before he joined the firm in a practice devoted to representing injured persons. As a former principal at the firm, Mr. Clark is now of counsel for Marler Clark, Inc., P.S..
In 1993, Mr. Clark became involved in foodborne illness litigation as an attorney for Jack in the Box restaurants in its E. coli O157:H7 personal injury litigation. The Jack in the Box litigation spanned more than four years and involved more than 100 lawsuits in four states. Since that time, Mr. Clark has been continuously involved in food and waterborne illness litigation involving bacterial, viral, and parasitic agents in settings ranging from large scale outbreaks to individual cases. These include cases involving, among other pathogens, E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Shigella, Campylobacter, hepatitis A, and Cryptosporidium. He has extensive expertise in the medical, microbiological, and epidemiological aspects of foodborne illness cases gleaned from more than a decade of working with leading experts across the country. He also has a special interest in the hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a rare complication of Shiga toxin producing E. coli bacterial infections. From his background as a defense attorney, he possesses practical insight into the functioning of corporations and their insurers.
Mr. Clark has litigated cases across the country in both state and federal courts, in addition to handling cases in Washington state. He has a special interest in the intersection of epidemiology and medical as a tool for identifying the source of serious foodborne illnesses. He has extensive experience in mass torts and has fashioned out of court procedures to assist victims of large foodborne outbreaks navigate to a less costly and time-consuming resolution of their claims. He works on cases from self-limited foodborne illnesses to catastrophic injury and death.
Mr. Clark has tried numerous jury cases in state and federal courts and has litigated cases in state and federal courts from coast to coast. In addition to his work on food and waterborne pathogen cases, Mr. Clark handles general personal injury cases. He frequently speaks to public health groups as well as food industry groups about the realities of foodborne illness litigation and efforts that can help avoid the damage foodborne pathogens inflict.
He has extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution and has successfully mediated hundreds of lawsuits. Mr. Clark has an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.
Mr. Clark has two sons and likes to spend time gardening.
