Loretta A. Sheehan

Most recently, in 2023, Loretta Sheehan won the largest medical malpractice judgment in the history of the State of Hawaii, when the Honorable J. Michael Seabright awarded almost $30 Million in Warren et a. v. USA, due to malpractice committed at Tripler Army Medical Center.

Ms. Sheehan has been litigating personal injury and medical malpractice cases at Davis Levin Livingston for approximately 15 years. Some of her recent successes include:

• a 2020 settlement of $1.84 Million with the County of Kauai for employment retaliation committed against Kauai Police Assistant Chief Mark Begley

• a 2014 judgement of $4.2 Million after trial before the Hon. Alan C. Kay due to a botched gastric bypass surgery in Mettias v. USA

• a 2013 judgement of $6.25 Million after jury trial against MidPac Country Club for its negligent maintenance of its golf course, which led to the paralysis of Amar Sappal,

• a 2012 settlement of $15.4 Million after trial on liability with the State of Hawaii due to the wrongful death of Elizabeth Brem, a woman who was killed while hiking on Kauai.

While Ms. Sheehan is known for her history of multi-million dollar successful verdicts and settlements, she also is well-known for her willingness to stand up and speak the truth. In 2016 Mayor Kirk Caldwell appointed her to the Honolulu Police Commission, where she “earned a well-deserved reputation for raising issues that her colleagues have preferred to ignore.” Civil Beat, October 19, 2016. In 2017 she was the sole member of the Honolulu Police Commission to vote “no” on the proposal to provide Chief Louis Kealoha with a $250,000 payout for his retirement. In 2019, Chief Kealoha was convicted of felony charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

Ms. Sheehan started her career as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu in 1985. She served as a DPA for 10 years, focusing on crimes against women and children. In 1990 she became the first prosecutor to expand legal boundaries in the field of child homicides by successfully introducing the concept of “murder by omission.” In 1995 she was appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii, and spent the next 14 years focusing on complex drug prosecutions, violent crime, and crimes against women and children.

In 2009 Loretta Sheehan joined the firm of Davis Levin Livingston, as a seasoned litigator with more than 45 jury trials under her belt. Since joining the firm, she has earned a reputation as a passionate yet methodical advocate for clients across Hawaii, focusing on personal injury and wrongful death matters with a special emphasis on medical malpractice, including birth injuries. In representing children and their families whose lives have been dramatically altered by preventable birth injuries, she fights tirelessly to hold at-fault parties accountable for the wrongs they have committed.

In 2007 she was awarded the prestigious Jefferson Award for her extensive work in the field of domestic violence. She has served on the Board of Advisors for the Domestic Violence Action Center, has been a Commissioner on the Honolulu Police Commission, and has served on the Board of Directors for Hospice Hawaii.

PRACTICE AREAS

• Medical Malpractice
• Personal Injury

EDUCATION

• Boston University, summa cum laude
• Georgetown University Law Center

BAR ADMISSIONS

• Hawai‘i
• New York
• U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai‘i
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

PROFESSIONAL HONORS, ASSOCIATIONS & ACTIVITIES

• Member, Hawai‘i State Bar Association, 1986 to present
• Member, Hawai‘i Association for Justice, 2009 to present
• Member, American Association for Justice, 2009 to present
• Volunteer, Board Member and Chair, Hospice Hawaii, 1988-1994
• Member, Advisory Board, Domestic Violence Action Center, 1995-present
• Jefferson Award winner, 2007
• Federal Magistrate Judge Selection Committee Member, U.S. District Court, 2011
• Faculty, Hawaii State Bar Association Trial Academy, 2014, 2016 & 2023
• Commissioner, Honolulu Police Commission, 2016-2020
• Chair, Honolulu Police Commission, 2018-2019
• Lawdragon 500 Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers, 2019
• Selected to the Best Lawyers in America since 2019
• Selected to Super Lawyers, 2012, 2014 - 2016, 2020