Sean K. McElligott

Sean has obtained numerous significant jury verdicts in Connecticut since 2011. His verdicts include: a $30 million verdict involving negligent labor and delivery; a $12 million verdict involving negligent surgical technique; a $10.5 million verdict for a patient rendered comatose by negligent anesthesia care; a $6.5 million verdict involving the death of a 44-year-old man from improper sodium treatment; a $4.35 million verdict for a woman who suffered spinal cord damage from a negligently placed epidural needle; a $4.25 million verdict on behalf of a man who suffered a nerve injury to his neck during surgery; a $2.45 million verdict on behalf of a same-sex couple where one spouse died as a result of negligent cancer treatment; and numerous other verdicts in excess of $1 million. He has also obtained numerous confidential settlements totaling more than $100 million.

Sean also maintains an active appellate practice in both state and federal court. He won an important appeal before the Connecticut Supreme Court involving the rights of same sex couples to the loss of consortium remedy in Connecticut. He won several important cases involving the provision of adequate insurance to negligence victims. As part of a team of lawyers, he appeared before the United States Supreme Court in a case raising important issues of appellate jurisdiction. Sean has appeared several times before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a case seeking to improve police practices in Bridgeport. He has also authored amicus briefs on behalf of members of the United States Congress.

Pro Bono Civil Rights Practice

Sean maintains an active pro bono civil right practice representing victims of police brutality, exonerees and Connecticut prisoners mistreated by guards.  He was part of a team achieving a first of its kind $6 million settlement on behalf of Rick Ireland, a Connecticut exoneree who was wrongfully incarcerated for 19 years.  In 2019, Sean tried a prisoner brutality case to verdict in Federal Court with the assistance of a team of law students from Quinnipiac University and fellows who were recent graduates from Yale Law School.

Sean lives in New Haven County with his spouse Sarah Russell, a law professor at Quinnipiac University, and his three children. Sean played Varsity Soccer and Ice Hockey for Trinity College and currently coaches in the Yale Youth Hockey program in New Haven.

Judicial Appointments

• Standing Committee on Recommendations to the Bar in Fairfield County, 2018-present

Published Works

• Co-author of The Medical Malpractice Trial (2019), a book designed to assist lawyers from around the country to improve their courtroom advocacy skills
• Co-author of Connecticut Personal Injury Forms, Second Edition (2014)

Seminars/Classes Taught

• Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, 2020
• Ohio Trial Lawyers Association, 2019
• Numerous presentations to Connecticut lawyers

Past Employment Positions

• Simpson Thacher and Bartlett, New York