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Andrew P. Campbell

Portrait of Andrew P. Campbell

Andrew brings vast experience in insurance defense litigation to his practice in our Casualty Department, where he focuses on construction, fire and product liability litigation. Andrew has had the privilege of defending some of the largest construction companies in the region in catastrophic personal injury and death cases as well as high exposure construction defect claims.  Andrew also has an extensive understanding of related areas of practice, including contract and corporate law. His broad legal experience allows him to expertly and efficiently handle an almost unlimited range of cases.

Prior to joining the firm, Andrew was a member of the Delany Law firm in center city Philadelphia. He gained additional experience as an associate at two other Pennsylvania law firms, and at the Bucks County Legal Aid Society.
 

    • Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law (J.D., 1996)
    • Villanova University (B.A., 1992)
    • New Jersey
    • New York
    • Pennsylvania
    • U.S. District Court District of New Jersey
    • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    • American Bar Association
    • Bucks County Bar Association
    • Defense Research Institute
    • Gloucester County Bar Association
    • National Fire Protection Association
    • New York Bar Association
    • Pennsylvania Bar Association
    • Obtained a defense award in favor of our client, a prominent road and bridge constructor, at arbitration in Philadelphia.  Plaintiff alleged a trip and fall in our construction zone, with knee and back injuries.  We argued that the plaintiff failed to prove any actionable defect, that the condition was open and obvious, and that the plaintiff’s own negligence was the proximate cause of the fall.
    • Obtained a summary judgement in a construction defect subrogation case with a $1.3 Million demand. Andrew represented the general contractor and its carrier against a sub-subcontractor who improperly sealed roof openings they made, causing extensive water damage to 12 floors of the building. The subcontractor hotly contested liability on the theory that our client chose and approved the use of sealing foam for this application, and on a separate theory that the contract language itself was deficient. Andrew filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on contractual indemnity arguing that the GC’s possible culpability was of no relevance since the contract language met the standard set forth in Pennsylvania’s Perry-Ruzzi rule and the subcontractor was liable to indemnify even for the GC’s causal negligence. The court agreed that the contract language met the standard and entered judgement against the sub for indemnity. This is an important ruling since these indemnity issues arise in virtually every construction case, whether defect or BI, and oftentimes subs and their carriers will not pick up the claim even when it is clear that they should.
    • Obtained a dismissal by summary judgment in a transportation matter in which he represented a state’s department of transportation.  The plaintiff, a tractor-trailer operator, was injured in a single vehicle accident on the approach to a construction zone, during a heavy rainstorm.  Plaintiff lost control of the vehicle, which rolled off of the roadway into a ravine, resulting in catastrophic injuries.  The plaintiff alleged the client was negligent in failing to provide adequate lighting at the approach to the construction zone and permitting a dangerous, defective condition on the road surface, and brought negligence claims against the state’s department of transportation and multiple contractors.  The basis of Andrew’s defense was that the plaintiff failed to prove any defect or hazard that would constitute an exception to sovereign immunity.
    • Obtained a summary judgement in a medical malpractice case involving the death of a one-year-old infant who twice presented to the ER with seizure complaints and was not admitted until such time as she died in ICU due to complications from an underlying and undiagnosed heart condition. Our client was a Physician’s Assistant Student working in the ER who evaluated the patient, interviewed the mother and recorded her findings in the medical record. We filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on the basis of a Physician Assistant Student’s duty and scope of authority in a pediatric ER, and the court in Philadelphia County entered summary judgement in her favor, dismissing all claims and crossclaims.

Firm Highlights

Thought Leadership

Legal Update for Special Education Law: Recent Positive Outcomes From the Group

Hearing Officer Confirms District Acted Appropriately Under IDEA and Section 504 Atty. William J. McPartland (Scranton) obtained a finding in favor of our client, a school district, on all issues following a due process hearing. The parent had filed a due process complaint alleging that the school district had breached its child find duty under the IDEA and Section 504, that the school district had discriminated against the student on the basis of disability in violation of Section 504, and that the school district had denied a free and appropriate public education to the student both by developing inadequate IEPs and via an actionable procedural violation.  Specifically, the student had received a Section 504 evaluation in October 2023, after a number of behavioral infractions culminating in a fight in September 2023, was identified as having anxiety and a sleep disorder, and received appropriate Section 504 accommodations. The student had never previously demonstrated signs of a learning disability, and the parent denied the school district permission to evaluate the student for special education needs in November 2023, and January 2024. The parent granted the district permission to evaluate the student in October 2024, after a private psychologist diagnosed the student with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, possible Oppositional Defiance Disorder, a learning disorder, and anxiety. The school district issued a special education evaluation report in December 2024, finding that the student had an emotional disturbance and other health impairment, and an IEP providing an itinerant level of emotional support, as well as instruction in academics and social skills, was issued in January 2025, and amended in February, March, and April 2025. The student withdrew from the school district in April 2025, to attend a cyber charter school. The hearing officer determined that the school district had not violated its child find duty to the student in violation of either the IDEA or Section 504 where the district developed a Section 504 plan for the student within a month and a half of the parent’s first request for a Section 504 evaluation and where the parent repeatedly denied consent to conduct an IDEA evaluation of the student. The hearing officer noted that the student’s sporadic record of behavioral infractions prior to September 2023, did not suggest that the student had a disability prior to the parent’s initial request for an evaluation. The hearing officer further determined that no evidence had been produced to suggest that the student was discriminated against on the basis of disability in violation of Section 504. Additionally, the hearing officer determined that the IEP offered to the student was substantively adequate and that, to the extent the social and emotional programming offered by the school district was not received by the student, this resulted from the parent’s refusal to accept the same. The hearing officer finally determined that the school district did not commit an actionable procedural violation by delaying development of an IEP for the student where the parent repeatedly denied consent to evaluate the student. Court Dismisses Three of Four Claims Against School District Attys. Christopher J. Conrad and Daniel P. McGannon (Harrisburg) achieved a significant early victory on behalf of a school district client in. The team successfully obtained dismissal of three of the four claims asserted in the plaintiff’s amended complaint. The former district superintendent brought multiple claims arising out of his alleged “forced resignation,” including age discrimination under the ADEA, a Section 1983 Equal Protection claim, a Pennsylvania Whistleblower claim, and breach of contract. On behalf of the district, the defense team moved to dismiss the complaint in part, arguing: The plaintiff failed to plead sufficient facts to support a prima facie case of age discrimination. The equal protection claim was barred because the ADEA provides the exclusive federal remedy for age-based employment claims. The breach of contract claim could not stand because the underlying employment agreement had expired prior to the alleged breach. The court agreed, dismissing the ADEA, equal protection, and breach of contract claims in their entirety. As a result, only a single claim under the Pennsylvania Whistleblower Law remains pending. This outcome substantially narrows the scope of the litigation and positions the client for a more efficient defense moving forward.

Result

No-Cause Jury Verdict Secured in Wrongful Death Trial

We successfully obtained a no-cause jury verdict in a 13-day wrongful death trial. The decedent, a 59-year-old man, was admitted to the emergency room on February 15, 2019, with complaints of abdominal pain, decreased appetite, and constipation, despite the use of laxatives. The patient did not complain of any nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. He had a significant medical history including diabetes, hypertension, prior coronary artery stenting, morbid obesity (with past gastric bypass surgery), longstanding ventral hernia, and back pain. A CT scan revealed multiple hernias and a potential closed-loop bowel obstruction, leading to a surgery consultation. Our client, an emergency general surgeon, interpreted that the patient did not have a closed loop or any significant obstruction and recommended non-surgical management. The patient was approved to have clear liquids, and had a vomiting incident shortly after, but our client was not notified. The patient was returned to NPO status, and after improving overnight, he was returned to “clears” and additional medical and renal consults were ordered. Our client did not receive any communications from the residents/nurses of any changes in the patient’s condition. On February 18, 2019, two rapid responses were called due to increased heart rate and vomiting. It is believed that the vomiting resulted in aspiration, causing sepsis, ultimately leading to the patient’s death. During the trial, the plaintiff’s sole medical expert highlighted imaging on the wrong hernia, which called into question all of his opinions in the case. We made key objections related to the expert testimony, limiting what the allegations were, and preventing new allegations from being made. After approximately two and a half hours of deliberating, the jury returned a no-cause verdict. 

Thought Leadership

Featured Conversations... Key Takeaways from A.M. Best’s Webinar on the Misuse Defense in Product Liability Claims, Featuring Michael Salvati

Michael Salvati, shareholder in our Philadelphia office, was a panelist for the April A.M. Best webinar, “The Misuse Defense: Strategic Approaches to Defending Product Liability Claims for Insurers.” During the program, Michael and his fellow panelists offered practical, jurisdiction‑specific guidance on how misuse and failure‑to‑warn theories intersect in modern product liability litigation. Michael emphasized the unique challenges these claims present—particularly in states like Pennsylvania, where evidentiary rules diverge sharply from those applied in many other jurisdictions. Failure to Warn as the “Flip Side” of Misuse Salvati explained that failure‑to‑warn allegations often arise as a direct counter to a misuse defense. As he noted, “If our misuse defense is that the plaintiff didn't use a product properly or safely, then the failure to warn claim is that we didn't tell them how to use it properly.” He emphasized that these claims can stem from either the absence of warnings or criticisms of existing warnings, such as insufficient specificity or lack of clarity about risks. Pennsylvania’s Unique Evidentiary Landscape One of Salvati’s most notable points was the stark difference in how Pennsylvania treats evidence of compliance with industry standards. He highlighted that Pennsylvania is “one of the only states…where that evidence is not admissible” in strict liability cases. Manufacturers cannot rely on compliance with ANSI, UL, ISO, or even federal safety standards to defend the product against a strict liability claim—because the focus is solely on the product itself, not the manufacturer’s conduct. Salvati acknowledged the challenge this creates for defense counsel and clients who expect such compliance to carry weight. Understanding the Three Defect Theories Salvati also walked through the three primary defect theories recognized in many jurisdictions: - Design defect – a flaw in the product’s intended design - Manufacturing defect – a deviation affecting a specific unit - Failure to warn – inadequate instructions or warnings He noted that warnings claims are increasingly significant and sometimes stand alone when design or manufacturing theories are weak. As he put it, plaintiffs often default to warnings claims because “the default position seems to be, ‘If I got hurt, there must be something wrong.’” Warranties and State‑by‑State Variations Salvati addressed how breach‑of‑warranty claims fit into the broader framework, explaining that implied warranties—such as merchantability—often overlap with strict liability in Pennsylvania. He emphasized the importance of understanding local nuances, as warranty law and admissibility rules vary widely across states. Looking Ahead: The Growing Importance of Warnings In his closing remarks, Salvati stressed that warnings should never be treated as an afterthought in product liability defense. He observed that warnings‑only claims are becoming more common and urged manufacturers and insurers to continually evaluate the clarity and completeness of their instructions and warnings. His takeaway: “We should always be talking about what are the instructions that come with our products…to bolster a misuse defense.” Listen to the complete webinar here: https://www3.ambest.com/conferences/events/eventregister.aspx?event_id=WEB1074.