Our Credentials
Michael Kaplen
Chair
New York State Traumatic
Brain Injury Coordinating Council

Vice President
New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers

3 Term President
Brain Injury Association of
New York State

Past Chair
Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation
Group: American Association
For Justice

Past Chair
Motor Vehicle, Highway, Premises
Liability Section: American Association
For Justice

National Advisory Board
Association of Interstate
Trucking Lawyers of America

Past Co-Chair
Tort Section, New York County
Lawyers Association

Board of Directors
Trial Lawyers for Public Justice

Board of Governors, American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys

Board of Directors
New York Academy of Trial Lawyers

Editorial Board
Neurolaw Letter

Board Certified
Civil Trial Advocate
National Board of Trial Advocacy*

Board Certified
American Board of Professional
Liability Attorneys
Medical Liability*

Sustaining Member:
American Association for Justice
Public Justice Foundation

Member:
N.Y.S. Trial Lawyers Association
Florida Academy of Trial Lawyers
Southern Trial Lawyers
Association-Fellow
North American Brain Injury Association

Honors & Awards:

New York Super Lawyer
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

Top 100 New York Trial Lawyers -
American Trial Lawyer Association

Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
Public Achievement Award

Shana DeCaro

Treasurer
Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group: American Association for Justice

Board of Advisors
Civil Justice Foundation

Fellow
American Association for Justice

Editor
Law Update
New York Academy of Trial Lawyers

Honors and Awards

Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
Public Achievement Award

Who's Who in American Women

Who's Who in American Law

Top 100 New York Trial Lawyers-American Trial Lawyers Association

Elite Lawyers Of America


Member:

New York Academy of Trial Lawyers

New York State Trial Lawyers Association

Brain Injury Association New York State

North American Brain Injury Association

* The National Board of Trial Advocacy and the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys are not affiliated with any government authority. Certification is not a requirement for the practice of law in the State of New York and does not necessarily indicate greater competence than other attorneys experienced in this field of law.

Our Legal Expertise

Pursuing Justice with a passion--
making a difference in lives.

What sets us apart from most personal injury law firms is our commitment and passion to protect the rights of brain injury victims.

De Caro & Kaplen, LLP Provides Compassionate Legal Representation to the Victims of Negligence and Their Families

New York brain injury attorney Michael Kaplen has more than 26 years of experience in negligence and personal injury litigation. He concentrates his practice on representing victims of head injury and brain trauma. He has been nationally recognized for his expertise in the areas of personal injury including brain injury, automobile and construction accidents, medical malpractice, nursing home malpractice and wrongful death. He chairs the New York State Traumatic Brain Injury Services Coordinating Council and was the three term president of the Brain Injury Association of New York. He is the past chair of the Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the New York Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is a member of the National Advisory Board and New York State Advisory Board of the Association of Interstate Trucking Lawyers of American.

Michael Kaplen is Board Certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and Board Certified in the area of Medical Malpractice by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. Because of his nationally recognized expertise as a personal injury lawyer with a focus on the legal representation of victims of brain damage, Michael Kaplen has been interviewed by CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, N.Y. Times, N.Y. Daily News, N.Y. Post, Newsday, Gannett Papers and other television stations, newspapers and leading periodicals throughout the nation. His summations in cases with multi-million dollar brain injury verdicts and medical malpractice verdicts have been published in the Art of Advocacy Series, Matthew Bender, Publishers.

With his expertise as a brain injury lawyer, Michael Kaplen is frequently invited to share his expertise in brain injury legal cases with brain injury associations, brain injury rehabilitation facilities and legal groups throughout the country.

New York brain injury attorney, Shana De Caro has been an advocate for the rights of the disabled for over 25 years. She too focuses her practice on the legal representation of brain injury victims and their families. Brain injury lawyer, Shana De Caro practices in the fields of brain injury litigation, automobile and construction site accidents, medical malpractice, nursing home malpractice and wrongful death. With her expertise in traumatic brain injury she serves as an officer of the Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice. She also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Civil Justice Foundation. She has successfully handled trials and appeals in State and Federal Courts on behalf of New York brain injury accident victims.

Shana De Caro is the editor of the New York Law Update published by the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers.


Michael V. Kaplen

Education and Accomplishments
  • B.A. from New York University - 1976
  • J.D. from Brooklyn Law School - 1979
  • Board Certified, Civil Trial Advocate, National Board of Trial Advocacy
  • Board Certified, Medical Malpractice, American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys
  • Chair, New York State Traumatic Brain Injury Services Coordinating Council
  • President of the Brain Injury Association of New York State
  • Board of Directors, New York Academy of Trial Lawyers
  • Past Chair of the Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group of the American Association For Justice
  • Past Chair of the Automobile, Highway & Premises Liability Section of the American Association For Justice
  • Past Co-Chair of the Tort Section of the New York County Lawyers Association
  • Has taught courses in Law and Medicine as well as Trial Practice at St. John's University School of Law
  • Appointed as a member of the Medical Malpractice Panels in New York State by the Appellate Divisions of the First and Second Departments of the Supreme Courts of the State of New York
    Board of Directors, Trials Lawyers for Public Justice
  • Honored by Trial Lawyers Care for his successful volunteer representation of victims of the World Trade Center disaster
  • Advisory Board: Crime Victims Bar Association
  • Fellow, Southern Trial Lawyers Association
  • Fellow, National College of Advocacy, American Association For Justice
  • Sustaining Member, American Association For Justice
  • Member, New York State Trial Lawyers Association
  • Member, New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers
  • Member, Florida Academy of Trial Lawyers
  • Member, New Jersey Trial Lawyers Association

Invited Speaker to Brain Injury and Lawyer Associations Across the Nation

Mr. Kaplen's knowledge and experience as a brain injury attorney and his effective advocacy in traumatic brain injury cases has led to him being an invited guest speaker at the Brain Injury Associations of various locations including California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin as well as the Brain Injury Association of American and the North American Brain Injury Society. Mr. Kaplen has also been an invited guest speaker to lawyer associations in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin.

Full Curriculum Vitae


Shana De Caro

Education and Accomplishments
  • B.A. degree from George Washington University - 1977
  • J.D. degree from Benjamin Cardozo School of Law - 1980
  • Attended Oxford University Institute on International and Comparative Law in Oxford, England
  • Officer, the Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group of the American Association For Justice
  • Editor, Monthly Law Update, New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers
  • Elected, Who’s Who in the Law
  • Elected, Who’s Who American Women
  • Member, New York State Trial Lawyers Association
  • Member, Brain Injury Association of New York State
  • Board of Trustees, Civil Justice Foundation
  • Appointed as a member of the Medical Malpractice Panels in New York State by the Appellate Divisions of the First and Second Departments of the Supreme Courts of the State of New York
  • Primary legal assistant to a Justice of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Brooklyn)
  • Editorial adviser to the American Association For Justice, Work Place reporter
  • Admitted to the Court of International Trade
  • Fellow, National College of Advocacy, American Association For Justice
  • Honored by Trial Lawyers Care for her successful volunteer representation of victims of the World Trade Center Disaster
  • Member, Trial Lawyers For Public Justice
  • Member, American Association For Justice

Full Curriculum Vitae

If your loved one or yourself has been a victim of traumatic brain injury caused by a motor vehicle accident, medical malpractice, premise site negligence or work place injury, contact the New York brain injury law team at De Caro & Kaplen, LLP, for a free, no obligation consultation.