Pejman (“Pej”) Ben-Cohen is a partner and the supervising trial lawyer at Carpenter & Zuckerman (“CZ”) . Since joining CZ in 2016, Pej has obtained over $125M in settlements and verdicts with a jury trial record of 20 wins and 2 losses. He was a Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles Trial Lawyer of the Year nominee in 2017 and 2023. Pej was also honored to be a Ventura County Trial Lawyer of the Year finalist in 2023 for a record setting $9.1M verdict he obtained with his partner, Robert Ounjian, in a disputed liability slip and fall case where his client developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Pej has been named a Super Lawyer, which is given to the top 5% of attorneys across the country from 2014 to present. He routinely lectures throughout the State of California on all matters related to jury trials.
Pej is a graduate of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyers College where he was taught the importance of forming a personal relationship with his clients to gain a better understanding of their human story. He considers his clients family and routinely spends time with his clients at his house and theirs as he routinely teaches young lawyers his firm belief that “you cannot get a jury to love your client if you do not love your client.”
Finally, Pej embraces Carpenter & Zuckerman’s deep commitment to community service. He started the MacArthur Park Feed as a part of the Feed the Streets Non-profit organization that feeds the less fortunate every Friday at MacArthur Park. Pej was also the second founding president of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers' Charities, a nonprofit organization committed to improving the quality of life for people in need, with a focus on education, children, and the homeless. Pej is similarly active in the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) and the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC)
Recent Verdicts & Settlements:
- $23,750,000 settlement in a disputed liability case where our client was riding a bicycle in San Diego when a wrong way driver on methamphetamines ran him over.
- $22,500,000 settlement in a disputed liability case where a minor ingested methamphetamines at a hotel and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
- $16,000,000 settlement in a disputed liability case against a police officer who was responding to a call with his lights and siren activated and made a U-turn in front of the Plaintiff, who suffered a traumatic brain injury, multiple facial and extremity fractures, and blindness in both eyes.
- $9,117,715.96 record setting verdict in San Diego involving a disputed liability slip and fall case where the Plaintiff developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (“CRPS”)
- $7,100,000 verdict in a rear-end auto collision with medical specials of $203,000 that was tried in Long Beach, California.
- $2,548,244.00 verdict in a minor impact automobile collision case with $75,000.00 in past medical specials.
- $2,551,725 verdict in a trip and fall where our client underwent a cervical fusion surgery and fully recovered.
- $1,645,000 verdict where our client slipped and fell at Ralphs and underwent a lumbar discectomy with $160,000 in medical specials.
- $1,041,697.00 verdict in a minor impact soft tissue automobile collision with $60,000.00 in past medical specials where the Plaintiff had a recommendation for surgery.
- $579,500 verdict against the City of Long Beach involving a low-speed collision with soft tissue injuries.
- $5,000,0000 settlement in a case where our client burns and developed CRPS from a BBQ explosion.
- $5,500,000 settlement in a case where our client tripped and fell down a staircase at his apartment complex and underwent multiple surgeries.
- $6,000,000 settlement in a case where our client tripped over a low hanging metal chain link in a parking lot and suffered a permanent elbow injury.
Awards
The following are some awards Pej received as a result of his outlier verdicts:
- Recognized on TopVerdict.com’s list of Top 50 Jury Verdicts in California for Personal Injury in 2020
- Recognized on TopVerdict.com’s list of Top 50 Jury Verdicts in California for Motor Vehicle Accidents in 2019
- Recognized on TopVerdict.com’s list for the Number 1 Jury Verdict in California for Trip & Fall Accidents in 2018
- Recognized on TopVerdict.com’s list for the Number 1 Jury Verdict in California for Dog Bites / Animal Attacks in 2018
- Named a Leader in Personal Injury Law in 2012 by Newsweek Magazine’s Showcase
- Named a Top Attorney in California in 2010
- Designated as a “Top 100 Lawyer Nationwide” and “Top 40 Under 40” by The National Trial Lawyers
