Dan Petrilli

Dan is the Head of HKR's Casualty Practice Group and High Exposure Excess Litigation Team while an active trial lawyer.

He regularly handles catastrophic injury and wrongful death claims, excess and primary liability matters, professional liability disputes, bad faith and extracontractual claims, premises liability matters, UM/UIM litigation, products liability disputes, construction defects/site accidents, and trucking/transportation litigation.  Dan is also experienced in matters involving insurance fraud and special investigations, including claims arising from sophisticated fraud schemes and contested coverage issues.  He has tried affirmative action fraud cases successfully to verdict in Philadelphia County, while also obtaining fraud-based summary judgments.  After successful verdicts and summary judgment, Dan has also prosecuted separate post-litigation actions against frivolous filers and litigants for the Wrongful Use of Civil Proceedings - Dragonetti actions.

While the plaintiffs' bar continues to funnel hundreds of millions into billboards and other media trying to normalize litigation as some sort of profit center, the Group's approach represents the other side of the billboard - a blunt, no-nonsense defense rooted in fact development, legal arguments and expert support.  While Dan regularly tries cases to verdict, he strongly emphasizes getting after the "win," via compromise, negotiation, or verdict. He represents insurers, claims professionals, companies and individuals throughout the lifecycle of a dispute, including early intervention and exposure assessment, investigation, strategic resolution, discovery, expert development, dispositive motion practice, trial and appeal. The Group prides itself on its ability to develop and attack expert discovery involving medical and economic experts, forensic IT, construction and code professionals, accident reconstructionists and other technical consultants.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Dan litigates there frequently, though his practice has expanded throughout Pennsylvania state and federal courts. An active speaker, he presents legal updates, CLE/CE credited seminars, and client training on litigation support/avoidance, the mitigation of high exposure/excess claims, risk management, and fraud issues facing the insurance industry.  Dan regularly presents at the Property & Liability Resource Bureau (PLRB) on emerging coverage issues and recognition/handling strategies for nuclear verdicts. Dan also serves as a Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Judge Pro Tempore and participates in the firm's pro bono representation of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the International Association of Special Investigation Units (IASIU) and the Pennsylvania Auto Crime Investigators Association, Inc. (PACIA).

With Philadelphia roots, Dan now resides in Bucks County with his wife and 2 sons for the better part of 2 decades. No stranger to heavy lifting, Dan is a former nationally-ranked powerlifter and Olympic-style weightlifter, with a developed love of college lacrosse (GO Hop!) and mixed martial arts. He enjoys a fine cigar on occasion, but don't ask about music or television unless you want to talk Slayer or Love Island.  As a reminder that complex litigation is a jungle of warring issues and personalities, Dan keeps his pet green tree python, Sean, on his home office desk.