Meet Our Team
Carmen Santana
Partner
Carmen Santana is an equity partner with Berkes Crane Santana & Spangler LLP. She is recognized as America’s Top 100 Civil Defense Litigators in Southern California. Since 2017, she has also been recognized by SuperLawyer in the field of Product Liability, and as a top Civil Litigator in Pasadena Magazine. She has spoken at various conferences, including Emerging Environmental Claims Managers Association (EECMA), Defense Research Institute (DRI), and Pincus Professional Education.
Ms. Santana has a State and Federal litigation practice in handling complex multi-party and multi-district insurance and liability litigation in the fields of toxic torts, product liability and construction defect. Her product liability and toxic torts practice involves the defense of mesothelioma cases as well as silica, benzene, and mixed dust cases. In her construction defect practice, she has particular experience in the defense of subcontractors. She also has particular expertise and experience in handling complex, multi-party personal injury cases involving catastrophic injuries.
Ms. Santana manages, defends, and negotiates products liability and personal injury cases, involving toxic torts, construction defect, premises, automobile accident, and breach of contract claims. She has tried cases to verdict involving product liability/toxic tort, breach of contract, personal injury and premises liability. She has started many other trials, before successfully obtaining dismissal or favorable resolution for her clients. She also has experience trying remote video trials, and BCS&S has developed and created a state of the art trial room to handle video trials for clients.
Ms. Santana has drafted and argued demurrers related to punitive damages, striking causes of action based on component parts defense; summary judgment/adjudication motions based on lack of exposure, lack of medical causation, inconsistent prior testimony, component parts defense, and punitive damages; pre-trial motions, including motions in limine to limit or preclude evidence related to causation, exposure, expert opinions, corporate information, witnesses; evidentiary hearings prior to jury empanelment for court to determine whether certain evidence and/or witnesses can be permitted, such as whether Plaintiff can claim certain damages or injuries.
Ms. Santana has experience with deposing, presenting and cross-examining medical and non-medical experts. Medical expert specialties include: pathology, pulmonology, cardiology, oncology, and radiology. Non-medical expert areas include: industrial hygiene, epidemiology, accident reconstruction, construction sequencing, and forensic economics. Ms. Santana has prepared, presented and cross-examined experts for various issues, including mesothelioma, lung cancer, colo-rectal cancer, esophageal cancer, pharyngeal cancer, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, silicosis, life expectancy, orthopedic issues, psychological/emotional issues, medical causation, accident causation, toxic exposure levels, business valuations, lost business profits, and forensic economics.
Ms. Santana received her B.A. in psychology and her B.A. in Spanish literature from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). She received her J.D. from UCLA. Her bar admissions include California State Courts, United States District Court for the Central District, and the United States Court of Appeal, Ninth Circuit. She has memberships with the California State Bar Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association, and DRI.
