Eric Zalud

Practice Areas

Eric Zalud serves as co-chair of Benesch’s Transportation & Logistics Group and vice chair of the firm’s Litigation Group. Eric has litigated or arbitrated matters in 31 states, before state and federal trial and appellate courts in various jurisdictions, and before the Surface Transportation Board, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the United States Olympic Committee, the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Maritime Commission and the Court of International Trade.

Over the past 18 years, Eric has taken 37 cases to trial. His record in these cases is 34-3. In his litigation career, Eric has saved his clients $14.9 billion in potential exposure and risk, through his litigation wins for them.

Eric has advised, consulted with, or litigated on behalf of, over 100 freight intermediaries across the country and the world. Over the past decade, Eric has been involved in over 50 Transportation & Logistics M&A transactions.

Eric focuses his practice primarily upon commercial litigation, transportation, logistics and e-commerce law consult and litigation, insurance, coverage and bad faith matters, and product liability matters, including medical device defense, consumer product defense and industrial product defense.

Eric also has extensive medical device and pharmaceutical defense practice, where he has litigated over 100 product liability claims involving variety of biotech/life science products including:

• Contact Lens Solution

• Bovie pads

• Prosthetic and Orthotic Devices of all kinds

• Bone Plates

• Hip and Knee Replacements of all kinds

• Exercise equipment (home and institutional)

• Hospital and nursing home bedrails

• Arthrex Transfix System

• CORx System

• Olecranon Plate

• Rascal Scooter

• Folding Walkcane

• CROW Walker and custom molded inserts

• KAFO orthotic leg brace

• GreenLight PV System

• Cough Syrup Additives

• Forceps

• Diet Supplements

• Implantable Morphine Pumps

• Cardiac Surgery Equipment

• Aortic Direct Ellipse Cannulae

• Laser Hair Removal Apparatus

• Cold Packs

• Ear Piercing Apparatus

• Lotstrand Crutches

• Home Oxygen Tanks

• Weight Loss Devices/Home Health Equipment

• Spinal Catheters

• Ephedra

• Wheelchair Lifts

• Pharmaceuticals/Thimerosal

• Snoring Prevention Devices

• Wheelchairs

• Walker/Enabling Devices

• Surgical Robots

• Protegen Bladder Slings

• Blood Pressure Machines

He also has expertise in consumer product safety prevention matters. He has been involved in the formation and orchestration of product safety committee meetings and product liability programs, record retention programs, reviews of product warnings, reviews of privilege of critical self-analysis issues and recall procedures. He also has experience in responding to inquiries and investigations of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. He also conducted internal seminars for claims departments and engineering departments of our insurance and manufacturing clients.

Professional Memberships

Immediate Past President, Transportation Lawyers Association; Member, Air Forwarders Association; Member, Association of Transportation Law Professionals; Member, Association for Transportation Law Logistics & Policy; Member, Cleveland Trucking Association; Member, Council on Litigation Management; Member, Customs Brokers Roundtable; Member, Diversity Law Institute; Member, Intermodal Association of North America; Member, International Association of Defense Counsel; Member, International Warehouse Logistics Association; Member, Litigation Counsel of America; Member, Medmarc Medical Device Liability Defense Panel; Member, National Home Delivery Association; Member, National Tank Truck Carriers; Member, Ohio Foreign Commerce Association; Member, Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association; Member, Swedish American Chamber of Commerce; Member, TIDA Judicial Fairness Committee; Member, The Conference of Freight Counsel; Member, The Defense Research Institute, Trucking Law Subcommittee; Member, The Traffic Club of Cleveland; Member, The Transportation Consumer Protection Council; Member, The Transportation Loss Prevention & Security Council; Member, Transportation Intermediaries Association; Member, Trucking Industry Defense Association; Member, Truckload Carriers Association; Member, Transload Distribution Association of North America; Member, Trial Law Institute

Education