S. Karen Bamberger, Esq. is a skilled negotiator and mediator who has settled hundreds of cases over her more than 35-year career as a litigator in private practice and now, thrives in doing so as a JAMS neutral. While in private practice, Ms. Bamberger served as lead counsel, focusing primarily on personal injury and product liability cases, running the gamut from soft-tissue injuries to wrongful death cases in as varied contexts as there are fact patterns. Ms. Bamberger tried jury and bench trials in both state and federal courts and has a true appreciation for the risks facing all participants involved in the legal process. She has witnessed first-hand “the good, the bad and the ugly” that can occur and with this experience informing her perspective, works tirelessly as a mediator to try to reach resolution whenever possible. To be an effective mediator requires this same skill set, but with the added complexity of managing expectations from a variety of viewpoints, with differing appetites for risk. Ms. Bamberger excels in actively listening to ensure that participants are truly heard and feel invested in the mediation process.

Throughout her career, Ms. Bamberger also was privileged to serve as an arbitrator on three-member UIM panels, as well as an arbitrator for mandatory arbitration cases. Her selection by both sides of a conflict is a reflection of her reputation for being prepared, fair and decisive.

All matters below were handled by Ms. Bamberger as an attorney except as otherwise noted.

Representative Matters

• Personal Injury
• Mediation involving bed bugs in hotel room resulting in claims for physical and emotional injuries
• Mediation involving premises liability with bilateral ankle fractures; reservation of rights issues implicated
• Mediation involving fall of elderly patient while hospitalized; medical facility named as defendant
• Full range of premises liability claims, involving experts from variety of disciplines, including human factors, accident reconstruction, architects, engineers and building code experts, and involving fact patterns such as car wash employee allegedly causing accident by pinning customer between two vehicles, resulting in amputation of customer’s legs; bouncy house becoming airborne while child inside, resulting in physical injuries; improper lighting and failure to remove snow/ice alleged against property management company, resulting in claimed significant physical injuries to pedestrian
• Variety of assisted living facilities lawsuits involving claims under the Vulnerable Adult Protection Act of negligent care, from physical injuries, such as pressure sores and falls, to sexual assault of resident by trespasser and of resident by fellow resident, elopements and wrongful death
• Construction site cases involving wide variety of injuries, from electrocution and amputation injuries suffered by subcontractor’s employees to closed head injuries to lacerations caused by falling panels of glass
• Construction site case involving general contractor’s employee who was struck by piece of sheetrock that had become airborne on construction site
• Premises liability case where car wash employee allegedly caused accident, resulting in amputation of both legs of customer
• Premises liability case where bouncy house became airborne while child was inside, resulting in injuries to child
• Premises liability case involving property management company with claims of improper lighting and failure to remove snow/ice, resulting in physical injuries to pedestrian
• Wrongful death case involving drowning death of international student who was attending summer camp
• School district case involving wrestling injury resulting in student being rendered a paraplegic
• Assisted living facility case involving sexual assault of resident by trespasser
• Assisted living facility case involving alleged sexual assault of resident by fellow
  resident
• Variety of dram shop liability cases involving overservice of alcohol, resulting in personal injuries or wrongful death, either from driving while intoxicated or allegations of assault by bar employee or security personnel
• Wrongful death of employee at SeaTac Airport when parking brake on tug allegedly failed, resulting in employee being crushed between tug and forklift
• Wrongful death case involving allegations of liability against owner of bar where shooting occurred in adjacent parking lot
• Wrongful death trial arising from assault of reception desk employee, in context of history of assaults in same hotel
• Trial involving funeral home case involving alleged improper embalming, requiring exhumation of body and expert testimony regarding proper standards of care in funeral home industry
• Wrongful death case alleging that consumption of energy drink caused individual to experience fatal pulmonary aspiration
• Firing range case alleging that homeowner adjacent to range was struck by bullet from range
• Variety of cases involving trucking companies, including wide spectrum of injuries and factual scenarios, including case where driver caused accident while on methamphetamines, resulting in injuries to occupants of oncoming vehicle
• Food-borne illness cases, including allegations of contaminated foods due to inadequate handling of raw ingredients resulting in E. Coli as well as tainted raw ingredients, such as lettuce and eggs
• Product Liability
• Alleged design defect of baby sling involving allegations of wrongful death of infants due to positional asphyxiation
• Allegations of defective manufacturing process used by glass tempering company resulting in squash court glass wall shattering and causing physical injury and alleged atrial fibrillation issues in patron of fitness center
• Allegations of manufacturing defect involving wooden bleachers used as seating at an outdoor racetrack that broke as seating was being inspected, resulting in bilateral ankle fractures to inspector
• Alleged failure of manway door on wine tank, resulting in loss of 24,000 gallons of vintage Merlot wine
• Heating pad was left on overnight, in contravention of instructions, and caused burns to elderly user
• Product liability claims asserted against manufacturer of refrigeration unit that caught fire in a motor home
• Claims against tattoo artist that ink used was contaminated and allegedly led to customer’s need for dialysis 
• Defective design and manufacturing claims of fitness equipment, resulting in claims of injury necessitating multiple spinal surgeries
• Employee’s arm was caught in conveyor belt, resulting in amputation of right arm
• Employee’s hand caught in paper winding machinery alleging permanent injury
• Bicycle seat failed, resulting in impaling injury to rider
• Experimental prescription medication to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia resulted in patient’s death issues involved compliance with study protocols
• Mass Torts
• Mediations for medical device case (part of mass tort litigation) requiring revision procedure
• Insurance
• Cases where personal assets at risk, beyond insurance policy limits
• Reasonableness hearing following covenant judgment
• Property owner allegedly caused water damage to business, resulting in claims of almost $1 million in lost future and past business profits and lost opportunity to sell business
• Alleged defaulted franchise license agreement, not covered by insurance, since guarantee alleged to have been signed in personal capacity
• Breach of contract and violation of Washington's Consumer Protection Act, as well as fraud, in marketing insurance policies to taxicab businesses
• UIM cases in variety of contexts, including third party cases and direct actions
• Life Sciences
• Medical device litigation, including pedicle screws, inflatable penile prostheses, and latex gloves
• Prescription medication cases, such as weight-loss supplements and other pharmaceuticals, including wrongful death case where pharmaceutical at issue was part of clinical trial
• "Anxiety" cases in which recipients of implanted heart valves claimed concern about possible future failure of the medical device
• Variety of exposure cases, including "toxic mold" litigation (occupants of a manufactured home claimed presence of stachybotrus mold; business that claimed presence of mold affected its sensitive clientele, leading to economic losses; and residential tenant who claimed landlord was responsible for exposure to toxic fumes in apartment); as well as cases alleging chemical sensitization to formaldehyde by manufactured home occupants; claims of exposure to sulfur dioxide and to fumes from copier machines; carbon monoxide poisoning cases
• Toxic Torts
• Claims that particles from spray painting project caused loss of marijuana plants, resulting in $1 million in claimed damages
• Compost made from cows’ manure that contained pesticide leading to claimed lost business profits of compost company
• Claims that expired pesticide resulted in loss of apple orchards allegedly worth close to $4 million
• Real Property
• Multi-day arbitration involving claims that installation of retaining wall and piles for dock, driven into ground using hydraulic hammer, caused sewer line to sag and caused sewage to back up into adjacent homeowner’s residence
• Residential Landlord-Tenant Act was allegedly violated when four-year-old child fell off a second-story balcony, allegedly due to defective guardrail panel, resulting in subarachnoid brain hemorrhage, necessitating craniotomy
• Boundary disputes involving neighboring properties, including claims of adverse possession
• Tenant claims of being poisoned by fumes targeting apartment
• Violations of Residential Landlord-Tenant Act due to accumulation of water, causing mold and allegedly leading to displacement from home and claims of physical injury
• Numerous timber trespass cases
• Multi-unit apartment fire with over 20 tenants alleging multiple violations of the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, as well as violation of Seattle's Just Cause Eviction Ordinance
• Alleged violation of Residential Landlord-Tenant Act for failure to maintain common areas in safe condition, resulting in physical injuries when tenant fell down flight of stairs
• Pre-suit litigation against owner of rental unit based on allegations that baseboard heater malfunctioned, resulting in second- and third-degree burns of 25% of four-month-old infant’s body
• Alleged violations of Washington Law Against Discrimination and Americans with Disabilities Act in case involving failure of fire escape, resulting in physical injuries
• Civil Rights
• Class action suit where operator of commissary stores inside correctional facilities was alleged to have violated the Fifth Amendment and the Washington Consumer Protection Act by issuing prepaid release cards for pretrial detainees and former inmates
• Multiple cases alleging violations of the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as 42 USC Sec. 1985 claims and Monell claims
• Employment Law
• Mediation for employment case alleging sexual harassment and retaliation claims
• Employment trial involving claims of violation of Americans with Disabilities Act 
• Tribal Law
• Personal injury case taking place on tribal land (Puyallup Tribal Court)
• Wrongful death case allegedly arising from use of pharmaceutical (Lummi Tribal Court)
• Firework allegedly was improperly detonated, leading to tinnitus and hearing loss of customers (Swinomish Tribal Court)

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Memberships and Awards

• Recognized as a “Best Lawyer,” Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants, Best Lawyers in America 2024-2025
• 2023 Super Lawyers, "Top 50 Women Washington Attorneys," 2018–2021, 2023
• AV Preeminent^®, Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell Since 2003
• AV Preeminent^®, Judicial Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell Since 2003
• Super Lawyers, "Super Lawyer," 2013–2023
• Seattle Met Magazine, "Top Lawyers" Litigation Practice Group, 2010
• Cardozo Society Judicial Evaluation Committee
• Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, (former) Product Liability Committee Co-Chair
• King County Bar Association
• Washington Defense Trial Lawyers
• Washington State Bar Association
• Washington Women Lawyers
• Member of Inaugural Class of Ladder Down

Seminars and Publications

• Presenter, “Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Clauses: A Mediator’s Take,” Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, June 2024
• Presenter, “Mediation: The Insurance Edition,” Washington Defense Trial Lawyers, May 2024
• Presenter, "Big Picture Mediation Issues for Solo & Small Firms," King County Bar Association Solo & Small Firms Section, May 2024
• Author, “I Mediate Like I Entertain,” JAMS ADR Insights, May 2024
• Author, “Why ‘You Do You’ Resonates With Me When Resolving Disputes,” JAMS ADR Insights, April 2024
• Presenter, “Mediation/Arbitration: Beyond the Basics,” Washington State Bar Association, February 2024
• Presenter, “Negotiating With Style: Mastering Your Conflict Communication Style,” Washington Defense Trial Lawyers, February 2024
• Presenter, “Ethical Considerations in Litigation and ADR,” JAMS, December 2023
• Panelist, Women of Harmonie: Summertime Advice for Success, "Women in Hard Hats," June 2022
• Panelist, Women of Harmonie (series focusing on women in the legal industry and the issues facing them in today's complex environment), "Session 1: Profiting From Gender Diversity," Nov. 2020
• Co-Author,“The Jury Has Returned,” CLM Magazine, Aug. 2020
• Author, “Weed Killer,” CLM Magazine, Aug. 2019
• Moderator, MAMA Panel, "Implicit Bias In and Out of the Courtroom," July 2019
• Presenter, "Arbitrations from a Defense Perspective," Washington Defense Trial Lawyers, Aug. 2018
• Author, “Over My Dead Body: The Elusive Tort of Interference With Human Remains,” NW Lawyer, July/Aug. 2017
• Author, “Tort for Tattoo: Exposures May Have Artists Seeing Red,” CLM Magazine, Feb. 2017
• Presenter, “No Deadheading Here: The Power and Weight of Human Factor Expert Testimony,” ATA Forum for Motor Carrier General Counsel, July 2016
• Presenter, “Case Resolution in Product Liability Cases,” The Harmonie Group, April 2015
• Presenter, "I Say Potato, You Say Kartoffel, or How Not To Get Lost in Translation," Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, April 2013
• Presenter, “Do You Want Frye(s) or Daubert With That?” Washington Defense Trial Lawyers, Oct. 2013
• Presenter, "Alternative Dispute Resolution," Client Seminar, April 2013
• Moderator, “Effective Life Care Planning / Vocational Rehab: Using Experts to Win Your Damages Case,” Washington Defense Trial Lawyers, May 2010
• Author, “Negligent Entrustment Claims Have No Place in Cases Where Employers Have Admitted Vicarious Liability,” Journal of Transportation Law, Logistics and Policy, Vol. 67, No. 4, Summer 2000

Trainings

• Professional Mediation Skills Training Program, University of Washington, Fall 2023
• Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS, Fall 2023

Background and Education

• Attorney, Betts Patterson Mines, 1988–2023
  • Partner, Betts Patterson Mines, 1994-2023
• Attorney, Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP, 1987–1988
• J.D., University of Wisconsin Law School, 1987
  • Law Review, Notes and Comments Editor
• B.A., With Honors, William & Mary, 1984