As a Civil Trial Attorney Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey with 25 years of experience, he has litigated complex civil matters including claims of medical & nursing malpractice, claims against  Acute & Sub-Acute Care Facilities, Nursing Homes, Skilled Nursing Facilities, Rehabilitation Facilities, Assisted Living Facilities, ordinary negligence, insurance coverage and immunity issues under New Jersey’s Charitable Immunity Statute involving a number of New Jersey's medical malpractice insurance carriers and leading Healthcare Systems.  He has successfully defended brain-damaged infant cases, wrongful birth/life, wrongful death, bedsores/decubitus ulcers, falls in healthcare facilities, retained instrument cases, the administration of incorrect medications and blood products, medical staff credentialing and Patient Safety Act privilege issues.  He has served as trial counsel in groundbreaking Appellate Division and Supreme Court decisions, including Estate of Burns v. Care One at Stanwick, LLC, 468 N.J. Super. 306 (App. Div. 2021), Ptaszynski v. Atl. Health Sys., 440 N.J. Super. 24 (App. Div. 2015), cert. denied, 2016 N.J. LEXIS 988 (2016), Hurwitz v. AHS Hosp. Corp., 438 N.J. Super. 269, (App. Div. 2014), Brugaletta v. Garcia, 234 N.J. 225 (2018), Brugaletta v. Garcia, 448 N.J. Super. 404 (App. Div. 2017), aff’d in part, rev’d in part, 234 N.J. 225 (2018), as well as numerous unpublished Appellate Division decisions.  He has also appeared as Amicus Curiae on behalf of the New Jersey Defense Association on a number of cases, including Yagnik v. Premium Outlet Partners, LP, 467 N.J. Super. 91 (App. Div. 2021) and Rodriguez v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 237 N.J. 36 (2019).

In addition to litigation, Mr. Cocca has provided guidance to healthcare facilities in developing and reviewing policies, procedures and other compliance issues.  He defends healthcare institutions before the Joint Commission and Department of Health.  In addition, he represents healthcare providers before their respective licensure and certifying Boards.

Mr. Cocca served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Donald R. Reenstra, J.S.C., Passaic County Superior Court following law school.

Mr. Cocca serves as the Co-Chair of the New Jersey Defense Association’s Appellate Practice Committee. He also lectures to healthcare organizations, physicians, nurses, medical residents, fellows and nursing home administrators regarding litigation and regulatory and compliance issues.  Publications include, “Ptaszynski v. Atlantic Health Sys.: The Changing Landscape of NJ Nursing Home and Med Mal Litigation” a two-part article published in ALM’s Law Journal Newsletters - Medical Malpractice Law & Strategy; Brugaletta v. Garcia: The Patient Safety Act Privilege Defined, New Jersey Defense Journal, Fall 2019; Trella v. Bradish: Brugaletta Version 2.0, New Jersey Defense Journal, Spring 2020; and “Flattening The Curve” On The Coming Wave Of COVID-19 Litigation, New Jersey Defense Journal, Fall 2020.

Education
J.D., Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing, MI, 1994
-Staff writer, Michigan Bar Journal, Opinion Notes Section
-Legal intern to John Engler, the Governor of Michigan, and his legal counsel
-Delta Theta Phi
B.A., University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 1989
-Primus, The Freshmen Men’s Honorary Society
-Alpha Epsilon Pi

Admissions
New Jersey, 1994
U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, 1994
District of Columbia, 2011

Associations & Memberships
Morris and Passaic County Bar Associations
New Jersey Defense Association
-Co-Chair of the Appellate Practice Committee
Justice Robert L. Clifford Inn of Court – past member American Heart Association -Northern NJ Board of Directors -Executive Leadership Team for the Affair of the Heart Ball

Honors & Awards
New Jersey Super Lawyers, 2018-2023
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