Richard Godshall is the owner, managing partner, and lead trial attorney at Ostroff Godshall. His practice focuses on catastrophic personal injury matters, including serious motor vehicle and trucking accidents, construction site injuries, premises liability, and medical malpractice.

Unlike many firm owners, Rich delegates the day-to-day firm management so he can concentrate on building and litigating cases. He owns the law firm, but he works to be known as a trial lawyer. As the firm’s most seasoned trial attorney, he has obtained multiple six- and seven-figure verdicts and settlements on behalf of injured clients.

Rich began his legal career representing corporations and insurance companies. He was named the youngest partner at a regional defense firm with more than 100 attorneys. Despite that success, he came to recognize that his skills and values were better aligned with representing injured individuals rather than defending corporate interests.

That realization became deeply personal when Rich’s father, a union carpenter, suffered a disabling fall at work. After being turned away by multiple firms, Rich and his family experienced firsthand the challenges working families face when navigating the legal system after a life-altering injury. That experience continues to shape Rich’s approach to litigation and the way he leads OG, with a focus on preparation, persistence, and fairness for clients facing well-resourced opposition.

Rich understands the physical struggles that come with a serious injury and the personal strain families face when an injury forces a loved one out of work while financial pressures continue to mount. His perspective is informed not only by decades of trial experience, but by having helped his own family navigate a life-altering workplace injury.

Drawing on his background defending claims for insurance companies, combined with his personal experience navigating his father’s injury and lawsuit, Rich brings a perspective few plaintiff trial lawyers possess. He understands how cases are evaluated from the defense side and builds matters accordingly to ensure clients are positioned for maximum value.

Under Rich’s leadership, the firm operates with a trial-first litigation philosophy. Cases are developed early, investigated thoroughly, and prepared with the expectation that they may proceed to verdict. This disciplined approach strengthens negotiation leverage while ensuring matters are fully trial-ready when resolution cannot be reached.

Rich would much rather be in the courtroom than the office. His trial results include an eight-figure jury award of $21 million for individuals injured in a bus crash and a $7.5 million verdict in a highly contested medical malpractice case. Some of his most meaningful outcomes have been achieved for clients who were initially told their cases had little value, including verdicts of $350,000 following an $11,000 pretrial offer, a $450,000 verdict after a $1,000 pretrial offer, and a $950,000 verdict following a $25,000 pretrial offer. These outcomes reflect Rich’s willingness to fully commit to his clients’ cases regardless of the odds.

By building cases to be tried, Rich has achieved maximum settlement value for his clients. That disciplined, trial-ready approach has produced numerous seven- and eight-figure settlements across complex injury matters, including car crashes, trucking accidents, premises liability, construction accidents, and medical malpractice matters. A representative sample includes the following results:

• $8.5 million settlement for a family injured by a drunk driver
• $6.5 million settlement for a family who lost a loved one due to electrocution
• $5.9 million settlement for a client who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a tractor-trailer crash
• $5.5 million settlement for a family who lost a loved one due to medical malpractice
• $3.5 million settlement for a client injured in a construction accident

Rich is known for a disciplined, competitive approach to litigation and a reputation for outworking opposing counsel. Clients and colleagues recognize him for his preparation, endurance, and ability to manage high-stakes cases through trial and appeal.

Outside the courtroom, Rich is a former CrossFit gym owner and competitive athlete. He qualified for the CrossFit Games Quarterfinals in recent years and currently participates in HYROX races across the country. He views physical conditioning and mental endurance as essential components of trial work, particularly in complex litigation that demands sustained focus and preparation over long periods of time.