Max Lerman, CO, owner of Lerman & Son Orthotics and Prosthetics, California, has passed away. He was 95 years old.
Lerman was a pioneer in O&P, an inventor with numerous patents, a devoted member of the community helping the underserved, and a veteran of the US Army. Lerman maintained a strong presence in the industry and was recently honored with the Clinical Creativity award from the American Orthotics and Prosthetic Association. He continued to work until his death.
His father, Jacob, founded Lerman & Son in 1915 as a shoe manufacturing company in Germany within a small department that focused on O&P devices. During World War II, the family fled Germany to Shanghai, China, where they stayed for ten years and the company became a full-time O&P facility.
During his time in Shanghai, Max Lerman received an apprenticeship from the German Meisters’ Leyser Brothers that provided him with the experience he needed to partner with his father and rename the company Lerman & Son Orthotics and Prosthetics. In 1948, after relocating to California, Lerman earned his orthotics certification from the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics & Pedorthics, which later led him to teach orthotics in the University of California, Los Angeles, O&P program.
Lerman and Son grew to one of the largest O&P facilities serving Los Angeles County and has remained a family-operated practice that includes three generations of family members.