Steve Barrett serves as Co-Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Department and Chair of its Personal Injury Practice Group. Steve champions and represents individuals suffering catastrophic losses and death due to negligence, concentrating on medical malpractice and personal injury matters, including victims of sexual assault and abuse, constitutional claims (police misconduct and abuse), and asbestos litigation. With his significant and notable jury verdicts, Steve enjoys a well-deserved reputation as a premier trial attorney throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania. He has successfully tried many complex cases in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Lehigh, Northampton, Berks and Delaware Counties. Since 2005, Steve has obtained settlements and verdicts for his clients totaling in excess of one hundred million dollars. See Steve’s representative results below. Steve also has significant commercial and real estate litigation experience, which includes the representation of corporate clients involving corporate trade secrets, unfair business practices, commercial financing, non-compete clauses and business divorces.

Super Lawyer: After peer review, Steven was named to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list, which only 5% of all Pennsylvania attorneys can claim.

The National Trial Lawyers Top 100: Because of his high standards and trial success, Steven was admitted as one of Pennsylvania’s Top 100 Civil Trial Lawyers. This honor is awarded by invitation only.

Through the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Steve served by appointment as a Disciplinary Hearing Committee member considering issues of misconduct within the legal profession. Steve formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Montgomery Bar Association, and is a past president of its Young Lawyers Division. He currently serves as Chair of the firm’s marketing committee and mentors associates in the practice of law and business development. A graduate of the University of Michigan, (B.A. 1987), Steve received his law degree from Temple University (J.D. 1992).

 

Representative Cases

Personal-Injury Litigation

  • Steve has successfully argued before the Pennsylvania Appellate courts, including most recently the case of
    Wise v. Huntingdon Housing Authority (No. 97 MAP 2019), decided April 28, 2021. In this decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced clear guidance and clarified the standard for the “Real Property Exception to Sovereign Immunity”.  The Court announced that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania cannot avoid liability where the Commonwealth’s negligent design and construction creates a defective and dangerous condition causing injury. This landmark decision will allow persons a clearer path to recover and the Commonwealth will now have to be more vigilant and careful in building and designing projects for public use and safety.
  • During the pandemic, Steven settled — before having to file a lawsuit — a tragic case in which a young husband and father suffered a massive heart attack just hours after seeing a cardiologist who made the diagnosis of unstable angina, but did not perform the necessary testing or treatment after sending his patient home.  Steve was able to win a settlement of millions of dollars for the family.
  • Also during the pandemic, Steven was able to settle no less than 10 cases exceeding on average no less than $250,000 for each case. Steven championed his clients by pushing the cases at every turn virtually to the point that his cases were trial ready, forcing the insurance companies to settle.
  • In a high profile case, Steven represented the estate of David Sale, the young man who was killed during a Philadelphia Phillies game. Steven sued the Phillies, McFadden’s Restaurant, and the owners of the parking lot where Mr. Sale was killed. After extensive discovery and before the case was listed for trial, Steven secured a confidential, but substantial, settlement for Mr. Sale’s estate and his beneficiaries.
  • Tried a medical malpractice case in Philadelphia against multiple defendants, securing nearly $3 million.
  • Tried and won a medical malpractice verdict in Philadelphia for client who suffered eyelid droop after cosmetic surgery (one of the 50 highest verdicts in 2017).
  • Tried and won a $7 million jury verdict in Montgomery County for the estates of a married couple killed in an auto accident.
  • Obtained a $1.2 million settlement for two teenagers who were severely injured in an auto accident in Bucks County.
  • Tried and won a medical malpractice case securing a $1.1 million award.
  • Tried and won a medical malpractice case in which client was suffering from bone cancer but mis-diagnosed with bone contusion. Steve obtained an $800,000 settlement during trial in Monroe County.
  • Tried and won a medical malpractice case in which client was discharged from emergency room of Wilkes-Barre Hospital while demonstrating signs of suffering imminent stroke. Steve obtained an award of $750,000.
  • Tried and won a $1.7 million jury verdict in Philadelphia for the family of a deceased man who died from asbestos-related esophageal cancer.
  • Tried and won a $1.5 million jury verdict in Philadelphia for the family of a deceased man who died from asbestos-related asbestosis.
  • Tried and won a $5 million jury verdict in Philadelphia for a gentleman suffering from asbestosis.
  • Won a settlement of $900,000.00 against a clothing manufacturer for a woman who suffered second and third degree burns when her garment caught fire. Steve claimed that the garment was defective and unsafe in not meeting flammability safety standards.
  • In Federal Court, brought and successfully settled police misconduct and abuse cases alleging constitutional violations due to excessive force and lack of due process by law enforcement. These cases settled with confidentiality provisions required by the defendant police and municipal departments.

Commercial Litigation

  • Represented a developer who had been paying off a 25-year construction loan for twenty years when the client realized that the bank was calculating the total pay-off with a higher interest rate, or $500,000 more than originally agreed. The bank wanted either payment of the $500,000 or additional payments of $5,000 per month for an additional 15 years. Steve brought suit against the bank and, after trial, the court ruled that the bank was wrong with Steve’s clients being relieved to pay any additional money.
  • Successfully defended a corporate client that was sued by a company claiming that the client stole trade secrets and business away from the company, costing the company in excess of $2.5 Million in lost profits and the value of the company. After the company’s preliminary injunction was denied by the court, the case proceeded to be tried before a twelve person jury. The jury reached a verdict, finding completely in favor of Steve’s client.

Real Estate

  • Represented a nationally recognized builder that sued a sewer authority for the reduction of fees under a Pennsylvania statute that had yet to be interpreted by the courts of PA. Steve brought the first case in PA with interpretation of the statute being of first impression. After trial and exhaustive briefing of the legal issues, the court found in the builder’s favor, saving the client hundreds of thousands of dollars. With the success and notoriety of the case, Steve has attracted many developers, challenging the fee schedule of sewer authorities under the same statute. Steve has not lost a single case, recovering millions of dollars on behalf of his clients.
  • In Federal Court, Steve successfully defended against a lawsuit claiming ownership of property by reason of adverse possession, which is a doctrine of real estate rarely employed in declaring ownership of property in the absence of legal title. After a week-long trial, the federal judge found in favor of Steve’s client.

News

Credentials

Admissions

  • Pennsylvania

Education

  • Temple University School of Law (J.D. 1992)
  • University of Michigan (B.A. 1987)
  • University of Essex, Colchester England (1985-86)

Memberships

  • Montgomery Bar Association, 1993-Present
    • Board of Directors, 2001-2003
    • President, Young Lawyers’ Division, 1998
    • District Coordinator, Statewide Mock Trial Competition, 1998 – 1999
  • Pennsylvania Association for Justice
    • Member, 1993-Present
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association, member, 1993-Present
  • Main Line Reform Temple – Beth Elohim
    • Past Trustee and Officer
  • Latino Leadership Alliance of Bucks County, Non-Profit
    • Past President,  2006-2010

Through the Montgomery Bar Association, Steve was selected to team up with other lawyers and judges of the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County to teach Norristown Middle School students civics in a year long program entitled “Liberty & Law.”

Publications & Speeches

Honors & Awards

  • Listed as “Awesome Attorney” for Personal Injury law, Suburban Life Magazine, 2012

Personal Interests

Proficient in Spanish, still plays pick up basketball at a not so young age, makes pancakes from scratch for his family almost every weekend, and has a penchant for singing and dancing in professionally directed musicals.