Stewart J. Eisenberg

As founder of the firm, personal injury lawyer Stewart J. Eisenberg has represented victims of catastrophic injury and wrongful death for more than 40 years, having tried over 50 jury trials. He is one of the region’s most accomplished trial lawyers, with many awards and recognitions.

Among his distinctions, Stewart has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for the areas of Medical Malpractice Law (2013 – present), Personal Injury Litigation (2014 – present), and Product Liability Litigation (2016 – present). He has been named on the SuperLawyers list for more than 20 years.

Stewart holds the distinction of achieving, at the time, the largest crashworthiness verdict in Pennsylvania history. He achieved his first multimillion-dollar verdict within six years of graduating from law school, securing a verdict in the landmark case of Feld v. Merrian, where he represented the victims of a brutal criminal assault against the security company and the landlord of an apartment complex for failing to provide adequate security.

“It’s heartwarming and it’s also something I take great pride in, that I can make a difference in people’s lives.”

Selected Verdicts and Settlements

$2.46 Billion Boy Scouts of America Sexual Abuse Settlement

At the time of the Boy Scouts of America’s bankruptcy proceedings and the formation of the Plan of Reorganization in connection with the tens of thousands of sexual abuse cases brought against the organization, Eisenberg, Winkler, Jeck, Schwartz, Schoenhaus & Sherry, along with its co-counsel, represented the largest group of claimants in the U.S.

Stewart’s and Josh Schwartz’s efforts on behalf of their clients in pursuing their sexual abuse claims and negotiating the $2.46 billion settlement trust were instrumental in bringing about what was then the largest sexual abuse settlement in U.S. history.

$101 Million Parking Garage Collapse Case Settlement

Stewart and Dan Sherry, Jr., helped secure a $101 million settlement in a case involving a parking garage under construction at the Tropicana Atlantic City that collapsed, killing five people and seriously injuring another 30. It was later determined that the garage was built without the necessary steel required to connect the floors to the walls.

Stewart and Dan spent four years in litigation and preparing for trial. 250 depositions were taken, and nearly 1.5 million documents were inspected in efforts to settle the case, which is one of the largest construction accident settlements in U.S. history.

$65 Million Dram Shop Case Settlement (Confidential)

Stewart, Fred Eisenberg, Dan Sherry, Jr., and Jess Colliver secured a confidential $65 million dram shop settlement on behalf of two families from New York after a car carrying four occupants, none of whom were married, was hit head-on by a drunk driver who had been over-served a significant amount of alcohol at a resort facility, killing two and leaving the other two permanently injured.

It is believed that this is one of the largest dram shop settlements in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

$55.3 Million Crashworthiness Case Verdict

Stewart Dan Sherry, Jr., secured a then-record-setting $55.3 million verdict in a crashworthiness case where, when a 1999 Acura Integra rolled over, the seatbelt failed to prevent our client’s head from striking the roof, rendering him a quadriplegic.

During discovery, Stewart and Dan uncovered a 1992 rollover test showing Honda was aware of the defect and failed to redesign the seatbelt or alert the public. This incident could and should have been avoided by using an existing safer design.

At the time, it was the largest crashworthiness verdict in Pennsylvania history.

$13.35 Million Defective Airbag Case Settlement (Confidential)

Stewart, Nancy Winkler, and Dan Sherry, Jr., secured a confidential $13.35 million settlement in a case where our client was injured when her airbag failed to deploy during a frontal crash event.

$10 Million Rollover Automobile Accident Case Settlement

Stewart, Fred Eisenberg, and Dan Sherry, Jr., secured a $10 million settlement in a case where, en route to an athletic event, a New York City high school’s van, driven by one of its coaches, left the road, rolled over, and severely injured a high school athlete. Although wearing a seatbelt, the student was partially ejected from the van and is now a wheelchair-dependent quadriplegic.

Stewart, Fred, and Dan filed lawsuits against (i) New York City, alleging that it was responsible for the negligent actions of the high school and coach, (ii) the van’s manufacturer, alleging it negligently designed the passenger van because it lacked airbags to prevent occupant ejection during a rollover, and (iii) the automotive parts company that supplied the seatbelt, alleging that it negligently designed a seatbelt that did not provide reasonable restraint.

At the time, this settlement ranked among the five largest settlements New York City had ever agreed to in a civil lawsuit against it.

Education and Experience in Personal Injury Law

After graduating cum laude in 1976 from the University of Pennsylvania, Stewart attended Temple University School of Law. While there, he served on the Law Review and received the Barristers Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy. He graduated in 1980 and passed the bar exam that same year.

Stewart has lectured at more than 100 seminars and continuing education programs, as well as publishing numerous articles. He has been a Visiting Lecturer at Temple University, Beasley School of Law for the LLM in Trial Advocacy Program. Additionally, Stewart was an Adjunct Professor of Law teaching Trial Advocacy to second-year law students.

Personal Injury Practice: Auto Defects and Catastrophic Injury

Throughout his distinguished career, Stewart has consistently achieved multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for clients. Currently, he focuses most of his practice on car accident cases involving auto defects and issues of crashworthiness as well as medical malpractice. Throughout his career, Stewart has investigated and litigated cases involving defective seatbelts, airbags, roofs, tires, and SUV rollovers. He also handles cases involving negligent emergency room doctors, negligence in the delivery room resulting in birth injuries, surgical mishaps, and failure to diagnose cancer timely.

As a personal injury lawyer, Stewart is in a position to help people, especially those who face unimaginable tragedies. Furthermore, his work with car accidents and auto defects allows him to influence the future of automotive safety. In fact, according to Stewart, attorneys who work on crashworthiness and auto defect cases are really car safety lawyers. He ensures that car manufacturers design and manufacture safe cars and are held accountable when they value profits over safety and when defects cause preventable catastrophic injuries and wrongful death.

Community Involvement and Charity Work

Stewart prides himself on giving back to the community through charitable giving and by donating his time to nonprofit organizations. Stewart has been a proud supporter of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Voices of Moss Aphasia Center, Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Project (VIP), Friends of VIP (of which Stewart is President), and Temple University Hillel, among many other organizations. Stewart was elected and served on the School Board of Cheltenham Township, and was a founding and board member of Congregation Kol Ami in Elkins Park, which bestowed upon him its first Tikun Olam Award.