Stephen E. Raynes

Stephen Raynes has distinguished himself in his representation of clients in serious injury and wrongful death cases, often in high profile cases, which he has done with a sensitivity and commitment to confidentiality. He has achieved million-dollar and multi-million-dollar recoveries on behalf of his individual clients more than 100 times in the areas of general personal injury, medical malpractice and product liability, including countless eight-figure recoveries. In 2019 alone, through trials and settlements, he secured in excess of $34 million on behalf of his clients, including a record settlement in a medical malpractice case in one of the most conservative counties in Pennsylvania.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, which are recognized as the preeminent organizations of trial lawyers in North America, and has been inducted into the American Board of Trial Advocates, a nationally recognized organization of distinguished trial lawyers. He has repeatedly been selected to the top 100 Super Lawyers list not only in Philadelphia but throughout Pennsylvania. He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers of America© for over 15 years and in recognition of being the lawyer with the highest overall peer-feedback was named Best Lawyers’ 2017 Philadelphia “Lawyer of the Year” for medical malpractice law – plaintiffs. He was named by “Lawdragon” Magazine as one of the 500 best plaintiffs lawyers in the United States.

Mr. Raynes has represented victims in some of the highest-profile cases locally and nationally. He was the lead lawyer representing the most severely injured child who was sexually abused by Jerry Sandusky in the case against Penn State and Sandusky; he served as the lead lawyer for one of the most severely injured passengers in the recent tragic Amtrak accident; he served as co-counsel for the family of the late Olympic Wrestler David Schultz who was shot and killed by John du Pont; and he served as co-counsel in the representation of victims and their families in numerous fatal aviation accidents in the United States and internationally.

Mr. Raynes has advanced the law on behalf of injured victims in Pennsylvania’s appellate courts including in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In the case of Toney v. Chester County Hosp., 36 A.3d 83 (Pa. 2011), Mr. Raynes convinced the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to significantly expand the responsibility of doctors to provide accurate information to patients. The Toney case is one of the most important pronouncements of the boundaries of a negligent infliction of emotional distress claim under Pennsylvania Law.

Mr. Raynes’ commitment to the community at large and to injured individuals extends beyond the Courtroom. From 2013 through 2015, Mr. Raynes led a pro bono Campaign against the Canadian Government on behalf of the then 94 living Canadian Thalidomide survivors. The Campaign gained national attention in the Canadian press and led to a historic unanimous vote by the Canadian Parliament and the securing of a $250 million fund for the Canadian Thalidomide survivors. Of the 56,000 members of the American Association for Justice, Mr. Raynes was the recipient of the 2019 Pro Bono Award for his leadership of the Campaign. In addition, Mr. Raynes and his wife Liz have funded the construction of a home to accommodate American physicians and nurses who travel to a Tanzanian medical center to provide volunteer medical services. Read more about Stephen’s historic case, and also follow the links to the news stories highlighting Stephen’s work.

AFFILIATIONS

  • International Academy of Trial Lawyers
  • American College of Trial Lawyers
  • American Board of Trial Advocates
  • American Association for Justice; member Birth Trauma Litigation Group
  • Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
  • Pennsylvania Association of Trial Lawyers
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • Board Member, Historical Society of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • Member, Bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
  • Member, Bar of the State of New York
  • Former Trustee, Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
  • Former Trustee, The Baldwin School

EDUCATION

  • The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, 1988
  • University of Michigan Law School, 1991

Confidential Record Recovery Against Penn State for Sandusky Sexual Assault
Stephen Raynes was the lead lawyer representing the most severely damaged sexual abuse victim of Jerry Sandusky at Penn State. Stephen Raynes, together with Martin Brigham and Harold Goodman of the Firm, sued Penn State in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas beginning a lengthy legal battle, including Penn State being required to produce for depositions dozens of its staff, administrators and trustees and turn over millions of documents. With trial rapidly approaching, Penn State agreed to settle for a record amount that would ensure the young man’s financial needs being met for the rest of his life. At the Board of Trustees’ vote to approve the confidential settlement, one trustee accurately described the recovery as an “extraordinary” sum.

$15,000,000 Confidential Settlement for Improper Prescription of Blood Thinner
When a young man suffered a massive brain bleed while on Lovenox, a blood-thinner, his family turned to Stephen Raynes to investigate whether his medical treatment was appropriate. The massive brain bleed caused the man to be quadriplegic with lock-in-syndrome. Because the drug had been only recently introduced to the market, there was a dearth of epidemiological evidence regarding the safety of its use. Stephen Raynes led the Raynes McCarty team with Tim Lawn and Joe Traub to assemble a team of experts in pharmacology, FDA labeling, hematology, internal medicine and cardiology and determined that there was no proper scientific evidence that the prescribed blood thinner was as safe as the available standard blood thinners in this clinical setting. As a result of those efforts, the team secured a confidential settlement to ensure financial security and medical services for the client and his family.

$38 Million Award in Transportation Accident
In a tragic transportation accident, a software executive was severely injured.  Stephen Raynes was the lead lawyer prosecuting his case, resulting in a $38 million award.

Challenged New York Stock Exchange Merger
In 2005, Mr. Raynes spearheaded the firm’s prosecution of claims on behalf of a group of seat-holders of the New York Stock Exchange which challenged the terms of a multi-billion dollar deal that had been struck by the Exchange’s Board of Directors and its investment advisor.  Mr. Raynes served as co-counsel and one of the lead trial lawyers during the discovery of the case and at the preliminary injunction trial. After successfully defeating the New York Stock Exchange’s Motions to Dismiss and uncovering a wealth of information through months of intensely fought discovery, the case proceeded to a preliminary injunction trial, which culminated in a settlement.  The New York Stock Exchange agreed to changes in the deal’s terms, so as to provide greater transparency and oversight, and to increase the value to the members by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Sixteen confidential settlements for Sikorsky S-92 Crash off the Coast of Newfoundland
On March 12, 2009, sixteen workers were being flown on a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter to oil platforms stationed off the coast of Newfoundland. A titanium bolt cracked, releasing all of the oil in the gear box, causing the transmission to seize, and the helicopter to plummet into the frigid north Atlantic.

Fifteen of the passengers perished as the helicopter sank; the lone survivor suffered lifetime injuries. Because Sikorsky had recently moved its headquarters for S-92 helicopters to the Delaware Valley, Canadian counsel asked Stephen Raynes and Marty Brigham to travel to Newfoundland and undertake to represent the sole survivor and all of the families of the passengers killed. In order to document each family’s loss, Mr. Brigham and Mr. Raynes attorneys, working with their Canadian co-counsel, videotaped hundreds of hours of interviews that were then edited into sixteen settlement presentations, one for each client. Through two weeks of mediation and in less than a year after the accident, every client’s case was resolved for amounts – made confidential to protect the clients – that ensured their financial security and honored those that they had lost.

Expanded Victim’s Rights before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
For his client Jeanelle Toney, Stephen Raynes made law in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, securing one of the most important pronouncements of the boundaries of a negligent infliction of emotional distress claim under Pennsylvania law.

In July, 2003, Ms. Toney gave birth to her son.  Because Ms. Toney had been told during her pre-natal care that her unborn son was perfectly healthy based on (misread) ultrasounds, she was completely overwhelmed when he was born with significant birth defects.  Ms. Toney had no opportunity to brace herself – emotionally, psychologically and religiously. Mr. Raynes believed that the doctors who misinformed Ms. Toney should be held liable for their actions and for causing her great emotional distress.

After having the case tossed out by the trial court, Mr. Raynes persisted through multiple appeals, ultimately winning at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Ms. Toney’s case established that a plaintiff may bring a negligent infliction of emotional distress claim even in the absence of the defendant directly causing injury to the plaintiff or a loved one – a significant expansion of that claim and a new pronouncement in the Pennsylvania’s appellate courts. This past spring, on the eve of trial, Ms. Toney’s case settled for a confidential amount.
The case is reported at: Toney v. Chester County Hosp., 36 A.3d 83 (Pa. 2011)

Stephen E. Raynes
Attorney At Law
Office: 215.568.6190
Toll Free: 1.800.535.1797
seraynes@rayneslaw.com

Stephen E. Raynes

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