Biography
Steven B. Stevens has a unique combination of board certification in Medical Malpractice Law (American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys) and in Appellate Law (State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization). Steven is a member of American Association of Justice’s Birth Trauma Litigation Group.
Steven concentrates his practice on appellate, writ, and motion advocacy. He has handled over 200 medical malpractice cases, using his talents and expertise to formulate legal and tactical strategies to maximize his clients’ recoveries and to protect their rights on appeal.
Steven has been practicing law since 1981. He has handled a wide variety of cases in the trial and appellate courts, including medical malpractice, catastrophic personal injury, product liability, Medi-Cal lien reduction, insurance bad faith, employment, and business litigation. Although his primary work is written advocacy, Steven has tried and co-tried over twenty cases.
For the last twenty years, Steven has been available for association as appellate counsel to trial attorneys, a practice he is continuing with Lew-Stevens.
Steven is a member of the Consumer Attorneys of California and its Board of Governors. He serves on its Amicus Curiae Committee and is an associate editor of its journal, Forum. He is member of Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles’s Board of Governors, at which he served as Editor-in-Chief of its journal, Advocate, for eight years.
Awards and Honors
- Peer-selected as Best Lawyer’s 2023 “Lawyer of the Year” for Los Angeles, Medical Malpractice—Plaintiff.
- Peer-selected as a “Best Lawyer” in Appellate Practice (2023) and Medical Malpractice (2024)—Plaintiff.
- Nominee for CAOC’s Consumer Attorney of the Year (2014) for his part of the trial team in McKnight v. Spain, in which the court held that an unlicensed health care provider was not entitled to the protections of the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act.
- Nominee for CAOC’s “Street Fighter of the Year” (2022) for Summer J. v. United States Baseball Federation, 45 Cal.App.5th 261 (2020), which held that a baseball stadium has a duty to protect spectators from injuries due to foul balls.
- Appellate Lawyer of the Year Award in 2001 for Consumer Attorneys of Association of Los Angeles.
Appellate Practice
Steven has handled over 200 appeals in the California Supreme Court, California Court of Appeal, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Recent appeals include:
- Charlie L. v. Kangavari (2025) (reversing trial that improperly considered an expert declaration from physician who was not qualified to testify as an emergency medicine expert).
- Turner v. El Camino Inv. Co. (2025) (personal injury action, in which defendant appealed from jury verdict on grounds of excessiveness; case settled on appeal for over $3,000,000).
- Montoya v. Superior Court (2025) (burden of proof at trial can shift to defendant if defendant fails to order critical medical imaging that would be necessary to determine patient’s injuries).
- Long v. City of Exeter (2025) (trial court judgment of $21,800,000 for wrongful death and catastrophic injury caused by police canine; appellate court reversed jury verdict, but Supreme Court granted review; case settled for $10,700,000 while review pending).
- Marroquin v. City of Los Angeles (2025) (civil rights and excessive force action; federal court affirmed $500,000 jury verdict and awarded attorneys fees).
- Wilkie v. Phillipe (2024) (affirming jury verdict for $1,780,000 in non-economic damages resulting from automobile collision).
- Daniel C. v. State Department of Health Care Services (2022) (trial court’s failure to distinguish between past medical and other expenses is a necessary predicate to determination of Medi-Cal’s lien claim; failure to make such an allocation was an abuse of discretion and reversible error).
- Librayan v. Aero Port Services (2020) (fall from wheel chair; judgment for passenger for $2,900,000; settled while appeal pending).
- McKnight v. Spain (2014) (medical negligence causing paralysis; $22,000,000 verdict for patient; settled while appeal pending).
