Bio
John J. Snyder focuses his trial practice in the area of the defense of catastrophic injury, with particular emphasis on construction, industrial, pharmaceutical, medical malpractice and product liability matters. He is a very experienced litigator having tried an extremely large number of trials to verdict in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. He and his practice group specialize in receiving high exposure cases (demands commonly in $30M-$80M range) weeks to several months before trial, and trying the case to verdict. He is an active member of the bar in the states of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. He is also admitted to practice in the federal courts of Pennsylvania, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Jack is a native of Philadelphia and was a Scholar-Athlete at St. Joseph’s University and the captain of the basketball team in 1971. He graduated from Temple University Law School in 1975.
His experience includes service as a Deputy City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia. While retaining his own case load and trying a significant number of cases to verdict, he also supervised 27 other trial attorneys, managing an active case load of over 3000 files. He soon succeeded to the position of special Deputy to the Solicitor where he was responsible for defending high exposure cases on behalf of the City. Those cases involved general liability, premises liability, auto accidents and the defense of the Police Department in Civil Rights cases. Since 1984, he had been in private practice primarily defending medical malpractice, construction and other catastrophic injury claims.
Jack is a past president of the St. Joseph’s University Law Alumni Association and a member of the Defense Research Institute. He is also a member of the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates, American Bar Association, Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association and the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association.
Jack spent six years as a Hearing Committee member of the Disciplinary Board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and has lectured extensively on the rules of evidence. At the request of insurance carriers, he has conducted mock trials/cross-examination training sessions in areas of litigation such as the defense of brain-damaged babies, breast cancer and orthopedic injury claims. He has also been a special presenter on civil procedure at the National Judicial College of the American Bar Association in Reno, Nevada. Jack was Liaison Counsel to the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (M-Care) Fund (f/k/a CAT Fund) on behalf of individual healthcare providers in the Philadelphia Phen-Fen litigation.
He has been rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell and was selected, by his peers, as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer in 2004, the year of it’s inception, and each year thereafter, including the present. It is an honor reserved for the top 5% of all Pennsylvania lawyers.
Some of his trials include:
Metzner v. Pharmacy
Infant suffered brain damage and birth malformations allegedly due to his mother’s ingestion of heart medication which was contraindicated during her pregnancy and pharmacist’s alleged failure to counsel and identify the contraindicated drug. After a 2 ½ week trial wherein the plaintiff boarded $92M in past, present and future damages, a Philadelphia jury returned a defense verdict. Case was received six weeks before trial.
Lewis v. CRC, Inc.
A 43-year-old man was electrocuted by an arc-over after spraying client's allegedly defective industrial cleaner on a high voltage pole. Plaintiff demanded $12M and after a 13-day trial, a jury in Philadelphia returned a defense verdict.
Powers v. Heil Company
A 42-year-old man jumped off the back of an allegedly defective trash truck resulting in head injuries and death. Plaintiff demanded $7.5M and after an 8-day trial a Philadelphia jury returned a defense verdict.
Collins v. WaWa
A 53-year-old bicyclist was rendered a paraplegic when struck by a truck during a left turn collission allegedly caused by client's employee. Plaintiff demanded $22.5M and on the 10th trial day before a Philadelphia jury, settled for $6M.
McCauley v. Astaris
A 43-year-old man was severely burned while unloading a railcar of phosphorus which spontaneously ignited due to his alleged lack of training and inadequate personal protective equipment. Plaintiff demanded $25M and on the 15th trial day, in New Brunswick, NJ, the plaintiff settled with the client for $4.4M.
Kennedy v. Thackray Crane
A truck driver was crushed to death when a crane operator dropped his cargo on the cab of his truck. Plaintiff demanded $15M and during jury selection in Philadelphia, the case settled for $2,250,000.
Williams v. Lavine
A 51-year-old woman died from alleged complications of a kidney stone removal. After an 8-day trial in Philadelphia, a jury returned a defense verdict.
Barnes-Green v. Jefferson Smurfit
32 year old plaintiff fell into a paper mill pulper and died from second and third degree burns allegedly due to inadequate safeguards around the pulper. Plaintiff demanded $70M and the court allowed a jury charge for punitive damages. After a 2 ½ week trial and while a Philadelphia jury deliberated, plaintiff accepted a $6M settlement.
DeSouza v. Ryan Homes
37 year old plaintiff fell from a residential construction site and was rendered a paraplegic with chronic, unremitting pain. Plaintiff demanded $37.5M but, during the defendant’s case-in-chief, the case settled before a Philadelphia jury in the amount of $8M.
Forrest v. Beloit Corporation
A 46 year old man lost his left arm and right leg when his arm was crushed between two industrial rollers in a paper mill. The plaintiff’s demand was $15M and after a 3 week trial a District Court jury, in Philadelphia, returned a defense verdict.
Jurinko v. Edelman
The defendants, a dermatologist and dermatopathologist were accused of misdiagnosing the plaintiff’s melanoma. A Philadelphia jury returned a verdict in favor of Mr. Snyder’s client, the dermatopathologist.
Hutchinson v. Kotwal
A minor suffered severe brain damage allegedly due to the late performance of a Cesarean section. Plaintiff rejected a $1.2 million offer. In Philadelphia, a jury verdict in favor of the defendant obstetrician.
Scicchitano v. Kalafer
The defendant ob/gyn physician was accused of mis-managing plaintiff’s labor and delivery resulting in the minor-plaintiff’s brain damage. A Philadelphia jury verdict in favor of the defendant.
Kernaghan v. City of Philadelphia
Plaintiff allegedly sustained brain damage and lost a thumb due to the wrongful use of force by the Philadelphia Police Department. Jury verdict in favor of the defendants.
Coke v. Brezin
A failed kidney transplant between a Roman Catholic num and her brother, resulting in permanent dialysis for both. The nephrologists were accused of not understanding the nature of the disease, wrongfully suggesting the brother as a candidate for transplant and not following his blood studies appropriately. A jury verdict in Philadelphia for the defendant nephrologists.
Savage v. Parrott
The defendant ob/gyn physician was accused of mis-managing the plaintiff’s labor by delivering the child too soon, causing his brain damage, mental retardation and cerebral palsy. A jury in verdict in Philadelphia for the defendant.
Harris v. St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children
Eleven year old plaintiff had been on a feeding tube all his life due to complications from a hernia surgery which resulted in the loss of 90% of his small intestines. Plaintiff rejected a $1,000,000 offer. After the case was transferred to Mr. Snyder, a Philadelphia jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendants.
Hegh v. Goldman
A radiologist allegedly failed to diagnose lung cancer, resulting in the plaintiff’s death. A Philadelphia jury verdict in favor of defendants.
Presentations:
Medical Malpractice Defense: Correlating Clinical, Laboratory, Brain- Imaging and Placental Findings To Determine How And When Hypoxic/Ischemic Cerebral Palsy Developed; Cross Examination Of The Expert, Medical Professional Liability Catastrophe Loss Fund, Harrisburg, PA, November, 1997.
Defensive Posturing Through The Legal Process: Cross-Examination Of The Defendant Obstetrician In A Brain-Damaged Baby Case, The New Jersey Obstetrical & Gynecological Society, Atlantic City, NJ, June, 1998.
The Cross-Examination Of The Obstetrician Defendant: A Case Study, Zurich-American Insurance Co., The New Jersey Society For Medical Assistants, Piscataway, NJ, November, 1998.
Medical Malpractice: How To Defend A Brain-Damaged Baby Case, AIG Insurance Co., New York, NY, March, 1999.
Medical Malpractice: How To Successfully Build A Winning Defense; Cross Examination Of The Defendant Orthopedic Surgeon, The Academy of Medicine of New Jersey, New Jersey Orthopedic Society/The New York State Of Orthopedic Surgeons, Nevis, West Indies, April, 1999.
Medical Malpractice: The Use Of The Doubling Time Theory In The Defense Of Breast Cancer Cases; Cross-Examination Of The Expert, The Medical Professional Liability Catastrophe Loss Fund, Harrisburg, PA, November, 1999.
General Jurisdiction/Civil Procedure, The National Judicial College, American Bar Association, Reno, NV, October 2000; November, 2001.
The Psychologist As An Expert Witness: The Construction Of An Effective Presentation of Testimony, The Pennsylvania Psychological Association, Lancaster, PA., June, 2002.
Practice Areas
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania
- New York
- New Jersey
Court Admissions
U.S. District Court, Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania
Education
Temple University School of Law (J.D., 1975)
St. Joseph’s University (B.A., 1971)
Professional Associations
American Board of Trial Advocates
Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association
Defense Research Institute
Aviation Insurance Association