Stephen M. Garcia

Stephen M. Garcia is a senior partner at Garcia & Coman, where he focuses on elder abuse, nursing home neglect, wrongful death, trucking accidents, medical malpractice, insurance bad faith, and products liability litigation. A civil trial attorney since 1994, and previously a criminal trial lawyer, Garcia has devoted his career to representing vulnerable individuals and their families in complex, high-stakes litigation. Garcia has served as lead counsel in more than 2,500 elder and dependent adult abuse cases and has been involved in matters generating over $1 billion in verdicts and settlements nationwide. He has secured numerous multi-million-dollar results, including some of the largest nursing home verdicts in California history, and has successfully prosecuted and resolved major class actions on behalf of elders and consumers. His work has included precedent-setting appellate advocacy, including participation in significant elder abuse matters before the California Supreme Court. In addition to his trial practice, Garcia is a frequent lecturer on elder justice and trial advocacy, speaking before judicial, legal, and healthcare organizations. He has served in leadership roles within consumer attorney associations and has testified regarding legislation impacting the rights and protections of elders. Garcia has been recognized by Lawdragon as one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America,” was honored as a California Lawyer of the Year (CLAY) award recipient for elder law, and has been repeatedly selected to Southern California Super Lawyers, including recognition among the Top 100. He is admitted to practice in multiple state and federal courts across the United States. Awards and Honors Super Lawyers® Selectees Stephen M. Garcia included in a Super Lawyers® list Honors "Fellows of The American Academy of Trial Counsel" "Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum" "Super Lawyers" of Southern California by Los Angeles Magazine Member, "Billion Dollar Club" by the Los Angeles Daily Journal California Lawyer of the Year, Elder Abuse, California Lawyer "500 Leading Lawyers in America", Lawdragon "Top 2,500 Plaintiff Lawyers in America", Lawdragon "500 Leading Plaintiff Lawyers in America", Lawdragon Other Sources of Feedback About Stephen M. Garcia Included on the 2025Southern California Super Lawyers list Past Lists 2024 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2023 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2022 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2021 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2020 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2019 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2018 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2017 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2016 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2015 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2014 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2013 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2012 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2011 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2010 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2009 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2008 Southern California Super Lawyers list 2006 Southern California Super Lawyers list

• Senior Partner

• Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, Adjunct Professor of Law, Elder Abuse Litigation
• Languages
• Spanish
• English

• Lecturer, Senior Living Executive Course, University of Southern California
• Lecturer, Long Term Care and the Law, American Health Care Lawyers Association
• Lecturer, Florida College of Advanced Judicial Studies
• Lecturer, Abuse in the Long Term Care Setting, Los Angeles County District Attorneys Criminal Justice Institute's Tenth Annual Symposium
• Lecturer, Using Cy Pres to Right a Wrong, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform Annual Convention
• Lecturer, Why the Other Side is Just Wrong, American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants-National Convention
• Lecturer, Elder Abuse-Perspective Required, Consumer Attorneys of California
• Lecturer, Class Actions-A Tool To Improve Long Term Care, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform Annual Convention
• Lecturer, Elder Abuse-It is Important and Why, American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants
• Lecturer, Utilizing the Consumer Legal Remedies Act to Improve Long Term Care, Consumer Attorneys of California
• Lecturer, Elder Abuse: What a Plaintiff's Counsel Looks For in Evaluating and Presenting a Case, Southern California Association of Defense Counsel Annual Convention
• Frequent Lecturer, Continuing Education Seminars, The Southern California Association of Defense Counsel
• Frequent Lecturer, Continuing Education Seminars, Consumer Attorneys of California
• Frequent Lecturer, Continuing Education Seminars, California Advocates of Nursing Home Reform
• Frequent Lecturer, Continuing Education Seminars, California Health Care Association
• Frequent Lecturer, Continuing Education Seminars, Loyola Law School
• Frequent Lecturer, Continuing Education Seminars, Whittier Law School
• Lecturer, Elder Abuse: What A Plaintiff's Counsel Looks For In Evaluating and Presenting a Case", Southern California Association of Defense Counsel Annual Convention, 2006
• Lecturer, "Elder Abuse-Discovery You Need", Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles Annual Convention, 2005
• Lecturer, "Avoiding Caps in a Wrongful Death Action Predicated on Elder And/Or Dependent Adult Abuse Pursuant to the Elder Adult and Dependent Adult Abuse Pursuant to the Elder Adult and Dependent Adult Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act", California Regional Trial Lawyers Association Conference, 2005
• Lecturer, "HMO's Abuse Elder and Dependent Adults Every Day-How We Can Stop Them", Consumer Attorneys of California College of Trial Arts, 2004
• Lecturer, "Good Care is Not Always Enough", California Healthcare Association Annual Convention, 2003
• Lecturer, "Using the Elder Abuse Act to Sue Insurers and HMO's", Consumer Attorneys of California 42nd Annual Convention, 2003
• Lecturer, "Elder Abuse Is Not Medical Malpractice", Consumer Attorneys of California 41st Annual Convention, 2002
• Lecturer, "Profits Over People, it's a fact proving it to a jury", Consumer Attorneys of California, 40th Annual, 2001
• Lecturer, "Re-Victimizing the Nursing Home Plaintiff; Making a Bad Case Referral", Long Beach Probate and Estate Planning Counsel, 2001
• Lecturer, "Views from Advocates and Neutrals", Judicate West, 2001
• Lecturer, "Formal Discovery: Is it worth the effort?", Consumer Attorneys of California, 1999
• Lecturer, Resident Counsel's, "Your Eyes and Ears", California Advocates of Nursing Home Reform, 2000
• Lecturer, How to Litigate the Elder Abuse Case, California Advocates of Nursing Home Reform, 1999
• Lecturer, RCFE's Freedom From MICRA, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, 1998
• Lecturer, RCFE's Freedom From MICRA, Consumer Attorneys of California, 1997
• Lecturer, Dealing with Objections in Difficult Cases from an Ethical Point of View, Consumer Attorneys of California, 1996
• Adjunct Professor of Law, Elder Abuse Litigation, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles

• Radle v. Confidential
• Pruett v. Confidential
• Baeza v. Confidential
• Castellanos v. Confidential
• Smith v. Confidential
• Muccianti vs. Fountain View, Inc., et al.
• Sandoval v. Summit Care Corporation

• Board of Directors, Urban Compass
• Continuing Supporter, Richstone Center
• Representative Clients
• Radle v. Confidential
• Pruett v. Confidential
• Baeza v. Confidential
• Castellanos v. Confidential
• Smith v. Confidential
• lMuccianti vs. Fountain View, Inc., et al.
• Sandoval v. Summit Care Corporation

• California
• Texas
• Washington
• Arizona
• U.S. District Court Central District of California
• U.S. District Court Southern District of California
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
• U.S. District Court Northern District of California
• U.S. District Court District of Arizona
• U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit

• Consumer Attorneys of California (Member, Board of Governors)
• Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (Member, Board of Governors)
• Mexican-American Bar Association (Member)
• South Bay Bar Association (Member)
• Los Angeles County Bar Association (Member)
• Fresno County Bar Association (Member)
• American Association for Justice (Member)
• American Bar Association (Member)
• Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals (Member)
• The National Academy of Elder Law Lawyers (Member)
• American Academy of Trial Counsel (Founding Fellow)
• Fraternities and Sororities
• Alpha Delta Gamma