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About Us

About Steve Watrel, P.A.

Work with a team of experts backed by in-depth experience and strong case results.

The Nursing Home Abuse Expertâ„¢

Sometimes the best way to describe a lawyer is to tell you what he isn’t. Steve Watrel is not about over-promising and under-delivering. He’s not about handing cases off to paralegals, case managers or junior attorneys fresh out of law school. He’s not about trying to build a legal empire at the expense of doing the job right.

When you work with Steve, you can expect 100% dedication to you and your case. Unlike other firms, we have no quotas or volume requirements, which we believe leads to poor outcomes. All cases are handled personally by Steve Watrel with the aim of getting you everything that you deserve.

We don’t treat clients like numbers. Calls are returned quickly with a knowledgeable response. Clients are always informed about their case. We truly listen to you. We treat you with respect.

After we listen to what you have to say, Steve Watrel will fight for you. We’re aggressive and unrelenting when representing clients. Does that approach work? We know it does. But you be the jury.

Attorney Steve Watrel
Man using an iPad

We Believe Your Family Deserves the Best

Our Philosophy

With Steve Watrel, you can expect 100% dedication to you and your case. Unlike others, we have no quotas or volume requirements.

Continued Growth

With Steve Watrel, you can expect 100% dedication to you and your case. Unlike others, we have no quotas or volume requirements.

In the Comunity

Steve has a strong commitment to his community. He takes pride in working alongside local charities with the goal of helping those in need.

Our Proven Approach

What We Do:

With more than 30 years experience in protecting the rights of elders in our community, we know what it takes to build a strong nursing home abuse case. We’ve developed the following approach to successfully fight large nursing home chains and the insurance companies that help perpetuate the abuse.

How We Do It: Based on his 30+ years of fighting for elder rights in Jacksonville, Steve Watrel, has developed a proven approach to combatting nursing home abuse seen in the big chains and perpetuated by insurance companies. Steve’s legal process and expertise is widely heralded in law trade publications across the nation and other attorney’s regularly seek his special counsel on these types of cases

The first step is to contact us for a free case consultation. There is no obligation to move forward with your case after this consultation. Instead, it is an opportunity for you to learn about your rights and all your options so you can make an informed decision that is best for you and your family.

Should you choose to move forward with working with us on your case, the next step is to do a full discovery. It is important that we truly understand your loved one and how the abuse has impacted your family.

A team led by Steve will gather, preserve, and document all the evidence needed to build a strong case against the nursing home and any other party responsible for the abuse. Too often in nursing home abuse cases, evidence gets destroyed or lost. Our team, consisting of medical experts, forensic accountants, and legal professionals, are experts in uncovering the truth.

After all the evidence is gathered, we will discuss going to trial. We prepare every case as if it’s going to trial so will never pressure you to settle for less than you and your family deserve. Oftentimes, cases must go to trial to achieve justice, and we are passionate about pursuing full value for nursing home abuse victims and their families.

We understand that going to trial and facing the abuser can be stressful. That’s why we spend a lot of time preparing you for trial. We don’t want you to just feel ready; we want you to feel empowered to share your story in the courtroom. Our proprietary trial preparation system has been refined over 25 years with the input of multiple experts.

Our Team

April Tapp

Originally from Arkansas, marketing coordinator April Tapp  joined Steve Watrel in May of 2015, as his marketing coordinator. She attended college at Lyon College and graduated in 1998 with a B.A. in English and a minor in psychology.

April has taught upper level writing courses for many years and is now putting her expertise in communications to work for us. Energetic and vivacious, she focuses on building relationships with colleagues, current and past clients, and the community to ensure that we provide excellent service and exceed expectations for those we work with. A member of the Florida Justice Association, April is always searching for opportunities for Steve to advocate for seniors in our community. Never without a smile, she is honored to assist with client needs and work diligently with those who contact us.

April is married to her high-school sweetheart Jeff and they have two boys. She is a loyal Arkansas Razorback fan and an avid foodie, who enjoys the beach, fashion, and interior design. She is actively involved in both women’s ministry and student ministry at Chets Creek Church.

Marketing Coordinator, April Tapp
Pat Hill

Pat Hill

Pat Hill joined Steve Watrel in January of 2017 and is a tremendous asset to our team. She was born in Santa Monica, California, but moved to Jacksonville as a child and continues to call the River City home.

Pat boasts over 40 years of experience in personal injury and automobile accidents, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse and neglect, insurance defense, commercial litigation, estate and trust planning, and family law. She has worked in law firms in Florida and both North Carolina and South Carolina. She brings a wealth of knowledge from her experience with several of the premier firms in Jacksonville, including Fernandez Trial Lawyers, P.A,; Harrell & Harrell; Barnes & Cohen; and David, Morrow, & Edwards. She also held the position of Legal Accounts Coordinator as a liaison to attorneys for Emas Spine and Brain Specialists. Her strengths lie in personal injury litigation litigation preparation and trial work.

She enjoys swimming, gardening, and traveling and adores her two Pomeranians.

Featured Story 

Nursing Home Knowledge Video Series

Steve hosted a five part series on Nursing Home Knowledge for First Coast Living. The purpose of the video series is to share what you need to know when you need to put a loved one in a nursing home. As part of this series, we put together ...

Read Story

Need Help? Contact Steve.

Steve Watrel, P.A. is the only accident and injury law attorney that has been personally fighting against nursing home abuse for 30 years in Jacksonville. Contact us and see the difference today.

136 East Bay St.
Jacksonville, FL 32202
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