Steve Watrel

Proven Verdicts
Shareholder at Coker Law Jacksonville
Jacksonville, FL32 years experienceAdmitted 1992

About Steve Watrel

Steve Watrel is a shareholder at Coker Law in Jacksonville, Florida, with over 32 years of experience in personal injury litigation. He is widely recognized as one of the leading trial lawyers in nursing home abuse and assisted living facility litigation, with numerous six- and seven-figure results in these cases.

Watrel earned his J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law in 1992 and his B.S.M. in Finance from Tulane University's A.B. Freeman School of Business in 1989. He is a graduate of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College (2003), an intensive trial advocacy program.

Watrel founded Steve Watrel, P.A. in 1993 and practiced independently for nearly three decades before merging his practice with Coker Law in January 2020. He is a long-time EAGLE member of the Florida Justice Association, serves on the FJA Board of Directors, chairs the FJA Nursing Home Task Force, and co-chairs the FJA Continuing Legal Education Committee. He previously served as President of the Jacksonville Justice Association.

Proven verdicts and settlements

$2.5 millionVerdict

A Duval County jury returned a $2.5 million verdict for the family of Anne Fiorito, an elderly dementia patient who lost sight in one eye after a Vitas Healthcare hospice aide struck her during a bathing routine at Cypress Village Retirement Community.

Jacksonville, FL (Duval County Circuit Court) · 2021Premises LiabilityRead the full story →
View all 3 proven verdicts →

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.

Practice areas

Education

Syracuse University College of Law
B.S.M. in Finance, 1992
Tulane University
Undergraduate, 1989

Bar admissions & credentials

State Bar of Florida, admitted 1992
State Bar of U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, admitted 1992
Florida Justice Association (Board Member, CLE Committee Co-Chair, Nursing Home Task Force Chair)
Jacksonville Justice Association (Former President)
Melvin E. Belli Society
Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College

Awards & recognition

Best Lawyers in America (2022-present)
Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rated
Florida Super Lawyers (2018-present)
Florida Trend Legal Elite (2018-present)
Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College Graduate (2003)

Other attorneys at Coker Law Jacksonville

View firm →

Proven verdicts and settlements from other Jacksonville firms

Pajcic & Pajcic
Pajcic & Pajcic
$1 billion · Nassau County Jury Returns $1 Billion in I-95 Crash That Killed UNF Freshman Connor Dzion
Rubenstein Law Personal Injury Lawyers
Rubenstein Law Personal Injury Lawyers
$56 million · Billion-Dollar Tobacco Verdict Upheld at $56 Million After SJC Review
Terrell Hogan
Terrell Hogan
$11.3 billion (state share of settlement) · Florida Recovers $11.3 Billion from Tobacco Industry in Landmark Medicaid Settlement
Fasig Brooks Law Offices
Fasig Brooks Law Offices
$5.46 million (gross; 45% comparative negligence applied) · Neighbor's Unguarded Angle Grinder Costs Man His Sight: $5.46 Million Verdict in Gadsden County
AndersonGlenn LLP
AndersonGlenn LLP
$261 million · The $261 Million 'Take Care of Maya' Verdict Against Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, Trimmed to About $213 Million by the Trial Judge, Then Reversed in Full by Florida's Second District Court of Appeal in October 2025, With a Narrower Retrial Now Ahead After the Florida Supreme Court Declined Review