Thomas E. Steichen

Tom Steichen is highly respected for his knowledge and experience in medical matters and the defense of multi-district medical product litigation representing leading manufacturers and distributors of name brand and generic drugs, prosthetics, surgical supplies, and medical implants and devices.

Tom has successfully defended numerous medical and pharmaceutical clients in lawsuits alleging claims involving manufacturer’s product liability, failure to warn, negligence and fraud. He also has experience obtaining summary judgment to exclude expert witness testimony under the Daubert standard of reliability and participated in some of the earliest Daubert challenges in medical products cases in federal district courts in Oklahoma.

Tom has been actively involved in both the Tulsa County and Oklahoma Bar Associations and previously served as chairman of both organizations’ workers’ compensation sections. He has been a featured speaker at the American Conference Institute’s Medical Products Seminar in New York City and has made presentations on the topics of ethics, Daubert challenges and workers’ compensation law at continuing legal education seminars for the Oklahoma Association of Defense Counsel, Oklahoma Bar Association and Tulsa County Bar Association. 

His achievements have earned him inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (commercial litigation; product liability litigation – defendants) and Oklahoma Super Lawyers.

Prior to joining McAfee & Taft, Tom was a partner with Tulsa-based Eldridge Cooper Steichen & Leach, a corporate law firm he co-founded in 2002.

• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a manufacturer of an over-the-counter nasal inhaler in a wrongful death lawsuit alleging negligence, failure to warn, breach of warranty and product liability. Judgment affirmed by the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals.
• Obtained summary judgment in the Eastern District of Oklahoma for a pharmaceutical manufacturer in a lawsuit alleging the failure to warn of a drug’s possible adverse reactions, including liver toxicity, of the company’s generic drug when taken in combination with another medication. Judgment affirmed by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. 
• Obtained summary judgment in the Northern District of Oklahoma on a motion to exclude expert witness testimony under the Daubert standards in a lawsuit involving the manufacturer of a spinal rod system. Also prevailed on summary judgment motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claims for manufacturers' products liability, negligence, failure to warn, breach of express and implied warranties, and fraud. 
• Defended numerous manufacturers and distributors of medical devices and supplies, including prosthetic knees and hips, surgical screws, fracture plates, implants and spinal fusion devices, in product liability litigation.
• Obtained summary judgment on a negligence claim against a counselor in a professional malpractice lawsuit.
• Successfully defended a multi-national accounting firm in auditing malpractice claim.
• Negotiated lien resolution protocol with the U.S. Department of Justice in a mass tort case involving potential Medicare and Veterans Administration liens.
• Successfully defended employers accused of intentional torts and companies involved with asbestos and silicosis claims.