Principal
Chair, Products Liability Practice Group
Phone: 215-587-6612
Fax: 215-587-1444
rwickersham@postschell.com
Phone: 609-375-2215
Fax: 609-924-4144
Defends clients in high consequence products liability and casualty litigation, including handling all aspects of investigation, preparation, and trial, on behalf of self-insured and insured product manufacturers and distributors.
Richard B. Wickersham, Jr. is a Principal in the Firm's Casualty Litigation Department and Chair of the Firm's Products Liability Practice Group. For more than 30 years, he has focused his national practice on high consequence products liability and casualty litigation, including handling all aspects of the investigation, preparation, and trial, on behalf of self-insured and insured product manufacturers and distributors.
Mr. Wickersham has defended automobile manufacturers across the country in design defect and warranty claims involving airbag deployments, the lack of supplemental restraints, axle fractures, battery explosions, conspicuity, crash worthiness issues, dual reservoir master brake cylinders, power steering systems, and reclining seats.
He has nationally defended manufacturers and dealers on a wide range of alleged design defects involving sit-down counterbalanced, stand-up end-controlled/counterbalanced forklifts, rough terrain forklifts, motorized pallet jacks, burden carriers, scissor lifts, and aerial work platforms. He has also represented manufacturers, distributors and rental centers involving varying products such as: aerial lifts, boom lifts, hand tools, footwear, printing presses, corrugated box folding machines, blow molding machines, windows, tractor-trailers, model rocketry, bicycles, golf carts, dump bodies, electrical components, milk processing machines, conveyors, trommels, concrete placing boom, scaffolding, uranium, and aviation component parts. He also represents private K-12 schools/colleges/universities, dram shop licensees, and owner/operators within the sports/recreation industry.
Mr. Wickersham is national coordinating litigation counsel for both international and domestic powered industrial truck manufacturers. He regularly attends and participates in industry group meetings and committees.
In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Wickersham also assists a wide variety of clients nationwide with risk management and electronic discovery, has served as a private Mediator of product liability suits, and is a certified Arbitrator and Hurricane Sandy Arbitrator for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. He also volunteers his services as an Arbitrator for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and as Judge Pro Tempore for the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County.
In 2024, Mr. Wickersham was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), which is composed of the best of the trial bar from the United States and Canada. Fellowship in the College is extended by invitation only and only after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers of diverse backgrounds.
Since 2007, Mr. Wickersham has been recognized by his peers as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer as published by American Lawyer Media and Philadelphia Magazine. In 2009 and 2010, he was also listed in the Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition. From 2012-2015, he was also listed in Super Lawyers Business Edition. The Best Lawyers in America™ recognized Mr. Wickersham in its 2018 - 2025 editions in the Product Liability Litigation - Defendants category. For information about these selections and an overview of common third-party publications, rankings, and list methodologies, click here.
Noteworthy:
Richard B. Wickersham, Jr. is a Principal in the Firm's Casualty Litigation Department and Chair of the Firm's Products Liability Practice Group. For more than 30 years, he has focused his national practice on high consequence products liability and casualty litigation, including handling all aspects of the investigation, preparation, and trial, on behalf of self-insured and insured product manufacturers and distributors.
Mr. Wickersham has defended automobile manufacturers across the country in design defect and warranty claims involving airbag deployments, the lack of supplemental restraints, axle fractures, battery explosions, conspicuity, crash worthiness issues, dual reservoir master brake cylinders, power steering systems, and reclining seats.
He has nationally defended manufacturers and dealers on a wide range of alleged design defects involving sit-down counterbalanced, stand-up end-controlled/counterbalanced forklifts, rough terrain forklifts, motorized pallet jacks, burden carriers, scissor lifts, and aerial work platforms. He has also represented manufacturers, distributors and rental centers involving varying products such as: aerial lifts, boom lifts, hand tools, footwear, printing presses, corrugated box folding machines, blow molding machines, windows, tractor-trailers, model rocketry, bicycles, golf carts, dump bodies, electrical components, milk processing machines, conveyors, trommels, concrete placing boom, scaffolding, uranium, and aviation component parts. He also represents private K-12 schools/colleges/universities, dram shop licensees, and owner/operators within the sports/recreation industry.
Mr. Wickersham is national coordinating litigation counsel for both international and domestic powered industrial truck manufacturers. He regularly attends and participates in industry group meetings and committees.
In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Wickersham also assists a wide variety of clients nationwide with risk management and electronic discovery, has served as a private Mediator of product liability suits, and is a certified Arbitrator and Hurricane Sandy Arbitrator for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. He also volunteers his services as an Arbitrator for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and as Judge Pro Tempore for the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County.
In 2024, Mr. Wickersham was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), which is composed of the best of the trial bar from the United States and Canada. Fellowship in the College is extended by invitation only and only after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers of diverse backgrounds.
Since 2007, Mr. Wickersham has been recognized by his peers as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer as published by American Lawyer Media and Philadelphia Magazine. In 2009 and 2010, he was also listed in the Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition. From 2012-2015, he was also listed in Super Lawyers Business Edition. The Best Lawyers in America™ recognized Mr. Wickersham in its 2018 - 2025 editions in the Product Liability Litigation - Defendants category. For information about these selections and an overview of common third-party publications, rankings, and list methodologies, click here.
Noteworthy:
