Post & Schell, P.C.

Edward A. Smallwood

Principal
Casualty Litigation and Toxic Tort Liability Litigation

Pittsburgh, PA

Phone: 412-506-6380
Fax: 412-227-9065
esmallwood@postschell.com

Wheeling, WV

Phone: 304-205-0906

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Bio

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Edward A. Smallwood is a Principal in the firm's Casualty Litigation Department and represents and defends clients in premises liability, products liability, trucking liability, and toxic tort liability matters, and related litigation. His clients include energy and utility companies, including electric utilities and oil, mining, construction, and transportation companies. He also handles all phases of litigation and serves as National Coordinating Counsel overseeing toxic tort litigation throughout the country.

Mr. Smallwood is an experienced litigator with more than 20 years of experience representing clients in an array of litigation matters in state and federal courts in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. this includes litigation involving electrical contact, fire and explosion, construction, and property damage. He has represented a variety of Fortune 500 utility and mining companies in litigation matters that include catastrophic injury, deliberate intent, and wrongful death matters. He also actively defends credit unions in financial and commercial litigation, including claims arising from the ADA, FDCA, and state consumer credit protection statutes and handles commercial disputes between electrical utility clients and other utility providers.

Mr. Smallwood is a frequent speaker at conferences that address toxic tort, utilities, and mass litigation and is currently national coordinating counsel for multiple product manufacturers in asbestos litigation.

Mr. Smallwood was recognized in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America© in the categories of  Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Defendants and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. For information about this selection and an overview of common third-party publications, rankings, and list methodologies, click here. 

Read full bio > Read less >

Practices

  • Casualty Litigation
  • Products Liability Litigation
  • Toxic Tort Liability Litigation
  • Commercial Transportation Litigation
  • Insurance Law

Industries

  • Commercial Transportation
  • Manufacturing
  • Medical Device & Life Sciences
  • Pharmaceutical
  • Construction
  • Energy and Utilities
  • Communications

Education

  • J.D., Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary, 1997
  • B.A. in Political Science and History, Cum Laude, West Virginia University, 1994

Bar Memberships

  • Pennsylvania
  • West Virginia
  • Ohio

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia

Affiliations

  • International Association of Defense Counsel
  • Defense Research Institute (DRI)
     

Representative Matters

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  • Obtained complete indemnification on behalf of electrical utility client from contractor whose employee was killed in a fall at client’s power station.
  • Received defense verdict in bench trial on behalf client in claim brought by telecommunications company alleging that client had damaged underground lines during maintenance activities.
  • Obtained favorable settlement in electrocution case in which an employee of a telephone company was killed when attempting to raise telephone and cable lines and came into contact with electrical utility primary line.
  • Favorably resolved wrongful death case in which electrical utility client employee was killed when the crane he was operating overturned.
  • Won summary judgment in electrical contact matter in which plaintiff came into contact with client’s transmission line while delivering construction materials.
  • Obtained summary judgment in a claim filed in Allegheny County involving a contractor who claims he sustained an electrical contact injury while performing surveying work in Indiana County.
  • Obtained very favorable settlement of a plaintiff injured when he attempted to raise electrical utility lines with a bungee cord in order to allow access from a utility shed on a golf course.
  • Secured summary judgment in Erie County for a wrongful death claim arising from a house fire that occurred on decedent’s grandfather’s farm.
  • Obtained a defense verdict in the Western District of Pennsylvania federal court for a Houston, Texas-based American multinational corporation that is a worldwide provider of equipment and components used in oil and gas drilling and production operations, oilfield services, and supply chain integration services involving property damage claim and violation of a commercial lease.
  • Obtained defense verdict for a ladder manufacturer case tried in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania involving claim of a then three-year-old girl who accessed a swimming pool and suffered catastrophic brain injuries; after a two-week trial the jury returned a verdict of $51 million against other defendants but found in favor of our client.

News & Insights

News

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Fifty-one Attorneys Recognized as 2025 Best Lawyers in America by The Best Lawyers in America©. 

Post & Schell Expands Pittsburgh Presence with Addition of 11-Attorney Group

Speaking Engagements

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Ed Smallwood to Participate in Panel Discussion Examining the Rise in Large Verdicts at Perrin's Insurance Coverage & Allocation Issues Conference on May 8

Ed Smallwood Co-Presents on Legacy Liabilities Associated with Defunct Entities at Perrin Conference on May 11

Bio Representative Matters

Edward A. Smallwood is a Principal in the firm's Casualty Litigation Department and represents and defends clients in premises liability, products liability, trucking liability, and toxic tort liability matters, and related litigation. His clients include energy and utility companies, including electric utilities and oil, mining, construction, and transportation companies. He also handles all phases of litigation and serves as National Coordinating Counsel overseeing toxic tort litigation throughout the country.

Mr. Smallwood is an experienced litigator with more than 20 years of experience representing clients in an array of litigation matters in state and federal courts in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. this includes litigation involving electrical contact, fire and explosion, construction, and property damage. He has represented a variety of Fortune 500 utility and mining companies in litigation matters that include catastrophic injury, deliberate intent, and wrongful death matters. He also actively defends credit unions in financial and commercial litigation, including claims arising from the ADA, FDCA, and state consumer credit protection statutes and handles commercial disputes between electrical utility clients and other utility providers.

Mr. Smallwood is a frequent speaker at conferences that address toxic tort, utilities, and mass litigation and is currently national coordinating counsel for multiple product manufacturers in asbestos litigation.

Mr. Smallwood was recognized in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America© in the categories of  Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Defendants and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. For information about this selection and an overview of common third-party publications, rankings, and list methodologies, click here. 

Read full bio > Read less >

  • Obtained complete indemnification on behalf of electrical utility client from contractor whose employee was killed in a fall at client’s power station.
  • Received defense verdict in bench trial on behalf client in claim brought by telecommunications company alleging that client had damaged underground lines during maintenance activities.
  • Obtained favorable settlement in electrocution case in which an employee of a telephone company was killed when attempting to raise telephone and cable lines and came into contact with electrical utility primary line.
  • Favorably resolved wrongful death case in which electrical utility client employee was killed when the crane he was operating overturned.
  • Won summary judgment in electrical contact matter in which plaintiff came into contact with client’s transmission line while delivering construction materials.
  • Obtained summary judgment in a claim filed in Allegheny County involving a contractor who claims he sustained an electrical contact injury while performing surveying work in Indiana County.
  • Obtained very favorable settlement of a plaintiff injured when he attempted to raise electrical utility lines with a bungee cord in order to allow access from a utility shed on a golf course.
  • Secured summary judgment in Erie County for a wrongful death claim arising from a house fire that occurred on decedent’s grandfather’s farm.
  • Obtained a defense verdict in the Western District of Pennsylvania federal court for a Houston, Texas-based American multinational corporation that is a worldwide provider of equipment and components used in oil and gas drilling and production operations, oilfield services, and supply chain integration services involving property damage claim and violation of a commercial lease.
  • Obtained defense verdict for a ladder manufacturer case tried in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania involving claim of a then three-year-old girl who accessed a swimming pool and suffered catastrophic brain injuries; after a two-week trial the jury returned a verdict of $51 million against other defendants but found in favor of our client.

Practices

  • Casualty Litigation
  • Products Liability Litigation
  • Toxic Tort Liability Litigation
  • Commercial Transportation Litigation
  • Insurance Law

Industries

  • Commercial Transportation
  • Manufacturing
  • Medical Device & Life Sciences
  • Pharmaceutical
  • Construction
  • Energy and Utilities
  • Communications

Education

  • J.D., Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary, 1997
  • B.A. in Political Science and History, Cum Laude, West Virginia University, 1994

Bar Memberships

  • Pennsylvania
  • West Virginia
  • Ohio

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia

Affiliations

  • International Association of Defense Counsel
  • Defense Research Institute (DRI)
     

News & Insights

News Speaking Engagements

Fifty-one Attorneys Recognized as 2025 Best Lawyers in America by The Best Lawyers in America©. 

Post & Schell Expands Pittsburgh Presence with Addition of 11-Attorney Group

Ed Smallwood to Participate in Panel Discussion Examining the Rise in Large Verdicts at Perrin's Insurance Coverage & Allocation Issues Conference on May 8

Ed Smallwood Co-Presents on Legacy Liabilities Associated with Defunct Entities at Perrin Conference on May 11

 

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