Bender, Thomas R.

Stephen R. Bellis leads our trial practice group. He concentrates in personal injury cases for clients injured in automobile accidents, slip and falls, worker's compensation and medical malpractice.

Steve represents clients who have been killed, or suffer traumatic brain injuries, as well as back/neck disc herniations or muscle strains. He also represents defendants involving accidents through their insurance companies. He has tried jury cases throughout the State and successfully argued appeals at the Appellate and Supreme Courts. Steve has recovered millions of dollars for clients and is well respected by other attorneys and judges throughout the state.

Attorney Bellis also handles commercial litigation and real estate closings for businesses, banks and borrowers. He is widely respected for representing local and national developers as well as homeowners in zoning matters in the City of Shelton. He currently serves as counsel to the Shelton Builders Association, Inc.

Steve has recently been selected as an attorney delegate to the Open World program where he traveled to Russia as part of the Russian American Rules of Law Consortium. He lectured on commercial litigation and alternative dispute resolution.

Attorney Bellis is certified as an arbitrator by the ADR for commercial disputes.  He is also selected as a mediator or arbitrator on personal injury cases.

Attorney Bellis is one of the Board of Directors for The Euro Group of Companies, Inc. which is a N.Y. publicly traded corporation which sells phone service internationally and imports various products from China.

Attorney Bellis serves as a Board of Director for the New Haven County Bar Association.  He previously was a New Haven delegate to the Connecticut Bar Association.  He is a member of the New Haven Lawyer Referral Service, Connecticut and American Bar Associations, the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice. He is active on the Shelton Republican Town Committee and served as Chairman of the Redistricting Committee and Charter Revision Commission.

Attorney Bellis obtained his undergraduate degree from Boston University in 1981. He graduated from Catholic University Law School in Washington, D.C. in 1984 and was selected to the Law Review and was commencement speaker. He is admitted and qualified before the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the United States District Court of Connecticut and Connecticut State Court.

Litigation Results*

• Medical malpractice Para plegia against neurosurgeon $1,000,000.00 (maximum under insurance policy)
• Whistleblower Medicare Fraud against hospital $2.7 million
• Wrongful Death, Pedestrian against drunk driver, $750,000.00 (maximum under insurance policy)
• Wrongful Death, Pedestrian against motorcycle driver $200,000.00 (maximum under insurance policy)
• Cat scratch against homeowner $100,000.00
• Traumatic Brain Injury Pedestrian against automobile owner $300,000.00 (maximum under insurance policy)
• Employee back injury against employer: $300,000.00 (maximum insurance policy), argued to Supreme Court.
• Medical malpractice against hospital (appendix) $250,000.00
• Wrongful Death pedestrian in shoulder of road against driver $1,000,000.00 (maximum under insurance policy)
• Medical malpractice punctured lung against family doctor $250,000.00
• Medical malpractice death of 90 year old against hospital $100,000.00

* The outcome of each case is dependant on its facts. The outcomes listed above are for illustrative purposes only, and are not meant to serve as a guarantee.

Zoning Cases

• Site Plans before the Planning and Zoning Commission
• PDD approvals commercial developer mixed use shopping center
• Subdivision approvals local developers
• Use variance for National Developer school and office
• Commercial zone change Manhattan developer retail stores and restaurant
• Conservation development plans- local builders
• Variances before the Zoning Board of Appeals
• Appeals of Zoning Cases to the Superior Court