Medical Malpractice & Healthcare Law
Medical Malpractice
In today’s world of instantaneous communication, a physician or other healthcare provider’s professional reputation is of paramount importance. Medical malpractice lawsuits place the healthcare professional’s reputation and skill at issue where the stakes and pressures are very high. Medical malpractice lawsuits present unique risks and challenges that must be defended and resolved in a way that preserves the healthcare professional’s reputation and optimizes the chances of a favorable outcome.
Frith Anderson + Peake’s medical malpractice team has successfully defended virtually every medical specialty statewide in Virginia state and federal courts throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, concentrating on southwest Virginia, central and Southside Virginia, and the Shenandoah Valley. Our attorneys are also licensed in West Virginia and have successfully handled medical malpractice cases there. Our firm also defends nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other long term care providers. See Nursing Home Litigation.
Partner Matthew Kelley has substantial trial experience combined with extensive scientific training including past cancer research work. With a Masters’ degree in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins, Mr. Kelley brings scientific expertise to the firm’s medical malpractice cases. Our team has an excellent track record in the cases that we have taken to trial, winning a very high percentage of them.
What Frith Anderson + Peake offers: 1) Attorneys with decades of experience aggressively and efficiently representing healthcare clients in medical malpractice lawsuits including numerous multi-day jury trials. 2) A team approach to medical malpractice litigation featuring members immersed in the medicine including a registered nurse paralegal, a physician assistant paralegal, and a partner with graduate training in biotechnology. 3) Practical legal advice based on our experiences working alongside judges in bar association leadership roles and before the judiciary as trial attorneys. 4) High level data security for their client’s information with technology that allows the firm’s attorneys to access the information they need anywhere they travel.
Other Healthcare Litigation
HEALTHCARE LAW
Administrative, Professional Licensing and Disciplinary Matters
We have an active administrative practice and handle matters before professional licensing and regulatory boards, including the representation of health care professionals in disciplinary hearings. We have represented healthcare providers in disciplinary proceedings involving claims of substance abuse, improper clinical care, failure to document records appropriately, and drug diversion and/or improper prescriptions of controlled substances. A number of our attorneys have experience and expertise in this field including Walter Peake, Matthew Kelley, and Linda Frith.
Healthcare Law and Regulatory Matters
Our firm advises hospital clients and independent physician practices on health care issues involving HIPPA and patient confidentiality, contractual issues, credentialing matters, medical records, peer review, risk management, and coverage under professional liability policies.
What Frith Anderson + Peake offers: 1) Attorneys who have successfully resolved Board of Medicine, Board of Dentistry, and Board of Nursing matters for healthcare providers. 2) Significant experience advocating for physicians involved in credentialing disputes with hospitals and other large healthcare entities. 3) Practical healthcare business consulting based on our unique experience with the realities of providing healthcare in Virginia and West Virginia. 4) High level data security for their client’s information with technology that allows the firm’s attorneys to access the information they need anywhere they travel
OPIOID LEGAL CLAIMS
Southwest Virginia and West Virginia are centers of the opioid crisis receiving widespread national media attention. A recent Centers for Disease Control report showed that Martinsville, Virginia ranked number one in the nation for opioids being prescribed per-capita. Two other Southwest Virginia locations, Norton City and Galax, were within the top five in the nation. While the epidemic’s existence is beyond dispute, it can be difficult to appreciate the scope and toll of the problem without personal observation.
The firm’s attorneys understand the physical and emotional toll of this crisis on people and, in particular, healthcare providers. For example, during jury selection for a trial defending an ER doctor in Southwest Virginia in an opioid overdose case, the 30 or so potential jurors were asked if they thought their county had a pervasive substance abuse problem and every single one of them raised their hand answering “yes.” In a day and age where disagreement is the norm, it was sobering that everyone acknowledged the opioid problem.
The firm has handled a variety of legal claims involving opioids. We have defended healthcare providers facing medical malpractice lawsuits related to opioid prescriptions, monitoring, and patient overdoses in Virginia and West Virginia. Our attorneys handle drug diversion allegations for healthcare providers including resolving disciplinary claims before professional licensing boards.
What Frith Anderson + Peake offers: 1) Attorneys who can provide well-reasoned strategies for defending opioid claims because they understand the societal toll the crisis is taking on their neighbors. 2) Compassionate and discreet representation of healthcare providers dealing with claims and lawsuits related to opioid prescriptions. 3) A team with an understanding of the pharmacology of opioids with the ability to present complex scientific issues to a jury when required.
