Our firm represents medical schools and medical centers in a variety of counseling and litigation matters involving administrators, physicians, employees, residents, fellows, students, and patients. Our litigation experience includes:
- Coordinating and leading the defense of multi-party actions involving academic medical centers facing a wide range of claims in state and federal court, including claims by medical faculty members against universities and their affiliated hospitals and physician practice groups.
- Defending against injunctive, employment, breach of tenure, detrimental reliance, and other breach of contract actions by administrators and faculty arising out of program closure decisions.
- Defending against abandonment of care claims by patients using a clinical program scheduled to be closed consequent to an academic program closure.
- Defending against medical student claims, including claims by a medical student impacted by program closure and retaliation/ harassment claims by a former medical resident alleging interference with ongoing attempts to secure future employment.
- Representing academic medical centers and hospitals in appeals of medical malpractice decisions, negligence actions, and charitable gift disputes.
We also have a significant practice counseling medical schools on medical resident and faculty issues. We draft and revise policies and procedures governing medical residents, including evaluation, discipline, and termination. We counsel medical schools and medical residency programs about management of internal issues and proceedings involving medical residents, including allegations of harassment, internal grievance matters, and challenges to termination decisions. We also help institutions considering closure of a health-care program to manage the legal, educational, and accreditation risks associated with termination of health care or residency programs.
