I litigate and try cases for physicians, physician groups,
and other health care providers.
I have a lot of real, practical experience where it counts
the most, in court and arbitration.
In the specialized area of managed care and claims, I
have a lengthy, successful track record representing physicians
in many cases against HMOs. I have battled the largest
HMOs, including Aetna, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Humana and
United HealthCare. In those cases, my clients all recovered
money damages of six or seven figures. I have never lost
a case in this area, a few of which are profiled in this
web site. These were groundbreaking cases which involved
risk provider contracts, and the improper, illegal shifting
of patients and monies between network primary physicians
and the HMO’s facilities and coffers. These cases
worked to force changes in HMO-provider contracting, especially
when it comes to the sanctity of the physician-patient
relationship and the need for quality, continuous care.
I have also represented physicians, home health care agencies,
physician assistants, nurses and other providers, in lawsuits
involving their business and contract dealings, including
the purchase and sale of practices, partnership disputes,
breakups, employment and non-competition matters, to name
a few. I currently represent a group of neurologists who
have banded together to create a legal defense fund, in
the hope of avoiding or extinguishing claims before they
ripen into litigation. This insurance alternative is part
of the evolving litigation-risk/reward solution for physicians,
and I am proud to be an active participant in this trend.
And, I have represented the ‘other side’,
too, which gives me a complete perspective in handling
health care provider problems and disputes. Early in my
career, after first trying many types of cases before juries
and judges, I joined one of the first health care law firms,
Hayt, Hayt and Landau, based in New York, and worked in
their Miami office. There, I litigated the earliest managed
care contracts in court, on behalf of International Medical
Centers HMO, Ramsay (later CAC-Ramsay) HMO (which later
became United HealthCare), and other pioneers in the field.
I also represented Baptist Hospital, Cedars, Florida Medical
Center, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital,
Parkway General Hospital, and many other hospitals, medical
practices and diagnostic facilities, in all manner of commercial
disputes, which, of course, required me to be familiar
with the business of medicine, including daily operations,
credentialing, finance, insurance, claims and the like.
