Nursing home litigation
Posted by Kim on January 14th, 2007 / Print This Post
2007. The year of nursing home lawsuits.
Trend watcher Robert Denney named nursing home litigation as one of the “Hot” practice areas of 2007 on his list of “What’s Hot and What’s Not in the Legal Profession.”NST started its nursing home litigation division in 2004 with one lawyer and has expanded to four. It is one of two concentrations for the new Knoxville office. The small East Tennessee staff will collaborate with the Memphis nursing home litigation group that includes a lawyer with a degree in biochemistry.
Increased specialization is a trend throughout the law profession, says tort expert and University of Memphis law professor Andrew McClurg.
“Back in the day, you didn’t find lawyers who were biochemists or lawyers who had doctors on their staff,” said McClurg.
Tackling malpractice, defective products and other cases like the ones NST undertakes is difficult, McClurg added, because of legislators nationwide who are “whipping bills through that restrict plaintiff rights.”
Furthermore, tort cases are expensive to research and bring to trial.
“The potential risk is great,” McClurg explained, “The tradeoff is that the payoff can be enormous.”
NST has brought in settlements as high as $2.2 million. It stays competitive by sorting out the riskiest cases from the large pool of potential clients it draws. Its nursing-home abuse hotline can generate a half a dozen potential clients daily. Additionally, client testimonials and ads featuring charismatic partner Trotz play in heavy rotation on local television stations.
Saharovich, 46, shies away from the often parodied “heavy hitter” title that the firm sometimes uses in its advertising. He prefers the adjectives “caring and approachable.”