Practice Areas & Industries: Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, L.L.P.

Practice/Industry Group Overview

Our firm regularly defends medical malpractice claims. We have represented large hospital systems, medical schools, long-term care providers, physicians, nurses, physician assistants, physician organizations, and other health care industry organizations, including malpractice insurers, in a wide range of cases involving catastrophic injuries, death, and patient abuse. We also have the unique experience of defending the first telemedicine organization supplying emergency physicians to respond to in-flight medical emergencies on commercial air carriers.

Several members of our medical team have worked as health care providers, which includes experience in intensive care, emergency care, and Life Flight nursing, as well as academic research and teaching in immunology, pathology, and biomedical applications. Thus, our team well understands that claims of malpractice strike at the core of the health care professional's role as healer and comforter and requires an aggressive, but empathetic defense.

Our experience in representing individual health care providers has included virtually all medical specialties and sub-specialties except aerospace medicine.

We also represent health care providers and organizations in other controversies including hospital credentialing and discipline hearings, Texas Board of Medical Examiner hearings and trials, and Texas Board of Nursing Examiners hearings and trials. In addition, we have defended health care providers in business and commercial litigation including contract disputes, defamation claims, and employment disputes.

Recent Representative Experience

• Defended to verdict a malpractice claim against a pediatric ophthalmologist involving allegations of failure to timely treat two sisters, from a set of extremely premature triplets, for retinopathy of prematurity that resulted in the twins' total blindness. The third triplet, who was treated several days earlier than her sisters for the same problem, did not become completely blind, but has significantly impaired vision. Plaintiffs contended that the sister who was treated first set the standard of care for the other sisters despite significant differences in their medical conditions at the time. In addition, all three girls became deaf at two years old as a result of antibiotic therapy unrelated to their retinopathy of prematurity, and all three have some degree of mental retardation. Plaintiffs sought to hold the pediatric ophthalmologist responsible for the educational needs and future costs of caring for two deaf/blind sisters as well as pain and suffering related to all their disabilities.