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Health Law

Jackson & Campbell, P.C. has practiced health law for over five decades. The lawyers in our group have combined experience exceeding 75 years. There is no savvier group of attorneys to turn to when faced with a malpractice suit or career impugning investigation.

Our Firm is centrally located in Washington, D.C. and we have secured defense verdicts there and in Maryland and Virginia. Our attorneys practice in California, Maryland, New York, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, and Virginia and we are widely respected as fierce advocates. We defend our own verdicts when they are challenged and have experience drafting appellate briefs and arguing before various courts of appeals. When necessary, we turn to our Firm’s General Litigation & Trial Practice Group for support.

Our malpractice cases are defended by a team of professionals who work hard to maximize result, avoid duplication of effort, and ferret out the details necessary to enhance the defense. We retain the best experts and advance strong, creative defensive theories. We prepare our health care providers meticulously so they know what developments to expect before they occur and are not blindsided in any adversarial setting. We pride ourselves on keeping our clients informed on new developments in their cases.

Our privacy breach managements and board investigation defenses include not only addressing the matter at hand, but also a comprehensive review of the health care provider’s office policies and procedures to insure compliance with federal and state regulations.

  • October 2024
    Another Physician Found Not Liable for Suicide in Virginia
    A jury in Virginia Beach returned a defense verdict for a family medicine physician in December 2023.  Plaintiff alleged that the defendant failed to recognize suicidal ideation in her patient and was therefore liable when the patient ultimately took her own life.  But the jury disagreed, finding that plaintiff was of sound mind during the act, and therefore ... Read More
  • August 2024
    The Best Lawyers in America 2025
    Jackson & Campbell, P.C. is pleased to announce a number of our Directors have been named The Best Lawyers in America© 2025 Edition. Congratulations to: Nathan J. Bresee (2025) - Real Estate Law Arthur D. Burger (2015) - ... Read More
  • December 2023
    The Appellate Court of Maryland addresses choice of law question
    The Appellate Court of Maryland addresses choice of law question, holding law from the place where the injury initially developed applies.  In Blackston v. Drs. Weight Loss Centers Inc., No. 553, Sept. Term,2022, 2023 WL 4247374 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. June 29, 2023), cert. granted sub nom. Doctor's Weight ... Read More
  • December 2023
    Maryland Appeals Court gives Defendants Burden of Proving Apportionment of Damages
    In Williams v. Dimensions Health Corp., No. 0036, 2023 WL 5523951 (Md. App. Ct. Aug. 28, 2023), defendant challenging damages as having a proximate cause other than its negligence has the burden of proving apportionment. Plaintiff claims his physician negligently caused a right leg amputation after a car accident.  The MVA – not ... Read More
  • November 2023
    Upcoming Class: Tort Damages in the District of Columbia 2024
    Crystal S. Deese, chair of Jackson & Campbell P.C.'s Health Law Practice Group, will be teaching an upcoming virtual class on Tort Damages in the District of Columbia 2023 for the D.C. Bar Continuing Legal Education Program. The class will take place on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. – 9:15 p.m and will be worth 3.0 credit ... Read More
  • September 2023
    Blue Book Rules Seminar for the DC Bar
    Crystal Deese, Director of J&C’s Health Law Practice Group, is teaching a one hour seminar on the Blue Book rules today for the DC Bar at noon.  The course is a refresher from your first year law school curriculum and she tries to keep the dry material entertaining. Register for the webinar and find the course details here ... Read More
  • August 2023
    The Best Lawyers in America 2024
    Jackson & Campbell, P.C. is pleased to announce a number of our Directors have been named to The Best Lawyers in America© 2024 Edition. Congratulations to: Arthur D. Burger (2015) - Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law Christopher ... Read More
  • December 2022
    Dismissal - forum non conveniens: Foreign medical malpractice plaintiff’s choice to pursue a claim in D.C. outweighed by public and private interest factors in favor of the forum where alleged negligence occurred.
    Attorneys Crystal Deese and Benjamin Harvey secured dismissal of a medical malpractice case from D.C. Superior Court on forum non conveniens grounds. Defendants’ motion was successful despite the fact that the defendant hospital system was incorporated in the District and its nurse employee was licensed in both the District and in Maryland. The court weighed the private and public interest ... Read More
  • November 2022
    California Court: COVID-19 Not “Pollution Condition” under Pollution Policy
    The Eastern District of California, partly relying on California precedent interpreting the pollution exclusion, determined that COVID-19 did not constitute a ‘pollution condition’ in a pollution liability policy. Read more about this court case here: Vision Serv. Plan Plaintiff v. Illinois Union Ins. Co. et al. article (11.11.22) ... Read More
  • June 2022
    Undisclosed Bankruptcy can be fatal to Plaintiff’s Medical Malpractice case
    On June 6, 2022, Crystal Deese and Sarah Godfrey appeared in the Circuit Court for Fairfax County, Virginia, for Day 1 of what was supposed to be a 5-day jury trial.  Plaintiff had filed a suit against our client, a medical practice, claiming $2.3 million in past and future damages after a routine cataract surgery allegedly rendered her ... Read More
  • May 2022
    California Governor Signs Legislation Raising Non-Economic Damages Cap on Medical Malpractice Awards
    On May 22, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 35 (“A.B. 35”) resulting in major changes to the state’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (“MICRA” or “the Act”). These changes include among other changes, an increase to the cap of noneconomic damages awarded to plaintiffs in medical malpractice lawsuits. Originally enacted in 1975, MICRA established a ... Read More
  • March 2022
    Summary judgment granted in premises case. Res ipsa loquitur inapplicable where mode of claimed injury required expert support.
    Edward Sedlacek & Crystal Deese obtained summary judgment for their hospital client against a Plaintiff suing for premises liability and res ipsa loquitur.  Plaintiff claimed to have received an electrical shock forceful enough to fracture two different bones.  None of the medical experts agreed that electricity caused these twisting type fractures. The court rejected Plaintiff’s argument that a lay jury ... Read More
  • March 2022
    No Jurisdiction in Medical Malpractice Plaintiff’s Home State
    The Health Law Practice Group recently secured dismissal for a local hospital sued in Plaintiff’s home state on jurisdictional grounds. The patient sued a facility with offices located in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Plaintiff filed suit in his home state of Pennsylvania claiming his injury manifested there.  However, the care at issue was rendered in Maryland weeks before any injury manifested.  ... Read More
  • January 2022
    The COVID-19 Vaccination – Testing Mandate Is Not Completely Dead
      On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court prohibited OSHA’s enforcement of its nationwide emergency vaccination and testing standard declaring the scope of the regulation beyond OSHA’s statutory authority. On January 25, OSHA conceded the point and withdrew the standard. But even as OSHA withdrew the standard, OSHA made clear that employers are not relieved of their obligation to protect employees from the risks of ... Read More
  • January 2022
    Court Blocks OSHA Rule Requiring COVID-19 Vaccinations For Workers
    The Occupational Health and Safety Administration, to combat the spread of COVID-19, issued a rule mandating that all employers who have at least 100 employees require that those workers be vaccinated—affecting some 84 million workers nationwide. The rule was enacted under an “emergency temporary standard” process which avoided the typical notice-and-comment procedures for rules. States and private parties challenged the ... Read More
  • January 2022
    Court Allows Vaccination Mandate For Health Care Workers To Go Into Effect
    The Secretary of Health and Human Services issued a rule in November of 2021 requiring all health care workers be vaccinated or have a valid exemption in order for the health care facility to receive Medicare or Medicaid funding. Certain states sued to block the mandate, and the lower courts enjoined enforcement of the rule pending a determination on the ... Read More
  • January 2022
    Now is the Time to Prepare for OSHA’s Enforcement of the Emergency Temporary Standard on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing
    On January 7, 2022, the Supreme Court heard argument on requests to stay enforcement of OSHA’s Vaccination, Testing and Face Coverings Standard, a workplace safety standard adopted to deter the spread of COVID-19. OSHA previously announced that enforcement of the non-testing requirements would begin as soon as January 10, 2022, with enforcement of the testing requirements delayed until February 9, 2022. Unless ... Read More
  • December 2021
    Sixth Circuit Dissolves Stay on OSHA’s Vaccine Mandate for Large Employers - UPDATE
    On November 5, 2021, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to take certain actions to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in their workplaces.  Enforcement of the ETS was initially set to begin on January 4, 2022.  Although often referred to as a “vaccine mandate,” the ETS ... Read More
  • December 2021
    SCOTUS Opinion: Court Permits Pre-Enforcement Challenge to Texas Abortion Law By Clinics, Not The Federal Government
    The Court today resolved both challenges to Texas’ new abortion law, S.B. 8, which empowered private citizens to sue those who provided an abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detectable. In Whole Women’s Health v. Jackson, an abortion clinic sued a variety of defendants, seeking to enjoin enforcement of S.B. 8. The last time that case was before the Court, ... Read More
  • July 2021
    Health Law Practice Group Update: Attorneys secure dismissal of a conversion case styled as patent infringement
    Attorneys Crystal Deese and Sarah Godfrey recently secured dismissal a conversion case styled as patent infringement in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The plaintiff, a biomedical research tech, sued the head of his former research laboratory for allegedly “stealing” his intellectual property. Plaintiff claimed the theft occurred when the lab director permitted one of plaintiff’s colleagues to ... Read More
  • July 2021
    Health Law Practice Group Update: Summary Judgment in Premises Liability Case
    The Health Law Practice Group obtained summary judgment in a premises liability case. Plaintiff claimed she slipped and fell on liquid an employee allegedly deposited and left on a hospital floor. She claimed a permanent wrist injury following a surgical procedure negatively impacted nearly all activities of daily living. Judge Shana Frost Matini in the Superior Court of the District ... Read More
  • July 2021
    Health Law Practice Group Update: Attorneys Win Motion to Limit Plaintiffs’ Economic Damages
    Attorneys Crystal Deese and Pam Diedrich recently won a Motion to Limit Plaintiffs’ Economic Damages. Plaintiffs sought to recover the entire amounts of their medical bills rather than the far lower figure the hospital received in payment. Judge José M. López in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia ruled that Plaintiffs can only claim the amounts actually paid ... Read More
  • July 2021
    Health Law Practice Group Update: Attorneys Successfully Asserts Claim-Splitting Doctrine
    This month, Edward Sedlacek and Crystal Deese secured dismissal of an individual physician from a malpractice suit despite Plaintiff's two-pronged attempt to add her into the litigation. Plaintiff sued a hospital in 2019 claiming permanent injuries due to inappropriate postoperative management. In 2021, Plaintiff filed a separate suit making the same allegations against his surgeon. We moved to dismiss the ... Read More
  • February 2021
    Year in Review: Outcomes of Professional Licensing Board Matters in 2020
    Jackson & Campbell’s Health Law Practice Group regularly represents doctors, dentists, nurses, and other healthcare providers in investigations before state licensing boards. Despite the decrease in visits to outpatient practices this year due to the pandemic, complaints against healthcare providers continued unabated. During 2020, Jackson & Campbell’s attorneys defended more than a dozen healthcare providers against complaints filed with ... Read More
  • October 2020
    Update from our Health Law Practice Group:
    In a medical malpractice case, a Plaintiff alleged that while she was being treated in the Emergency Room, a catheter tip broke off and became lodged in her arm. Crystal S. Deese of Jackson & Campbell represented a surgeon who advised against removing the broken tip. At trial, Plaintiff offered an emergency room physician to testify on the standard ... Read More
  • October 2020
    Admissibility of Expert Witness Testimony in Maryland, District of Columbia, and Virginia
    In light of the Maryland Court of Appeals recent decision in Rochkind v. Stevenson, this article assesses the current state of law with regard to the admissibility of expert testimony in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. See 2020 WL 5085877 (Md. Aug. 28, 2020), reconsideration denied (Sept. 25, 2020). Effective immediately, Rochkind affirmatively adopted the nonexclusive list of Daubert reliability factors ... Read More
  • April 2020
    National Survey of COVID-19 Medical Malpractice Immunity Legislation (as of April 15, 2020)
    The below survey of federal and state legislation, guidance, and executive action provides information regarding enacted and proposed legislation and executive orders issued to provide immunity protections for liability, in certain respects, to health care professionals, facilities, and volunteers in the course of their treatment of individuals during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and the declared national and state ... Read More
  • February 2020
    Health Law Practice Group Privileged to Serve MedStar Washington Hospital Center
    Earlier this month, Jackson & Campbell, P.C.'s Health Law Practice Group obtained a defense verdict in a malpractice case alleging that a patient suffered permanent nerve damage during a lower left wisdom tooth extraction. She alleged the surgical technique and procedure choice were improper and denied giving her informed consent to the procedure. After a six day trial, the ... Read More
  • August 2019
    Changes in Legal Landscape That Could Impact Medical Malpractice Risks | August 2019
    In researching and reviewing recent legal developments in the medical malpractice field, Jackson & Campbell, P.C. has identified recent changes in the law and the legal landscape that could impact medical malpractice claims and the risk associated with such cases. Below highlights some of these issues. Impact of Increase in Successful Challenges to Caps on Non-Economic Damages Louisiana (October 2016): Supreme ... Read More
  • April 2019
    Congratulations to our Attorneys and Practice Groups
    Jackson & Campbell, P.C. is proud to announce our 2019 Super Lawyers. Please join us in celebrating Nathan J. Bresee, Richard W. Bryan, Arthur D. Burger, David H. Cox, William E. Davis, Christopher P. Ferragamo, Robert N. Kelly, James N. Markels, Nicholas S. McConnell, and Brian W. Thompson; and ... Read More
  • March 2019
    Health Law Practice Group Precludes Untimely Lawsuit
    The Health Law Practice Group had a pro se plaintiff’s lawsuit dismissed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (Rigsby, J.) for lack of pre-suit notice and a limitations bar. The plaintiff noted a timely appeal, which Jackson & Campbell, P.C. successfully defended. In Waugh v. MedStar Georgetown Univ. Hosp., No. CAM-7381-17 (D.C. Mar. 14, 2019), ... Read More
  • August 2018
    Common HIPAA Pitfalls in Health Care Mergers and Acquisitions (and How to Identify Them)
    Managing all the moving parts in a health care merger or acquisition is challenging in any transaction. For a small health care provider that does not have multiple attorneys at its beck and call, it can seem downright impossible. In the chaos of a massive exchange of due diligence materials, it is easy to overlook the additional agreements that must ... Read More
  • June 2018
    Nurses Qualify to Testify about Causation
    In Frausto v. Yakima HMA, LLC, 393 P.3d 776 (Wash. 2017) the court held that an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) could qualify to provide causation testimony in a pressure ulcer case. The court based its holding, at least in part, on the Washington state statute empowering ARNPs to diagnose illnesses. The court noted that a majority of ... Read More
  • June 2018
    Health Law Group Privileged to Serve Children's National Medical Center
    Recently Jackson & Campbell’s Health Law Practice Group successfully defended Children’s National Medical Center in a wrongful death lawsuit. Judge Anthony Epstein entered judgment for the hospital after Plaintiff rested his case at trial. Attorneys Crystal S. Deese and Diona Howard-Nicolas, along with the entire Health Law Practice Group, are honored to have served our client in ... Read More
  • January 2018
    Health Care Providers' Altered Medical Records Results in Attorney's Disbarment
    Delaware Supreme Court Rules on Malpractice Case Concerning Altered Medical Records The Supreme Court of Delaware disbarred a lawyer who had been practicing for more than three decades, with no prior disciplinary record, after he failed to produce the original version of altered medical records and then failed to correct the sworn testimony of the physician and physician’s assistant who altered ... Read More
  • November 2017
    The National Practitioner Data Bank: Six Need-to-Knows
    The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) was established through Title IV of Public Law 99-660, the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986. Codified at 45 CFR Part 60, the NPDB is an online repository for reports on negative events involving physicians, dentists, and other licensed health care professionals. The statute requires certain health care entities to report the ... Read More
  • August 2017
    Upcoming Event: How Women Lead
    How Women Lead Featuring Flora D. Darpino, 39th U.S. Army Judge Advocate General ... Read More