Practical Advice. Proven Results. HEIDELL, PIT TONI, MURPHY & BACH, LLP
1 Overview 2
A Commitment to Diversity
3
Dedicated Leadership through Professional Affiliation
4
Our Innovative Approach to Technology
5
Appellate Practice
6
Commercial Litigation and General Liability
7
Healthcare Law
8
Labor and Employment Law
9
Medical Liability and Risk Management
10
Professional Liability
Contents
HEIDELL, PITTONI, MURPHY & BACH, LLP (HPM&B) is an AV-rated full service civil litigation firm of 80 attorneys practicing in New York, Connecticut, Long Island and Westchester. Founded in 1979 with four attorneys, HPM&B is dedicated to offering its clients the operating efficiencies of a small practice with the depth and support of a large legal organization.
Overview
Our practice groups range from commercial litigation to
pharmaceutical liability, civil rights and employment cases,
general liability defense and healthcare law. We argue cases
medical malpractice, errors and omissions, director’s and
in the trial and appellate courts at the state and federal
officer’s liability, construction accidents, coverage disputes,
levels. Our attorneys represent clients including drug and
premises liability, general negligence cases and commercial
medical device manufacturers, major university medical
disputes. HPM&B has fought and won many high profile,
centers and community hospitals, insurance companies,
complex cases.
mun icipalities, educational institutions, professionals, entrepreneurs and national retailer operations.
For over 30 years, HPM&B has offered clients sound, practical advice in the areas of risk management and loss
HPM&B’s attorneys have extensive knowledge, litigation
avoidance. We strive for cost-effective, early resolution of
skills and trial experience in the areas of products
claims but when an early disposition is unavoidable, we
liability, environmental and mass tort, medical device and
vigorously protect our clients’ rights at trial and on appeal.
HPM&B is a diversified work place, proud to have been one of the first signatory firms to the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s Statement of Goals of the Committee to Enhance Professional Opportunities for Minorities.
A Commitment to Diversity
From its inception, we have been participants in the
conducted by the Association of the Bar of the City of
Minority Summer Associates Fellowship Program of
New York.
the Association for the Bar of the City of New York. In addition, in 1996, we were one of two law firms
Five of our women partners appear regularly on the lists of Best Lawyers® and Super Lawyers®.
recognized by the New York City Chapter of the National Organization for Women for our commitment to the
A diverse staff brings to bear different points of view,
advancement of women in management in the workplace.
affording a competitive advantage to our clients during
In 2004, the firm ranked consistently high among all
dispute resolution.
categories in a survey of minority hiring and retention
Committed to advancing the interests of our clients, our partners are active in a number of local and national bar associations, in which they have achieved leadership positions: President of the New York ABOTA Chapter, Chair of the Trial Lawyer’s Section of the New York State Bar Association, Chair of the Medical Liability and Health Care Law Committee of DRI, Chair of the Drug, Device
Dedicated Leadership through Professional Affiliation
and Biotechnology Section of the FDCC, to name a few. Several of our partners have been elected to the
hospital groups including the Connecticut Association of
Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, the
Hospital Risk Managers. We have authored articles for a
International Association of Defense Counsel, and the
range of legal trade publications including The New York
American Board of Trial Advocates. We are active in such
Law Journal, Connecticut Law Tribune, For The Defense,
professional organizations as Defense Research Institute,
Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, Products Liability Law
the New York State and American Bar Associations, the
and Strategy and various Law Journal Press publications.
New York Medical Defense Bar Association (of which one of our partners was the founder and first President), and
For the past several years, many HPM&B partners have
the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
been recognized as Best Lawyers in America® and Super Lawyers®.
Our attorneys are frequently called upon to present at national and local bar, insurer, trade groups and physician/
Our Innovative Approach to Technology
We believe in the advancement of technology in the courtroom and in the office and have been at the forefront of this movement, pioneering the use of computer-generated exhibits in the New York, Connecticut, Long Island and Westchester area.
HPM&B attorneys have handled more than 200 appeals in a broad variety of cases, including several groundbreaking cases in the highest courts of New York and Connecticut.
Appellate Practice
Many of our corporate clients choose the appellate courts
pioneered the use of bifurcation motions in medical
to advance legal positions that will positively affect their
malpractice cases.
ability to defend future litigation. Because our appellate attorneys also have trial experience, they understand
This group of highly skilled attorneys also assists
how best to present arguments and create a record that
colleagues and clients when complex issues arise outside
will lead to favorable results at trial, during post-trial
the appellate context, such as developing and presenting
proceedings, or on appeal. Notably, HPM&B has been a
positions regarding proposed legislation and regulations
leader in successful challenges of unqualified or unreliable
that may affect their interests.
medical expert testimony under Daubert and Frye and
HPM&B’s Commercial Litigation and General Liability Law Group serves as business and litigation counsel to a wide variety of clients, from individuals to Fortune 500 companies. Our work encompasses breach of contract and breach of non-competition covenant claims, leasing and real estate disputes, insurance coverage issues, actions for recovery of property, tortious interference with business
Commercial Litigation and General Liability
relationships and fraudulent business practices, premises liability, automobile accident liability and construction litigation. We have many years of experience handling trials and appeals, mediations and arbitrations. Over the years, we have represented a number of national
defended hundreds of slip-and-fall cases involving leaky
retailers including Target, Staples, Starbucks, Walgreens,
machines, slippery floors, spilled coffee, defective sidewalks
CVS, Rite Aid, Duane Reade, Tops Market, Wegman’s,
and uneven surfaces. Many cases have involved alleged
Waldbaum’s/A&P, and Osram-Sylvania, pharmaceutical
labor law violations, premises security and negligent hiring
companies including Bayer Corporation, residential
and supervision.
building owners, and smaller companies and individuals who are insured by carriers such as Chartis (formerly
Whether litigating in court or resolving disputes through
AIG), ACE, Arch, and CNA. In addition, our hospital
alternative means, we strive to achieve superior results in
clients regularly ask us to handle premises liability
the most cost-effective manner.
cases arising from incidents at their facilities. We have
At HPM&B, we recognize a growing need for high-quality legal representation in matters concerning physician investigation and licensure by governmental authorities and billing audits by medical
Healthcare Law
insurance carriers. For more than 30 years, the Healthcare Law Group
incorporate their practices, and to prepare and negotiate
at HPM&B has successfully protected the interests of
employment and partnership agreements on their behalf.
medical professionals when they have become targets of
Complemented by our experienced medical litigation
such proceedings. Medical professionals also frequently
attorneys, HPM&B’s healthcare law group is well equipped
retain our healthcare law attorneys to organize and
to understand and ardently protect our clients’ interests.
HPM&B offers counseling and litigation services to management in employment discrimination cases for a variety of industries. This includes our traditional pharmaceutical and healthcare clients, as well as educational institutions, publishers, retailers, auto dealers and not-for-profit institutions.
Labor and Employment Law
The prevention of claims is a major focus of the Labor
and national origin discrimination). We also offer staff
and Employment Law Group. We work with clients to
programs that ensure company polices are properly
develop effective policies and training programs designed
disseminated and reinforced.
to bring the workplace into compliance with state, local and federal mandates, to improve employee relations
The group is also experienced in conducting audits to
and to boost productivity. In addition to providing
enable frank assessment of potential exposure. We draft
guidance on issues involving wages, hourly regulations,
or revise handbooks and personnel rules and policies,
and administration of leave and benefits, we offer training
tailoring these documents to the specific workplace.
programs to managers and administrators to help them
When a known problem exists, we conduct internal
prevent and effectively deal with sexual harassment
investigations and render advice regarding disciplinary
and prohibited discrimination (including race, gender
action and corrective measures.
When it comes to medical liability defense, HPM&B is an undisputed leader in the field. We have defended thousands of medical malpractice cases of every type, from anesthesia to urology, and our trial lawyers are well known and respected by both the judiciary and the plaintiff’s bar.
Medical Liability and Risk Management
We are regularly asked to defend high exposure cases
Also, our strong relationships with major university
involving catastrophic obstetrical and neurological injuries.
medical centers has enabled us to build a broad database of
Our clients include the region’s most prominent medical
highly qualified medical and scientific experts to provide
centers and the top physicians in their specialties. We
authoritative testimony regarding standard of care, and
have worked with every medical liability insurance carrier
cause and extent of injuries.
in the region for over thirty years. Based on our successful track record in New York and Connecticut, HPM&B has been retained by several companies to handle major cases in other jurisdictions. Working closely with local counsel and in-house staff, we identify theories of defense, retain experts, advise which cases should be tried and which should be resolved out of court. Because the defense of medical malpractice cases requires an understanding of complex medicine, the group also includes professionals with formal training in the medical sciences. We have the expertise to review and analyze medical records, conference and depose experts, and to identify areas of the case upon which success at trial or summary judgment can be premised.
Risk Management Counseling In addition to defending medical liability claims, the group provides risk management counseling, helping our clients develop strategies for avoiding adverse outcomes and lawsuits, and inculcating best practices in their workforces. HPM&B attorneys have lectured across the country to groups such as the Association of Hospital Risk Management, the Society of Medical Jurisprudence and the Hospital Financial Management Association. Regularly consulted by hospital department and quality managers, we also offer on-call legal assistance to hospital administrators who are faced with day-to-day decisions that impact patient care and liability exposure at their facilities.
HPM&B is recognized nationally for its representation of corporations and other organizations that are drawn into the highly specialized areas of products liability and mass tort litigation. We have expertise in cases involving medical devices, pharmaceutical drugs, human biologics, and over-the-counter medications. We also handle claims involving mass and environmental
without trial. But if an early resolution is not possible, we
exposure. Our attorneys are regularly honored as “Best
take pride in our ability to explain and present complex
Lawyers®” and “Super Lawyers®” for their commitment
scientific issues in a manner that jurors will understand.
and the results they achieve for their clients. We have represented several clients in national multi-district
Products Liability and Mass Tort
litigations. They include Bayer Corporation (Baycol®, Phenylpropanolamine [PPA], Ciprofloxacin [Cipro®], Miles Laboratories (blood factor concentrates), C.B. Fleet Company, Inc. (Fleet Phospho-Soda®), Merck (Vioxx®), and Bausch & Lomb (ReNu® with MoistureLoc® Multi- Purpose Contact Lens Solution). We routinely defend claims involving medical devices such as MRI machines and Lasik equipment, asbestos, mold, and lead paint exposure, lighting products, latex gloves, computer keyboards, pesticides, breast implants, flammable flooring materials, allegedly contaminated food and defective exercise equipment. As lead counsel, we develop and execute litigation strategies tailored to the particular case and business considerations of our clients. We are aggressive throughout all stages of discovery. Because of our track record as trial attorneys, our adversaries know that we can and will try cases to verdict. This creates leverage for resolving cases
In the Bausch & Lomb litigation, the company was involved in mass tort litigation for the first time following the recall of its over-the-counter contact lens solution. We were instrumental in the early resolution of those cases as part of a national trial team that achieved Frye/Daubert dismissals of a large number of claims and negotiated settlements in a category of claims that avoided dismissal. Charles Bach, a senior partner at HPM&B, was chosen to represent Bausch & Lomb at trial. After thirty years of experience representing the medical and scientific communities, we have access to the best experts in the nation. In the Fleet litigation, for example, we were instrumental in the development of an advisory expert panel of various physicians and scientists to prepare for expert depositions and courtroom testimony. We also developed and maintained a medical article database specific to the litigation. Our role as national science counsel led to our appointment by the MDL court as settlement claims administrator in the Fleet litigation.
We also were trial counsel for Bayer in its CiproÂŽ litigation and served as regional coordinating and trial counsel in the PPA and BaycolÂŽ litigations. In those litigations, we coordinated more than 1000 cases in New York.
Products Liability and Mass Tort
We also served as trial counsel for Miles Laboratories in
Today, we utilize technology during trial effortlessly,
litigation involving hemophiliacs claiming exposure to
working with our in-house support team who are familiar
HIV and the contraction of AIDS and hepatitis from
with the needs of the trial lawyers and the logistics of the
the administration of blood factor concentrates. We
courtroom. We were among the first firms to recognize
coordinated the discovery and pre-trial proceedings in
that juries are receptive to computer models, imaging and
approximately 60 cases consolidated in New York County.
animations using cutting edge equipment and software.
We have served as national counsel for a keyboard manufacturer in the repetitive stress injury cases and have spent years serving as coordinating counsel for several clients in asbestos litigation in New York. Indeed, HPM&B was one of the first firms to successfully defend at trial in the Southern District of New York an asbestos case in the early years of the litigation.
Finally, we often engage our Appellate Practice Group to deal with thorny legal issues and obtain early dispositions through motion practice where possible, avoiding the expense and uncertainties of trial. In one highlypublicized suit against our client, a major manufacturer of MRI machines, we successfully argued that the maker could not be liable for punitive damages. Later, we
In addition, our firm serves as regional coordinating
obtained a complete dismissal on the ground that the
counsel for two major insurance carriers, monitoring
suit was preempted by the federal 1976 Medical Device
birth injury and other high exposure claims. Given our
Amendments to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act under
particular expertise in handling cases with potential
the Supreme Court’s 2008 holding in Riegel v. Medtronic,
sustainable verdicts in excess of ten million dollars, we
Inc. We convinced the court to extend Riegel to products,
have taken over the direct defense in many of these cases.
like the MRI machine at issue, that have been reclassified as Class II devices and thus subject to less stringent FDA
HPM&B was one of the first law firms in New York and Connecticut to bring technology into the courtroom.
oversight following pre-market approval.
HPM&B has represented professionals from a variety of disciplines including lawyers, architects, engineers, accountants, financial
Professional Liability
advisors, investment agents, officers and directors of corporations, and real estate brokers. Our Professional Liability Group has defended clients directly and on behalf of their insurance carriers, in errors and omissions claims, in shareholder derivative suits alleging breech of fiduciary duty, and in employment related torts.
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