Medical Malpractice Litigation And Health Care Law

Weber & Rose is a leader in the representation of hospitals, nursing homes, doctors, medical/professional corporations, medical associations, and health care insurers. Representing hospitals and long term care facilities throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the nation, our lawyers have acted as national coordinating counsel in litigation, administrative hearings and other matters. The firm’s attorneys represent health care providers as general counsel, insurance counsel and on a special project basis. Our health care law practice includes not only tort defense work, but also a special emphasis in the following areas:

Planning: Weber & Rose has developed a broad base of knowledge in the representation of its health care facility clients, as well as in countering any legal challenges that arise.

General Counsel: General counsel services have long been provided to the governing boards of health care facilities regarding corporate issues, including those peculiar to health care providers. Areas of advice include labor relations, drafting and interpreting by-laws, staff disputes, risk management, contract negotiations and preparation, as well as peer review proceedings.

Medical - Legal Consulting: Weber & Rose provides a broad base of knowledge in emerging ethical and biomedical issues facing health care facilities, including organ transplantation, reproductive health and end-of-life decisions. Weber & Rose stands ready to advise its clients in areas of federal and state health policy formation, government relations and program development.

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Insurance Defense Litigation

The representation of insurance companies and self-insured entities has long been a focus of our firm. Weber & Rose is known for its defense of hospitals, physicians, nurses and allied health care providers in all types of malpractice actions. Weber & Rose is also known for its defense of property insurance carriers in matters involving fraud, arson, policy construction and related matters, and for its defense of health insurance claims litigation.

We represent a wide range of professionals under their professional liability insurance and otherwise. Our clientele consists of real estate brokers, corporate directors and officers, and corporate sureties pursuant to surety contracts. Much of this work includes advice to carriers and professionals in defending, as well as avoiding, malpractice actions.

Policy interpretation litigation (including bad faith issues), administrative approvals and litigation are included in the experience of firm members. In addition, the firm represents several automobile insurance carriers and provides legal counsel to two of the nation’s largest retail grocery chains with respect to premises liability claims asserted by patrons.

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Commercial Litigation

Attorneys in the firm devote much of their practice to business torts, including interference with contractual relations, shareholder disputes, unfair competition and infringement of trade secrets or proprietary information. In addition to representation of debtors, the firm provides counseling to individuals and corporations which find themselves as creditors in bankruptcy.

Our clients include small and medium-sized businesses, banks, equipment lessors, landlords, bank holding companies, unsecured creditors’ committees and bankruptcy trustees.

Overall, we provide litigation expertise for general commercial activity with an emphasis on seeking cost-efficient options, including active pursuit of out-of-court settlements or alternative dispute resolution to avoid extended litigation.

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Product Liability

Weber & Rose’s attorneys have much experience with the defense of product liability claims. The firm has defended numerous manufacturers, vendors, brokers, and their insurers in product liability litigation.

Weber & Rose has also long been active in defending parties in asbestos litigation. Representation of various asbestos manufacturers has taken our lawyers before both state and federal courts in Kentucky and other jurisdictions. Because of our involvement in this type of litigation, we have developed relationships with lawyers throughout the nation which have proven very useful in meeting clients’ needs in other states.

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Corporate/Business And General Practice

Weber & Rose also provides full corporate/business practice services to its clients. The firm’s clientele ranges from large, publicly-held corporations to small, private businesses engaged in a full spectrum of commercial and industrial activity, including formation and structuring of the business entity and ongoing legal counseling. Businesses represented by the firm include manufacturing, printing, banking, real estate and service industries. Weber & Rose’s attorneys pride themselves on advising corporate and business clients in numerous areas, with an emphasis on planning and preventative counseling.

In addition, the firm has broad experience in the merger and acquisition field, counseling clients in the structuring and negotiation of transactions as well as drafting the operative agreements. Our attorneys regularly advise business clients when negotiating agreements with employees, shareholders, owners, and outside parties, and provide legal advice and services concerning both internal and external controversies.

Weber & Rose’s employment law attorneys advise our corporate/business clients on personnel and labor relations issues to explain needed compliance with applicable laws and to promote better employer-employee relations. We also represent management in collective bargaining and other adversarial proceedings involving employees and unions. Our attorneys have represented clients before the National Labor Relations Board, and in arbitration and individual employment rights cases.

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Employment Discrimination Law

As part of its mission to provide a full array of legal services to its clients, Weber & Rose routinely advises and counsels its clients in the complex and often-changing area of employment discrimination law. Attorneys in the firm frequently help clients draft and implement employee handbooks and personnel policies, as well as confidentiality agreements and non-compete agreements. Additionally, the firm’s attorneys have conducted sexual harassment seminars and training for its clients and their employees. These seminars focus on the recognition of actionable conduct and reporting such conduct to the appropriate personnel, as well as what steps to take to prevent such conduct from occurring and how to minimize its effect after it has occurred.

In addition to the preventative employment law services Weber & Rose provides to its clients, Weber & Rose has significant experience in defending its clients, ranging from the small business owner or professional to large corporations, in employment discrimination and harassment cases before local, state and federal agencies as well as before both state and federal courts.

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Indoor Air Quality And Toxic Mold Litigation

Many attorneys at Weber & Rose have developed knowledge and skill in the burgeoning field of indoor air quality, with a particular focus on toxic mold defense. While it is only relatively recently that a significant number of toxic mold and indoor air quality lawsuits have been filed nationwide against home builders, health care facilities, landlords and insurers, Weber & Rose’s attorneys have already been defending these types of negligence and premises liability claims for several years. As a result, the firm has created a data bank of human and legal resources that provide a solid background from which to defend any type of indoor air quality claim.

In addition, Weber & Rose has long defended former manufacturers of asbestos-containing products in personal injury products liability cases throughout the state of Kentucky and in several other states. Attorneys at Weber & Rose have been responsible for literally thousands of cases for multiple clients who at one time manufactured a variety of products containing asbestos. The attorneys with experience in this area are now on the front lines of the new frontier of asbestos personal injury litigation: claims filed against property owners based upon the theory of premises liability. In defending these claims, these attorneys have amassed a great deal of knowledge and experience in the areas of respiratory function and the carcinogenic and otherwise harmful effect of inhaling various substances. They have also acquired extensive knowledge about numerous commercial and industrial facilities throughout the state, and have accumulated a vast data bank of expert witnesses in the field.

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Bankruptcy

Weber & Rose has long represented parties involved in bankruptcy proceedings. The firm’s experience in bankruptcy cases is extensive and has encompassed both debtor and creditor positions. Our attorneys also represent creditors’ committees, trustees, landlords and equipment lessors in both bankruptcy proceedings and in adversary proceedings.

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Appellate Practice

As an adjunct to the firm’s litigation experience, Weber & Rose also handles matters going beyond the trial court level to appellate courts. This enables the firm to continue the representation of clients in the preparation of appellate filings, and also in the presentation of arguments to panels of judges and justices hearing the cases on appeal. The firm’s ability to practice in this technical arena has resulted in numerous favorable appellate decisions being rendered on behalf of its clients, some of which established precedent, including Ellis v. Jordan, Ky. App. 571 S.W.2d 635 (1978), National Can Corp. v. K Beverage, 674 F.2d 1134 (6th Cir.1982), Commercial Union Assurance Companies v. Howard, Ky., 637 S.W.2d 647 (1982), American States Insurance Company v. Audubon Country Club, KY., 650 S.W.2d 252 (1983), Kennedy v. Joy Manufacturing Co., Ky. App., 707 S.W.2d 362 (1986), and List v. Southern Railway Co., Ky. App., 752 S.W.2d 791 (1988).

Weber & Rose is extremely proud to list among its roster of attorneys a past multi- year chairman of the Appellate Practice Section of the Louisville Bar Association.

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Estate Planning And Probate

Our lawyers provide a full complement of services in estate planning, trusts, tax, living wills and probate administration, and advise clients with estates of all sizes in lifetime planning to preserve assets through tax-favored techniques. We work closely with other professional advisors, including accountants, trust officers and insurance professionals, to assure the most effective use of our clients’ resources.

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Media Law

The firm also represents network television affiliates for the metropolitan Louisville area. Our communication law attorneys have successfully challenged court restrictions on media access, and we have advised and defended journalists in cases involving defamation and other First Amendment issues.

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Defense And Appeals Of Taxation

Representation of individuals and businesses who have become embroiled in taxation issues with the Kentucky Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service is another area of special concentration of the firm. This representation ranges from the initial meeting with the tax authorities to any administrative proceeding and/or litigation necessary to successfully resolve our clients’ tax issues.

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Commercial Real Estate

Weber & Rose provides protection to its property owner, supplier, developer, builder, and lender clients in all phases of their commercial real estate ventures.

Development: Weber & Rose’s attorneys have extensive experience dealing with commercial property development from cradle to grave, including the following: Structuring the proper entity to do the deal; finding the land and negotiating acquisition terms; dealing with environmental, engineering, and title professionals to evaluate and address the land’s environmental issues and commercial potential; developing the project and obtaining the permits and approvals necessary to make the project a reality; negotiating with lenders and end users interested in the land; and selling or maintaining the completed project.

Finance: Weber & Rose’s attorneys have a broad base of knowledge and expertise helping both borrowers and lenders to get what they need to safely borrow–or lend–funds for the development of commercial real estate projects.

Property Protection: Weber & Rose’s attorneys have widely recognized experience dealing with land issues such as boundary and ownership disputes; tax deferred exchanges; tax planning and transaction tax challenge or defense; property owner estate planning; asbestos, lead, mold and environmental contamination; premises liability issues; disputes involving construction issues; landlord/tenant and property foreclosure issues; and creditor and debtor bankruptcy protection.

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