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Tydings has a long and successful track record representing health care clients throughout Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the mid-Atlantic region.  We defend health care providers, physicians, and other health care professionals against medical malpractice claims, disciplinary and other regulatory actions, and Medicaid enforcement procedures.  Additionally, we advise clients in malpractice avoidance (including risk management services), buying and selling of medical practices, antitrust challenges, credentialing, and anti-self-referral laws.

Medical Malpractice and Risk Management

Health care practitioners rank medical malpractice allegations among their biggest fears.  At Tydings, our attorneys are recognized for our skillful and sensitive handling of complex medical malpractice cases and other proceedings.  We represent physicians and physician groups, health maintenance organizations, hospitals, pharmacies, insurers, and treatment facilities and their employees in virtually every forum in the mid-Atlantic region.  We also offer risk management counseling.  We organize quality improvement programs, lectures and reviews, and we are routinely called in to interpret policies, procedures, and protocols that affect providers’ potential liability.  For many clients, we develop the policy manuals that guide staff in treating and educating patients in ways that limit exposure to potential malpractice claims and other allegations.

Products liability

As with any field involving new technologies and products, the health care industry is necessarily vigilant about products liability.  We have extensive experience handling products liability cases, including those involving specific drugs and medications, supplies used in medical procedures, and medical equipment and devices.  In recent years, we have successfully represented clients in cases involving x-ray equipment, trocars for laparoscopic procedures, breast implants and other feminine hygiene products, medications such as Fen-phen, and chemical skin peels.

Regulation and Reimbursement

Led by attorneys who rose from the ranks of Maryland’s health care regulatory system, our health care litigation practice is among the most experienced in the state regarding health care regulations and reimbursement.  We routinely represent clients before the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (including the Office of Health Care Quality), the Maryland Department of Aging, the Maryland Health Care Commission, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and other state and federal regulatory agencies.  We handle the intricacies of licensure, Medicare and Medicaid certification and reimbursement, survey and certification enforcement actions, and Maryland’s hospital rate setting and certificate-of-needs procedures.

Tydings' lawyers have been instrumental in successfully challenging significant Medicaid regulations, including those involving skilled nursing home facilities.  Our attorneys litigated one of the two federal cases that convinced the CMS to change a significant Medicaid regulation concerning training programs at skilled nursing home facilities.  We also successfully litigated in federal court against CMS on behalf of a residential rehabilitation center in a case that led to another change in Medicaid policy in favor of the senior housing industry.

Litigation

Our health care litigators have honed their skills through years of presenting and cross-examining the world’s leading experts in various medical, epidemiological, and scientific issues.  We are fluent not only in the laws and regulations governing the health care industry, but also in the languages of medicine, science, and statistics.

We have earned high praise for managing complex litigation and handling cases that involve multiple forums.  We are frequently asked to serve as national and regional counsel in multi-state litigation.  We are often involved in hiring, supervising, and directing local counsel in states around the country, and in devising and implementing litigation management systems.  As with all of our representation, we are highly sensitive to our clients’ litigation budgets.

Our experienced litigators defend health care clients in such areas as:

• Medical malpractice;
• Products liability and toxic tort;
• Complex personal injury;
• Credentialing;
• Insurance defense and coverage;
• Employment and discrimination matters;
• Denials of coverage;
• Breaches of contract and other contract disputes;
• Business torts and other business disputes;
• Denial of benefits actions;
• Professional liability and premises liability;
• Check fraud and tax matters; and
• Challenges to Medicaid enforcement procedures at the state and federal level.

Leadership

Tydings' attorneys are active members of several health care-related organizations, including:

• The American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging;
• The American Society for Healthcare Risk Management;
• The American Health Lawyers Association;
• The Assisted Living Federation of America.
• The Health Facilities Association of Maryland;
• LifeSpan Network, Inc.;
• The Center for a Healthy Maryland; and
• Med-Chi.

Our attorneys are also active in the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section and the Continuing Legal Education Board.  Our partner, Diane D’Aiutolo, served as Maryland State Representative to Defense Research Institute and as president of the Maryland Defense Counsel.  She is currently a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel, a preeminent organization of lawyers providing litigation services and counsel to corporations and insurers throughout the world.

Through her involvement in a variety of non-profit organizations, health care attorney, Ferrier Stillman, advocates for health care, long term care, and senior housing providers.  She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Center for Healthy Maryland (a part of Med-Chi), and she serves LifeSpan Network as a member of its Legislative and Regulatory Policy Committee.

Representative Matters

• Managed the trial of numerous consolidated products liability and mass tort cases in which punitive damages were at issue and multiple plaintiffs and defendants were involved;
• Represented clients in commercial tort and contract claims, including check and health care fraud;
• Represented long-term care facilities in survey and certification enforcement actions before the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services;
• Litigated in federal district court in Maryland, a case against CMS and DHMH that led to a significant change in Medicaid regulation, allowing skilled nursing facilities the right to full judicial review prior to the suspension of a nurses’ aide program;
• Represented a national health care franchisor in an arbitration concerning a violation of a non-compete provision in a franchise agreement; our client prevailed in judgment and was awarded damages;
• Represent a large Maryland-based pharmacy company in regulatory issues before the Maryland Board of Pharmacy;
• Litigated numerous cases on behalf of senior housing clients against DHMH before the Office of Administrative Hearings; and
• Represented a company that owned 40 nursing homes in one of the largest nursing home receivership cases in a Maryland state court. Subsequently, we represented the receiver throughout the case, involving a myriad number of legal issues, including Medicare and Medicaid cost report settlement appeals and tort litigation in several states.

Representative Clients

We have represented or currently represent the following clients:

• CVS of Maryland, Inc.
• Friends House Retirement Community
• Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Inc.
• Holly Hill Manor
• Ivy Hall Geriatric and Rehabilitation Center, Inc.
• Psychiatric Institute of Washington
• Trans Healthcare, Inc.