Baton Rouge Health Care Lawyer

Baton Rouge Health Care Attorney

Healthcare providers, institutions, and organizations face risks from multiple angles, including regulatory compliance, general liability, patient liability, and various areas of employment and business law. As the healthcare industry continues to grow and evolve, it is essential that healthcare professionals stay aware of these changes. A Baton Rouge health care lawyer can help you navigate the many requirements of your practice.

Experienced Professional Healthcare Attorneys at Watson, Blanche, Wilson & Posner, LLP

Watson Blanche Wilson & Posner has had the privilege of representing individuals, businesses, institutions and other organizations in the health care industry for many years. Our firm has over 50 years of experience in handling complex cases, including medical malpractice and professional liability defense.

From that experience, Watson Blanche understands that a health care provider’s first priority is and should remain patient care. Nonetheless, talented medical professionals, doctors and care providers must constantly address business processes outside patient care such as licensure, business formation and reorganization, health care compliance, reporting, liability and insurance issues, and a multitude of other time-consuming matters.

Although these business processes are complex, they are crucial for maintaining legal compliance. Our firm can help you address these time-consuming issues quickly and effectively, while maintaining compliance, so you can focus on patient care. Whether you are associated with Ochsner Medical Center, The Baton Rouge Clinic, or the Baton Rouge General Medical Center, or another healthcare provider in the area, we can help.

Our firm can also help if a healthcare institution or provider is already dealing with a non-compliance issue or other legal case. Professionals and organizations that do not appropriately address their legal issues may be faced with professional, legal or financial disaster. Consulting an experienced Baton Rouge Health Care Lawyer is crucial during these times.

Areas of Healthcare Law We Handle at Watson, Blanche, Wilson & Posner, LLP

Watson, Blanche, Wilson & Posner, LLP, represents more hospitals than any other firm in Louisiana, as well as physicians, nursing homes, nurse practitioners, advanced practitioners and many other varieties of health care providers. As such, our Baton Rouge Health Care Attorney are able to address nearly any health care law issue in Baton Rouge, LA, including:

• Medical malpractice defense: Medical malpractice claims can be damaging to both providers and healthcare institutions. It is crucial to work with an attorney who can provide a strong defense against these cases. These claims can be negotiated out of court or taken to trial when needed. Our firm knows how to balance the cost and uncertainty of trial with the importance of protecting your interests and reputation
• Hospital general liability defense: Like any business, a hospital can also face general liability claims for injury or other damages. With the support of our experienced legal team, institutions and organizations can more effectively protect themselves against these claims.
• Hospital and physician defense under EMTALA: EMTALA, or the Emergency and Medical Treatment and Labor Act, requires healthcare providers and entities to provide certain care to individuals, regardless of their ability to pay. If an individual or their family is filing claims for violations of the act, it is crucial that you secure legal defense.
• Representation of hospital medical staff: The medical staff of a hospital may need independent legal counsel to uphold their rights, provide quality care, and ensure the appropriate interpretation of bylaws, policies, and other documents.
• Drafting of and advice concerning bylaws, rules and regulations: Regulatory documents can be complex. Often, additions are made to comply with regulatory changes, but restructuring and reorganization do not occur. An experienced Baton Rouge Health Care Lawyer can help medical providers interpret and streamline this information while ensuring compliance.
• Advice to hospital committees: Our Baton Rouge, LA Health Care Lawyer attorneys are knowledgeable in various areas of healthcare, business, and employment law and can help hospital committees by providing valuable legal advice.

An experienced healthcare attorney can also assist in various other areas of healthcare law, employment law, defense law, and business compliance. These include:

• Drafting and review of policies and procedures
• Drafting and review of hospital bylaws
• Counsel and advice to medical staff leadership
• DNR and advanced directives
• Representation/defense of hospitals with regard to civil and criminal subpoenas, subpoenas duces tecum, and civil/criminal discovery matters
• Representation of hospitals regarding confidential peer review discovery
• Hospital ethics advisory
• Judicial commitment proceedings representation
• Advising hospitals and other health care lobbies regarding proposed state and federal laws and changes to laws affecting hospitals and other health care providers
• Employment defense
• Health care contractual issues
• Formation of nonprofit hospital foundations

Hospitals, medical practitioners, and other entities are at an especially high risk in Louisiana. According to the National Practitioner Data Bank, in Louisiana in 2024, there were 205 medical malpractice payment reports against practitioners and 1,348 adverse action reports against practitioners, providers, suppliers, and other entities.

Adverse actions included 976 actions related to licensure or certification and 353 actions related to reinstatement or restoration. While the state does not have the highest number of reports, it has one of the highest rates per capita.

In addition to dealing with administrative and negligence claims, hospitals and providers must also address other areas of the law. The firm prides itself on anticipating and dealing with client challenges by fusing its comprehensive experience with a long-term preventative approach to issues and premier client service.

FAQs About Baton Rouge, LA Healthcare Laws

Q: What Does a Healthcare Lawyer Do?

A: What a healthcare lawyer does depends on the scope of their practice, but generally, they provide legal advice and representation to healthcare providers, institutions, and other entities. They may draft and review the enforceability of policy, procedure, and bylaws, ensuring everything meets regulatory compliance.

A healthcare attorney may also provide general liability or medical malpractice defense. As state and federal laws regarding medical care change, an attorney helps providers follow these requirements.

Q: How Much Is a Healthcare Attorney in Louisiana?

A: The cost of a healthcare attorney in Louisiana relies on many factors, including the legal services they are being hired for. The cost of medical malpractice defense is likely to be much higher than a straightforward review of a healthcare contract or policy for compliance. When reviewing potential attorneys for healthcare defense or other services, be sure to discuss their fees upfront.

Q: What Is Negligence in Healthcare?

A: Negligence in healthcare occurs when a healthcare provider or entity fails to uphold their standard of care and causes harm as a result. The exact requirements depend on the state, federal, and local laws. Typically, a healthcare provider is held to a professional level of care, or how any professional healthcare provider would have acted in a specific situation. When a provider deviates from these actions without cause and this harms their patient, this can be considered negligence or malpractice.

Q: How Often Do Medical Staff Bylaws Need to Be Reviewed?

A: Medical staff bylaws should be reviewed at regular and frequent intervals, and whenever a new standard is introduced into state, local, or federal law that affects the entity. This helps ensure compliance and streamlines the application of the bylaws to the healthcare institution. Working with an experienced healthcare attorney can help medical providers and staff manage this complex task more efficiently and easily. An attorney can review this information to ensure it is compliant and relevant.

Navigating Risks in the Health Care Sector and Providing Strong Defense

When you are a medical provider or part of another healthcare entity, you have worked hard to get where you are. There are many regulations in various areas of law that must be followed in order to provide exemplary care and support to your patients.

It’s important to protect your personal and professional reputation so that you can continue providing that care. The business, employment, and other areas of regulation can complicate your practice. You don’t have to navigate these issues alone.

At Watson, Blanche, Wilson & Posner, LLP, we understand the complexities of your position and can assist you in navigating any legal issues. We can help you avoid risk by reviewing several aspects of your practice, and defend you if any issues occur. Our firm has substantial experience in many areas of law and has served healthcare providers throughout Baton Rouge. Contact our firm to schedule a consultation today and discover how we can support your practice.