Litigation

Nelson Hardiman’s team of seasoned litigators and former federal prosecutors zealously protect healthcare and life sciences entities and individuals threatened by business litigation and commercial disputes. We harness our in-depth knowledge of the healthcare industry and related business operations to align our winning litigation strategies with your business objectives.

Recognized leaders in healthcare law, we blend our national reputation for business expertise and deep experience with underlying regulatory issues to tackle the most complex issues in healthcare. We defend mergers and acquisitions, and litigate contract, operational and intellectual property disputes. We channel our passion and focus for healthcare and life sciences to fiercely defend our clients’ business interests. We fight to win.

Nelson Hardiman’s marquee False Claims Act (FCA) practice has a national reputation for protecting healthcare systems and related entities sued by whistleblowers and/or the federal government under the FCA. Our market-leading litigators defend healthcare entities from charges of submitting false claims for medical services and items to Medicare and other federal healthcare programs in violation of the FCA.

Our legal team blends a wealth of government experience in healthcare fraud with extensive knowledge of complex statutory, regulatory and agency requirements. We harness the dogged determination of dedicated trial lawyers to decisively resolve FCA claims. Our tenacious stance and industry knowledge make Nelson Hardiman the go-to law firm for defending healthcare whistleblower lawsuits.

Nelson Hardman fiercely defends healthcare providers from devastating allegations of healthcare fraud and abuse on a daily basis. We litigate, case-by-case, through victories and favorable resolutions, every facet of criminal investigations and charges, civil False Claims Act (FCA) fraud and abuse actions.

Few law firms can boast Nelson Hardiman’s experience in defending healthcare providers against allegations of fraud and abuse. Mark Hardiman, who leads Nelson Hardiman’s fraud and abuse practice area, is widely known among healthcare providers as the go-to defense lawyer for difficult and high-stakes Medicare and Medi-Cal fraud cases and is regarded as one of the most prominent fraud and abuse defense attorneys in California.

We have successfully represented countless individual physicians and healthcare facilities against fraud and abuse allegations in many of the leading cases filed in Southern California. And we have won significant victories at trial and on appeal and negotiated countless favorable settlements with federal and state regulatory agencies.

Accelerated healthcare reform has transformed the landscape of practice for all healthcare providers and professionals. Nelson Hardiman has first-hand experience in adroitly handling labor and employment disputes that arise in this challenging new environment.

Our litigators defend against claims from all phases of the employment cycle, including peer review, wrongful termination, administrative proceedings, agency investigations and enforcement, licensing and other areas of regulation. From physician contract disputes to professional claims and medical staff issues, we combine business acumen with litigation strengths to provide our healthcare and life sciences clients with labor and employment representation they can count on.

NH provides expert counsel to practitioners facing complaints, subpoenas, inspections, investigations, interviews, and possible discipline by their professional licensing boards. Among our experience is representation of clients before licensing boards in California, including the Medical Board, Dental Board, Board of Registered Nursing, Board of Psychology, Board of Physical Therapy, Board of Occupational Therapy, Osteopathic Medical Board, Physician Assistant Board, Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board. In advising our clients, we take into consideration each client’s personal and professional goals, in light of our multi-decade experience with the boards’ investigators, attorneys, administrative law judges and appeals.

With a proven track record of several decades, NH serves as outside counsel to medical staffs of public and private hospitals, clinics, and health plans on a wide range of issues including, medical staff bylaws, policies and procedures, best practices, investigations, peer review proceedings, mandatory reporting, internal appeals, writ proceedings, State and Federal Court civil litigation, and related appellate proceedings.  NH represents medical staffs of hospitals, health systems, health plans, medical groups, ambulatory surgery centers, and other healthcare providers in a coordinated effort with administration and their boards/governing bodies, on regulatory and compliance issues.

Nelson Hardiman provides pro-active counsel, independent of in-house counsel, to consult on peer review matters, represent medical staff in hearings, conduct interviews and discovery before litigation, and provide legal representation of medical staff during litigation and on appeal.

We also consult with the Chief of Staff or designee on:

• Medical staff bylaws
• Medical board/NPDB reporting
• Peer review activities including interviews, meetings, selection
• Complaints of unprofessional conduct
• Disruptive physician incidents
• Fair Hearing and Judicial Review Committee hearings
• Election of officers
• License discipline
• Membership applications

Early involvement of dedicated medical staff counsel provides protection for future challenges to the peer review process.

Nelson Hardiman is a leader in reimbursement litigation for healthcare providers ranging from large hospitals to individual physicians. Because our talented litigators have a firm grasp on federal and state healthcare regulatory law, we frequently represent both providers who are suing to obtain payment and providers defending claims that they have been overpaid for health care services.

We are one of the most experienced firms in Southern California handling Medicare and Medi-Cal administrative proceedings. We litigate against insurance companies in state and federal court and in arbitration proceedings. We represent hospitals suing health plans and defend physician practices against reimbursement litigation by insurers. We obtain drastic reductions of overpayment claims, with a track record of success built on in-depth knowledge of the agencies, their reimbursement policies, and our integration of problem-solving skills and expert resources. While we fiercely litigate on behalf of healthcare providers, Nelson Hardiman also works hard to resolve disputes with federal healthcare programs and healthcare payors. We meet regularly with decision-makers and administrative agencies to reach consensus on reimbursement-related disputes.

Nelson Hardiman’s world class team has comprehensive knowledge of the legal system to win writs and appeals for healthcare providers. In dealing with healthcare agencies, our writ proceedings compel compliance with the law. Widely recognized for our appellate practice, we have won landmark decisions for physicians and hospitals. As a leader in healthcare law, Nelson Hardiman’s pioneering use of writ proceedings and our appellate victories have established precedents that challenge administrative actions and expand the rights of healthcare providers.

Writs

At the state level, Nelson Hardiman handles writs of mandamus and administrative mandate proceedings against state agencies. At the federal level, Nelson Hardiman masterminds writ proceedings for clients who have no other options.

Appeals

Nelson Hardiman has made significant contributions to the development of California healthcare law in state and federal appellate courts. We represent physicians and other healthcare providers in appeals concerning peer review, medical staff privileges, and rights against federal, state, and local government and third-party payors. Our highly skilled litigators have garnered precedent-setting appellate victories to resolve the legal challenges of healthcare providers.