This all-day program hosted by the OCBA and sponsored by HPS will be attended by 300+ legal professionals, esteemed judges, and influential members of the legal community. It takes place on Friday, April 26, at the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel, in Orlando, FL HPS Partner Richard Schwamm will be giving his presentation, Best Practices When Crafting an Effective & Persuasive Closing Argument, at 11 a.m. HPS is also the Cocktail Reception Sponsor of the event....

Congratulations to Trisha Widowfield, who was recently featured by the online magazine CanvasRebel. In this profile piece, Trisha talks about what it took to become the successful medical malpractice attorney she is today and her work with the networking powerhouse organization Ms. Esquire. https://canvasrebel.com/meet-trisha-widowfield/

Congratulations to Richard B. Schwamm, who was recently voted into active membership as a Master Member in the George C. Young American Inn of Court! The George C. Young American Inn of Court was founded in 1990. The members come from all areas of practice and include some of the best and most respected lawyers and judges in the State of Florida. The primary purpose of the Inn is to provide opportunities for law students...

There is a wealth of scholarly research that demonstrates that minorities in the United States suffer disproportionately from untreated or poorly treated health problems. Here are just some examples: A Harvard Medical Practice Study found that there were significant differences between hospitals that serve a predominantly minority population and other hospitals. Specifically, the study found that blacks were more likely to be hospitalized at institutions with more adverse events and higher rates of negligence. According...

When people seek medical care, they expect to be attended by experts. However, people of color frequently experience different, more unfavorable patient safety outcomes.  These negative outcomes can be attributed to differences in the quality of hospital patients’ access, according to a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation analysis assessing the state of racial disparities in the quality and safety of inpatient care. The study found that patients of color have a greater likelihood of misdiagnosis or...

Forceps are medical instruments used during childbirth to assist in the delivery of a baby. While forceps can be a helpful tool in certain situations, they also carry risks, and improper use can lead to birth injuries. In fact, while forceps are only used in 1% of vaginal births, they account for about 30% of birth injuries, including skull fractures, seizures, bleeding in the skull, facial palsy, and brain damage.  In Florida, as in other...

Informed consent is a critical component of the patient-doctor relationship. Among other things, informed consent emphasizes transparency and communication. It also represents a respect for the autonomy of the patient. As in many jurisdictions, the concept of informed consent plays an important role in Florida in medical malpractice cases.  The term “informed consent” means the process whereby a medical professional provides a patient with all pertinent information regarding their medical situation, the proposed treatment or...

Haliczer Pettis & Schwamm is proud to announce that attorneys Debbie Klauber and Trisha Widowfield have been selected to Florida Trend magazine’s Legal Elite – Notable Women Leaders in Law list! According to the publication, the women on this list “represent not just leaders in the law but likely the legal sector’s emerging leadership overall.”