Overview
The attorneys in Hedrick Gardner’s Professional Liability Group have an extensive background defending professional service providers against claims ranging from administrative and licensure proceedings to litigation in the North and South Carolina state and federal courts.

Our attorneys represent professionals before arbitration panels and insurers in coverage matters arising out of professional malpractice insurance policies. Many of the attorneys in this group have attained the highest possible distinction among their legal peers as rated in Martindale Hubbell, Super Lawyers®, and Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite. Our representation encompasses appearances before disciplinary boards as well as all phases of professional malpractice litigation, including threshold motions to dismiss, summary judgment proceedings, trial, and appeal. The attorneys in this group have tried professional malpractice cases in many of the North Carolina state courts, in all three of the North Carolina federal courts, and before the North Carolina Court of Appeals and North Carolina Supreme Court. Our attorneys have also appeared and defended professionals in all three of the specialized North Carolina Business Courts.

Our engagements have included representation of:

  • Physicians
  • Dentists
  • Nurses
  • Attorneys
  • Accountants
  • Architects
  • Engineers
  • Design Professionals
  • Title Abstractors
  • Morticians
  • Real Estate Agents
  • Commercial and Residential Real Estate Appraisers
  • Financial Planners
  • Security Broker-Dealers
  • Insurance Agents, Brokers, Producers, and Managing General Agents
  • Import-Export Brokers
  • Officers and Directors
  • Debt Collectors

 

Representative Matters

Cases or matters referenced are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the lawyer’s or law firm’s entire record. Each case is unique and must be evaluated on its own merits. The outcome of a particular case cannot be predicted based upon a lawyer’s or law firm’s past results. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

  • Lead counsel for excess and specialty lines broker in professional negligence and declaratory judgment action involving alleged failure to procure proper insurance coverage to cover plaintiff’s environmentally hazardous operations following significant pollution loss. After completion of extensive discovery, obtained favorable, nuisance value settlement of the case for the client at mediation.
  • Lead counsel for a structural engineer in a multi-party claim involving the collapse of a retaining wall with claimed damages in excess of $1.2 million. The case involved issues of design, product defect, geotechnical engineering, and construction defect. Achieved a settlement of the client’s liability for less than 10% of potential exposure.
  • Lead counsel for the defense of a structural engineer in a multi-party arbitration occasioned by the failure of two pools built for the military with alleged damages in excess of $3,000,000.00. The case involves complex legal issues concerning the choice of law and contract interpretation with different case law applying to different aspects of the claim. The failure analysis involves competing claims as to construction failure vs. engineering design defect. The damage analysis involves delay claims and apportionment of same between ongoing construction and failure remediation.
  • Lead counsel for civil engineer in professional malpractice action alleging failure to obtain state highway approval for a bridge allegedly causing delay damages for development of a residential subdivision in excess of $3,000,000.
  • Lead counsel for numerous different professionals before the North Carolina Dental Board against complaints ranging from alleged billing irregularities to treatment issues.
  • Lead counsel for numerous different dental professionals against a variety of claims of dental malpractice.
  • Representation of pharmacist and national pharmacy chain in connection with malpractice allegations arising from overdosing of customer resulting in permanent mental and physical injuries to the customer.
  • Lead counsel obtaining defense verdict in a medical malpractice action against obstetrician for the administration of Pitocin during delivery of a child, allegedly result in Cerebral Palsy and other birth disorders in the child.
  • Lead counsel obtaining defense verdict for urgent care doctor who failed to diagnose intracranial bleed during patient’s presentation at urgent care, resulting in death of the patient.
  • Lead counsel for numerous nursing homes and adult care homes achieving defense jury verdicts or minimal arbitration awards in connection with allegations of elopement, wrongful death, decubitus ulcers, sexual abuse, and falls.
  • Lead counsel for a lawyer as escrow agent in connection with the defense of a lawsuit alleging damages of $176,000,000.00 arising from an “Advanced Free Fraud” scheme and numerous violations of state and federal racketeering, fraud, and conspiracy laws.
  • Lead counsel for real estate lawyer in a case involving alleged legal malpractice action in the preparation of a deed by obtaining summary judgment on jurisdictional grounds.
  • Lead counsel for numerous real estate agents in errors and omissions cases involving alleged misrepresentations of square footage, allegedly misleading MLS descriptions, improper listing of bedrooms compared to septic permits, and alleged fraud in connection with representations made on the residential disclosure forms.
  • Lead counsel defending real estate errors and omissions case against real estate appraiser obtaining an order granting client’s motion to dismiss arising out of claims for negligence, civil conspiracy, breach of third-party beneficiary contract, and violations of the State Mortgage Lending Act.
  • Lead counsel for collection agency defending lawsuit filed by a consumer alleging violations of the Federal Debt Collection Practices Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and North Carolina statutes regarding debt collection practices related to alleged improper actions during collection of debt in state court lawsuit. After motions regarding the validity of Plaintiff’s action, the case was voluntarily dismissed, with prejudice, against the collection agency.
  • Representation of officer of North Carolina corporation in the North Carolina Business Court sued for allegedly committing numerous business torts and violations of federal and state racketeering and securities laws in connection with an alleged Ponzi Scheme defrauding approximately thirty plaintiffs of $17,000,000.00.