Michael J. Heron
Biography
Michael J. Heron is a Partner in our Oklahoma City office with 30 years of legal experience, and he specializes in protecting the rights of clients in medical malpractice, professional liability, credentialing and licensing actions, and other regulatory and compliance matters.
Mike represents hospitals, practice groups, physicians, nurses and other health care professionals in a wide range of litigation, policies and procedures, compliance, investigations, business transactions, labor and employment issues, human resources matters and other day-to-day business and operational needs. He works closely with senior leadership an in-house counsel at each client to ensure his legal strategy supports the long-term business goals of the organization, and to create best practices and internal policies to reduce the likelihood of litigation in the first place.
Before joining Hall Booth Smith, Mike was a Partner at another firm near Oklahoma City for more than 15 years. He also worked as an associate attorney for more than a decade earlier in his legal career.
Mike earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, and he also completed a Master of Science in audiology and a Bachelor of Science in communication disorders at the University of Oklahoma. He formerly served as President and sat on the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Association of Defense Counsel, and is a past member of the Defense Research Institute.
Experience
Mike has more than 30 years of litigation experience protecting the rights of physicians, nurses, hospitals, practice groups and other health care professionals. He specializes in defending clients in medical malpractice, professional liability, credentialing, licensure actions and other regulatory and compliance matters. He also handles labor and employment disputes, human resources issues, corporate compliance, internal investigations and business transactions. He counsels hospitals, practice groups and other clients on policies and procedures, best practices and educational programs that reduce the chances of litigation exposure.
Mike represents hospitals and health care professionals in a wide range of labor and employment matters including contracts, credentialing, licensure actions, human resources matters, corporate compliance, policies and procedures and other employer/employee matters.
Mike has decades of experience defending hospitals, practice groups, physicians, nurses and other health care professionals in complex medical malpractice and other professional liability litigation, including catastrophic injury, misdiagnosis, wrongful diagnosis and other high-exposure cases.
Credentials
ADMITTED
EDUCATION
Memberships
Recognition
Presentations
- Current Trends in Litigation
Presentation at PLICO Regional Hospital Meeting, 2016 - Pitfalls and Liability Issues with the Use of the Electronic Medical Record
Presentation at the Oklahoma Healthcare Summit, 2015 - Negligent Credentialing Claims and Dealing with Difficult Practitioners
Presentation to the Oklahoma Association of Medical Staff Services (OKAMSS), 2012
Numerous presentations and educational seminars to nurses and physicians for hospitals on topics such as charting, credentialing, informed consent, EMTALA, depositions, end of life issues, and human resources matters