DENVER, Jan. 10, 2022 – Hall Booth Smith, P.C. announced today the opening of a Denver office with the addition of 17 attorneys and 18 staff members from Nixon Shefrin Ogburn Drew, P.C., a leading litigation defense firm in central Colorado. The combination is part of Hall Booth Smith’s continued westward expansion and marks its first presence in Colorado, adding to its current roster of approximately 300 attorneys

Written by: Beth Boone, Esq. Administrators, officers and health care providers who work in correctional facility settings should make sure they aren’t giving plaintiffs’ attorneys a commonly exploited opening for litigation: protocol lapses. Whether it’s not following existing protocols or failing to update them regularly, a lax approach to protocols in a correctional health care setting can expose the organization and individuals to medical malpractice, misdiagnosis, personal injury, liability, and

Written by: Beth Boone, Esq. Getting appointments with a health care provider can be challenging for anyone, and it can be much more complicated for individuals who are in custody — especially when the matter requires a specialist or diagnostic procedure performed with specialized equipment. The National Commission on Correctional Health Care, the National Institute of Corrections, the Correctional Leaders Association and other organizations have policies in place that recommend continuity and

Written by: Beth Boone, Esq. Death by suicide behind bars is a serious challenge in correctional health care, and there is a greater focus on expanding mental health services and prevention programs to reduce fatalities. Corrections officers, facility administrators, community health care agencies and other stakeholders also play important roles in watching for suicide risk, and understanding their role in making referrals or getting treatment for people who exhibit risk

Written by: Beth Boone, Esq. As COVID vaccines become more widely available and distributed across the United States, state and local corrections facilities are receiving vaccines according to their jurisdiction’s vaccine plan. Sometimes that means varying prioritization based on facility size, geography, local logistics and the number of available medical staff. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worked with the Federal Bureau of Prisons to develop a vaccine

ATLANTA – February 3, 2021 – Hall Booth Smith, P.C. (HBS) has named three new partners as the firm elevates leaders and recognizes their outstanding service to clients. Joining the firm’s partnership ranks are Danielle S. Blauvelt in Nashville, Elizabeth F. Morrison  in Charleston and Mariel E. Smith in Columbus. Danielle S. Blauvelt specializes in the defense of a wide range of health care liability matters, including wrongful death and

Brunswick Partner Beth Boone has been published in the Winter 2020 edition of CorrDocs, the newsletter of the American College of Correctional Physicians. Her article is titled "Defending Deliberate Indifference Claims" and can be read here.

Written by: Beth Boone, Esq. There are differences in how a patient’s care and treatment is documented in the wide variety of settings in which health care providers practice. For example, a private practice neurology office may document with references to applicable insurance and billing codes, and use language that will allow an insurance carrier to recognize and compensate the providers for the visits and services they perform. As

Written by: Phillip E. Friduss, Esq. Thus is the title of Adam Liptak’s New York Times coverage of the Ohio inmate transfer case, Williams v Wilson case we reported on last week. The piece begins: “The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused a request from the Trump administration to block a trial judge’s ruling that had ordered federal prison officials to take steps to protect more than 800 older or medically

Written by: Phillip E. Friduss, Esq. There have now been any number of COVID-related challenges to the conditions of confinement in jails/prisons nationwide, especially with respect to the elderly inmate population.  Two weeks ago we reported on the Texas case that had made its way to the US Supreme Court.  That case, Valentine v Collier, involved the 5th Circuit's stay of a lower court injunction regulating the conditions of