Maryland Trial Lawyers Association


2002-2003 Officers President


Robert K. Jenner Baltimore


President-Elect


J. Mitchell Lambros Cockeysville


Vice President


Walter E. Laake, Jr. Greenbelt


Alison D. Kohler Baltimore


Secretary


Elizabeth Jesukiewicz Frey Washington, D.C.


Treasurer Immediate Past President


David F. Albright, Jr. Baltimore


Parliamentarian


Bruce M. Plaxen Columbia


Board of Governors


Thomas C. Cardaro Baltimore


Dwayne A. Brown Baltimore


Rodney M. Gaston Baltimore


Mitchell A. Greenberg Baltimore


Kevin I Goldberg Silver Springs


Richard L. Jaklitsch Upper Marlboro


David M. Kopstein Seabrook


Andrew H. Kahn Baltimore


Stephen A. Markey, III Baltimore


Louise A. Lock Baltimore


Matthew M. Paavola Baltimore


Dennis F. O’Brien Towson


Kevin McCarthy Bowie


Nicole Schultheis Baltimore


George S. Tolley, III Tinonium


Kerry D. Staton Baltimore


Harry B. Siegel Columbia


Wayne M. Willoughby Baltimore


Roger S. Weinberg Towson


Simon Walton Baltimore


Robert J. Zarbin Baltimore


ATLA Governors


Augustus F. Brown Bel Air


Leonard A. Orman Baltimore


ATLA State Delegates


Robert K. Jenner Baltimore


Nicole L. Schultheis Baltimore


ATLA Minority Caucus Delegate


Evelyn O. A. Darden Glen Burnie


Executive Director Robert A. Lembo


2


In this issue…


President’s Message ...................................................................................... 3 Daubert: It Is Not A Four Letter Word ........................................................ 4 Are Lawyers Who Reimburse Medicare Out of Tort Settlements Committing Malpractice? ............................................. 8


HIPAA: The Defense Ex Parte Party May Be Over .................................... 20 President’s Club ......................................................................................... 23 New Lawyers Tip: The Attorney’s Ethical Obligations When A Client Hides Their Past & Practical Tips To Avoid Being The Victim of Clients Deception .......................................................... 26


Maryland Disability Law Center ................................................................ 29 From the Listserv ....................................................................................... 30 Appellate Watch ......................................................................................... 36 Appellate Decisions .................................................................................... 42 Recent Verdicts & Settlements ................................................................... 48 Calendar of Events ..................................................................................... 63


MTLA Past Presidents


Bruce M. Plaxen ................................ 2001 Philip O. Foard .................................. 2000 William T. Wood ............................... 1999 Andrew E. Bederman ......................... 1998 Vicki L. Dexter .................................. 1997 William O’Brien Finch, Jr. ................. 1996 Hon. Gary I. Strausberg ..................... 1995 Daniel M. Clements .......................... 1994 Augustus F. Brown ............................. 1993 A. Harold DuBois .............................. 1992 Martin H. Freeman............................ 1991 Jonathan Schochor ............................. 1990 William J. Blondell, Jr. ....................... 1989 George W. White, Jr. ......................... 1988 John J. Sellinger ................................. 1987 Paul D. Bekman ................................ 1986 Stuart M. Salsbury ............................. 1985 Leonard A. Orman ............................ 1984 Jerome J. Seidenman .......................... 1983 Robert R. Michael ............................. 1982 Joel J. Shugarman .............................. 1981 Clarence M. Thomas ......................... 1980 Joseph A. Miklasz .............................. 1979 George W. Shadoan ........................... 1978


Leo A. Hughes, Jr. ............................. 1977 Richard R. Beauchemin ..................... 1976 Robert C. Verderaime ........................ 1975 James G. Perry ................................... 1974 Thomas L. Hennessey ........................ 1973 Archibald Eccleston, III ..................... 1972 Raymond E. Callegary ....................... 1971 Lloyd S. Mailman .............................. 1970 Wallace Dann .................................... 1969 Johnson Bowie ................................... 1968 Jesse Spector ...................................... 1967 Leroy W. Preston ............................... 1966 Calvert R. Bregel ................................ 1965 Jacob Matz ......................................... 1964 Calvin E. Cohn.................................. 1963 Irwin M. Sussman.............................. 1962 John B. Wright .................................. 1961 Claude L. Callegary ........................... 1960 Hon. Joseph I. Pines .......................... 1959 Hyman A. Pressman .......................... 1958 John J. O’Connor .............................. 1957 Albert J. Goodman ............................ 1956 Bernard M. Goldstein ........................ 1955 Max R. Israelson ................................ 1954


Trial Reporter Committee Editor-in-Chief, Dennis F. O’Brien Elliot Andalman, John J. Condliffe, Brian S. Brown, Charles R. Claxton, Pamela S. Foresman, Kevin I. Goldberg, Mitchell A. Greenberg, Mark E. Herman, Peter A. Holland, Louise A. Lock, Kathleen Maynard, Craig D. Miller, Leslie H. Russo, Eric N. Stravitz, David J. Wildberger, Michael C. Worsham


Publisher/Editor, Robert A. Lembo, Esq., Assistant Editor, Bryon Szojchet


Trial Reporter is a quarterly publication of the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association. As a forum for the bar, bench and others concerned with the civil trial practice and the administration of justice, we encourage your views and opinions. Letters, articles, and proposals may be submitted to the publisher.


Statements and opinions expressed in editorials, articles and commentaries are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association. Publication of any advertiser’s claim or of any author’s statement, opinion or commentary, should not be construed as an endorsement by MTLA. Trial Reporter will not be liable for loss or damage incurred in any advertisement published.


Trial Reporter is the property of the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association and its contents may not be reproduced or reprinted without permission from the publisher at MTLA, 120 W. Fayette St., Suite 711, Baltimore, Maryland 21201. Phone: (410) 539-4336. E-mail: mtla@mdtriallawyers.com


ON THE COVER 


Bike Helmet Distribution, May 9, 2003 – MTLA and Baltimore SAFE KIDS Coalition during National SAFE KIDS Week, Thomas Johnson Elementary School, Baltimore, MD


Second from the left, Robert K. Jenner, MTLA President, fourth from the left, Roger Weinberg, MTLA Bike Helmet Committee Chair, second from the right, Karen Hardingham, Baltimore SAFE KIDS Coalition.


Trial Reporter Spring 2003


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