• American Bar Association: Health Law Section
• American Health Lawyers Association
• California Society for Health Care Attorneys
  • Peer Review Committee
• State Bar of California, Business Law Section
  • Health Law Executive Committee 

• “Workers’ Compensation Coverage Limited for Injuries Sustained En Route to MedicalTreatment,” Winter 2010 Newsletter, Insurance Law Section, Santa Clara County Bar Association, March 12, 2010.

• “CIGA to Cover Surviving Corp. after Merger Despite Name Change,” Winter 2010 Newsletter, Insurance Law Section, Santa Clara County Bar Association, March 12, 2010.

• “ ‘Longshore Act’ Does Not Cover Psych Injuries Arising Out of Good Faith Personnel Actions,” Winter 2010 Newsletter, Insurance Law Section, Santa Clara County Bar Association, March 12, 2010.

• “Recent Case Developments in California Health Law,” State Bar of California Business Law Section, Health Law Committee E-Bulletin, January 27, 2010.

• "October 2009 Case Developments in California Health Law,» State Bar of California, Business Law Section, Health Law Committee E-Bulletin, December 7, 2009.

• "July-August 2009 California Case Developments in Health Law,” State Bar of California, Business Law Section, Health Law Committee E-Bulletin, September 14, 2009.

• "June 2009 California Case Developments in Health Law,” State Bar of California, Business Law Section, Health Law Committee E-Bulletin, July 6, 2009.

• “May 2009 California Case Developments in Health Law,” State Bar of California, Business Law Section, Health Law Committee E-Bulletin, June 29, 2009.

• “March-April 2009 California Case Developments in Health Law,” State Bar of California, Business Law Section, Health Law Committee E-Bulletin, May 27, 2009.

• “February 2009 California Case Developments in Health Law,” State Bar of California, Business Law Section, Health Law Committee E-Bulletin, March 30, 2009.

• “January 2009 California Case Developments in Health Law,” State Bar of California, Business Law Section, Health Law Committee E-Bulletin, February 24, 2009.

• “December 2008 California Case Developments in Health Law,” State Bar of California, Business Law Section, Health Law Committee E-Bulletin, January 26, 2009.

• “November 2008 California Case Developments in Health Law,” State Bar of California, Business Law Section, Health Law Committee E-Bulletin, January 7,2009.

• “Reach Through Royalties and the Patent Misuse Defense: Can a Tool Company Still Hit the Jackpot?,” Biotech Briefing Newsletter of the Biotechnology Committee of the American Bar Association, Section of Science and Technology Law, Vol. 3, No. 1, Fall/Winter 2006/07.

   

Professional Negligence: Expert Witness. Claims of professional negligence against medical doctor who testified as an expert witness in a medical malpractice case that ended in an involuntary nonsuit. Amount in controversy $ 750,000. Temporary Settlement Judge, Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County. Medical Malpractice.  Claims against a plastic surgeon arising out of abdominoplasty procedure (commonly referred to as a tummy tuck). Dueling medical experts. Amount in controversy $250,000. Temporary Settlement Judge, Superior Court of California, Snata Clara County.

Airplane Accident; Premises Liability. Claims of personal injury arising out of a slip and fall while disembarking from an international flight. Issues of pre-existing condition, medical causation and the nature and extent of disability; liability of the international carrier for an “accident” under the Montreal Convention, Article 17; Special Drawing Rights limitation of liability under the Montreal Convention, Article 21; public entity liability under California Government Code § 815; Medicare/Medi-Cal recoupment, 42 CFR § 411.37. Early Neutral Evaluator, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ADR Program.

Medical Malpractice. Claims that the doctor, nursing staff and hospital failed to properly manage labor and delivery, resulting in the death of the infant. Third trimester placenta with proliferation of amniotic cells; fetomaternal hemorrhage, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy due to perinatal cardiac arrest, metabolic acidosis and pulmonary hemorrhage. Issues of medical causation, multiple MICRA caps. Amount in controversy exceeding $1,750,000. Settlement Judge Pro Tem, Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County.

EMTALA. Claims for damages arising under 28 U.S.C. §§1343 (a) (3) & (4), the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). Amount in dispute $3,500,000. Mediator, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ADR Program.

Medical Malpractice. Negligence arising out of a cataract extraction, retrobulbar or choroidal hemorrhage and retinal detachment resulting in blindness, issues of informed consent. Settlement Judge Pro Tem, Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County.

Breach of Contract. Claims for breach of employment contract, invalidity of arbitration clause, unconscionable fee splitting provisions of arbitration agreement, wrongful discharge, unlawful employment practices, retaliation, defamation and intentional interference with contractual relations between a doctor and the employing medical clinic. Amount in controversy $6,000,000 plus punitive damages. Sole Arbitrator, American Health Lawyers Association ADR Service.

• Sole Arbitrator, American Health Lawyers Association ADR Service:
  • Claims for breach of Acute Hospital Services Agreement provisions regarding billings and claims dispute resolution, authorization and coverage for out-of-plan medical treatment, California Health & Safety Code, § 1367(h), California Administrative Code, Tit. 28, § 1300.71.38. Amount in controversy $41,705. Expedited hearing procedures under the AHLA Rules of Procedure for Arbitration.
• Sole Arbitrator, Kaiser OIA Arbitration:
  • Claims of medical and pharmaceutical malpractice and medical battery arising out of the prescription and administration of medication. Issues of informed consent, peer review privilege, nature and extent of disability and medical causation.
• Settlement Judge Pro Tem, Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County:
  • Claims of dental malpractice case arising out of wisdom tooth extraction resulting in permanent injury to the lingual nerve with dysesthesia. Amount in controversy $ 300,000.
• Settlement Judge Pro Tem, Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County:
  • Claims of medical malpractice claim for acute pancreatitis from negligent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram (ERCP) procedure, with issues of the standard of care and informed consent. Amount in controversy over $3,000,000.
• Settlement Judge Pro Tem, Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County:
  • Claims for foreclosure of mechanic’s lien, breach of hospital construction contract, accounts states, quantum meruit, negligence, intentional interference with contract, unfair business practices under Business and Professions Code §17200 et seq. Amount in controversy over $ 1,675,000. 

JUDICIAL EXPERIENCE: For fifteen years, the Hon. Suzanne K. Nusbaum (Ret.) adjudicated hundreds of disputed workers' compensation cases with healthcare issues at both the hearing and appellate level, as an Administrative Law Judge on the Massachusetts Industrial Accident Reviewing Board and as a Commissioner on the Maine Workers' Compensation Commission. The cases involved determinations of the reasonableness and necessity of medical treatment, payment disputes, the nature and extent of disability, apportionment among insurance carriers, insurance coverage, personal injuries of medical care workers and healthcare employment disputes. Her appellate decisions are published in Westlaw under the name of Judge/Commissioner Suzanne E.K. Smith.

 

 

 

 

• Arbitration of Healthcare Employment Cases, American Health Lawyers Association, May 10, 2011.
• "The Rise of Electronic Medical Records," VC TaskForce, The Emerging Technology Forum, June 24, 2009:
  • Ken Rosen of Theory and Practice Consulting, Megan Mok of Peoplechart, Ryan Howard of Practice Fusion, Dr. Wally Buch of Medventures and Band of Angels, and Allain T. Rappaport of Health Search, Health Solutions Group, Microsoft Corporation.
• "Patents in Your Genes?" San Francisco Bay Area Intellectual Property American Inn of Court, June 17, 2009.
• California Hospital Association, Consent Law Seminar, May 7, 2009:
  • Informed Refusal, Consent for Patients under Law Enforcement Custody or Control, New Laws and Updates, New Privacy of Health Information Laws, Hybrid Medical Records, Adverse Events, New Patient Safety/MRSA Requirements, New Legislation and End-of-Life Issues.
• California Society for Healthcare Attorneys, 2009 Annual Meeting and Spring Seminar:
  • Stark Law Intensive, Anti-SLAPP Statutes, End of Life Issues, Legal Ethics: Conflicts of Interest, DOJ Healthcare Enforcement, Value-Driven Healthcare, Disruptive Physicians, Managed Care Developments, Patient Health and Identity Information.
• California Society for Healthcare Attorneys, 2008 Fall Seminar:
  • RAC Audits, Current and Hot Topics in Peer Review, Labor Issues, 2008 Legislative Update, Promoting Healthcare Quality Through Mandatory Adverse Event Reporting, Ethics and Gender Bias in the Legal Profession.
• American Bar Association, Effective Arbitration of Healthcare Disputes, June 11, 2008.
• American Health Lawyers Association ADR Service, Arbitration Training, June 29, 2008.
• California Society for Healthcare Attorneys, 2008 Annual Meeting and Spring Seminar:
  • Stark Law Intensive, California Managed Care Update, Information Technology, Civility & Professionalism in the Law, Retail Medical Clinics, Financial Crisis, Nonprofit Corporate Law, Collaborative Agreements, Patient Safety, Role of In-House Counsel, Developments in Litigation, Peer Review.
• American Health Lawyers Association ADR Service, Basics of Mediating Healthcare Conflicts, March 10, 2008.
• California Society for Healthcare Attorneys, 2007 Fall Seminar:
  • Legislative Update, Mediation and Arbitration Agreements, E-Discovery, Electronic Records, Stark III, Substance Abuse.
• California Society for Healthcare Attorneys, Peer Review Hearings: Conduct & Controversy, November 3, 2007.