Ellen E. Herzog

Biography

Cases

• Secured a zero-dollar walkaway settlement from a plaintiff in Boulder County who demanded $10 million in a civil case following a high-profile alleged criminal assault.
• Won the first medical malpractice defense verdict in plaintiff-friendly Las Vegas, New Mexico in over 35 years for a hospital in a $40 million case involving allegations of failure to diagnose and treat a lung disease which resulted in a patient's death. The jury unanimously found for WTO's client.
• Won exclusion of the plaintiff's causation expert and achieved summary judgment in a medical malpractice case. The victory also led to an award of more than $40,000 in attorney fees.
• Won summary judgment for a correctional healthcare provider and nurse in a medical malpractice case involving endocarditis.
• Achieved exoneration for an oncologist facing sexual assault allegations in Indiana. After a two-year investigation, the State of Indiana determined that the allegations were unfounded and announced that it was dropping the case.
• Achieved a complete defense victory for a hospital client and staff by negotiating dismissal with prejudice—with no money paid—of a lawsuit in Colorado state court. The case involved highly sensitive criminal and civil claims of post-surgery sexual assault.
• Won a defense verdict in federal court for a hospital and its staff against $27 million malpractice and negligence claims involving a subdural empyema.
• Represented a New Mexico hospital in 12 cases involving criminal conduct allegations against a psychiatrist.
• Conducted an internal investigation of a hospital employee accused of sexually assaulting two patients in the recovery room following surgery.
• Represented a psychiatric facility in Georgia in a wrongful death case involving a patient who murdered two family members after being discharged.
• Served as monitoring counsel to an insurance company in nine cases in California involving claims of sexual abuse against a physician.
• Defended an Oregon clinic and multiple healthcare providers against claims of sexual assault alleged to have occurred during an out-patient procedure.
• Won a unanimous defense verdict in a $55 million trial in eastern Kentucky for a hospital accused of malpractice.
• Won a complete defense jury verdict for a mental health hospital in Virginia. The plaintiff claimed $32 million in damages arising from an alleged patient-on-patient sexual assault.
• Won a complete defense jury verdict in California for an emergency room doctor in a medical malpractice lawsuit with over $22 million at stake in damages claims. WTO was called in just 10 days prior to the three-week trial.
• Served as national counsel to a global healthcare company in multidistrict litigation involving over 12,000 claims relating to dialysis products. WTO helped develop national resolution strategy, identified bellwether cases, and negotiated settlement of all claims.
• Obtained dismissal of class action allegations and 15 of 17 claims against Whirlpool in an environmental toxic tort case. Plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their remaining claims after the court's ruling.

Publications & Speaking Engagements

Presentations

• "Defending Suicide: Investigating and Defending a High-Profile Event," Kentucky Society of Health Risks Managers, (November 2014).
• "Texting & Social Media in Medicine: A Prescription for Trouble," American Society of Health Risks Managers, (October 2014).
• Presenter, "False Advertising & Marketing in the Healthcare Industry, Marketing Risk," Mountain States Healthcare Risk Retention Group, (May 2014).

Articles

• "Case Resources to Support Discovery Stay or Deposition Deferral During the COVID-19 Pandemic," (April 2020).
• "Defending Rule 30(b)(6) Depositions In Professional Liability Cases," An ExecSense eBook, Digital Thought Leadership, (February 2013).

Press

• Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell Elects Two New Partners Anthony Barbe and Ellen Herzog
• Law360, "Colo. Jury Clears Docs In Patient Brain Damage Case," October 1, 2018.
• WTO Lawyers Win Six High-Stakes Medical Malpractice Trials Nationwide in Six Months

Legal Memberships, Activities, and Honors