Katherine T. Watts and Matthew A. Piekarski are now Partners

Phillips Parker Orberson & Arnett is pleased to announce that Katherine T. Watts and Matthew A. Piekarski are now Partners with the firm. Watts has had an active trial and litigation practice throughout Kentucky since joining the firm in 2009. Her practice is primarily focused in the areas of medical malpractice defense, professional liability defense, employment/discrimination defense, and premises liability defense. Watts attended the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law. Piekarski has also maintained an active trial and litigation practice since joining the firm in 2009. His practice is focused on defending claims of medical and dental malpractice, claims against municipalities and law enforcement, premises liability claims, and motor vehicle accident claims. Piekarski is a graduate of Marquette University and the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law.

Trial Attorney Client in a Legal Malpractice Case

John Phillips and Katie Watts successfully defended a local plaintiff’s trial attorney in a legal malpractice case. The case involved the trial attorney’s preparation and presentation of his client’s personal injury trial. Although the client received a jury verdict in his favor, his dissatisfaction with the result prompted him to blame his attorney for nearly every aspect of the representation. Phillips and Tipton defended the case by establishing that the attorney used reasonable professional skill and judgment in his presentation of the personal injury case. The legal malpractice case was bifurcated into liability and damages phases, and the jury returned a unanimous defense verdict in the liability phase after only 30 minutes of deliberation.

Bowling Green Ophthalmologist Accused of Medical Malpractice

John Phillips and Katie Watts received a unanimous defense verdict in Paducah for a Bowling Green ophthalmologist accused of medical malpractice by his former cataract patient. The Plaintiff claimed that the Defendant-Doctor committed an array of breaches of the standard of care involving the evaluation, performance and follow-up of a complicated cataract extraction. Mr. Phillips argued that the Defendant-Doctor adequately evaluated the patient for surgery, properly reacted to unforeseen conditions intra-operatively that complicated the surgery, and was appropriately assessing and treating the patient’s complications in follow-up until the patient elected to discontinue his treatment. The Plaintiff had asked the jury for over $3,000,000 in compensatory damages.

Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Action

John Phillips and Katie Watts, assisted by summer associate Sarah Lawson, successfully defended a neurosurgeon in a medical malpractice wrongful death action.

The Plaintiff claimed that the neurosurgeon failed to see the 23-year-old patient in a timely fashion upon the patient’s transfer from an outside facility and failed to order proper radiology studies, resulting in the patient’s death. The patient’s widow sought over $7 million in damages for the death of her husband. The jury returned a unanimous defense verdict in favor of the neurosurgeon.