Elder Abuse Lawyers Serving the Seriously Injured Nationally as Elder Abuse Attorneys from Florida to Hawaii, from California to New York, from Texas, Alabama and Georgia to Alaska, in Lawsuits Involving Physical Abuse and Psychological Abuse or Elder Neglect or Abandonment in Nursing Homes Convalescent Centers or Retirement Homes in Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware and Idaho from Illinois to Indiana, and Elder Abuse Attorneys in Kansas, Kentucky and Louisiana, to Massachusetts, Maryland, and Maine, Lawyers Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, from South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin to West Virginia and Wyoming.

Our Law Group elder abuse lawyers will consider representing seniors who have been the victims of physical abuse or psychological abuse, elder neglect or abandonment by employees of nursing homes or convalescent centers or retirement facilities. And we will also consider representing seniors who have sustained significant economic losses as the result of elder financial abuse. Our credentials, including as highly qualified trial lawyers experienced in preparing and presenting the often complex medical and psychological evidence of the devastation of the abused elder, are discussed in the right column of this page. Sometimes also elder abuse cases can involve medical negligence and so it can be important that the attorney has experience in medical malpractice and hospital negligence litigation. Below what our elder abuse attorneys will briefly outline the legal categories of elder abuse, from physical abuse to neglect or abandonment as those terms are used in the law, and we also offer some signs that families may use to alert themselves to the possibility that their loved parent or grandparent my be suffering as the result of elder abuse.

If you are an elder who has suffered abuse or a family member who believes that a loved one has suffered physical or psychological abuse or neglect or abandonment by employees or the administration of a nursing home, convalescent center or retirement home, or financial abuse at such a facility or by others in the family or those who sometimes will pray on our seniors, we welcome you to contact our Law Group elder abuse lawyers for a free consultation. All you need do is simply fill out the contact form and one of our elder abuse attorneys will promptly call you to inquire about your loved one's experience with elder abuse, offer our case evaluation and initial recommendations. We represent victims of elder abuse in most states, from California to New York, from Texas to Florida, from Georgia to Alaska, in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, and Connecticut. We are elder abuse attorneys for cases involving physical abuse including neglect and abandonment in Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, our elder abuse lawyers represent victims of physical abuse against convalescent centers, retirement homes and nursing facilities in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming. We are here to serve you, and welcome the opportunity to speak with you.

Our Law Group Lawyers Explain the Various Types of Elder Abuse as They are Recognized in the Law, Generally Categorized as Physical Abuse and Psychological Mistreatment, Elder Neglect and Abandonment and Senior Financial Abuse. Our Elder Abuse Attorneys Explain Also the Signs that Should Alert Families to the Possibility of Elder Physical Abuse Neglect or Abandonment by Employees of Retirement Homes, Convalescent Centers and Nursing Facilities.

First Our Elder Abuse Lawyers Explain the Action for Senior Physical Abuse, And Our Attorneys Wil Suggest What Family Members Should Look for to Alert Them to the Possibility that Their Loved One May Have Suffered Elder Physical Abuse.

Senior Physical Abuse as the cause of action is generally defined by most state laws and applied by elder abuse attorneys generally requires physical abuse which was intentional or malicious, and often found to exist in facilities outside family homes, such as retirement facilities, nursing homes and convalescent centers. Our elder abuse lawyers have found that senior physical abuse can be found in various forms of violence against the elderly, from beatings to slapping, unreasonable institution of physical restraints, refusals to provide for the senior's basic physical requirements such as for food and water, and can sometimes include even sexual behaviors.

Our elder abuse lawyers suggest that family and friends of the senior should look for signs of physical mistreatment of their loved one to alert them to the possibility of physical abuse, as often such abuse can persist for years, at a very sad cost to the senior in terms of his physical and psychological welfare.

Our elder abuse attorneys often find that seniors confined to retirement facilities or nursing homes will be hesitant to complain about their physical mistreatment at the hands of the facilities employees, sometimes out of fear of reprisal or because they feel a need to be non confrontational in a living environment in which they are dependant upon the convalescent center or retirement home's employees for their daily care, food and sustenance. As our elder abuse lawyers have observed, furthermore, most often the physical abuse will not occur in the presence of family members, and so the family and friends must look below the surface both for the physical signs of abuse and our elder abuse attorneys recommend also considering changes in the state of mind of the senior loved one, and sometimes even to signs in the behaviors of the employees of the nursing home or convalescent center or retirement facility for the clues of physical abuse.

In some cases the signs of senior physical abuse can be obvious, upon discovery of bruises or even broken bones, although often such abuse is expressed in violence to aspects of the senior's body that may not be readily seen as family come to visit the senior. The family that suspects that their loved one has been the victim of physical abuse may have to look more closely for the physical signs of abuse that may occur to the clothed arms or abdomens of the senior, as examples. In addition to inquiring of the loved one, and being sensitive to his or her changes in state of mind or behavior, the family should also be alert to the odd behavior of the care givers while in the family's presence with the senior, from coldness or defensiveness to affection that seems inappropriate, and to the reactions of the senior to these behaviors. One sign may be the care giver's expressions of displeasure over matters that the senior has no control over, such as incontinence, as that might be the trigger for the nursing home or convalescent center's employee's physical abuse. If the care giver insists on being in the room when the family comes to visit, or appears to interrupt the senior or denies the senior the freedom to speak for himself, our elder abuse attorneys suggest that might also alert the family to want to insist on being alone with their loved one and to frankly ask first generally about how he feels about the character of the physical treatment he receives from the employee, and then more specifically, to confide in them whether the employee or others at the retirement home or nursing facility have physically abused him.

Our elder abuse lawyers consider that the administration of any good convalescent center, nursing facility or retirement home should want to be alerted to signs of possible elder abuse, and the right of family members to inquire, and we consider that it is also certainly within your rights to ask whether the employee has any past history of violence in the treatment of the senior residents of the facility or in his personal file. If the facility refuses to answer your questions with regard to the staff employee, then this may also serve to alert you to the possibility that there may have been similar issues with the employee previously.

Our elder abuse attorneys hope that the foregoing will give the family of seniors residing in retirement facilities and nursing homes the tools to discover early the signs of physical abuse so that the last years of your loved one can be carefully monitored and so that the senior can have the benefit of the family's protection, just as he or she provided for the protection of his or her children when they were too young to protect themselves.

Our Elder Abuse Lawyers Define "Elder Abandonment" and "Elder Neglect" as those Terms May Provide an Understanding of the Nature of the Causes of Action. And our Elder Abuse Attorneys Provide Recommendations for Identifying Signs of This Type of Senior Mistreatment So that Family Members May be Alerted to Consider Whether There Might be the Possibility That Their Loved One Has Been the Victim of Elder Neglect and Abandonment.

As our elder abuse lawyers define elder neglect, and as it is defined in the laws of most states, it derives from the responsibility or duty of a convalescent facility or nursing home to use "reasonable care" to provide for the senior's needs, including his physical needs, including general hygiene to appropriate medical care and psychological care, as well as the duty to provide for the safety of the senior, including to protect him from all potential safety hazards. And when the facility or its employees fail to fulfill their duty in any of the above regards then they are guilty of elder neglect. Our elder abuse lawyers distinguish elder abandonment from elder neglect as requiring an malice on the part of the employee of the retirement home or convalescent center or nursing home or an intention to deprive the senior of the essentials for his physical requirements, again from failures to assure that the senior receives all required medical care and treatment through to protecting the senior from hazards to his safety.

Again, the consequences of elder abandonment can be so devastating to the physical and psychological welfare of the senior, resulting in more serious consequences if it persists, that our elder abuse lawyers would take the opportunity to offer family members some recommendations to identify the evidence of elder abandonment, as again the senior, for the above described reasons, may not be forthcoming in complaining himself. Some signs of elder abandonment are obvious, such as bed sores, or evidence of dehydration, or malnourishment, as might be evident in the senior's weight loss. Another indicator may be smells that could indicate that the senior is not properly being cared for, possibly indicating that he or she is being left to lay in his urine or feces. It is also very important that the family inquire to assure that their loved one is receiving the proper necessary medical treatment, that he is receiving the drugs he requires, and that any suggestions of disease or illness be appropriately diagnosed and treated.

Again, elder neglect and abandonment can have a devastating effect on the well being of the senior loved one, and so the diligence of family members is essential to assure that senior facility neglect is detected early, and that appropriate measure be taken, either through the administration of the nursing home or retirement facility to rectify the neglect, or by moving the senior to another facility where he can be assured that all of his physical and health and safety requirements are met.

Our Elder Abuse Attorneys Define "Senior Psychological Abuse" as Emotional Mistreatment that is Intentional or Wilful on the Part of the Employee or Employees of a Nursing Home or Retirement Facility. Our Elder Abuse Lawyers Also Provide Recommendations for Family Members to Identify the Signs of Elder Psychological Abuse.

Just as with elder abandonment, our elder abuse lawyers define senior psychological abuse as generally requiring an element of intent or willfulness on the part of the nursing home or retirement facility employees. The character of the psychological abuse can vary from verbal intimidation to threats intended to induce fear of retaliation by staff. It can also involve conduct of staff intended to humiliate the elder. Or less obvious or palpably demonstrable abuse of the elder, yet sometimes the most devastating, such as isolation from interaction with others.

In terms of identifying the signs of elder psychological abuse, our elder abuse lawyers recommend that family members take very seriously the statements of the senior who expresses fear of certain nursing or retirement home employees, or expresses anger about their treatment of him. Family members should be alert to expressions of helplessness by the senior. However, again, the senior may not express his feelings, even of his devastation at staff conduct patently intended to humiliate him, for fear of reprisal, or because of his dependency upon the facility and staff employee for his day to day meals and survival, and so the family must be alert to this hesitancy of their loved one to speak openly and then look also for changes in his mental state, such as the onset of depression or demeanor of helplessness.

Our Elder Abuse Attorneys Define Senior Financial Abuse as the Theft of his Money or Property Which May Be Perpetrated By Nursing Home or Retirement Home Staff by Guardians, Conservators, Lawyers, Investment Advisors, and other with Fiduciary Responsibilities to the Senior, And Even Sometimes by Family Members.

It is not uncommon for the administration or staff of retirement and nursing homes or convalescent centers to induce the senior to depart with his money or property as the senior may often feel dependent upon them for his needs and sustenance, care and treatment. But elder financial abuse can take many forms and it can be perpetrated by those he trusts, including his fiduciaries, such as his guardians or conservators or his lawyers and others with power of attorney, his stockbrokers, telemarketing con artists and others with everything from fraudulent investment and ponzi schemes. And then, often most sadly, the elders financial wherewithal may be depleted during his lifetime by family members who apply undue influence to obtain the senior's money or property or convince him to change his will to leave a greater portion of his estate to them, reducing the share of other family members.

Family members should consider carefully monitoring the financial affairs of their elderly loved one, seeking his permission to gain a complete understanding of the nature and extent of he wealth, and to monitor his bank accounts and other accounts in which significant portions of his wealth are held, for example by checking for unexpected changes in the balances in bank accounts and stock holdings, as well as alterations in the terms of property ownership, second mortgages on real property, or the sale or gift of real property. The family should also check for any changes in powers of attorney, either naming others to serve in the capacity or increasing the authority of those holding the powers. And then the family should be alert to undue influence by individual family members or friends, which can sometimes be detected by efforts to isolate the senior from others.

Elder financial abuse can have a devastating effect upon the senior's ability to pay for all of his needs over the remaining years of his life expectancy, and this can also have devastating effects upon his family members who will then be required to shoulder the burden of providing for his essential living arrangements, and all his other needs. It can also devastate those family members whom the father or mother might have most wished to help in providing for them in his or her will. And it can be tragic emotionally for elder and the family as they come to find their parent's or grandparent's wealth depleted. Our elder abuse lawyers recommend family diligence in watching out for their loved one's financial well being just as they should want to be diligent in assuring their loved one's physical well being.

Our Elder Abuse Lawyers Offer Free Consultations In Cases of Senior Physical Abuse, Neglect, Abandonment, Psychological Mistreatment, and Financial Mismanagement. Our Elder Abuse Attorneys Provide Free Case Consultations to the Families of Elders Whose Abuse Has Come at the Hands of Employees, Staff and Administrators of Retirement and Nursing Homes and Convalescent Centers, Fiduciaries and Investment Scheme Con Artists in Most States from New York to California, from Texas and Georgia and Florida to Illinois and Michigan to Alaska, Our Elder Abuse Lawyers Serve Clients Who Are the Victims of Physical Abuse from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho and Indiana Property Defect Attorneys from Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts and Maryland, to Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Attorneys from North Carolina to North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey to New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of elder physical abuse, neglect or abandonment, or senior psychological mistreatment at the hands of staff or employees of a nursing home or convalescent or retirement home or facility, we welcome you contact our elder abuse lawyers for a free attorney case consultation. If you have been the victim of theft of money or property or a telemarketing scheme or door to door sales con, or if you are a family member who has become aware that his or her loved one has been the victim of elder physical abuse, or senior neglect or abandonment perpetrated by employees or staff of a convalescent facility or nursing home or retirement home or has lost substantial money or property or other wealth as the result of a financial scheme, our elder abuse attorneys would be pleased to provide you a free case consultation and offer our initial recommendations without charge or obligation. Our elder abuse lawyers offer free consultations throughout most of the states of the United States from New York to California, from Texas and Georgia and Florida to Illinois and Michigan, our elder abuse attorneys serve victims of physical mistreatment from Alaska to Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho and Indiana, our attorneys provide free consultations for cases involving serious injuries resulting from physical abuse, neglect and senior abandonment from Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts and Maryland, to Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina from North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey to New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

For a free elder abuse lawyer consultation simple fill out the contact form and one of our elder abuse attorneys will call you back to speak to you about the facts of your case and then offer you our case evaluation and preliminary recommendations.

*Recent Verdicts and Settlements:

$3.8 million dollar gross jury verdict in medical malpractice case involving failure to diagnose atrial myxoma. The experts called by medical malpractice lawyer, Henke, testified that other cardiac entities should have been considered in the physicians' differential diagnoses which should have led to tests, including an echocardiogram which would have led to the appropriate diagnosis and averted the plaintiff's stroke.

$2.7 million dollar jury verdict in medical malpractice case in which medical malpractice attorney, Henke, tired the cases of 5 plaintiffs in one trial against multiple physician and hospital defendants. The case involved the use of unapproved AIDS drugs misrepresented by the physicians as cures for AIDS. The jury found the hospital negligent for having failed to revoke the defendant physician's staff privileges and rendered a 1.6 million punitive damage jury verdict against the hospital based upon conspiracy to defraud.

$1.6 million total settlement against a physician and drug company. The physician was sued for medical malpractice for providing an investigational drug to the plaintiff's mother during pregnancy, the drug company for manufacturing and delivering the drug, later found to be teratogenic, to the physician, among 1000 others. The plaintiff suffered limb defects as the result of her mother having been exposed to the drug during the critical period of organogenisis.

*The results obtained in the cases listed were dependent upon the facts of the cases, and the results will differ in other cases based on different facts

Food Poisoning Lawyers for E coli HUS & Listeriosis Cases. Attorneys for California and National Outbreaks.

We are the Premier California Food Poisoning Lawyers, Ecoli HUS and Listeriosis Attorneys, also representing victims of food poisoning outbreaks nationally.

Spotlight: Our Most Recent Food Poisoning Settlement:: One of our Law Group E coli HUS Attorneys, Nick Allis, obtained one of the largest multimillion dollar settlements ever achieved in an Ecoli HUS case, obtained October 1, 2006.

Consult the Food Poisoning Lawyers page or the E. coli HUS Attorneys page for additional information about the stellar qualifications of our food poisoning attorneys.

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Our Law Group Elder Abuse Lawyers and Trial Attorneys Qualifications. Our Elder Abuse Attorneys Serve Those Who Have Been the Victim of Elder Physical Abuse, Neglect and Abandonment by Staff and Employees of Nursing Homes, Retirement Facilities and Convalescent Centers Nationally from Florida, New York and Rhode Island to California and Hawaii, from Texas, Alabama and Georgia to Alaska, Our Elder Abuse Lawyers Serve Victims of Physical Abuse and Financial Abuse from Arkansas, Arizona and Colorado to Connecticut and Delaware from Idaho Illinois. Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky to Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri, Montana, North Carolina and North Dakota, in Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New Mexico to Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin to West Virginia and Wyoming .

Our elder abuse lawyers serve those who have been the victim of injuries resulting form elder physical abuse as well as senior neglect and abandonment, psychological mistreatment and financial abuse. The definitions of the various categories of elder abuse are discussed in the center column of this page along with suggestions about how family members may remain alert to potential elder abuse. Our "Law Group" was first conceived in the 1990's when Attorney Henke was serving as a Governor of the 5th largest trial lawyer association in the United States and regularly meeting with the officers and Governors of most of the state trial lawyers associations, including to develop strategies to defeat insurance industry efforts to obtain "tort reform laws" -- laws which would have significantly curtailed the rights of the injured to be fully compensated, for example "caps" on general damages. Many of us came to gain high regard for the professionalism of others of the trial lawyers from across the county, including many elder abuse attorneys. And where it was common that we would be contacted by potential clients from other states we would often recommend or refer the potential clients to lawyers in our loosely affiliated group or to other attorneys who we considered best situated or qualified to consider the cases. In certain litigation where a particular lawyer already had a "leg up" on a particular type of case, for example elder abuse by a particular nursing home employee or convelescent center staff, with his experts already developed, we might recommend that the potential client might save substantial litigation costs or otherwise be best served by the other trial attorney. We also will sometimes cooperate with others of our serious injury trial lawyers, either in sharing documents and other evidence developed in previous cases against the same defendant, or sometimes by helping to identify and prepare an expert for another Group lawyer in another state. Sometimes we may offer to serve as local counsel where an out of state attorney appears as trial counsel pro hac vice, or we may assist with appeals in our states for another trial lawyer where we may be more familiar with the issues or appellate litigation. This is the way our informal affiliation of lawyers grew and continues to grow as we continue to discover and recommend experienced trial lawyers in most of the states. Our elder abuse lawyers will consider representing potential clients who have suffered serious or catastrophic injuries or abuse at nursing homes, convelescent and retirement centers in most states from New York to California, from Texas and Georgia and Florida to Illinois and Michigan, Slip and Fall Lawyers from Alaska to Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho and Indiana, from Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts and Maryland, to Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Trip and Fall Attorneys from North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey to New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

It is every potential litigant's right to ask about the credentials of any lawyer whom he would consider to represent him. Decisions with regard to the best lawyer for you should not be made on the basis of attorney advertisements. Rather such decisions should be made on the basis of a comparison of the credentials of the lawyers whom the potential client would consider to represent him. Our Law Group attorneys provide free consultations and we welcome your inquiries with regard to our credentials as serious injury trial lawyers and as experienced in our practice areas including elder abuse litigation. And we invite you also to ask any additional questions about our qualifications that you may deem important in the attorney you will choose to represent you.

It is beyond the scope of this web site and this elder abuse lawyers page to attempt to do justice to the credentials of all of our Law Group attorneys, and so on the web site subject matter pages and here we have limited our discussion of specific credentials to those of Group attorney Henke, as was most convenient, given that he is the author of most of the practice areas pages, which we hope will provide greater information with regard to the sophisticated trial strategy that qualified and experienced lawyers generally bring to the prosecution of the broad description of cases discussed. In addition, because it would be beyond the scope of our page limits to discuss the significant trial victories and settlements of all our group members, in the left column of this page it is discussed only the jury verdicts of this one Group lawyer, except that, given that he doesn't practice food poisoning law, a recent E. coli HUS case and settlement obtained by another of the Group members, Nick Allis, is discussed. The cases cited are furthermore intended to describe the type of trial advocacy that can be brought to bare in the cases described, not to stress the amounts of the settlements and jury verdicts, because as noted in the left column, as required by state bar rules, the damages recovered in any particular case are dependent upon the facts of each case, including the nature and extent of the client's injury, and his general and special economic damages.

So that the reader may consider some of the types of credentials that attorneys may have, among others, in determining a lawyer's suitability for a particular case, from lawyer directory legal ability and ethics ratings to elected office in state trial lawyers associations, awards and recognition by his peers, such as trial lawyer awards, education, training and experience in the particular practice areas; articles published on specific legal subject matter, or examples of the attorney's appellate advocacy, we provide the specific credentials of attorney Henke, however only by way of example of one Group member's qualifications. By providing his credentials he does not claim that his credentials are superior to those of any other Group lawyer or any other attorney in his or any other state. Henke will not accept cases arising outside the state of California, and will only appear as trial counsel in pending litigation in another state at the request of an attorney in the other state, where the attorney requests that he serve as trial counsel in the pending litigation, with the consent of the client, and only where the trial court judge in the out of state litigation consents to his appearance as trial counsel pro hac vice. His credentials, however, might serve the purpose sought to be achieved here, only to suggest what might be some of the questions that any prospective client may want to ask the lawyers in the state in which his cause of action arose whom he would consider to represent him, along with all the other questions that the prospective client deems important in selecting the attorney best qualified and experienced to prosecute his or her potential litigation.

For example, the first of attorney Henke's credentials discussed below is his Martindale & Hubbell rating. And indeed, often as lawyers consider recommending or referring clients to lawyers in other states they will commonly consult the lawyers' Martindale & Hubbell "legal ability" and "ethical standards" ratings. Martindale & Hubbell is the most respected attorney rating directory in the United States. The ratings are most commonly based upon interviews with Judges before whom the lawyer has appeared and interviews with other prominent lawyers in the attorney's community.

Law Group attorney Henke and his law firm are "AV" rated by Martindale and Hubbell, the highest lawyer "legal ability" rating ("A") and highest attorney "general ethical standards" rating ("V"). The "A" is defined by Martindalee & Hubbell to mean "very high to preeminent" in "legal ability" and the "V" is defined to mean "very high" in "general ethical standards". According to Martindale & Hubbell: "AV Peer Review Rating shows that a lawyer has reached the height of professional excellence. He or she has usually practiced law for many years, and is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity." Martindale & Hubbell also assigns numerical ratings, from 1.0 to 5.0, with 4.5 to 5.0 satisfying the criteria for an "AV" rating. Henke's numerical rating is 5.0.

He is recognized as one of the "Top Lawyers in America," a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, commonly referred to as "the most prestigious group of trial lawyers in the United States."

He is a former Governor of LATLA, the 5th Largest Trial Lawyer Association in the United States, elected and reelected to the position, year after year, by LATLA's large trial lawyer membership.

He was nominated by LATLA for the coveted and prestigious "Trial Lawyer of the Year" Award. He was also given its President's Award, and was given the privilege to serve as the Editor-in-Chief of the Association's Law Journal, "The Advocate.".

His cases, trial work and victories have been the subject of substantial legal commentary in respected state and national legal journals from the National Law Journal to the California Lawyer.

His cases and trial work have also been the subject of substantial legitimate news coverage from front page articles in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, from the Washington Post to the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner. He has appeared to discuss his cases on national legitimate television news, Tom Brokaw's Evening News, CNN; his cases, trial strategies and successes have also been described in 2 books.

He has also testified before Congress at the invitation of the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the United States House of Representatives specifically with regard to his successful prosecution of certain cases, and his contention that punitive damages are an important tool in where the defendant, by his behavior has maliciously or consciously disregarded the lives and safety of others.

He has also published over 30 legal articles in professional journals from "Trial" the Journal of the American Trial Lawyers Association, "The Forum," the Journal of the California Trial Lawyers Association, Consumer Attorneys Association of California, and the "Advocate," the Journal of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, including , "Mandatory Class Action," Trial Magazine, ATLA; Henke with Professor Dean Neubauer, "Medical Malpractice Legislation," Trial Magazine, ATLA, "Negligence Per Se and Drug Product Liability Cases," Advocate, LATLA; "Statute of Limitations/Delayed Discovery Rule in Drug Product Liability Litigation," Advocate, LATLA, "Amending the Complaint at Trial to Add Punitive Damages, "Advocate," LATLA; Henke with Inner Circle Member James Butler, "The Right of Counsel to Speak to Press on Pending Civil Litigation: First Amendment Protections Reaffirmed," Forum, CTLA; "Falsification of Medical Records: How to Establish it and how best to handle it," Advocate, LATLA; "Medical Malpractice, Overcoming Common Defenses in Uncommon Medical Malpractice Cases," Forum CTLA; "Children’s Rights v. Government Claims Provisions," Advocate, LATLA; "Statistics," Advocate, LATLA; "Defendant's Counsel's Sub-rosa Interview with Plaintiff's Treating Physicians," Advocate, LATLA; "Special Defenses, "Advocate, LATLA; "Framing Economic Damages," Advocate, LATLA; "Character Evidence and the Ostensible Secondary Purpose, " Advocate, LATLA; "Legislation," Advocate, LALTA; "Proving Economic Damages of Undocumented Aliens, " Advocate, LATLA; "Initiative Checklist," Advocate, LATLA; "Selecting the Medical Negligence Case," Advocate, LATLA; "The Reasonable Suspicion Standard in Drug Product Liability Cases," Advocate, LATLA; "Use of Rebuttal Expert Testimony at Trial,"Advocate, LATLA; "Proving Negligent Failure to Diagnose a Rare Disease," Advocate, LATLA; "Breach of the Physicians Obligations of Confidentiality," Advocate, LATLA; "Taking Expert Depositions," Advocate, LATLA; "Jury Selection," Advocate, LATLA; "Epidemiology and Applied Statistics," Advocate, LATLA; "Recovery for Increased Susceptibility for Future Medical Disease," Advocate, LATLA; "Strict Liability," Advocate, LATLA; "Contention Interrogatories," Advocate, LATLA; "Ex Parte Interviews with Plaintiff's Treating Physicians," Advocate, LATLA; "The High Cost of Forum Depositions," Advocate, LATLA. Full Bibliography Available Upon Request.

He has also obtained extraordinary published state and federal appellate results, including in sophisticated litiagtion effecting lasting, significant changes in the law favorable to his clients and other plaintiff litigants. An attorney's experience in appellate advocacy is not only useful on appeals, but may be important in some cases to overturn before or during trial a bad ruling of the trial judge that guts the case or deprives the client of an element of his damages. To take one example, in the context of pre-trial motions a Judge struck Henke's clients' punitive damage claims relying of newly enacted tort reform legislation requiring that in cases against health care providers the punitive damage claim must not be stated in the original complaint, as was the practice when the complaint was filed prior to enactment of the law, but by amendment to the complaint based upon evidence of the validity of the punitive damage claim. Henke obtained a stay of the trial to take an extraordinary writ to the appellate court, obtaining an immediate decision from the Court of Appeals ordering the trial court to reinstate the clients' punitive damage claims, and then he went forward to obtain in addition to compensatory damage awards for his clients, a $1.6 million punitive damage jury verdict against one of the defendants.

To take another example, after more than 1000 federal cases involving children who had suffered serious birth defects were assigned by the federal Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation to a federal Judge sitting in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the District Court Judge in Ohio certified a "mandatory class action" binding together the 1000 birth defect cases assigned to his court and all the other thousands of birth defect cases involving the drug filed nationwide, including those filed independently in the state courts. The pharmaceutical product liability lawyers in Henke's office had over 40 cases involving exposure to the drug, most of them involving children born with severe limb defects, and had developed an extensive list of experts fully prepared to testify in the individual trials against the manufacturer. The Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel Committee and the attorneys for the drug manufacturer then settled the mandatory class litigation involving the thousands of children born with birth defects nationwide for $120,000,000. The federal District Court Judge then issued an order approving the settlement. Group attorney Henke and his other firm members considered the settlement to be woefully inadequate to compensate the many thousands of children with serious birth defects for even the smallest fraction of the fair measure of the value of their injuries and damages. So Henke filed a petition for writ of mandamus in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit challenging the District Court's certification of the mandatory class action and settlement. Attorney Henke's petition for writ of mandamus was successful in obtaining the United States Court of Appeals' order instructing the District Court Judge to decertify the mandatory class and void the class settlement.

Henke had argued that "mandatory class action" offended the individual client's right to the attorney of his choice, and control over his individual litigation, arguing that the sole legitimate exception that the Court of Appeals should recognize should be that mandatory class action might be justified in the rare instance where the defendant had a demonstrated limited fund of assets and insurance insufficient to pay all claims brought against it, proof that the large manufacturer in this class action clearly could not and had not substantiated. The United States Court of Appeals adopted Henke's arguments, issuing a landmark published decision severely restricting the availability of mandatory class actions, with the sole exception mentioned above. The decision altered the law of class action in an enduring way, and now almost all class actions must be framed as "voluntary class actions" where each plaintiff has the opportunity to opt out, choose his own attorney to represent him and pursue his individual litigation independently if he so chooses. The case indeed applies to all mass tort litigation, and all class actions, rendering mandatory class action essentially unavailable except in very rare class litigation.

Mr. Henke received his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of San Francisco, was a member of the USF Law Review, received the American Jurisprudence Award for Civil Procedure, and interned at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit while in Law School.

Martindale & Hubbell ratings, elected offices in trial lawyers associations, awards and honors from professional organizations, recognition in professional journals, publications in trial lawyer journals, significant appellate victories, and experience preparing and presenting to settlement judges and juries cases in the legal subject area of the potential client's case, as well as the relevant settlements and jury verdicts the lawyer has obtained as the lead trial attorney, are all credentials that a potential client may wish to consider in comparing the qualifications of the lawyers whom he would consider to represent him, among such other qualifications as the client deems important in the lawyer who will represent him. We strongly recommend that decisions with regard to the choice of a lawyer be made on the basis of legal qualifications, and we welcome all prospective clients to inquire about our Group lawyers' qualifications.

Our Elder Abuse Lawyers Provide the Following Attorney Disclaimers For All States of the United States, including Alaska to Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming .

Please read the full Terms and conditions on our Required Legal Notices page. The following is a synopsis:

Please understand that this Elder Abuse Lawyers page, and all other pages on this site are provided for informational purposes only, describing the various practice areas discussed. The content of the pages, including this page, are not intended as legal advice and should not be interpreted as legal advice; and in particular the content should not be interpreted as legal advice as to the potential merits or viability your particular case or any particular case.

Our elder abuse lawyers provide free consultations to those who contact us, but again, you must understand that if we are unable to accept your case, that will be merely a function of our law firm specific intake guidelines and should not be interpreted as a conclusion on our part that your case lacks merit or that it is not viable litigation.

Furthermore, please understand that merely reviewing this site, this elder abuse lawyers web page or any of the other pages of this site, or submitting a case evaluation request, or speaking with Mr. Henke or another attorney does not and cannot create an attorney-client relationship with Mr. Henke or his law office. The only way that an attorney-client relationship can be created with Mr. Henke or his law firm is by a written attorney-client retainer agreement signed both by the client and Mr. Henke. If a case does not fall within our office intake guidelines or if it arises in another state, we may recommend or refer you to another lawyer, but please understand also that our recommending or referring you to another lawyer does not create an attorney-client relationship with Mr. Henke or his law firm. We do not supervise any litigation undertaken by any other lawyers, including attorneys or law firms to which we may recommend or refer a client. The recommendation or referral of potential client to another lawyer does not give rise to any duty or obligation or responsibility on the part of Mr. Henke or the Henke Law Office. Furthermore, every client must independently investigate the credentials of any lawyer whom he would consider to represent him, and the Henke law office does not under any circumstances accept liability for the errors or omissions of other lawyers or any other liability including in connection with his recommendation or referral of the client to another lawyer. Our Law Group, as set forth above, is merely a loose affiliation of lawyers with respect for one another; we are not a law firm or a partnership or association of lawyers.

It is the intent of our Group personal injury lawyers in framing this Elder Abuse Lawyers page, and the content of this Serious Injury Attorneys web site, to comply with all laws and attorney ethical rules in all states in which such rules exist. Specific Rules applicable in particular states are set forth below and on the Required Legal Notices Page of this web site, which we invite you to consider, and which we incorporate on this web page.

By virtue of the characteristics of Internet communication of lawyer advertisements generally, including by the ability of persons to view the advertisement beyond state borders, and indeed worldwide, the following notices are provided for all states of the United States. The state laws and state bar rules and other laws governing Internet communication generally and lawyer advertisements in particular are constantly changing. Mr. Henke, has made an effort on this general informational web page and on the Required Legal Notices page to comply with all the applicable state laws, state bar rules and other rules governing lawyers and attorneys in anticipation that this lawyer advertisement might be viewed by citizens of any state of the United States: This attorney advertisement, authored by attorney Henke, is not intended for those whose potential cases do not have a nexus with the state of California, e.g., by virtue the cause of action arising in the state or a defendant's incorporation in the state or the location of its principal place of business in the state.

The following are particular admonitions intended to comply with the laws and rules of the identified states:

Alabama: No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.

Colorado: Colorado does not certify attorneys as specialists in any field.

Florida: The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience.

Iowa: The determination of the need for legal services and the choice of a lawyer are extremely important decisions and should not be based solely upon advertisements or self-proclaimed expertise. This disclosure is required by rule of the Supreme Court of Iowa. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC: Memberships and offices in legal fraternities and legal societies, technical and professional licenses, and memberships in scientific, technical and professional associations and societies of law or field of practice do not mean that a lawyer is a specialist or expert in a field of law, nor do they mean that such a lawyer is necessarily any more expert or competent than any other lawyer. All potential clients are urged to make their own independent investigation and evaluation of any lawyer being considered. This notice is required by rule of the Supreme Court of Iowa.

Kentucky and Oregon: THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT.

Mississippi: The Mississippi Supreme Court advises that a decision on legal services is important and should not be based solely on advertisements.

Missouri: Neither the Supreme Court of Missouri nor the Missouri Bar reviews or approves certifying organizations or specialist designations.

Nevada: The State Bar of Nevada does not certify any lawyer as a specialist or expert.

New Mexico: LAWYER ADVERTISEMENT.

Tennessee: None of the attorneys in this firm are certified as a Civil Trial, Criminal Trial, Business Bankruptcy, Consumer Bankruptcy, Creditor's Rights, Medical Malpractice, Legal Malpractice, Accounting Malpractice, Estate Planning or Elder Law specialist by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization. Certification as a specialist in all other listed areas is not currently available in Tennessee.

Texas: Unless otherwise stated, Henke Law Office attorneys claiming certification in an area of law are not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Wyoming: The Wyoming State Bar does not certify any lawyer as a specialist or expert. Anyone considering a lawyer should independently investigate the lawyer's credentials and ability, and not rely upon advertisements or self-proclaimed expertise.

For all those states which consider informational lawyer web pages to be advertisements, please take notice, this web site and web page is an advertisement. Mr. Henke considers the foregoing disclaimers to be good for all to consider, including that decisions with regard to your choice of lawyer should not be made based on the content of attorney advertisements, and the disclaimers in this section and on the Required Legal Notices page should be considered by those seeking counsel in all states: The determination of the need for legal services and the choice of a lawyer are extremely important decisions and should not be based solely upon attorney advertisements or self-proclaimed expertise. The lawyers of the Law Group and Henke Law Office state: “Before you decide on an attorney to represent you, to the extent that you may consider this office, please ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience.” We do not hold ourselves out to be specialists in states which certify specialists. All potential clients are urged to make their own independent investigation and evaluation of any lawyer being considered.

This web site and the instant Elder Abuse Lawyers page are not intended by Henke for the purpose of soliciting any prospective clients in any state except California for the commencement of any civil action. If attorney Henke were to file a civil lawsuit in any of the other state, he would do so only on the request of an attorney who was a member of the Bar of the other state, who would serve as the local attorney in the litigation, only in connection with pending litigation, with the consent of the client, and only with the permission of the state court for Henke to appear as the attorney for the client pro hac vice. We do not solicit clients in any such state; we will only consder inquiries from attorneys in these other states who consider that they might benefit from our expertise.

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