Family Law

• Guardianship
  Keith Whitesides focuses his practice on medical malpractice defense and health care law. Mr. Whitesides has many years of experience successfully defending a wide range of medical malpractice cases against hospitals, nursing homes, physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals. Mr. Whitesides represents health care clients in other types of actions as well, including EMTALA proceedings, guardianship matters, peer review proceedings, and sensitive subpoena matters involving patient records which are afforded special protections under federal and state privacy laws. In the area of health care law, Mr. Whitesides devotes a substantial portion of his practice assisting clients with a wide range of matters, including compliance issues with complex laws such as HITECH and HIPAA and Joint Commission standards, preparing and updating policies and forms, and drafting and negotiating vendor contracts.

Criminal Law

• Wrongful Death
  The representation of healthcare institutions and medical professionals in professional negligence claims requires a unique combination of medical and legal knowledge and experience. Through decades of representation of physicians, nurses, and corporate clients, Scrudder Bass attorneys and staff have developed extensive experience in both advising and representing healthcare providers and their employees in a wide array of claims involving medical malpractice, wrongful death, gross negligence, negligent credentialing, negligent retention, fraud, and informed consent. We are dedicated to providing our clients with the highest quality legal representation in a thorough yet cost-effective manner.

Business and Corporate Law

• Business Disputes
  Even the most successful and robust business will, on occasion, become entangled in a dispute. Business relationships sour, parties fail to live up to agreements, and promises of payment are broken. Whether obtaining an injunction or collecting a long overdue debt, Scrudder Bass litigators have the experience and expertise to successfully resolve complex business disputes. Our attorneys are prepared to protect the commercial interests of our clients in state and federal courts as well as in arbitration. Our clients trust us to guide them in the most effective and efficient manner resolving commercial disputes.
• Intellectual Property
  James graduated from the Case Western Reserve School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio.  During law school, James participated in the Milton A. Kramer Civil Litigation Clinic, where he served as first-chair and oversaw all aspects of client representation.  James was also a Moot Court competitor, served as President of the American Constitution Society and as Secretary of the Student Intellectual Property Law Association, and was a member of the Deans’ Advisory Committee.

Employment Law

• Workers Compensation
  “Proper Utilization of the Panel of Physicians” (March 2006, Georgia Public Schools Workers Compensation Administration Conference, St. Simons Island, Georgia)
• Employment Discrimination
  Mr. Bass is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell, a Georgia Top Rated Lawyer in 2012 and 2014.  Mr. Bass is also a regular seminar speaker on issues such as premises liability, products liability, complex insurance coverage issues and employment discrimination matters.
• Employment Contract
  Chiaka Adele focuses her practice on healthcare issues and employment law. As a member of the firm’s medical malpractice team, Ms. Adele acts as lead counsel defending related cases. Her significant first chair experience in workers’ compensation actions before the Georgia Board of Workers’ Compensation and in the Trial and Appellate Courts of Georgia provides expert advice and counsel for clients on various issues, including FMLA, ADA, Title VII, ADEA, FLSA, discrimination, retaliation, hiring, discipline, termination, employment-related policies, and employment contracts.
• Employment Litigation
  Scrudder Bass attorneys represent both private and public concerns in virtually every area of employment law, including Employee Benefit issues. Our attorneys serve as both advisors and advocates. We are a daily resource to supervisors and managers providing trusted counsel across a variety of critical human resources and employment issues. Attorneys advise on developing effective personnel policies, correlation of benefits such as Workers Compensation and FMLA, and are available to provide training on all such issues. As advocates, employers turn to Scrudder Bass attorneys to defend against the full range of claims including Title VII, ADEA, FMLA, and ERISA claims before EEOC and Federal Courts.

Property Law

• Premises Liability
  Our skills in other practice areas, such as commercial litigation, premises liability, products liability and trucking law, is directly transferrable to our recovery and subrogation practice.  We understand the technology, engineering and government regulations that are inevitably implicated in subrogation matters.
• Construction Litigation
  As the economy recovers, the pace of new construction projects continues to increase. The owners of these new projects are demanding cutting edge design and new and more complex building methods and materials. As a result, owners, contractors, and the financial institutions that insure them, continue to face claims of defects in design or construction. Scrudder Bass attorneys have years of experience successfully defending and prosecuting construction design and building defect claims. Our attorneys understand construction technology and engineering, and are intimately familiar with the experts that can best explain construction issues to a jury.
• Property Damage
  A claim that a company’s product injured someone or caused property damage is a serious allegation. A negative result can impact a company’s reputation and profitability well beyond a single specific claim. Industry emphasis on constantly improving safety has resulted in products that are safer than ever. As a result, plaintiffs and their lawyers must develop increasingly creative liability theories and are pursuing claims against entities that are not traditionally considered product manufacturers. A company facing a claim that one of its products is defective needs experienced counsel that understands the product technology and has the ability to translate that understanding to a jury.

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  Litigation and insurance coverage are integrally intertwined. When an individual or business is the subject of a personal injury or property damage claim, their insurance policies are inevitably implicated. The insurer who issued these policies must rely on experienced and sophisticated legal counsel to provide advice regarding the insurer’s obligation to its insured. Scrudder Bass attorneys are nationally recognized insurance attorneys who work with numerous insurance clients providing insurance coverage analysis and related litigation. Our attorneys are frequently called upon to analyze potential bad faith scenarios and, when necessary, defend bad faith claims. Our attorneys are also experienced in pursuing declaratory judgment actions in order to obtain judicial clarification of the insurer’s duty and responsibility to its policyholder. As with all our practice areas, these legal services are provided in the most cost-effective manner possible.
• Medical Malpractice
  Our attorneys have been extremely successful not only in the trial of medical malpractice lawsuits, but also in the dismissal of these claims through motion practice. This is accomplished through detailed investigation and research into the medical issues involved, effective cross-examination of expert witnesses, and years of experience in this constantly changing field of law. We have also obtained many successful results for our clients in both the appellate courts and the Georgia Supreme Court.
• Social Security Disability
  Ngan graduated from Georgia State University College of Law, simultaneously completing her Health Law Certificate. During law school, Ngan served as the 2019 Fellow for the Georgia Academy of Healthcare Attorneys, which offered a split appointment between the Georgia Hospital Association and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.  She also practiced in the Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Legal Services Clinic, where she represented children and their families in Social Security disability administrative appeals, and earned the HeLP Legal Services Clinic Award.  Ngan participated as a moot court competitor, served as President of the Student Health Law Association, and received her Healthcare Compliance Certification from Seton Hall Law School. In 2020, an article she co-authored, “What States Can Do to Address Out-of-Network Air Ambulance Bills,” was published in the Journal for Law, Medicine & Ethics.