Health Care Law – Powerlist – Sean Gaynor

Sean Gaynor acknowledges that patients have the right to sue, and his health care clients have the right to defend themselves, while understanding the vulnerability and emotionally charged nature of medical malpractice.

Gaynor, of Leib Knott Gaynor, is a litigation attorney specializing in medical malpractice, general negligence, licensing, professional liability and policy issues.

While he represents clients who may already be in the thick of a malpractice suit, he stresses the importance of documentation and communication. Lecturing nationally on informed consent and physician-patient relationships, Gaynor emphasizes that the biggest disconnect is that informed consent is a non-delegable duty.

“Patients are less likely to go through with a lawsuit process or seek out an attorney if they feel like they’ve had a conversation with the doctor,” Gaynor said. “It’s a lot about bedside manner. When doing depositions, you can always pick out the moment when the scales were tipped for them to seek out legal action.”

In addition to his thought leadership and regular co-authored publications, Gaynor is a two-time president of the Wisconsin Society of Healthcare Risk Management.