{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2Fa8e830f5-e3a6-4f23-9bb2-0478c7efe5b6","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"93 \u2013 Hans Poppe \u2013 David vs. Goliath: Winning the Uphill Battle","description":"In this episode of the Trial Lawyer Nation podcast, Michael sits down with Kentucky-based trial attorney, Hans Poppe, to discuss his recent cases, the difficulty of trying med mal cases, and much more.\nThe episode begins with Hans going into his history as a trial lawyer. Hans began his practice in Louisville, Kentucky, and currently runs a small, 100% referral-based firm, focusing on catastrophic injury cases. He goes on to explain that he started his firm 4 years out of law school and gradually built his practice through the years by focusing on case selection and making sure everybody knew what he was interested in by utilizing marketing methods such as CLEs to maintain relationships and monthly newsletters.\nFollowing a brief discussion on CLEs, Michael inquires on Hans\u2019 trial record on med mal cases, to which Hans responds, \u201cWe\u2019ve won 3 of the last 4 med mal trials, [and have] gotten punitive damages in all 3 of [those wins].\u201d He goes on to say that he\u2019s been focused on trying these cases differently.\nTo this, Michael asks Hans to explain more about his recent wins, adding that med mal cases are tough for plaintiff attorneys. Hans agrees and adds, in Kentucky, the defense win-rate is 80-90%, and how there\u2019s a very small group of attorneys in the state who take these cases to verdict. He goes on to say even the top lawyers who are doing very well are still losing 80% of the time.\n\u201cYou\u2019ve got to be able to put $100,000 on the line and know there\u2019s an 80% chance that you\u2019re going to lose it.\u201d \u2013 Hans Poppe\nContinuing the discussion of the difficulty and uphill battle of med mal cases, Hans expresses the importance of being \u201chyper-focused\u201d on case selection and realizing \u201cevery case is actually 3 cases,\u201d (meaning the case you sign up on day one, the case you prepare for, and the case you try; none of which are the same) and how those factors need to be top of mind during case selection.\nBuilding on the topic of trying med mal cases, Hans goes on to explain if you go into the courtroom and try against a physician just based on medicine, you\u2019re going to lose. He outlines how defense lawyers who handle med mal cases are very good lawyers and work those cases hard, and how you need to \u201cfind something else\u201d to bring to the table.\n\u201cIf you can get past the medicine\u2026 and find [focus in on] the other angle\u2026 the other side is not used to that.\u201d \u2013 Hans Poppe\nTo explain the concept of \u201cgetting past the medicine,\u201d Hans goes into detail on his most recent case involving the suicide death of his client. He shares why it was an impossible case, considering his client committed suicide, but he chose to frame the case so it started before the suicide. He describes the business practice of this particular pain management clinic and the unavoidable outcome it produced of patients not receiving the care they need. This was due to patients only seeing doctors on their first visits and mid-level providers in subsequent visits.\nIn this case, the prescription given to his client was written 4 days before he\u2019d even seen the provider and was for half of his normal dose. \u201cWhat we focused on were the business decisions that were being made,\u201d Hans says before delving deeper into the unethical business practices of this clinic. This case ultimately resulted in a $7 million verdict and was a zero-offer case, which Hans adds, \u201cthe defense had no idea.\u201d\n\u201cThere were 15 doctors, and the doctors aren\u2019t seeing the patients\u2026 each doctor has 4-5 nurses under him, they see a patient every 15 minutes, and so the doctor bills 4-5 doctor\u2019s visits every 15 minutes.\u201d \u2013 Hans Poppe\nFollowing this discussion, Michael and Hans go into another of his recent wins, a $21.3 million verdict case involving an unnecessary pacemaker. In this case, Hans and his team focused on the business practices of the hospital, and how it entangled with cardiologists and encouraged them to perform heart procedures; essentially di...","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/80de4db6-da18-41b8-9643-156c5d06db25/tln-logo-itunes-1400.jpg"}