NAM'S HON. PETER B. SKELOS ARBITRATES THE LARGEST MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LITIGATION IN NEW YORK HISTORY
New York, NY (February 26, 2019) – NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation) neutral, the Honorable Peter B. Skelos recently awarded $140 million to settle 255 medical malpractice lawsuits against ex-doctor Spyros Panos. The long-awaited award comes nearly six years after Panos of Poughkeepsie, New York, surrendered his medical license and pled guilty to health care fraud in the U.S. District Court in New York.
After 93 hearings, numerous written submissions and nearly 5 months of conferences and meetings, Judge Skelos settled what plaintiffs' attorneys call the largest medical malpractice litigation in New York history. When approved by the court, the awards to individual plaintiffs will range from $15,500 to $3.8 million.
Hundreds of complaints were filed against Panos and his former employer, Mid-Hudson Medical Group, in multiple New York state courts, where the judges decided to combine them for arbitration. Judge Paul Marks, of the New York State Supreme Court, removed the cases from the court system and appointed plaintiffs committee to head up the litigation.
Judge Skelos is a former Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, 2nd Department, and a highly-regarded neutral with NAM. He is well-versed in the law and In addition to medical malpractice, has arbitrated and mediated other complex cases that include construction, commercial, professional liability, insurance coverage, matrimonial and personal injury matters. In 2018, for the third year in a row, Judge Skelos was voted a Top Ten Neutral by The New York Law Journal Annual Reader Rankings Survey.
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ABOUT NAM
Founded in 1992, NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation) is recognized for its superb customer service and exceptional panel of arbitrators and mediators. For the third year in a row, NAM was named the Best ADR Firm in the United States by the 2018 National Law Journal Annual Reader Rankings Survey and was also voted the #1 National ADR Provider by the 2018 Corporate Counsel Best of Survey. Further, seven of NAM's neutrals were named National Law Journal 2018 Alternative Dispute Resolution Champions, as part of a select group of only 46 nationwide. The New York Law Journal Annual Reader Rankings Survey selected NAM as the #1 ADR firm for the past eight years and was voted the #1 Online ADR Resource by this year's survey respondents – a testament to the depth and breadth of knowledge, information and thought leadership provided by the firm to the ADR community at large. In 2018, NAM was also voted a “Best Overall ADR Provider” in the Best of the Midwest and New Jersey Law Journal Annual surveys and a “Best Online ADR Resource” by the Best of Connecticut Law Tribune and Texas Lawyer surveys.
NAM works with more than 10,000 commercial entities, including more than 50 percent of the Fortune 100 companies. NAM offers litigants a nationwide panel of more than 2,600 top-tier former judges and legal practitioners uniquely qualified to facilitate the resolution of disputes in a private forum. NAM maintains rosters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and in major cities around the world, with deep experience in the areas of complex commercial, construction, employment, entertainment, financial services, international, insurance, medical malpractice, personal injury, professional liability and real estate dispute resolution. NAM is an indispensable resource for parties seeking cost-effective alternatives to expensive and time-consuming litigation.
NAM provides complimentary continuing legal education programs for attorneys, bar associations, corporate and government legal departments, and other legal and business organizations.
View some of NAM's most recent accolades:
2018 New York Law Journal Reader Rankings Survey
2018 National Law Journal Reader Rankings Survey
2018 Corporate Counsel Best of Survey
The National Law Journal 2018 Alternative Dispute Resolution Champions