Young, Berman Karpf & Gonzalez P.A.

George W. Wickhorst, III

George W. Wickhorst, III was born in Hammond, Indiana. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1997 from Florida Atlantic University and graduated cum laude, receiving his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami, School of Law in 2000. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2001.  Mr Wickhorst was promoted to Junior Partner in 2008.

Mr. Wickhorst is a Member of the Dade County, American and Florida Bar Associations.

Mr. Wickhorst joined Young, Berman, Karpf & Gonzalez, P.A. in 1999 as a law clerk and began his legal training in both marital law and commercial litigation. His primary areas of practice are in commercial litigation and appellate law but, having received extensive training in marital and family law, Mr. Wickhorst continues to represent clients in marital and family law matters as well.

Areas of Practice:

• Healthcare Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Appellate Law
• Family/Marital Law

Memberships:

• Florida Bar (2001); Florida Bar Health Law and Litigation Sections
• Dade County Bar Association
• United States District Court, Southern District of Florida
• American Bar Association
• American Bar Association Health Law Section  
  • Co- Chair, Distance Learing Committee, Sept., 2013 -  August, 2014
  • Vice Chair, Healthcare Litigation and Risk Management Interest Group, Sept., 2013 -  August, 2014
  • Vice Chair, Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law Conference, Sept., 2013 -  August, 2014
  • Vice Chair, Programs Executive Leadership, Sept., 2013 -  August, 2014

Representative Cases - Healthcare and Business Litigation:

• Represented large health plan in numerous provider/health plan disputes in state and federal court.
• Handled numerous member/health plan disputes in state and federal court involving ERISA and Medicare preemption issues.
• Kaye v Humana Insurance Company, 2009 WL 455438 (S.D.Fla.2009) - Secured dismissal on Medicare preemption grounds of member claims for denial of benefits for prostate cancer treatment.

 Articles/Seminars:

• "Uhm V Humana Inc. Unfinished Business", ABA Health eSource, July 2011, Vol 7 No. 11
• Assisted in preparation and presentation of live health law webinars:
  • "Protecting Privilege in the Current Enviornment: Key Considerations to Mitigate Risk" Co-Author of webinar materials on case study of U.S. ex rel Baklid-Kunz v. Halifax Hospital Medical Center, 2012 WL 5415108 (M.D. Fla. 2012) discussing attorney-client privilege for in-housse counsel in corporate setting.
  • "Payer-Physician Alignment Strategies: Prevailing Legal, Valuation, and Industry Perspectives" - Mechanics of how healthcare is valued and its potential impact on provider compensation.
  • "The Bradford Case: Lessons Learned on Structuring and Valuing Acquisitions of Physician Ancillary Businesses" -  in deph analysis of U.S. ex rel Singh v. Bradford Regional Medical Center (W.D. Pa. 2012) involving claims under the False Claims Act and the lessons learned from the case with respect to stuucturing and valuing these arrangements.
  • "Fundamentals of Healthcare Transactions" -  a case study of a healthcare facility acquisition examining the considerations that face lawyers and their clients when negotiation, structuring, and closing a transaction including diligence issues, change of ownership, asset vs. stock acquisition, fraud and abuse, and valuation matters.
  • "New Rulemaking for Human Subjects Research: Beyond the Common Rule" - focus on key areas of the proposed rulemaking, including new informed consent processes, single Institutional Review Boards for multi-site studies, new data security and information standards.
  • "Hospital Obligations under the EMTALA and Incentivizing Physicians to Comply" -  examined hospital obligations under EMTALA and emerging tools to incent physicians to take calls through employee benefits including deferred compensation.
• Moderated ABA Breast Cancer Legal Advocacy Workshop (Miaam - Feb. 23, 2013) -  Seminar geared towards training attornes to be an advocate for breast cancer patients.