Rima Badawiya Named a Top Health Care Lawyer by Daily Journal

San Bernardino, Calif. (November 10, 2022) - San Bernardino Partner and Co-Chair of Lewis Brisbois’ Healthcare, Medical Malpractice, and Long-Term Care Practices Rima M. Badawiya was recently featured in the Daily Journal’s 2022 Top Health Care Lawyers special report. The report honors leading California lawyers specializing in a range of healthcare matters.

In her interview with the Daily Journal, Ms. Badawiya, who also serves as Lewis Brisbois’ Chief Diversity Partner, reflected on her almost 20-year tenure with the firm and the growth of its Healthcare Practice, noting, “When I first got here, we had eight or ten offices, and now we’re in 29 states . . . I can’t believe how fast our firm has grown and how we grew our health care practice to be the largest in California.”

In addition, Ms. Badawiya discussed healthcare trends, including the evolution of the healthcare litigation arena in light of the modernization of the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) and the increase in MICRA limits. “We’ll see a tremendous increase in filings in January . . . You can hear plaintiffs’ lawyers talking about it a lot,” she explained.

Ms. Badawiya also described trends in cases arising within the senior living space, telling the Daily Journal, “The general trend in health care litigation is upward, especially in the senior living space. The population is aging, living longer and very litigious. People want to live forever without comorbidities, and it’s much easier to blame facilities when something goes wrong than the aging process itself.” On that issue, Ms. Badawiya discussed an example of a case in which she secured a jury trial win for an assisted living community. The matter involved a man in his 90s who suffered from dementia and who fell several times while living in the community. “Falls are going to happen, and the jury related to that," she said. "You have the right to dignity, to walk around. You can minimize the risk, but not eliminate it.”

In addition, Ms. Badawiya mentioned another matter in which a resident passed away after falling in an assisted living facility and in which she obtained a favorable verdict, noting, “This man wanted to be independent. He had a number of falls, but did not want to go to the hospital. The judge got it.” She further commented, “Both cases are about the aging process and the realities of risk,” adding, “That’s why I love my practice. I went to law school to make a difference. I feel like I’m performing a service for clients who take care of the elderly.”

Read the full interview with Ms. Badawiya here and see the Daily Journal’s complete 2022 Top Health Care Lawyers report here (subscription required).