Robert J. Swift
Of Counsel
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
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Biography
Rob Swift is a partner in the Houston office. Rob's practice involves representing physicians, hospitals and pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers in litigation matters in state and federal courts.
He has tried over 120 cases to a jury verdict involving allegations of medical malpractice, breach of contract, personal injury and medical products liability, as well as lawsuits arising out of staff privileges disputes. He has represented health care institutions and has served as a Hearing Officer in the peer review process. A substantial part of his practice is the defense of health care institutions nationwide in birth trauma and catastrophic injury cases. He serves on national birth trauma and catastrophic injury panels for major insurers in the health care industry. Rob has represented many of the health care institutions in the Houston Medical Center and the greater Houston area. He routinely advises hospitals and other health care entities on operational issues such as EMTALA, credentialing, due process hearings and peer review.
Rob is a frequent speaker on litigation and health law matters before various medical and legal organizations. He is also a frequent speaker on trial, health care, and medical malpractice issues with special emphasis on birth trauma and catastrophic injury litigation.
Professional experience
Collapse allJD, summa cum laude, South Texas College of Law, 1977
BA, Political Science, University of Delaware, 1972
While attending law school, Rob was a member of the Law Review.
He was admitted to practice law in Texas in 1977. Rob is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts.
- Texas State Bar
Recent examples of matters in which Rob has been involved include:
- Successfully defended medical center and codefendant physician in a birth trauma case involving a severe brain injury experienced by a newborn as a result of a uterine rupture; case tried for several weeks to a jury verdict in New Jersey
- Represented large hospital system in two separate appeals of summary judgments in declaratory judgment actions in which the plaintiffs claimed that the hospital system's contract with a national emergency physicians group violated the Texas Corporate Practice of Medicine Doctrine; the Courts of Appeals in both cases held that the claimants lacked standing to bring the declaratory judgment action
- Represented the Medical Executive Committees from hospitals in Texas on four separate peer review due process hearings, three of which involved concerns regarding the care of interventional cardiologists and the other a cardiovascular surgeon
- Successfully defended New York joint venture defendants in two fraud on the public, fraud on the FDA, products liability lawsuits involving an artificial intervertebral disk implant that allegedly failed
- Successfully represented a large hospital system in a five-week trial involving wrongful death and professional liability and allegations of post-mortem fraud, conspiracy and mishandling of organs following an autopsy; judgment on the verdict was entered in favor of the defendants on all counts other than an adverse finding on fraud which is expected to be reversed on appeal
- Represented large hospital system in its lawsuit to recover $1.2 million in accounts receivables plus attorney's fees from a cruise ship employer of a foreign national who experienced a catastrophic complication following gallbladder surgery; defendant claimed it did not owe the money because the injury was caused by the negligence of the hospital's employees; jury returned a verdict in favor of the hospital system for $1.6 million
- Best Lawyers - Health Care Law, Best Lawyers, 2024
- Best Lawyers - Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants, Best Lawyers, 2024
- The Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers, 2007 – 2021
- Texas Top Rated Lawyer, LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, 2012 – 2014
- Legal 500 US, recommended lawyer in healthcare, The Legal 500, 2011, 2013
- Texas Super Lawyer, medical malpractice, Thomson Reuters, 2005, 2007 – 2013, 2015 – 2020
- Lawdragon 3000, Lawdragon, 2006
- Best Lawyers - Health Care Law and Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants, Best Lawyers, 2022
- Panelist, "Credentialing Challenges for 2012," Fulbright Eighth Annual Health Law Symposium, Austin, Texas, February 2012
- American Bar Association
- The State Bar Texas
- Health Law Section
- Litigation Section
- Health Litigation/Medical Malpractice Committee
- Houston Bar Association
- American Board of Trial Advocates
- American Society for HealthCare Risk Management
- Defense Research Institute
- Texas Association of Defense Counsel
- Greater Houston Society for Healthcare Risk Management