PETER E. SPERLING
PARTNER
Phone: (504) 599-8015
Fax: (504) 599-8115
Email: Peter E. Sperling
PRACTICE AREAS
Medical Malpractice & Healthcare
Professional Liability Mass Tort & Class Actions
EDUCATION
Tulane Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1986, J.D.
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, 1981, B.A.
BAR & COURT ADMISSIONS
Louisiana
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS
Louisiana State Bar Association
American Bar Association
New Orleans Bar Association
Defense Research Institute
New Orleans Medical Jurisprudence Committee
International Association of Defense Counsel
AWARDS & HONORS
Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
The Best Lawyers in America-Medical Malpractice Law
The Best Lawyers in America - '2013 Lawyer of the Year' - Medical Malpractice/Defendants
Louisiana Super Lawyers
New Orleans CityBusiness Leadership in Law Award-Top 50 Lawyers in New Orleans, 2007 & 2013
New Orleans Magazine “Top Lawyer”
PUBLICATIONS
Nursing Home Litigation in Louisiana: Defense Perspective Legal Aspects of Documenting in Medical Records Ethical Issues, Legal Liability in Your Practice
Twenty Views Examining Louisiana Malpractice Law
Medical Malpractice Handbook (Contributor) New Orleans Bar Association
The Ten Never Evers of a Malpractice Case, Peter E. Sperling, J.D. and Neil Baum, M.D.
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Jewish Community Center
- Board of Directors, 2004 - Present
- Executive Committee, 2006 - Present
- Secretary, 2010
Southern Eyebank
- Board of Directors, 2006 - Present
- Vice President, 2009
- President, 2010
Anti-Defamation League
- Board of Directors, 2007 - Present
Ochsner Clinic Board of Pediatric Councilors, 2008-Present
Jewish Family Services
- Board of Directors, 2008-Present
HeartGift New Orleans
- Board of Directors, 2010
- Vice Chairman
Peter Sperling, founding member of Frilot LLC and lead of the Medical Malpractice & Healthcare
group at the firm, offers over 30 years of experience representing physicians of all specialties. A graduate of Tulane Law School, Sperling has provided high-caliber healthcare representation to
providers across New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. Maintaining a deep understanding of the complexity of medicine and the rapidly changing healthcare industry, Sperling brings to his practice the acumen needed to excel in these highly emotional, intricate cases. As such, Sperling has become a leading advisor in the healthcare
community.
Peter has been involved in numerous significant cases and has been lead counsel on a number of large class actions/mass torts. Representative cases include the following :
● Defended physician and corporate employer in class action in connection with Mother’s Day bus crash (1999) involving
forty-six (46) passengers, twenty-three (23) deaths, and serious injuries to the survivors.
The allegation was that the physician should not have certified the driver in light of health
issues.
● Defended blood provider in multiple claims involving patients who were exposed to Hepatitis C following blood transfusions.
● Defended local hospital and its corporate owner in claims involving neurosurgical patients who were potentially exposed to Creutzfeldt - Jakob Disease (Mad Cow Disease). The claim involved stereotactic instruments which were not properly sterilized following brain surgery.
● Defended local hospital and its corporate owner in class action involving 34 hospital deaths in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Case involved design and engineering issues related to generator location
● Defended national hospital corporation in class action involving invasion of privacy to more than 5,000 patients whose psychiatric records were left in a parking lot when facility was closed.
●Defended local hospital and its corporate owner in class action involving exposure to blood borne pathogens following disinfection of endoscopy equipment. Successfully defeated class certification.
Peter routinely delivers educational seminars, discussing with healthcare professionals and staff various aspects of healthcare law and particular topics of interest. He also remains very
active in the community, serving on numerous membership boards and committees. Sperling currently serves on the Board of Governors for Isidore Newman School; Board of Directors for New Orleans Jewish Community Center; South Central Regional Board of Directors, Civil Rights Committee, and Executive Committee for the Anti-Defamation League; Board of Directors for Southern Eye Bank; and Board of Directors for Heart Gift New Orleans.