Todd Alan Scharnhorst

Todd A. Scharnhorst chairs the Firm’s medical defense practice group. For nearly 20 years, Todd has defended hospitals, multi-disciplinary health systems, physicians, and long-term care facilities in complicated, high-exposure matters alleging catastrophic injury and wrongful death. Through his work, Todd has developed strong relationships with the top medical institutions and medical specialists in the country.

Todd has been recognized by his peers as a preeminent defense lawyer in the areas of medical malpractice, catastrophic injury, brain injury, and nursing home litigation. He has been consistently recognized in Best Lawyers in America, Best of the Bar published by the Kansas City Business Journal, Super Lawyers Magazine, and Best Lawyers in Kansas City published by Ingram’s Magazine. In 2013, Todd was selected as one of the Top 50 lawyers in Kansas City, and one of the top 100 lawyers in the states of Missouri and Kansas, by Super Lawyers Magazine.

Todd co-founded the Firm in 2006.

Representative Experience:

• Achieved defense verdict in lawsuit involving allegations of peripheral nerve injury. Plaintiff alleged permanent and severe injury as a result of instruments used during cervical spine surgery.
• On behalf of a regional medical center, achieved voluntary dismissal of an eight-figure claim pursued by a young patient diagnosed with locked-in syndrome. The patient suffered an acute ischemic stroke following two visits to the medical center’s emergency department. After thorough preparation of key fact witnesses and retention of the nation’s leading experts on posterior-circulation stroke, plaintiff agreed to voluntarily dismiss all claims against the defendant facility.
• Successfully argued multiple cases relating to the professional and medical malpractice statutes of limitation before the Kansas appellate courts. See Bonin v. Vannaman, 261 Kan. 199, 929 P.2d 754 (1996); P.W.P. v. L.S., 969 P.2d 896, 266 Kan. 417 (1998).
• Achieved defense verdict while representing a national exercise equipment manufacturer. Plaintiff alleged defects in design of a treadmill resulted in a large fire which partially destroyed an apartment complex.
• Obtained voluntary dismissal of suit alleging negligence in the performance of a gastrointestinal surgical procedure. Procedure resulted in unintended perforation of the patient’s bowel, requiring extensive surgical repair and hospitalization. Achieved a full and final dismissal for the physician alleged to have caused the perforation.
• Achieved summary judgment for construction contractor which allegedly caused devastating neurologic injuries, including quadriplegia. Case continued against co-defendants, resulting in a multi-million dollar jury verdict in favor of the injured plaintiff.
• Achieved voluntary dismissal of claims against a long term care facility alleged to have over-anticoagulated a patient who died from a gastrointestinal bleed. Through retention of a leading hematology expert, identified and pursued causation defenses which established over-anticoagulation would not have explained the patient’s condition, resulting in voluntary dismissal of all claims against the defendant facility.
• Successfully defended manufacturer whose tool allegedly resulted in a deadly explosion at a gun powder packaging facility. Following cross-examination of key engineering witnesses, achieved a nominal settlement for the manufacturer before costly international litigation ensued against the remaining defendant.
• Extensive experience in the defense and management of Kansas Medical Malpractice Screening Panels. Aside from serving as the court-appointed chairman on numerous screening panels, Todd has successfully defended every screening panel respondent he has represented, resulting in a favorable panel decision for each respondent physician.
• Extensive experience with the management and defense of professional malpractice claims throughout the continental United States.

Awards & Recognitions:

• Best Lawyers in America, 2007 to Present
  • Brain Injury
  • Catastrophic Injury
  • Medical Malpractice
  • Nursing Home Litigation
• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
• Best of the Bar, Kansas City Business Journal
• Best Lawyers in Kansas City, Ingram’s Magazine, 2009 to Present
• Selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers, Missouri and Kansas, 2007 to Present
• Selected as one of the Top 50 lawyers in Kansas City, Super Lawyers Magazine, 2013
• Selected as one of the Top 100 lawyers in Missouri and Kansas, Super Lawyers Magazine, 2013

Professional Associations & Memberships:

• Kansas Bar Association
• Missouri Bar Association

Publications & Presentations:

 Product Liability and Hospital Claims (Kansas City, Missouri)

• Meeting of the Minds: National Trends in Nursing Home Litigation (Las Vegas, Nevada)
• Legal and Ethical Issues You Should Know: Determination of Surrogate Decision-Makers (Kansas City, Kansas)
• Kansas and Missouri Long-Term Care: Legal and Financial Issues (Overland Park, Kansas)
• A Plaintiff’s Damages: Bates v. Hogg (Overland Park, Kansas)
• Obstetrical Malpractice: Reducing the Risk Through Documentation (Kansas City, Kansas)
• To Defend or Not to Defend: Knowing When to Try Your Case (Kansas City, Missouri)
• Medical Malpractice for the Kansas Physician (Leavenworth, Kansas)

Admissions:

• United States Courts of Appeals for the Eighth and Tenth Circuits
• United States District Courts for the District of Kansas and Western District of Missouri
• Supreme Courts of Kansas and Missouri

Education:

 J.D., Dean’s Honors, Washburn University School of Law, 1994

• B.A., cum laude, Washburn University, 1992