William N. Smart

Bill is the liaison partner of the Manchester office of Morrison Mahoney. He provides clients in Northern New England with aggressive, intelligent and cost-effective defense to high exposure claims and lawsuits, up to and including trial.  He concentrates his practice in the area of Medical Malpractice Defense, regularly representing hospitals and doctors of all specialties, dentists, nurses and other healthcare professionals in state and federal court, before their professional licensing boards, and in institutional credentialing matters. He also has extensive experience defending claims and lawsuits involving general liability and wrongful death, non-medical professional liability (including attorney malpractice), products liability, bad faith, insurance coverage, employment discrimination, and worker’s compensation.

Bill believes that success depends upon preparation, a deep understanding of the relevant law, and getting the right consultants on board as early as possible.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

• Obtained defense verdicts as lead counsel in Superior Court jury trials
• On behalf of an orthopedic spine surgeon, obtained unanimous findings of both “no negligence” and “no causation” from a Medical Malpractice Screening Panel convened pursuant to NH RSA 519-B in a case involving surgical complications and informed consent
• Prevailed on appeal of Medical Executive Committee’s recommendation to deny reappointment to the medical staff of tele-radiologist in hospital credentialing matter
• Defeated federal class action certification in a New Hampshire case involving several thousand hospital patients who had been placed in fear of contracting Hepatitis C
• Successfully moved to dismiss, on jurisdictional grounds, several  lawsuits from federal multidistrict litigation stemming from a nationwide outbreak of fungal meningitis
• Successfully moved to dismiss a medical malpractice claim brought against a Massachusetts hospital that had purchased a New Hampshire medical practice, arguing that there was no successor liability as a matter of law based upon the hospital’s asset purchase agreement
• Favorably resolved numerous cases with Northern New England’s top mediators

• Elected by his peers to The Best Lawyers in America© Medical Malpractice Defense guide (2019-2023)
• Named “Rising Star” by New England Super Lawyers magazine, (2014-2017)