Burt M. Kahn
"My clients are victims of medical malpractice or surviving loved ones who are looking for answers. I help them understand how the tragedy occurred and obtain the closure and compensation they need to move on with their lives. Together, we help prevent similar tragedies from happening to others."
Burt M. Kahn
1948-2022
Burt M. Kahn was a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and served Joseph Greenwald & Laake for 49 years in every capacity from law clerk to managing partner. He was a trial lawyer with deep experience in helping victims and their families obtain justice in complex medical malpractice matters and other avoidable accidents that result in life-changing injuries or wrongful death. Over the past four decades, Burt distinguished himself as the leading litigator in the D.C. area in tragic cases involving the intersection of law and medicine where a victim’s life has been forever devastated by severe injuries or taken unnecessarily as the result of negligence committed by doctors, nurses and hospitals.
The outcome of a medical malpractice case often hinges on establishing that bad medicine – not bad luck – caused the victim’s injuries or untimely death. Burt earned a well-deserved reputation for mastering sophisticated medical concepts and conducting the detective work necessary to help juries make this critical distinction and see the hidden medical mistakes that are often overlooked. His unparalleled ability to go head-to-head with experts in the courtroom and dismantle the credibility of their opinions enabled him to obtain millions of dollars in compensation for injured victims and families, often without the need for an emotional and lengthy trial.
Burt gravitated to high-stakes cases that impacted victims and their families forever. His practice endured for decades based in large part on referrals from former clients who recommend him not only for his proven success in the courtroom, but also for his hands-on, personalized approach to helping them obtain justice during the most difficult times in their lives.
Clients and opposing counsel alike knew that Burt immersed himself in every aspect of a case, from learning clients’ needs and exploring their options to analyzing every line of medical records and preparing seamless courtroom presentations. His approach enabled him to tell a client’s powerful story, simplify complex medical concepts for juries and obtain a successful outcome.
In the NEWS
- Sixteen JGL Law Attorneys Named to Maryland 2022, Super Lawyers
- 15 JGL Lawyers Selected for Best Lawyers in America
- Fifteen JGL Law Attorneys Named to Maryland 2021, Super Lawyers
- 15 JGL Lawyers Selected for Best Lawyers in America
- Fourteen JGL Law Attorneys Named to Washington D.C. 2020, Super Lawyers
Education
- American University Washington College of Law, J.D., 1974
- State University of New York, Stonybrook, B.A., 1970
Bar Admissions
- Maryland, 1974
- District of Columbia, 1974
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, 1975
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 1975
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 1975
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1975
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1978
Outside the Office
Outside the office, Burt enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf and getting away to the shore.
Experience
The following are a few examples of the work Burt does
- Obtained a six-figure verdict on behalf of a woman whose ureter was carelessly injured during a hysterectomy because the surgeon failed to take steps to identify it and move it to safety before cutting with her instruments.
- Obtained a settlement of nearly $2 million on behalf of the victim’s family in a suit brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act involving a fatal auto accident caused by a motorist who was employed by the Navy and was on his way back to his office from a meeting off the Pautxent Naval base.
- Obtained a multi-million-dollar settlement on behalf of a patient who had a vaginal birth delivery after having a prior cesarean section without being advised of the risks and who suffered an amniotic fluid embolism resulting in permanent blindness.
- Obtained a million-dollar settlement for a patient who suffered an arterial injury to his leg because of a delay in diagnosis of the injury and who therefore sustained an above-the-knee amputation.
- Obtained an eight-figure settlement on behalf of an infant who was left unattended by the nursing staff following the administration of an IV narcotic. She went into cardio-respiratory arrest and was found unresponsive, but who was resuscitated.
- Obtained a six-figure verdict for a patient who sustained an entero-cutaneous fistula following an anterior low back fusion against the orthopedist who performed the surgery.
- Obtained a million-dollar settlement for a patient who sustained permanent nerve injury to her leg during female surgery due to improper positioning on the operating table.
- Obtained a multi-million-dollar settlement on behalf of a young girl whose anesthesiologist refused to take basic precautions to protect her airway when providing anesthesia prior to an CT scan, resulting in cardio-respiratory arrest and severe complications.
- Obtained a high six-figure settlement for a man who chest pains were misdiagnosed as gastric upset and who subsequently died of a preventable heart attack.
- Obtained a high six-figure settlement for a man who came into the ER with a gunshot wound to the leg, and whose arterial injury went undiagnosed for hours thus making a repair of artery too late, resulting in the loss of his leg above the knee.
- Obtained a six-figure settlement from the Navy for a man whose knee replacement was done carelessly resulting in permanent foot drop.
- Obtained a six-figure settlement for a woman who sustained a tibial plateau fracture requiring surgery. Despite serious risk of deep venous thrombosis, she never received prophylaxis and died from pulmonary embolism before discharge from the hospital.
- Obtained a seven-figure settlement for the widow of a man who began to bleed following anterior disk surgery in the neck. The bleeding caused his throat to swelling, cutting off his ability to breath, but his doctors and nurses failed to heed the signs and he choked to death in his hospital bed.
- Obtained a high six-figure settlement for the husband of a woman who had low back surgery. She developed an infection in the wound but her surgeon failed to act to treat it and she died of sepsis.
- Obtained a seven-figure settlement from a hospital whose doctors failed to diagnose that a patient who just had a hysterectomy while pregnant (for severe fetal growth restriction) had developed a post-operative peritonitis infection in time to treat her, resulting in her death.
- Obtained a high six-figure settlement for the husband and young children of a patient who developed unrecognized bleeding complications following a hysterectomy resulting in her death.
Professional Affiliations
- Member - Maryland Bar Association
- Member - Prince George's County Bar Association
- Member - Montgomery County Bar Association
- Member - District of Columbia Bar Association
- Co-chair - Prince George’s County Bar Association/Prince George’s County Medical Society (1996–97)
- Co-chair - Montgomery County Bar Association/Montgomery County Medical Society Interprofessional Committee, (1998–99)
- Member - Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland Inquiry Panel (2000–present)
Awards & Honors
- Baltimore magazine Top Maryland Lawyer, 2007–2010
- Washington, D.C. SuperLawyers, 2007–present
- Maryland SuperLawyers, 2007–present
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- Recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in America by U.S. News and World Report