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Bruce A. Montoya National News: A-Rod Doctors' HIP-AA Advice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 
A-ROD DOCTORS’ HIP-AA ADVICE

In a Sports-Medicine Fishbowl, Messner & Reeves Works With Clinic
to Protect the Privacy of Celebrity Athletes

Vail, Colorado (BUSINESS WIRE) March 17, 2009 -- A three-time MVP baseball player in the second year of a ten-year contract worth $275 million is about to undergo an operation to correct an underlying hip problem. Acclaimed experts in their field, the MD and his medical center, charged with recommending the course of treatment, call upon their trusted advisor for an opinion on how to best protect their much-publicized patient’s privacy.

This was the case last week for the Steadman Hawkins Clinic and Dr. Marc J. Philippon, the world renowned orthopaedic hip surgeon responsible for Yankee star Alex Rodriguez’s critical operation and recovery. Over the years, the clinic has treated a myriad of sports celebrities facing career jeopardy including:

-          Kobe Bryant
-          Monica Seles
-          Martina Navratilova
-          Billie Jean King
-          Lindsay Davenport
-          John Elway
-          Alan Shearer
-          Cristiano Ronaldo
-          Mario Lemieux
-          Bode Miller
-          Picabo Street
-          Phil Mahre
-          Greg Norman

A sports medicine institution that treats big-named celebrity athletes must ensure patients’ civil rights are being safeguarded and work diligently at enforcing the HIPAA Privacy Rule, protecting the privacy of individually identifiable health information. Shielding clients from paparazzi and journalists at a location as famous as Steadman Hawkins Clinic, ensuring the civil rights of both patients and journalists and enforcing HIPAA are complex legal matters. For expert guidance, the clinic administration and medical experts turn to attorney Bruce A. Montoya of Messner & Reeves, the premier law firm in Denver, Colorado.

Mr. Montoya, named one of the Best Lawyers in America in 2008, is famed for his skills in litigation and arbitration. He is adept at balancing judicial methods with civil rights issues, inducted into the International Society of Barristers and elected to the American Board of Trial Advocates, an organization whose primary mission is preserving the Constitutional right of equal justice for all Americans. Bruce Montoya, counsel to Steadman Hawkins Clinics and the Steadman Hawkins Research Foundation since 2000, consults for world-renowned founder Dr. Richard Steadman and Dr. Philippon, a partner in the clinic, as well as some of the most expert, experienced physicians in the field of sports medicine.

Mr. Montoya works closely with Lyon Steadman, CEO of the clinic, advising on the business of providing comprehensive orthopaedic care and continuing the clinic’s mission of excellence while drawing on his vast legal experience to provide Mr. Steadman with overall business guidance. “Over twenty years of experience being involved in highly confidential cases revolving around business, health care, and patients’ rights puts me in the position of knowing where past mistakes have been made, allowing me to counsel my clients on avoiding those very issues that for others have ended in litigation.”

Balancing sports medicine programs with a research foundation innovating leading edge orthopaedic techniques is a challenge in any climate, affecting individual patients worldwide as well as high-profile cases, where every decision and action is scrutinized by millions of people. Mr. Montoya, who is accustomed to advising on clients’ complex legal matters big and small, points out, “Sometimes routine medical care and routine legal advice aren’t so routine – especially when it comes to a big name like Alex Rodriguez. There are many sides of the privacy matter to consider, and adherence to the HIPAA Privacy Rule is crucial to maintaining the integrity of a medical institution.”

Dr. Philippon’s analysis of Alex Rodriguez’s treatment and recovery process was the subject of a March 10^th New York Times print article, which can be read online here.

For more information on Mr. Bruce A. Montoya and Messner & Reeves law firm, visit www.messner.com.

Contact:
Alison Kinnear, Director of Marketing
Messner & Reeves Attorneys at Law
303-623-1800

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