Mr. Rhoades had six years of work experience in the medical field when he pursued a position with the law firm due to its strong reputation in the medical-legal field. Eric moved quickly from the position of law clerk to associate attorney to partner before becoming a shareholder and senior partner in 2005. Eric’s practice focuses on the defense of health care providers including hospitals, physicians, nurses, nursing homes, health systems, psychologists, therapists, and allied health professionals. He enjoys that each case presents a new medical issue to dissect and defend. Prior to entering law school, Eric was a member of a cardiac surgical team at the National Institutes of Health studying biological and mechanical heart valves. He became proficient as a surgical assistant for open heart procedures. He left NIH to join the Washington Regional Transplant Consortium as an Organ Recovery Coordinator where Eric coordinated the recovery of organs and tissues from donor patients in over forty (40) hospitals in the Washington Metropolitan area. His responsibilities included evaluating patients as suitable donors, coordination of donor care in the ICU, recovery of organs in the O.R., and placement of organs to awaiting recipients via the UNOS system. Eric’s medical experience has proven to be invaluable in successfully defending his clients.
Since joining the firm in 1994, Eric has been involved in many legal pursuits. In addition to handling medical malpractice cases as lead counsel since early in his career and trying numerous cases to a jury verdict in federal and state courts, Eric also argues cases before the Maryland and D.C. appellate courts and defends health care providers before their respective professional licensing boards.
In 2014, Eric received an AV Preeminent peer rating from Martindale-Hubbell and he has retained that rating to the present time. He has also been selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers® in Maryland since 2016 and Super Lawyers® in the District of Columbia since 2019. Eric has also been listed in Best Lawyers® in Litigation – Health Care, Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants, and in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs since 2018. Eric has served his local legal community as a volunteer mediator in the District Court system and as a member of the Fee Dispute Resolution Committee of the Montgomery County Bar Association. Eric very much enjoys lecturing on medical-legal issues to local, state, and national organizations. He and his partners present an annual lecture series to physicians in Maryland. Eric also presents lectures and in-services to hospitals, physicians, nursing organizations, and national professional organizations on issues ranging from medical record keeping to HIPAA compliance to navigating a medical negligence lawsuit. More recently, Eric has developed and delivered a medical-legal series to pediatric practices and emergency medicine groups.
Eric has enjoyed many activities outside of his professional life. He has coached high school football in his home state of Kansas and at several schools in Montgomery County. He has also coached his three children in various sports through the Olney Boys and Girls Club. Eric is an active member of his Church and has participated in mission work through the Appalachian Service Project.
Education
- Bethel College, B.S., Chemistry, 1986
- American University, J.D., 1993
Practice Areas
- Medical Malpractice Defense
- Professional Licensing
- Civil Litigation
- Personal Injury
Professional Organizations
- Montgomery County Maryland Bar Association
- Maryland State Bar Association
- Past Member, North American Transplant Coordinator’s Organization
Reported Cases
- Butler-Tulio v. Scroggins, 139 Md. App. 122, 774 A.2d 1209 (2001)
- Hinebaugh v. Garrett County Mem. Hospital, 207 Md. App. 1, 51 A.3d 673 (2012)
Admitted to Practice
- Maryland
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All State Courts
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U.S. District Court
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District of Columbia
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Superior Court
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U.S. District Court
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