Lisa Frye Garrison

I’m a storyteller.  I love the challenge of crafting my clients’ stories and then expressing them in a way that reaches jurors, judges, investigators … even plaintiffs.  And the healers we represent have powerful stories to tell.

A native North Carolinian, Lisa’s primary focus is representing NC healers: hospital systems and the physicians, nurses, therapists, and other professionals who work there.  The bulk of her practice involves defending medical malpractice lawsuits and claims.  She has handled more than 600 medical malpractice cases and claims, advising clients from the date of the incident through every subsequent stage, including internal and regulator investigations, pre-suit negotiations, discovery involving hundreds of thousands of documents and electronic files, complex motions practice and hearings, and trials and appeals. She also counsels clients on risk management practices and policies and procedures, and she provides engaging and entertaining compliance training for clinicians.

Lisa also provides antitrust services to small NC businesses, including operational counseling, compliance training and presentations. She has extensive experience representing clients who are undergoing complex governmental antitrust investigations, responding to antitrust CIDs, and defending antitrust litigation. Lisa’s experience and practice also extends to other areas of complex civil litigation. She has handled multiple jury trials and appeals on claims ranging from negligence, malpractice, and wrongful death to breach of contract, product liability, antitrust/unfair and deceptive trade practices, and punitive damages.

Lisa spent 23 years practicing in one of NC’s largest law firms before founding Garrison Law Group PLLC on January 1, 2018.  Since 1995, she has lived in the Asheboro, NC area with her husband and 3 children.

Representative Work

Lisa’s representative work includes:

• Handling more than 600 medical malpractice lawsuits and claims since 1995 for hospital systems/health care practices and employees, including MDs, DOs, RNs, LPNs, CNAs, CRNAs, PAs, NPs, residents, RTs, PTs, OTs, MFTs, blood bank professionals, and others

• Addressing alleged malpractice in specialty areas including anesthesiology, pain clinics, bariatric surgery, cardiology, emergency medicine, family medicine, hospitalist and intensivist care, infectious disease, internal medicine, neonatology and neonatal nursery care, nursing, obstetrics and gynecology (including brain damaged baby cases), oncology, orthopedics, palliative care, pathology, pediatrics, pediatric intensive care, pharmacy, psychiatry (including locked inpatient units), pulmonology, radiology, surgery, telemetry, and urgent care

• Arguing dispositive motions to defeat apparent agency claims, non-delegable duty claims, malpractice claims alleged as ordinary negligence claims, and similar plaintiff’s theories and excluding experts based on unqualified and unreliable expert testimony and violations of Rule 9(j) requirements

• Extensive experience addressing hospital liability theories before and since tort reform, including nursing chain of command theories, negligent credentialing and supervision claims, other corporate negligence theories, and residents’ care in ACGME programs

• Assisting MDs/DOs/PAs with Medical Board investigations

• Improving hospital policies and procedures, including those regarding consents, EMS care, and document retention and legal hold policies

• Advising health care risk management professionals on “real-time” issues

• Presenting educational programs for clinicians and risk management professionals at hospital systems, for CE credit where requested

• Antitrust and complex commercial litigation, investigations, and compliance presentations

* Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in any future legal representation.

Education & Court Admissions

• University of North Carolina School of Law, J.D., with honors, 1994

• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A., with highest honors, 1991

• Admitted:  NC 1994; WDNC, MDNC, EDNC, 4^th Circuit, US Supreme Court

Leadership, Membership & Honors

• Martindale-Hubbell’s top (“AV Preeminent”) Peer Review Rating ** CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedure’s standards and policies.

• The Best Lawyers in America® (Woodward/White, Inc.), Medical Malpractice Defense (2016-2023), Commercial Litigation (2019-2023), Antitrust & Litigation-Antitrust (2012-2023)

• Business North Carolina‘s Legal Elite (2003, 2005, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2022-2023)

• Greensboro Best Lawyers Antitrust Lawyer of the Year (2013, 2017)

• American Society for Healthcare Risk Management, NC Chapter (NC-ASHRM)

• NC Association of Defense Attorneys (NCADA)

• Global Christian Professional Women’s Association

• North Carolina Bar Association, 1994-present

  • Health Law Section, Litigation Section, Antitrust and Complex Business Disputes Section (Chair 2003-2004)

• American Bar Association (1994-2017)

  • Litigation Section, Woman Advocate Committee; Antitrust Section, Joint Conduct Committee

• UNC School of Law Alumni Association

  • Board of Directors (2006-2013)

  • Advancement Committee (2013-2014)

Recent Presentations & Publications

• “Tips, Tools, & Techniques for a Successful Staff Interview by Risk Management,” Presenter, Client Seminars, 2023 & 2019

• “Delegation of Tasks & Vicarious Liability: A Framework for Decision,” Moderator, NC-ASHRM Spring Conference, 2023

• “Consequences of Criminalization: Risk Management Issues Raised by the Vanderbilt Nurse’s Verdict,” NC-ASHRM Conference, 2022

• “Hot Topics in Medical Malpractice Litigation” (Connette et al.), Moderator, NCADA Fall 2022

• “Multi-Generational Work Issues,” Panelist, NCADA Annual Meeting, 2022

• “Lessons from Thor: EMTALA Myths v. Realities,” Presenter, Client Medical Staff Bi-Annual Meeting, 2021

• “Medical Malpractice: 2021 Legislative Developments,” The Resource, NCADA, 2021

• “Telehealth Legal Issues: What Telehealth Nurses Need To Know ‘When a Stranger Calls,’” Presenter, Client Webinar, 2021

• “Virtual Safety Summit: Fall Prevention & Litigation, Documentation Do’s/Don’ts, Nurse Abandonment, Practice Drift, & Social Media Etiquette,” Presenter, Client Seminar, 2020

• “What Will You Fall For?”: Lessons from Hamilton on Handling Facility Falls,” Presenter, NC-ASHRM Webinar, 2020

• “Resisting Attempts to Dehumanize Health Care Defendants Through EMR Discovery and Rule 30(b)(6) Depositions,” Presenter, NC-ASHRM Conference, 2018

• “Rule 30(b)(6) Depositions: What You Don’t Know Might Hurt You,” Moderator, ABA Women in Litigation Conference, 2017

• “Pills, Bills, and Techno-Ills: A Medico-Legal Update for Physicians,” Presenter to MDs & Medical Societies (2016 & 2017)

• “Antitrust Issues for HR: Salary & Other Information Not to Disclose,” Presenter, ACHRA & HRMAG Program, Elon, NC (2017)

• “Less Is More: Assessing and Managing Risk to Prevent Litigation,” ABA Seminar, 2017

• “The Top 1% List You Don’t Want to Make: Complying with NC’s Safe Opioid Prescribing Initiatives,” Client Hospital (September 2016)

 Community

• Uwharrie Charter Academy (Randolph County’s first public charter school & NC’s first to incorporate the NC Environmental Literacy Plan into overall curriculum), Asheboro, NC

  • Founding Attorney Advisor & Coach, UCA Mock Trial Teams (2017 Regional Champions, “Birds of Prey”), 2014-2020

  • Founding Board of Directors, Vice-Chair & Member, 2013-2014

• Troop 513, Boy Scouts of America Old North State Council, Asheboro, NC (Certified Merit Badge Instructor, Committee Member, & Volunteer, 2010-2014)

• Women’s Resource Center of Greensboro (Legal Hotline Firm Coordinator & Volunteer, 2007-2017)

• Independent Sunday School Teacher (weekly 90-minute class studying every book of the Bible over 2 years), Asheboro, NC, 2022-2023

• Sunset Avenue Church of God, Asheboro, NC, 2020-present

• Central United Methodist Church, Asheboro, NC (Member, Volunteer, Musician, Sunday School Teacher, 2006-2020; Day School Board of Directors past Chair & Member)