Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs
Charles P. "Chuck" Hehmeyer
Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2016 Awarded Practice Areas
Biography
For more than thirty-five years, Chuck Hehmeyer has maintained a national practice representing both children and adults in a broad array of medical malpractice and wrongful death cases, including primary care, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, otolaryngology, gastroenterology, surgery, pediatrics, cardiology, oncology, endocrinology, genetics, hematology, neurology, and ophthalmology. He is the only lawyer in the country who regularly represents families of children who have suffered avoidable injuries from metabolic diseases, inborn errors of metabolism, and other genetic disorders. Chuck’s accomplishments in this area and relentless client advocacy have led to many important improvements in healthcare delivery, such as expanding newborn screening and requiring hospital emergency departments to honor emergency protocols for patients with rare diseases.
In addition to medical negligence cases involving birth injuries and mistreatment of rare, complex medical conditions, Chuck also represents clients in serious motor vehicle crash cases, typically involving tractor-trailers, as well as tragedies involving gun violence.
Chuck won a $25,000,000 unanimous jury verdict on behalf of a man who suffered catastrophic injuries in a motorcycle accident due to the negligence of a tractor-trailer driver. This award garnered national recognition. Chuck achieved the largest personal injury recovery in Maine history, which also resulted from a truck crash caused by driver negligence. Currently, Chuck is working with his colleague Attorney Travis Brennan to represent the victims and their families associated with the tragic mass shooting incident that occurred on October 25, 2023, in Lewiston, ME.
Chuck’s experience as a litigator, expertise in legal strategy, and dominant record of trial victories places him among the very best lawyers in the nation. By bringing professionalism, compassion, and the highest level of integrity to his work, he has won the respect of his colleagues and earned the trust and praise of his clients.
Overview
- University of Pennsylvania, J.D., graduated 1986
- Ohio University, BA, graduated 1982
- American Board of Trial Advocates - Member
- American College of Trial Attorneys - Fellow
- American Board of Trial Advocates - Member
- American College of Trial Attorneys - Fellow
- University of Pennsylvania, J.D., graduated 1986
- Ohio University, BA, graduated 1982
Client Testimonials
Awards & Focus
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
- Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs
Additional Areas of Practice:
- Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
Awards:
- AV Preeminent 5.0 out of 5 Peer Review Rated 2017
- Best Lawyers 2016-2017
- Super Lawyers 2009-2017
News & Media
Additional Information
Case History
Cases
- $14,000,000 Settlement for Pediatric Malpractice
When an honors student died mysteriously in the hospital after months of inpatient treatment for gastrointestinal symptoms, her parents turned to Chuck Hehmeyer to find out why. Tragically, her physicians had made the wrong initial diagnosis and then performed the wrong type of surgery. Ignoring the signs of her deteriorating condition which should have alerted them, her doctors never reexamined their diagnosis while she slowly and painfully wasted away until she died. As part of the settlement, the hospital instituted new patient safety procedures to help ensure that this never happened to another child.
- $7 million Settlement for Child Whose Neurological Disorder Was Misdiagnosed
A boy was admitted to a large children's hospital and was misdiagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, despite many symptoms being inconsistent with the diagnosis. The child therefore did not receive treatment for the disease he actually had, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), which could have been cured if he was promptly treated. This misdiagnosis has left the teenager confined to a wheelchair. Chuck Hehmeyer, working with Roy DeCaro, investigated the hospital’s treatment and, using a powerful video settlement brochure, negotiated a $7 million settlement that will address all of the boy’s life care and educational needs.
- $5.5 million Settlement for Child Who Was Not Properly Screened for Metabolic Disorders
After a California family found out their son was injured by the delayed diagnosis of his metabolic disorder, they asked Chuck Hehmeyer to use his expertise in this field to review his care. Chuck discovered that the hospital had been participating in a state pilot program to provide supplemental metabolic screening to all newborns, but had failed to offer the test to this family. The hospital argued that it was not obligated to provide the screening because it was a "pilot" program, despite knowing that the inexpensive screening could have detected the child’s disorder and, with prompt diet changes, prevented a lifetime of disability. As Chuck has done in a number of states, he convinced the hospital that, even when there is not a state mandate, good medical care mandates screening all children for metabolic disorders.
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