J. Kristen Wiggins

Shareholder

Ms. Wiggins is a founding member and shareholder of the Firm, whose practice has focused on the defense of health care providers, malpractice insurers, and appellate advocacy for more than twenty years. A majority of her work is centered around high exposure cases involving allegations of birth injury, wrongful death, and other catastrophic injuries. Ms. Wiggins represents providers in all fields of health care, as well as medical institutions, large physician groups, and a large academic institution. She is well versed in all aspects of malpractice litigation and appellate work, and has successfully defended her clients at both the trial and appellate levels. Before turning her focus to medical malpractice litigation, Ms. Wiggins served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable John F. Fader, II, Circuit Court for Baltimore County (2001-2002) and the Honorable Alan M. Wilner, Supreme Court of Maryland (2002-2003) (formerly the Court of Appeals of Maryland).

In heading the Firm's Appellate Division, Ms. Wiggins applies the knowledge she gained during her clerkship and many years of practice to counsel her clients and guide them through the appellate process. Her appellate work includes Copsey, et al. v. Park et al., 228 Md. App. 107 (2016), aff’d by 453 Md. 141 (2017), a pivotal case for the defense in which the appellate courts held that evidence of superseding cause and the negligence of a non-party subsequent treating physician is relevant and admissible. Additionally, she has briefed and argued a number of other cases involving allegations of medical negligence that resulted in favorable outcomes for the defense. In addition to defending medical malpractice claims, Ms. Wiggins has been involved in insurance coverage litigation in which she has defended insurance clients against coverage dispute claims. As counsel of record, this work included briefing Moscarillo v. Professional Risk Management Services, et al., 169 Md.App. 137 (2006), aff’d by 398 Md. 529 (2007), a pivotal case related to an insurer's duty to defend.

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Ms. Wiggins graduated, with honors, from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2001.  While in law school, she was a staff editor and author for the University of Baltimore Law Forum.  She attended Stevenson University (formerly Villa Julie College) for her undergraduate education and in 1997, graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Paralegal Studies.  She is licensed in Maryland and the District of Columbia and is admitted to practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia.