When a doctor, hospital, or healthcare provider makes a preventable error that seriously harms a patient, the consequences can be devastating and permanent: a baby born with a brain injury, a cancer missed until it was too late, or a surgical error that changes a life forever. At moments like these, the law firm you choose can make all the difference. Not every personal injury attorney is equipped to handle medical malpractice. It takes deep legal knowledge, medical understanding, strong resources, and a proven track record that defense lawyers, insurance companies, and juries respect.
At Snyder & Wenner, P.C., we have been doing this work and doing it at the highest level for over 40 years. We have served clients throughout the greater Phoenix area, including Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler, Mesa, and Glendale, as well as Tucson and Flagstaff. We have recovered over $300 million for our clients and their families. We hold the largest medical malpractice verdict in Arizona history, as well as the third-largest, both against Banner Health. This is not a generalist personal injury firm that occasionally takes a malpractice case. Medical malpractice is what we do, and we are widely recognized for our results.
Clients looking for the best medical malpractice lawyer often ask us what sets Snyder & Wenner apart from other law firms in Arizona. Here is an in-depth look at how we work up a medical malpractice case from the initial call to resolution and why our approach produces results that other Arizona law firms simply cannot match.
Step 1: The Initial Case Evaluation
Every potential medical malpractice case in Arizona begins with a free, confidential consultation. When you contact Snyder & Wenner, you speak with attorneys who have spent tens of thousands of hours handling exactly these types of cases. We listen. We ask the right questions. And we are honest with you about what your case may involve.
We understand that the people who call us have often been through something traumatic, a difficult birth that left a child with cerebral palsy, a misdiagnosis that allowed cancer to spread, or a surgical error with consequences that will last a lifetime. We treat every client like family, because we believe that is the only way to do this work. We walk you through every step of the process and make sure you understand what is happening and why.
We are selective about the cases we take. We focus on the most serious, most significant medical malpractice cases in Arizona. That selectivity is not about turning people away, it is about giving every client we represent the full weight of our resources, experience, and commitment.
Step 2: Medical Record Collection and Review By Our In-House Nurse
Once we take a case, we move quickly to obtain every relevant medical record. This includes hospital charts, nursing notes, operative reports, imaging studies, lab results, medication records, and any other documentation related to the care at issue. In birth injury cases, that may mean hundreds or thousands of pages of fetal monitoring strips, delivery room records, neonatal intensive care notes, and pediatric neurology records.
Here is something that sets us apart from nearly every other law firm in Arizona: we have a registered nurse on staff in our office who reviews every set of records. This is not a step we outsource or skip. Our in-house nurse has the clinical knowledge to identify what the records say, what is missing, what is inconsistent, and where the standard of care may have been violated.
She translates the medical language into an actionable legal roadmap. This internal clinical review allows us to assess the strength of a case early, identify the key issues, and build our medical strategy from a position of genuine understanding — not guesswork.
Step 3: Identifying the Standard of Care Violations
Medical malpractice in Arizona requires proof that a healthcare provider failed to meet the standard of care, meaning they did not act as a reasonably competent provider in the same medical field would have acted under the same circumstances. Identifying that failure requires more than reading records. It requires understanding the medicine.
Our attorneys, Howard Snyder, David Wenner, and Brian Snyder, have collectively spent tens of thousands of hours studying, litigating, and mastering the medicine behind the cases they handle. Whether the issue is an obstetrical emergency requiring an emergency C-section, a radiologist who misread a scan, a hospital that failed to monitor a deteriorating patient, or a pharmacist who dispensed the wrong medication, our team understands what should have happened and why it did not.
This medical depth allows us to identify the full scope of negligence, not just the most obvious piece. In complex birth injury cases, for example, the negligence may span multiple providers over many hours, the obstetrician who failed to recognize fetal distress, the nurse who did not escalate a concerning fetal heart rate pattern, or the hospital system that was understaffed. We identify every point of failure.
Step 4: Retaining Highly Qualified Medical Professionals
Arizona law often requires a preliminary opinion affidavit from a qualified health care professional in medical malpractice lawsuits. But the need for medical support goes far beyond the initial certificate of merit. In a well-prepared case, you need medical professionals who can explain the standard of care, how it was breached, and how that breach caused the patient’s injuries in a way that a jury can understand and trust.
At Snyder & Wenner, we have spent decades building relationships with leading physicians, surgeons, nurses, and medical consultants across virtually every area of medicine. Our attorneys know who the strongest medical witnesses are, who can communicate effectively, and who carries the most credibility in the courtroom. Because we take only the most significant cases and have delivered record-breaking results, leading medical professionals are willing to work with us.
The caliber of your medical support can determine the outcome of a medical malpractice case. We do not settle for less than the best.
Step 5: Filing the Lawsuit and Discovery
Once we have completed our review and medical consultation, we file the lawsuit and the litigation begins. Arizona medical malpractice cases involve a structured pre-litigation notice period, after which the formal complaint is filed and the discovery process commences.
Discovery in a complex medical malpractice case is intensive. It involves written discovery, document requests, depositions of treating physicians and nurses, depositions of hospital administrators and risk management personnel, and depositions of medical witnesses on both sides. This is where preparation, medical knowledge, and litigation skill converge. Our attorneys have taken and defended hundreds of depositions in medical malpractice cases. We know how defense witnesses are trained to testify, how hospital systems try to minimize their exposure, and how to expose the truth in the record.
Step 6: Building the Case for Maximum Damages
Medical malpractice cases in Arizona can involve multiple categories of damages, including past and future medical expenses, lost wages and earning capacity, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and, in wrongful death cases, loss of consortium and other losses to the surviving family. In birth injury cases involving a child with permanent brain damage, future damages can extend across an entire lifetime and involve millions of dollars in projected care costs, therapies, and lost potential.
Accurately valuing a medical malpractice case requires both legal sophistication and access to the right support team, life care planners, economists, vocational rehabilitation professionals, and medical professionals who can project the full scope of future needs. Our firm has the experience and resources to build comprehensive damage cases and to present them persuasively to juries.
The results speak for themselves. Brian Snyder secured the largest medical malpractice verdict in Arizona history in a birth injury case against Banner Health. Brian Snyder and David Wenner together secured the third-largest medical malpractice verdict in Arizona history, also against Banner Health. These are not statistics we cite lightly — they represent families who trusted us, cases we invested in, and outcomes that changed lives. Learn more about our medical malpractice verdicts and settlements.
Step 7: Trial-Ready Representation
Insurance companies and hospital defense teams know which law firms are willing and able to go to trial and which ones are not. At Snyder & Wenner, we are always prepared to try a case. Our track record in the courtroom is one of the reasons that defense lawyers and insurance companies take our cases seriously and that we consistently obtain strong results for our clients.
We have tried some of the most complex medical malpractice cases in Arizona history. We know how to present intricate medical evidence to a jury in a way that is compelling and understandable. We know how to cross-examine defense witnesses and how to prepare our clients and witnesses to testify with confidence. And when the facts and the law are on our side, we are not afraid to ask for the verdict our clients deserve.
Why Lawyers From Around the Country Refer Cases to Snyder & Wenner
One of the strongest signals of a law firm’s reputation is whether other lawyers trust it with their clients. At Snyder & Wenner, we receive referrals from attorneys throughout Arizona and across the United States — lawyers who recognize that their client’s Arizona medical malpractice case deserves the best possible representation, and who know that we provide it.
David Wenner has written books on medical malpractice that attorneys throughout the country rely on in their own practices. He has spoken at hundreds of legal conferences, sharing the knowledge and methodology that have made him one of the most respected medical malpractice attorneys in the nation.
Brian Snyder is a past President of the Arizona Trial Lawyers, has spoken at conferences across the country, and founded a national medical malpractice association, demonstrating a commitment not just to his own clients, but to elevating the standards of the entire field.
Howard Snyder brings over 45 years of medical malpractice experience to every case he handles. He has written extensively on medical malpractice topics, spoken at conferences, and played a direct role in shaping Arizona law in this area. His institutional knowledge of how Arizona courts, juries, and defense strategies operate is a resource that simply cannot be replicated.
Together, Howard Snyder, David Wenner, and Brian Snyder represent a depth of medical malpractice knowledge that is unmatched in Arizona.
Serving Clients Across Arizona for Over 40 Years
Snyder & Wenner has been protecting Arizona patients and families since 1983. We have handled medical malpractice and birth injury cases in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler, Mesa, Glendale, and communities throughout the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. We have represented clients in Tucson and in Flagstaff. We serve the entire state of Arizona, and we bring the same depth of preparation and commitment to every case, no matter where it originates.
Our clients range from newborns with catastrophic birth injuries to elderly patients harmed by nursing home negligence, from young adults permanently disabled by surgical errors to families who lost loved ones to preventable medical errors. We handle cases against large hospital systems, individual physicians, surgical centers, and pharmacies. If you or a loved one has been seriously harmed by medical negligence anywhere in Arizona, we want to hear your story.
What to Do If You Suspect Medical Malpractice
If you believe that you or a family member has been harmed by a doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider in Arizona, the most important first step is to speak with an Arizona medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. There are deadlines under Arizona law for bringing medical malpractice claims, and evidence, including medical records, must be preserved promptly.
Contact Snyder & Wenner, P.C. today or call directly at (602) 224-0005 for a free consultation. Our attorneys will evaluate your case, answer your questions, and explain your legal options. We handle medical malpractice cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you.
