Derek Potts is the founding partner of The Potts Law Firm. Mr. Potts, born in Little Rock, Arkansas, is admitted to practice there as well as in Missouri and Kansas. Mr. Potts attended college at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri and law school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Mr. Potts has spent his entire career as a trial lawyer.
He started his career as a corporate defense lawyer where he defended insurance companies, corporations, and doctors, allowing him to learn the defense tactics used by them when defending themselves and obtained multiple defense jury verdicts as lead counsel for his clients. However, after several years as a defense lawyer, he changed the course of his career by becoming a trial attorney dedicated to exclusively representing individuals injured or victimized by others.
Mr. Potts has also been lead co-counsel in multiple multi-million dollar plaintiffs’ jury verdicts and settlements, including:
- $3 million confidential settlement against a hospital and physicians for post operative complications in a premature child;
- A $12.1 million verdict in the US District Court of Kansas in March of 2009 against an ER doctor who was negligent in her assessment of a young girl, resulting in quadriplegia;
A $2.3 million settlement during trial against a hospital for negligent credentialing of a surgeon;
A $4.25 million verdict against a hospital for the negligent delivery of an infant resulting in partial paralysis; and
A $825,000 verdict against a hospital and orthopedic surgeon for the negligent misdiagnosis of a hip fracture.
[for more specific information related to these cases, please go to our News section]
Mr. Potts also is actively involved in national litigation on several fronts against corporations for various negligent and fraudulent practices. This includes representing hundreds of persons injured or killed across the country by the following products:
Kugel Mesh Hernia Patches
Medtronic Heart Defibrillators
Shoulder Pain Pumps
Cox 2 Inhibitor Pain Medications Including Vioxx, Celebrex, and Bextra
The anti –depressant drug Paxil
Mr. Potts currently serves on the Expert/Science Committee and the Class Action Committee for the national litigation related to Kugel Mesh Hernia Patches, United States District Court of Rhode Island, MDL #1842. Mr. Potts is also involved in class action litigation against various corporations who are guilty of corporate fraud, including:
A nationwide consolidated class action against Merck related to its marketing practices for the drugs Vytorin and Zetia.
A nationwide consolidated class action against the makers of baby bottles containing the chemical Bisphenol .
A Missouri class action against the Heartland Health hospital system related to its violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Mr. Potts has been routinely recognized by his peers and the community for his commitment to the excellent and ethical practice of law, including:
Being named one of Kansas City’s “Best of The Bar” by the Kansas City Business Journal
Being named one of Missouri and Kansas “Super Lawyers” by KC Magazine
Receiving a “AV” Rating from Martindale Hubbell, the highest ranking possible for attorneys
Receiving the Thomas J. Conway Award from the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Journal, which is given annually to a young lawyer with excellent trial skills
Being named one of the Top 5 Up and Coming Lawyers Under 40 by Missouri Lawyers Weekly
Being named to the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Litigation Advisory Committee which is comprised of the top trial lawyers and trial judges in the community
Mr. Potts is invited to speak regularly to both state and national groups concerning litigation, trial strategy, and various legal topics including the annual American Association for Justice Convention and yearly training seminars for lawyers related to trial advocacy, medical malpractice, and litigation. He has also testified before committees of both the Missouri State Senate and Missouri House of Representatives concerning nursing home neglect and abuse.
Derek Potts, Esq.
The Potts Law Firm, LLC
908 Broadway, 3rd Floor
Kansas City, MO 64105
dpotts@potts-law.com
PH: (816) 931-2230 Ext. 222
Toll-Free: (866) 311-2230
FAX: (816) 931-7030
