Derek Stikeleather, Chair of the firm’s Appellate and Critical Motions Practice Group, has been honored with the 2026 Industry Defender Award for his distinguished contributions to defending healthcare providers and organizations.
Bestowed annually by the Medical Professional Liability (MPL) Association, the award honors defense attorneys in recognition of their exceptional and outstanding lifelong contributions to defending physicians, other healthcare professionals, and institutions while supporting medical professional liability insurers.
Derek is a nationally recognized appellate advocate for the healthcare industry. He currently leads the multi-firm appellate team that persuaded Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal to vacate the $208 million judgment that followed a $261 million verdict against a Florida children’s hospital. The high-profile case was featured in the Netflix documentary “Take Care of Maya.” It is the second time that Derek has prevailed on appeal to vacate a final judgment exceeding $200 million. In 2021, Derek’s briefing and oral argument persuaded the Appellate Court of Maryland to overturn a $205 million final judgment — the largest birth-injury award in U.S. history — and order JNOV for the defendant hospital. He has led the appellate teams that have vacated four separate final judgments in Maryland birth-injury litigation, including the three largest appeals of such verdicts in Maryland history.
Derek accepted the Industry Defender Award at the 2026 MPL Association Conference in Philadelphia on May 14.
The MPL Association represents the interests of insurance companies, risk retention groups, captives, trusts, and other entities with a commitment to the quality delivery of healthcare, patient safety, and fair tort reform. Association members insure nearly 2 million healthcare professionals around the world—doctors, dentists, surgeons, nurses, podiatrists, and other clinicians. In addition, members globally insure more than 1,800 hospitals, 80,000 medical facilities, and group practices.
