OVERVIEW
Lawrence B. Schlachter is one of the few attorneys in the United States who has a unique background combining dentistry, neurosurgery and law, with licenses to practice in each profession.
He is especially qualified to represent patients with injuries and damage to the nervous system, the brain or the spinal cord resulting from accidents, negligence, missed or incorrect diagnoses or elective surgeries gone wrong.
Attorneys across the United States regularly call upon Dr. Schlachter for his expertise as a neurosurgeon and lawyer. He is skilled in deposing defendant physicians and the medical experts who frequently take extreme positions to protect dangerous colleagues.
EDUCATION
Dr. Schlachter graduated from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York in 1969. He received a Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree in 1973 and a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1976 from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He also served as a resident in general surgery for two years and in neurological surgery for five years at Emory University and affiliated hospitals from 1976 to 1983.
After retiring from active medical practice following a hand injury in 1999, Dr. Schlachter attended The John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, graduating with a J.D. degree in 2004. He is an active member of the Georgia Bar, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a Fellow of the American College of Legal Medicine and is certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery.
PRACTICE
During Dr. Schlachter’s neurosurgical practice, he performed over 10,000 surgical procedures on the brain and spine. He was the neurosurgeon on call for the President of the United States for the Atlanta area. He and his associates covered emergency rooms, complex trauma cases and cared for patients with tumors, aneurysms, spine injuries, disc disease and spinal deformities. Dr. Schlachter performed craniotomies for tumors, aneurysms, hydrocephalus and other conditions and laminectomies, fusions, disc removals and spinal instrumentation procedures.
As an experienced neurosurgeon and attorney, Dr. Schlachter knows what the standard of care should be for patients and is able to recognize the issues and investigate the medical care in each case. In representing professionals, individuals and businesses in areas of health law, personal injury, product liability, patient safety issues and catastrophic injury, Dr. Schlachter integrates his medical experience and knowledge with legal principles pertinent to each case.
Dr. Schlachter’s passion is quality medical care. He believes that every patient is entitled to be treated with respect and dignity.
Education
- New York City Public Schools
- Lafayette High School. Brooklyn, NY
- Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, B.A., Biological Sciences, 1969
- School of Dental Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, D.D.S., 1973
- School of Medicine and Biomedical Science, State University of New York at Buffalo, M.D., 1976
- PGY 1 and 2, Residency in General Surgery at Grady Hospital and Emory University Affiliated Hospitals, 1976-1978
- PGY 3,4,5,6,7, Residency in Neurological Surgery at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals, 1978-1983.
- John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, J.D., 2004
Certifications
- American Board of Neurological Surgeons, Board Certified 1985; Certification Active
- Fellow of The American College of Surgeons 90; Fellowship Active (FACS)
- Fellow of The American College of Legal Medicine (FCLM)
- Northeast Board of Dental Examiners; Certified 1973
- National Board of Medical Examiners; Certified 1976
- Licensed in Dentistry, New York, 1973, Inactive
- Licensed in Medicine, Georgia, 1977; Active License 01736
- Member of the Georgia Bar, 2004; Active Bar Number 001353
Memberships
- American Medical Association
- American Association of Neurological Surgeons
- Congress of Neurological Surgeons
- Georgia Neurosurgical Society
- Southern Medical Association
- Emory University Medical Alumni Association
- Brooklyn College Alumni Association
- Medical Alumni Association, School of Medicine, SUNY Buffalo
- Dental Alumni Association, School of Dentistry, SUNY Buffalo
- Fellow, American College of Surgeons
- Member Georgia Chapter, American College of Surgeons
- Fellow, American College of Legal Medicine
- American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics
- North Fulton Bar Association
- Cobb County Bar Association
- Georgia Trial Lawyers Association
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America
Positions
- Chairman of Neurosurgery Section at Kennestone Hospital, Marietta, GA 1991-1998
- Chairman of Neurosurgery Section, Dunwoody Medical Center, Atlanta, GA, 1988-1998
- Executive Committee, Dunwoody Medical Center, Atlanta, GA, 1991-1998
- Medical Ethics Committee, Kennestone Hospital, 1995-1998
- Quality Assurance Peer Review Committee, Kennestone Hospital, 1991-1998
- Consultant of Trauma and ICU Committee, Kennestone Hospital, 1991-1998
- Board of Trustees, Etz Chaim Synagogue, 2000-2002
- American Red Cross Board, NW Atlanta, 1994-1997
- United States Navy, Lieutenant, 1971-1977
- Player, Men’s Senior Baseball League 1987-1998
- President. The Lawrence Medical Consulting Group 2001-Present
- President, Medicine and Law Society, John Marshall Law School Atlanta
- Neurosurgical Consultant: Federal Bureau of Prisons, Atlanta 1990-95
Awards
- New York State Regents Scholarship, 1965-1969
- New York State Dental Regents Scholarship, 1969-1973
- Edwin Jauch Award for Best Clinical Case of Graduating Senior, 1973
- United States Navy Commendation for Exceptional Service, 1988
- American Cancer Society Clerkship at Roswell Park Hospital, Buffalo, NY, 1972
- Clerkship, Georgia Court of Appeals, 2003
- Recipient of Highest Grade in Contracts in Law School
Publications
- Lecture: Intracerebral Arteriovenous Malformations, Southern Neurosurgical Society, 1983
- Case presentations to Department of Neurosurgery meetings, Emory University Hospital, 1978-83.
- Lectures: Neurological Emergencies, Grady Hospital Emergency Room Staff, 1978-1983
- Annual Lecture, Dept. of Surgery, Kennestone Hospital, 1983-1998.
- Staff education to nurses in ICU and ER, Kennestone Hospital, 1983-1998.
- Staff Lecture: Cerebral Bypass Procedures, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Atlanta, GA, 1984.
- Instructor in spinal instrumentation surgery course for Spinal Concepts, Atlanta, GA, 1997
- Beta Investigational Site for New Surgical Instrumentation Development - Spinal Concepts Company, Austin, TX, 1997-1998.
- Faculty Lecture: Spinal Disc Disease, Professional Organizations and Expert Witnesses in Medical Malpractice Cases, Florida Trial Lawyers Workhorse Seminar, Orlando, FL, February 2004.
- Faculty Lecture: Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association CLE on Medical Malpractice, March 2004.
- Lecture: Interface of Medicine and Law, Neurosurgery Department at the Medical College of Georgia Grand Rounds, October 15, 2004.
- Lecture: Medicolegal Aspects of the Cauda Equina Syndrome, Georgia Neurosurgical Society, November 20, 2004.
- Lecture: Spine Disease, Cobb County Trial Lawyers, December 2004.
- Lecture: Informed Consent in Georgia, Georgia Neurosurgical Society, May 28, 2005.
- Seminar: Cervical Spine Research Society 2006: medical malpractice
- Lecture: American College of Legal Medicine: Neurosurgery and the Law