Brian Niceswanger is the leader of Evans & Dixon’s Health Care Law Group. He is an experienced trial lawyer having tried over one hundred jury trials in state and federal courts across Missouri and Kansas, as well as in numerous states across the country. Mr. Niceswanger's approach to addressing client problems is aggressive, yet planned with client involvement and calculated to optimize results without wasting time and money.
His practice includes many areas of health care law (telemedicine, risk management, contracting disputes, professional credentialing, state licensure, professional negligence, managed care). Over decades of health care practice he has represented institutions, physicians and physician groups, dentists, podiatrists, chiropractors, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses and many other health care providers in virtually all areas.
Additionally, Mr. Niceswanger’s practice also includes employment law, products liability, business, real estate and catastrophic personal injury litigation, including cases arising from trucking events, explosions and fires. For many years he served as national litigation counsel for clients and he litigated cases in more than two dozen states across the United States. He has also been active with appellate matters and a list of reported cases which include appeals appears at the bottom of this profile.
When he began practicing law Mr. Niceswanger quickly came to appreciate that trial experience was increasingly difficult to obtain, but crucial to professional development. In an effort to obtain substantial trial experience at a young age, he became involved in providing part-time prosecution work for the cities of Overland Park, Mission Hills, Leawood and Prairie Village, Kansas where he tried hundreds of cases. He has also served as a pro-tem judge in Lenexa, Kansas. In 2013, he was asked to join the faculty at the University of Missouri, Kansas City as an adjunct professor in the School of Dentistry, where he continues today. In recent years, Mr. Niceswanger has increasingly been asked to provide professional negligence and risk management consulting and education services, and has presented to regional and national gatherings of physicians, attorneys and insurance representatives.
While Mr. Niceswanger is predominately involved in the defense of litigation at this point in his career, he has represented both plaintiff and defense interests in lawsuits over the years, and that experience provides unique insight into the handling of litigation because of the 360 degree perspective it has provided. He has been involved in securing many seven figure verdicts and settlements over the years while representing plaintiffs in a variety of matters. For the past decade, Mr. Niceswanger has also been asked to serve as a mediator in civil disputes because of the well-rounded experience he has obtained in his practice.
Outside Interests:
Mr. Niceswanger has tried to balance a busy law practice with family activities and community involvement throughout his professional career. While clerking for the Kansas Supreme Court, he became actively involved in Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Topeka, Kansas. In addition to serving as a big brother himself, Mr. Niceswanger was active with fund-raising and other activities in the BB/BS organization. In the late 1980s he became involved as a volunteer with the Good Samaritan Project, a not-for-profit AIDS Service Organization founded near the start of the AIDS epidemic in 1985, when he originated the Good Samaritan Legal Project which provided volunteer legal help to effected individuals and their families. While working with the GSP, Mr. Niceswanger also served on the Board of Directors.
When marriage brought children into his life, he became involved with coaching his childrens’ teams and helping with scouting activities and over the years Mr. Niceswanger has coached several nationally ranked youth baseball teams. He and his family are also active members of RezWest, the Olathe Campus of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
Honors and Awards:
- Law Clerk, Kansas Court of Appeals Central Research Staff, 1983-1985
- Law Clerk, Honorable Richard W. Holmes, Supreme Court of Kansas, 1985-1987
- AV® Preeminent™ Rated by Martindale Hubbell
- Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyers 2005-Present
- Best Lawyers in America 2014-2015
- Top Attorneys in Missouri, KC Magazine, 2011-2015
- Top 100 Attorneys in Kansas, 2012-2014
- America’s Most Honored Professionals, American Registry, 2011-2015
Memberships:
- American Bar Association (Law Practice Management, Health Law and Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Sections)
- Kansas Bar Association (President-Elect: Alternative Dispute Resolution Section)
- The Missouri Bar
- Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (Federal Courts Advocates, Medical-Legal/Nursing Home Negligence and Torts Law Sections)
- Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
- Johnson County Bar Association
- American Association for Justice (Employment Rights Law, Motor Vehicle and Professional Negligence/PNLR Sections)
- American Health Lawyers Association
- Lawyers Association of Kansas City
- National Employment Lawyers Association
- Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers
- Propane Gas Defense Association
- Association of Missouri Mediators
- Registered Civil Mediator
- SLAHRM
- Medical Professional Liability (MPL) Association
Publications:
Obstacles with DOT Examinations, 2015
Pitfalls of DOT Examinations, 2015
Problem Areas with Contracts, 2017
MPL Dental Presentation, 2019
Examiner Case Study -- Audits, 2020