Beth Janicek, Founder and Lead Attorney
By Blithe Wiley | Photography by David Teran
From a very young age, Beth Janicek was intrigued by the thought of a law career. Then, after a summer of interning in Washington, D.C., she returned to college absolutely driven to go into law. “I knew I could really make a difference in people’s lives,” she said.
After graduating from Texas A&M University, Janicek attended St. Mary’s University School of Law and then worked for a local personal injury law firm. In 2003, she decided to go out on her own and founded Janicek Law. Today, Janicek Law specializes in multiple areas of personal injury law but particularly specializes in medical malpractice, birth and obstetric negligence, and nursing home abuse and neglect.
According to Janicek, medical malpractice is not simply a bad outcome. “Medical providers are trained to follow the standard of care. Negligence is when those medical providers fail to follow the standard of care and cause injury in their patients.”
Janicek emphasized that it’s especially important in a medical malpractice situation to seek out an attorney who is experienced in this area of law. “In medical malpractice cases, it is much more difficult to evaluate the liability than, say, a personal injury case involving a motor vehicle accident,” she explained. “Medical malpractice cases require a professional evaluation by a qualified medical expert.”
In addition to experience in medical malpractice law, a woman needs to seek out an attorney who is a board-certified trial attorney. “This means that the attorney has had enough trial experience to become board-certified,” Janicek said. “Janicek Law has three board-certified trial attorneys on staff, including myself.”
She noted that seeking out the expertise of an experienced medical malpractice attorney, particularly a female attorney, is the best way a woman can advocate for herself in dealing with a medical injury to herself, a child, or a parent. “Lay people don’t settle these types of cases. You need to have a qualified attorney evaluate your case, represent you, and determine WHEN is the appropriate time to settle your claim.”
For women, birth or obstetrical injury, or the injury or death of a child is an overwhelming experience. Janicek noted that a female attorney can often better understand the woman’s situation and the nuances of what she is going through. “With my clients, I take the time to truly listen to them and understand the situation they are facing,” Janicek said. “Women are better listeners in general, and this quality is so important in these cases.”
One of the most tragic life events that can happen to a parent is the death of a child. “When parents are dealing with the death of a child, they most often seek out a woman attorney. In such a devastating situation, parents want an attorney who will listen and truly understand what they are going through,” Janicek said.
Janicek noted that the attorneys in her firm are deeply committed to helping their clients even after a settlement is reached in their case. Many of these clients face a radically altered life after a medical injury or the wrongful death of a loved one. “We don’t just say ‘see you later’ after we secure a settlement for our clients. We are there to help them navigate the unfamiliar path in front of them.”
Nursing home abuse and neglect cases are another area that Janicek is passionate about. “I’ve handled nursing home cases since the beginning of my career and have seen situations again and again where people consider older people’s lives to be of little value,” she explained. “I feel that those of us on the forefront of these cases demonstrate the value of these lives to juries. We contribute to changing the perception of the value of these lives and play a role in improving the quality of care in nursing homes.”
“I became an attorney because I wanted to help society,” Janicek said. “I now do that by helping each client find justice for what’s happened to them. We get very involved in our clients’ care. At Janicek Law, we are all about our clients’ best interests and about representing them well.”
Janicek Law
210.366.4949
JanicekLaw.com
1100 NE Loop 410, Suite 600, San Antonio, TX 78209
