Andrew Stonestreet

Andrew Stonestreet is a West Virginia health care attorney and trial lawyer who represents physicians, nurses, hospitals, long-term care facilities, assisted living providers, administrators, and other health care professionals and organizations. His practice focuses on medical malpractice defense, long-term care and nursing home litigation, professional license defense, Certificate of Need matters, and health care and insurance regulatory disputes. Andrew is licensed in West Virginia and Kentucky and practices from Bowles Rice’s Charleston office.

Andrew often meets clients at a difficult point. A lawsuit can threaten a provider’s reputation and disrupt patient care. A licensing complaint can place a career and livelihood at risk. A regulatory dispute can affect a facility’s operations or a hospital’s ability to serve its community. Andrew begins by learning what happened, what is at stake, and what a successful outcome would mean for the client. He then gives candid advice and develops a strategy around those goals.

A substantial part of Andrew’s practice involves defending long-term care and assisted living providers. He represents skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities, owners, management companies, administrators, nurses, and other staff in pre-suit claims, civil litigation, appeals, and arbitration. These matters include allegations concerning resident care, staffing, documentation, neglect, and wrongful death, as well as disputes over arbitration agreements. Andrew works closely with administrators and clinical teams to understand the medical record, identify qualified experts, and explain the operational context in which care was delivered.

Andrew also defends physicians, hospitals, and other providers in claims brought under the West Virginia Medical Professional Liability Act. He has handled cases involving emergency medicine, cardiology, surgery, urology, obstetrics, radiology, internal medicine, ophthalmology, and many other specialties. He has tried several jury trials throughout West Virginia. While Andrew looks for opportunities to dispose of a case early, he prepares each matter—from pre-suit communications to expert discovery—with trial in mind.

Health care professionals also turn to Andrew when their licenses are at stake. He represents physicians, nurses, therapists, counselors, and other licensed professionals before the West Virginia Board of Medicine, West Virginia Board of Osteopathic Medicine, West Virginia Board of Registered Nurses, West Virginia Board of Psychologists, West Virginia Board of Physical Therapists, West Virginia Board of Professional Counselors, and other licensing bodies. He assists clients with initial response and investigative interview, probable-cause proceedings, consent-order negotiations, administrative hearings, and appeals. His licensing matters have involved allegations concerning clinical judgment, medication errors, documentation, billing, application and renewal disclosures, and professional conduct.

Andrew’s broader health care practice includes advising and representing hospitals and other providers in Certificate of Need proceedings, appeals, and related litigation. He also assists clients with health care and insurance regulatory matters. He helps clients understand how legal requirements affect their operations and develop practical responses that protect both their immediate and long-term interests.

Clients value Andrew’s timely and accurate reporting, practical judgment, and collaborative approach. They also appreciate that he keeps administrators, executives, carriers, and individual providers informed as a matter develops.

After resolution of a challenging case, one representative from a medical liability carrier provided the following feedback:

“I want to be very candid in saying that you are a pleasure to work with. Your reporting is consistently timely (and accurate), your strategies are effective … I truly value the collaborative approach you bring to these matters.”

A hospital CEO said:

“I am very glad you are representing us in this tough matter!”

His goal is straightforward: know the record, communicate clearly, give candid advice, and pursue the strongest available result without losing sight of the people and organizations affected by the case.

Beyond health care, Andrew represents county boards of education, municipalities, public service districts, and other political subdivisions in claims governed by the West Virginia Governmental Tort Claims and Insurance Reform Act. He also handles business, insurance, contract, and property disputes. With more than a decade of litigation experience, Andrew has represented clients in state and federal courts, before professional boards and administrative agencies, in mediation and arbitration, and at trial throughout West Virginia.

Andrew graduated Order of the Coif from West Virginia University College of Law, where he served as an editor of the West Virginia Law Review. He earned his undergraduate degree from Marshall University and serves on the board of directors of Hope for Appalachia, Inc.

Representative Experience

• Refuted disqualification allegations against physician client brought by the Board of Medicine based on alleged malpractice and obtained dismissal of complaint with no adverse action against the physician’s license
• Obtained complete closure of a West Virginia Board of Medicine complaint alleging fraudulent billing, with no adverse action against the physician’s license
• Defeated all charges against a registered nurse in a West Virginia Board of Registered Nurses proceeding involving an alleged medication error
• Obtained dismissal of licensing complaints involving alleged HIPAA violations, threatening conduct, and other professional misconduct
• Secured dismissal of a complaint against a doctor of physical therapy despite the licensing board’s prior finding of probable cause
• Obtain summary judgment on behalf of Board of Education client based on novel immunity argument
• Persuaded opposing counsel to dismiss a physician after demonstrating that the medical evidence did not support the claim
• Secured early dismissal for a health care provider based on the claimant’s failure to comply with the West Virginia Medical Professional Liability Act’s pre-suit requirements
• Prevailed on a motion to dismiss for a health care provider based on statute-of-limitations arguments
• Prevailed in medical professional liability trials in Kanawha and Mason counties and in an arbitration proceeding involving claims under the Medical Professional Liability Act
• Represented an assisted living community, its management company, and its residence manager before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia in a published case addressing the enforceability of an arbitration agreement
• Advises and represents hospitals and other health care providers in Certificate of Need and regulatory matters
• Won summary judgment on all claims in federal court after the plaintiff had demanded $2 million to settle the matter
• Secured dismissals for political subdivisions based on immunities provided by the West Virginia Governmental Tort Claims and Insurance Reform Act

Representative Cases:

• Beckley Health Partners, Ltd. v. Hoover, 875 S.E.2d 337 (W. Va. 2022) (Favorable ruling for client regarding scope of authority to enter into arbitration agreement)
• Fugate v. Frontier West Virginia Inc., 2017 WL 3065216 (S.D.W. Va. July 19, 2017) (dismissing multiple claims on the grounds of workers’ compensation immunity/exclusivity, res judicata, and failure to satisfy the at-will employment requirement necessary to sustain a retaliatory discharge claim)

• Kyser v. Edwards, No. 2:16-CV-05006, 2017 WL 924249 (S.D.W. Va. Feb. 9, 2017), report and recommendation adopted, No. 2:16-CV-05006, 2017 WL 891293 (S.D.W. Va. Mar. 6, 2017) (dismissing claims for breach of contract, abuse of process, and defamation)
• Douglas Holding Co. v. City of Princeton, No. CV 1:14-cv-14200, 2016 WL 6909120 (S.D.W. Va. Mar. 31, 2016) (granting summary judgment on breach of contract, retaliation, abuse of authority, tortious interference with contract, harassment, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and outrage claims)
• State ex rel. Thornhill v. King, 223 W. Va. 564, 759 S.E.2d 795 (2014) (dismissing claim for breach of employment contract on grounds of improper venue)

• Selected to the West Virginia Rising Stars list by Super Lawyers, since 2019

• Hope for Appalachia, Inc. – Board of Directors