Brian Cummings has 20 years of litigation experience, including successfully handling and trying scores of medical malpractice and personal injury cases. In a recent 12 month span, Brian recovered over $20,000,000 for his clients injured by the negligence of others.
Brian was selected in 2017 and again in 2018 by The National Law Journal as an Elite Lawyer of the South. This award is given to lawyers in the Top 5% of their practice area among their lawyer peers.
In 2016, Brian was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court – the highest Court in the country.
Brian has the highest rating available for attorneys from Martindale-Hubbell, having been designated as AV Preeminent. The AV rating means a lawyer’s peers (attorneys/judges) rank him at the highest level of professional excellence.
Brian received the Top 10 Attorney Award for Tennessee in 2017 for excellence in the field of Personal Injury from the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys (NAOPIA). This award is only bestowed based on peer nominations and a careful selection process.
Brian is Board-certified as a Medical Malpractice attorney by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. He is 1 of less than 20 attorneys in Tennessee who have earned this certification. Board-certification is awarded only after having one’s trial experience vetted and passing an extensive written exam.
Brian is a Member of The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Trial Lawyers. This is an invitation-only organization composed of the premier trial lawyers from each state who meet qualifications as a top plaintiffs’ lawyer. Selection and invitation are based on a thorough multi-phase process which includes peer nominations and third-party research. Membership is extended solely to the select few of the most qualified attorneys from each state who demonstrate superior reputation, leadership, influence, stature, and public profile.
Brian was selected by The American Lawyer for the Best Lawyers in Medical Malpractice award in 2015 and has been honored by Super Lawyers, a distinction reserved for no more than five percent of attorneys in each state. Brian was selected in 2016, 2017 and 2018 to the Mid-South Super Lawyers list for Medical Malpractice Law-Plaintiffs.
Also, Brian is a Senior Fellow of The Litigation Counsel of America (LCA). The LCA is a trial lawyer honorary society composed of less than one half of 1% of American lawyers. Membership is by invitation only. Selection is based on effectiveness and accomplishment in litigation, as well as an ethical reputation.
Brian has multiple jury trial successes, including a $1,100,000.00 jury verdict as recently as December 2018, and he has obtained strong settlements for his clients. He makes a point to develop themes and exhibits to share with juries to complement the concise, jury-friendly, and story-telling style he uses at trial. He makes a point to develop themes and exhibits to share with juries to complement the concise, jury-friendly, and story-telling style he uses at trial. Brian speaks frequently at litigation seminars by invitation, with the most common request being that he shares with other lawyers his insight and experience regarding how to prepare and present the best arguments and stories to persuade juries.
Brian is licensed to practice law before the United States Supreme Court, and in Tennessee, Hawaii, California, Georgia, and Florida.
Representative Matters
• Prevailed in multiple medical malpractice jury trials, including involving an alleged failure to timely diagnose and treat a stroke, an alleged failure to properly perform a cardiac bypass surgery, an alleged failure to properly treat a pre-operative patient at a hospital, and allegedly failing to properly treat a post-gastric bypass patient.
• Obtained major settlements from a prominent, national retailer, a product manufacturer, and a separate insurance company in a products liability and negligence case that resulted in a young boy sustaining a traumatic brain injury.
• Obtained a settlement in a Georgia matter involving workplace harassment against a young, female professional at a start-up technology company.
• Obtained settlements in multiple consumer fraud actions in Tennessee, Georgia and in Hawaii regarding fraudulently represented diamonds, and which included and directly led to the dissolution of one of the world’s largest diamond certifying organizations.
• Obtained summary judgment and voluntary settlement in separate breach of contract cases involving significant real estate transactions.
Certifications and Awards
• Rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. Brian has the highest rating available for attorneys. The AV rating means the lawyers peers, composed of judges and attorneys, rank him at the highest level of professional excellence.
• Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Member. Brian is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an organization whose membership is limited to trial lawyers who have won multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. Selection is based on strict and objective standards, recognizing trial lawyers who “have each demonstrated, in an objective and tangible way, their ability to accomplish superior results in complex cases.” Fewer than 1 percent of lawyers in the United States are members.
• Top 100 Trial Lawyers. Brian is a Member of the National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Trial Lawyers. This is an invitation-only organization composed of the premier trial lawyers from each state who meet qualifications as a top plaintiffs’ lawyer. Membership is extended solely to the select few of the most qualified attorneys from each state who demonstrate superior reputation, leadership, influence, stature, and public profile.
• Best Lawyers in Medical Malpractice. Brian was selected by The American Lawyer for the Best Lawyers in Medical Malpractice award in 2015.
• Board Certified in Medical Malpractice. Brian is Board certified as a Medical Malpractice attorney by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. He is one of less than 20 attorneys in the entire state to earn this certification. This Board certification is earned and achieved only after having your trial experience vetted and passing a written exam.
• Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. Brian is a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. The LCA is an honorary society for trial lawyers composed of less than 1/2 of 1% of American lawyers. Membership is by invitation only. Brian is one of only ten attorneys in Nashville who have been extended membership. Selection is based on effectiveness and proven accomplishment in litigation as well as ethical reputation.
• Fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation. Most recently, Brian was named a Fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation, an honor limited to 2% of the Bar and decided upon by other lawyers.
• Licensed to Practice Law in Multiple States. Brian is licensed to practice law in Tennessee, Hawaii, California, Georgia, and Florida. Obtaining law licenses in five different states required him to sit for and successfully pass separate written bar examinations in order to be available to clients across the country when requested.
• Awarded by Super Lawyers, a distinction reserved for no more than five percent of attorneys in each state.
• Selected in 2016 and 2017 to the Mid-South Super Lawyers list for Medical Malpractice Law-Plaintiffs.
Certifications and Awards
• Kelley v. Middle Tenn. Emergency Physicians, et al. (Tennessee Supreme Court 2004)
• Smith v. Centennial Medical Center, et al. (Tenn. Court of Appeals 2005)
• Watkins v. Affiliated Internists, et al. (Tenn. Court of Appeals 2006)
• Geesling v. Livingston Regional Hospital (Tenn. Court of Appeals 2008)
