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EXPERIENCED ∙ ESTABLISHED ∙ EFFICIENT
PANEL CHAIR is comprised of an established and experienced group of professionals who serve as the medical review panel chairpersons. PANEL CHAIR understands the need for the medical review panel process to be efficiently managed by neutral professionals who are accessible and responsive. The PANEL CHAIR team knows the importance of communicating what is happening at each stage of the medical review panel process and to keep the process moving.
Whether you are an attorney or Plaintiff who is taking a case through the medical review panel process or a healthcare provider who has been chosen to serve on a medical review panel, the PANEL CHAIR team is here to help administer the process in a neutral, thorough and efficient manner.
PANEL CHAIR is made up of four attorneys who have years of experience working with and administering medical review panels.
Neil Bemenderfer began full time dispute resolution in 2000 after practicing law for twenty years.
Neil has mediated over 6,000 cases and has been consistently named as one of the top mediators in the State of Indiana. He mediates all types of civil disputes including cases involving complex commercial disputes and workouts, products liability, employment law, construction law, real estate issues and all types of tort litigation and business litigation.
Besides mediating all types of civil cases, Neil also chairs medical panel review proceedings and is a regular speaker at seminars and training sessions on mediation. He is a Fellow of the American College of Civil Mediators, is consistently recognized as and Indiana Super Lawyer, and is regularly listed in The Best Lawyer's in America. Neil is also a member of The American College of Civil Trial Mediators (ACCTM).
After graduating from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis in 1982, Neil began his practice of law in Lansing, Michigan. His practice there consisted of civil litigation with experience in first and third party insurance issues, products liability and medical defense work.
He tried cases in the state and federal courts of Michigan and worked in multi-district federal litigation cases as well. It was in Michigan where he first began mediating cases.
Neil returned home to Indiana in 1987 and continued his civil litigation practice in first and third party insurance matters, commercial cases and in medical products liability defense work including orthopedic plates, rods and screws, total joint prosthesis, spinal devices and intraocular lenses.
Neil is married to Lynn Bemenderfer, a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist, and they have three children, Joan, Tom, and Ted. When not working, he enjoys activities with his family, golf, and flying.
He was born and raised in Rochester, Indiana and attended Purdue University where he majored in English and played basketball, twice being awarded the Red Mackey Award for Academic and Athletic Excellence. He was named to the Indiana High School Basketball Hall of Fame Silver Anniversary Team in 1999 and is a Sagamore of the Wabash.
Dick Kraege
Richard Kraege is an experienced panel chair and mediator. He has served as a medical review panel chair for over 20 years and conducted almost 1000 panel meetings. At Panel Chair, the staff works diligently to get panels to meeting as efficiently as possible. Dick is known as knowledgeable, fair and neutral, both in his role at Panel Chair and The Mediation Group.
He has been named as a top lawyer, a Super Lawyer and Top 50 lawyer for many years, as well as being in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in American Law.
Thomas D. Collignon
Tom is a Registered Civil Mediator and has conducted mediations involving personal injury, business disputes, complex commercial litigation, products liability, educational issues and construction disputes. Tom has been a full time mediator since 2013 and has been recognized as an Indiana Super Lawyer in the field of Mediation. Tom is also a member of The American College of Civil Trial Mediators.
Prior to joining The Mediation Group, Tom was the managing partner and a shareholder of Collignon Dietrick, PC Tom focused his practice on the representation of business clients in complex litigation matters including breach of fiduciary duty, bad faith, insurance disputes, breach of contract, real estate disputes, and shareholder disputes. Tom represented the CEO and President of Firstmark Bank in a $ 200 million class action civil RICO case and successfully defended an Indianapolis Engineering firm in a $ 52 million construction dispute with the Indianapolis Marion County Public Library. Tom has also represented a variety of professionals in disciplinary proceedings, professional malpractice litigation, licensing issues and administrative matters.
Education & Qualifications • Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis, JD 1994 • Admitted to the US District Court for the Northern District of Indiana 1994 • Admitted to the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana 1994 • Registered Civil Mediator 2006 / Registered Family Law Mediator 2008 • Indiana Super Lawyer 2014-2016, Mediation • Member of The American College of Civil Trial Mediators
Tom is an avid runner having completed the Indianapolis, New York, Chicago, Big Sur and Marine Corp Marathons. In 2010 he successfully completed the JFK 50 ultra-marathon - a 50 mile run on Appalachian Trail. In 2013, Tom successfully completed the inaugural Indiana Trail 100 mile ultra-marathon. In 2016, Tom successfully summit Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. Tom also enjoys playing guitar and spending time with his wife and three children.
Caroline Gilchrist
In her role as a medical review panel chair over the last several years, Caroline Gilchrist has the unique background of an attorney who has seen "both sides of the fence" in medical malpractice litigation. Earlier in her career, Caroline worked at a downtown law firm where she defended physicians and health-care providers.
Over the last 20 years, she represented patients who had medical negligence claims. As a result of her experience, she has an appreciation for the benefits of a well managed and fair medical review panel process. In her 35 plus years of practice, Caroline has been a speaker in numerous seminars, which include presentations in the areas of medical malpractice, chairing medical review panels, and mediation.
Since 2016, Caroline has been consistently named as a Top 25 Women Attorneys in Indiana by Indianapolis Monthly and has also been named as a Top 50 Attorney. In addition to chairing medical review panels, Caroline's current focus of practice is mediation with The Mediation Group.
The PANEL CHAIR TEAM includes experienced administrative assistants whose goals include: communicating timely with the panel participants; staying on top of deadlines; answering questions as to the status of any current medical review panel; and facilitating the meetings for the convening of the panels.
Tari Gorski
Julie Brazill