Joseph M. Forte, a partner in our Mishawaka office, has a multi-faceted practice representing clients with civil litigation, workers’ compensation and corporate transactional matters in addition to his experience serving as a mediator.  For more than 30 years, Joe has been litigating cases involving products liability, medical malpractice, construction, automobile accidents, accounting errors and omissions, legal malpractice, contract disputes, trucking, will contests, property law matters, liable actions, employment law matters, and general corporate and business matters.  He has extensive experience in employers' workers' compensation defense, with hundreds of trials and appeals at all levels, including the Indiana Supreme Court.  He is knowledgeable in all aspects of Medicare Set-Aside matters having made many successful submissions to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  Joe has also served as a mediator in a number of civil litigation and workers’ compensation cases since 1992.  He brings experience, depth, wisdom and wit to the table as a mediator in a manner leading to a high success rate of case resolution through either mediation or as an advocate in litigation.

Joe has represented businesses from a variety of areas including manufacturing, publishing, professional corporations, medical supply, health care providers, physicians, engineering, and construction.  He has drafted and negotiated contracts ranging from daily business activities to employment and severance agreements, real estate purchases, sales and leases, and merger and acquisition contracts ranging from small asset purchases to contracts for sale, including the purchase of stock for an $18 million dollar sale to a publicly traded company.  He consults with businesses regarding entity selection for incorporation, employment law, investments, insurance, and collections.  As general corporate counsel he has overseen compliance programs and litigation matters around the country as well as dealing with governmental regulatory agencies on behalf of his corporate clients. 

He is a frequent lecturer and author on Indiana workers' compensation and employment law topics.  His article entitled, “Lilly Ledbetter Has Made Some Changes – Will You”, was published in Indiana Employer magazine in 2009.  He has conducted client webinars and on-site training on assessing and avoiding severe penalties with respect to medicare set-asides.  Other topics that he has presented for organizations including National Business Institute and Lorman Educational Services include:
- “Litigation Techniques for the Difficult Workers' Compensation Case”
- “Procedural Steps in Handling a Workers' Compensation Claim”
- “ABC's That Every Employer Should Know Regarding Workers' Compensation in Indiana”
- “Repetitive Trauma Injuries”
- “Handling Cases Before The Workers' Compensation Board”
- “Dealing With Insurance Carriers”

With respect to his medical malpractice experience, Joe has defended obstetrical, anesthesia, orthopedic, neurosurgical, and psychiatric in cases involving alleged misdiagnosis, alleged improper treatment and care.  He was involved in the successful defense of Indiana's Medical Malpractice Act on constitutional challenge of the law when first enacted.  He has also defended hospitals, nurses, and nursing homes in medical malpractice claims as well.  Additionally, Joe has served physicians and medical laboratories as general corporate counsel in contractual, business, and employment law matters, as well as in business litigation.