Ben Miller

When someone asks what I do, I tell them I’m a lawyer who tries to help people who haven’t been treated the way they should’ve been. Most of my clients are nursing home residents (or families of residents) who haven’t been taken care of the way the nursing home promised, and the broken promises are almost always the result of putting profits over people. In other words, the corporations that own the nursing homes decide they’d rather make more money than take better care of their residents. I strive to hold those corporations accountable, not just for my clients, but for all of us, because even if you don’t know someone who lives in a nursing home now, odds are you eventually will.

Accountability leads to change. The more we hold nursing homes responsible for these greedy decisions, the less business sense it makes for them to keep doing it. Instead of trying to save money by understaffing, the better business plan is to make sure their employees have the help they need to best take care of the residents. Instead of underpaying their nurses and aides for the incredibly difficult work they do, which inevitably leads to constant turnover and, in turn, poor care, the smarter approach is to take good care of the employees, who can then take good care of the residents.

This principal doesn’t just apply to nursing homes, and nursing home residents aren’t the only clients I represent. Whether it’s a hospital that discharges patients before they’re ready because it knows it can make more money by opening up a bed for a new patient, a manufacturer that cuts corners on the safety of its products, or a debt collector that uses a computer to make thousands of harassing robocalls because it’s cheaper than hiring employees, my goal is the same—hold them accountable for putting profits over people and force them to start treating people better.

Although I’ve exclusively represented plaintiffs since 2015, that wasn’t always the case. Before joining the Higgins Firm I spent almost 10 years on the other side, defending individuals and businesses that had been sued all across the state. I’m admitted to practice in every state and federal court in Tennessee, and now I represent plaintiffs in all of those same courts.

So why the change? When you represent plaintiffs it’s usually because something bad has happened to them and you’re trying to make things better. When you represent defendants you’re usually just trying to keep things from getting worse. I prefer trying to make things better, and I believe you can make a lot more progress in how people are being treated when you’re focused on positive change rather than damage control.

Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, Nashville was more of a natural landing spot that it might sound. In 1977 my grandmother moved from Ohio and started a small company, Designs by Norvell, in Alexandria, Tennessee. Most of the family followed to join her and the family business, but by that time my dad had his own law practice up and running, so he, my mom and I stayed behind, at least for a bit.

In 1999 I made the trip south to attend Vanderbilt University, but I still had one more detour to make before putting down roots in Nashville. After graduating in 2003 I headed to Wake Forest University Law School for two very important reasons—to get my law degree and to meet my wife.

Elizabeth and I moved back to Nashville in 2006, and following the birth of their only grandchild—our son Henry—my mom and dad weren’t far behind. Nashville has been home ever since.