Ann E. Rice Ervin

Ann E. Rice Ervin represents victims injured by harmful pharmaceutical drugs and defective medical devices, working to hold accountable those responsible for corporate wrongdoing and inadequate product warning, research and testing.

Ann’s advocacy for the vulnerable includes representing children who developed defects in utero after their mothers took Zofran® to treat pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting. She also represents patients who were diagnosed with melanoma after taking Viagra®, Cialis or other PDE5 Inhibitors to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension, a type of blood pressure condition.         

In addition, Ann has played an instrumental role in the firm’s handling of pharmaceutical litigation regarding medical drugs Zoloft®, Lipitor® and Actos® as well as dialysis products GranuFlo® Powder and NaturaLyte® Liquid acid concentrates.

Ann joined Motley Rice as an associate after first serving for two years as a law clerk for a New York plaintiffs’ law firm while simultaneously earning a Master of Arts degree in Bioethics from New York University. As a law clerk, she gained experience conducting legal research and analysis for complex environmental litigation involving landfills, toxic spills, vapor intrusion and water contamination. The combination of her legal skills and knowledge of the bioethics field, specifically as it relates to the world of medicine, is an asset in litigation on behalf of medical clients. 

While earning her bioethics degree, Ann interned with the Ethics Committee and Ethics Consultation Service at the Medical University of South Carolina, which she joined in 2012 as a Community Representative to help facilitate discussions among patients, families and hospital staff in an effort to resolve ethical conflicts. She continues to be involved with the Committee as a complement to her work in the legal field. In 2011 and 2012, Ann worked as a research assistant on an experimental philosophy study determining the role of bioethics in clinicians’ moral reasoning, specifically examining clinicians at three Charleston hospitals. This project was ultimately chosen to be part of Yale University’s Experiment Month contest. 

During law school, Ann worked as an intern for Washington Governor Christine O. Gregoire. She also served as a summer special project research assistant with Duke University School of Law and focused her research on exploring whether the law imposes barriers or obligations to medical providers who wish to treat illegal immigrants for ethical reasons. 

Ann currently serves as a faculty member at the Medical University of South Carolina as part of the distinguished Clinical and Translational Research Ethics Fellowship program, where she regularly speaks. She also has spoken regarding women’s leadership in litigation, including being a part of the Women’s Panel at Mass Torts Made Perfect.  She has volunteered for organizations that include the Palmetto Health Richland Memorial Hospital, Relay-for-Life, Meals on Wheels, The Angel Tree and Project Clean Carolina. She also actively supports the Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center and the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital. An equestrian since 1988 and national level competitor in the hunters/jumpers division since 1994, she has been ranked nationally in her division for the past 20 years. 

* Please remember that every case is different. Any result we achieve for one client in one matter does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.