MEDICAL DEVICE, MASS TORT AND PHARMACEUTICAL LITIGATION
For virtually a decade, O’Brien & Ryan, LLP served as liaison counsel between Pennsylvania plastic and reconstructive surgeons in the national silicone breast implant litigation and the courts. We were one of the most active firms in the Pennsylvania consolidated breast implant litigation, working for the defense of plastic surgeons involved in those mass tort lawsuits. We represented healthcare provider defendants in over two hundred cases. Of those cases, we successfully tried to verdict two breast implant cases, including the first in the state.
Additionally, attorneys of the firm have served as counsel for physicians in the pedicle screw litigation and pharmaceutical litigation cases including Fen-Phen, Rezulin, Baycol, Celexa and Vioxx. In these capacities, we have accumulated experience not only in medical device and pharmaceutical litigation, but in the particulars of mass tort litigation. Our firm has worked with the courts to develop systems for becoming proficient in case management and discovery including obtaining, organizing and utilizing massive numbers of manufacturer documents and manufacturer employee depositions produced through the course of consolidated and multi-district litigation, in both hard copy and electronic form.
Contact:
Marshall L. Schwartz
(610) 834-6294
(610) 834-1749 Fax
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O'Brien & Ryan News
Defense Verdict for Orthopedic Surgeon in Philadelphia County
Heather Hansen obtained a defense verdict for an orthopedic surgeon in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. In 2003, Plaintiff underwent a right total knee arthroplasty procedure. After the procedure, Plaintiff allegedly suffered from pain, stiffness and decreased range...
Superior Court of Pennsylvania Affirms Trial Court’s Entry Of Judgment On Verdict In Favor Of Two Physicians And A Hospital
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently affirmed the trial court's entry of judgment on the verdict in favor of two physicians and a hospital in McNulty v. Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Inc. In McNulty, the plaintiffs commenced a wrongful death/survival...
Arbitration Award for Employee against Former Employers
Anthony P. DeMichele obtained an arbitration award in favor of a former employee in a Bucks County employment litigation matter. The defendants, the former employers of the plaintiff, failed to pay the plaintiff his earned wages, bonuses and commissions. The matter...
Defense Verdict for Family Doctor and Practice in Montgomery County
Tracie A. Vizza obtained a defense verdict for a family doctor and his practice, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The case involved a 32 year old man who died from massive, bilateral pulmonary emboli during a visit to a local hospital. A week prior to his trip to...
Successful Defense of Real Estate Holding Company and One of its Members in Successor-In-Interest Liability, Fraudulent Conveyance, and Piercing the Corporate Veil Matter
Anthony P. DeMichele successfully defended a real estate holding company and one of its members in the Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County. The case was an offshoot of an underlying lawsuit wherein the plaintiff school district filed a lawsuit against several...
Disclosure of Electronic Protected Health Information Leads to Record HIPAA Fine
New York Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University recently agreed to pay a combined total of $4.8 million for their failure to secure thousands of patients’ electronic protected health information (“ePHI”) held on a shared network. This fine is the largest...
Superior Court Clarifies Ruling Regarding Third-Party Beneficiaries of Physician-Patient Relationship
In reviewing its ruling in Matharu v. Muir, 29 A.3d 375 (2011), the Pennsylvania Superior Court unanimously held that physicians owe a duty of care to their patients’ unborn children. The en banc panel distinguished this finding from the 2012 Seebold...
PA Superior Court Reverses Dismissal of Patient Escape & Suicide Suit Against Hospital
Overturning the trial court's dismissal of the plaintiff's lawsuit on preliminary objections, the Superior Court recently held that while a hospital was entitled to the limited immunity protections afforded it by the Mental Health Procedures Act (MHPA), the complaint...
Supreme Court Definitively Bans “Error in Judgment” Defense in Medical Malpractice Cases
As previously reported on obrlaw.com, on May 23, 2012, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania granted petitions for allowance of appeal filed on behalf of a defendant physician and her practice group, to address the Superior Court's analysis of the "error in...
Pennsylvania Superior Court Finds Statute Banning Wrongful Birth and Wrongful Life Actions Unconstitutional
In an opinion authored on November 14, 2012, a three-judge panel unanimously found that the statute banning wrongful birth and wrongful life actions in Pennsylvania (42 Pa.C.S.A. §8305) was enacted unconstitutionally. Generally, wrongful birth is...
Heather Hansen Speaks at Philadelphia Bar Association Conference
On October 17, 2014 Heather Hansen presented “The Ethics of Covering a Moving Media Target”, as part of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Bench-Bar & Annual Conference 2014.
Dorothy Duffy Speaks at Drexel Law Symposium
On October 10, 2014, Dorothy Duffy presented Work Product Admissibility in Light of Barrick v. Holy Spirit Hospital, part of the Drexel Law Review Symposium Beyond Reproach: Becoming an Expert on Expert Witnesses, held in Philadelphia.
Marshall Schwartz is Faculty for PBI Program
On June 25, 2014, Marshall Schwartz was part of the faculty for Fundamentals of Personal Injury, a CLE program for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute in Philadelphia.
Tracie Vizza is Faculty for Seminar at DUCOM
On May 21, 2014, Tracie Vizza was part of the faculty for “Managing Your Risk: Practicing in a Difficult Judicial Climate”, a seminar presented by the Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA.
OBR Supports Cancer Program at Einstein
On May 21, 2016, O’Brien & Ryan, LLP participated as a Sponsor for the 13th Annual Einstein Walk & 5K Run Through the Park, which benefits the Cancer Program at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery in East Norriton, PA.
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