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
Click to Email
O'Brien & Ryan News
Defense Verdict on behalf of Orthopaedic Surgeon
Heather Hansen and paralegal Lexi Romney recently received a defense verdict on behalf of an orthopaedic surgeon in Philadelphia County. A 65-year-old woman presented to the orthopaedic surgeon with knee pain. MRI demonstrated a non-displaced occult fracture of the...
Defense Verdict on Behalf of Pulmonologist
Tracie Vizza, Mary Kay Plyter and paralegal Lexi Romney recently received a defense verdict on behalf of a pulmonologist/critical care physician in Chester County. A 67 year old woman who had been treating with her pulmonologist for six years for a chronic and...
Defense Verdict on Behalf of Hand Surgeon
Dan Ryan, Carolyn Bohmueller and paralegal Stacy Jaeger received a defense verdict on behalf of a hand surgeon in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Plaintiff-father and his 11 year old son were involved in a rollover motor vehicle accident, in which the child's...
Defense Verdict on Behalf of Internal Medicine Physician
Heather Hansen recently obtained a defense verdict on behalf of an internal medicine physician in Delaware County. In the case, the plaintiff presented to the emergency department of a local hospital and was admitted for treatment of a suspected urinary tract...
Defense Verdict on Behalf of Hospital
Anthony P. DeMichele and Jaime N. Johnson recently obtained a defense verdict in a medical malpractice case on behalf of a hospital following a four-day jury trial. In July 2010, the 24-year old plaintiff presented to the defendant hospital with complaints of...
Court Declines to Permanently Seal Settlement Petition in MedMal Action
In Page v. Moses Taylor Hospital, et al.,[1] the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas denied defendants’ motion seeking to permanently seal plaintiffs’ settlement petition as well as all related filings and orders, finding that the...
Court Permits Expert Testimony Regarding Fetal Pain & Suffering Claims
In Page v. Moses Taylor Hospital, et al.,[1] the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas denied defendants’ motion in limine to preclude plaintiffs’ claim for pain and suffering of fetuses or, in the alternative a motion for...
House of Representatives Weighs Proposal to Ban Mandatory Arbitration Clauses in Nursing Home Agreements
Recent legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives proposes banning mandatory pre-dispute arbitration clauses in nursing home agreements. The proposed Arbitration Fairness Act of 2011 would eliminate the requirement that all claims against the nursing home...
United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals Permits Residents of County-Operated Nursing Homes the Right to Bring Claims Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983
On June 30, 2009, in an opinion offered by the Honorable Richard Lowell Nygaard, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals permitted an action against a county operated nursing home to proceed under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation...
PA Supreme Court Upholds Law Barring Wrongful Birth Lawsuits
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently upheld a law that bars wrongful birth lawsuits. In the underlying case, Sernovitz v. Dershaw, the plaintiffs filed suit against Mrs. Sernovitz’s treating physicians for failure to inform her of circumstances that...
Two OBR Partners to Speak at the Jefferson Hospital 4th Annual Sepsis Symposium
Marshall L. Schwartz and Michael O. Pitt will present “Sepsis & Septic Shock: Deadly Risk & Liabilities” at the 4th Annual Sepsis Symposium on Tuesday, September 24th, 2019 at the Jefferson Hospital Center City Campus in Philadelphia, PA.
Anthony P. DeMichele is speaking at the 2019 MLM Defense Panel Seminar
Anthony P. DeMichele will be speaking at the 2019 Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Defense Panel Seminar about Strategies for Effectively Dealing with Pro Se Litigants, Tuesday, August 5th.
10 Attorneys Selected to 2019 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
Each year, on a state-by-state basis, Super Lawyers selects attorneys using peer nominations and evaluations along with third party research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement, and those selected represent the top five percent of the total lawyers in each state.
7 Attorneys Selected to 2018 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
Each year, on a state-by-state basis, Super Lawyers selects attorneys using peer nominations and evaluations along with third party research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement, and those selected represent the top five percent of the total lawyers in each state.
Heather Hansen Coauthors Article for Journal of Arthroplasty
Heather Hansen, along with several doctors at the Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University, recently coauthored Infection Following Total Joint Arthroplasty is the Main Cause of Litigation: Data from One Metropolitan Area for The Journal of Arthroplasty. The article discusses statistical findings regarding lawsuits filed over the course of six years.
Join Our Newsletter
Join our quarterly newsletter list for legal updates and firm news. Just enter your email below.