Medical Malpractice
Our firm actively represents many medical professionals, including physicians, hospitals and health care providers, in medical malpractice litigation in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Professionals and insurance companies have turned to us throughout the years for high quality representation in the defense of complex negligence claims. In both state and federal courts, the firm has an outstanding trial record. Success in this area is the result of our extensive contacts in the community, our abundant expert resources and the firm’s strong commitment to continued medical and legal training of its associates. Additionally, we have remained on the cutting edge of technological advances in both the office and courtroom settings. With the capability to electronically submit billing information and a variety of billing formats to meet client needs and specifications, we are able to successfully defend medical professionals of any nature with efficiency, as well as the highest degree of professionalism.
We served as liaison counsel for Pennsylvania plastic surgeons in the silicone gel breast implant litigation. In this capacity, the firm represented many plastic surgeons individually and coordinated national discovery efforts for defense attorneys state wide. We successfully defended the first such case ever tried in Pennsylvania. We were also extensively involved in the orthopedic bone screw (pedicle screw) litigation, and also successfully defended the first such case ever tried in Pennsylvania.
Our firm has developed a comprehensive network of highly specialized medical experts from many of the leading health care and teaching institutions across the country. Our extensive litigation experience has enabled us to develop an exhaustive expert data bank which allows our attorneys to retain experts whose credentials match the specific facts of each malpractice case. Whether the case calls for a pediatric neuroradiologist or a medical ethicist, the department is able to provide quality experts in the growing and ever changing environment of medicine and its subspecialties.
- The attorneys of the firm often give presentations in the area of professional liability defense, and have served as lecturers to medical professionals and attorney groups, both locally and state wide. Articles and presentations by members of the firm have covered such topics as the Peer Review Protection Act, the Health Care Services Malpractice Act and the interplay between health care providers and the strict liability provisions of Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts.
- Attorneys from the firm also serve as faculty members at the ABA National Institute on Medical Malpractice.
- The department is involved in the defense of mass tort cases and, in that capacity, is experienced in compiling and collating massive document productions.
- The department is also experienced in handling and litigating diverse insurance coverage issues and has extensive litigation experience concerning insurance company insolvencies.
Contact:
Carolyn M. Bohmueller
(610) 834-6254
(610) 834-1749 Fax
Click to Email
O'Brien & Ryan News
Defense Verdict for Orthopedic Spine Surgeon in Camden County, New Jersey
Daniel F. Ryan, III obtained a defense verdict for an orthopedic spine surgeon in Camden County, New Jersey. Plaintiff presented to the orthopedic spine surgeon with symptoms and physical findings of cervical myelopathy. Cervical myelopathy is a dangerous and...
Defense Verdict for Anesthesia Pain Management Group in Montgomery County
Michael O. Pitt obtained a defense verdict for an anesthesia pain management group in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The plaintiff had a series of stellate ganglion blocks for arm pain, which were performed by several anesthesia pain management physicians. After the...
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...
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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