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
Directed Verdict Obtained on Behalf of Orthopedic Surgeon
Heather Hansen recently obtained a directed verdict in favor of an orthopedic surgeon in the Superior Court of New Jersey-Atlantic County. The plaintiff had sustained a work-related knee injury and had an arthroscopy prior to seeing the defendant orthopedic...
Superior Court Reverses Jury Verdict in Cardiologist’s Favor Following Appeal
Paul E. Peel recently prevailed on an appeal to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania from a judgment entered against an interventional cardiologist, his employer, and several affiliated entities. In Emery v. Groh, M.D., et al., the plaintiff’s decedent...
Defense Verdict on Behalf of Internal Medicine Physician in Chester County
Dan Ryan and Christine N. Dantonio recently obtained a defense verdict in favor of an internal medicine physician in the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County, Pennsylvania, in a case involving claims under the Wrongful Death and Survival Acts following the suicide...
Defense Verdict on Behalf of Family Physicians in Discrimination Case in District Court
Marshall L. Schwartz and Paul E. Peel recently obtained a defense verdict in favor of two family physicians and their medical group in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The plaintiff, who is deaf, alleged that the defendants...
Superior Court Affirms Judgment of Non Pros on Behalf of Attorney
Marshall L. Schwartz recently prevailed in the Superior Court after the plaintiff failed to file a certificate of merit and a judgment of non pros was entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. The attorney represented by Mr. Schwartz and Mr. Brien...
Issues in Nursing Home Litigation: Negligence Per Se
Below is a brief discussion of one of the primary legal issues being addressed in nursing home litigation in Pennsylvania: negligence per se. Negligence Per Se In an effort to improve the quality of care provided to residents of nursing homes, Congress enacted the...
Child Services Law Doesn’t Bar Med-Mal Suit in Child Abuse Case
A unanimous three-judge panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court reversed and remanded a Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas decision, holding that Plaintiffs-Appellants presented a prima facie case that their infant child’s risk of harm was increased by six...
New Jersey Nursing Home Litigation
Nursing home litigation in New Jersey is a relatively novel area of the law. The New Jersey Nursing Home Resident's Rights Statute (N.J.S.A. 30:13-1, et seq.) was enacted in 1976, however there are only a handful of cases interpreting this Statute. This Statue allows...
Execution of Release Bars Subsequent Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently affirmed a Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas’ decision granting summary judgment in favor of appellees regarding whether or not the appellants’ execution of a release barred them from subsequently suing for medical...
Spotlight On: Nursing Home Litigation
At first glance, lawsuits against nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are virtually indistinguishable from traditional medical malpractice cases. Expert testimony is used to support an allegation that the care and treatment of healthcare professionals...
Dan Ryan Speaks at PASHRM
On February 23, 2017 Dan Ryan spoke to the Philadelphia Area Society for Healthcare Risk Management in Plymouth Meeting, PA on the subject of current trends and recent case law in medical malpractice litigation.
Heather Hansen speaks at CA Law Schools
In February, 2017, Heather Hansen presented Advanced Torts: Law and Practice at both Stanford University Law School and Berkeley Law at UC Berkeley in California.
Heather Hansen Presents at Tufts Grand Rounds
On January 12, 2017, Heather Hansen presented Spine Surgery Trial: Anatomy and Prevention to Orthopaedic residents at Tufts University Grand Rounds in Medford, Massachusetts.
OBR Associates Support Cancer Patients
On Monday, November 28th, 2016, O’Brien & Ryan associates Melissa Mazur, Caitlin McCauley, Jaime Johnson, Lisa Hrunka and Paul Peel prepared a meal for the patients at Hope Lodge in Cheltenham, PA with donations from OBR employees. The Hope Lodge gives cancer patients who live further than 40 miles from their treatment center a place to stay while undergoing care.
39th Annual Radnor Run
O’Brien & Ryan, LLP was proud to sponsor and participate in the 39th Annual Radnor Run, benefiting the American Lung Association!
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