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
Successful Defense of Attorney and Firm at Arbitration
Anthony P. DeMichele successfully defended an attorney and his firm at arbitration in a matter involving claims of professional negligence. The plaintiff was a musician and music producer who claimed that he entered into a contract with a legendary music artist to...
Successful Defense of MRI Facility & Technologist at Arbitration
Anthony P. DeMichele successfully defended an MRI facility and one of its technologists at arbitration in a matter involving claims of professional negligence. Plaintiffs were husband and wife and claimed that the husband was injured when he fell from a MRI table...
UPDATE: Summary Judgment Upheld for Attorney & Firm in Legal Malpractice Action
Anthony P. DeMichele and Jeffrey P. Brien recently obtained summary judgment for an attorney and law firm in a legal malpractice action venued in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. The Order dismissing all claims against the Firm's clients was entered...
Favorable Ruling from District Court in Bad Faith Action on Behalf of Insurance Company
Judge Eduardo C. Robreno of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently ruled for an insurance company represented by Dan Ryan in a breach of contract and bad faith action. The insurance company had previously denied coverage to...
Dismissal of All Claims for Kidney Transplant Team in New Jersey
UPDATE: Third Circuit Upholds Dismissal on Appeal (See below) O’Brien & Ryan attorneys Dan Ryan and Anthony P. DeMichele obtained a dismissal of all claims lodged against a kidney transplant team in New Jersey federal court. The plaintiff had received a...
Peer Reviews Initiated by Insurers Not Privileged
A three judge panel upheld a Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas ruling that the Pennsylvania Peer Review Protection Act’s (“PRPA”) privilege provision only applies to peer reviews initiated by a professional health care provider. A medical peer review...
Hospital Board Minutes Privileged in MedMal Case
A three judge panel overturned an Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas ruling that the minutes of a board meeting conducted following a tainted kidney transplant were discoverable. The panel remanded the decision for in camera review for the trial court to...
Nurse’s Incident Report Not Barred from Discovery in Med-Mal Case
The Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas has held that an incident report completed by a charge nurse is not barred from discovery under the MCARE Act. The court's decision is among other recent trial court decisions regarding the growing body of case law that has...
PA Superior Court Allows Vicarious and Corporate Liability Claims to Proceed Despite Unnamed Agents
The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently overruled a trial court decision to sustain preliminary objections, and allowed a plaintiff to proceed with vicarious liability and corporate negligence claims against a Philadelphia hospital. In doing so, the three-judge panel...
UPDATE: Supreme Court Rejects Bright Line Ban of Informed Consent Evidence
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently declined to follow the Superior Court’s November 2013 prescription for a blanket prohibition of evidence of informed consent in medical malpractice cases. In doing so, however, the Supreme Court affirmed the long held...
St. Genevieve School’s Annual Golf Outing
On October 3, 2016, O’Brien & Ryan, LLP was proud to sponsor the St. Genevieve School’s annual golf outing, with proceeds going to upgrade the facility’s science and technology equipment.
Dan Ryan Speaks at State Judges’ Conference
Dan Ryan spoke at the Annual Conference of Pennsylvania State Trial Judges in Hershey, PA in July, 2016 on the subject of current trends and recent developments in medical malpractice litigation.
9 Attorneys Selected to 2016 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.
OBR Sponsors Einstein Cancer Program
On May 17, 2014, O’Brien & Ryan, LLP participated as a Course Sponsor for Einstein Medical Center Montgomerey’s Walk Through The Park, at scenic Norristown Farm Park. The walk raised over $28,000 in support of the hospital’s Cancer Program.
Anthony DeMichele is Panelist for IADC
Anthony P. DeMichele served as a panelist for the International Association of Defense Counsel’s 2016 Professional Liability Roundtable, held on May 12, 2016, in Chicago, IL.
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