Medical Malpractice

We achieved a unanimous defense verdict in a hotly contested wrongful death case. The lawsuit included allegations of failure to do a workup and diagnose lung cancer. The plaintiffs claimed the patient’s symptoms were related to a Pancoast tumor that was undiagnosed, resulting in his death. We were able to establish with the jury the superiority of the defense experts by comparison. We also successfully explained there can be concurrent diseases and there was an objective reason for each and every one of the patient’s symptoms.

After an eight-day trial, we secured a directed verdict on behalf of his client, an orthopedic surgeon, who allegedly breached the standard of care as it relates to his performance of a reverse right shoulder replacement. The court found that the plaintiff failed to establish that the surgery performed by the orthopedic surgeon was unnecessary, as alleged.

We won a defense verdict in a complex New Jersey medical malpractice trial, defeating claims that surgical negligence caused severe complications, after undermining the plaintiff’s case through expert cross-examination and strong defense testimony. We obtained a defense verdict in a complex medical malpractice case after a two-week jury trial in New Jersey. The elderly plaintiff claimed his posterior lumbar laminectomy for decompression was negligently performed. It was alleged that care failures in the performance of surgery caused a loss of bowel and bladder control that ultimately required an irreversible colostomy and placement of a suprapubic catheter, as well as subsequent infections requiring extended medical intervention and rehabilitative care. The plaintiffs also made a claim for lack of informed consent for an alleged failure of the physician to inform the plaintiff regarding the risks of the subject surgery, which was thrown out by the court at trial. The defense was successful in obtaining favorable admissions from the plaintiff’s expert during cross-examination, and the strength of the defense’s standard of care expert testimony was convincing to the jury, resulting in a defense verdict. 

We received a defense verdict in a high/low arbitration. We represented a surgeon in a case in which the plaintiff alleged a delay in the performance of an appendectomy for a perforated appendix. The plaintiff went on to require a prolonged hospitalization and two subsequent surgeries. We successfully argued that the delay in the performance of the surgery did not result in any of the plaintiff’s alleged injuries.  

We obtained a defense verdict after a week-long jury trial in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas in a medical malpractice case. The plaintiff alleged she sustained a bowel perforation injury in the course of a robotic-laparoscopic hysterectomy. During the course of the procedure, a general surgeon was called in to evaluate the bowels for injuries. There were no injuries found, so the procedure was completed, and the patient was discharged the following day. Two days later, the patient returned in critically ill condition, and a bowel perforation in the sigmoid colon was identified. The plaintiff alleged the health care providers negligently failed to detect the injury during the hysterectomy. After the trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of all defendants.

We obtained a defense jury verdict on behalf of a cardiologist. The patient came to the hospital with chest pain radiating to his arm and shortness of breath. The attending physician ordered a stress test, which was performed by the defendant cardiologist, that was interpreted as normal. The patient was then discharged from the hospital and died from a heart issue within two weeks. An autopsy found significant narrowing of all of the arteries of the heart, including a 90% narrowing in the LAD (i.e. the “widowmaker”). The pathologist and coroner opined that the decedent had a cardiac event caused by the significant narrowing of the arteries, which caused his death. The ensuing claim was that the stress test was misinterpreted by the defendant cardiologist. Our expert, a local cardiologist, testified that our client properly interpreted the stress test and that 10% of patients with coronary artery disease will still have a normal stress test. The jury returned a verdict finding no negligence by the defendant cardiologist.

We secured a defense verdict on behalf of a surgical oncologist in a binding high/low arbitration. The plaintiff alleged that the surgeon performed unnecessary surgery on a mass in her left arm, causing permanent scarring, continuous throbbing pain, and severe depression and anxiety. Two imaging studies were highly suspicious for malignancy, but the pathologic examination ultimately determined the mass to be benign and an allergic reaction to Lupron injections, which were given by the co-defendant gynecologist.

We obtained summary judgment on behalf of an obstetrician in a medical malpractice action. The plaintiff alleged that our client did not obtain the requisite informed consent from the plaintiff to undergo a trial of labor after having two prior cesarean section deliveries (TOLAC x2). The court found that the plaintiff’s lack of informed consent claim was without foundation as she had an awareness of the risks of TOLAC x2. Rather, the court found that her claim was premised on the assertion that the physician performing the TOLAC x2 failed to convert the TOLAC to a C-section quickly enough when complications arose. The court held that our client had no obligation to discuss the risk that the doctor in the delivery room may wait too long to pivot to a C-section, which was the actual cause of the plaintiff’s alleged harm.

We successfully secured a dismissal in the Superior Court of New Jersey on personal jurisdiction grounds. This was a multi-count complaint brought by a New Jersey-based medical laboratory against our client, an Arizona company which provides both medical services and health insurance to Arizona residents. The plaintiff argued that our client was amenable to suit in this state, however, we were able to establish that, not only was such an assertion untrue, but also that any claims sent by the plaintiff to our client for testing services would have been processed in Arizona and that our client did not have any contacts—much less the constitutionally mandated minimum contacts—necessary for personal jurisdiction in New Jersey. As a result, the court dismissed the action with prejudice in New Jersey.

We successfully defended a chiropractor with a directed verdict on informed consent and a no cause, 7-0, on standard of care. The plaintiff claimed the defendant was negligent in failing to obtain an MRI before adjusting the lumbar spine with a differential diagnosis, which included a herniated or bulging disc.

We won a summary judgment motion in a failure to diagnose breast cancer case on behalf of an imaging company. The plaintiff had four mammograms over a four year period, all of which read as negative for abnormalities by four radiologists. At the end of the fourth year, the plaintiff was hospitalized as a result of a fall, during which she was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. In the resulting lawsuit, our client was named for theories of corporate and vicarious liability. After complex discovery, the motion for summary judgment was finally granted, with prejudice, for our client.

Justin Johnson and Lynne Nahmani (New Jersey) secured a directed verdict in a subacute rehab case. At the close of plaintiff’s case, three motions for directed verdict were made. The court agreed that the plaintiffs had not met their burden on causation with the expert testimony. Paul Laughlin (Pennsylvania) received a defense verdict in a case involving a patient with septic arthritis of the hip who was admitted to the hospital under strict fall precautions. Nurses downgraded the patient to standard fall precautions, and he fell and sustained a periprosthetic femur fracture. The fracture was surgically repaired, and he had a revision of his hip replacement. The patient subsequently developed complications in the form of recurrent infection and ultimately lost his leg. Leslie Jenny and Tracey McGurk (Ohio) received a defense verdict in a long-term care fall case. Joseph Hoynoski (Pennsylvania) tried a case with T. Kevin FitzPatrick, the former Director of our Heath Care Department, sitting second chair and received a defense verdict on behalf of an emergency room physician, hospital physician group and hospital. Brett Shear (Pennsylvania) received a directed verdict on behalf of his physician client. The plaintiff claimed that, during an excision of a submandibular mass, an excessive amount of hemoclips were placed deep into the mylohyoid muscle penetrating the lingual nerve. It was alleged that the physician failed to refer the patient to an ENT specialist when the plaintiff's surgical wounds were not healing and continuing to get worse over time. Ryan Gannon and associate Heather LaBombardi (New Jersey) earned a unanimous defense verdict in a three-week medical malpractice trial where they were able to establish that the proper steps were taken by their client during an orthopedic surgery, and the client met accepted standards of care. Kate Kramer and associate Gabor Ovari (Pennsylvania) handled a case that resulted in the plaintiff receiving less than the original offer.  Joan Orsini Ford (Pennsylvania) secured three successful defense verdicts for her clients. Adam Fulginiti (Pennsylvania), working with senior counsel William Banton, successfully defended a long-term care facility in a nursing home malpractice matter involving claims of vicarious and corporate liability After leveraging the case into binding arbitration, they obtained a complete defense verdict of "no negligence" on behalf of the facility and its corporate affiliates. Adam also obtained a defense verdict, working with associate Tara Fung, in Delaware County on behalf of an extended care facility. The plaintiff alleged negligence regarding the development and progression of wounds that the plaintiff’s decedent developed throughout her treatment at various medical facilities. The evidence presented to the jury supported the argument that the decedent’s wound development occurred prior to her arrival at the insured’s facility, and that while at the facility, the wounds were properly treated. Victoria Crawshaw Scanlon (Pennsylvania) obtained a medical malpractice arbitration defense award. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendant radiologist misread a head CT scan. Victoria successfully argued that, prospectively, the head CT showed what appeared to be a normal anatomical variant. It was only in retrospect, with the benefit of additional more sensitive imaging studies, that one was able to determine that the abnormality was not a normal anatomical variant. Associate Gabor Ovari (Pennsylvania) received a defense verdict at arbitration in a case where the plaintiff alleged that the defendants were negligent in performing tooth polishing. The plaintiff alleged that an injury to their tongue was caused by the negligent use of a handheld polisher.

We secured a directed verdict in a subacute rehab case in New Jersey. The plaintiffs claimed their father, who suffered from dysphagia, was negligently left unattended to choke and die in his room by the nursing staff while eating breakfast. At the close of plaintiff’s case, three motions for directed verdict were made. The court eventually agreed that the plaintiffs had not met their burden on causation with the expert testimony.

We obtained an arbitration defense award in a medical malpractice case, in which the plaintiff alleged that our radiologist client misread the first of two head CT scans. She claimed that a timely diagnosis of her issue, which turned out to be cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), would have given her the opportunity for a cure. We successfully argued that the head CT showed what appeared to be a normal anatomical variant, which only identified plaintiff’s CVT diagnosis with additional, more sensitive imaging studies.

We secured a unanimous defense verdict in a three-week medical malpractice trial involving an allegedly botched total knee replacement. Through the testimony of our client and an expert, we were able to establish that all accepted standards of care were met. The jury deliberated for three days before returning its unanimous verdict.

We obtained complete dismissal of all medical malpractice claims against a hospitalist physician where the plaintiff’s demand was $23.9 million. As our client treated the plaintiff, a 53-year-old who had a stroke, promptly and within the standard of care, in addition to her not being on shift at the time of alleged malpractice, the court dismissed our client outright.

This was a wrongful death/survival action alleging malpractice against the primary care physician (PCP) and her practice, as well as numerous other physicians and two hospitals in Montgomery County, PA. The plaintiffs' decedent was a 42-year-old female with chronic respiratory problems including asthma, sinusitis, hypertension, morbid obesity, diabetes and other issues. The doctor was the plaintiff's long-standing PCP and saw the plaintiff three days prior to her emergent admission to the Emergency Department where she was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism (PE). When the plaintiff was seen by the doctor, she showed no signs of leg swelling, which would be consistent with deep vein thrombosis (DVT). While in the hospital, the plaintiff suffered a massive event which left her pulseless. She was coded without success. The PCP and her practice group were sued for allegations of failure to diagnose a DVT and/or evolving PE. We negotiated a transfer from the civil trial attachment in January to binding arbitration. After a two-day arbitration, we received a defense verdict. The plaintiff's demand immediately preceding the trial attachment was $4 million, which included a $1.3 million future wage loss. No offer was ever extended. 

Our appellate attorneys successfully convinced a Philadelphia trial judge to grant judgment notwithstanding the verdict and nullify a $1.8 million jury verdict against a Philadelphia hospital. The case involved a fall in the hospital’s bathroom, and the trial judge determined that the plaintiff’s trial evidence failed to demonstrate that the hospital was responsible for the fall. 

The plaintiff was an Emergency Medicine Technician who was severely assaulted during an ambulance transport of a minor patient to a psychiatric facility. The client-physician had discharged the minor patient with orders for sedation and restraints, if needed, during transport. The plaintiff alleged these discharge orders were insufficient and violated standard of care. Our attorneys successfully argued that under Pennsylvania’s Mcare Act our client-physician did not owe a duty to the plaintiff-EMT, only to the minor patient. Further, they successfully argued that the plaintiff’s Emergency Medicine expert was not qualified to opine on the standard of care of our client, an Internal Medicine specialist, in that the plaintiff’s expert had no expertise in the long-term management of psychiatric patients. Without an expert to opine on the applicable standard of care, they reasoned the plaintiff’s claim must fail. As a result, the court granted their motion for summary judgment and dismissed the EMT’s claims.   

The plaintiff filed a medical malpractice case, claiming the emergency room physician failed to appropriately treat her elevated blood sugar and groin abscess, leading to necrotizing fasciitis. The evidence presented to the jury supported the argument that the emergency room physician appropriately treated the small spontaneously draining groin abscess as presented, there were no signs of systemic infection, and the physician gave appropriate instructions for the plaintiff to return to the hospital if her symptoms changed or worsened. She did not require admission for treatment of her elevated blood sugar as she was a long-time diabetic and the glucose level of 497 was not abnormal for her. The plaintiff stayed home for seven days with her condition worsening, and when she finally returned to the hospital, she had developed the necrotizing fasciitis. The trial lasted four days, and the jury returned the verdict in 16 minutes. 

We obtained summary judgment on behalf of an orthopedic surgeon based on the statute of limitations despite the plaintiff’s claimed application of the discovery rule. After conducting written discovery and deposing the plaintiff to solidify that the medical professional liability action was untimely commenced, we early on filed a motion for summary judgment in an effort to avoid the incurrence of significant additional expense in defending the case through the remainder of the discovery process. At oral argument, the presiding judge commented that the matter was “extraordinarily briefed” and “even better presented.” Our success on the timeliness issue, which is almost always reserved for decision by the jury, brought a quick end to the litigation, in which there were significant liability concerns.

We successfully defended a surgical center in a case involving the death of a 56-year-old woman after shoulder surgery. The plaintiff claimed that the procedure should not have been performed at the surgical center due to the decedent’s comorbidities. The plaintiff also claimed that the decedent was post-operatively given an overdose of opioids, which caused respiratory distress and death. The defense argued that the decedent was appropriately monitored after having been given pain medication and that her death was not a result of an opioid overdose.

The suit involved the death of an infant following a visit to an urgent care facility. It was alleged the child was improperly discharged following examination and should have been emergently transferred to a hospital for evaluation of peritonitis and a malrotation of the gut. Dismissal was granted on the basis of the plaintiff’s failure to timely comply with the statutory pre-suit requirements prior to bringing the lawsuit.

The claims arose from the alleged occurrence of an unrecognized left tibial/medial plantar nerve injury during left ankle deltoid ligament reconstruction. Despite challenging liability issues the defense was able to significantly discredit the plaintiff at her videotaped discovery deposition based on the findings of an extensive pre-suit investigation. After testifying to having no criminal history, the plaintiff was confronted with multiple guilty pleas for writing bad checks. Also, we were able to get the plaintiff to admit that she had asked a subsequent treating orthopedic surgeon to change his documentation in the records to enhance her lawsuit. Further, we established that much of the plaintiff’s testimony was inconsistent with the medical record documentation. Finally, although the plaintiff certainly has a component of nerve damage in her left foot, we elicited favorable testimony on damages, which suggested that the primary cause of her pain and debility was unrelated and due to preexisting mechanical conditions. The plaintiff’s demand pre-deposition was $450,000; we resolved the case after the deposition for a de minimus payment of $30,000.

The plaintiff alleged that a physician in the Lehigh County jail failed to properly treat his chronic back pain, and that the physician exhibited a deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. Specifically, the plaintiff contended that he should have received a spinal cord stimulator during his incarceration. After two days of testimony, the jury returned a defense verdict, agreeing with the defense’s position that the physician did not exhibit a deliberate indifference to the plaintiff’s serious medical needs.

We obtained a directed verdict in a medical malpractice case after successfully challenging the plaintiff’s nursing expert’s qualifications to render standard of care opinions against a certified emergency nurse. The plaintiff, a 61-year-old female with an undisclosed history of seizures, returned to the emergency department with complaints of nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. While she was being worked up, she got out of bed without calling for assistance, had a seizure and fell face forward. She sustained a subarachnoid hemorrhage and subdural hygromas.

The plaintiff claimed that our client, an orthopedic surgeon, was negligent (directly or circumstantially under a theory of res ipsa loquitur) in causing a right common peroneal nerve injury during a L4-5 laminectomy and posterior spinal fusion. The plaintiff sought to prove that the peroneal nerve injury was the result of improper positioning and/or monitoring of the plaintiff intra-operatively. Our defense was that the plaintiff’s peroneal nerve condition was indicative of a spontaneous entrapment unrelated to the allegations of negligence, and for which she was predisposed due to a prior total knee replacement. The arbitrator agreed and returned a finding of no negligence.

We obtained dismissal of all claims against an optometrist in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The plaintiff was incarcerated when the allegations at issue arose. He alleged medical malpractice and civil rights violations against various health care providers for treatment received while he was an inmate at SCI-Dallas. Rob filed a motion to dismiss on numerous grounds, including the plaintiff’s claims were timed barred by the statute of limitations, failure to state a viable cause of action, and failure to file a Certificate of Merit pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1042.3. The court granted the motion and dismissed all claims, finding they were timed barred by the statute of limitations, and because the plaintiff failed to meet his burden that the discovery rule applied.

We obtained an entry of judgment on behalf of an urgent care physician. The plaintiff filed suit in magisterial district court in Wayne County, PA. She alleged that the physician negligently sutured a hand laceration, leading to dehiscence and the need for subsequent surgery. The plaintiff sought recovery of medical expenses and pain and suffering. At the bench trial, the defense sought dismissal based upon the plaintiff’s lack of expert support for her claims, as is required in medical malpractice claims. The court agreed and entered judgment in the defendant’s favor. 

The defense prevailed on preliminary objections in Philadelphia County as the court found that the ​case involved a medical malpractice action involving the plaintiff’s allegations of an alleged assault by three patients while the plaintiff was a patient at a behavioral health hospital. In the complaint, the plaintiff pleaded ordinary negligence. Preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer were filed by the defendant, raising immunity under the Pennsylvania Mental Health Procedures Act since there was no claim of gross negligence. After the preliminary objections were filed, the plaintiff attempted to cure the defect in the original pleading by filing an amended complaint, which added allegations of gross negligence and additional facts, in an attempt to support the claim of gross negligence. We again filed preliminary objections, arguing that the allegation of gross negligence was a new cause of action that was now barred by the statute of limitations. Since the amended complaint was filed more than two years after the event at issue and raised a new claim, the applicable two-year statute of limitations barred the claim. We also argued that the amended complaint failed to provide any factual support for gross negligence or willful misconduct and, therefore, the hospital was immune from suit. Plaintiff’s counsel did not file a response in opposition. The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas agreed that the new claim was barred by the statute of limitations and the immunity provisions of the Mental Health Procedures Act, and dismissed the case with prejudice.