Our Health Care Department Continues to Grow
Susan Kostkas joins our department as a shareholder in Pittsburgh. She is an experienced trial attorney, with decades of experience defending nursing homes and personal care facilities in professional negligence claims resulting in personal injury and death. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Susan was a registered nurse in cardiology and intermediate care units, and she continues to maintain her RN license.
Joel Snavely joins us as shareholder in our Erie office. Joel’s legal career spans more than 30 years, with the majority of his practice focusing on the defense of health care providers in professional negligence and licensure actions. With a primary focus on health care law, Joel represents and advises health care providers in matters that include employment contracts, credentialing, peer review, end of life issues, guardianships, medical records, risk management, controlled substances, fraud and abuse, and nonprofit corporation law.
Amelia Salem Rashid joins our Pittsburgh office as an associate, bringing with her a background in trial preparation and strategy, managing discovery, and presenting motions and pleadings for common pleas and federal district court.
In our Philadelphia office, we welcome new associates Ryan Harvie and Travis Talbot to the team. Ryan works closely with our clients, guiding them through all phases of litigation. In addition to handling complex medical malpractice and skilled nursing home matters, he handles child welfare cases involving severe allegations of sexual and physical abuse. Travis is experienced in defending health care providers in cases involving complex issues of medical malpractice. As a former public defender and Principal Court Attorney to a justice of the New York State Supreme Court in New York County, he gained invaluable insight into trial practice, motion writing, legal research and judicial decision-making.
As a new associate in our Harrisburg office, Michael Cadigan, Jr., defends medical professional liability matters filed against hospitals, long-term care and rehabilitation facilities, medical practices, physicians, dentists, veterinarians and other health care providers. Having also worked for a plaintiffs’ firm earlier in his career, Michael draws from his experience practicing on both sides of the aisle to effectively counsel clients and help them achieve their desired outcomes.
In our Cleveland office we welcome associate Michael Vigorito, whose legal practice focuses on defending health care clients in civil litigation matters involving medical malpractice and long-term care liability. Prior to practicing law, Michael worked for fire departments and EMS companies in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and he maintains his paramedic certification and continues to work as a flight paramedic and EMS Instructor.
David McColloch, who joins our King of Prussia office as an associate, has devoted his career to helping health care providers and professionals navigate challenging legal situations. He is experienced in handling litigation in state and federal court, from investigation and initial pleadings, to discovery, depositions and expert review, through to resolution. Known for his collaborative style, David provides his clients with comprehensive and strategic representation.
Happenings
Karen “Missy” Minehan (Harrisburg) presented “Mitigating and Responding to a Professional Liability Claim: Documentation, Discovery, and Depositions” for the Skilled Nursing Development Institute’s administrator appreciation event. Missy discussed pre-suit documentation issues, including documentation of arbitration agreements, missing medical records documentation and maintenance of key paper records, intra-lawsuit discovery and depositions.
Melissa Dziak and Victoria Scanlon (Scranton) presented The CHART Institute June member webinar, which focused on advanced practice providers. They discussed the medical legal landscape post-pandemic, jury verdict trends, scope and use of Advanced Practice Providers (APPs), and best practices to mitigate legal risk.
Matthew Keris (Scranton) joined a panel presentation for a webinar put on by the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform. The program, “Medical Malpractice Pennsylvania Update,” explored a number of emerging issues in medical malpractice, including the continuing surge of Philadelphia cases; dilution of plaintiffs’ burden to prove agents causing harm; preserving issues on appeal and waiver rulings of Superior Court; ethical concerns of double and triple booking; and rise of punitive damages.
Matt also presented two seminars at the Hospital Insurance Forum 2025 Conference in Charleston, South Carolina. He co-presented with Jill Huntley Taylor to discuss “New Jury Considerations in the Age of Big Law, Verdicts, and Medicine,” and he also presented “Al in Healthcare: Views From a Clinical and Legal Perspective.”
Matt also joined a panel discussion at the Medical Professional Liability Association’s annual conference in Austin, Texas, on the topic of preparing for Al from a medico-legal perspective.
Megan Nelson (Orlando) is presenting a webinar on incident reporting for the American College of Healthcare Executives Central Florida Chapter. As an attorney and registered nurse, Megan will offer insight into the importance of incident reporting from both a health care and legal point of view. More information can be found here.
Megan also presented at the Florida Society for Health Care Risk Management and Patient Safety (FHSRMPS) 45th Annual Conference in Orlando. During a panel presentation on “The Latest on Medical Al and Liability Claims,” Megan discussed the rapid rise in the use of Al technology and the implications for potential liability and increased claims.
Wishing a Fond Farewell and Retirement to Three Long-Time Members of Our Health Care Department!
T. Kevin FitzPatrick is retiring this month after a 32-year career at Marshall Dennehey. During his tenure, Kevin served as Director and Assistant Director of the Health Care Department and on the Board of Directors. Among his colleagues and clients, Kevin is recognized for always practicing law with class. His leadership, dedication and guidance will leave a lasting impact on not only our department, but also our firm.
William Banton, Jr. joined us in 1990 in our Philadelphia office. For those of you who know William, we’re sure you will agree that he practiced law consistent with his personality as a consummate gentleman. William also served as the Assistant Director of our Health Care Department under Kevin FitzPatrick.
Carolyn DiGiovanni joined the firm in 2010 in our King of Prussia office. Known for her tenacity and passion in zealously defending our clients, Carolyn was a valued and respected member of our health care team.
We will miss Kevin, William and Carolyn tremendously. It is hard to see our friends move on, but we thank them for their contributions and wish them the best in their retirement years.
The Quarterly Dose – August 2025, has been prepared for our readers by Marshall Dennehey. It is solely intended to provide information on recent legal developments and is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. We welcome the opportunity to provide such legal assistance as you require on this and other subjects. If you receive the alerts in error, please send a note to tamontemuro@mdwcg.com. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1. © 2025 Marshall Dennehey. All Rights Reserved.
