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Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Lawyer

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Medical malpractice is negligence by a doctor in misdiagnosis of a disease or failure to diagnose a medical condition or injury of some kind. In instances where the evidence becomes overwhelming, the patient can pursue a lawsuit by retaining a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer to take on the case.

Medical malpractice law is a highly technical field of law, and malpractice lawsuits tend to be fiercely defended by well-funded defense firms. Even within the specialized practice of medical malpractice law, some lawyers have subspecialties of practice, like focusing on surgical errors, misdiagnoses, or birth trauma cases.

There is a traditional Collateral Source Rule that indicates the defendant is not able to reduce the liability by introducing any evidence pertaining to previous lawsuits filed by the plaintiff in other cases where the plaintiff has received monetary damages or insurance coverage.
In Pennsylvania, a medical malpractice plaintiff may not sue for damages that were paid to them by a health insurer. Pennsylvania does not have specific rules for expert witnesses in a medical malpractice case.

If the lawsuit finds one or more defendants liable for the injury that the patient suffered, under the previous traditional rule of joint and several liabilities, each individual defendant would be responsible for the entire monetary amount awarded. However, the traditional joint and several liabilities have been eliminated and are only used in cases involving misrepresentation. If one of the defendants is unable to pay, then the other defendant would be liable to the patient.

There are specific elements in a medical malpractice case that have to be brought forth in order to have a successful case. They have to show that a duty was owed; there is a legal duty that exists whenever a health care provider or hospital engages in the care or treatment of an individual.
Showing that the duty was breached is important, mostly because it is key to showing that the provider did not conform to the standard of care that is generally upheld in their field. This is proven by an expert testimony or by obvious errors. One has to show that the breach caused an injury, and what the specific damages are. If there are no significant damages, then there is no basis for a claim, even if the medical provider was negligent.

Concerning medical malpractice in the state of Pennsylvania, the statute of limitation requires a two-year period for patients to take action. Under the same Pennsylvania law, a minor child under the age of 18 years old is able to file the medical malpractice suite within a two-year period after he or she turns 18 years old. If the law provides a longer period for whatever reason, the minor must file suite within a two-year period of the date that the injury took place.

If a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer signs his or her client's complaint in a medical malpractice case, this shows that the attorney has attested that he or she has consulted with the expert witness about their position taken with the case.

The State of Pennsylvania has a mandatory conciliation hearing that might result in a settlement or mediation.