Karen "Missy" E. Minehan

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    Missy is a member of the Health Care Department where she focuses her practice on the defense of professional medical negligence and premises liability claims, as well as medical licensing matters before licensing boards such as the Pennsylvania Boards of Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine, Nursing, and Psychology. Her individual clients include physicians, nurses, Patient Care Technicians (PCTs), Certified Nurses Aides (CNAs), therapists, mental health professionals, and other health care providers. Missy’s institutional clients include acute and rehabilitation hospitals, long-term and skilled nursing facilities, correctional medicine providers, and outpatient dialysis facilities.

    Missy has handled matters encompassing a wide range of medical issues, including retained foreign objects, ob/gyn, wound care, patient falls, and neurological injuries. She has significant jury trial, arbitration, mediation, appellate, and administrative law experience.

    After receiving her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College, where she played intercollegiate soccer and spent her junior year in Paris, France and Yaounde, Cameroon, Missy graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs with a J.D. and a Master's Degree in International Affairs.

    Missy's bar admissions include the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and U.S. District Court for the Western, Middle, and Eastern Districts of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. She is frequently called upon to lecture on a wide array of topics in the field of health care litigation.

    Outside of her professional career, Missy is an active volunteer in her local community. She served as a Girl Scout leader to a troop that advanced from Brownie to Ambassador. She interviewed prospective high school students for admission to Wellesley College as an alumna volunteer and served as the President and Vice President of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Wellesley College Club. She worked as a puppy sitter for the Susquehanna Service Dog. An avid skier, Missy co-founded and continues to lead the Camp Hill Middle and High School Ski & Snowboard Club. In addition, Missy is currently a Member and the Secretary of the Cleve J. Fredricksen Library Board of Trustees. 

    Classes/Seminars Taught

    Trends, Tips, and Tricks in the Defense of Long-Term Care Facilities, PACHRM/PDI Conference, July 14, 2023

    From Arbitrations to Schedule Zs: Trends, Tips and Tricks to Navigate the Written Discovery Process in Long-Term Care Civil Litigation, Marshall Dennehey Trends in Health Care and Health Law Seminar, May 5, 2022

    Reduce Your Risk: Understanding the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), February 18, 2021

    Pitfalls of Social Media and Nursing, May 8, 2018

    ED Documentation: Are You Writing Enough?,  April 2018

    Event Management, Documentation and Disclosure: Trends, Dangers and Best Practices, March 2015

    Understanding Advance Health Care Directives in Pennsylvania, March 2015

    General Liability, Professional Liability and Other Interesting Litigation Issues, February 26, 2015

    The Medical Licensing System in Pennsylvania, 2012

    Expert Retention, Review, and Testimony: From Start to Finish, October 8, 2007

    Defensive Documentation, co-presenter, April 2007

    Medical Records Law in Pennsylvania as it Pertains to Litigation Issues, co-presenter, Lorman Education Services, August 2006

    A Statutory Tour Through the Peer Review Protection Act, MCARE Act and the Patient Quality Improvement Act of 2005, co-presenter, October 2005

    Avoiding Lawsuits and Facing the Ones You Cannot Avoid: Documentation, Event Review, Deposition and Trial Testimony, co-presenter, May 2005

    An Overview of Pennsylvania Law as it Relates to HMA Medical Malpractice, co-presenter, January 2005

    Best Practices for Hospital Investigation of Patient Care, October 2004

    Published Works

    “The New and Broadened Law Governing Venue in Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Cases,” Defense Digest, JDSupra, March 2023

    “The Public Policy Exception to the Enforcement of Foreign Judgments: Necessary or Nemesis?,” 18 Loy. L.A. Int’l & Comp. L. J. 795 (1996)

    Admissions
    Pennsylvania
    1996
    U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    1999
    U.S. District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania
    1999
    U.S. District Court Western District of Pennsylvania
    2018
    Education
    University of Pittsburgh School of Law (J.D., 1996)
    University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (M.A., 1996)
    Wellesley College (B.A., 1991)
    Honors & awards
    Pennsylvania Super Lawyer Rising Star
    2006-2007
    Associations & memberships
    Pennsylvania Bar Association
    Cleve J. Fredricksen Library Board of Trustees, Member and Secretary
    Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania, former Troop Leader
    Southeastern Pennsylvania Wellesley Club, Member, former President, former Vice President
    Year joined
    2015