Kathleen M. Kramer

Co-Chair, Birth and Catastrophic Injury Litigation Practice Group
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    For more than 30 years, Kathleen has devoted her practice exclusively to medical malpractice defense, representing physicians, hospitals, nurses, nursing homes and other health care facilities. 

    Kate has been involved in numerous high-exposure cases involving brain-injured infants as well as adults with significant long-standing injuries. In those cases, she has been involved in the retention and preparation of highly qualified and sophisticated experts who have assisted in helping achieve defense verdicts for her clients. Since beginning her career, Kate has handled more than 700 medical malpractice matters. She has tried more than 125 cases to verdict, with the overwhelming majority of them being defense verdicts.

    After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Delaware in 1981, Kate subsequently attended Dickenson School of Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where she received her juris doctor in 1984. While at Dickenson, she was on the National Trial Moot Court Team and was the winner in the ATLA National Student Trial Advocacy Competition in 1984. Prior to joining Marshall Dennehey in 1989, Kate worked for four years at McEldrew, Quinn, Scace & Selfridge where she did medical malpractice defense work.

    Kate has lectured for various organizations over the course of her career, including the Pennsylvania Insurance Association, and has conducted continuing medical education seminars at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Additionally, Kate regularly lectures at a large medical school in Philadelphia on litigation related issues, including mock depositions.

    Significant Representative Matters

    Obtained a defense verdict following three-week jury trial in wrongful death and survival case involving complex claims/theories medical negligence in which verdict exposure was over $1 million; appeal followed; obtained a dismissal of plaintiff's appeal and unanimous appellate court affirmance in a published opinion (2016 PA Super 142) in an issue of first impression regarding waiver for failure to order, pay for, and cite to official transcripts in plaintiff's post-trial brief (Phila Cty 2016).

    Obtained pre-trial dismissal of 11 claims against three defendants and then defense verdict following 14 minutes of jury deliberations in three-week jury trial in wrongful death and survival case involving claims/theories of medical negligence in which verdict exposure was over $1 Million (Phila Cty 2016).

    Obtained a defense verdict following month-long jury trial in obstetrical negligence case in which plaintiff's demand to settle was $100 million involving allegations of catastrophic birth injuries and testimony from 14 expert witnesses; no appeal followed (Phila Cty 2015).

    Obtained a defense verdict for a hospital client in a wrongful death action involving a medication overdose where the patient was given 1,000 times the amount of medical ordered by the physician (Phila Cty 2011).

    Obtained a defense verdict for a hospital client in a trial involving allegations that the defendants were negligent in failing to anticoagulate the patient following surgery thereby causing the patient to sustain a stroke. This was the second time this case was tried to verdict as it was originally tried to a defense verdict in 2004, after which the plaintiff appealed (Phila Cty 2009).

    Obtained a defense verdict for a psychiatric hospital in a trial involving allegations that the patient was negligently discharged as the patient committed suicide shortly after discharge (Phila Cty 2006).

    Obtained a defense verdict for a hospital client where it was alleged that they failed to properly diagnose and treat a stroke (Phila Cty 2006).

    Classes/Seminars Taught

    Issues in Medical Malpractice, Defense Institute

    Published Works

    "Seismic Shift in Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Informed Consent Cases," co-author, Defense Digest, Vol. 23, No. 4, December 2017

    "Beating, Gunfire and Loss of Employment Not Foreseeable From Misdiagnosis of Syphilis," co-author, Defense Digest, Vol. 7, No. 1, February 2001

    Admissions
    Pennsylvania
    1984
    Education
    Dickinson School of Law, Penn State University (J.D., 1984)
    University of Delaware (B.A., 1981)
    Honors & awards
    National Champion, ATLA Trial Association Competition
    Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
    2012-2022
    Associations & memberships
    American Bar Association
    Pennsylvania Bar Association
    Pennsylvania Defense Institute
    Philadelphia Bar Association
    Year joined
    1989