Defense verdict for physician in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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.

Vigorous pre-suit investigation leads to favorable resolution of medical professional liability case.

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.

Defense verdict following a binding arbitration hearing in a medical professional liability action.

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.

Directed verdict in Florida med-mal case.

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.

Ohio Court of Appeals affirms summary judgment for nail salon.

We successfully defended an appeal of a trial court grant of summary judgment in favor of a nail salon in a slip-and-fall case. The plaintiff alleged she fell in an untreated wet area inside the salon on a rainy day. However, the plaintiff failed to produce any evidence about the source of the “wet area,” or that the salon had actual or constructive knowledge of the wet area prior to the plaintiff’s fall. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the salon and the Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed that decision.

Summary judgment in wrongful death, negligent security case involving the shooting of a 16-year-old.

The plaintiff’s decedent was shot and killed while allegedly on his way home from school. We  were able to prove that the young man was a trespasser on the common area of the property where he was shot, even though his aunt was a tenant in the apartment complex. The decedent’s family claimed he was on his way to see her. Our investigation revealed that he was connected to local gangs and that, at the time of his shooting, he was wearing a ski mask (in Florida) and carrying a hand gun.

Dismissal of dual New York No-Fault/PIP arbitrations.

The applicant, a major medical provider, filed joint arbitration matters in the aggregate amount of $46,095.41, claiming our client owed it for the claimant’s unpaid medical bills. The claimant had been involved in a motor vehicle accident and sought payment for medical treatment. Counsel for the medical provider argued that the original denial basis was insufficient to deny the payment of the claims. However, after our successful argument at the arbitration hearing, our client’s policy of insurance was found to be completely and properly exhausted.

Airport fall not fault of terminal’s cleaning service.

We were successful in having a case dismissed on summary judgment in Brooklyn, New York. The plaintiff was a ticket agent for an international airline at LaGuardia airport. Our client was the cleaning service for the airport terminal. The plaintiff claimed she tripped and fell over a “worn/torn defective” floor mat behind the ticket counter. Depositions of the defendant indicated that they did not own, control, maintain or supervise the mats behind the airlines’ ticket counter. Summary judgment was filed in 2020.

Defense verdict in auto liability arbitration in Philadelphia.

The arbitration panel found in favor of the defendant in a motor vehicle accident case where the plaintiff was driving a dump truck and claimed he was side-swiped by a tractor-trailer. The plaintiff filed suit against the driver of the tractor-trailer and his employer, both of whom were represented by Marshall Dennehey. It was the defendants’ position that the plaintiff was not side-swiped, but that the plaintiff actually rear-ended the tractor-trailer because he was going too fast to stop as the tractor-trailer moved from the right lane into the left lane.

What’s Hot in Workers’ Comp – Special PA Alert

The Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision affirming Medicaid’s right to seek reimbursement from a settlement amount allocated for past and future medical care. In Gallardo v. What's Hot in Workers' Comp is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers.