Title: Partner
Primary Office: Harrisburg, PA
Practice Area/s: Medical Professional Liability, Product Liability, Insurance, Environmental Law and Litigation, Nursing Home and Long Term Care Liability
Telephone: 717.237.2095 | Fax: 717.237.6949
Email: jhartline@wglaw.com
Professional Experience:
With 33 years of civil trial experience, Jim Hartline has represented a variety of clients in both state and federal courts. Mr. Hartline’s trial practice focuses upon the representation of healthcare providers in professional liability litigation, products liability, including medical devices and pharmaceuticals, hazardous waste, environmental litigation, personal injury and insurance coverage matters.
Mr. Hartline represents physicians, surgeons, hospitals, long-term care facilities, nurses and related healthcare providers in a wide variety of medical negligence cases involving complex medical and legal issues. These include cases of catastrophic injury arising from alleged obstetrical, orthopedic, surgical and emergency medicine misadventures.
In addition to providing litigation defense services, Mr. Hartline counsels the firm’s healthcare clients in matters pertaining to risk management and medical malpractice. Mr. Hartline is a frequent lecturer to healthcare providers and has organized and presented numerous in-service presentations to the firm’s clients. These in-service presentations encompass such subjects as medical documentation, confidentiality of medical information, investigation of sentinel events, EMTALA, informed consent and other risk management issues.
Mr. Hartline, who maintains an "AV" Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, has also successfully defended numerous product liability cases. These matters include litigation involving injuries arising from the use of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments, industrial machinery, home appliances and automotive products.
Mr. Hartline has also been involved in mass litigation in the area of toxic torts, including cases arising from exposure to asbestos, benzene, diisocynates and other toxic substances. He also practices in the area of environmental law.
Mr. Hartline has represented both healthcare and non-healthcare clients in hazardous waste litigation, including litigation initiated by federal and state agencies on designated Superfund sites. Mr. Hartline’s practice encompasses diverse areas of insurance defense litigation such as automobile and premises liability, construction litigation, worksite accidents and general personal injury cases.
He has been named a Pennsylvania “Super Lawyer” from 2005 to 2009.
Prior to joining Weber Gallagher, Mr. Hartline was with the law firm of Thomson, Rhodes & Cowie, P.C.
Education:
University of Pittsburgh, J.D., 1975.
Executive Articles Editor, University of Pittsburgh Law Review.
Gettysburg College, B.A. cum laude, 1972.
Professional Memberships and Activities:
Admitted to practice in all Pennsylvania state and federal courts and the State of West Virginia.
Member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County, and the Allegheny County, Dauphin County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations.
Selected Reported Cases:
Blaner v. Idec Pharms. Corp., 58 Pa. D. & C.4th 129 (2002).
Viglioto v. Johns-Manville Corp., 643 F. Supp. 1454 (W.D.Pa. 1986).
Ellisor v. Allstate Ins. Co., 472 A.2d 1138 (Pa. Super. 1984).
Recent News:
2010-02-10 :: Jury Returns Verdict for Cardiologist in Washington County Trial
2009-06-19 :: Nursing Home and Long Term Care Liability Practice Group Formed
2009-05-27 :: Nine Attorneys Named Pennsylvania 'Super Lawyers'
2009-04-07 :: Weber Gallagher Attorneys Prevail in Pa. Supreme Court Decision