Experience

• Successfully retried a case remanded by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania involving the Mental Health Procedures Act by representing a Psychiatrist performing a Psychiatric Evaluation on a patient with mental health disorders during his admission to a drug detoxification and rehabilitation facility. The lawsuit filed alleges that the "cocktail" of medications prescribed for detoxification created a lethal combination for the plaintiff and that a cardiac condition was missed by the ED staff. As a Psychiatrist performing a Psychiatric Evaluation, the Mental Health Procedures Act (MPHA) was implicated, increasing the burden of proof for the Psychiatrist to that of actions of willful, wanton, reckless conduct. The Trial Court ruled that the prior Supreme Court Opinion prevented the application of the MPHA in this instance. The burden of proof remained as ordinary negligence as to all defendants. The jury rendered a unanimous defense verdict in approximately 45 minutes. No appeal was filed.

• Secured a defense verdict for two defendant Radiologists in a case where they were alleged to have missed the diagnosis of a thoracic aortic aneurysm on the abdominal CT scans that they interpreted 6 and 18 months before plaintiff’s demise. The defense of this case surrounded the fact that a thoracic mid-ascending aortic aneurysm cannot be seen from an abdominal CT scan.

• Attained a defense verdict for a Family Practice Physician who allegedly delayed diagnosis of Prostate Cancer in a 65-year-old man with an elevated PSA level. The two-week trial was held in Montgomery county. Plaintiff alleged that, by the time of diagnosis, he had an aggressive Stage IV, metastatic cancer and died before the date of trial.