Medical Malpractice   ·   Personal Injury   ·   Birth Injury   ·   Wrongful Death

Medical Malpractice

Tragic and unexpected results sometimes occur during the course of medical care. Should there have been a better result?

A child is very ill when born and later is diagnosed as having cerebral palsy. A patient dies following routine elective surgery. Many immediately assume the doctor was at fault while some believe it was just meant to be. As lawyers representing patients in Pennsylvania with medical malpractice cases, we know that every bad result is not preventable. On the other hand, many are. The difficulty, of course, is finding out what happened and why.

How do you begin? Start by asking questions. If the answers don't make sense or if you have other suspicions, then perhaps you should seek another professional's opinion, preferably a lawyer whose practice is devoted substantially to medical malpractice cases. We have lawyers here who devote all or most of their time to medical malpractice cases in Pennsylvania. They can obtain and evaluate medical records, and following research and consultation, give an opinion on whether the bad result should have occurred. Doctors working here full time assist in the evaluation and management of cases.

Personal Injury

As personal injury lawyers representing injured people in Pennsylvania, we feel strongly that legal rights must be protected to the fullest extent possible. And when someone is hurt, we don't think the victim should be limited to the amount of money which is needed to cope with the injury. Manufacturers, doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and others often resent that ordinary citizens can prove someone was careless, and that a jury can therefore award money damages.

Pain and suffering damages can be awarded to individuals suffering from discomfort, disfigurement, embarrassment, humiliation, or not being able to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. But unlike a hospital or auto repair bill, none of these conditions has a specific dollar amount attached to it. Nevertheless, individuals can and should be compensated. In Pennsylvania, the amount to be paid is strictly up to the jury. In Pennsylvania, personal injury lawyers representing injured people cannot suggest to the jury how much should be awarded. The jury decides based on the evidence presented in the courtroom and awards a sum they believe will make the victim feel that justice has been done.

Every attorney at the Law Office of Meyers Kenrick Giuffre and Evans believes that Pennsylvania personal injury victims should have high quality assistance in pursing their case. Our law firm, located in Pittsburgh, has experience in working with many personal injury clients throughout the state of Pennsylvania.

Birth Injury

Increasingly, lawyers are called upon by parents of seriously disabled infants or children to determine whether such injuries occurred at or around the time of birth and were avoidable. Any lawyer, who casually begins such an undertaking, seriously underestimates the enormity of the challenge posed by such cases. Perinatal brain or other vital organ dysfunction cases can arise out of mismanagement of the pre-birth course, the post-natal course or a combination of both.

The evaluation of the new birth injury case inquiry should entail making an assessment of the probable strength of the available evidence having a bearing on liability, causation and damage issues.

Any attorney contemplating a birth-injury case must anticipate the defenses, both legitimate and illegitimate, that can be raised in such claims. Indeed, an intelligent decision to undertake a birth-injury claim cannot be made without an examination of all the various factors that make it more or less likely that the claim will succeed. These factors can be clinical, scientific and theatrical, all playing an important role in the prosecution and defense of birth-injury claims.

Wrongful Death

When a person is killed due to another's negligence or wrongful conduct, the surviving family members may have grounds for a wrongful death lawsuit. The concept of a life lost as a result of medical malpractice or any other wrongful act forms the basis of damage recovery for the victim's family.

The Wrongful Death Act exists in Pennsylvania to determine who will be deemed a beneficiary in a wrongful death case. Beneficiaries generally include the deceased's parents, children, or spouse. Parents must demonstrate dependency on the victim in order to be entitled to damages. While complete dependency on the deceased need not be established, if either or both parents relied on an adult child (or vise versa) for economic contributions to their welfare, they may receive compensation. Minor children are presumed to be dependant, and spouses may recover damages for dependency, the loss of love and affection, and the services of a deceased partner.

If a person dies in Pennsylvania before filing a lawsuit for the fatal injuries, the Survival Act preserves any claim submitted immediately prior to death. If the deceased had written a will, the victim's estate is usually divided between the children and the spouse. If no will exists, the children are generally awarded an additional share. If you have any questions regarding your status as a beneficiary, contact us today.