Medical Malpractice

Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice - Hospitals and Doctors

Errors by hospitals and medical professionals, whether doctors, nurses, technicians, physician assistants or even administrators, can turn a minor illness into a lifelong disability, or a serious condition into a fatal one. To recover damages for the negligent errors of physicians and other medical professionals is one of the more challenging tasks that a personal injury lawyer can perform.

With 28 years of trial experience and the ability to investigate and prove difficult facts relating to liability and damages, Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorney Dennis Charles can help you and your family recover the money damages necessary in the aftermath of a doctor's critical error of judgment or attention. To learn more about his experience in the litigation of medical negligence claims, contact his office in Allentown for a free consultation.

In Pennsylvania, the law requires that in any professional malpractice lawsuit, a “certificate of merit,” signed by the plaintiff’s attorney, must be filed within 60 days after the complaint is filed, or else the court will dismiss the case. This certificate of merit must state that an appropriate licensed professional has supplied a written statement that there exists a reasonable probability that the care, skill or knowledge of the defendant doctor or other professional fell outside of professional standards, and was a cause of the harm suffered by the plaintiff. The plaintiff's lawyer must therefore work closely and effectively with treating and consulting doctors, or other expert witnesses, in order to relate the injuries or death to a particular error committed by the hospital, original physician, surgeon, or other professional.

Allentown personal injury lawyer Dennis Charles has the legal training and professional experience necessary to develop and present your claim for damages in any of the following situations:

• Misdiagnosis of illness, or delay of effective treatment for cancer or heart disease due to diagnosis errors
• Emergency room errors resulting in heart attack, stroke, or other severe or fatal conditions
• Doctor's negligence in prescribing medication
• Birth injuries caused by negligence of an obstetrician or other member of the delivery team
• Surgical mistakes resulting in brain damage, paralysis, organ failure, or severe infection
• Negligence by a nurse, technician, physician assistant or other hospital personnel

Even where there is no dispute as to the patient's injuries and damages, and where the physician or other professional can be shown to have violated an applicable standard of care, the issue of causation is frequently contested. The legal training and trial experience of attorney Dennis Charles in proving the causal link between a hospital’s or doctor's negligence and the patient's injury or death can make a significant difference to the outcome of your medical negligence claim.

To learn more about your legal options in a case of medical malpractice or hospital negligence, contact the Allentown office of Dennis G. Charles, Attorney at Law.