If a doctor does not give you proper care and causes you harm, a Scranton medical malpractice lawyer at Munley Law can help. Our board-certified lawyers have recovered millions of dollars for victims of medical negligence throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania, including settlements and verdicts of $5 million, $4.35 million, and $3.5 million.
We have nearly 70 years of experience in medical malpractice cases, with several medical malpractice specialists on staff, including Marion Munley, selected as Best Lawyers’ Lawyer of the Year for Medical Malpractice Law, and Caroline Munley, named one of the NTLA’s Top 25 Medical Malpractice Trial Lawyers in Pennsylvania. We have the skills and resources to challenge hospitals, healthcare systems, and their insurance companies.
Medical malpractice cases in Scranton have strict deadlines and complex requirements that can derail valid claims. Don’t risk losing your right to compensation. Contact Munley Law today for a free consultation with an experienced Scranton personal injury attorney. We are available 24/7 and advance all case costs, so you pay nothing unless we win.
Contact a Medical Malpractice Lawyer at Munley Law
Call Us At 844-686-5397 What a Scranton Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Do for You
Studies suggest that one in three medical providers will be sued for medical malpractice at some point in their careers. This may worry medical professionals, but it’s even more concerning as a patient. It’s alarming to know these avoidable mistakes happen often. If you are a victim of poor medical care, a Scranton medical malpractice lawyer from Munley Law can help you.
Our skilled lawyers know how complicated healthcare professional negligence can be. They understand the emotional and financial stress it can cause a family. During an initial consultation, we will review your claim to determine what went wrong and develop a plan.
If you choose us to represent you, we will begin the investigation phase and collect evidence. This includes meeting with medical professionals who can identify where the standard of care was not followed.
We will also calculate the value of your claim to ensure we seek the compensation you need. We will talk with the insurance companies to reach a settlement. If we cannot reach an agreement, we will continue the fight in court. Most claims are settled out of court, but if we have to, we’ll stand by your side during the trial to protect your rights.
The legal process can be complicated. When your health is at risk, you don’t want to deal with endless calls to the insurance company. Let us take on the negligent healthcare professionals while you focus on the most essential thing: your health.
“At Munley Law, our mission is simple: to provide all injury victims equal access to justice, even against the most powerful entities. For more than 65 years, we have been the voice for the injured, the forgotten, and those who need someone to stand beside them in their darkest hour.”
Marion Munley
What Are the Common Signs of Medical Malpractice in Scranton, PA?
Determining whether medical malpractice has occurred can be challenging. One clear sign of medical negligence is an unexpected loss of life. It can also be harm to a patient after care. But there are other indicators that medical negligence is occurring. Signs you have a medical malpractice claim include:
- Too aggressive or inadequate treatment. Some situations need strong treatment. However, you might have a claim if you are getting unnecessary medical procedures. If your treatment does not match how severe your condition is, your doctor may not be doing enough for you.
- Your doctor hasn’t ordered the necessary tests. While basic labs can tell us a lot, sometimes additional testing is needed to diagnose a patient. If your doctor fails to order the correct tests and your condition worsens, you may have a malpractice claim.
- You got a second and third opinion, and your first doctor was wrong. Patients often get second opinions when a treatment is severe. But if other doctors say the initial diagnosis was wrong, this can be a sign of medical misdiagnosis.
- There was no follow-up care. You likely don’t need to follow up with your physician after having a cold. You should always have follow-up care after a serious injury or a life-changing diagnosis. This care helps check if the treatment worked or if you are healing. Lack of follow-up care can be a sign of medical negligence.
- Lack of informed consent. Medical professionals should explain all risks, side effects, and possible complications associated with a medication or procedure. This way, you can decide if the benefits are worth the risks. You might have a case if a doctor does not do this and problems happen. This is true, especially if you would not have agreed to the treatment if you had known.
Determining whether medical malpractice caused your injury or illness can be challenging. But the Scranton medical malpractice attorneys at Munley Law can help.
What Are the Most Common Types of Medical Malpractice in Scranton, PA?
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare team member fails to follow the accepted standard of care. This can cause harm to the patient. Though often used interchangeably, medical negligence must cause a patient to suffer harm to constitute medical malpractice.
Common examples of Scranton medical malpractice lawsuits include the following.
Failure to Diagnose, Misdiagnosis, or a Delay in Diagnoses
Diagnostic errors are a common claim for medical malpractice and can include:
- Failure to diagnose occurs when a doctor or healthcare provider fails to identify a patient’s condition.
- Misdiagnosis happens when a doctor fails to make the correct diagnosis. This can lead to a patient receiving the wrong or no treatment.
- Lastly, a delay in diagnosis occurs when a doctor fails to identify the patient’s condition. This delay can make treatment less effective or even fail.
Errors in diagnosis often occur in cases of infections and heart-related illnesses.
A 2025 study published in the Patient Safety Journal by the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority assessed 315,418 adverse event reports filed in 2024, and found that ‘Error Related to Procedure/Treatment/Test’ (which includes diagnostic failures) was the most frequently reported type of medical event overall. These errors accounted for 33.4% of reports from all medical facilities in the state and 47.6% from non-hospital facilities.
Birth Injuries
The birth of a child should be a joyous occasion. But when an adverse action during birth causes your newborn to suffer injury, there must be consequences. The Patient Safety Trends Report study highlighted 2,318 neonatal complications in 2024, as well as 3,199 maternal complications, which affected mothers’ health during and after delivery.
According to the Cerebral Palsy Guide, around three infants are born with injuries every hour across the US, and these injuries account for 20% of the 20,000 nationwide infant deaths each year.
Common birth injuries caused by medical malpractice include:
- Brain injuries
- Cephalohematoma
- Spinal cord injuries
- Nerve damage, such as Erb’s palsy
- Paralysis
- Cerebral palsy
If a medical provider’s actions or inactions led to your child’s long-term disability, you should reach out for help. Call a birth injury lawyer in Scranton today.
Surgical Errors
If an error during surgery caused you to suffer injuries, you may have a medical malpractice case. There were 24,338 surgical and invasive procedure problems reported across Pennsylvania in 2024, as well as 9,595 post-surgical complications and 629 cases of surgical equipment misuse. Medical negligence that results in surgical injuries includes:
- Operating on the wrong body part
- Leaving something inside the patient, like a sponge, medical instrument, or device
- Misuse of surgical equipment, or use of incorrect equipment for the procedure at hand
- Post-op infection, of which 1,317 cases were reported in Pennsylvania in 2024
- Lack of monitoring either during or after the surgery, which affected 2,939 patients in Pennsylvania healthcare facilities that year.
Surgical errors in Scranton can cost more than extensive medical bills; they can cause patients to lose their lives.
Hospital Negligence
Being admitted to the hospital or visiting the emergency room can be stressful. However, mistakes will likely occur when doctors, nurses, and surgeons rush around to move patients in and out. Hospital negligence occurs when your medical treatment falls below the standard of care, resulting in harm. According to the Judicial System of Pennsylvania, there were 1,548 medical malpractice claims filed across the state in 2024, with Lackawanna County accounting for 58 of these cases alone.
Hospital negligence cases can be complicated. There are many care team members, making it hard to know who made the wrong call. The hospital’s insurance company will try to blame as few people as possible. They want to avoid paying your medical bills.
If you suffered an injury at one of the following hospitals in the Scranton area, we could help:
- Moses Taylor Hospital
- Regional Hospital of Scranton
- Geisinger Community Medical Center
- St. Joseph’s Center
- Allied Health Care
- Lehigh Valley Hospital-Dickson City
Anesthesia Errors
Medication errors can happen with many medical professionals. However, anesthesiologists often face claims when anesthesia mistakes occur. The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority’s study reported 1,291 statewide anesthesia events in 2024, and according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, anesthetic drug administration errors cause as many as 7,000 deaths each year throughout the United States.
Common anesthesia mistakes include:
- Anesthesia procedure mistakes in dosing
- Improper intubation
- Drug interactions
- Inadequate monitoring
- Allergic reactions
- Prolonged sedation
- Not enough sedation
Anesthesia errors in Scranton can result in serious injury and even death.
Nursing Home Neglect
When our elderly or disabled loved ones live in a nursing home, we hope they get the best care. We also want them to keep their dignity. Unfortunately, nursing home neglect is a common occurrence in Scranton, leading to injury, mental anguish, and even death.
The National Council on Aging notes that as many as 5 million senior Americans (many of whom are nursing home residents) face abuse each year. This can have serious consequences for the victims, often leading to social withdrawal, depression, increased hospitalization rates, and premature death.
Nursing home abuse that constitutes medical malpractice includes:
- Abandonment
- Medical neglect (medication errors, infections, etc.)
- Lack of hygiene
- Malnutrition and dehydration
- Emotional abuse
There are a number of abusive parties who may be in a nursing home facility. Nurses, doctors, therapists, and even other patients can cause harm to a resident, resulting in a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Damages in a Medical Malpractice Claim
Injury victims in Scranton medical malpractice cases can receive two main types of compensation: economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages cover tangible financial losses resulting from medical negligence, including:
- Current and future medical expenses
- Lost wages and income
- Diminished earning capacity
- Rehabilitation costs
- Medical equipment and home modifications
- Funeral and burial costs (in fatal cases)
Non-economic damages address the intangible, more subjective losses, such as:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress and mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium (impact on spousal relationship)
- Loss of society and companionship
- Permanent disability or disfigurement
- Reduced quality of life
In cases of serious negligence or intentional wrongdoing, courts can award punitive damages. These damages punish healthcare workers and help prevent similar actions in the future. They go beyond compensation and serve as a deterrent against egregious medical malpractice.
Proving a Scranton Medical Malpractice Claim
You must establish that a doctor-patient relationship existed to prove your medical malpractice injuries. Your personal injury lawyers can show negligence with medical records and treatment documents.
To prove negligence, you must show that:
- Medical personnel owe you a duty of care
- There was a breach of the reasonable standard of care
- The breach caused injuries
- The injuries resulted in damage
While this may seem simple, some may argue that the care standards were followed, but complications still happened. You need a team with legal experience to guide you through a personal injury claim.
We understand that medical mistakes can happen without anyone being to blame. However, we must act when poor care and preventable errors occur.
Our malpractice attorneys’ decades of experience help medical negligence victims secure fair compensation for their injuries. This can be a difficult time for you and your family, which is why we take on the negligent healthcare professionals on your behalf.
Why Choose Munley Law for Your Medical Malpractice Lawyer?
Working with an experienced medical malpractice trial attorney is the key to securing the compensation you need to recover with dignity. With four lawyers board-certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in Civil Trial Advocacy and Civil Trial Law, and all of our partners featured in the National Trial Lawyers Association’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Pennsylvania roll, Munley Law has extensive expertise in winning medical malpractice cases in courts of law.
Our firm has recovered over $1 billion in compensation in personal injury cases, earning several of our attorneys listings in the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Summit Council. We are also recognized by Martindale-Hubbell, through which our partners have all been awarded AV Preeminent Ratings; Super Lawyers, and we have received awards and recognition from Best Lawyers and Best Law Firms.
All of our lawyers are members of the American Association for Justice, where Marion Munley serves as Vice President and has been honored with the Board of Governors Outstanding Achievement Award, the Distinguished Service Award, and the Above and Beyond Award.
Frequently Asked Questions About Medical Malpractice in Scranton
Is There a Cap on Medical Malpractice in PA?
Pennsylvania does not cap medical malpractice claims, allowing victims to recover the full value of their financial losses. This also includes non-economic losses such as pain and suffering, and mental anguish.
There is no standard award for medical malpractice cases. However, victims can receive hundreds of thousands of dollars for their injuries and losses. With legal representation from Munley Law, you are more likely to secure maximum compensation for your case.
Is There a Difference Between Medical Malpractice and a Medical Error?
A medical error can constitute medical malpractice, but that is not always the case. A medical error is not malpractice
unless the medical provider has not acted within the reasonable standard of care we have come to expect.
For example, a doctor may prescribe medication for a patient’s illness. As a result, the patient suffers unexpected complications. This may seem like a malpractice case, but the doctor-prescribed medication is commonly used for that illness. So, in this instance, the doctor acted within the standard of care, and no malpractice occurred.
Medical errors can be catastrophic and even fatal, but that does not mean the doctor has acted negligently. A Scranton medical malpractice law firm can help you determine if a medical error was due to negligence.
What Should I Do If I Suspect Medical Malpractice?
If you suspect you are a victim of medical malpractice, you need to find new medical care. Once you feel safe in your care, you should get copies of all medical records before the provider team can alter any documents.
Then, call the experienced medical malpractice attorneys of Munley Law.
How Long Does a Scranton Medical Malpractice Lawyer Have to File a Lawsuit?
In Scranton, the statute of limitations for filing medical malpractice claims is 2 years from the date of the suspected malpractice. However, there are exceptions for cases involving minors or if the harm was not discovered immediately.
A skilled personal injury law firm in Scranton can help you meet filing deadlines. This way, you can receive fair compensation.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Scranton Medical Malpractice Lawyer?
Our Scranton medical malpractice lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not pay a lawyer’s fee. When your case is settled or reaches a verdict, we will take our fee out of your settlement.
Contact a Scranton Medical Malpractice Lawyer at Munley Law Today
If you or a loved one was a victim of medical negligence, the experienced Scranton medical malpractice lawyers of Munley Law are here to help.
Call today for a no-obligation, free consultation.
Contact a Scranton medical malpractice lawyer today to schedule a free consultation.
Marion Munley
Marion Munley has been practicing personal injury law for nearly 40 years. She is triple board-certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy for Truck Accident Law, Civil Trial Law, and Civil Practice Advocacy. She currently serves as Vice President of the American Association for Justice, an organization dedicated to safeguarding victims’ rights. Marion has won many multimillion-dollar recoveries for her clients, including one of the largest trucking accident settlements in history. She has been named a Top 10 Super Lawyer in Pennsylvania since 2023, a Best Lawyer in America, and was recently inducted to the Lawdragon Hall of Fame.
Reviewed by Bernadine Munley, Esq., Personal Injury Attorney at Munley Law, on March 5, 2026.
