What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical Malpractice is, “bad, wrong, or injudicious treatment of a patient, professionally and in respect to the particular disease or injury, resulting. in injury, unnecessary suffering, or death to the patient, and proceeding from ignorance, carelessness, want of proper professional skill, disregard of established rules or principles, neglect, or a malicious or criminal intent .” (Black’s Law Dictionary 1111. 4th Ed. Rev. 1968). Like general malpractice, it refers to negligence in a professional setting. However, it is limited to healthcare providers, such as a doctor or hospital.
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider deviates from the applicable standard of care, intentionally or unintentionally, and harms a patient. Cases such as Napier v. Greenzweig show that medical malpractice can be as blatant as ignoring understood rules, or it can be a mistake like a severe surgical error or a misdiagnosis. Medical malpractice is considered to be a serious issue, and healthcare providers found liable for malpractice often pay extensive damages. Occasionally, a doctor may lose their license to practice medicine if malpractice is severe enough or repeated.
Fully understanding cases of medical malpractice often involves some level of medical knowledge. Because of this, it is difficult to prove medical malpractice in court, and expert witnesses are typically needed to testify about a healthcare provider’s negligence.
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Marion Munley
Marion Munley has represented individuals and families in complex personal injury litigation in state and federal courts for thirty years. Munley specializes in cases involving truck accidents, auto accidents, medical malpractice, and product liability.
Munley is the second woman in Pennsylvania to become Board Certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. She has consistently been named among: the Best Lawyers in America; Pennsylvania Super Lawyers; and Top 50 Women Lawyers in Pennsylvania. She was named Product Liability Lawyer of the Year, Allentown Metro Area, 2017, by Best Lawyers.
Munley’s excellence in her profession is further demonstrated by her unwavering commitment to mentoring other women in the law. In 2016, she received the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession Lynette Norton Award for her dedication to mentoring other women lawyers. […]
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Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneysyers named 2017 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys: Six Super Lawyers and a Rising Star
We’re pleased to announce that once again the personal injury lawyers at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys have been included in the annual list of Pennsylvania Super Lawyers.
Only 5% of the attorneys in Pennsylvania earn this title. For more than a decade, the Munley lawyers have earned a spot on the Super Lawyers list. This year, we’re thrilled to announce that our own Katie Nealon has been named a Rising Star. Super Lawyers Rising Stars must be under the age of 40 and in practice for less than 10 years. This list is highly selective; only 2.5% of the young lawyers in Pennsylvania make the cut.
Robert W. Munley, Sr., Personal Injury – General: Plaintiff, Personal Injury; Products: Plaintiff
Marion K. […]
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Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneysyers Named Best Lawyers in America, Marion Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneysyer of the Year
Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys attorneys recognized for excellence by Best Lawyers
Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys is pleased to announce that the legal guide Best Lawyers has named five of the Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys partners to the 2017 edition of Best Lawyers in America.
In addition, Best Lawyers designated Marion Munley “Lawyer of the Year” for Product Liability Litigation in the Allentown Metro Area.
Only a single attorney earns the title of “Lawyer of the Year” for each specialty and metropolitan area. Lawyer of the Year” honors are awarded to individual attorneys with the highest overall peer-feedback for a specific practice area and geographic location.
Receiving this designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among other leading lawyers in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, […]
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Doctors on Probation for Gross Misconduct Still Practicing
Would you want to know if your doctor was on disciplinary probation?
When it comes to a physician’s disciplinary history, patients are kept very much in the dark. Physicians all over the country who have been disciplined for sexual misconduct, drug abuse, and devastating medical mistakes are still practicing, some while on probation, and they are not required to disclose their probationary status to their current patients.
Meanwhile, medical errors 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S.
Recently, Senator Jerry Hill of California authored a bill that would require doctors to inform patients of their probationary status. The legislation didn’t pass.
Is your doctor on probation?
Under current laws, doctors are required to disclose their disciplinary history to the hospital or practice where they work, and to their medical malpractice insurer, […]
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Medical Errors the 3rd Leading Cause of Death
A recent study from Johns Hopkins found that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States, claiming more lives than any other medical condition except cancer and heart disease.
Unfortunately, this problem is kept out of the public eye because the CDC’s mortality statistics, which rely on death certificate data, don’t capture things like communication breakdowns or errors in judgment that can lead to a patient’s death. As a result, medical mistakes are under-reported. This new study, based on eight years of hospitalization records, calls for a better way to track medical errors in order to better protect patients.
As personal injury lawyers, we know that there are seemingly endless numbers of things that can go wrong during a patient’s care. Missed or mistaken diagnosis, unnecessary procedures, poor communication, electronic medical record inconsistencies, prescription mishaps, […]
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