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Medical Malpractice

A hospital should be a place of healing and recovery, and doctors and nurses should act as the protectors of our physical well-being. Frequently, though, the opposite is the case.

According to the Institute of Medicine, as many as 98,000 people die each year from preventable medical errors. In 2006, there were 1,693 medical malpractice suits filed in Pennsylvania alone. A doctor misdiagnoses a patient by failing to see a dark mass of cancerous tissue on an X-ray. A surgeon permanently damages a patient’s nerve while performing an unrelated surgery. An obstetrician fails to deliver a baby in a timely manner, resulting in the infant’s lifelong cerebral palsy. A nurse administers a patient the incorrect dose of medicine, resulting in the patient’s death.

At Berger & Lagnese, we believe that you should feel safe in your hospital and in the hands of medical professionals. Our job is to ensure that incompetent doctors are barred from practicing and that hospitals and maternity wards are places of mending and new life instead of places where you have to worry about you and your loved one’s safety.

Many times, the consequences of medical malpractice are irreversible. Nothing can undo the years of life lost due to a missed diagnosis or the lowered quality of life caused by a brain injury that could have been prevented – and nothing can undo your pain and mental anguish or the death of a loved one.

Even though some injuries are irreversible, we will help you obtain the financial support needed to repair the damage done to you and your family and to help you live your life as fully as possible with your injuries. Filing a lawsuit is important not only to obtain money to cover your medical needs and to make up for your pain and suffering, but also to ensure that the health care worker or hospital that is responsible for your injuries will not harm someone else.

According to the Institute of Medicine, the majority of medical errors go unreported, by both the patients who suffer from them and the doctors who commit them. This silence not only damages the quality of our healthcare system, but also prevents those who are injured from being awarded the financial support they need to live with the injuries and disabilities suffered due to medical malpractice.

Many lawyers will take on medical malpractice cases, but our team of lawyers specialize in them. With a 40-year tradition of handling and winning medical malpractice cases, we understand what it takes to collect evidence, locate the top medical experts, and organize a solid foundation of proof that wrongdoing occurred.

If you have been injured due to the negligent care of a doctor, nurse, or hospital in the Western Pennsylvania, you should be compensated for your injuries. Chances are that you have ongoing medical expenses and disabilities resulting from their medical mistake, and it may be that the health professional or institution that was careless with your safety is now endangering the safety of others.

Although we handle a wide range of medical malpractice cases, we specialize in the following areas:

Birth Injuries and Cerebral Palsy
Failure to Diagnose Cancer and Other Diseases
Surgical Mistakes
Misdiagnosis
Pulmonary Embolism

Our attorneys have worked on medical malpractice cases involving numerous hospitals, including the UPMC Hospitals, Allegheny General Hospital (AGH), Alle-Kiski Medical Center, Allegheny Valley Hospital, Altoona Hospital, Beaver Medical Center (Heritage Valley Beaver), Bedford Hospital, Bon Secours Hospital, Conemaugh Hospital, Butler Hospital, Children's Hospital, Clarion Hospital, Conemaugh Hospital, Excela Hospitals, Westmoreland Hospital, Frick Hospital, Hamot Hospital, Highlands Hospital, Indiana Hospital, Jameson Hospital, Jeannette Hospital, Jefferson Hospital, Lee Hospital (UPMC Lee), Magee Womens Hospital, Mercy Hospital (UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh), Mill Creek Hospital (Erie, PA), Mon Valley Hospital, Passavant Hospital (UPMC Passavant), Presbyterian Hospital "Presby" (UPMC Presby), Sewickley Hospital (Heritage Valley Sewickley), Shadyside Hospital (UPMC Shadyside), Sharon Hospital, UPMC Southside Hospital, St. Clair Hospital, St. Margaret's Hospital (UPMC St. Margaret), St. Vincents Hospital, Suburban General Hospital, Uniontown Hospital, Washington Hospital, and many others.

We work on breast cancer cases involving breast cancer missed on mammogram or breast cancer misdiagnosis. These cases also include situations where breast tissue was removed for biopsy but the cancer was missed when it was evaluated.

We work on colon cancer cases including those in which colon cancer was missed on colonoscopy or a colon polyp was not properly evaluated after its removal.

We work on cases involving cervical cancer and endometrial (uterus) cancer, especially cases in which cervical cancer was missed on the Pap smear (Pap test).

We work on many medical malpractice cases involving a doctor's or hospital's failure to detect cancer or misdiagnosis of cancer, including bladder cancer, lung cancer, thyroid cancer, and skin and melanoma cancers.

We work on failure to diagnose cases, including the failure to diagnose and treat heart attack, pulmonary embolism (PE), stroke, aneurysm (abdominal and brain aneurysms), and many others.

Our lawyers also work on cerebral palsy cases. Each year, 5,000 infants and 1,200-1,500 toddlers are diagnosed with cerebral palsy – and many of these cases are due to preventable delays and careless mistakes made during birth and delivery.

Our lawyers work on many cases of surgical error or surgical mistake, including hernia surgery, gall bladder surgery, gastric bypass (bariatric weight loss) surgery, carpal tunnel surgery, and all types of laparoscopic surgery cases

To talk with our team of attorneys about your case or to consult with a board certified physician on our staff, please call us at (412) 471-4300, toll free at (800) 350-6161, or email us. There are laws in place that protect you in these situations, and by working together, we can protect your safety.

Proudly Serving these Pennsylvania Cities and Counties:

Pittsburgh, Beaver, Uniontown, Greensburg, New Castle, Altoona, Erie, Butler, Mercer, Franklin, Allegheny, Fayette, Westmoreland, Washington, Johnstown, Lawrence, Blair, and Verango.

Library for Medical Malpractice:

Compartment Syndromes
Description: Did you get a compartment syndrome? Do you have permanent nerve or muscle damage? Get a free evaluation of your case from the Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys.
Beaver Medical Center/Heritage Valley Beaver
Surgery of Carotid Body Tumors
Description: Do you have a carotid body tumor or a paraganlioma? Did your doctor miss it or misread your MRI? You may be the victim of medical malpractice. For free evalution of your case, see the medical malpractice attorneys of Pennsylvania.
Survival from Carotid Body Tumors
Description: Do you have a carotid body tumor? Was it missed on x-ray or MRI? Did it cause damage to your cranial nerves? For a free evaluation of your case, see the Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys.
Compartment Syndrome in Open Tibial Fractures
Description: Did you have compartment syndrome? Did your doctor or hospital fail to detect it until it was too late? Do you have permanent nerve and muscle damage as a result? Have your case evaluated for free by the medical malpractice attorneys of Pennsylvania.
Hernia Surgery Attorney in Pennsylvania
Description: Did your doctor perforate, lacerate, or injure your bowel or intestine during your hernia surgery? Do you want to find out what really happened during your hernia surgery? For a free investigation and review of your case, contact the hernia surgery attorneys of Pennsylvania.
Endometrial Cancer
Description: Were you diagnosed with endometrial cancer (cancer of the uterus)? Was your cancer missed or misdiagnosed? Was there a delay in the diagnosis of your cancer? The earlier cancer is diagnosed and treated, the more likely it will be cured. For more information about endometrial (uterus) cancer, contact Berger & Lagnese. We will find out what really happened during your medical care.
Gallbladder Surgery Malpractice
Description: Did your surgeon make mistakes when performing your laparoscopic gallbladder surgery? Did your doctor cut your common bile duct or hepatic duct? Did your surgeon cause a bile leak? Did a family member die as a result? If mistakes or errors were made during your gallbladder surgery, have your case evaluated for FREE by the gallbladder malpractice attorneys of Pennsylvania. We'll get your case analyzed by the top medical experts.
Gastric Bypass Surgery Lawyer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Description: Were you injured during gastric bypass (bariatric weight loss) surgery? Did your doctor cut, lacerate or perforate your intestine or bowel? Did a family member die from gastric bypass surgery? Do you want to find the honest truth about what happened? Call the gastric bypass malpractice lawyers of Pennsylvania. We will do a FREE investigation and get your case reviewed by the top medical experts.
Hospitals With Medical Malpractice Cases
Description: Are you the victim of medical malpractice while you were in the hospital? Do you want to find out what really happened during your stay in the Hospital. Don't keep wondering what happened. Our attorneys and doctors will find out what happened. For a free investigation and evaluation, contact Berger & Lagnese, the premier medical malpractice law firm in Pennsylvania.
What Every Adult Needs To Know About Heart Attack
Description: Heart attack is nearly always survivable if treated fast enough. If your loved one died of a heart attack in the hospital, there is a good chance the doctors failed to act fast enough. Call the lawyers at Berger & Lagnese at 412-471-4300 or 800-350-6161 for a free consultation. Let Berger & Lagnese help you find out whether your loved one's heart attack was treated fast enough.
Carpal Tunnel Surgery and the Lacerated or Cut Median Nerve
Description: If you had carpal tunnel surgery and suffered a lacerated or cut median nerve during the surgery you should call the lawyers at Berger & Lagnese at 412-471-4300 or 800-350-6161 for a free consultation. Berger & Lagnese is your premier law firm in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania for carpal tunnel medical malpractice cases. Let the lawyers at Berger & Lagnese help you determine whether you have a carpal tunnel medical malpractice case.
Tests for Diagnosing Cancer
Description: Did your doctor order the right tests to find and diagnose your cancer? To find out whether your cancer was missed or misdiagnosed, contact Berger & Lagnese. They will get your medical records and find out what happened.
Carpal Tunnel Surgery Malpractice Lawyer
Description: Get more Information you need about Carpal Tunnel Symptoms and Surgery. Please contact us if we can help you.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Symptoms
Description: We are your premier medical malpractice lawyers for carpal tunnel syndrome surgery malpractice cases in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania
Medical Negligence Lawsuits Save Lives
Description: Because of the real threat of jury verdicts that fully compensate the victims of medical errors, malpractice lawsuits force hospitals and doctors to do a better job with today's patients than they did with yesterday's. Take away the possibility of full compensation for victims of medical malpractice, and you've taken away the incentive that hospitals and doctors need to do a better job the next time.