Last month, Member Stuart T. O’Neal, III and Associate Sasha E. Miller secured a dismissal for a private physician client, along with the United States and some of its agents, in a medical malpractice case before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Mr. O’Neal and Ms. Miller filed a successful Motion to Dismiss based on the plaintiff’s failure to establish that the allegation deviated from an acceptable professional standard as required for licensed professionals in the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure, and that their physician client was not a proper party under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The court granted their motion and dismissed the claims against the client under the Federal Tort Claims Act with prejudice, as he was not a proper defendant. In addition, the court stated that any appeal would be frivolous and not taken in good faith.
Note: The results obtained in a particular case are heavily dependent on the facts and the law specific to that case.