Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Philadelphia
Injured by Medical Negligence? We Deliver Justice. You Recover.
Experienced Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Lawyers Holding Hospitals, Doctors & Healthcare Providers Accountable
When the Care You Trusted Causes the Harm
Medical malpractice lawyers in Philadelphia represent patients and families harmed when a physician, surgeon, nurse, or hospital falls below the accepted standard of care. At Villari, Lentz & Lynam, we bring misdiagnosis, surgical error, birth injury, emergency room, and wrongful death claims against the region’s largest health systems, including Penn Medicine, Jefferson Health, and Temple Health.
You went in to get better. You did not agree to leave with a permanent injury, a stack of bills, or an empty chair at the table.
Our partners have tried these cases in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas for more than 30 years.
Results We’ve Achieved For Families Like Yours
$13,000,000
$8,225,000
$6,500,000
“Attention to detail and drive to get the best results for his clients is unparalleled!”
Read Real Client Reviews
Do You Have a Medical Malpractice Case?
Not every poor outcome is malpractice, but when a healthcare provider makes a serious mistake that causes harm, you may have a case. This may involve:
- A delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis that results in worsened health.
- Surgical errors, including wrong-site surgeries or retained surgical tools.
- Failure to treat a medical emergency appropriately.
- Improper medication or dosage errors.
- Negligence during childbirth or prenatal care.
If the care you received fell below accepted medical standards and led to injury or death, we’ll hold the provider legally responsible. Our lawyers will review your circumstances, explain your options, and, if applicable, build a strong case on your behalf.
How We Build Your Medical Malpractice Case
Pennsylvania makes malpractice claims harder to bring than any other kind of injury case. Here is how we clear each hurdle.
Reviewing the complete record
Nursing notes, imaging with the radiologist's read, medication logs, and the timestamps showing when someone was told and when someone acted.
Retaining the right specialist
Pennsylvania requires an expert who practices in the same field as the provider you are suing. We use physicians who still treat patients and hold up under cross-examination.
Identifying every liable party
Attending physician, consulting specialist, resident, nursing staff, hospital policy, and sometimes a staffing agency or device manufacturer.
Pricing what comes next
Life care planners and economists document future surgeries, in-home care, lost earning capacity, and home modifications. Insurers pay for what is proven, not what is described.
Preparing for a Philadelphia jury
We negotiate from a file already built for verdict, and hospital defense counsel know which firms try cases and which ones fold.
Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Laws
Knowing which laws apply changes who can be held liable and what your case is worth.
Time Limits to File a Claim
Most medical malpractice claims must be filed within two years, although exceptions apply under Pennsylvania's discovery rule, for minors, and under the MCARE Act's seven-year statute of repose.
What Must Be Proven
Every malpractice claim must establish a provider-patient relationship, negligence in the form of a breach of the accepted standard of care, causation, and measurable damages.
Certificate of Merit
Pennsylvania requires a qualified medical expert to certify that the claim has merit within 60 days of filing under Rule 1042.3.
Compensation Available
Medical expenses, lost wages, future care costs, and pain and suffering. Pennsylvania does not cap non-economic damages against private providers, though your health insurer will lien whatever you recover. We resolve those subrogation claims so your net holds.
Where Cases Are Filed
Most claims here are filed in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. Pennsylvania lifted its county-of-treatment restriction in 2023, so venue is worth evaluating before anything is filed.
Medical Malpractice Cases We Handle
Malpractice can happen at any stage of treatment, from a missed diagnosis in the emergency room to a preventable surgical mistake.
Some of the cases we handle but are not limited to include:
Delayed Diagnosis & Misdiagnosis
When doctors fail to diagnose or promptly identify conditions like cancer, stroke, or infections, delayed treatment can lead to life-altering or fatal consequences.
Surgical Errors
We represent patients injured by preventable surgical mistakes, including wrong-site procedures, retained surgical instruments, and negligent post-operative care.
Birth Injuries & OB-GYN Negligence
Negligence during pregnancy, labor, or delivery can leave children and mothers with lifelong injuries that should have been prevented.
Emergency Room Negligence
Emergency room negligence can occur at busy urban hospitals, community medical centers, and trauma facilities throughout the Philadelphia area. We represent patients harmed by delayed treatment, diagnostic errors, and improper discharge decisions.
Medication & Hospital Errors
Dosing mistakes, drug interactions, hospital-acquired infections, and pressure injuries from thin staffing. When the harm traces to a defective implant, pump, or mesh rather than the clinician, it becomes a product liability claim.
Medical negligence can also occur in residential care settings. If your loved one was injured while living in a group home, learn more about our experience representing families in claims involving KenCrest, Devereux, and Woods Services.
Did this happen to you or your family?
Meet Your Medical Malpractice Lawyers
Medical malpractice lawyers in Philadelphia must understand both complex litigation and the medicine behind every case. Our attorneys have decades of experience representing patients and families harmed by negligent hospitals, physicians, and healthcare providers throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
A Philadelphia native with more than 30 years of trial experience, Leonard G. Villari has devoted his career to representing victims of catastrophic injuries, medical negligence, and wrongful death throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Recognized as a Super Lawyer every year since 2005, he works closely with qualified medical experts to build compelling malpractice cases against hospitals, physicians, surgeons, and other healthcare providers.
Most Notable Recoveries
- $13,000,000 Recovery: Secured for a client after an emergency room failed to diagnose a stroke, resulting in catastrophic harm.
- $6,500,000 Settlement: Recovered for a client who sustained profound anoxic brain injuries as a result of medical negligence during routine surgery.
He represents patients and families harmed by preventable medical errors, catastrophic injuries, and wrongful death throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia. He has extensive experience handling complex medical malpractice litigation, working alongside leading medical experts, and preparing cases for trial against hospitals, physicians, and healthcare institutions.
Most Notable Recoveries
- $2,650,000 Recovery: Obtained for a patient after the failure to diagnose cervical cancer delayed critical treatment.
- $1,000,000 Verdict: Recovered in a medical negligence case after a nurse practitioner’s mismanagement of diabetes treatment resulted in a below-the-knee amputation.
Why Injured Patients Across the Region Choose Us
Medical malpractice is the most heavily defended area of injury law. The hospitals here are represented by firms that handle nothing else, and we have spent decades on the other side of them.
What Sets Us Apart
We know the defense side. Direct experience against the counsel who represent Penn Medicine, Jefferson Health, Temple Health, and the region's other major systems.
Record-setting verdicts. Two of the largest medical malpractice verdicts in Pennsylvania in 2001, as reported by the Legal Intelligencer, and multi-million dollar results since.
Peer-recognized partners. Both named Super Lawyers by Philadelphia Magazine, a list limited to the top 5% of Pennsylvania attorneys by vote of other lawyers.
Licensed on both sides of the river. Admitted in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and in the federal courts of both states, from Philadelphia hospital claims to nursing home abuse cases in Edison.
Beyond hospitals. Institutional negligence claims against group homes and long-term care providers including KenCrest, Devereux, and Woods Services, from Philadelphia north to nursing home abuse cases in Bethlehem.
Built for verdict. Over 100 years of combined trial experience, with every file prepared for trial rather than positioned for a quick settlement.
Areas We Serve
Our local medical malpractice attorneys have over 100 years of combined experiences helping clients recover due compensation from across Pennsylvania and New Jersey including:
Pennsylvania
- Allentown
- Bethlehem
- Doylestown
- Easton
- Harrisburg
- King of Prussia
- Lancaster
- New Hope
- Reading
- West Chester
- York
New Jersey
- Camden
- Essex
- Middlesex
You Have Questions, We’ve Helped Clients Like You Find Answers
Can I bring a claim in Pennsylvania if I was harmed at a New Jersey hospital?
Usually not. The case belongs where the care was given, and New Jersey applies its own affidavit of merit rule and damages limits. We are admitted in both states, so either side of the river is handled in house.
Will signing a consent form hurt my case?
No. Consent acknowledges the known risks of a procedure. It does not permit that procedure to be performed incompetently.
How long does a case take in Philadelphia County?
Most resolve in 18 to 36 months. Expert discovery is the part that cannot be rushed, and rushing it is usually what costs a case its value.
The hospital already offered me money. Should I take it?
Let us look at it first, at no cost. Early offers come before the full record is known, and accepting one typically ends your right to sue.
Is it harder to sue a large Philadelphia hospital system?
Their defense teams are better resourced and slower to settle, but institutional size does not change the standard of care they owe you. We have litigated against every major system in the region.
Don’t Accept Your Pain: Talk With a Medical Malpractice Lawyer for a Free Consultation
During your free consultation, you’ll speak directly with an experienced medical malpractice attorney who will review what happened, explain your legal options, and help you determine your next steps.
