Attorney Eric G. Zajac Esquire's Legal Cases

Medical malpractice

Quinby v. Plumsteadville Fam. Prac., Inc., 589 Pa. 183, 907 A.2d 1061 (2006)

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OUTCOME: judgment as a matter of law; remanded for trial on damages, only

Holdings: The PA Supreme Court held that: 1 res ipsa loquitur charge should have been given; 2 the evidence so strongly supported the inference of negligence that patient's wife was entitled to judgm ... ent on her negligence claim; and 3 audio portion of videotape patient made twenty-two months prior to his fall from exam table and patient's videotaped deposition, which was taken after the fall, were admissible.

Medical malpractice

Feldman v. Entine, 42 Pa. D. & C.4th 189 (Com. Pl. 1999).

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OUTCOME: Enter judgment of the jury verdict in favor of plaintiff, and against defendant in the amount of $2,500,000. Delay damages are also assessed in the amount of $1,251,863.20; making the total judgment to be $3,751,863.20.

The plaintiff-husband underwent thyroid surgery to remove a cancerous growth which was imbedded in his thyroid gland. The thyroidectomy, the subject matter of this suit, was performed by the defendant ... a certified general surgeon. During the operation, the plaintiff-husband's laryngeal nerve was damaged, causing paralysis of the left vocal cord. As a result of this paralysis, plaintiff-husband's voice was permanently injured, resulting in constant hoarseness and weakness of his voice.

Medical malpractice

Hoose v. Jefferson Home Health Care, Inc., 754 A.2d 1 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2000)

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OUTCOME: The trial court abused its discretion by transferring the instant case from Philadelphia County to Delaware County. The court misapplied the law. Case remanded to the trial court.

Plaintiff, suffering from gangrene in his right leg, underwent a below-the-knee amputation (“BKA”). The surgery was performed by Ronald Mattson, M.D. Doctor Mattson performed a femoral bypass in order ... to lower the amputation level to below the knee – a situation more suitable for rehabilitation purposes. At the time of his surgery, Plaintiff was insured by Appellee U.S. Healthcare pursuant to a welfare benefit plan provided by his employer. Both Dr. Mattson and the Chief of Psychiatry Service ordered that Plaintiff be transferred to a Rehabilitation Hospital after the surgery. The insurer, however, refused to honor the transfer believing that the “acute rehab benefits” from such a medical decision did not fit within U.S. Healthcare's guidelines. Rather, U.S. Healthcare directed that once the incision had properly and fully healed, it would sanction the patient's transfer to a Rehab Hosp. Plaintiff opted for home health care which was provided by Jefferson Home Health Care; the home care included the use of a physical therapist and a registered nurse. During this time, the patient developed a post-operative stump infection which ultimately led to a rupture, requiring an above-the-knee amputation (“AKA”).

Sexual harassment

Plaintiff v. Advanced Data Sys., Inc., No. CIV. A. 97-5002, 1998 WL 512962 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 7, 1998)

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OUTCOME: summary judgment denied

Plaintiff claims that defendants sexually harassed her during her employment. At her deposition, she testified that she kept a personal diary throughout this time period, and had kept one for many year ... s prior to her employment . During the course of discovery, Plaintiff had produced handwritten diary entries, but she testified at her deposition that these were copied by hand from her diaries and were not photocopies of the diaries themselves. She explained that the EEO investigator told her to make these handwritten copies, since the original diaries contained other, irrelevant material in each entry. Plaintiff testified at her deposition that she believed that the original diary was in North Carolina. Later, she told Defendants that the locker in which the diaries were stored, along with other of her personal belongings, had been broken into, and its contents stolen. Defendants submit in their motion that their inability to inspect the original diaries provides a basis for summary judgment against her.

Federal regulation

Shuker v. Smith & Nephew, PLC, 885 F.3d 760 (3d Cir. 2018)

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OUTCOME: patient's negligence claim based on off-label promotion was not preempted; District Court abused its discretion in denying jurisdictional discovery into personal jurisdiction over parent company under alter ego theory.

Patient who received hip replacement surgery brought negligence, strict liability, and breach of implied warranty claims against medical device manufacturer and parent company, after patient suffered c ... omplications from the surgery which involved the off-label installation of a metal liner.

Personal injury

Weintraub v. Walt Disney World Co., 825 F. Supp. 717 (E.D. Pa. 1993)

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OUTCOME: Court could exercise general personal jurisdiction over corporation.

Persons injured on ride at amusement park and resort in Florida brought personal injury action against corporation which owned resort. Corporation moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, im ... proper venue, insufficiency of process, and insufficiency of service based on lack of jurisdiction.

Personal injury

Battiato v. Motor Co., No. 1:08CVXXXX, 2010 WL XXXX (M.D. Pa. June 24, 2010)

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OUTCOME: motion for summary judgment denied

This case concerns alleged manufacturing and design defects in the “jiffy stand” on plaintiff's motorcycle.

Bankruptcy and debt

In re Motors Liquidation Co., No. 09-50026, 2011 WL 6119662 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Nov. 29, 2011)

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OUTCOME: To the extent that 11 U.S.C. § 362 and/or other provisions of the Bankruptcy Code were viewed as an impediment to proceeding against the in the case, any stay viewed by any Court to exist is hereby LIFTED.

Plaintiff filed a product liability case against auto manufacturer and dealership in Pennsylvania. Auto manufacturer declared bankruptcy in New York. Trial court imposed a stay as to all Defendants. Pl ... aintiff sought to lift the stay so that the claims against the dealership could continue.

Eric G. Zajac Esquire's Legal Cases (8)

Quinby v. Plumsteadville Fam. Prac., Inc., 589 Pa. 183, 907 A.2d 1061 (2006)

Feldman v. Entine, 42 Pa. D. & C.4th 189 (Com. Pl. 1999).

Hoose v. Jefferson Home Health Care, Inc., 754 A.2d 1 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2000)

Plaintiff v. Advanced Data Sys., Inc., No. CIV. A. 97-5002, 1998 WL 512962 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 7, 1998)

Shuker v. Smith & Nephew, PLC, 885 F.3d 760 (3d Cir. 2018)

Weintraub v. Walt Disney World Co., 825 F. Supp. 717 (E.D. Pa. 1993)

Battiato v. Motor Co., No. 1:08CVXXXX, 2010 WL XXXX (M.D. Pa. June 24, 2010)

In re Motors Liquidation Co., No. 09-50026, 2011 WL 6119662 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Nov. 29, 2011)