Recent Verdicts

Congratulations to Kyle N. Thompson and Kristy Castagna for securing a defense verdict on behalf of an orthopedist. Plaintiff alleged significant (three centimeter) leg length discrepancy following hip replacement resulting in the need for revision of the hip replacement and subsequent spinal surgery. The defense team was able to establish that a leg length discrepancy is an inherent risk of hip replacement, and the jury returned a unanimous verdict in the doctor’s favor.

Attorneys Jim Kilcoyne and Jacqueline Drygas successfully defended two radiologists in Lancaster County following a five-day jury trial.  Plaintiffs asserted that both radiologists failed to recognize imaging abnormalities that were suspicious for breast cancer and recommend an immediate biopsy. They alleged that the delay caused Plaintiff to suffer advanced breast cancer. In the face of a seven-figure demand, Jim and Jackie established that both radiologists met the standard of care by recognizing a focal asymmetry and recommending close follow up imaging to watch the area. Evidence was also presented that Plaintiff’s treatment and prognosis would have been the same even if there was an earlier diagnosis.

Attorneys Jim Kilcoyne and Jacqueline Drygas recently obtained a defense verdict for a urologist in Philadelphia County following a seven-day trial. Plaintiff made a seven-figure demand in a case involving allegations of a delay in identifying a rectal perforation following a radical cystectomy surgery. Specifically, Plaintiff claimed that the decedent suffered from an undiagnosed perforation which lead to worsening sepsis and death. Defendants presented evidence that despite a perforation ultimately being found, it was not present initially and the Defendant physician acted diligently in following the patient after the cystectomy and even returning the patient to the OR for exploration to investigate the cause of the patient’s decline. The jury returned a verdict of no negligence on behalf of the Defendant doctor.

Kilcoyne & Nesbitt finished the year strong with another win for our clients! Congratulations to Kristy Castagna in obtaining a defense win in Luzerne County. The case involved allegations by the Plaintiff that the defendant urologist failed to appropriately diagnose and treat a 9-year-old boy’s testicular torsion, resulting in on-going pain and loss of the organ. Through effective cross-examination of Plaintiff’s witnesses and experts, Attorney Castagna disproved the claim of continuing pain and established that the testicle was beyond salvage by the time Plaintiff came under the treatment of the urologist. Attorney Castagna was able to have the claims against the urologist dismissed halfway through trial by nonsuit after arguing that Plaintiff failed to establish that the defendant urologist had breached the standard of care.

Congratulations to Laurie Shannon and Gregory Nesbitt for their teamwork in achieving yet another defense verdict together, this time in Philadelphia County. Laurie led the defense team in this case which involved an ER physician who Plaintiff claimed failed to timely diagnose him with a serious ocular emergency, resulting in permanent damage to his vision. Plaintiff claimed that the physician anchored to a headache diagnosis and overlooked the possibility of acute angle closure glaucoma. In fact, the defense was able to prove to the jury during the week-long trial that the doctor met the standard of care in evaluating and treating Plaintiff and did timely diagnose him, particularly where the patient failed to provide an accurate history regarding prior eye surgery. The jury returned a unanimous verdict of no negligence in under an hour.

Congratulations to Joann Giangiulio and Greg Nesbitt on their recent appellate win! Led by Attorney Giangiulio, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently affirmed the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s opinion granting the Defendant Ob/Gyn and Defendant Hospital’s Daubert Motion, as well as the Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. In this action, Plaintiffs alleged that their son’s birth injuries, caused by the Defendants’ negligence, resulted in their son’s neurodevelopmental delays and autism. The opinions of the Eastern District Court and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals may prove persuasive in causation battles in future birth injury cases.

Attorneys Kyle N. Thompson and Kristy M. Castagna obtained a defense verdict in a high exposure radiology misread case.  The win was especially significant, since Kyle and Kristy were able to achieve the success without the benefit of a defense standard of care expert at trial.

On July 2, 2024, in the matter of Adami v. Crozer Chester Medical Center et al., Attorneys Gregory Nesbitt and Mark DiAntonio won summary judgment in favor of all Defendants.  In this medical negligence claim, Plaintiffs produced a two sentence “expert report,” which Defendants argued did not meet the requirements of expert disclosure in Pennsylvania.  Furthermore, Defendants argued that the proposed expert was not qualified to render an opinion on the standard of care in this case, as she did not practice in the same subspecialty of the physician Defendant.  Therefore,  because Plaintiffs could not prove a prima facie case against the Defendants, their claims were dismissed.

Congratulations to Greg Nesbitt and Joann Giangiulio and their medmal team on the recent defense verdict in Philadelphia County on behalf of a defendant cardiothoracic surgeon. The thirty-five (35) year old plaintiff claimed that the surgeon failed to timely address complications during an aortic valve replacement surgery requiring a heart transplant.  Plaintiff sought significant damages, which included a seven-figure life care plan covering the potential for future heart transplantations.  After a six-day trial, the jury deliberated less than thirty minutes to reach a unanimous defense verdict for the surgeon and the hospital.