Medical Malpractice Lawyers | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Are you the victim of a surgical mistake or other type of medical malpractice? If you have suffered an injury as a result of medical malpractice or negligence, the team of legal professionals at the law offices of Schmidt Kramer can help.

I am very pleased with the settlement I received…. I would highly recommend!
_{– Client of Schmidt Kramer}

Our medical malpractice lawyers have experience successfully handling medical malpractice cases including a $425,000 recovery on behalf of a 90-year-old client against Pinnacle Health Cardiovascular Institute. Our attorneys and support team work hard to give your case the attention your doctor failed to give you.

Call (717) 888-8888 for a free legal consultation with a lawyer at our firm, or fill out a Free Case Consultation form and a member from our legal team will be in contact with you shortly.

Schmidt Kramer – Trusted Local Lawyers

Do I Have A Medical Malpractice Case?

By definition, medical malpractice is the failure of a medical professional to adhere to the standards of care set forth in his or her practice resulting in physical or mental injury to a patient. Medical malpractice may refer to a health professional’s actions or failure to act in some cases.

There are several factors that can lead to medical malpractice. To determine if you were the victim of a medical mistake that could have been prevented, ask yourself the following questions:

Did your doctor fail to disclose important information regarding your health or medical condition?
Was your treatment delayed because your insurance company questioned the necessity of a procedure or test?
Were you injured by faulty medical equipment, or was your baby injured by medical equipment during birth?
Have you suffered adverse reactions from a drug you were prescribed?
Did your condition worsen because you were discharged too early?

If you can answer “yes” to any of the above questions, you may have been a victim of medical malpractice. To learn more about your legal options, contact a Harrisburg medical malpractice lawyer at Schmidt Kramer today.

How a Lawyer Can Help

In most instances, medical malpractice victims that have legal representation recover more financial compensation compared to those that do not hire a lawyer. Furthermore, insurance companies are often involved in medical malpractice cases where their goal is to have the claim dismissed or, paid out at the lowest possible financial amount.

… medical malpractice victims that have legal representation recover more financial compensation compared to those that do not hire a lawyer…”

At Schmidt Kramer, we have been handling cases against insurance companies for many years and we use that experience to build a strong argument for your damages claim. From handling inquiries on your behalf to gathering the evidence that we may need to support your claim, our attorneys have a detailed knowledge of the laws in Pennsylvania that relate to medical malpractice and a full support team to help – which may also include the use of industry experts and professionals that we can call upon to support your case.

What is My Case Worth?

As each medical malpractice case is different, it can be difficult to immediately determine the value of your case without knowing the specific details associated with it.

However, we understand that victims and their families need answers and our team of lawyers and support staff can help to find them.

We welcome you to call us at (717) 888-8888 so that you can speak to a lawyer at our firm and we can begin to discuss the merits of your claim.

It’s free to call and it’s free to talk to a lawyer during our initial consultation. If you decide to hire us, there are no upfront fees and we only get paid when we obtain a recovery on your behalf.

Free Consultation. Ph: (717) 888-8888.

What Forms of Compensation May Be Available?

Generally, medical malpractice victims may be eligible to seek compensation in the form of economic or non-economic damages. These damages will depend on your unique situation and may include the following:

Economic Damages

These damages help to reimburse you for any monetary losses, such as:

Medical bills from a doctor, hospital or clinic
Future medical treatment required
Emergency services and hospitalization
Travel costs to doctor’s appointments

Operations and corrective surgeries
Diagnostic and imaging tests
Loss of wages and earning capabilities
Funeral and/or burial expenses

Non-Economic Damages

These damages help reimburse you for any physical and emotional losses you have experienced, such as:

Physical pain and suffering
Mental pain and suffering
Emotional distress

Loss of quality of life
Loss of enjoyment of life
Loss of companionship

Unlike other states, there is no cap or limit to the amount of damages that may be awarded to medical malpractice victims in Pennsylvania. Our licensed Harrisburg medical malpractice attorneys are prepared to pursue maximum compensation on your behalf, should your claim have merit.

Call for legal help 24/7 at: (717) 888-8888.

How Long Do I Have to File a Medical Malpractice Claim in PA?

Pennsylvania follows a statute of limitations, which sets a certain time limit for victims to take legal action. Not filing before the deadline will likely result in a court dismissal and an inability to pursue compensation.

In most situations, you must generally file within two years from the date of the malpractice. There are circumstances that affect or alter this deadline, such as with claims involving victims who are children or minors or when an injury was not immediately discovered until a later date.

This is why it is in your best interest to reach out to a member of our legal team as soon as possible.

Proving Medical Malpractice

Being able to prove medical malpractice means establishing that the doctor or medical professional did not provide a reasonable standard of care when treating you. While this may seem straightforward, proving this can be complicated in a medical malpractice claim without legal representation on your side.

If you have a valid claim, a Harrisburg medical malpractice attorney from our firm is ready to help establish:

The existence of a doctor-patient relationship
The doctor owed you a duty of care to prevent harm
The doctor breached this duty by acting negligently
The doctor’s negligence led directly to your injury
The injury you sustained resulted in damages (i.e. medical expenses)

Schmidt Kramer. Free Initial Consultation. Ph: +(717) 888-8888.

Differences Between Medical Negligence and Medical Malpractice

Many people may not realize that while both terms share certain similarities, they are actually very different.

Medical negligence occurs when a mistake, error or oversight by a medical professional leads to injuring a patient. The mistake was not intentionally done and was unknown during the time treatment was given.

Medical malpractice, however, happens when a medical professional knew or should have known about the potential consequences by acting or not acting with reasonable care. His or her duties were not performed in a manner that is acceptable within the standards of the medical community and this resulted in the patient suffering an injury, a worsened condition or death.

Paying Taxes After A Medical Malpractice Settlement

Victims of medical malpractice typically do not have to pay taxes on settlement awards for a physical injury or illness. Although, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), victims may have to pay taxes on settlement awards for emotional distress or mental anguish. Any punitive damages may also be taxable.

These damages are awarded in rare circumstances to punish the doctor or medical professional for his or her gross negligence to discourage others with the same training and experience from committing the same act.

Common Types of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice committed by a negligent doctor or medical professional can occur during any stage of treatment. Some of the most common types of medical malpractice include:

Misdiagnosis

A misdiagnosis can occur when a medical professional fails to correctly recognize or diagnose a patient’s illness. Not undergoing any treatments or the wrong treatment can cause the patient’s illness to worsen or lead to a fatal injury.

Medication Errors

A medication error can occur when a doctor prescribes the wrong medication or dosage amount or the medication interacts badly with other drugs. This can cause the patient to suffer from serious side effects, an allergic reaction, or a potentially dangerous overdose.

Surgical Mistakes

A surgical mistake can occur when a surgeon performs on the wrong patient or body part, leaves surgical equipment inside the body, or inappropriately sterilizes surgical tools. This can cause the patient to suffer from a deadly infection or other serious, life-threatening injuries.

Anesthesia Mistakes

A mistake with anesthesia can happen when an anesthesiologist administers not enough or too much anesthesia, fails to check a patient’s history for possible complications or does not pay attention to a patient’s vital signs during an operation. This can cause the patient to suffer a brain injury or death.

Childbirth Injuries

A birth-related injury can happen when an OBGYN causes harm to a child and perhaps the mother during labor and delivery as a result of delaying a C-section, failing to identify fetal distress or an ectopic pregnancy, as well as the improper use of birthing equipment, such as vacuums and forceps. This can result in the child suffering often permanent and irreversible nerve damage, paralysis or cerebral palsy.

Contact Our Harrisburg Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Suffering from medical malpractice can be devastating for the victim and his or her family members who often deal with the side-effects of the victim’s injury. At Schmidt Kramer, we sympathize with anyone who has suffered due to a medical professional’s negligence. We are dedicated to helping victims fight for fair and just compensation.

Our attorneys are experienced in handling medical malpractice cases and we have helped those who have been injured as a result of the negligence of health care providers. At Schmidt Kramer, our legal team has more than 30 years of experience and are prepared to walk you through the entire legal process.

If you have been seriously injured and you have legal questions – we welcome you to call and speak with our lawyers today.

Call (717) 888-8888 or fill out a Free Case Review form.

Free Case Review

No Upfront Fees

Recent Results

$10,043,952.13 Personal Injury
Schmidt Kramer, P.C.partner Gerard C. Kramer won a personal injury action for $10,043,952.13 in Northumberland County on behalf of a volunteer firefighter who was the victim of Intentional Tort. The 50-year-old volunteer firefighter was seriously injured when a barn collapsed, causing a spinal injury which left him a paraplegic. The claim was brought against the arsonist who intentionally started the fire. It is believed that the verdict is the highest ever in Northumberland County.
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$4,034,000.00 Personal Injury
Yesterday a Judge in Union County (Lewisburg, PA) awarded a couple from New Berlin, Pennsylvania, over $4,000,000 because the husband was shot while turkey hunting.You might ask yourself, how does a turkey hunting accident end up with that type of verdict? In order to understand the verdict you would have to know our clients. They are good people who had their life wrecked. Plus, you would have to know the defendant, who should not have been hunting with a gun because he was prohibited after a previous criminal conviction.It is a good verdict, because the Judge was able to do two things with his decision. First, he communicated to two very good people that their losses were something that those of us on the outside could appreciate and value. Mike Hobbins (our client) is a 51 year old guy who lost his sight because a convicted felon --who should not have even possessed a gun-- went hunting illegally, and broke with impunity the most fundamental rule in hunting: identify your target before you pull the trigger. The Judge accepted the financial loss Mr. Hobbins' suffered, but listened closely to the evidence of less tangible losses. When Mike broke down on the stand, because his daughter would end up walking him down the aisle at her wedding, as opposed to how it was supposed to go, the Judge was listening. When Mike could not keep it together, because of how emasculating it was for him not to be able to provide financially for his family, the Judge was listening. It was facts like these that the Judge cited to support the $2,000,000 award for non-economic damages. Second, the Judge wanted to send a message. Union County is a hunting county. Many of the residents hunt there, and people from outside the area come to Union County to hunt. It was my impression, from the Judge's statements as he rendered his decision, that he wanted to send a message to the people in Union County to protect them in their sport. The rules in place to restrict people convicted of crimes not to have a gun are not to be broken. Hunting is serious and you have to identify your target before you shoot. When you turn your back on the rules that are set to provide safety in a sport, you risk being an example. Here, the $1,000,000 punitive damage award sends that message loud and clear.When it really comes down to brass tacks, the right action was taken against a Defendant who may never truly appreciate what kind of impact his reckless choices caused.At Schmidt Kramer, we are injury lawyers. That means we work with people who were hurt in car accidents, who were hurt by the neglect of nursing homes, or those that were seriously injured because of the reckless, thoughtless acts of others. If you or a loved one have been injured in Pennsylvania, we may be able to help. While the verdict yesterday is not one that is representative of every case we do, it does show that serious and dedicated representation can bring good results.Joe ChapmanJanuary 18, 2013
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$2,200,000.00 Auto Accidents
On Monday, January 6, 2014, Schmidt Kramer accident lawyer Scott Cooper obtained a verdict on behalf of his client who is the widow of a man who died in a fiery crash on Interstate 78 in Lebanon County. The awarded verdict of $2.2 million was in a nonjury proceeding before a federal judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. That verdict includes $100,000 in punitive damages assessed against the owner of the trucking company.Kamilah Claxton won summary judgment in November after the defendants, Sukhwinder Singh and the trucking company for which he worked, failed to file a brief in opposition to Claxton's motion, which was made in September. The verdict in Claxton v. Singh was issued after the court held a non-jury assessment of damages earlier this month."Mr. Sukhchan Singh, the employer, is liable on the basis of respondent superior, but was also grossly negligent in failing to maintain his vehicle in compliance with state and federal law, particularly with regard to having required safety inspections and correcting defects in its braking equipment," said U.S. District Judge William W. Caldwell of the Middle District of Pennsylvania in his opinion accompanying the verdict."He was also grossly negligent in entrusting his vehicle to Sukhwinder Singh, an inexperienced truck driver who had failed the written test and driving test multiple times before finally earning his commercial driving license," Caldwell said.
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$1,200,000.00 Personal Injury
A Dauphin County jury has awarded a $1.2 million verdict to the parents of a 5-year-old who had an anoxic brain injury and stopped breathing after he had a tonsillectomy.2012-06-26 10:00:00 AMDate of Verdict: June 19. 2012Court and Case No.: C.P. Dauphin County No. 2009-CV-14003-MMJudge: Scott EvansType of Action: Medical malpracticeInjuries: Anoxic brain injuryPlaintiffs Counsel: Terry S. Hyman, Schmidt Kramer, HarrisburgPlaintiffs Experts: Dr. Anna H. Messner, liability; Lucille Packer, Pediatric Otolaryngology, Palo Alto, Calif.; Terry P. Leslie, vocations and earning capacity, Lancaster; Dr. Hilary B. Berlin, pediatric psychiatry, Great Neck, N.Y.Defense Counsel: Andrew H. Foulkrod, Darlene K. King, Foulkrod Ellis, Camp Hill, PADefense Experts: James C. Reilly, Pediatric Otolaryngology, Wilmington, DEComment: A Dauphin County jury has awarded a $1.2 million verdict to the parents of a 5-year-old who had an anoxic brain injury and stopped breathing after he had a tonsillectomy.The entire verdict came against Dr. Andrew M. Shapiro, the doctor who plaintiffs Reginald Graham and Tykeisha Metz alleged chose to have the boy monitored at a pediatric ward. The plaintiffs argued Shapiro failed to tell nurses caring for the baby about, and how to care for, the boy's enhanced risk for respiratory failure.The jury came back on June 19 and awarded Reginald Graham and Tykeisha Mets $500,000 in non-economic damages and $686,170 in loss of future earning capacity, according to the plaintiffs counsel.According to the statement, the baby's mother brought him to Shapiro because she was "'afraid that he might stop breathing during his sleep,'" the plaintiffs' pretrial statement said. Shapiro performed a sleep study and observed the baby's Apnea Hypopnea Index to be 43 — four times higher than what's considered severe. A tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy were performed.According to the plaintiffs, the baby's sleep study results put him at an increased risk for post-operative respiratory complications. Despite this, they argued in the statement, Shapiro ordered the pediatric nurses at the Harrisburg Hospital general pediatric ward to observe the boy as they would any other patients — about once every four hours.The pretrial statement said that one in four children who have an AHI in the 40s and oxygen desaturation below 80 have some type of respiratory problem. The younger the child, the greater the risk of a respiratory problem, the statement said.According to the statement, Shapiro took off the child's pulse oximeter, the finger-mounted device used to measure blood oxygen, and ordered a heart and respiratory rate monitor. The child was 11 months old at the time.The plaintiffs pled that the baby was last seen at 4 a.m. There was no record of his oxygen saturation for the next hour and 45 minutes. He stopped breathing a 6:40 a.m., and his brain was without oxygen long enough to cause demonstrable injury on an MRI."Immediately prior to his surgery, [the child] was a normal child, who could say mama, eat finger foods, and was just on the verge of walking," the statement said. "After his code, [he] was like a newborn. He could not lift his head or sit up. He could not talk. He could not move."In his pretrial statement, Shapiro argued that he recognized the child's pre-operative sleep study showed he was driven to breath by decreased blood oxygen saturation, which he said was typical in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.He argued the American Academy of Otolaryngology dictates that admission to the intensive care unit is not the standard of care. In the statement, he said nurses did not observe signs of respiratory distress. No alarms sounded until the child arrested, the statement said.He said the baby likely arrested as a result of hypoglycemia and/or an acute aspiration, which he argued would not have been identified by blood oxygen saturation.— Ben Present, of the Law Weekly
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$1,024,040.80 Auto Accidents
Scott Cooper settled a wrongful death case on behalf of the widow of a police office who was killed in a car accident in the line of duty for $1,024,040.80. The claim against the other driver was amicably resolved before suit was filed for the entire available policy limits for the other driver. The case took place in Adams County, PA.
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Testimonials

Dear Scott,
Hello there! I’m a little late to the game here, but I wanted to be certain I wrote to you. Oops—sorry for the typo! As you’ve probably gathered, I am writing you from a typewriter. Do you still use these in the office? Back on topic, I wanted to take a moment to express my deep gratitude for your guidance and support throughout the entire legal process for my accident. Can you believe it’s been five years?? Your attention to detail, professionalism, and delicate handling of my case made an incredibly difficult time more manageable for me and my family. We’re forever grateful.
From the moment you stepped foot in that hospital room with me, I felt relieved to have someone in my corner like you and your team. You took the time not only to explain each legal step in a way that made sense but also to acknowledge the emotional weight of what I was going through. That delicate balance—handling the intricacies of my case with precision while also being sensitive to my well-being—is something I will always be grateful for. In many ways, the outcome of the case reflected your dedication, but what has stayed with me even more is how you treated me throughout the process—with patience, respect, and compassion. You listened to my concerns and reassured me in moments of uncertainty. And even now, I feel your compassion each year on my birthday when I receive a text from you!
Thank you, not just for the outcome, but for the way you handled each moment. You are an incredible lawyer, but more importantly, an incredible person, and I was fortunate to have you in my corner.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Ricky D
Definitely were people of their word. Certainly helped me through my whole case
The legal team was very professional and met my needs I would highly recommend them
Monte cargile
Very great experience working with you guys continue the great service timely response communication well understand
jackie duffus
Schmidt Kramer is simply definition of hardworking, they are trustworthy and get best claim you could never think of.