Scranton Medical Malpractice Attorney

When a doctor, hospital, or healthcare provider makes a mistake that seriously harms you or someone you love, the questions come fast, and they do not stop. Was this preventable? Did the doctor do something wrong? Do I have a case? Can I even afford a lawyer? You are trying to recover while carrying the weight of what happened, and you are likely doing it without anyone in your corner yet.

Scartelli Olszewski P.C. has represented medical malpractice victims across Lackawanna County and Northeastern Pennsylvania since 2001.

• Proven Results: $10 million verdict, the largest medical malpractice verdict in Luzerne County history
• 100+ Combined Years of attorney experience across medical malpractice, personal injury, and criminal defense
• Led by Board Certified Trial Advocate Melissa Scartelli, one of the very few female attorneys in Pennsylvania with this certification
• Super Lawyers Recognition for 17 consecutive years (2009–2026)
• 4.7 Stars on Google from verified clients
• Free case review. Available 24/7. Zero upfront cost. You pay nothing unless we win.

Call (570) 346-2600 or contact us online for a free case review. You can visit us at 411 Jefferson Avenue, Scranton, PA 18510.

Our Medical Malpractice Results

These are some of the results we have obtained for medical malpractice victims in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

• $10,000,000 Jury Verdict: The highest medical malpractice verdict in Luzerne County history, for a young man who suffered an incorrect diagnosis and delayed treatment resulting in multiple surgeries, permanent scarring, and long-term disability.
• $2,000,000 Confidential Settlement: Defective medical device causing the wrongful death of a child.
• $2,000,000 Confidential Settlement: Physician and hospital negligence causing serious injury.
• $1,500,000 Jury Verdict: Unnecessary amputation of a young man’s finger due to physician negligence. Punitive damages were awarded against the physician personally.
• $750,000 Settlement: Prison healthcare provider failed to meet the standard of care for a 63-year-old inmate suffering from acute respiratory illness, resulting in wrongful death.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

What Should You Do After Suspected Medical Malpractice in Scranton?

Pennsylvania’s two-year filing deadline begins when the harm occurred or when you discovered it, whichever is later. Evidence disappears fast. These steps protect your case from day one.

1. Seek a second medical opinion: Go to a different doctor or hospital than the one that may have harmed you. This creates an independent medical record free from the negligent provider’s influence.
2. Request your complete medical records: Pennsylvania law gives you the right to your full records under 28 Pa. Code 115.29. Request everything: hospital charts, lab results, imaging, nursing notes, and operative reports. Know your patient rights and act. Records can be altered or lost.
3. Document everything in writing: Dates, provider names, what was said, and when symptoms appeared. Keep a daily journal of how the injury affects your life. Save every bill and correspondence from healthcare providers.
4. Sign nothing and give no recorded statements: Hospitals and their insurers contact patients quickly. Do not sign documents, accept settlements, or give recorded statements without speaking to an attorney first. What you say will be used against your claim.
5. Call Scartelli Olszewski before speaking to any insurer: We take over all communication with hospitals and insurers, secure your records, and identify the expert witnesses your case requires from day one.

The sooner you act, the stronger your case.

Schedule a free consultation with our qualified medical error attorneys.

What Types of Medical Malpractice Happen in Scranton, PA?

Understanding the most common types of medical malpractice helps you recognize whether what happened to you has a legal remedy.

• Misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, and failure to diagnose: The most litigated malpractice category nationally. Missed strokes, cancer misdiagnosis, delayed heart attack identification, and failure to diagnose sepsis turn treatable conditions into fatal ones.
• Surgical errors: Wrong-site surgery, wrong-patient surgery, retained instruments, nerve damage, and post-operative complications from improper care. Some are designated “never events” because they are entirely preventable.
• Birth injuries and cerebral palsy: Oxygen deprivation, delayed C-sections, and improper use of forceps or vacuum cause cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injuries, and permanent brain damage. Evidence in labor and delivery cases disappears quickly.
• Medication and pharmacy errors: Wrong drug, incorrect dosage, dangerous drug interactions, and dispensing errors cause organ damage, allergic reactions, and death. If a defective or mislabeled drug caused your harm, our Scranton defective drug attorneys handle those claims directly.
• Anesthesia errors: Too much or too little anesthesia, failure to review patient history for allergies, and improper intubation cause brain damage, cardiac arrest, and death.
• Emergency room negligence: Critical symptoms missed, time-sensitive conditions left untreated, and premature discharge. Rushed, understaffed emergency departments are where preventable errors concentrate.
• Hospital-acquired infections and sepsis: Surgical site infections, catheter-related infections, and unsterile conditions lead to extended hospitalization and death. Hospitals have a duty to follow infection control protocols.
• Nursing malpractice: Medication errors, failure to monitor patients, and failure to report changes in condition to physicians. Nursing homes and long-term care facilities are subject to the same negligence standard and face additional liability under Pennsylvania’s elder care statutes in cases involving abuse or neglect.

How to Know If You Have a Medical Malpractice Case in Pennsylvania

If a healthcare provider’s care fell below accepted standards and that failure caused you measurable harm, you may have a medical malpractice claim. A bad outcome alone is not malpractice; medicine involves risk. The distinction is whether your provider deviated from what a reasonably competent provider in the same specialty would have done.

Common indicators include a diagnosis that changed dramatically after seeking a second opinion, a complication your provider described as unforeseeable but that is recognized as a preventable error in your provider’s specialty, or a medication error with documented consequences.

The only way to know for certain is a case evaluation with an experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorney.

What Is Your Scranton Medical Malpractice Case Worth?

Case value depends on injury severity, clarity of liability, and the categories of damages you can prove.

Economic Damages

Economic damages cover every measurable financial loss caused by the malpractice, from your first medical bill through projected future care costs.

• All medical expenses from ambulance transport through future surgery, rehabilitation, and long-term care.
• Lost wages from the date of the malpractice through full recovery.
• Reduced future earning capacity if the injury permanently limits your earnings.
• Home care and modifications are required because of the injury.
• Out-of-pocket expenses, including medical equipment, prescriptions, and travel to treatment.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages compensate for losses that cannot be assigned a precise dollar amount, but are real, significant, and fully recoverable under Pennsylvania law.

• Pain and suffering.
• Emotional distress and PTSD.
• Loss of enjoyment of life.
• Permanent disfigurement or scarring.
• Loss of consortium.

Pennsylvania does not cap economic or non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. You can recover the full value of your losses.

When Are Punitive Damages Available?

Punitive damages require proof of willful or wanton conduct or reckless disregard for patient safety. Pennsylvania caps punitive damages against an individual physician at 200% of compensatory damages under 40 P.S. 1303.505(d), with a minimum floor of $100,000 under 1303.505(e). Twenty-five percent of any punitive award goes to the MCARE Fund under 1303.505(f).

Melissa A. Scartelli is among the few Northeastern Pennsylvania attorneys to have secured a punitive damage verdict against a physician: a $1.5 million result against an orthopedic surgeon for needlessly amputating a patient’s finger.

Families who lost a loved one to medical negligence may pursue wrongful death and survival actions under 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 8301-8302, recovering funeral expenses, lost financial support, and loss of companionship.

What Pennsylvania Laws Govern Your Medical Malpractice Case?

Pennsylvania medical malpractice cases are governed by the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Act, the MCARE Act, enacted in 2002 under 40 P.S. 1303.101 et seq. Understanding these rules determines how and when you can file, what evidence you need, and what you can recover.

Certificate of Merit and the 4 D’s of Proof

Pennsylvania requires a Certificate of Merit before your case can proceed. Under Pa.R.C.P. 1042.3, you must file within 60 days of your complaint, signed by a licensed provider in the same or similar specialty, confirming that care fell below accepted standards and caused your harm. A case without a timely Certificate of Merit is dismissed. This is why choosing a firm with an established medical expert network is not optional.

To prevail, you must prove the 4 D’s:

• Duty: A doctor-patient relationship existed, creating a legal obligation to meet the standard of care.
• Dereliction: Care fell below the standard a reasonably competent provider in the same specialty would have provided. 40 P.S. 1303.512.
• Direct Cause: The negligence was a substantial factor in causing your harm. Pennsylvania applies the substantial factor test, not simple but-for causation.
• Damages: You suffered measurable, documented harm. Without provable damages, there is no case even if negligence occurred.

Pennsylvania law establishes that only the treating physician, not clinical staff, may obtain informed consent from a patient. Delegation does not satisfy the legal requirement. Shinal v. Toms, 162 A.3d 429 (Pa. 2017).

Filing Deadlines and the Statute of Limitations

You have two years from the date the malpractice occurred, or from when you discovered the harm, to file under 42 Pa.C.S. 5524(7). The discovery rule was confirmed in Fine v. Checcio, 870 A.2d 850 (Pa. 2005). In 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the seven-year statute of repose as unconstitutional in Yanakos v. UPMC, 218 A.3d 1214 (Pa. 2019). There is no absolute outer limit beyond the two-year rule.

Three special-case deadlines every plaintiff must know:

• Birth injuries: SOL tolled during minority under 42 Pa.C.S. 5533(b). Families have until the child’s 20th birthday to file. Note: Parents’ claims for medical expenses incurred before the child turns 18 are subject to the standard two-year deadline and do not toll.
• Government hospitals: VA, military, and government-run facilities require a formal notice of claim within six months under 42 Pa.C.S. 5522 and the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671-2680.
• Venue: As of January 2023, Pennsylvania expanded venue options statewide under Pa.R.Civ.P. 1006(a.1).

Missing the applicable deadline bars your claim entirely. The specific deadline in your case depends on when the harm was discovered and who the defendant is. An attorney can identify the exact filing window for your situation.

Shared Fault and Your Recovery

Pennsylvania applies modified comparative negligence under 42 Pa.C.S. 7102. You can recover if your fault does not reach 51%. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault.

Example: $200,000 in damages with 20% fault recovers $160,000. 51% or more fault recovers nothing.

Defense teams inflate your fault percentage by arguing you failed to follow medical advice, withheld health information, or delayed seeking treatment. We investigate every case to defend your attribution and protect your recovery.

How Does a Scranton Medical Malpractice Case Work?

A medical malpractice case in Pennsylvania moves through eight stages, from initial evaluation through settlement or jury verdict. Here is what to expect at each stage.

1. Case evaluation and investigation: We review your medical records, consult with independent specialists, and determine whether the care you received fell below accepted standards. Not every bad outcome is malpractice.
2. Independent medical expert identification: Pennsylvania requires expert testimony to prove standard of care violations. We work with qualified medical experts across specialties who review your records and confirm that malpractice occurred.
3. Certificate of Merit filing: Within 60 days of filing your complaint, we file the Certificate of Merit signed by a licensed provider in the relevant specialty. Without it, your case is dismissed.
4. Complaint and service: We file a formal complaint naming all responsible defendants, outlining what happened, who is responsible, and what damages you are seeking.
5. Discovery: Both sides exchange documents, take depositions, and retain expert witnesses. Medical records, hospital policies, staffing records, and provider testimony are gathered and examined. This is typically the longest phase.
6. Expert reports and depositions: Our medical experts prepare detailed reports explaining how the standard of care was violated and how that violation caused your injury. Defense experts are deposed and challenged.
7. Settlement negotiations and mediation: Most cases settle before trial. When documented evidence supports the full value of your claim and the defense faces a credible trial threat, settlement discussions produce meaningful results.
8. Trial: If a fair settlement is not offered, we try the case before a jury. Scartelli Olszewski prepares every case for trial from day one. That preparation is what produces higher settlement offers at every prior stage.

Most cases take one to three years from filing to resolution. Complex cases involving catastrophic injury, multiple defendants, or disputed causation take longer.

Who Can Be Held Liable for Medical Malpractice in Scranton?

The at-fault provider is often only one piece of the liability picture. Identifying every responsible party is essential to recovering the full value of your claim.

• Physicians and surgeons: The treating physician is typically the primary defendant. Negligence in diagnosis, treatment, surgical technique, or post-operative care creates direct personal liability.
• Hospitals and health systems: Scranton-area hospitals and health systems can be held liable under the corporate negligence doctrine established in Thompson v. Nason Hospital, 591 A.2d 703 (Pa. 1991), for understaffing, failing to credential physicians, and employee negligence. Hospitals may also be liable for independent contractor physicians under ostensible agency when a patient reasonably believed the physician was a hospital employee.
• Nurses and medical staff: Direct liability for medication errors, failure to monitor patients, and failure to communicate critical changes in condition to the treating physician.
• Pharmacies and pharmacists: Dispensing the wrong medication, incorrect dosages, and failure to identify dangerous drug interactions create direct liability.
• Medical device and drug manufacturers: If a defective device or dangerous drug caused or worsened your harm, the manufacturer can be held strictly liable under the Restatement (Second) of Torts 402A as adopted in Pennsylvania.
• Nursing homes and long-term care facilities: Liable for bedsores, dehydration, medication errors, falls, and physical abuse.
• Government healthcare providers: Claims against VA hospitals, military facilities, or government clinics require a formal notice of claim within six months under 42 Pa.C.S. 5522 and the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. 2671-2680. Missing this notice bars your claim entirely.

Why Choose Scartelli Olszewski, P.C. for Your Scranton Malpractice Case?

Medical malpractice defense teams are well-funded and trained to challenge expert witnesses, dispute causation, and exploit procedural requirements. Scartelli Olszewski has spent over two decades matching that preparation and then going to trial when it counts.

• Results: $10 million jury verdict, the highest medical malpractice verdict in Luzerne County history. $1.5 million punitive verdict against an orthopedic surgeon. Multi-million dollar confidential settlements in surgical error, birth injury, and hospital negligence cases.
• Melissa A. Scartelli, NBTA Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate: A distinction held by a small percentage of trial lawyers nationwide. ABOTA member, Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter, requiring ten civil jury trials to a verdict for admission. Pennsylvania Super Lawyers 2009 through 2026. Best Lawyers in America since 2016. Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. National Trial Lawyers Top 100.
• Peter Paul Olszewski, Jr., Managing Partner: Former Luzerne County District Attorney and Common Pleas Court Judge. He has tried and presided over cases in the same Lackawanna and Luzerne County courts where your case may be heard. That perspective is available at no other firm in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
• A Scranton family firm since 2001: Melissa founded the firm at 411 Jefferson Avenue, steps from the Lackawanna County Courthouse. She practices alongside Peter Paul Olszewski, Jr., Rachel D. Olszewski, and Kristin A. Mazzarella. Small Enough to Care, Large Enough to Win.™
• Zero financial risk: We advance all case expenses. You pay nothing up front. Our fee comes only from the settlement or verdict we win. If we do not recover, you owe nothing.

When insurers handle a malpractice claim in bad faith, Pennsylvania’s bad faith statute under 42 Pa.C.S. 8371 allows you to recover statutory interest, attorney fees, and punitive damages on top of the underlying verdict. Most clients are unaware that this protection exists.

How Insurance Companies Fight Medical Malpractice Claims

Hospitals and doctors carry malpractice insurance for a reason. Their insurers are experienced at defending claims, and they begin building their defense while you are still focused on recovery.

• Denying liability: Insurers argue that no malpractice occurred, that the provider followed the standard of care, or that complications were unavoidable. They hire their own medical experts to support these positions.
• Blaming you: Pennsylvania’s comparative negligence rule means that every percentage of fault shifted to you directly reduces what they pay. Insurers will argue you failed to follow medical advice, withheld health information, or delayed seeking treatment.
• Disputing causation: Even when negligence is clear, insurers argue it did not cause your injury. They claim your outcome would have been the same regardless, or that a pre-existing condition was responsible.
• Lowball settlement offers: Early offers arrive before you understand the full extent of your injuries. Once accepted, you cannot return for more, even if your condition worsens.
• Delay tactics: Medical bills accumulate. Lost wages create financial pressure. Insurers know that delay forces some victims to accept less than their case is worth.
• Independent Medical Examinations: Insurers may require you to be examined by a doctor of their choosing. These examinations routinely minimize injuries or dispute that malpractice caused your condition.

Scartelli Olszewski anticipates every one of these tactics. Contact us or call (570) 346-2600 for a free case review.

Areas We Serve

Scartelli Olszewski, P.C., represents medical malpractice victims throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania from our offices in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.

Our Scranton office at 411 Jefferson Avenue serves clients across Lackawanna County, including Scranton, Dunmore, Carbondale, Old Forge, Clarks Summit, Archbald, Jessup, Blakely, and surrounding communities.

Our Wilkes-Barre office at 7 Public Square serves clients across Luzerne County, including Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, Pittston, Kingston, Nanticoke, and surrounding communities.

We also represent clients from Monroe County, Wayne County, Pike County, Susquehanna County, Wyoming County, and throughout the broader NEPA region.

If you were harmed by medical negligence anywhere in Northeastern Pennsylvania, contact us for a free case review.

Get Your Free Scranton Medical Malpractice Case Review Today

Medical malpractice cases are built in the weeks immediately after an injury, when records are intact, witnesses are available, and the defense has not yet started preparing. Pennsylvania gives you two years to file. Hospital legal teams begin immediately.

You do not need to have everything organized before you call. Bring what you have: medical records if you have requested them, a rough timeline of what happened, and the names of the providers involved. If you have none of that yet, call anyway. We help you obtain records, identify witnesses, and preserve evidence from day one.

$0 Upfront Costs. Free Case Review. No Fee Unless We Win.

One call puts our entire team between you and the hospital’s defense. We handle all communication, secure your records, and start building your case while the evidence is still intact.

Call us at (570) 346-2600 or complete the online form to start your free case review today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is It Worth Suing for Medical Malpractice in Pennsylvania?

Yes, suing for medical malpractice in Pennsylvania is worth it when negligence caused serious harm. Pennsylvania does not cap economic or non-economic damages, meaning you can recover the full value of your losses. Scartelli Olszewski reviews your case at no cost and no obligation.

What Is the Difference Between Medical Malpractice and Medical Negligence in Pennsylvania?

Medical negligence is the act of a provider falling below the accepted standard of care. Medical malpractice is the legal claim that arises when negligence causes measurable, documentable harm. In Pennsylvania, negligence becomes malpractice only when all four elements are proven: duty, breach, causation, and damages.

What If I Am Not Sure the Doctor Actually Did Anything Wrong?

You do not need to be certain before calling us. Many clients come to us unsure whether what happened to them was malpractice or an unavoidable complication. That distinction is exactly what a case evaluation determines. We review your records, consult independent medical experts, and tell you honestly whether the care you received fell below accepted standards. There is no cost and no obligation to find out.

What If I Signed a Consent Form Before the Procedure?

Signing a consent form does not give a provider permission to be negligent. Consent forms acknowledge that you understood the risks of a procedure – not that you accepted substandard care. Under Pennsylvania law, only the treating physician may obtain informed consent. If consent was delegated to clinical staff, it was legally insufficient regardless of what you signed. A consent form is not a barrier to a malpractice claim.

What If My Loved One Died from Medical Malpractice?

Families who lost a loved one to medical negligence may pursue wrongful death and survival actions under 42 Pa.C.S. sections 8301 and 8302. These claims allow families to recover funeral expenses, lost financial support, and loss of companionship. Pennsylvania’s two-year statute of limitations applies from the date of death. The sooner a family contacts an attorney, the more evidence can be preserved.

What If I Cannot Afford to Wait Years for a Resolution?

Medical malpractice cases in Pennsylvania typically take one to three years from filing to resolution. We advance all case expenses; you pay nothing out of pocket while your case is pending. Our fee comes only from the settlement or verdict we recover. If we do not recover, you owe nothing. Financial pressure is one of the tactics insurers use to force early settlements. Knowing your costs are covered removes that leverage entirely.

Will My Scranton Medical Malpractice Case Settle or Go to Trial?

It depends on liability clarity, injury severity, and the defendant’s insurer. Most medical malpractice cases in Pennsylvania settle before trial. Scartelli Olszewski prepares every case for trial, which produces higher settlement offers from defendants who know the firm tries cases and wins.

What If More Than One Healthcare Provider Was Responsible for My Injury?

If more than one provider was responsible, each can be named as a defendant. Pennsylvania allows joint liability claims against multiple parties. A Certificate of Merit is required for each defendant under Pa.R.C.P. 1042.3. We investigate every potential defendant to ensure no responsible party is overlooked.