Pennsylvania Birth Injury Lawyers
At CM Injury, we give your family and your file personal attention when you consult us about a Pennsylvania birth injury matter. We read the records and explain our assessment, including whether and how we would proceed.
Pennsylvania Birth Injuries Lawyers
Guide contentsWhat a certificate of merit requires
We review your family’s records carefully, including the material supporting a certificate of merit.
In Pennsylvania, a certificate of merit is required in any action based upon an allegation that a licensed professional deviated from an acceptable professional standard.1 The attorney for the plaintiff, or the plaintiff if not represented, must file it with the complaint or within sixty days after the filing of the complaint.1 The certificate must be signed by the attorney or party.1
One alternative is a certificate stating that an appropriate licensed professional has supplied a written statement.2 That statement must identify a reasonable probability that the care, skill or knowledge exercised or exhibited fell outside acceptable professional standards in the treatment, practice or work that is the subject of the complaint.2 It must also identify a reasonable probability that such conduct was a cause in bringing about the harm.2
Another alternative is a certificate stating that the claim that the defendant deviated from an acceptable professional standard is based solely on allegations that other licensed professionals for whom this defendant is responsible deviated from an acceptable professional standard.3
The third alternative is a certificate stating that expert testimony of an appropriate licensed professional is unnecessary for prosecution of the claim.4
A separate certificate of merit must be filed as to each licensed professional against whom a claim is asserted.5
If a certificate of merit is not signed by an attorney, the party signing it must, in addition to the other requirements of this rule, attach the written statement from an appropriate licensed professional as required by subdivisions (a)(1) and (2).6
If the written statement is not attached to the certificate of merit, a defendant seeking to enter a judgment of non pros must file a written notice of intent to enter a judgment of non pros for failure to file a written statement under Rule 1042.11.6
The court, upon good cause shown, must extend the time for filing a certificate of merit for a period not to exceed sixty days.7
The rule sets the full deadline for an extension motion: “A motion to extend the time for filing a certificate of merit must be filed by the thirtieth day after the filing of a notice of intention to enter judgment of non pros on a professional liability claim under Rule 1042.6(a) or on or before the expiration of the extended time where a court has granted a motion to extend the time to file a certificate of merit, whichever is greater.”7
Filing a motion to extend pauses the time period within which a certificate of merit must be filed until the court rules upon the motion.7
The filing period and the rule for minors
Pennsylvania sets a two-year filing period for a claim seeking damages for personal injury or death caused by another’s wrongful act, neglect, unlawful violence or negligence.89 For a civil claim, section 5502(a) measures that period from when the claim arose, “except as otherwise provided by subsection (b) or by any other provision of this chapter.”10
Section 5502(b) allows general rules to specify which acts, omissions or events start the filing period for particular classes of matters under subsection (a).11 Those rules have this requirement: “Rules adopted pursuant to this section shall take effect only in the manner provided by section 503(b) (relating to procedures).”11
For Pennsylvania’s minority rule, a minor is a person under 18.12 The rule has a further condition: “If an individual entitled to bring a civil action is an unemancipated minor at the time the cause of action accrues”; for that person, the period of minority does not count toward the filing period.13 After reaching majority, a person meeting that condition has the same time to file that this subchapter allows others.13
How a plaintiff’s negligence affects recovery
In Pennsylvania actions seeking damages for negligence resulting in death or injury to a person or property, a plaintiff’s contributory negligence does not bar recovery by the plaintiff or legal representative where it “was not greater than the causal negligence of the defendant or defendants against whom recovery is sought”; damages are reduced in proportion to the negligence attributed to the plaintiff.14
Where a Pennsylvania action may be brought
For an action against an individual, Pennsylvania Rule 1006(a) limits venue, the county where the action may be brought, to specified grounds: “Except as otherwise provided by subdivisions (b) and (c) of this rule”.15 The following are selected examples of those grounds, not the complete list.
One permitted county is where the cause of action arose.15 Another is where a transaction or occurrence giving rise to the claim took place.15
For corporations and similar entities, Rule 1006(b) permits an action only in counties designated by Rule 2179, “except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c)”.16
Subdivision (c) states: “An action to enforce a joint or joint and several liability against two or more defendants, except actions in which the Commonwealth is a party defendant, may be brought against all defendants in any county in which the venue may be laid against any one of the defendants under the general rules of subdivisions (a) or (b).”17
Why Choose CM Injury
At CM Injury, we give your family and your file personal attention as we review a Pennsylvania birth injury matter. We read the records and discuss our assessment with you, including whether we would proceed and how we would approach the work.
We make that discussion part of our review, taking time to explain our assessment and the next step we propose. If retained, we approach the matter with preparation for trial in mind.
Reviewed and approved by Michael Cavaliere
How we handle these cases
What happens when you contact CM Injury
We listen to your family
We begin your Pennsylvania birth injury consultation by listening to your concerns and the questions you want us to address.
We read the records
We review the records as part of our assessment, giving your family’s file personal attention.
We explain our assessment
We discuss our assessment with you, including whether and how we would proceed.
We prepare with trial in mind
If you retain us, we approach our work with preparation for trial in mind.
A careful review and a straight answer.
Or call a partner now at (267) 936-2233.
No fee unless we win. We discuss costs at the start of every case.
Questions about Pennsylvania birth injury matters
How does Pennsylvania's filing rule account for a child's age?
Pennsylvania's minority rule applies when the person entitled to bring a civil action is an unemancipated minor when the cause of action accrues. For that person, the period of minority does not count toward the filing period. After reaching majority, the person has the same time to begin an action as others receive under the statutory subchapter. For this rule, a minor is someone under 18.
Is a separate certificate of merit required for each licensed professional?
In a Pennsylvania action alleging that a licensed professional departed from an acceptable professional standard, a separate certificate of merit must be filed for each licensed professional against whom a claim is asserted.
How can negligence attributed to the plaintiff affect recovery?
In Pennsylvania actions seeking damages for negligence resulting in death or injury to a person or property, the plaintiff's contributory negligence does not bar recovery by the plaintiff or legal representative if it was not greater than the causal negligence of the defendant or defendants against whom recovery is sought. Damages are reduced in proportion to the negligence attributed to the plaintiff.
How will CM Injury review my family's matter?
We read the records and discuss our assessment of your Pennsylvania birth injury matter with you. We explain whether we would proceed, how we would approach the work and the next step we propose.
