Medical Malpractice Decision Out of Lackawanna County

In his recent decision in the case of Mills v. Green and Community Medical Center, No. 2011-Civil-5496 (C.P. Lacka. Co. March 23, 2012 Nealon, J.), Judge Terrence R. Nealon of the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas addressed Preliminary Objections filed in a medical malpractice action pertaining to issues of informed consent, agency allegations, and Connor objections.

In his Opinion, Judge Nealon addressed the law pertaining to informed consent claims against doctors, agency allegations against hospitals, and Connor objections seeking more specific allegations in support of the Plaintiff’s negligence claims.
Ultimately, the Court overruled the objection in the nature of a demurrer to the Plaintiff’s claim for lack of informed consent against the medical doctor without prejudice to the right of the Defendants to renew that objection by way of a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings or a Motion for Summary Judgment.

With regards to the Preliminary Objections to the claims of agency liability against the hospital, as well as with regard to the connor objections, Judge Nealon granted the Plaintiff 120 days to conduct discovery on the issues of agency and negligence against the hospital so as to enable the Plaintiff to amend certain paragraphs of the Complaint within thirty (30) days thereafter in order to identify any actual or ostensible agents of the Defendant hospital by name or appropriate description and/or to provide more specific information regarding the hospital’s alleged negligence.

Anyone desiring a copy of this decision by Judge Nealon in Mills v. Green and Community Medical Center may contact me at dancummins@comcast.net.