Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Attorneys

At DearLegal, we connect you with experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys who know the MCARE Act (40 P.S. § 1303), the Pa.R.C.P.

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30,000+ plaintiffs served nationwide

Free Pennsylvania medical malpractice case review

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How we match your Pennsylvania medical malpractice case

When you submit a Pennsylvania medical malpractice matter, we route it through a national network of independent partner firms and put it in front of the one that fits best — based on the kind of case it is, what it is likely to involve, where it has to be handled, and who has capacity to take it on now.

Case type

A medical malpractice matter needs someone who handles medical malpractice work day to day, not a generalist. Practice area is the first filter.

Size and complexity

Some firms are built for catastrophic injury and multi-party litigation; others resolve straightforward claims quickly. We weigh what your matter is likely to involve against how each firm actually works.

Jurisdiction and licensing

Your matter is decided under Pennsylvania law, so it goes to an attorney licensed in Pennsylvania who regularly appears where your case would be heard.

Capacity and fit

Availability, conflicts of interest and language all matter. If the best-fit firm cannot take your case, we route it to the next one that can — or tell you plainly when no one in the network is the right answer.

Every partner reviews your case for free. Injury and workers’ compensation matters are handled on contingency — no fee unless you win. Other matters are quoted upfront, before you commit to anything.

Get started How DearLegal works

DearLegal provides marketing and matching services and is not a law firm. Submitting a case does not create an attorney-client relationship. Matches depend on case type, jurisdiction and firm availability.

Exhibit A

What happens with a medical malpractice claim in Pennsylvania

Day 0
It happens.
Get medical care and keep every record — photos, names, the report number. In Pennsylvania, what you document now is what your claim is built on.
Within 24 hours
Tell us what happened.
Two minutes on this page. A Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorney reviews it for free and, if it’s a fit, you’re matched within 24 hours.
Weeks 1–4
Your attorney builds the file.
Reports, medical records, witnesses, camera footage, insurance policies. This is the part insurers hope you skip.
Months 1–6
Demand and negotiation.
Your attorney sends a demand and negotiates with the insurer. Most claims resolve here.
Before the 2-year deadline
Suit is filed if it has to be.
Pennsylvania gives 2 years from the date it happened. Filing keeps your leverage; missing it ends the claim.
Resolution
Settlement or verdict.
You pay nothing along the way. The fee — typically 33% — comes only out of what’s recovered. If nothing is recovered, you owe nothing.

Statute of Limitations: 2 years
2 years from discovery (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524)
Statute of Repose: 7 years
7 years from the act or omission (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524.2); foreign-object and minor exceptions apply
Non-Economic Damages Cap: No cap
NO CAP on compensatory damages. Punitive damages capped at 200% of compensatory (40 P.S. § 1303.505)
Pre-Suit Requirements: 60 days
Certificate of Merit within 60 days of complaint under Pa.R.C.P. 1042.3, certifying that an appropriate licensed professional has reviewed the case
MCARE Fund: $500k
Mcare Fund (40 P.S. § 1303.701) provides excess coverage above provider primary insurance; primary insurance generally $500,000, with MCARE covering additional layers
Typical attorney fee: 33%
33%–40% contingency — no fee unless you win

Pennsylvania medical malpractice is governed by the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Act (MCARE Act, 40 P.S. § 1303). The MCARE Fund provides excess insurance coverage above primary providers. There is no statutory cap on compensatory damages. Punitive damages are capped at 200% of compensatory damages under 40 P.S. § 1303.505. Pa.R.C.P. 1042.3 requires a Certificate of Merit within 60 days of the complaint, certified by an appropriate licensed professional. The 2-year SOL (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524) runs from discovery, with a 7-year statute of repose under § 5524.2 (one of the longer repose periods in the country). The University of Pennsylvania Health System, UPMC, Jefferson Health, Penn State, and Geisinger anchor the state’s major medical defense.

Exhibit B

When to call a medical malpractice attorney in Pennsylvania

Does any of this sound like you? Tap what applies.

Exhibit C

Medical Malpractice cases we take in Pennsylvania

Which one is closest to yours?

Surgical errors

Wrong-site, retained foreign objects, intra-operative injuries at Penn Medicine, UPMC, Jefferson Health, Penn State Health, Geisinger, Temple, and Lehigh Valley.

Sound like yours? A Pennsylvania attorney reviews it free — no fee unless they win.

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Exhibit D

How much do Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys cost?

Sample settlement statement

Pennsylvania · Medical Malpractice

Recovery$100,000

Attorney fee · 33%− $33,000

Case costs (advanced by firm)repaid at the end

To you$67,000

Due today$0

Try a different recovery$100,000

$5,000$3,000,000

Illustrative only. Your fee terms are set in a written agreement with your attorney and may include costs and expenses regardless of outcome.

Most Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys work on contingency: the fee is a share of what they recover, and nothing if they don’t.

Pennsylvania does not statutorily cap medical malpractice contingency fees in most cases (court approval applies for minor settlements). Typical fees range from 33% pre-suit to 40% at trial. Certificate of Merit, expert fees, and depositions push case-cost advances to $100,000–$400,000 in serious cases.

A good attorney walks through every number at your free consultation — before you sign anything.

Get startedTakes about two minutes. No obligation.

Exhibit E

What your Pennsylvania medical malpractice compensation can include

A Pennsylvania medical malpractice recovery is built from several parts. Tap one to see what it covers.

Economic Damages (No Cap)

Medical bills, future care, lost wages, lost earning capacity, life-care plans, and rehabilitation. No statutory cap.

DearLegal is a legal referral service, not a law firm. We connect individuals with licensed attorneys who can evaluate their case. Nothing on this page constitutes legal advice. Results vary based on individual circumstances.

Exhibit F

Pennsylvania medical malpractice questions, answered

Still unsure? Tell us what happened and a Pennsylvania attorney will review it for free.

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A provider breaches the standard of care of a reasonable provider in the same specialty, and the breach causes injury (40 P.S. § 1303.103). Expert testimony is required.

Pennsylvania does not cap compensatory damages — economic and non-economic damages are uncapped. Punitive damages are capped at 200% of compensatory (40 P.S. § 1303.505). This makes Pennsylvania one of the more plaintiff-friendly damages jurisdictions.

Physicians, nurses, dentists, hospitals (University of Pennsylvania Health System, UPMC, Jefferson Health, Penn State Health, Geisinger, Temple Health, St. Luke’s, WellSpan, Lehigh Valley Health Network), surgery centers, and LTC. State-affiliated providers may invoke sovereign immunity (Sovereign Immunity Act, 42 Pa.C.S. § 8501 et seq.).

The 2-year SOL runs from discovery (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524). The 7-year statute of repose under § 5524.2 is one of the longer repose periods in the country, with foreign-object and minor exceptions.

Under Pa.R.C.P. 1042.3, the plaintiff must file a Certificate of Merit within 60 days of the complaint, certifying that either (1) an appropriate licensed professional has supplied a written statement that there is a reasonable probability the care fell outside acceptable professional standards, or (2) expert testimony is unnecessary. Failure can lead to judgment of non pros.

The Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Fund (40 P.S. § 1303.701) provides excess coverage above provider primary insurance. Most providers carry $500,000 in primary insurance; MCARE pays excess up to $500,000 per occurrence (and $1.5M aggregate). MCARE participates as a party in many cases.

Certificate-of-Merit experts, standard-of-care experts, causation experts, life-care planners, and economists in Pennsylvania med-mal defense ecosystems typically push case-cost advances to $100,000–$400,000 in serious cases.

Medical Malpractice attorneys by city in Pennsylvania

Same Pennsylvania rules and the same attorneys — with what’s local to each city.

Other case types in Pennsylvania

All Pennsylvania practice areas →

Animal Incident attorneysPennsylvania's dog-bite law splits the baby: medical bills are strict liability, but everything beyond them requires proving the owner knew the dog was trouble.

Business Dispute attorneysPA courts will enforce a reasonable non-compete — but only if you got something real for signing it, and continued employment alone doesn't count here.

Car Accident attorneysIf you picked limited tort to shave your premium, you may have signed away pain-and-suffering damages — unless your injury clears the "serious injury" bar.

Consumer Protection attorneysPennsylvania's consumer-protection law is one of the state's sharpest tools — triple damages plus attorney fees for deceptive business conduct.

Criminal Defense attorneysPennsylvania sentencing runs on a guideline matrix where your prior record score is fixed early — what happens before the plea often matters more than the plea itself.

Defective Product attorneysSince a 2014 state Supreme Court ruling, PA product cases can be argued two ways — consumer expectations or risk-utility — and choosing the right theory shapes everything that follows.

Employment attorneysThe Pennsylvania Human Relations Act reaches employers with just four workers — small shops federal law never touches.

Family Law attorneysPA divorce courts divide property equitably, not equally, weighing eleven statutory factors — and fault in the marriage mostly stays out of the math.

Immigration attorneysPennsylvania removal cases are heard in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and ICE-cooperation policy flips county by county — where you live changes the playbook.

Lemon Law attorneysBuy a defective new car in PA and the Lemon Law gives you 12 months or 12,000 miles to act — with the manufacturer footing your attorney's bill if you win.

Personal Injury attorneysTwo years to file, a hard cutoff at 51% fault, and a county-by-county jury divide that can swing the same case by six figures.

Slip and Fall attorneysPennsylvania's "hills and ridges" doctrine means fresh snow and ice usually isn't actionable — your lawyer has to show it sat long enough to ridge up.

Social Security Disability attorneysPennsylvania disability appeals land in the Third Circuit, whose caselaw gives claimants a fairer shake than most — hearing offices sit in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg.

Workers’ Compensation attorneysPA comp is one of the rare systems where a legal fee cap — 20% — keeps lawyer costs predictable, with wage-loss benefits at two-thirds of your average weekly wage.

Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Attorneys

How we match your Pennsylvania medical malpractice case

Case type

Size and complexity

Jurisdiction and licensing

Capacity and fit

What happens with a medical malpractice claim in Pennsylvania

It happens.

Tell us what happened.

Your attorney builds the file.

Demand and negotiation.

Suit is filed if it has to be.

Settlement or verdict.

When to call a medical malpractice attorney in Pennsylvania

Medical Malpractice cases we take in Pennsylvania

Surgical errors

Anesthesia errors

Cancer misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis

Heart attack and stroke misdiagnosis

Birth injuries

Medication errors

Hospital-acquired infections

ER negligence

Radiology and pathology errors

Never-events and retained foreign objects

Nursing home and long-term care malpractice

Telemedicine and mental health malpractice

How much do Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys cost?

What your Pennsylvania medical malpractice compensation can include

Economic Damages (No Cap)

Non-Economic Damages (No Cap)

Punitive Damages (Capped at 200%)

Loss of Consortium

Wrongful Death (Periodic-Payment Future Damages)

MCARE Fund Recovery

Pennsylvania medical malpractice questions, answered

Medical Malpractice attorneys by city in Pennsylvania

Other case types in Pennsylvania

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