Throughout his career, Ross Feller Casey founding partner Matt Casey has litigated numerous lawsuits that have caught the interest of the media.
One of those cases went to trial in March 2016 in a courtroom in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It was there that Casey successfully litigated a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from the tragic death of a young doctor from Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Dr. Jennifer Sidari, just 26 and fresh out of medical school, died from a blood clot in her brain that doctors failed to diagnose and treat soon enough.
In the lawsuit and trial in the Luzerne County Courthouse, Casey had argued among other things that the death was the result of a delay by Geisinger Medical Center and its medical staff in ordering crucial head imaging scans. Those tests, if performed earlier, would have shown a blog clot in her brain while it was still treatable.
Sidari had arrived at the Geisinger Wyoming Valley emergency department on May 26, 2013, complaining of severe and recurring headaches and bruising. Sidari’s symptoms, coupled with abnormal blood work, should have raised red flags among doctors and prompted head-imaging studies and a consultation with a neurologist, Casey alleged.
In his opening remarks at trial, Casey said Sidari’s death came as a result of “a systemic breakdown in care” at Geisinger.
It was just days before her death in 2013 that Sidari had graduated at the top of her class from The Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton. She was widely regarded as a rising star and was preparing to start a promising career in pediatric medicine at Geisinger Health System, the very entity at the center of the lawsuit.
Casey, one of the nation’s most accomplished medical malpractice attorneys, represented Sidari’s parents, Peter and Patricia, of West Pittston.
Days into the trial, the two sides reached a settlement, ending the litigation. Terms of the settlement are confidential and Casey had declined to discuss them with the local newspaper, radio and tv reporters who had covered the trial.
The Citizens’ Voice newspaper reported in a front-page article that the settlement came “after three days of damaging testimony” elicited by Casey that showed doctors and other medical personnel didn’t act swiftly enough to treat Sidari’s life-threatening condition.
Before the trial began, Casey had told news reporters that what happened to Sidari was “a terrible tragedy that befell one of Northeastern Pennsylvania's brightest stars.”
“It shouldn't have happened,” he added. “We intend to fully get to the bottom of why it happened."
After the outcome of the trial, a memorial scholarship was created in honor of Sidari. The scholarship is named Dr. Jen’s Hope.
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