McMichael, James C.

Kate devotes most of her practice to medical malpractice, long-term care and dental malpractice defense. She also does significant work in the Health Law Practice Group including fraud and abuse defense, HIPPA/HITECH, and a variety of other health law issues. She has handled approximately 700 cases, with nearly 70 trials and a 95 percent defense verdict rate. Several of her cases ended in verdicts or settlements significantly below the settlement demand.

Kate has represented physicians from almost every specialty in health care liability matters. She has represented Community Health Systems through Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, Universal Health Services, Inc. through Central Montgomery Medical Center, Abington Memorial Hospital on behalf of Cassatt, and Doylestown Hospital.

Kate graduated from Immaculata College with a degree in English. Following graduation, she taught at several high schools in the Philadelphia area. Kate began attending Villanova University Law School in 1986 and graduated in 1989. After graduation, she immediately began working at Marshall Dennehey in the medical malpractice group in the firm's Norristown, Pennsylvania, office and has continued to be extremely active in this area of the law, taking a number of cases to successful verdict.

Kate has lectured for various hospitals and organizations in Pennsylvania, including Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, North Penn Hospital and the Pennsylvania Society of Health Care Risk Managers. She has also made presentations for the Inns of Court of America for the Montgomery Bar Association's Medical Legal Committee.

Significant Representative Matters:

• Through use of multiple medical experts, vocational experts and life care planners, as well as Frye Motions, Kate was able to bring a demand of $7 million down to a settlement of $500,000 in a case of clear liability in which a pediatric anesthesiologist claimed that she was never able to work again.
  
  
• Defense verdict in case brought by an ObGyn claiming she could never work again because of a fall in the operating room. The demand was $5 million.
  
  
• Defense verdict in a case brought by the widow of a 31-year-old father of two who died from a pulmonary embolus. The demand was $4 million.
  
  
• Defense verdict in a case involving the death of a 48-year-old woman from a pulmonary embolus. The demand was $3 million.
  
  
• Defense verdict in failure to diagnose colon cancer. This case had a $3 million demand.
  
  
• Kate has handled the defense of a national tissue processor in a class action matter.