UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Malpractice (Pittsburgh, PA)

UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh is a world-renowned 315-bed pediatric care facility affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, consistently ranked among the nation's top 10 children's hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for its excellence in multiple pediatric specialties. The hospital provides comprehensive, specialized care for infants, children, and adolescents across more than 30 pediatric subspecialties including transplantation, cardiology, neurosurgery, oncology, and rare disease treatment, with a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center, a cardiac intensive care unit, and one of the largest pediatric transplant programs in the world serving patients from across the country and internationally. 

Despite its stellar reputation and commitment to excellence in pediatric healthcare, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, like all medical institutions, may experience instances where patients suffer harm due to potential medical errors or deviations from the standard of care. Common types of medical errors in pediatric settings can include medication dosage mistakes, diagnostic failures, surgical complications, birth injuries, emergency room errors, hospital-acquired infections, anesthesia complications, and communication breakdowns between healthcare providers – all of which can have particularly devastating consequences when they affect children.

Medical malpractice involving children can be especially traumatic for patients and families, potentially causing permanent injuries, developmental challenges, lifelong medical needs, and profound emotional distress. If your child has experienced what you believe to be substandard care at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh or any other healthcare facility in Pennsylvania, understanding your legal rights and potential avenues for compensation is essential for securing the resources needed for your child's recovery and future care needs.

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider delivers care that falls below the accepted standard in the medical community, resulting in patient harm through negligent action or inaction. At UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, this might involve diagnostic errors, treatment mistakes, medication dosage errors, surgical complications, inadequate monitoring, or failures in following established pediatric care protocols that lead to preventable harm to young patients. These breaches of the standard of care can be particularly devastating when they affect children, potentially impacting their development and future quality of life.

For a viable medical malpractice claim involving pediatric care, four essential elements must be established: the existence of a doctor-patient relationship that created a duty of care, a breach of that duty through negligent conduct, a direct causal connection between the negligence and the child's injury, and specific damages resulting from the injury. Successfully navigating these complex cases requires specialized legal knowledge combined with pediatric medical expertise. If you believe your child has experienced medical negligence at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, consulting with the experienced attorneys at the Porter Law Group can help determine whether you have grounds for a claim and guide you through the process of seeking appropriate compensation for your child's injuries.

Surgical Errors

Surgical errors in pediatric settings represent particularly serious forms of medical malpractice that can have profound, life-altering consequences for young patients. At UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh's surgical facilities, potential surgical mistakes might include wrong-site surgery, performing incorrect procedures, leaving surgical instruments or materials inside patients, damaging nearby organs or tissues, anesthesia complications, or failures in managing post-surgical complications appropriately. These errors typically result from communication breakdowns, inadequate preoperative planning, provider fatigue, insufficient training for pediatric-specific procedures, or failure to follow established surgical safety protocols designed for children.

The aftermath of pediatric surgical errors can be devastating – potentially causing unnecessary pain, additional corrective surgeries, permanent disability, developmental issues, or even death. Children affected by surgical complications often face extended hospitalizations, additional medical procedures, prolonged rehabilitation, and potentially lifelong health challenges. If your child has experienced complications following surgery at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh that you believe resulted from medical negligence, the Porter Law Group can help assess your situation, determine if standards of care were violated, and guide your family through the process of seeking fair compensation for your child's injuries and future care needs.

Birth Injuries

Birth injuries can transform what should be a joyous occasion into a traumatic experience with potential lifelong consequences for both child and family. While UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh primarily provides care to children after birth, they may treat newborns transferred from other facilities with birth injuries or complications. Birth injuries may result from failure to properly monitor fetal distress, delayed cesarean sections, improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors, medication errors, or inadequate response to maternal or fetal complications. These errors can lead to serious conditions including cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injuries (Erb's palsy), hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, skull fractures, or intracranial hemorrhage.

The long-term implications of birth injuries often include extensive medical treatments, specialized therapies, assistive devices, educational accommodations, and potentially lifelong care – creating both emotional trauma and substantial financial challenges for affected families. If your child suffered birth injuries and received subsequent care at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, view the results we've achieved for previous clients in similar situations and consider consulting with the Porter Law Group to understand your legal options for securing the resources needed for your child's care and future well-being.

Late and Misdiagnosed Cancer Diagnosis

Timely and accurate cancer diagnosis is critical for optimal treatment outcomes and survival rates in pediatric patients. When healthcare providers at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh fail to properly diagnose childhood cancer, young patients may lose valuable treatment time and face significantly worse prognoses as a result.

Cancer Misdiagnosis

Cancer misdiagnosis in children occurs when healthcare providers incorrectly identify cancer as another condition or misclassify the type or stage of cancer present. This error can lead to children receiving inappropriate treatments that not only fail to address their actual condition but may cause additional harm through unnecessary procedures or medications, while allowing the true cancer to progress unchecked and potentially reach more advanced stages where treatment becomes more challenging.

Late Cancer Diagnosis

A late cancer diagnosis happens when healthcare providers fail to promptly recognize and investigate symptoms or test results that indicate possible cancer in a child. This delay can allow pediatric cancer to advance to later stages where treatment options become more limited, survival rates decrease significantly, and necessary treatments may be more intensive, with greater side effects and long-term health implications than if the cancer had been identified earlier.

Missed Cancer Diagnosis

A missed cancer diagnosis occurs when healthcare providers completely fail to identify cancer despite the presence of symptoms or test results that should have prompted further investigation in a pediatric patient. This oversight can allow the disease to progress silently until symptoms become severe or metastasis occurs, potentially reaching a point where the cancer becomes more difficult to treat or requires drastically more aggressive intervention with diminished chances of success.

At UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, young patients rely on accurate and timely diagnosis for various types of childhood cancers, including leukemia, brain tumors, lymphoma, neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, bone cancers like osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma, and other pediatric malignancies. While adult cancers like prostate, breast, lung, colorectal, cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancer are rarely seen in children, the principles of timely diagnosis remain crucial. If your child has suffered from cancer misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, or missed diagnosis that impacted their treatment options or prognosis, contact us to discuss your situation and learn about potential legal remedies that may be available to your family.

Wrongful Administration of Anesthesia

Anesthesia errors can have severe, sometimes catastrophic consequences for pediatric patients, ranging from awareness during surgery to permanent neurological damage or death. At UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, potential anesthesia mistakes include administering incorrect dosages (particularly critical in children where weight-based dosing is essential), failing to properly monitor vital signs, not accounting for pediatric-specific reactions or medication interactions, inadequate pre-anesthesia assessment, improper intubation, or errors in oxygen delivery. These mistakes may result from provider inexperience with pediatric anesthesia, communication breakdowns, equipment malfunctions, documentation errors, or failure to follow established protocols for pediatric anesthesia administration and monitoring.

The effects of anesthesia errors in children can be profound, potentially including oxygen deprivation leading to brain damage, cardiovascular complications, nerve damage, respiratory problems, developmental issues, or psychological trauma from experiencing pain or awareness during surgical procedures. Children who suffer from anesthesia complications often require additional medical interventions, extended hospitalization, rehabilitation services, or face long-term health and developmental challenges. If your child has experienced harm due to anesthesia errors at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, consulting with knowledgeable attorneys at the Porter Law Group can help determine whether medical negligence occurred and what compensation may be available to address your child's injuries and future care needs.

Hospital-Acquired Infections

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) pose significant risks to pediatric patients at all healthcare facilities, including UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. These infections, which include methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile (C. diff), surgical site infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections, and ventilator-associated pneumonia, develop during hospital stays and are not present at admission. They typically result from inadequate hand hygiene, improper sterilization of medical equipment, failure to follow isolation protocols, or insufficient environmental cleaning and disinfection practices – all particularly important in pediatric settings where children may have developing or compromised immune systems.

The consequences of hospital-acquired infections in children can be severe, often leading to extended hospital stays, additional medical treatments, permanent health complications, or even death – particularly for neonates, immunocompromised children, or those with underlying health conditions. When these infections result from negligent practices or failure to follow established infection control protocols, they may constitute medical malpractice. If your child contracted a serious infection during their stay at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh that you believe could have been prevented with proper care, the Porter Law Group can help evaluate your case and guide you through your legal options for seeking appropriate compensation for your child's additional suffering and medical needs.

The Statute of Limitations for a Medical Malpractice Claim

In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations for filing a medical malpractice claim is generally two years from the date the patient knew or reasonably should have known about the injury and its cause. This "discovery rule" can extend the filing window in cases where injuries weren't immediately apparent, but Pennsylvania also has a seven-year statute of repose (except in cases involving foreign objects left in the body), meaning that regardless of when the injury is discovered, claims generally cannot be filed more than seven years after the negligent act occurred.

For minor children, the statute of limitations is extended until two years after they reach 18 years of age, allowing more time for parents or guardians to pursue justice for children harmed by medical negligence. This is particularly important in pediatric cases, as some injuries may not become fully apparent until developmental milestones are missed or educational challenges emerge. These time limits are strictly enforced by Pennsylvania courts, making it crucial to consult with an experienced attorney as soon as possible if you suspect your child has been a victim of medical negligence at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Delaying action could permanently forfeit your child's right to seek compensation for injuries that may affect them throughout their lifetime.

What Damages Can You Receive Compensation For?

If your child has been a victim of medical malpractice at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, you may be entitled to several types of compensation. Economic damages cover quantifiable financial losses including past and future medical expenses related to treating the injury caused by the malpractice, future lost earning capacity, specialized educational needs, therapeutic interventions, assistive technology, home modifications, and other out-of-pocket expenses directly related to your child's injury. Non-economic damages address subjective, non-monetary losses such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, permanent disability, and impact on quality of life and normal childhood development. In exceptional cases involving willful or wanton misconduct, punitive damages may be awarded to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar behavior in the future.

Certificate of Merit

In Pennsylvania, a Certificate of Merit is a mandatory legal document that must be filed within 60 days of initiating a medical malpractice lawsuit. This certificate, signed by your attorney, confirms that an appropriate licensed professional has reviewed your case and provided a written statement indicating there is a reasonable probability that the care your child received fell outside acceptable professional standards. This requirement helps ensure that only medically substantiated claims proceed through the legal system, filtering out frivolous lawsuits while allowing legitimate cases to move forward.

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Why Choose the Porter Law Group

At the Porter Law Group, we bring extensive experience and specialized knowledge to pediatric medical malpractice cases, with a thorough understanding of both the legal complexities and unique medical considerations involved in cases affecting children. Our dedicated team works diligently to investigate every aspect of your child's case, collaborating with qualified pediatric medical experts to establish how the standard of care was breached and how that breach directly caused your child's injuries. We approach each family's situation with compassion and personalized attention, recognizing that when medical errors affect children, the stakes are particularly high and the impacts potentially lifelong, and we're committed to providing the responsive, effective legal representation needed to secure the resources your child may need for their future care and development.

Contact Medical Malpractice Attorneys

If your child has experienced what you believe to be medical malpractice at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, don't navigate this challenging situation alone. The Porter Law Group is ready to listen to your family's story, answer your questions, and help you understand your legal options during this difficult time. Our experienced medical malpractice attorneys provide compassionate guidance for families whose children have been harmed by medical negligence throughout Pennsylvania. Call our toll-free number at 833-PORTER9, or email info@porterlawteam.com today to schedule your free, confidential consultation and take the first step toward seeking the justice and compensation your child deserves for the preventable injuries they've suffered as a result of medical negligence.