Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Reading

If you or a family member suffered serious harm because a doctor, nurse, or hospital fell short of the accepted standard of care, Liever, Hyman & Potter is ready to help. We handle only wrongful injury and death claims: no real estate closings, no business contracts, nothing but cases for people who were hurt through no fault of their own. That singular focus has defined us since 1959, and it shows in our results.

You pay us nothing: not a cent in fees, and not a cent in case expenses we advance on your behalf, unless we recover money for you. Once we do, our contingency fee is a percentage of the award or settlement, defined clearly in your representation agreement from day one. We don’t ask you to repay advanced case expenses if we don’t recover for you. 

If you’re in the Pottsville or Schuylkill County area, call us at (610) 885-1991 for a free consultation. One of our attorneys can be available immediately to help protect your case and deal directly with doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies on your behalf.

A Track Record That Sets Liever, Hyman & Potter Apart

Families evaluating medical malpractice lawyers in Reading, PA, deserve to know who they’re hiring. In a recent three-year period alone, our attorneys recovered more than 500 awards and settlements, including numerous million-dollar and multi-million-dollar results. Since our founding, we’ve won thousands of awards and settlements for victims and their families, more than any other firm located in the Berks and Schuylkill County area.

Our published results speak to the stakes involved in medical negligence cases. They include a $12.75 million settlement for failure to diagnose brain disease, a $6.5 million settlement for a teenage client who suffered a brain bleed resulting in hemiplegia, and a $3.265 million wrongful death settlement. These are past outcomes, not guarantees, but they reflect what focused, experienced representation looks like in practice.

Within the legal community, Liever, Hyman & Potter is known as “The Lawyers’ Lawyers.” A significant portion of our clients come through referrals from other law firms: attorneys who know our record and trust us with their own clients’ most serious cases. Satisfied former clients and community members add to that referral network. That reputation was built case by case over more than six decades.

Lead attorney John R. Badal has been admitted to the Pennsylvania bar since 1978 and to the U.S. Supreme Court since 1991, and has devoted his entire legal career to representing wrongful injury victims. He holds membership in both the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, national recognitions tied to documented results at those dollar thresholds. He has also served as Chairman of multiple Berks County Bar Association sections, including the Civil Litigation Section and the Workers’ Compensation Section. Across our four-attorney team, we bring more than 115 combined years of practice in a single area of law. Every case is carefully reviewed and assigned to a Civil Trial attorney qualified to handle it.

Medical Malpractice Cases We Handle in Reading & Beyond

Medical negligence takes many forms. We evaluate claims involving physicians, nurses, hospitals, and other licensed healthcare providers throughout Pennsylvania, including facilities such as Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center and Reading Hospital in Berks County, as well as hospitals in the Pottsville and Schuylkill County area.

Cases we review include:

• Failure to diagnose cancer, stroke, or brain disease
• Surgical errors and post-operative complications
• Birth injuries to mother or child
• Medication errors and dosing mistakes
• Failure to obtain informed consent before a procedure
• Wrongful death resulting from medical negligence
• Emergency room errors and delayed treatment

We meet with clients and their families in our Reading office, or at their hospital room or home anywhere in Berks County. We travel to Pottsville and throughout Schuylkill County to meet with clients, and we welcome cases from across Pennsylvania. Geography isn’t a barrier to getting help.

How We Build Your Malpractice Case

Family members confronting suspected medical negligence face a hard reality: the people who caused the harm also control the records, the terminology, and the initial narrative. Our attorneys know how to cut through that. We’ve built medical knowledge through years of study and trial work, and we apply it from the first case review.

Pennsylvania law requires that a medical malpractice plaintiff file a Certificate of Merit, a document certifying that a qualified licensed professional in the same or a similar specialty has supplied a written statement that the care provided likely fell below the accepted standard, within 60 days of filing the complaint. That requirement means your legal team needs physicians who will stand behind their opinions. We turn to board-certified doctors, often affiliated with major medical university settings, for guidance and testimony. When the right expert isn’t in Pennsylvania, we search nationally for the physician uniquely qualified to assist in a given case.

Proving medical negligence means showing that a competent provider would have acted differently under the same circumstances, and that the deviation directly caused the patient’s injury and damages. That gap between a poor outcome and actionable negligence must be established through medical evidence, not assumption. Our attorneys know what that evidence looks like, where to find it, and how to present it before a jury at the Berks County Court of Common Pleas or elsewhere in Pennsylvania.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Do I Have to File a Medical Malpractice Claim in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice is two years under 42 Pa.C.S. §5524(2). The clock typically starts on the date the negligent act occurred. Waiting to speak with an attorney risks losing evidence and potentially missing the deadline. Contact us as soon as you suspect a problem.

What If I Didn’t Discover the Injury Right Away?

Pennsylvania’s discovery rule may delay the start of the two-year period when the injury couldn’t reasonably have been discovered at the time of the negligent act. The exact start date depends on the specific circumstances. An attorney can assess when your filing window opens and closes.

Does My Child Have More Time to File a Claim?

Yes. For minors, the statute of limitations generally doesn’t begin running until the child turns 18 under 42 Pa.C.S. §5533, meaning a claim can typically be filed until the person’s 20th birthday. The rules vary by case type, so confirming the deadline with an attorney is important.

Is Every Bad Medical Outcome Malpractice?

No. Medicine involves inherent risk, and not every complication or poor result is negligence. For a claim to have legal merit, the care must have fallen below the accepted standard of care, and that deviation must have directly caused measurable harm. We evaluate each case individually and give honest assessments during the free consultation.

What Should I Do First If I Suspect Medical Malpractice?

Contact a medical malpractice lawyer in Reading, PA, as soon as possible. Preserve any paperwork, records, and communications you have. Don’t sign releases or give recorded statements to a hospital or insurer before speaking with an attorney. The earlier we can review the facts, the better positioned we are to help protect your claim.

Call (610) 885-1991 to schedule your free initial consultation today.