Michelle is a member of the Health Care Department and concentrates her practice on the defense of medical and nursing home malpractice, as well as other professional liability and casualty claims.
Michelle has prepared the defense of more than 100 medical malpractice cases. In doing so, she has represented a number of hospitals, physicians and their practices, as well as nurses, physicians' assistants and physical therapists in health care liability matters. Her experience with casualty cases has involved several areas of practice, including premises liability, automobile and trucking liability, and product liability.
On numerous occasions, Michelle successfully protected documents under the Peer Review Protection and Patient Safety Acts. In most of the medical malpractice cases she was involved in, she coordinated with multiple experts to direct a comprehensive defense on the issues of liability, causation and damages in order to achieve success either through verdict or settlement.
Michelle began employment with Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin while still in law school and joined the firm as an associate upon her graduation with honors in 1995. She practiced in the firm's New Jersey office through December 2000, when she transferred to practice in our Pennsylvania offices.
Michelle is a graduate of Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following her graduation, she worked in sales for the transportation industry while attending Rutgers University School of Law, Camden, New Jersey. There she served as a lead editor for the Rutgers Law Journal.
Michelle devotes time to the Lower Nazareth PTA and is a coach for the Lower Nazareth Wildcats and Lower Nazareth Recreation Association.
Published Works
· "New Jersey Appellate Court Carves Out Exception to Six-Year Statute of Limitations in Legal Malpractice Case," (co-author), Defense Digest, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2000
· "Fee Shifting in New Jersey Legal Malpractice Cases," (co-author), Defense Digest, Vol. 2, No. 8, 1996
· "Note: New Jersey Takes Aim at Gun Violence by Minors: Parental Criminal Liability", 26 Rutgers L.J. 431, Winter, 1995
Representative Cases
· K.D. v. Bozarth, 313 N.J. Super. 561
· Levinson v. D'Alfonso & Stein, 320 N.J. Super. 312
Classes/Seminars Taught
· Disclosure and Reporting of Medical Errors, presentations for physicians at St. Luke's Hospital and Sacred Heart Hospital, 2005
· Caring for Yourself while Caring for your Patient, presentation to family practice residents and attending physicians at Sacred Heart Hospital, January 20, 2010
· Anatomy of a Lawsuit, presentation to family practice residents and attending physicians at Sacred Heart Hospital, May 29, 2007
Associations & Memberships
· Bar Association of Lehigh County
· Northampton County Bar Association
· Pennsylvania Bar Association
Honors & Awards
· Pennsylvania Super Lawyer Rising Star, 2005-2007