Drexel University College of Medicine Retains Patients' Rights Attorney Gerald Austin McHugh Jr

Business Wire, Nov 13, 2002

Business Editors

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 2002

The Drexel University College of Medicine announced today that it has retained the services of Gerald Austin McHugh Jr. to defend the College in a lawsuit filed by Irene Quinn in connection with the death of her husband.

James Quinn died on August 25, 2002, at Hahnemann University Hospital almost 10 months after becoming the fifth recipient of an AbioCor implantable heart.

McHugh, of the Philadelphia law firm of Litvin, Blumberg, Matusow & Young, is widely known for his expertise in representing malpractice victims. He argued on behalf of the plaintiff in Friter vs. IOLAB, the leading Pennsylvania case on the right of patients to consent to participate in human clinical trials. He has also been an advocate for patients' rights before the Pennsylvania legislature.

"We approached Jerry McHugh because he is one of the most respected plaintiffs' attorneys in Pennsylvania, and highly regarded for his commitment to victims in genuine cases of medical malpractice," said Carl "Tobey" Oxholm, general counsel for the College of Medicine. "We sought his evaluation of the care rendered to Mr. Quinn by our medical team, and we are pleased that after reviewing the case he has agreed to defend the College."

McHugh is a past president of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and was chief negotiator for the Association when the state legislature amended the law on medical malpractice in 1996 and again in 2002.

He recently received the Association's prestigious Justice Michael A. Musmanno Award for his outstanding litigation, peerless leadership and dedication to defending the rights of the innocent and injured. McHugh is also co-author of the treatise on tort law in Pennsylvania.

McHugh said, "I advised Drexel that my willingness to represent the University would depend upon my assessment of the facts of the case, just as I would when I am asked to represent a patient. In looking at the extraordinary care given to Mr. Quinn by his doctors and nurses, I cannot comprehend how it could be subjected to a suit seeking money damages. The College is right to be proud of the doctors who worked with Mr. Quinn."