Recently,  Fox 29 in Philadelphia ran an investigative report about a dental clinic that was allegedly being operated out of the basement of a South Philly row house.

According to the report, a woman who is not licensed to practice dentistry, but who is instead is an expanded function dental assistant, was posing as a dentist and performing procedures on patient.  Those procedures allegedly included root canals, crowns, fillings and other treatments.

Practicing dentistry without a license is illegal in Pennsylvania.  Just one count of practicing without a license is a 3^rd degree misdemeanor punishable by a fine and jail time.  The consequences are significant because the health risk to patients is significant.

Fox has alerted the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and state regulators about the situation.  As a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer committed to patient safety, this is a story that I will continue to monitor.

In the wake of the tragedies at the Women’s Medical Society Clinic operated by Dr. Kermit Gosnell, Pennsylvania has been conducting inspections at all of the state’s abortion clinics.

Recently, the state inspections revealed unacceptable conditions at the two Abortion as an Alternative Inc. clinics in the Philadelphia area.  The Abortion as an Alternative clinics located in Bensalem and Philadelphia were operated by Dr. Soleiman Soli.  Both locations were ordered to stop performing abortions after inspectors visited the facilities.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reports finding medications from the 1970s and 1980s, inadequate or not properly performing equipment, inadequate record keeping, and the mishandling of fetal tissue.  Specifically, the inspectors found unsterilized equipment, a lack of required equipment to resuscitate patients, and other potentially life threatening violations.

It is unclear if any women were injured because of the conditions at the Abortion as an Alternative clinics. If you believe that you, or a loved one, were injured then it is important to contact an experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer at 866-737-4556 for help as soon as possible.

Medical malpractice is a civil cause of action that allows injured patients, or their survivors, to bring a lawsuit for damages against the medical provider or entity that caused their injuries. 

However, in extreme cases, medical malpractice is not the only lawsuit that a defendant may face. In some cases, such as the case against Kermit Gosnell, criminal charges may also be filed.

The criminal case, as well as the civil cases against Kermit Gosnell, is moving forward.  Last Friday, Common Pleas Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes ordered Kermit Gosnell, and his wife Pearl, to obtain private counsel by Wednesday of this week.  The Gosnells’ had argued that they lacked the resources to hire private attorneys and wanted a public defender assigned to their cases.  The judge denied their request, found that they had ample resources to hire private practice lawyers and urged Dr. Gosnell to hire a lawyer with experience in capital cases.

We will continue to monitor the case against Kermit Gosnell and we encourage you to contact us with any information that you may have in this regard.