As a member of the Health Care Department, Frank devotes much of his practice to the litigation of medical malpractice, long-term care/nursing home liability and municipal liability cases. He has handled several hundred medical malpractice claims and lawsuits.
Frank joined Marshall Dennehey as a shareholder in 2006, following 16 years as a partner at the defense firm of McDermott & McGee, where he concentrated in the defense of medical malpractice cases on behalf of physicians and in defending municipalities in civil rights and personal injury lawsuits.
Frank has represented physicians, dentists and podiatrists in health care liability/medical malpractice actions. He has taken approximately 100 cases to trial and has received a defense verdict rate in excess of 90 percent. He has successfully defended physicians in numerous cases with the potential for high jury awards, including cases involving multiple amputations, wrongful death claims, wrongful birth claims and claims for wrongful death of a fetus, by either establishing that the physician was not negligent or not the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injuries. Frank has also successfully defended numerous municipalities in personal injury claims and alleged civil rights violations.
Honors & awards
AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell
The Martindale-Hubbell rated attorney list is issued by Internet Brands, Inc. A description of the selection methodology can be found here . No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
New Jersey Super Lawyer
2010-2011
The Super Lawyers list is issued by Thomson Reuters. A description of the selection methodology can be found here . No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Year joined
2006
Results
Jury Decides Bariatric Surgeon Did Not Deviate from Accepted Standards of Care
Health Care Liability
January 22, 2016
Obtained a defense verdict in a medical malpractice action against a bariatric surgeon. The plaintiff had initially named the anesthesia and nursing teams as defendants; however, they were all dismissed before trial. The surgeon client performed a second revision gastric bypass procedure on the plaintiff. Following the 12-hour operation, the plaintiff was diagnosed with a brachial plexus injury that left her with deficits in her left arm and hand. Through her experts, the plaintiff alleged that the brachial plexus injury was caused by the plaintiff's arms being overe
Jury Sides With Defense in Complex Medical Malpractice Trial
Health Care Liability
June 8, 2015
Obtained a defense verdict after a five-week medical malpractice trial in New Jersey. The plaintiffs alleged that our clients, an emergency medicine physician and a nurse practitioner, failed to diagnose and test for a subarachnoid hemorrhage (brain bleed) in a patient who came to the Emergency Department with a non-traumatic nosebleed and hypertension. When she arrived at the ER, the 59-year-old plaintiff was evaluated by the nurse practitioner, who performed a full exam of the patient and treated the nosebleed with nasal packing.
Thought Leadership
New Jersey’s Appellate Division Alters the Landscape of Nursing Home Litigation
Roseland
Long-Term Care Liability
September 1, 2015
By Frank P. Leanza, Esq. and Ryan T. Gannon, Esq.*Key Points: Defense Digest, Vol. 21, No. 3, September 2015
Classes/Seminars Taught
Aspects of Medical Malpractice Litigation, Conventus and Omni Eye Services, May 2012
The Doctor's Deposition -- Likely the Most Important Day of the Case, MD Advantage Insurance Company, October 2010