Martina Walsh McLaughlin

With over 40 years of experience, Martina Walsh McLaughlin has a distinguished career and stellar reputation representing clients in a wide variety of complex civil litigation cases, including medical malpractice, product liability, highway design, and dram shop cases. She has represented many families who suffered devastating losses, including a new father whose wife died in childbirth, parents of a healthy newborn who suffered brain damage only hours after birth, the mother of a construction worker killed when he was struck by a milling machine unequipped with blind spot mirrors, and many others.

Especially noteworthy is her representation of vulnerable children and mentally challenged adults who have been physically abused. She has represented children who have suffered brain injuries due to an undiagnosed metabolic disorder. She co-authored an article on this topic entitled “Identifying A Potential Medical Negligence Claim for Children with Inborn Errors Of Metabolism.”

Ms. McLaughlin is an AV Preeminent Peer Rated Attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest possible peer rating given for legal expertise, communication skills, and ethical standards. She served for five years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association. She also was a volunteer lawyer for the Senior Law Center.

Ms. McLaughlin is 1977 magna cum laude graduate of King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She graduated cum laude with her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1980.

Ms. McLaughlin and her husband Bob, have two children. Robert is a graduate of Upper Merion High School and the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is currently a student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is pursuing a Ph.D. in computer science. Marcie is a graduate of The Shipley School and Boston University. She is employed by Cigna and is attending Suffolk University School of Law in Boston.

AFFILIATIONS

  • Philadelphia Bar Association
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
  • Pennsylvania Association for Justice

EDUCATION

  • Kings College, 1977
  • University of Notre Dame Law School, 1980

$5,000,000 Settlement for Death of Teenager Unlawfully Served Alcohol
An 18-year-old attended a sporting event, where he was illegally served multiple beers by vendors who did not check his identification and who failed to follow the arena’s limits on the volume of alcohol that could be sold to a patron. As he drove home, the young man could not navigate a turn and was killed in a one-car crash. Stephen Raynes and Martina McLaughlin worked together to successfully refute the defense that the young man was to blame for his own death and established that the responsibility rested with the vendor. A videotape settlement brochure allowed the family to express their painful loss without the need for their formal testimony. The Raynes McCarty team secured for the family a $5 million dollar pre-trial settlement from the vendors’ parent company.

$4,250,000 Settlement for Deceased Mother on Public Assistance
Jean was a young woman who became pregnant with twins at a point where she was unemployed and on public assistance. Because of anesthesia mistakes, she died after childbirth. The defendant hospital tried to minimize the loss, arguing that her lack of employment at the time and minimal experience in the workplace made the case one of limited value. Raynes partners Jerry McHugh and Martina McLaughlin rejected this thinking, and retained a national expert on the importance of a mother’s presence in the lives of children. The children’s father had abandoned them, effectively making the children orphans. By thoughtfully building a case on the twins’ loss of parenting, the children’s financial future was assured.

Confidential Settlement for highway construction worker killed by Milling Machine
Milling machines are used to grind off the top layer of a road prior to re-paving. Because of its size, it is difficult for the operator to see everything in the path of the machine unless the machine is designed to have effectively positioned mirrors. A milling machine operator couldn’t see a co-worker, John, who was in a blind spot.   Tragically, John was literally ground to death. Martina McLaughlin conducted extensive research and discovered evidence that the defendant had formulated – years before John’s death – visibility specifications and had tested mirrors that would have provided visibility along the sides of the machine and prevented the accident. This evidence overshadowed the defendant’s attempt to blame the victim or machine operator and led to a significant settlement.

Confidential Settlement Involving National Drug Store Chain
A senior citizen had her prescription filled incorrectly be a national brand chain pharmacy, leading to avascular necrosis of her hips, serious complications and hospitalization Martina McLaughlin used defendant’s own procedure manuals to prepare requests for admissions documenting that the pharmacy’s violation of its own policy led to the error. Settlement promptly followed.

Martina Walsh McLaughlin
Attorney At Law
Office: 215.568.6190
Toll Free: 1.800.535.1797
mwmclaughlin@rayneslaw.com