Fallon Carroll Stephenson is a Partner in the Pittsburgh office of GRSM, and is a member of the firm’s Healthcare and Commercial Litigation Practice Groups. She handles general counseling in healthcare law and corporate compliance, medical malpractice defense litigation, and commercial litigation. Fallon also provides legal guidance to self-insured and captive entities with respect to program management and development, claims handling, legal defense and general counsel services.

Fallon actively defends and advises healthcare providers throughout Pennsylvania and West Virginia, including hospitals, nursing homes, physician practice groups, and other healthcare professionals, in all aspects of their risk management and litigation needs, from inception of an initial claim through trial.  Fallon has tried multiple professional liability cases to verdict and has also handled arbitrations and mediations in state and federal court proceedings.

Prior to joining GRSM, Fallon worked as an attorney at a large Pittsburgh-based law firm, practicing in the areas of medical malpractice, products liability, construction and commercial litigation.

Fallon is a NITA (National Institute for Trial Advocacy) trained trial attorney.

Admissions

• Pennsylvania
• West Virginia
• Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania

Memberships

• Allegheny County Bar Association
• State Bar of Pennsylvania

Community Involvement

• Neighborhood Legal Services Association (Pro Bono Protection From Abuse Project)

Allegheny County Child Custody Guardian ad Litem Project
PA Women Work – 3 Cups of Coffee program mentor

• Effective and thorough management and handling of hundreds of incidents, claims and suits involving medical professional liability, general liability and commercial matters.
• Comprehensive general counseling and ongoing service to multiple self-insurance entities serving large hospital networks, community hospitals, physician groups, long-term care facilities, and continuous care retirement communities.
• Successful management and handling of healthcare regulatory matters – including citations and investigations.
• Successful defense of long-term care facility on claims of negligence, resulting in unanimous defense verdict after 4-day jury trial.  Plaintiff, daughter of injured resident of nursing home, alleged that staff was negligent after her mother had an unwitnessed fall from an electric lift chair.  The resident sustained a left leg fracture, which ultimately required surgical repair and wound treatment for ulcers that developed.   The 12-person jury entered a unanimous defense verdict, finding that the facility was not negligent.
• Successful defense of long-term care facility on claims of negligence, resulting in unanimous defense verdict after 7-day jury trial.   Plaintiff, wife of deceased former resident of nursing home, alleged that the nursing home failed to develop and implement adequate care plans, failed to monitor and document the health and condition of her husband and, failed to recognize the change in his condition and obtain the necessary appropriate consultations.  The 12-person jury entered a unanimous defense verdict.
• Successful defense of long-term care facility on claims of negligence, resulting in complete defense verdict in private arbitration.   Plaintiff alleged that the nursing home failed to appropriately treat and prevent the progression of his decubitus ulcer as well as recognize and document his change in condition. The arbitrator found that the facility was not negligent.  
• Successful defense of hospital and occupational medicine practice group on claims of negligence, resulting in unanimous defense verdict after 5-day jury trial.  Plaintiff alleged that hospital and occupational medicine practice group were negligent in failing to diagnose his acoustic neuroma.  Plaintiff was seen annually for audiometric testing as part of a hearing conservation program through his employer, wherein he reported a variety of ear complaints and asymmetrical hearing loss was identified. Plaintiff’s acoustic neuroma was surgically removed and resulted in total left sided hearing loss and other neurological effects.   The 12-person jury entered a unanimous defense verdict.
• Successful defense of physician practice group and acute care facility against governmental agency, resulting in restoration of billing privileges. Governmental agency revoked the billing privileges of an entire physician practice group for three years upon a finding of abuse of billing practices by an employed physician, following a temporary suspension of his medical license. The revocation was successfully appealed and billing privileges were reinstated. The physician’s temporary license suspension was also appealed and subsequently overturned by the state board of medicine based on due process violations.

• Fallon has presented risk management seminars, continuing education symposiums, and mock trials to clients and potential clients on a wide array of topics, including, but not limited to, quality improvement initiatives, litigation avoidance, and significant changes in legislation.