Health Care Law

Seneca Law offers affordable and comprehensive legal counsel to health care entities and practitioners throughout Pennsylvania. Richard C. Seneca, Esq. has provided counsel to health care clients since 1987 and has extensive experience in counseling large health care systems and hospitals, small and medium-sized physician practices, non-clinical health care businesses such as medical records companies, individual physicians, and various other health care entities. Seneca Law’s areas of health care law representation include:

We provide twenty-four hour, seven day per week access to our health care clients via pager. Hospitals and health care providers are always on-call and so are we. Medical-legal issues can arise at any hour in the health care setting and we are always available to address those issues.

General Practice

Seneca Law’s general practice includes a wide range of areas in which the law affects individuals and small businesses. Such areas include:

Family Law

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In Pennsylvania, a divorce may be granted after ninety days if both parties agree. During the ninety day period, the parties work out a settlement agreement to divide what they own and what they owe. If there are children, child custody and support arrangements may also be made. Alimony may also be agreed upon during the period that the divorce is pending (this is called alimony pendente lite or APL) and after the divorce is granted by the court.

If the parties cannot resolve these issues, proceedings may be held before a hearing master, child custody conciliator, domestic relations personnel, and the court. Richard J. Seneca, Esq. concentrates a significant portion of his practice on family law.

Wills and Estates

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Adults, especially if they are single, should have three essential documents. These include a last will and testament, a power of attorney, and a living will.

A last will and testament directs how a person’s property is to be handled after their death. A power of attorney allows another person (known as an agent) to make certain business and medical decisions when the person who made the power of attorney (the principal) is unable to make those decisions. A living will tells a patient’s health care providers what to do when the person is in an end-stage medical condition or in a state of permanent unconsciousness and cannot tell their health care providers what they want. The patient may also select another person to make decisions for them if they cannot communicate their wishes.

Either of the Seneca Law attorneys can meet with you to discuss your wishes with regard to one or more of these documents. In addition to the preparation of these important documents, we also offer elder law counseling to our senior citizen clients and their families.

When a loved one passes, whether or not they had a will, it is important to consult with an attorney about whether an estate must be opened for the relative to be sure their affairs are settled properly. Seneca Law offers the full range of probate, trust, and estate planning legal services to clients and to clients’ families during the probate of their loved one’s estate.

Business Law

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Starting a business is always exciting. The path to success starts with preparing a business plan and developing a relationship with three professionals: a lawyer, an accountant, and a banker.

The attorney helps the businessperson select the type of legal entity that best serves their interests. Not all businesses have to become a corporation or a limited liability company. These entities involve legal fees and business expenses that the businessperson may not need to incur. The attorney also provides advice regarding legal compliance steps which must be taken and what the business owner can expect. Seneca Law assists the business community with the start-up of new businesses and by providing business counseling to existing businesses. Our business counseling practice is full service including, but not limited to, assistance in the areas of employee issues, contract and policy drafting and preparation, business litigation matters, forms development, and business wind-down issues.

Litigation

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Sometimes a person or a business gets sued in state or federal court. Other times, a person or a business is forced to sue because they have been injured, such as in a motor vehicle accident, or suffered losses because a party to a contract has breached the agreement.

The legal process can be lengthy and is filled with twists and turns. It is always important to have an attorney to avoid the legal pitfalls that come with lawsuits. There are deadlines and rules of court which must be followed regardless of whether the person or business uses a lawyer. It is not a good idea to enter a courtroom without an attorney. Richard C. Seneca, Esq. has litigated cases in federal and state court as well as in administrative forums for almost 30 years. Contact Seneca Law to discuss your case with an attorney.

Employment Law

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The employer-employee relationship can be complex. Employing people, no matter how many, can create headaches for business owners and management when difficulties arise concerning employee behavior and legal action taken by employees. Seneca Law offers legal support to business owners, management, and human resources departments in all areas of employment law, including policy preparation and review, criminal background checks, termination support, defense to employee and former employee lawsuits, and unemployment compensation hearing and appeal representation.

If you are about to start a new job and are presented with an employment contract or are an employer attempting to draft a contract for a new employee, it is always a good idea to consult with a lawyer as the contract may have long lasting effects which you should address before signing it. The Seneca Law attorneys have reviewed and prepared hundreds of employment contracts and can assist businesses and prospective employees with their contracts.

Real Estate Transactions

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The buying and selling of property are significant events for people and businesses. It is important that the transaction be conducted correctly so as not to cause the buyer or seller to incur costs trying to fix transactional problems long after the deal is done. We can assist you with the drafting of deeds, sales agreements, and other transactional documents to make sure your real estate deal goes smoothly.

Lectures

The Seneca Law attorneys present lectures to hospitals and health care organizations in areas which affect physicians, board members, administrators, medical staff members, health information services personnel, social workers, human resource representatives, and clinical specialists.

Among the topics which we present are:

• Defending against medical malpractice claims.
• How to respond to outside agency investigations such as the Office of Inspector General, the Office of Civil Rights, licensing investigators, law enforcement, and human service agency investigators in areas of child abuse and elder care.
• Negotiating physician employment agreements.
• Opening, merging or selling a medical practice.
• Handling employee issues such as recruitment, hiring, discipline and discharge; preparing employee evaluations; the Americans with Disabilities Act; the Family Medical Leave Act; wage and hour; and discrimination complaints.
• Applying the HIPAA Privacy Rule and state laws and regulations affecting health information and patients’ rights to privacy.
• Preparing and conducting a corporate compliance program.
• Legal aspects of providing psychiatric and psychological care to patients in the inpatient and in the outpatient settings.
• Legal issues affecting nurses.
• The medical-legal aspects of caring for children who are the victims of physical and sexual abuse.
• Medical-ethical decision-making in the areas of futility of care, refusal of care, implied consent to treatment, advance directives, and conflict among the decision-makers.

We also present lectures on non-medical legal topics such as business formation and wills & estates. Contact us for more information on lecture presentation cost and availability.