Rhonda Hill Wilson Attorney At LawTrial Publicity in Medical Malpractice Matter Rhonda Hill Wilson, Esq., is a Philadelphia-area personal injury attorney who handles catastrophic nursing home and medical malpractice matters throughout the United States. Furia Rubel was hired by Ms. Wilson to execute a strategic communications audit and plan. While in the planning phase, Ms. Wilson began a trial that was fertile ground for publicity.
Within two days of jury selection, Furia Rubel was asked to handle media relations surrounding the medical malpractice matter of Rosalyn Patterson. The trial involved alleged negligence of a Philadelphia hospital where Mrs. Patterson entered the hospital for a Cesarean section birth and exited in a vegetative state. She is unable to care for herself or her four children and now resides in a nursing home.
The Furia Rubel media relations team created a targeted media plan regarding the first day of the trial (just two days away). In less than twenty-four hours, Furia Rubel landed an NBC-10 exclusive lead story unveiling the case details. The following morning and first day of trial, media representatives from five television networks, several newspapers and KYW Newsradio were stationed at the courthouse ready to report on the matter. At the behest of the defense, the trial judge put a “gag order” on the case to keep the media from exposing further details. Just hours later, the case settled for an “undisclosed amount of money.” Ms. Wilson attributes the quick settlement to the facts of the case and said that the “visibility, pressure and media exposure got this case resolved.”
The case was covered that day and the next by Good Day Philadelphia, Fox 29’s News at 10, Action News, News 10 Today, News 10 at Five, News 10 at Eleven, Eyewitness News and several newspapers. The regional publicity generated more than four million media impressions. Based on the commercial value of the media exposure, had it been generated by advertising, the Patterson news coverage generated a 300% return on investment. |