Last Updated: Oct 5, 2023
Dear Honorable Members of the Pennsylvania House:
You have the opportunity to put an end to abusive venue
shopping practices that are occurring as the result of the Supreme Court’s
rescission of the medical liability venue rule, which went into effect on
January 1 of this year.
Rep. Donna Oberlander is offering amendment A02184 to HB
1300. The Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform and the
Pennsylvania Medical Society asks for your support. This amendment
delays the renewal of an $11.25 fee to benefit the judiciary until the Supreme
Court restores the medical liability venue rule and puts an end to medical
malpractice venue shopping in Pennsylvania!
Medical malpractice cases filed in Philadelphia have
skyrocketed since venue shopping returned on January 1. As of the end of
September, there have been more medical malpractice cases filed in Philadelphia
than there were in each of the previous seven years, according to statistics
provided by the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Many of the cases
filed in Philadelphia are the result of health care services delivered
elsewhere. The massive nuclear verdicts coming out of Philadelphia drive
up the cost of liability insurance. A crisis is brewing for all medical
providers that conduct any business in Philadelphia.
The medical malpractice venue rule was enacted as the
result of a collaborative effort between the Governor, legislature, and the
Supreme Court to end the medical liability crisis in 2003. It had worked
well in stabilizing the health care liability marketplace until the disruptive
action taken unilaterally by the Supreme Court.
Please send a strong message to the Pennsylvania Supreme
Court that the legislature must have its say in such an important public policy
decision. Returning to the rescinded medical malpractice venue rule will
ensure that cases are once again filed where the cause of action arose, as they
should be!
The Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform and
the Pennsylvania Medical Society asks for your support of Rep Oberlander’s
Amendment, A02184, to HB 1300.
Curt
Schroder, Pennsylvania
Coalition for Civil Justice Reform
Martin Raniowski, Pennsylvania Medical Society