Last Updated: Aug 25, 2022
Message from Chair, PAMED Board of Trustees, Ed Balaban, DO regarding the Supreme Court’s Action on Venue Shopping
In 2003, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania adopted a rule that would allow medical malpractice cases to be filed only in the county in which the alleged malpractice occurred. Today the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania adopted amendments to the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedures to rescind the 2003 rule governing venue in medical professional liability actions. This change will now expand venue to additional counties beyond the county in which the alleged malpractice occurred. The Civil Procedural Rules Committee will re-examine the 2022 rule amendments two years after the effective date of January 1, 2023.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society staunchly condemns this enormous step backwards to the days of an unstable medical liability market and a mass exodus of physicians from this Commonwealth.
After twenty years of rebuilding towards a more robust physician presence and a better liability market in Pennsylvania the Supreme Court has, in essence, invited an unnecessary return to the “good old days” of stuffing trial lawyers’ pockets to the detriment of a steady and safe health care environment.
As we experienced in the late 1990s and 2000s, Pennsylvania will begin to see high risk specialists like orthopedists, neurosurgeons and trauma surgeons halt procedures, OB/Gyns stop delivering babies, and our highly trained residents choosing to leave Pennsylvania to practice in states that are more welcoming to them.
The bottom line is that the court has ignored over 5,000 comments from the physicians, patients, and countless professional organizations across the state to the detriment of the safety and health of Pennsylvania patients.
PAMED won’t stop fighting for what is fair for patients and physicians across the state. We will look for a remedy to ensure the continuity of services, availability of high-quality healthcare, and stabilize medical liability.
For more information you can find a copy of the rule text, adoption report, and certified order.