On Feb. 3, 2020, PAMED leaders attended the release of the Pa. Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) study on the impact of venue in medical liability cases. Preliminary review does not support disrupting the current system.
Get PAMED's analysis of the LBFC's study here.
Medical Liability Venue Case
On July 8, 2020, the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform, of which PAMED is a health care member, filed an amicus brief in the case of Dockery v. Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Inc., et al.
In this case, plaintiffs filed a medical professional liability action against defendants in Philadelphia County. Defendants filed preliminary objections arguing that the proper venue for this case was in Delaware County.
Our amicus brief supports the existing venue rule. Get details.
What’s Next?
We will work with our partners to analyze and respond to the LBFC's report. Stay vigilant by watching this webpage and PAMED’s weekly e-newsletter, The Dose, for more information and next steps.
In early 2019, when we mobilized our members and other stakeholders to send their comments to the Pa. Supreme Court’s Civil Procedural Rules Committee that is proposing this change, nearly 2,600 people responded. If more action is needed, can we count on you? Please let us know by filling out this form so you will be included in our communications.
Background:
The LBFC was directed to study the impact of a proposed Pa. Supreme Court venue rule change – which PAMED and its coalition of stakeholders vehemently opposes – that would allow medical liability lawsuits to take place outside of the county where the alleged malpractice occurred.
If the current, commonsense venue rule is changed, this has real potential to return our state to the medical liability crisis of the early 2000s, decreasing access to care for patients and driving up health care costs.