A new ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court may allow
medical malpractice cases to proceed even in the absence of physical harm. The
case involved a pregnant mother who had a late pregnancy ultrasound and was not
told about any abnormalities with her unborn son. When her son was born, he had
no arms below the elbows, no legs below the knees and several other problems
that quickly cost him his life.

That outcome would not have changed had the mother known
about the child’s condition during pregnancy. However, the mother contends that
she suffered significant emotional distress from the lack of information
provided.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of the
appellate court and found that the mother had the right to file a lawsuit
because the negligent infliction of emotional distress may include people who
have been emotionally harmed, but suffered no physical injury, from medical
malpractice.

It remains to be seen how this ruling will play out in the
courts and whether there it will open the door for more medical
malpractice cases in Pennsylvania.

That may depend on who is answering the question. A recent report by the American Tort Reform Foundation listed Philadelphia as number one on its “Judicial Hellhole List.” Philadelphia earned that ranking by the American Tort Reform Foundation because plaintiff damage awards in Philadelphia are, sometimes, significantly larger than in other jurisdictions.

Not surprisingly, many Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers and Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys disagree with the Foundation’s characterization of Philadelphia as a hellhole. Instead of assuming that the damage awards are unfair, it is possible that the damages were provided because Philadelphia courts do a better job of handling complex litigation and providing fair relief to injured parties.

What do you think? If you were injured by medical malpractice in Pennsylvania, would you want your case heard in Philly?

Americans may spend more on healthcare than other countries, but are our outcomes any better?

The answer is no, according to a recent report by the Commonwealth Fund which found that more people die in the United States from preventable causes than anywhere else in the industrialized world.

There are a variety of reasons cited for this stunning statistic. Some have to do with access to primary care doctors and medical screening tests, for example. Other reasons reflect more on the quality of care Americans receive. Specifically, the study found that almost one third of Americans had experienced a medical mistake, medication error or lab error in the past two years. That was the highest of the 8 countries studied for that criterion.

There are many benefits to living in America, and the Commonwealth Fund report does show some improvements in US healthcare since 2006. However is it acceptable for the United States to have worse outcomes than other countries when it comes to deaths from preventable causes? Can healthcare reform solve our problems and protect our lives? Please leave a comment and let us know what you think.

On Monday we discussed how often Pennsylvania juries return verdicts in favor of plaintiffs and the size of those verdicts.

Today, we continue our discussion of 2010 Pennsylvania medical malpractice statistics and review where the verdicts occurred.

Two counties accounted for more than 50% of all Pennsylvania plaintiff medical malpractice jury verdicts in 2010. Lehigh County juries and Philadelphia County juries each returned eight verdicts in favor of plaintiffs for a combined 16 of the 30 verdicts issued that year. The rest of the verdicts were divided as follows:

• Allegheny County (2 verdicts)
• Beaver County (1 verdict)
• Bradford County (1 verdict)
• Chester County (2 verdicts)
• Clarion County (1 verdict)
• Delaware County (1 verdict)
• Erie County (1 verdict)
• Franklin/Fulton County (1 verdict)
• Lackawanna County (2 verdicts)
• Lancaster County (1 verdict)
• York County (1 verdict)

As we said on Monday, it is important to remember that many Pennsylvania medical malpractice cases settle prior to trial. If you have any questions about the venue of your potential Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawsuit, please contact us today.