In their quest to increase the number of individuals in various class action or malpractice suits, plaintiffs’ attorneys around Philadelphia have taken over ad space on the airwaves, social media, and especially highway billboards.
Philly area drivers might have become used to this sort of in your face, continuous advertisements. But a recent opinion column by Philadelphia physician Dr. Ryan McCormick explores the negative emotional, professional, and financial impact that they and our increasingly litigious society have on patients, health care professionals, and the health care industry as a whole. In the piece, McCormick notes that these billboard advertisements often “create a public perception of justice served with lottery-sized opportunities. But this is a mirage. The vast majority of truly injured patients never see a dime of compensation. Doctors are often personally blamed and financially punished for human mistakes, system errors, or what juries of lay people have decided perhaps went wrong.”
As PCCJR has previously noted, Philadelphia has earned the unfortunate title as the nation’s worst judicial hellhole thanks in part to a growing trend of awarding nuclear verdicts. Medical Malpractice attorneys have seized on lucrative opportunities for large jackpot paydays thanks to the reversal of the state’s medical malpractice venue rule. As a result, there has been a significant increase in the number of med mal cases filed in Philadelphia.
Please read Dr. McCormick’s thoughtful column here.