If the Philadelphia Eagles are to fly this season, it will be without the aide of their long-time orthopedic doctors. The Eagles just got burned by the Commonwealth’s notoriously litigious legal environment. Last week it was announced that the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute was severing its long-time relationship with the City of Brotherly Love’s beloved football team, citing future malpractice risk. As noted in an article from The Spun, the medical group made the decision to end its 20 year affiliation with the team after it was pulled into a medical malpractice case filed by a former player. The practice was ultimately held liable for $15.8 million of a $43 million verdict.
This is just the latest example of how Philadelphia’s hostile legal environment and propensity for nuclear verdicts is hurting Pennsylvania’s health care sector. There is a reason why the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and Pennsylvania as a whole continue to top the American Tort Reform Association’s list of the nation’s worst judicial hellholes. The scales of justice in our state have become dangerously unbalanced to the benefit of plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Think about that: The orthopedic practice has determined that the risk outweighs the benefit of treating a professional football team! If the Eagles can’t get their ankles wrapped, what chance do you have if you need knee surgery?
That’s why PCCJR is continuing to push for much needed reforms to the Commonwealth’s civil justice system – including caps on attorney’s fees, restoring the legislative intent of the Fair Share Act, as well as a transparent and thorough review of the Supreme Court’s decision to rescind the medical malpractice venue rule.