The media is starting to catch on to what the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform (PCCJR) has been broadcasting since January 2023: Medical Malpractice cases filed in Philadelphia have soared as plaintiffs’ attorneys take advantage of loose venue rules to seek jackpot verdicts.
Pennsylvania’s healthcare industry is continuing to feel the negative effects of the Supreme Court’s decision to allow venue shopping for medical malpractice cases in the Commonwealth. Unsurprisingly, there has been a large uptick in cases filed within the Philadelphia court jurisdiction since the rule was rescinded. Philadelphia is widely known to be a litigation hotbed, leading to numerous nuclear verdicts and huge paydays for plaintiffs’ attorneys.
A Daily Item article takes a closer look at how the rule change is impacting regional health systems, highlighting that between January 2023 and April 2024, 43 percent of the 657 medical malpractice cases filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas involved health care provided outside the city limits.
The article notes that some defendants are attempting to push back against the influx of cases filed in Philadelphia by requesting cases be transferred to a different location. But as PCCJR Executive Director Curt Schroder pointed out defendants have “an uphill climb” when seeking a location transfer as state courts have put in place strict requirements that must be met, making transfers rare.